The Empire State Building

This was a stop we nearly didn't make.  It was not inexpensive and we'd already spent a lot (to us anyway) just getting to Manhattan so we passed by after checking prices.  Over lunch, the tourist part overruled the miser part and we went back.  It was a great stop and our kids don't need to inherit that much anyway.

The Chrysler building.  It isn't open to tourists but it is still such
an icon of the Manhattan skyline.  Who can forget the Staypuf Marshmallow Man.

The detail of the tower that can only be seen from above.

A bird's eye view of cleaning taking place.  That is a lot of scaffolding!

The view looking up the island.

This was from the ground, the ESB in clear reflection on a neighboring facade.

Another view from a high spot.

The detail of the building's facade.  Art Deco all the way.  That little
line is one of the lines used to bring window washer platforms up the
side of the building.  Way too thin for my preference!

A look up to the mast.  It was originally thought that blimps could land
there and be tethered to the top but the designers were clueless about
the effects of winds aloft on a lighter than air machine.  It never happened.

A view down the island.

The density was eye popping.

The famous Flatiron building.  The details in its facade were amazing.

Flatiron from ground level.

Towards the Hudson River.

Designed to keep people in who might be inclined to lean too far over the edge.

But wait, there's more!

The convergence of the Hudson and East Rivers as they join to flow
into the Atlantic.

This was a very clean glass that allowed for a great reflection.

That shiny building's top from the previous page.

This new construction seemed so thin.

We took a picture of a family and they returned the favor.  The people at the
top were all taking each other's photos.  No one refused the request.

Manhattan, First Post

The ferry trip over was great as we could see so much without having to navigate around all the huge ships or worry about currents.  Everyone in Manhattan had us pegged as rubes, I'm sure, because the first few hours were spent with our necks craned up or taking hundreds of pictures just hoping they turned out. In that first day in the city, we walked over 12 miles, most of it randomly, and saw most of the streets in lower and midtown Manhattan.  I know we couldn't have seen everything but we saw the highlights.  It was a wonderful, if tiring day.

This building looked as if designed by a slightly off kilter artist got hold of the plans.

The Columbus monument honoring one of the world's greatest navigators
and certainly a courageous explorer no matter what the PC crowd says. 

The statue shows a regal bearing.  After months at sea, I doubt he looked that good
or maybe we're just jealous that we are closer to what the cat dragged in than regal.

Loved the color and variety of Chinatown.

I have a much smaller version of one of these hanging in our house.

The ferry terminal where we landed.  We chose to start in the middle of the island
then depart from the dock in the lower part.  It was nice having the option.

Again, I really enjoyed all the flowers.  Due to good weather (as opposed to snow)
so many of the building were wrapped in scaffolding as maintenance was done to their
facades.  That caused us to miss a few things we were looking forward to such as the
lions outside the main library.  You could see some buildings where the cleaning had
been finished next to the one still needing attentionl.

Grand Central certainly lived up to it's name.  It was a work of art on
a truly grand scale.

One of the many hallways leading to the main chamber. The chandeliers alone
were worth the stop.

One of several boards showing times, destinations and track information.

The grand room.  So many movies scenes feature this area.

The ceiling was the constellations in the zodiac.  The stained glass windows were fabulous
as well.  We entered the building on a lark, not having it on our list of must-see places.
We are both glad we spent the time here.

Not sure what this globe was for but it looked nice and caught the sun.

The architecture of the building never ceased to amaze in variety.

A mural from the entrance to the Rockefeller Center.

Radio City Music Hall.  Not as fancy on the outside as we thought.

This is a monument to General Worth.  I'm form Fort Worth which was named for him.

One of the crowded, narrow streets in Manhattan.

More tall buildings. This one was topped in shiny brass.

The entrance to one of the tunnels leading into the island.

Times Square was fascinating in the array of colors

                                                     and commercials

and even more commercials.  Broadway with all its theaters ends here.

This was a monument to sailors who lost their lives in the early 1900s.  It wasn't
a particularly famous shipwreck so the survivor's families must have had some
pull to get this built.

Wall St.  is where our ferry departed to head back to New Jersey.

David had envisioned himself standing next to the raging bull of Wall St.
but apparently several other folks had the same idea.  Even after waiting a while,
we could never get close so he climbed on a traffic barrier to get this shot.

Atlantic Highlands

A stop that was originally planned for only a night turned into 5 but in a good way, not due to storms or broken parts.  We watched the Seastreak Ferry depart on a regular basis and head in the direction of New York City so we decided to check it out.  For about $100 round trip for the two of us, we could go straight into the heart of Manhattan and spend the day seeing the sights.  So after, buying groceries, watching a movie in town and refilling our propane tanks, that is what we did! Besides that, we really liked Atlantic Highlands and spent time exploring the area and had a few pleasant surprises. The town is very much a bedroom community for New York but has it's own personality as well.  We met a couple our first night in town and learned he was a battalion chief who led a team up in the burning towers.  From his 13 man squad, only 4 made it out alive and each of them has had severe medical issues since.  His wife was the widow of a police officer.  When he learned that David was retired AF, he thanked him for his service when really he was the hero.  We did watch a storm roll in from the bar stools we were perched on a few days later  which isn't really a good thing since we wouldn't know if our anchor drug until it was too late.  It all ended well for us but not all others.  Bottom line, we had a great stop in New Jersey and it made us ready for the next phase of the adventure.

Once again, I am blown away by all the flowers.  This house was gorgeous on it's own but
the many, colorful hanging baskets really made it spectacular.

Stately old houses were common, especially on the hill overlooking the harbor.

From our spot in the anchorage, we could see that there was a lower road

                                                        A middle road

and a much higher road going through town.

The road was quite steep in spots and was a challenge on our little bikes with few gears.
I was worn out and thirsty after 4 miles uphill but I didn't have to walk!

This sweet little bike path leading away from the marina gave no hint of the
grueling uphill waiting for us.  Actually the entire bike path was basically flat and
ran from Atlantic Highlands to Highlands.  We chose to head up the hill to see what
we could see and challenge ourselves.  (ok, it wasn't a challenge for David but it was for me.)

A view of Raritan Bay.  In the far distance, you can see Sandy Hook.
We have a Raritan head (toilet) but couldn't find out if it was manufactured locally.

A nice surprise was finding this park at the top of the hill and learning that
it was the highest point on the entire Atlantic Seaboard from Canada to the Yucatan .
It wasn't really all that high as far as mountains go but still was a nice find.

The park also included a monument to all those from New Jersey who
lost their lives in the attack on the Twin Towers 9-11-01.  The names of each
person was inscribed in the map showing the counties they were from.

One of the pergolas in the park.

Not sure what this boat owner was thinking but he had his main fully
up then apparently left the boat.  When the storm rolled through with up to
50 knot gusts, the sail didn't stand a chance.  By the end of the next day,
it was shredded all the way back to the mast.  Several jibs weren't securely
tied down and they sustained damage as well.

One spectacular sunset

After another graced our view.

I wish the camera had done a better job capturing the colors.  It was like a
horizontal rainbow.  The jetty was lined with people trying to capture the beauty.