New York

Oh my goodness where do I begin. Our forest last night had no wifi so here I am behind again. I guess I will just paraphrase Steve Martin and say, New York is a wild and crazy place. I am so glad we went once but I don't know if I will go back. Now I know what our Canadian visitors and friends from out of state mean when they come to visit. I was overwhelmed. I felt like a small town visitor. Before I write about what we did let me tell you how I felt. Scared! I don't think I will ever be able to get on a bus again, and maybe never cross a street unless I am wearing depends. I found out bus drivers must by New York law drive as close to tour buses and taxis and pedestrians as humanly possible. Also you can be thrown in jail when crossing the street unless you totally ignore street lights and only cross if the light is red. You cannot walk slow, you must wear black or something really wierd and your skirt must be no longer than 5 inches from your waist and the hem has to be uneven. Now let me describe what the women are wearing. No never mind, I'll save that for another time.

Our camp was in Jersey City right across from Manhattan. From our camp we could see Lady Liberty, Ellis Island, The new Towers the Brooklyn Bridge and could walk directly onto the ferry. We took the early Ferry with all the commuters and go off near Wall Street in the Financial District. We walked around a bit trying to figure out what we were going to do first. We went down into the bowels of the earth and visited the subway. We bought tickets for bus/subway. Back into the light and a 5 block walk from there to the center to get Memorial tickets. We could see the new tower construction but not the memorial from outside. We passed Trinity Church and St Pauls Chapel right across from the towers. It is the oldest public building in constant use in New York. They have a sign saying it witnessed the great fire of 1776, Was host to George Washington on Inauguration Day and survived 911. We walked back and entered the memorial. Of course it was incredibly moving. It seemed quiet, even with all the constuction going on around it. There are machines to help you locate names. The names carved around the sides are not alphabetical. There is a pattern to how they are located. For instance the four planes are located together. The fountains are very stark and seem very appropriate. There are people walking around to help you locate names and they have paper and chalk in case you want to make a rubbing. They are building a museum there but it is not finished yet, although you can look though the windows.
We walked some more and decided to take the bus so we could see more that the subways would let us. We went to The United Nations building and a block away saw the Holy Family Church where Pope John Paul The Second prayed when he addressed The United Nations. We went to the New York Library and saw lots of computers, beautiful art and even some books. We walked past the Chryslerr building and into Grand Central Station where we had lunch. Saw one on many Trump buildings. Went to Times Square and saw lots of strange Characters, including, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Batman, Spiderman, The Mario Bros. Hello Kitty, Puss in Boots and many others. The strangest part was no one besides Don and me were even looking at them. Went to Lincoln Center and Jr. met a Panda that also traveled with his parents and had his picture taken. They became friends and exchangd emails. I was so excited to actually go into The Metropolitan Opera House. I can't believe how emotional I have been on this trip. We decided to walk all the way across Central Park and it started raining. It sttopped by the time we got to the other side and Jr was able to play in the park. I almost slipped on the wet stones but  my superior sense of balance saved me. We went to The Guggenheim Museum and did some more walking. Passed The Plaza Hotel and like so many things on this trip, it was covered in scaffolding. Also the tarps were painted to look like the real building. We went into St. Patrick's and said a few more prayers for a safe trip. I threw one in for the bus drivers too. We went to Rockefeller Plaza and my battery died. We had our ipad for back up but our batteries were about though also so we ran across fifth avenue (against the light of course, we are quick learners) and caught our last bus from up town to down town. See, I'm talkin like a native, know whad I mean. We took the ferry home and ended up seeing a beautiful sunset reflecting on the sky line of Manhattan. The next morning we got up and drove  ten minutes to Liberty State Park and The Commemorative Monument and our last view of The Lady. I told Don, get me out of this town. He happily agreed. Too much excitement for these old folk.  Yesterday and today were great too but it has been raining since we got up and this old lady is ready fo bed. It is 0:51 and That's all folks. Hugs from Me