My phone reminded me this morning that a year ago I was in New York City, specifically midtown Manhattan. So now that the statute of limitations has (presumably? hopefully?) run out, the tale can be told and the pictorial evidence can be shared. The backstory is that my daughter was invited to visit a friend of hers that had scored an internship at Macy’s corporate HQ and belatedly realized that while the friend would be working weekdays, she’d have a lot of time on her hands by herself until quitting time and happy hour. So my younger son and I graciously agreed to drop everything, found cheap flights to JFK and an even cheaper hotel (gulp…), and thus got to enjoy an impromptu four days in New York. I hadn’t been there in several years, and my kids had never been there although they are well seasoned world travelers so it wouldn’t be too difficult; as usual we would try to survive and enjoy things on a shoestring budget.
Bright (ok, it was very dark) and early we departed, and arrived around midday. Since my son is the airplane buff he of course wanted to check out the old TWA Flight Center at the airport which has semi-recently been remade into a hotel. Always looking for reasons to dilly-dally, I duly agreed and we made our way to the correct terminal via JFK’s people-mover in order to access it. Buckle up and join us.
Here it is as seen from airside, i.e. Terminal 5 which is the terminal one needs to take the AirTrain to. Note the Lockheed Constellation, it has been turned into a cocktail bar…but first we need to cross the road somehow.
…which is best done via one of the two fallopian-tube like structures that turn your steps into a gently floating sensation as you travel towards the destination…
And then you’re all of a sudden in the middle of the Eero Saarinen designed TWA Flight Center, where everything is designed to still look as it did “back in the day” when it was supposed to look like the future; weird how that works. I duly parted my hair a little, stood a little straighter, clutched my non-existent Homburg, umbrella, briefcase and newspaper, and strode across the floor with purpose, as one apparently did “back in the day” whilst heading toward the future.
Apparently this is exactly how it was, there were a number of small “areas” such as the beauty salon and the Twister Room, along with several other opportunities to spend time and money while waiting for one’s flight. Just like today but not. Consenting adults generally don’t play Twister as much in public anymore.
The lounge/waiting area. I love those tulip tables (also a Saarinen design), we have a larger one as our main eating table currently, but sadly without red velour benches around it.
The Connie a little closer-upper. I think it was too early for it to be open although isn’t it technically five o’clock somewhere?
There’s the old departures and arrivals board; while the floor looks like gray concrete, it’s actually billions of little white “penny” tiles with grout. Having installed penny tiles as an accent in a bathroom in my current house, I shuddered at the prospect of the sheer volume here. But then I spied…ooh, cars! Old cars! Lemme down!
Things don’t get much jollier than a Fiat Jolly. Of course in the correct TWA corporate colors…
And then a Lincoln Continental convertible right outside with two ladies that were resting on it and not about to move for me.
Every good 1960s scene needs a colorful VW Microbus to complete the picture.
And if that’s a little too much levity, a Chrysler Newport always adds a little gravitas back into things, even in powder blue as this one is.
These all seem to be part of a “permanent collection” that certainly adds to the atmosphere, but the whole thing is done with more of a preservation aspect to the experience rather than a kitschy vibe, which it could certainly have been perceived as. Although Jerry Lewis and Tony Curtis doing lines from “Boeing Boeing” might not be out of place either…In any case, if you’re a fan of all things early 1960s (don’t be shy, I know there are some of you out there, come on now…), you pretty much owe it to your gestalt to check this place out in person; pictures (mine, anyway) certainly do not do it justice.
I’m not sure if the Pinto was coincidental to the scene or there on purpose. Love the license plate though, the car itself was magnificent (for a Pinto).
Here’s a postcard-perfect picture (alright, a picture of a postcard anyway), of the place from the other side of the street. The cars I just showed were all along the center and the right promenade behind the TWA signage. Connie and the fallopian tubes are on the other side of the building.
And this is a similar angle present day taken by me as we got back on the AirTrain to get to the terminal that let us out to go and find the train into town…here we go!
And BAM(!), we are in Manhattan! There is no easier and more filling way to eat tasty food anywhere in Manhattan than to find (“find” = “can’t miss”) one of the carts of either The Halal Guys or The Real Halal Guys or The Only Halal Guys or The Best Halal Guys or in this case 4Guys Halal Food or about at least a dozen more vendors/chains/whatever selling a huge plate of hot rice, meat, veggies, with delicious sauce for what used to be $5 but now is usually closer to a tenner I think. This time I realized there are also regional specialty versions available of which I sampled a couple. I’ve never been disappointed by any of them, and while I do love me a genuine Sabrett’s hot dog, there is no way the Halal product is any worse for one’s health than any hot dog ever made.
This is also when my son remarked that he had thought all the honking in NY was just something put into the TV shows he had watched that took place there, he hadn’t realized it was how it actually is. You get used to it, it’s just background music after a few minutes…it is odd though, other cities are not that way.
Somehow we found a hotel with bunk beds! This was a tiny place with a shared bathroom situation which definitely threw me for a loop, but it was clean and just as important, cheap. And we never saw anyone in any bathroom or hallway, although there were always people in the lobby. If you’ve never been in a New York City hotel room, just imagine any hotel room you’ve ever stayed in, no matter the brand, then shrink it to about a quarter of that size (at best) and quadruple the price (also at best). Now you’re close.
Anyway, this was in midtown on E. 49th near 3rd, about three doors down from the Ukrainian Embassy with several other embassies within a block or two, a temple across the street, and lots of restaurants within steps along with easy access to all kinds of sights, sounds, experiences, and transportation. This city, it doesn’t sleep. We didn’t stay in the room much, and of course just dropped our bags, put a couple of drinks on the AC unit below the window which ended up working better than any mini-fridge to cool them down, and set out exploring.
There’s a Citroen H-Van everywhere nowadays and while there were actually 473,289 of these built over 34 years, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that there are currently more than that in service nowadays, it’s a lot like the Chevelle SS in that regard.
No, we did not go in. And we did not kick our legs either. But it’s an obligatory picture and was close by.
And we were hungry, so Halal it was! Delicious. And yes, we just sat down on the border of a fountain and ate it while people walked by and lived their own lives. I believe this is the corner of Park Avenue and E. 48th Street.
If you’ve ever seen me write about travel, you know it soon devolves, excuse me, I mean evolves, into cars pretty quickly, no matter the location. So here we go as we walked off our filling dinners. These two Scion iQ’s (Toyota’s probably superior take on the Smart Car) double the number I’d seen in the last year in one fell swoop.
And then a Lexus HS250h, which paired a sedan both with a hybrid drivetrain (battery and 2.4l I-4 engine, think more or less Camry hybrid powertrain but the size of a Prius in sedan form) and some luxurious appointments, approximately 20,000 or so sold was the sum total of three model years (2010-2012) which was considered a failure in the marketplace. See, even Toyota doesn’t always get it right.
There’ll always be some W124s about, this one looks pretty much like my old 1992 400E did, one I never should have sold.
What could be more useful to cross the jungle that is Midtown traffic while heading to the Upper West Side in than a first generation Range Rover?
Of course nobody ever went wrong choosing an E39 BMW 540i, especially with those twin-spoke wheels. Delicious like Halal.
Another iQ! And this one’s for sale, it may be a smart buy. (It was asking $8,900 with 70,000 miles on it, btw).
By now it’s getting late and we were over by the East River, when we came across a lovely W123 (ok, C123) 300CD turbodiesel coupe in the obligatory Hellelfenbein color. That was enough goodness for one evening so we turned back and got ready for the next day….
…which dawned bright and early and after realizing Ess-a-Bagel was not far from our abode (Ess-a makes perhaps NYC’s best bagels and are not to be missed, although even a bad NYC bagel puts most others to shame, admittedly, so no worries there), we indulged and then started walking towards my daughter’s place. This not so old Jeep JK Wrangler apparently woke up and pulled someone else’s pants over its spare tire, for shame.
My daughter caught an Uber to meet us halfway and then we all hopped on the subway for the trip to the lower east side for today’s excursioning. People seem to hate on NYC’s subway (perhaps for their own good reasons) but we had very good experiences and zero trouble. It was efficient, cheap(ish), and quite clean, at least the multiple ones we were on. We did also do some rudimentary route planning (SO much easier nowadays with Google and Apple Maps that tell you when, where, and how long to wait, go, and ride). 25 years ago it all would have taken much longer with much more confusion.
The Brooklyn Bridge is always interesting to visit, somehow we got pictures without street vendors, the elevated walk and bikeway is wonderful and makes for some great car watching below. I think we walked to the first tower, took a few more snaps with the city in the background (around the towers the walkways goes over the traffic to the sides), and then walked back to terra firma instead of continuing on to Brooklyn. Still, very picturesque, uncrowded when we were there and entirely free.
After the bridge we walked some more and I saw my first Cadillac Lyric (this was a year ago, mind you). I’m still not sure if I like it but I guess it’s different enough from what Cadillac used to do, so that’s progress I guess. The rear sort of reminds me of a modern interpretation of Jensen Interceptor, and I like Jensens enough that it’s the middle name of one of our kids.
The front is a little busy and while I realize everyone pans the use of gray, white, black, and other non-colors, somehow I don’t see this thing being even remotely appealing in light blue, mauve, green, or purple. Or even red, yellow, gold, or most other shades. Maybe a really dark red? It looks tech-y, I suppose “modern”, and, well, metallic gray works pretty well on it. The yellow New Jersey license plate looks like an oozing wart on there.
I can’t ever look at an airplane intersecting (visually) with a building anymore without cringing.
Which made our next destination and picture all the more poignant. I have no relation to or personal experience with anyone having anything to do with September 11th, but the last time I was in New York the memorial was still being built, consisting of two huge water sculptures set on the same footprints as the twin towers with a very large plaza, a remembrance building, and a few ancillary items. Now that it and the entire complex is finished (as far as I could tell), it’s simply magnificent, appropriate, and if I may say so, necessary… It will not be forgotten and you’d have to be subhuman no not feel anything when on that ground. It is not to be missed and I don’t know that it’s possible to walk away from there the same person as upon arrival. It is extremely respectful and well done. Very well done.
We needed to take our minds off things, so what better way than to walk a block into some sort of street festival (there seem to always be a few celebrating something or other) and German Bratwursts for everyone. I’ll take two. If only the Halal guys did Wurst. Maybe they do in Frankfurt, I’ll have to check next time I’m that way.
It’s not right there but we ended up in Washington Square Park next (or at least that’s my next picture). This mini Arc de Triomphe (apparently it IS modeled on it) is of course known to us rubes not from NYC as where Sally dropped Harry off after their long drive from Chicago in her yellow Toyota Corona wagon. Alas, no Sally, no Harry, and unfortunately no yellow Toyota Corona this time.
Instead another Scion iQ! The Jan. 6th limited edition, in tactical flat black, apparently. Sorry, there is no way to make a Scion iQ look menacing if that was the goal here.
We aren’t doxxing Taylor Swift but that’s her Greenwich Village house which kind of reminds of a fire station. Apparently it was for sale AND/OR available as an AirbnB, whichever came first or both, so it’s public knowledge already. We would have had to ask, so clearly we can’t afford it. The sidewalk concrete has song lyrics embedded in it. And we were not the only ones there, someone else took pictures as well. I’ll not hesitate to say that I’m not the Swiftie in our bunch, although she doesn’t bother me either. But you’re not here for the pop princess, you’re here for the cars and more, so let’s Shake It Off, walk south down the street and turn right.
Welcome to New York indeed, a 289 equipped Mustang is always a welcome sight, and looks quite good in Navy Blue with a black top for that matter, an uncommon color in my Mustang experience. And then all of a sudden the heavens opened and there was a torrential downpour. We huddled under an open patio umbrella of a restaurant. Well, we huddled until the manager decided he needed to fold the umbrellas and bring them inside but offered to let us wait in his sidewalk dining area.
Which we did although this Covid-era remnant of an outdoor space (something that has caught on and is still in place in lots of establishments) was a little spooky as it sat on a corner and was in a former traffic lane, so you’d watch cars make a left turn, head for your table, and then veer over a lane to get by….
We didn’t eat but they were kind enough to bring us waters and we thanked them profusely. And now we’ll give them a plug, if you’re ever in the West Village, check out Taco Mahal, very friendly people and the food looked good, sort of Indian/Mexican fusion. Man can’t live on Halal alone. Note that it’s only $2 to “guac it up”, Chipotle charges more than that if I’m not mistaken…
After the rain abated we said our thanks and continued on our way, without a specific goal or destination in mind, just wandering about and enjoying whatever we were seeing. I thought Jason Shafer had come to visit but then realized he has the Ford version of this GMC Vandura conversion van so it wasn’t him. While the van wasn’t rocking, we still decided against knocking, and just took a picture instead as it would last longer than the memory alone.
When’s the last time you saw a sweet little red mid’90s Honda Civic EX Coupe like this? It’s still a lovely little shape and quite the survivor here on the mean streets, this era is pretty much peak Honda design for me.
I haven’t seen a street-parked Porsche 993 in years, perhaps more than a decade?
And it’s a Targa at that, with that neatly integrated CHMSL in the hoop spoiler. Lovely car, just sitting there by itself, it bothering nobody and nobody bothering it. This is somewhere in the Chelsea District where we climbed the stairs up to The High Line, a park that is a walking path made from an old elevated railway, so you walk along about fifty (?) feet above the ground and try not to furtively peek into people’s living rooms and corner offices that presumably used to have a lot more privacy than they do now.
And you get to see where the other half parks their cars in lower Manhattan. Yes, these car elevators out in the open with the expensive Mobil 1 European Formula dripping from your car onto whatever is below your car. Or from someone else’s onto your car I suppose. These are dotted all over the place, but from The High Line you get pretty close to at least this one. I have no idea what a space costs but it seems like a bit of a hassle compared to summoning a Lyft or whatever. I suppose when you need to take the brood and the bags to the Hamptons it’s easier with your own car than just renting one.
At this point my daughter left us to meet her friends for an evening of carousing, and somehow we got back across the island (Manhattan Island is 2.3 miles wide at its widest point and 13.4 miles long top to bottom) and entered Grand Central Station on 42nd which was sort of near our hotel. Always a hustle and bustle, it’s a magnificent building inside and out, with what I believe are constellations (or something interesting) painted on the ceilings, marvelous windows, rich stone and tilework, and as usual a heavy security presence.
It was also quite loud but it’s an interesting place with buses, trains, and subways leaving from multiple levels, various shops and eateries scattered about and overall a far larger place than any single picture can capture. Quite clean too, for such a public space, as were much/most of the outdoor areas we visited during our stay. As I recall we exited again and decided to walk towards Central Park, so quite a ways higher up the island.
I took no pictures of Central Park (imagine an enormous park with trees, paths, some water, a surprising amount of elevation changes, constant footfalls of joggers and otherwise amazing silence in the middle of a city and you’re halfway there) but I did take pictures of the nearby Aston Martin showroom (from outside the plate glass windows, my cargo-style dad-shorts were likely not welcome inside), located at 450 Park Avenue. I didn’t realize until just now that they had just celebrated their grand opening the day prior to my breath fogging on their windows.
Anyway, that’s a display version of their 2023 season Formula 1 car, number 18 denoting not the two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, but rather his team-mate Lance Stroll. Lance Stroll just happens to be the son of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll who happens to be the current owner of Aston Martin, which he acquired in large part to provide a better showcase for his son’s talents. Alonso is the better driver, but Stroll is probably better than he commonly gets credit for and likely better than some others on the current grid who got there by themselves, which is better for him than the alternative. Aston did better last year than they are doing this year but the cars do look good and as we all know looking good is worth at least half the race, unfortunately though that’s the half that doesn’t pay.
This is an Aston Martin Valkyrie, not street legal in the U.S. but it is elsewhere (what are the odds on T87 finding one curbside in Tokyo this year? I think he will) and examples can be had for the approximate starting price of $3.5 million dollars with “all standard features”, as Bob Barker used to describe the cars on The Price Is Right. Options are at extra cost of course. Apparently its V12 generates on the order of 1,000 hp and it’s basically a LeMans Hypercar Prototype for the street. I like a back seat so I’m out of the running for one, but maybe that opens a slot for one of you. Act fast.
Which brings us to the last car in the last window and presumably the maid’s car, the CComparatively cheap and cheerful new DB12, starting at the tiddling sum of $245,000. Let’s just take one in each color then. Actually, I’ll give it that, I can’t complain about the color of these, and figure that Jim Cavanaugh got a far better deal on his coat of what looks like the exact same shade of F8 Green.
It was now quite dark out, and we had to walk home, it was a little chilly too so we put foot to pavement and covered the seven short blocks and three longer ones in almost no time…but along the way we found a little hole in the wall walk-up pizza place with three stools and a counter that sold slices for 99 cents (Yes, right around 3rd and 50th or so in Manhattan!) and canned sodas for a dollar. So for $2.98 per person we each had two slices and a soda. This place must have owned its building or something or been 75 years into a 100-year lease, and there was a constant line of people there. Bagels for breakfast, Halal for lunch, and pizza for dinner with some fresh fruit as a snack from a street stand, well under $20 each per day is easily possible if you look.
The next morning after fortifications of more bagels of course, we took the subway south, transferred once or twice, and eventually met up with the daughter in Battery Park in order to brave the high seas. Where were we going, you ask?
A three hour tour, the man said. I’ve heard that before somewhere. Anyway, the seas didn’t start getting rough so all was alright for now. Lovely views of the city from offshore though.
Views everywhere.
Except for the damn boat itself which was crowded like a Bangladeshi ferry but thankfully stayed upright (this time). I swear, our cities and states host some of the best national (and natural) history displays for the lowest (usually) possible prices and then a lot of it is ruined by the private contractor that handles the inevitable transportation or parking need and charges through the nose for the worst possible “service”. I thought we were going to get tazed with a cattle prod the way we were herded down the ramp and onto the boat. Anyway, enough of that, I think you might be able to see our destination!
Ahoy, mateys, yes, Lady Liberty herself! On Liberty Island of course which you pass when heading for Ellis Island from overseas. I’m an immigrant myself but I came through L.A. so I didn’t see the lady when I entered some two score and something years ago now and finally got to get up close and personal here. Anyway, we landed ashore, avoided the cattle prods again, scampered up the ramp and walked all around this thing. It’s again done very well, lots of viewing platforms and points of interest. It turns out you can either stay at the base level, go up to the platform/balcony at the top of the stone just under her feet (we did and it was very cool, great views), or you could go all the way up!
If you’ve ever climbed the original spire of the Notre Dame in Paris you’ll know what this climb was like. Narrow, very steep, claustrophobic, dizzyingly circular, hot, and nothing to see on the way except the heels of the person in front of you about to kick back into your nose. I noted they were far more (and politely) concerned here about the physical condition of the patrons than they were that time in France (there you pay and you’re on your way up), here you were urged to take a real consideration of your own abilities without shame.
This is pretty much at the top where the space expands hugely (speaking strictly comparatively) and you can look out the little windows in the tiara. There’s still only space for a few people at a time though, I suspect the stairs must back up a bit (actually I think they crowd-manage it at the bottom along with the full security and scanner checks.)
I believe we are above the armpit here and wow, we are high up. That’s the promenade around the base at the bottom.
And then looking up towards the torch of course. Quite the experience and highly recommended. We descended and got smoothies at the gift shop and then wandered around some more until the next boat arrived which took us to Ellis Island, the Gateway to America! However we either didn’t or weren’t allowed to take pictures there so I don’t have any. It’s another small island with a big building and some barracks, somewhat grim with a very government budget vibe. I believe they are trying to restore everything but funding is an issue. It’s worth going if you come from immigrants or are one yourself (i.e. anyone who doesn’t identify as a Native American, most “Real Americans” aren’t all that far removed from a huddled, crowded and miserable boat voyage themselves) just to see how things were and how your own people actually got here back in their day, often/usually not via a direct invitation to do so.
That all consumed much of the day but once the Bangladeshi ferry returned to port we got off and shared a knish from a stand (I love knishes, look them up if this is a new food for you). We then made our way back across the island yet again, bought a big bag of cherries from a fruitstand on the sidewalk in Chinatown ($2/lb, 33% less than at home, and fresher/better to boot), and then walked north up I want to say 2nd or one over from there.
That’s where we saw this 70 Series Toyota Land Cruiser in the Bowery. Range Rovers in Midtown, but the 70 Series is better here as some of the streets do have cobbles and sometimes the manhole covers aren’t entirely flush with the asphalt. I’m not sure what happened to his Hi-Lift jack, maybe it’s mounted around the other side.
Followed closely by this mid 1990s Honda Accord LX.
While every Royal Enfield is pretty much an adventure bike, this appears to be a real Royal Enfield Adventure Bike! Good for them, it’s good to see them expanding and sort of thriving.
We discovered Milk Bar’s cookies and other products a few years ago courtesy of a specialty close-out grocer near us that gets interesting regional stuff from all over the country in unpredictable batches, often never to be stocked again. Their cookies and baked goods are generally very interesting and extremely tasty (and not normally available to us except for there), so we were really chuffed to come across an actual outlet of their own as we were walking by. Just another unexpected thing to see.
And then got really tired and just popped in a subway to figure out a way home for the evening…Within minutes we were on our way and back at the hotel shortly thereafter.
And then the next morning headed West across Manhattan again. Here we are outside Cadillac’s Manhattan showroom (I think this is the old new one with a new new one being opened across the street). It’s a weird place for it, they only opened it about a decade ago when Johan de Nysschen was running the place (Cadillac Division I mean, not the dealership). Not the part of town I’d put it in (Aston figured out the showpiece location) but they didn’t ask me so oh well. Anyway, this was the most interesting thing inside, sorry about the color though. Some things never change, huh?
There were however a lot of other dealerships in the area too so maybe it made sense, this Defender was I believe at some sort of importer’s place around the corner.
As was this shorty Mercedes G-Wagen, not a variant we ever got officially. If you can afford fifty Suzuki Samurais but only have parking for one car, then I guess this is the sensible option.
And then we came to the decidedly not shorty USS Intrepid, moored on Pier 86 in the Hudson River and a museum for one and all to visit as we did.
There is lots to see on deck and below (on several levels), not just equipment and aircraft but also accommodations, messes, and whatever else has to do with the business of defense using ships, people, and aircraft.
It’s somewhat incongruous to see a Douglas Skyraider prototype (one of the first 25 built) against the Manhattan skyline.
I do enjoy the graphics on many of this type of machinery. Definitely of an era.
There’s a decent amount of “space” stuff as well. The Enterprise was of course the first of the orbiters to be built almost 50 years ago now and was the one that they tested after launching it from atop a 747.
My little astronauts in the gift shop, channeling Buzz and Sally.
When you are in command, you get a commanding view. Sully landed his plane out there somewhere on what from here looks like a flat runway, not so much when you’re hoping for a Miracle on the Hudson.
But wait, there’s more! They even have a Concorde, in this case a British Airways versions, one of 14 that actually was in service to New York. This one has been renovated since last year and is now back in good form, looking far better than it did then.
Enough of the museums, there’s good stuff on the streets. Check out that XJ Cherokee and what looks like a de-topped Bronco that’s also missing the skin of its rear quarterpanels. Or IS the skin the rear quarterpanel? I could not tell you the model of the little silver Italian car from Maranello though, but someone will know offhand.
We did wander into some sort of Toyota/Lexus showroom/museum that had a guy behind a desk and a few interesting cars to look at. Can’t argue with a pristine FJ40 in mustard yellow, just appreciating through the roof as it ages here.
The Lexus LF-A looks quite good in yellow as well, and was certainly an interesting exercise by Toyota, I suppose showing they could if they wanted to.
Thirty years down the road, I’m finally starting to like the Mk4 Supra shape, this one’s a JDM version and as nice as some of the ones that still exist are, this one is the closest to showroom fresh as I’ve seen. It being in a showroom probably helps that but it was basically new, perhaps just plucked at random off the streets of Tokyo…
Then as soon as we left it started pouring again and we got on a New York City Bus! I believe it was free (could that be?); it looked and felt new, and was a great place to be rather than outside. Public Transit FTW!
We weren’t alone but we were left alone. Pretty soon we got back across to our east side digs…
Brophy-san, you’re my only hope, what is this bus that we were on? Here it is right after we got off.
Turns out it was a hybrid. My kids were looking at me and wondering why would anyone own a car in New York City, it was so easy and cheap to get around here as a tourist.
Wandering around more we stumbled across a mid-2000s Jaguar X-Type 3.0, taking the obligatory pic for my other son. Not a fan of the chrome wheels though, not on a Jag…
The count is now 2:1 in favor of W124 vs W123…
It was interesting to note how the gray in the foreground worked with the grays in the background but yet there were little yellow splotches scattered both in the fore and background as well…
I can’t see Dennis Franz and Jimmy Smits jumping out of a Smart Car on “NYPD Blue” but the only constant in life is change itself.
As we were walking around near the East River late that afternoon all of sudden my son says “Hey, check it out, the UN Headquarters”, like every 14 year old (or 54 year old for that matter I suppose) would naturally recognize the building amongst all the others from half a mile away. That kid, I tell you…
And this was posted above the doorway of the building across the street (up the stairs) from it, which is the vantage point from which the prior picture was taken.
It may not be old, but any Maserati Quattroporte is picture-worthy, if only to have another reason to say Quattroporte.
A Mercedes W140 Coupe may be the polar opposite of a clean-energy bus, yet in NYC they coexist side by side and marks the last picture of the day.
With another not-so-bright but oh-so-early flight scheduled the next morning, it made sense for the three of us to reserve a cab the night before to get us to our respective flights the next morning, who knew that RickyBobby himself would be at the wheel of our LWB Ford Transit Connect taxi and got us to the airport in record time, slicing and dicing through the traffic as if it wasn’t even there.
When we got back to our car after four days, the battery was dead. We waited for the airport service guy to arrive, however an hour into our wait the owner of the van parked in front of us (that was already there when we pulled in based on my location reference picture) happened to come back as well and had better jumper cables than us! His plates? Yes, from New York, he had recently moved here. You meet the nicest people while traveling.
Thanks for joining us, hopefully we can take another trip soon!
Hey that looked like a great trip, reminded me of my only trip to NYC a decade ago. Some of the sights were the same, some not. You really seem to have a knack for finding the hidden and unexpected gems while travelling, Jim.
Couple of thoughts your photos brought up:
During our trip the Statue of Liberty was closed, so we just took the free ferry to Staten Island and watched it sail by. I don’t think I’d want to climb it, I like being high up less and less as I get older. Atop the Empire State Building I was practically pasted to the wall as far from the viewing area as I could get.
The Twin Towers memorial wasn’t done at that time, but it didn’t resonate with me because I’d never been there before, and couldn’t wrap my head around something so terrible happening in the middle of this busy city. Kind of like visiting Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, how could anything bad possibly happen here?
NYC subway is an impressive piece of technology. What other transportation system is still working over a hundred years later with minimal maintenance and upgrades?
Anyway, I’m happy that you have the kind of relationship with your kids that you can do this sort of stuff and have a great time together. Well done to all the Kleins!
I did the Staten Island ferry and saw the Lady in the distance last time (or the first time?) That’s a pretty good ferry ride too, midday it’s virtually empty and makes for a nice ride/side trip even if you never set foot on Staten Island and just go back.
Flying in to NYC is usually pretty special too, often they seem to circle around the city and you get a view of the Statue then as well.
London’s Underground dates back something like 160 years, Paris’ Metro is a few years older than NYs, both are also quite good (excellent, really) for the most part. Transit is a dirt word in the US, unfortunately. The bad parts could be fixed by some money spent not directly on the transit itself but that won’t happen.
Great travelogue, really enjoyed it. Perhaps you should have stayed at the Jane Hotel. It has bunk beds, shared baths (and, like in your experience I never encountered anyone else using the facilities and they were always spotless). But, survivors from the Titanic stayed there back when which gives it some history. And, it has a fun bar, too!
Excellent advertisement for touring Manhattan! I grew up in The Bronx and then we moved to Manhattan to Thirty-First Street and Third Avenue. It certainly is interesting to be a denizen. I never saw the spring unfold until I left New York City at the age of twenty-two and moved to suburban Maryland. The City is a fascinating place. You depict it well.
Very enjoyable little tour, Mr K.
In the shot on the bus were you were “certainly weren’t alone”, I’ll say – for all the world, that’s surely Anthony Bourdain standing in the black shirt. Might account for the free ride.
Btw, I thought your Subaru had been, er, minimized lengthwise, yet here is a Subaru! Might account for the flat battery.
Say, you didn’t catch your flight from the Eero Saarinen terminal, did you?
That DOES look like Mr. Bourdain. Perhaps that’s why I was feeling hungry then. But I usually feel hungry so I don’t know…
That was the other Subaru (the new one, now ten years ago, amazingly), this one I somehow got from my mother a couple of years back and it’s sort of become “the extra car” that we use for this kind of stuff (leaving at the airport) or when something dirty, big, or cumbersome has to go somewhere…
This is a great post! As a former Manhattanite, I love how this account of your trip highlights the friendliness of New Yorkers and brims with positivity about the sights, sounds and experiences. So often we hear people gripe about any of a million little aspects of their trip to NYC. I get it, it’s quite truly not like pretty much anywhere else, and there are certainly pros and cons, but it’s a pretty magical place, really. I’m flying up in late August for a wedding in Northern NJ, but I’m planning to spend a few days with friends in the city. This post makes me want to do touristy stuff, maybe. (I’ve never actually been to the Statue of Liberty- when you live there you just don’t do that kind of stuff.)
And yes, there’s great food in NY, and it doesn’t have to break the budget. Your comment about the cherries struck a chord- when I moved away from NYC I realized right away how lucky I was there to have ready access to so much great fresh produce. As one of the biggest markets in the country for just about any commodity, there’s rarely a shortage of anything, and NYC gets the cream of the crop I think. I guess it just makes sense, with 8.5 million people in a concentrated area there’s a whole lotta people to feed.
(That M50 bus is just the regular MTA crosstown local. I don’t think it was free, but it’s fairly cheap.)
A wonderful city (easily top five worldwide?), one can choose to dwell on the negative aspects of life anywhere or simply enjoy everything else.
The fruit/produce thing really struck us. On the second day we passed a guy with a medium size stand somewhere on Lexington and I bought a tub of blueberries (excellent) for like a dollar and an apple for half that. Then the cherries at a different place in Chinatown this time, and we tried a few peaches too as I recall at another place. it isn’t something I would have expected to see for some reason (i.e. not in a “farmer’s market” or other jacked up price setting) but all was fresh, had a huge assortment, and was priced VERY reasonably compared to back home which usually isn’t the case and just part of everyday life there.
I was JUST making that point to someone the other day! And I firmly believe it. I’ve been to the Statue of Liberty, but then I’m not a New Yorker.
On the other hand, I spent much of my childhood in Washington, DC and to this day I’ve never been up the Washington Monument or inside the White House, and it took my taking kids (to visit their Massachusetts representatives in Congress) in order for me to visit the Capitol.
@Jim: What a WONDERFUL pictorial narration of your trip, and the CARS! I had the chance to spend a day in New York, way back when; I only managed to sail by “Liberty Lady”, but I DID get to visit the Twin Towers, and take pictures at the plaza level, and from the top. The elevator only took a couple of minutes to go from bottom to top! I vicariously enjoyed your tour and the food, LOL!! 🙂
That looks like a fun trip, at least in the delayed-by-a-year retelling. A good read. I’ve only been to Manhattan a few times, and only twice spent any time at all there: once as a 15 year old with my aunt, and about 15 years ago on a rushed 24 hour business trip. The other times I drove across non-stop, with a Connecticut destination. In 1982 in a rented Ford EXP, and in 2016 in my Tacoma. I don’t really remember much about the first time, but in 2016 I was surprised the traffic wasn’t worse. I don’t do much urban driving anymore, but it didn’t seem any more hectic than SF, DC, LA or even Portland, Oregon.
It’s worth going back, I say. I like nature and all too but walking around a city is just as interesting with just as many (yet of course different) varied sights and then the parts of nature you come across poking through are even more special.
You are correct, there were certainly times when traffic looked completely blocked (rush hours) but for the most part it seemed to flow quite well and one did need to be aware of cars speeding by instead of just being able to cross any street at random outside of a crosswalk. SF and LA easily get as congested.
Thanks for thw travelogue, Jim, that was fun. I had to smile at the part about Radio City. My wife and I saw a concert there about 6 years ago, emerged into the 11PM Manhattan night feeling hungry, and found…a Halal Guys food truck. And we ate it on the edge of a raised corporate highrise planter just like that as the city went busily by. Thanks for the reminder of a good memory!
I will add that our first emergence onto the Manhattan streets from the train was different from yours. Up we popped from the dim tunnel to the bright midmorning rat race, and as I am turnind around, taking it in for the first time, what do I see on the granite wall of the toney Swarovski store? A big blob of human excrement stuck to it, at hip height.
Welcome to New York.
Well, I guess that’s an experience that can be had in any city, if you know where to look.
On the plus side, I’m guessing your wife didn’t want to spend a lot of time window shopping there and then as she may have been wont to do otherwise. There’s always an upside…
Hip height? Must have been a pretty tall yahoo…..
Excellent! Brought back many happy memories of times spent there.
We arrived in NYC in 1960 and spent three days there with relatives. Got our first taste of Manhattan in a ’57 Bel Air hardtop; unfortunately my sister, who didn’t take the heat and humidity well, spewed her lunch out the window and down the sides of the Chevy. Fortunately it was yellow. The Empire State Building was the high point, and I’ve made it a point to get up there on just about every trip, although the top of the Rockefeller Building was a great alternative, as it was free and it was almost like a little park up there.
My favorite time there was in 1973 when I was with an experimental theater troupe performing off-off-off Broadway in a West Village building. We were there for 6 weeks so we had our days free to roam the city. I mostly walked, vast distances to try to take it all in.
In my tv career days, I had to go to the city at least once a year, on a pretty generous expense account (nice hotels and restaurants) . Stephanie would come along and spend the days perusing museums. Good times…thanks for evoking them. It’s a great place to visit. Not so sure about living there, although for a couple of months given all the things to do there, now that might be interesting.
I was so busy commenting on the rest of this that I neglected the vehicular aspects of this post. There’s some pretty good car spotting in Manhattan. A combination of lots of money, varied tastes and a general penchant for showing off tends to breed that. But there are also a surprising number of older and even now classic cars hidden in underground garages in toney neighborhoods that might only be used a few times a year, so they’re amazingly preserved. When you see them in use in an everyday kind of way on those occasions when they are out and about, it can be kind of surprising.
Also, that Cadillac Lyric is wearing New Jersey ‘OL’ plates, so it’s a livery vehicle, most likely an airport limo or such. I don’t know why that surprises me, I suppose it makes perfect sense. In my present locale in the Tampa Bay area they’re becoming quite numerous, mostly driven by the country club boomer set.
Yes, a good number of older cars, especially if you have a garage you may well have a car that in the end likely doesn’t get used very much and isn’t exposed to the elements. On the flipside a large number of very nice newer cars were constantly exposed and just streetparked…But yes, some excellent car spotting and lots of CCs there if you just wander around random streets and let stuff find you (not just cars).
The Lyric would seem to make a decent livery car, the shape is fairly upright, you’re not clambering up like in an Escalade or GL450, the luggage space seems accessible, and it’s pretty nice inside with a fancy badge outside. Add the “fuel” efficiency, quiet and smoothness, what’s not to like.
Most enjoyable read. Following retirement, I worked as a consultant for a non-profit whose US headquarters were located in lower Manhattan across from Battery Park. Hence, I became bi-coastal during work trips back and forth and could compare the city with LA and SoCal. I found people more friendly and helpful and that continues to be true on my visits back to the city, primarily for theater. And public transportation works better than in most cities.
Central Manhattan is better policed and maintained and has less crime and problems than the outer boroughs so most tourists take away a better impression of the city than if they were living and working there as housing costs are prohibitive for most to live in Manhattan. Nevertheless I think there has been a degradation of life in the city in the last year that has made many hesitant to ride the subway, closed businesses due to shoplifting and other forms of theft, et al. Watch YouTuber Cash Jordan for details.
For those that might be deterred from visiting based on your tiny hotel room, rest assured that if you are willing to spend more, there are many options from Marriott (all brands) et al, that offer decently sized rooms and amenities for reasonable prices, depending on the timing of your visit. I totally agree that one can eat well in NYC for less than most would imagine. Not just street vendors but also many local restaurants (Italian!) that are superb and reasonably priced.
Great to know that Riley maintains his interest in aviation and that you were able to check more things off of his list. I’ve not seen the restored TWA terminal as I fly into Newark. If you are ever near Indianapolis, make the trip to Columbus to see Saarinen’s magnificent Miller House, among other mid-century modern wonders centered in that small city. I think your family would enjoy it very much.
Thanks for sharing your family travels. They are always fun to read and you find most interesting vehicles along the way. My cousin once had a 400E and she also has fond memories of it.
That’s a nice work situation you had there, my brother gets to visit a couple of times a year through his work at a Swiss-based, uh, organization, it’s handy to have the company account…
The room wasn’t bad by any means, it was perfectly serviceable, and if you aren’t there for work, the more time spent outside, the better…I don’t watch most Youtubers as I’ve found that most have figured out that negativity sells better than positivity, their “expose’s” tend to tear things down further than to help in seeking solutions to solve whatever the underlying problems are.
Riley is still interested in aviation but the whole Boeing fiasco over the last few years has turned him off a but, at least publicly, he certainly doesn’t proudly wear a Boeing sweatshirt as he used to. Someone (or multiples) from that company needs to spend some time in some sort of confinement rather than yet another golden parachute being opened for them, just when you thought all the baggage was out in the open more gets found…
The 400E (W124) may be one of the most underrated and under the radar subtly magnificent Mercedes cars of the last 50 years.
Thanks for your insights!
I concur about some YouTubers. Cash Jordan to a certain extent has moved in the very direction of which you speak and I was hesitant to recommend his site – though he has identified some undeniable problems not being well handled by NYC leadership at present.
I share Riley’s disappointment with Boeing, a company I held in very high esteem over the decades (who wouldn’t rather fly in a 747 than the design compromised, hastily tested DC-10 back in the day?). I’ve read that moving management to Chicago and separating it from engineering and production in Seattle and Everett was the beginning of many problems.
I’d date it back further, to 1997 when Boeing bought McDonnell-Douglas. Nothing like swallowing your long-time competitor to make one feel on top of the world and slack off.
The other really big shift was the shift in management mentality, to one that has increasingly taken hold: managing by numbers, resulting in such huge mistakes as spinning off Spirit, which makes Boeing fuselages. Nothing like outsourcing to reduce costs as well as quality.
The whole Boeing fiasco is a huge black hole, and a very sad reflection of how priorities get lost for the sake of maximizing short-term profits.
What a great tour, there’s simply too much to look at! Did they also sell heiße Hunde at the German Food stall?
And the TWA Flight Center reminds me of the central train/bus station in Arnhem, NL.
I like that station, the multiple levels and access thereto are great. It does look similar,
I didn’t see any generic heisse Hunde and didn’t see any Schweinehaxe either, mainly Brat und Weisswurst und Brezel, nur mit Senf, nicht Butter. For the most part the Americans do their pretzels more crunchy whereas a good German one (at least in the south) is nice and plump with the biggest part almost like a Laugenwecke and well thick enough to slice in half and dress with butter…
Richtig!
I guess Spätzlepfanne mit Putenstreifen was not on their menu either? (just found it on the Speisekarte of a German restaurant, for the record)
Glad to see that the Kleins had a great time in Manhattan – no other place quite like it. You do paint a very positive picture and also show that it’s possible to spend time there without busting the budget. I’m also glad to see you introducing your kids to the city at a young age – I predict they’ll be going back often!
I lived and worked in New York in the late 1980s and fell hard for the place and its people. I have visited countless times ever since, often for business, more recently about 3-4 times year to see my daughters, other family, and friends. The city has changed in so many ways over the past 40 years, mostly for the better (cleaner, safer, perhaps a little less chaotic), with some more troubling aspects (growing numbers of homeless, the immediacy of occasional bad behavior happening right before your eyes, and the ever climbing rents and housing prices) becoming more apparent than, say, 20 years ago. Like you, I always enjoy myself, and make sure to have at least one memorable meal (not always expensive), hit at least one cultural attraction, and remain open to talking to the surprisingly friendly locals, and am usually rewarded with one of those only-in-New York experiences.
With respect to the cars, it always amazes me to encounter so many vehicles that are rarely seen elsewhere in the U.S. (and I live in one of the most car-crazy locales in the country). The sheer variety is stunning, including EVs of every kind, the gamut of luxury cars, and, as noted above, the well-preserved subterranean garage dwellers out for a spin in their 1970s or 80s dog-dish hubcap glory. Your photos serve as a reminder that NYC is one of the few places where a Smart Car or IQ may make more sense than larger vehicles.
Ah, you make me jealous, and yes, it’s quite unique. I’m somehow at the point of my life where I’m now more interested (and still able) to re-enjoy places that I liked the first time around and find myself revisiting now rather than starting over from scratch with some other places. The advantage is that you can take a bit deeper of a dive than just hitting the “must-see’s” as those are generally already out of the way and you already have the general lay of the land in mind. I’m sure I’ll miss out on some other great places but have no regrets in regard to seeing more of NYC, or Tokyo, Berlin, or a few other places, and in fact not even necessarily seeing that much more in those place but in large part just revisiting what I enjoyed previously.
I grew up 22 miles north of Times Square. Because we were normally in search of peace, we usually headed north (mostly to the sylvan lakes that were preserved as part of the NYC water supply. They let you keep your rowboat there!).
But the city was accessible, and your travelogue brought back memories, Jim. One was our trip to the then called Idlewild, when the TWA airport first opened. The restoration looks just as I remember it. I rarely visited the “landmarks” as has been noted above, but did get to the top of the twin towers years later when visiting friends.
The city has gone through many cycles, from the glamour of the 40s to less savory intervals in between. Now that only rich people can live there, it has been thoroughly gentrified, cleaned up, slicked up, and sanitized, as your photos show. It will probably stay that way until climate change wreaks its own kind of misery to those who live there.
Traffic within Manhattan always seems much better than what you expect it to be. It is the massive flows in and out that take your breath away (I am talking 35 years ago, haven’t been there since). You are driving 50 plus mph, inches from the car in front and inches from the car behind in a riverine flow, up, down and around streets and highways designed decades earlier. Amazingly, it usually works, with only one or two spectacular crashes daily.
A personal note: a relative’s marine engineering company (in the 30’s, I believe) built the slips at each end of the Staten Island Ferry. They may still be there.
Thank you, Jim.
Thank you for your memories, it’s a wonderful place with still a very diverse population. I’d forgotten that JFK used to be named Idlewild, and still have to look at a map to see where exactly Jamaica, Yonkers, Long Island etc are in relation to Manhattan…
Excellent travelogue. The restoration of the Saarinen terminal at JFK is something I’d like to see. I haven’t been there (JFK) since it was still kind of in actual use, and I recall walking through it from one connection to another. I am kind of puzzled by some of the choices made in the restoration. It looks from the photos as if it’s mostly a “just look” thing versus something that’s being used for something. Shirley they don’t expect anyone to play twister or sit in those beauty parlor chairs. The lounge area looks roped off. And a Fiat Jolly? Are they expecting Jerry Seinfeld? (I hear he has several of those)
Oh, and..
That’s because other cities aren’t filled with New York drivers. 😉
I believe the hotel is the tower in the background to the side. The area behind the Jolly looks in use, I believe that’s the reception and some sort of upstairs lounge area? The luggage carts under the arrival/departures sign and the people near the Lincoln and VW makes it obvious that’s the (obvious) hotel entrance. It wasn’t superbusy when we were there, it could be the roped-off lounge just wasn’t open yet, maybe when the bar-plane opens? There was also a pretty well-curated gift shop not in frame with lots of TWA branded stuff, and I believe a couple of other things like the beauty salon and Twister Room but different subjects, I think they were for show only, but who knows what happens after dark….
I think the New Yawkers were honking at all the Massachusetts-plated cars like everyone else does but I could of course be mistaken…
I’ll just add that my Dad arrived in this country (via San Francisco) aboard a TWA Connie which I would assume was identical to the one now on static display at JFK. He was a huge airplane fan and used to do things like arrange trips just so he could fly on particular planes (he flew on a BA Concorde several times with my mom…perhaps the same one that’s now at the Intrepid). The Constellation was the first plane I knew anything about as his telling me about flying it into San Francisco after a multi-stop trip from Taipei and then disembarking not speaking a word of English was the stuff of (my) childhood lore. He would have loved to see the plane at JFK; I’m fairly sure he’d find a way to stay in the hotel there and spend time in the cocktail bar.
I love what you wrote about immigrants.
Without immigrants, this country would not exist, more recent ones don’t want anything different than the first batch did, I’ll leave it at that.
I think I came over on a World Airways DC-10… Not exactly a Connie but it did the job. 🙂
Fantastic adventure! Thank you for sharing so much! Beautiful pics. One of my favourite cities.
The bus is a Nova Bus LFS (Low Floor Series). Manufactured in Plattsburgh, New York.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Bus_LFS
Thank YOU for identifying the bus!
Jim, what a fantastic memento of The Klein Family New York holiday! As I read, looked, and scrolled, I kept forgetting this was from a year ago, as you had mentioned at the beginning. This is vacation goals, for sure.
The Statue Of Liberty thing, as pure Americana as it is, doesn’t at all sound like what I would think it was. But then, what would one expect? Elevators? Still this may be one thing I have to do.
Fantastic assortment of cars, and I feel like you were the Curbside Whisperer for the random appearance of that ’77 or ’78 Pinto (which, by the way would have had that safety shield thing in place by then).
That TWA terminal is a beautiful thing to behold. Last time I was in NYC for any significant amount of time maybe fifteen years ago, plans had yet to be made for it. I’m inspired by what ended up happening there.
Thank you for this great post.
Thank you. Thinking about it, there may have been an elevator in the lower part of the Statue of Liberty, i.e. from base level up to the viewing platform, there were seemingly too many people there for them all to have traipsed up stairs…. But for sure not up to the top. It’s worth doing if you have the time while in the city but I recommend either going early or late so there’s still time for other stuff that day.
Boy did this ever tug on the heart strings. I was born in a Catholic Hospital, in the Bronx, not far from Yankee Stadium near the end of 53. Probably why I am still a rabid N.Y. Yankee fan. Only lived in the general vicinity until 1962. Long Island for a few years. Had my first fight there after an older kid shoved me, a 3 year old into the mud off Long Island. Not happy so picked up a rake and hit him over the head the story goes.
Moved across the GWB in 58 to Bogota but was always in the City as grandparents lived in Park Chester and Throgs Neck 2 blocks from the water. Now what I recall, that is different from MTN, is the fabulous tomatoes that came in from all the Jersey truck farms. To this day I still grow tomatoes in the backyard and always have tomato sauce ready to go in the fridge ever since 1973. Moving to Maryland in 62 took away those monthly visits to the City and so grandparents came down.
When we left Maryland, in 1966, for California I was not happy. Then I went to the Santa Monica beach that July and said who needs the East Coast. The last time back was 1980 and the last time I saw relatives that weren’t my grandparents. Walked in a grid pattern the whole of Lower Manhattan on a Saturday. My father’s parents aghast. Like DougD went to the top of the Empire State Building right up against the glass. When I got to the World Trade Towers took the elevator up to the viewing platform. Back then the open platform was set back about 15 feet from the edge and only a single tier railing around. Windy as hell and I’m sure DougD would be on his stomach at the elevator door.
As Jim mentions, Lady Liberty is the tourist thing to do. I have never been to her nor have I been to Alcatraz despite being in the Bay Area, since 1981 full time. Yet her stairs remind me of the same stairs I climbed to reach the top of the Vatican Dome in 1976. I don’t recall stairs to the roof of Notre Dame but was there staring at the Gargoyles and channeling Igor. Would like to see Ellis Island since I know ancestors, from Ireland, went through there in the very early 1900’s.
Ok, DougD close your eyes as we are almost at the edge of the building and no safety line.
That give me the willies just looking at the photo 🙁
Speaking of cars I saw three today that might fit in N.Y. Two Alfa’s from the 70’s. A Spider in red and a GTV in a mustard yellow. As always in car so no pictures. Then to top it off I was in Alamo and waiting to make a left turn across traffic with a line of cars coming my way. One jumped out right away in that I have never seen a front like that. What is it? Closer and close for me to see a small red square in the very prominent radiator grille like a Mark. Then I see RR on a red background? Since when? The vehicle then turned right at me and it was a Rolls Royce SUV in gray. Gray, of course! Why not a more traditional RR color? Checked on line and see this is an over $500,000 2023 SUV! None in N.Y.? One doesn’t see a RR out here if at all. It is always Tesla, Porsche, or some Italian sports car. I want to call it Culligan 🙂
Excellent piece. I have not flown through JFK, but if the opportunity ever presents itself, this is a must see.
There used to be an old Lockheed Constellation (Connie) in Toronto parked in front of a hotel, I think repurposed as a restaurant. Or possibly just there for show.
It was eventually dismantled, moved to Seattle and repainted in Trans Canada Airlines colours and put on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
What a fantastic journey .
Nice to see your son enjoyed it too, your daughter lives in new York ?. college perhaps .
NYC is _much_ nicer looking than it was in times past (60’s & 80’s) , the roads look decently paved etc. .
-Nate
Enjoyed reading your travelogue. I lived in NYC in the mid ’70s while getting my engineering degree at Cooper Union. Now when I visit I’m struck by how much cleaner and gentrified it is. In hindsight the ’70s was the nadir of the city. On the other hand that’s when and where punk rock was invented. Likely not a coincidence.
Never got there, but I will have to one day. Ellis Island, Grand Central, Statue of Liberty, Broadway all call….
Thanks for sharing the Klein Family Traipse! I was last there in 1986 or 87 while visiting relatives. I entered the place on a train and disembarked beneath the old World Trade Center. My first tourist move was to find the elevator to the top floor.
I also climbed Lady Liberty – all the way because the elevator was broken. How great that you could experience it all with your kids! And in a kinda CC Effect, I just watched the 1959 movie North By Northwest, where Hitchcock surreptitiously filmed in the lobby of the UN building.
And did I miss it, or did you not buy and eat a big folded-over Nyawk pizza slice?