NYC!!

WHEW!!!  In a room for the evening in East Orange, NJ.  Still have all three boys and no blisters on our feet after an ALL day excursion in NYC!  We were hoofin' it!

We left Brewster this morning and our first stop was in Purchase, NY - world headquarters of Pepsico.  After identifying ourselves, we received a warmer welcome than we were given at the Bush Compound ;) and were permitted to drive around and look at the campus.  There were modern sculptures everywhere and nice natural landscaping.  Then we came across a sign for an employee car wash area.  There were also volleyball courts set up and basketball hoops.  As we rode further we came upon some lady walking her dog and others enjoying the walking paths.  Seemed like they really wanted to pamper the employees.  Must say it was a very nice looking campus.

We arrived and parked our car in the Bronx and caught the 4 train into Bowling Green (NY not KY).  I will say from the very start, we have not encountered any rude people up here anywhere in the north.  Some are not as sappy sweet as southerners can be, but everyone we have asked for help/directions has been glad to take a moment and help us.  We found a car lot in the Bronx where we could park for $10 for 12 hours.  The cars were up on racks and packed in like sardines.  When the fellow told us where the car would be parked, Nathan parked our truck himself.  The owner came out to meet us and began questioning if we didn't trust them or something.  No worries; we got parked, payed and received our tag...THEN they wanted our key!  Are you kidding?!  What do you need our truck key for?  We were in a spot not blocking anyone in or in the racks, why would they need our key?  We began having visions of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  To top off this initial experience, Nathan began asking the attendant for directions to Ground Zero, and the fella asked if we were looking for Grand Concourse.  Regardless of what NYC sights we asked about he just shrugged and offered ideas of what we might be looking for - none of what WE recognized.  He was trying to be helpful, just not having much luck with it.  A business man seeing us head up the road asked if we needed assistance, and he directed us to the train but also suggested that we be back to get the car before dark since the area is not so nice after dark.  We purchased our subway passes for the day and noticed that the machine instructed us to dip our card.  We found this amusing since in the south our machines read swipe card.

Upon leaving the subway station, we headed to the park area to get our Statue of Liberty ferry tickets. (Monument tickets for the statue are like monument tickets in D.C., they must be ordered AT LEAST a week early in order to be able to have access.)  We had not been in the park 5 minutes when a street performance broke loose.  A fellow stripped out of his shorts down to his drawers to change into a different pair of shorts.  (We were shocked!  Welcome to NYC!)  It was all part of the act and a way to draw attention, which it certainly did.  We enjoyed the gymnastics and talents of these 5 guys as they interacted with the crowd and wowed us with their strength and skill. 

We had to stand in line about 20-30 minutes waiting for the ferry but enjoyed more street musicians playing the steel drums or violin while we waited.  We were able to walk around and gain a perspective of the size of Lady Liberty and how she towers over all those below.  We also rode past Ellis Island.  (We were permitted to get off and walk around here too but due to time chose not to.)

After returning to Manhattan, we had a street vendor paint our names for us, and then headed for Ground Zero.  The area is closed off to traffic, and lots of construction was taking place.   We asked questions about what was being built.  The gentleman told us that there are plans to create two deep falls in the middle of a park type area where towers 1&2 stood.  In the place of some of the smaller buildings, office buildings and a transportation hub, where it will all come together, will be built.  The Freedom Tower is also under construction and will reach 1776 ft when complete - the tallest building in the U.S and the second tallest in the world after Dubai.

We attempted to see the Brooklyn Bridge up close and had hiked to one end, but we were unable to get a picturesque view.  We have some pictures from our ferry ride, but the smog was a bit thick making our pictures a bit fuzzy.  We grabbed the subway and rode to 5th and West 34th to see the Empire State Building.  (Very good neck exercise!)  We also found Macy's and some beautiful churches in this area before boarding another subway to Rockefeller Center.  It was here that we came to the highlight of the day for the boys - LEGO!!  They just opened a new store here last week.  They had a blast here, and Nathan and I were relieved to sit for a bit.  The next stop was almost as good.  We took a spin through FAO Schwarz and let the boys tap dance on the Tom Hanks BIG keyboard.  It is at the other end of this building where you see people waving in the window to be on CBS Early Show.  We considered attempting this, but didn't get an early enough start.

PANT! PANT! PANT!  Many bottles of water later and after much hiking we headed to Central Park.  Couldn't call our visit complete without a visit here!  It was fascinating how much the noise of the city was muffled once we were down in the park.  We only walked a portion of it, but it was nice to hear the birds again and see the people relaxing on the lawn.

As night was beginning to settle in so were some of the homeless.  They were creating their cardboard houses for the night on the building steps.  We were now headed back to the subway in an attempt to change lines enough to end up back in the Bronx, and we did it!!  YEA!!  The boys were real troopers and held in there really well.  We only had one frightening experience when we crossed a street.  We were in the masses with everyone close together when all of a sudden a tour bus began honking.  Caleb got caught up with a deer in the headlights look and then bumped into a pedestrian heading the opposite direction.  Both caught in the path of the honking bus.  It was all happening so quickly, but they got it straightened out and everyone out of the street as the tour bus blew through a red light, honking all the way!  We never did figure that one out.  All other intersection crossings (and there were many) went very smoothly!  We feel accomplished in all we were able to see and do in a day but realize we only scratched the surface.  No doubt about it though, NYC is a wonderful place for one of our favorite sports - people watching!