Looking for new activities

We always like to find new things to do in New York. However, on Wednesday, the day after the 4^th we repeated a couple activities. We met Hildie in the  afternoon and spent a couple of hours walking

Hildie and Suzanne on the High Line

in the High Line Park. We did this a couple of years ago, but it has really changed – I’m not sure for the better. All of the plantings have matured, but somehow they did not seem as beautiful as before. The meatpacking neighborhood has become very “in” and consequently many of the lovely old buildings have been torn down and an architectural variety of high rises are being built. I’m sure it will quickly become an expensive and highly desirable place to live! Because of all the building there were many scaffolds all along the park which obstructed views and detracted from the art work. After our walk we had dinner and saw a musical, “War Paint,” starring Patti Lupone and Christine Ebersole.

Don on the One Step Bridge

The next day, we did find something new to do. We had never been to Snug Harbor on Staten Island so decided to do that. We took the free Staten Island ferry to the island and then the bus for a short ride to the gates of Snug Harbor, Old Sailors Home. It was built in the 1800’s as a home for old and weary sailors. After many permutations it is now owned by the city and called the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden. It is truly a beautiful spot. The buildings are old and in need of renovation, but the gardens are gorgeous. We especially enjoyed the Chinese Scholars Garden. It is a replica of one built in China and we had fun pointing out the features we had learned about in our trip to China; the moon gate, one-step bridge, tile patterns on the floors, meandering stream, tea house, windows framing views of plants,strange shaped rocks, tiled roofs with interesting water spouts, a seemingly endless variety of patterns. I would definitely recommend this as a spot to spend an afternoon.