First Day in New York City

Friday, June 14 and we are heading off again to New York City and Washington DC. This time we are traveling with our friends, Holly and Bob. After an hour and a half delay we had an uneventful flight from LAX to Newark Airport in New Jersey. We took the bus to New York City and found our way from Grand Central Station to our hotel, The Renaissance Inn by Marriott on 48^th Street between Lexington and 3^rd Avenue. We have a very nice room on the 11^th Floor.

Holly & Suzanne at Lincoln Center

For our first day here, on Saturday, we managed to travel from Lincoln Center near Central Park to Staten Island and walk about 3 ½ miles to do that! We picked up brochures at Lincoln Center, admired the fountain in the central plaza, and got our first glimpse of the outdoor art work sponsored by the City. We saw the Red-Necked Grebe – a huge statue of that bird made from recycled wood and sporting two baby grebes riding on his back. This is the first in a series of 12 statues of endangered species birds placed along Broadway from here to 190^th Street.

Suzanne and the Red-Necked Grebe

Then we led Holly and Bob on a whirlwind subway ride to the end of the line in Battery Park and got on the Staten Island Ferry. We rode it to Staten Island, turned around and came back. It is a lovely way to see the harbor and the Statue of Liberty and appreciate the changing skyline of New York City as you come back.

We spent some time looking at the World Trade Center, the new Subway Station that looks like a huge white bird, and  the 9/11 Memorial before we headed back to the hotel. Day 1 in New York City!