New York City, Part 2

We visited the 9-11 Memorial on September 12 because the anniversary date is reserved for family members and First Responders.  Walking through the Memorial was a surreal experience.  I had been to the World Trade Center in 1979 with my daughter, Diana, who was two years old at the time.  I remember what it was like to be on the 107th floor at the indoor observation deck and looking down on the streets so far below.  It is still hard to believe what happened on September 11, 2001.  

1 World Trade Center

One of two reflecting pools at the 9-11 Memorial Site, the pools are set in the footprints of the original Twin Towers

The buildings in the center of this picture are actually reflections in the glass of a much larger building.

The "Survivor Tree" is a Callery pear tree planted on the original World Trade Center plaza in the 1970's.  The tree was damaged in the WTC attack and was reduced to an 8' stump.  It was taken to a New York City park and nursed back to health.  It suffered more damage when it was uprooted in a storm in March, 2010, but it survived.  In December, 2010, it was returned to the WTC site and continues to be nursed back to health.

.

St. Paul's Chapel opened in 1766, survived the "Great Fire" of 1776.  It suffered no damage in the September 11, 2001,  attack on the World Trade Center, despite its proximity, and became home to relief ministry for recovery workers at Ground Zero.  Mementos of 9/11 are displayed inside.

St. Paul's Chapel interior

BROOKLYN BRIDGE

Once we booked the rally in 2012, I decided to read the book, "The Great Bridge", about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.  It was written by David McCullough in 1972 and was an extremely long book but also very interesting. He writes in great detail about the people involved and the actual construction.  It certainly made me look at the bridge in a different way.  Who would think of how the support towers were constructed, or how the wire cables were made, or how politics played a part back in the 1870's.  The bridge opened in 1883 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world.  It is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. The uppermost deck is open to pedestrians and bicyclists, the lower deck is for cars.  Buses and trucks are not allowed on the bridge.  It is currently undergoing some renovations.

The Brooklyn Bridge

Pedestrian deck of the Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge, the white stuff on the side is canvas, that is where renovations are being done.

CHINATOWN

Chinatown, Lower Manhattan

Transfiguration Roman Catholic Church, Chinatown, Lower Manhattan

Transfiguration Roman Catholic Church

Chinese hamburger, anyone?

CENTRAL PARK

Strawberry Fields, a tribute to John Lennon 

What is New York City without a carriage ride in Central Park?   Central Park carriage rides have been around as long as the park has.  Now, the fore-runner in the mayoral race, Bill De Blasio, wants to ban horse drawn carriages because animal rights activists say it's cruel to the horses.  All I have to say is I don't agree.

The San Remo, a 27-story co-op apartment, built in 1930

Alice in Wonderland

Our days were so filled with sightseeing that by the time our 8-day rally ended, we were exhausted.  We had wonderful meals at Peking Duck House, Katz's Deli, B Smith's, Mustang Harry's, DeNico's in Little Italy and our favorite dinner was at Churrascaria Plataforma, a Brazilian Rodizio Steak House.  Of course, add to that, lunches out every day, I think we gained 10 pounds!  We went to two Broadway shows, Cinderella and Wicked.  Both were excellent.  We were in Little Italy during the San Gennaro Festival, an annual salute to the Patron Saint of Naples.  The backstage tour of Radio City Music Hall was very interesting and although rehearsals for "America's Got Talent" were going on, the performers were hidden from view.  When we did have time to wander around the streets of New York we were happy knowing we didn't have to live like this on a daily basis.  I think it would be an exciting life if we were younger because many of the neighborhoods were so quaint and away from the hustle and bustle of the "big city" but yet so convenient to things like markets, shopping, and transportation.

SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE A SIGN. . .

Just a few of the signs we saw around New York City.  They never failed to amuse me!

Add 18.75% for tax!  YIKES!!! 

NYC!!!

New York City is an amazing place to visit but one needs more time than a week to see everything.  Our "bus tour" showed us a lot of places but we couldn't stop because of time constraints and that was after spending 10 to 12 hours a day sightseeing!

We were in New York City on an 8-day rally booked through Fantasy RV Tours, who also book FMCA and Good Sam rallies and tours for all you RV'ers out there.  They didn't waste any time getting us out sightseeing.  First stop, after a "light" meal and a drink should have been to take a nap there was so much delicious food at Surf City (at Liberty Harbor Marina & RV Park, Jersey City) but it was off to Alexander Hamilton Park in Hoboken, New Jersey where we got a fantastic view of New York City.  Hamilton Park is near where Hamilton (former Secretary of Treasury) & Aaron Burr (Vice President) had their duel on July 11, 1804.  Hamilton was shot and died the next day.  The Lincoln Tunnel access covers the actual site.  The duel was in New Jersey because it was illegal to duel in New York, where they were from.

Lee took this picture with his iPhone

Manhattan skyline, this part of the Hudson River is where Sully Sullenberger successfully landed a US Airways plane, in 2009, after the plane had hit a flock of Canadian geese.  Everyone survived. (Tall building is Empire State Building)

Sunset from the Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center, unfortunately I couldn't get close enough to the glass panels to stick my camera through the small opening to get a clear shot

The top of the Chrysler Building at sunset, taken from the top of Rockefeller Center

One must practically lay on the ground to look up at the top of the buildings in New York.  Could be bad if one has vertigo!

The Flatiron Building, completed in 1902, is triangular in shape, 5th Ave. and Broadway

Lady Liberty at night, as we did a champagne cruise around her, we visited her later in our visit

It's difficult to take really clear pictures with a "point and shoot" camera when the boat is rocking and rolling, and no, it's not because of the champagne!

The beams from Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center stood before 9-11-2001, are only lit during the week of September 11.  Our visit to the site was on Sept. 12, a few days after these pictures were taken.

Grand Central Terminal celebrated its 100th birthday in 2013.  It had undergone a 12-year renovation getting ready for its big birthday and it is once again beautiful and elegant, not to mention busy!

The High Line,  a 1-mile linear park built on a part of an old elevated New York Central Railroad spur called the West Side Line

View from the High Line

Washington Square Park, Lower Manhattan

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, building started in 1892

I'm not sure what has happened to my blog but obviously this is not all of New York City, about half of this posting has disappeared.  Sometimes I dislike computers a whole lot!  And this is one of those times.  The rest of New York will be in another post.

Niagara Falls & Erie Canal

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

EEK!!!  Trying to plan our route, catch up on my blog and sightsee can be overwhelming, there's just never enough time.  I don't always trust our GPS so I like to plot our route on Streets and Trips or look at the overall picture in the atlas.  We like to stay off the interstates as much as possible and use state highways because they are much more scenic.  It may be a little slower because of all the little towns but we're not in that big of a hurry so it works for us.  We have had a couple of days of relaxation in Gasport, New York, in preparation for our arrival in Jersey City on Saturday, Sept. 7, for our New York City adventure.  I am looking forward to not having to make any decisions as to where we want to go, what we want to see or when we want to see it.  Those decisions will be made by Fantasy RV Tours, the company we booked our rally through.

American Falls on left and Horseshoe Falls on right - Lee's iPhone took a terrific panoramic shot!

Rainbow Bridge between U.S. and Canada(on left)

Viewing platform near American Falls

Waiting to get on Maid of the Mist boat ride at Niagara Falls.  The blue plastic ponchos were definitely needed, just not this soon - it was too hot and humid!  This is only half the people on our tour boat.

We're getting closer to American Falls

We're really close to American Falls and the mist is getting heavier and it's getting windier - time to put the camera away

The  next boatload of people ready to get wet!

I guess I didn't put the camera away soon enough, that's a drop of water in front of my face!

American Falls

One more shot of American Falls and the viewing platform

American Falls in the foreground; mist in the background is from Horseshoe Falls

On the Cave of the Winds walkway, Niagara Falls State Park, New York - one could almost touch the falls.  From here it's up to the Hurricane Deck where Bridal Veil Falls create tropical storm-like conditions with winds up to 68 mph.  A cave was discovered in 1834 behind the fall and tours began officially in1841 until 1920 when a rock fall caused it to be closed because it was unsafe.  The tour reopened in 1924 with walkways and decks in front of the falls and that is what one sees today.  The decks and walkways are removed each fall and rebuilt each spring.  The cave was totally demolished in a 1954 rockslide and then really finalized with the dynamiting of a dangerous overhang.

LOCKPORT, NEW YORK AND THE ERIE CANAL

Erie Canal, Lockport, NY - this was the part of the Erie Canal we visited.  The Canal was built between 1817 and 1825 and was originally 40' wide and 4' deep, had 83 locks with a rise of 568' between Lake Erie and the Hudson River.  The work was all done by hand.  Horses and/or mules pulled boats along a 10' wide towpath.  Governor Clinton broke ground in 1808 but I don't know what happened between then and 1817 when they actually started construction.  Perhaps that is why it was sarcastically referred to as "Clinton's Big Ditch".  By the time it was completed though, it was considered an engineering marvel.   Between 1836 and 1862, the canal was widened to 70' with a depth of 7' and the number of locks was reduced to 72.  In 1903, the state decided to widen it again, between 120' and 200' with a depth between 12' and 14', but it wasn't completed until 1918.  The number of locks was reduced to 57, and it runs from Albany to Buffalo, a total of 363 miles

Erie Canal

Niagara County Courthouse, Lockport

Upside Down Bridge, Lockport, NY

Upside Down Bridge, called that because the support system is under the bridge rather than on top of the bridge.  Building it like this allowed trains not to be concerned about the width of their loads and it was also a cost savings because the bridge didn't have to be so wide. It is rumored that it was built this way to limit the number of boats that could traverse the Erie Canal because the railroad didn't want to lose business.  

Approaching Lock 34

The doors are closing behind us

The "Big Bridge", the widest bridge in the U.S. - 399' wide and 129' long, built in 1914

This church, along the Erie Canal in Lockport, NY, was built by an Englishman for his wedding.  He wanted a church like the ones in England and since there were none, he had this one built.

I know pink is the color of Breast Cancer Awareness campaigns, but I've never seen pink garbage cans before, but they had them in Lockport

John Roebling, builder/designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, lived in this house

The "Flight of Five" locks, built in the 1860's, originally there were two sets of these locks but in the early 1900's when the canal was enlarged, one set was removed and this one was retained for use as a spillway.

POISON IVY!  Be on the lookout!!!

The "Cave" blasted out of solid rock, Lockport, NY.  Water filled this tunnel and supplied the power to the manufacturing plants built on top of the tunnel.

All Saints Roman Catholic Church

ONTARIO, CANADA

Niagara-on-the-Lake - this small town has beautiful flowers everywhere

The Clock Tower in Niagara-on-the-Lake is dedicated to Canadians who died serving their country.

Looking across the Niagara River at Fort Niagara in the U.S.

Horseshoe Falls

Rainbow over Horseshoe Falls

The rainbows over the falls changed every minute or so.

Looking at American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls from Canada

Another rainbow, waiting for dark and the lighting of the falls

OHHHH!!!

AHHHH!!!

WOW!!!

LE ROY, NEW YORK

THE BIRTHPLACE OF JELL-O

Jell-O was "invented" in 1897 by Pearle Wait, a carpenter who wanted to earn money during the winter because there was no carpentry work.  He came up with a fruit flavored gelatin that his wife named Jell-O.  Because he didn't know how to market it, he sold his formula for $450 in 1899.  With proper advertising and marketing, by 1902 Jell-O sales amounted to $250,000.  As the saying goes "the rest is history".

The Jell-O Girl, introduced in 1904