OTHER SIGHTS AROUND NEW YORK CITY--
The Big Apple for Late Night                          
"New York, New York. It's a toddlin' town."
I hummed the words in my head as we stepped onto the 9:21 a.m. Metro North train to the Big Apple on March 30.
"The Bronx is up and the Battery's down, and people ride in a hole in the ground."
Many times before we had taken advantage of senior citizen status to ride the rails into the city for the day, whether it was for a Yankee baseball game, a Broadway matinee performance, a day at the Metropolitan Museum, or a tour of a historic site.
"New York, New York. It's a helluva town."     

Still in the morning shadows, the
Easter decorations at Rockefeller
Plaza promise spring weather.

Flowers adorn the Plaza as early warm
temperatures bring out tourists.

                                                                                                                                   The melody haunted my brain.  The lyricist certainly nailed that one, I thought, as we settled in a two-seater closer to the back of the train. I looked up the words:  from a 1944 musical called On the Town with songs by Leonard Bernstein.  But interestingly, "helluva" was changed to "wonderful" for the movie version in order to make the language acceptable to the public. "Toddlin'," "helluva," "wonderful"... it didn't matter at all.  The city was a great place to visit, and today's trip included free admission to a taping of "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert.
Rockefeller Center wasn't quite as spectacular at Eastertime as it had been at Christmas, but the decorations still provided an interesting sight-seeing stop.  Little kids gazed wide-eyed at the rotating Easter rabbit, and adults marveled at the flowers already creating a canvas of color across the pavilion promenade. We checked out the Met museum store at the Center, a favorite stop for unique gifts.

Emergency vehicles block traffic after a crane collapses.

A crane accident near Wall Street downtown earlier in the day attracted lots of attention.  We stopped at Starbucks for coffee and checked out the emergency personnel and vehicles on the scene.  A building crane had fallen on a man's car, killing him and injuring several on the street a block away.  Business owners in the neighborhood assured us that people in the vicinity had been warned to stay away as winds whipped up and operators attempted to dismantle the heavy equipment that morning.  It seemed the stuff that action movies are made of, but there wasn't much action.  Most of the emergency workers stood waiting for orders, and onlookers who verified what had happened soon lost interest. Only a couple New York City firemen who directed traffic showed any urgency when a bus tried to turn down the street and then back out.

Only those with hand stamps
are allowed to return for Colbert.

We had come to the city for the afternoon taping of "The Late Show," but there was plenty of time before the line for ticket confirmation formed at 2 p.m..  Weeks earlier Andy had qualified for tickets to the taping of "The Tonight Show," starring Jimmy Fallon.  It was fun, so he had risen to the challenge of trying for another taping. 
Fallon had taught us the ropes of preparing: no cell phones, no photography whatsoever, be prepared for lots of waiting in lines but be in line before the time given on the ticket, use the rest rooms early, be ready for any seat assignment, make a lot of noise, don't leave your seat once you enter the theater, and don't expect pictures or autographs.

Visitors and residents alike crowd Central Park
as springtime temperatures awake nature in the Big City. 

After checking identification and proof of admission, Fallon and company had given each person a letter-number combination and seated us inside with comfortable lounge chairs, spacious restrooms and TV show clips for entertainment.  Then they called the groups by letter and asked each group to line up as they called out our numbers.  And the letter-number combinations were not given in any particular order, but those in charge of distribution were not to be questioned.   Probably the oldest people in the audience, we were happy with our theater seat locations in the center on the left side.The Stephen Colbert show taping was a bit different.  Directions said to line up in front of the theater by 2 p.m.  After an hour of waiting in front of the old Ed Sullivan Theater, we were checked and approved.  "Be back out here by 3:45 p.m.," instructed the security guard. "And when you arrive, put yourself in numerical order out front."  Andy and I were numbers 144 and 145.

Weather couldn't be more perfect for a day outdoors,
as we spend a couple hours waiting for the show taping.

So we walked the neighborhood for more than an hour.  Our time-killing excursion included a stroll through Central Park with some people watching and a whole lot of browsing at the flowering trees that were just showing signs of blossoming.
Confronting hundreds of people back at the Ed Sullivan Theater, all intent on lining up outside, seemed an indomitable task.  But it was actually fun!
"Thirty-two? Oh, we have to go a long way back down the sidewalk."
"Ninety-seven?  Getting closer!"
"No, we're looking for the one forty's. We should be getting there."
"One thirty-seven? Ok, and you sir?  One fifty-two?  We must be in between you guys.  We'll just squish in here if you don't mind!"

In line numerically, we are ready to
enter the Ed Sullivan Theater,
where history is made and Stephen
Colbert tapes his nightly show.

By 3:45 p.m. the lines stretched around two corners and we were friends with all our numerical neighbors.  Unlike Fallon, Colbert kept us standing inside the theater lobby for more than an hour.  Then we filed in order into the theater for the show.  It was another half hour before the taping started, so restroom use was not prohibited. Stephen Colbert interviewed a cartoon Donald Trump; visited with Eric Stonestreet of Confirmation and Modern Family. Stonestreet is the American actor, best known for portraying Cameron Tucker in the ABC sitcom Modern Family, for which he received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In the following segments, Colbert interviewed both Jason Jones, who plays Nate on The Detour, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, who commented about the race for the Presidential nominations.  Then the sets were changed and he introduced the band Flaming Lips for a performance of "Space Oddity" that aired on Colbert's TV show on April 19.
A couple scenes were re-taped when the hysterical cartoon Donald Trump--only visible on the TV screen--leaned too far to one side of the empty chair next to Colbert, and when Colbert mispronounced the name of an upcoming guest.
The whole process was amazing.  We were only two of probably four hundred in the audience, but our screams and claps contributed to the fun.
Only in New York..."It's a hellluva town!"

OTHER SIGHTS AROUND NEW YORK CITY--
"Cruise" Trips around the Big Apple                           

The free Staten Island ferry offers beautiful views of the city.

"You don't want to carry that heavy camera all day," warned Andy before we left home for the train station.
He was absolutely right, so the mental images are all that remain of some of our history lessons and travel excursions in and around New York City.
"Today I'm taking you on a cruise," announced Andy in January as we left Grand Central Station and headed for the subway.
He neglected to tell me that it was the Staten Island Ferry with free rides from The Battery to Staten Island.  It runs five miles in New York Harbor between Manhattan and Staten Island.
"See, I spare no coast," he added, as we boarded and cruised across the upper New York Bay.

As the boat pulls farther away from Manhattan, we see
more and more of the New York skyline.

Sea gulls swooped overhead, but most of the human passengers stayed inside out of the wind.
Once across, we could tell that many others had taken the ferry for a free boat ride.  "It's in the tourist guides," explained Andy to a small group of high school kids who were headed for college music auditions at Columbia and New York University.  The tourists exited the gangplank at the terminal, circled around the walkway and got back in line for the return boat ride.

Andy braves the chill in his denim
jacket as wind whips around the stern.

Bundled for the weather, Sue waits
impatiently for the camera to click.

Other trips to New York allowed us to visit the homes of Theodore Roosevelt and Alexander Hamilton.  We didn't think about pictures then.  And the visits occurred before I had purchased the miniature tablet.  And we certainly didn't think about the musical Hamilton, even though that would be a prime interest for me today.

But for one of our trips not long ago we did take another ferry for an excursion to Governors Island.  The island is a 172-acre island park in Upper New York Bay, about 800 yards from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel.  It formed an important blockade for the city during the Revolutionary War and during succeeding conflicts.  Fortifications built on the most strategic defensive positions served as outposts to protect New York City from sea attack.
Fort Jay, first constructed in the 1790's and reconstructed between 1806 and 1809, is on the highest point of the island.  The surrounding open space, also called glacis, slopes down to the waterfront on all sides.
Castle Williams, started in 1807 and completed in 1811, occupies a rocky shoal that extended into the harbor channel at the northwest corner of the island and served as the most important strategic defensive point in the upper bay of New York Harbor.  These defensive fortifications played important roles in the War of 1812, the Civil War, and World Wars I and II.  Fort Jay remained in operation from 1794 on.

The entrance to Fort Jay, dating to 1794 and currently
being reconstructed, is the oldest structure on
Governors Island.

The Coast Guard had established a base on the island in 1966, after the U.S. Army closed Fort Jay. The Coast Guard conveyed the base to surplus property for disposal in 1996, in an attempt to close a $400,000,000 budget gap.  The closure represented an estimated $30,000,000 of savings in October, 1995.  Then President Bill Clinton and New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan reached an informal agreement to convey the island to the City and State of New York for $1, if a plan for public benefit could be developed.  Finally, in August of 1997, as part of legislation to balance the budget, Congress directed that the entire island be sold with a right of first offer to the State and City of New York.

Castle William, now undergoing much needed
renovation, offers a glimpse into the military past.

As President Clinton left office in January of 2001, there was still no resolution of the island's future, but at the urging of members of the New York congressional delegation, he established a Governors Island National Monument by Presidential Proclamation on January 19, 2001. 
The proclamation did not fully establish the boundaries of the monument, but it did set forth the federal intention of preserving the fortifications, Fort Jay and Castle Williams, the oldest and most historic features on the island. The Justice Department under President George W. Bush concluded the proclamation possessed technical errors, but luckily for New York the proclamation was not revoked or invalidated.
In an April 2002 White House meeting with city and state officials, President Bush announced his intention to sell the island to the City and State of New York.  It wasn't until January 31, 2003, though that the island was conveyed to an intermediary, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which attached restrictive land use covenants to the deed, and then conveyed to two other parties:  22 acres to the U.S. Department of the Interior for use as a national monument, and 150 acres to the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation for the purpose or administering and redeveloping the island.  Now some of the former Army and Coast Guard buildings are being used for educational and environmental protection purposes.
We spent most of the day hiking the trails and taking the guided tour of Fort Jay.  We could easily have stayed longer, but Broadway called and our show tickets wouldn't wait!

OTHER SIGHTS AROUND NEW YORK CITY--
February Valentines in the Big Apple                         

From the High Line we can see the nearby Hudson River.

The second week in February, Valentine's Day week, traditionally features the lowest show prices of the year.  I guess it's because the New York City weather in February is unpredictable and few people vacation at that time of year.  Hotel prices are significantly reduced.  Rooms that go for more than $350 in the summer were only $109 with breakfast included.  And Broadway shows offer special features.  This year we saw "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," "Shear Madness," and "The Humans"... all in one extended weekend.  And wheeling our little travel bags on Metro North meant no parking fees or gas costs.

Unusual sculptures and pieces of art adorn
the pathway along the High Line.

But in between performances, the free breakfasts at our hotel, and some selective dining, we hiked miles around the city.
From 14th Street, where we disembarked from the subway and walked through the old Meat Packing District near the Whitney Museum, we located the entrance to the High Line.  This trail in the heart of the city follows the old elevated train tracks for almost two miles to around 34th Street.
Completed in 2014, the 1.45-mile trail is a linear park built in Manhattan right on the elevated section of the disused New York central Railroad spur called the West Side Line.
Winding its way between buildings and soaring several stories above the street level, the elevated freight line trail provides incredible views of the Hudson River on Manhattan's West Side, secret nooks of peaceful natural preserve with overhanging trees and carved benches, interesting native plants, smooth pavement walkways for biking and roller blading, and most of all unique and rare samples of art.  It's another free entertainment in New York City.  We made the most of it on a brisk clear day in February; we walked the entire trail.  As the sun broke through in the mid-morning and the winter skies warmed, more walkers joined our trek.

Walkers, joggers, browsers and athletes of every sort
take advantage of the crisp winter weather to be outdoors.

"If it is this popular in February," said Andy, "just imagine what this must be like in the summer!"
Maintained by the surrounding apartment buildings rather than by the city, the High Line is a model, well-kept park.  It is owned by the City of New York but maintained and operated by Friends of the High Line.  Even in February volunteers swept the walkways and pruned the twigs.  Nowhere did people abuse the privilege of strolling high above the mayhem of New York streets.

Unused rail cars sleep at the end of the High Line as
Friends of the High Line work to raise funds for this
final section of high-in-the-sky city parkland.

Founded in 1999 by community residents, the Friends of the High Line fought for the High Line's preservation and transformation at a time when the historic structure was under the threat of demolition.  It is now the non-profit conservancy that works with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to make sure the High Line is maintained as an extraordinary public space for all visitors to enjoy.  In addition to overseeing maintenance, operations and public programming for the park, Friends of the High Line work to raise the essential private funds to support more than 90 percent of the park's annual operating budget and to advocate for the transformation of the High Line at the rail yards, the third and final section of the historic structure. 

The badly damaged globe reminds
visitors of the tragedy of
September 11, 2001,
 at the World Trade Center.

Another February day in the city, we walked the Battery Park Promenade, following the path for several miles along the river and crossing through Liberty Park where excursion ferry boats waited to take passengers to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  This time a brisk breeze reminded us that spring was still a few weeks away.  But the weather was much warmer than the times we had taken this walk in winters past.  Near the tip of the 92-acre planned residential community at the southwestern tip of Manhattan, we found the remnants of the World Trade Center globe, badly damaged but recovered after September 11th and erected here as a memorial to those who died and a symbol of liberty for those who live.  Workers raked and cleared the leaves and brush from the construction site, lines of visitors chattered away outside the ferry terminals, and anxious pan handlers hawked their souvenirs or strummed guitars along the footpaths nearby, but the park looked closer to being finished than it had last year in February.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union address is
memorialized at Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island.

Our final afternoon in the city involved a trip to Roosevelt Island, originally called Welfare Island.  We walked past the new construction for a New York City campus for Cornell University, along the water to the southernmost point of Roosevelt Island in the East River between Manhattan Island and Queens, a section called Four Freedoms Park that honors Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The four-acre memorial celebrates the Four Freedoms that Roosevelt articulated in his 1941 State of the Union address on January 6, 1941.  He proposed that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear.  He delivered his speech eleven months before the U.S. declared war on Japan, December 8, 1941.  This State of the Union address before Congress was largely about national security and the threat to other democracies from world war that was being waged across the continents in the eastern hemisphere, a war that would be called World War II.  In the speech, he made a break with the U.S. tradition of non-interventionism that had long been held by U.S. politicians.  Instead, he outlined a new U.S. role in helping allies already engaged in warfare.

Park land increases the attraction of the big city. In addition to
memorializing native sons and remembering our history,
it offers residents a place to unwind and relax.

The park in his memory was dedicated in a ceremony on October 17, 2012.  Tom Brokaw served as master of ceremonies.  Participants included former President Bill Clinton, Governor Andrew Cuomo, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and relatives of Roosevelt.
Cuomo said, "New York became the laboratory of progressive democracy, and F.D.R. was the scientist creating formulas for addressing a broad range of national problems and social ills."
Clinton noted the location of the memorial.  "As we look out on this bright new day," he said, "we are close to the U.N., which F.D.R., more than any other soul, created."  Four Freedoms Park became a New York State park when it opened to the public on October 24, 2012. 
A photographer was positioning models for a photo shoot in the late afternoon sun.  But they weren't reading the plaques or studying the signs.  They must have been freezing as the wind picked up off the water.  With hats, scarves and gloves, we were prepared.  We know New York.

OTHER SIGHTS AROUND NEW YORK CITY--
Yankee Baseball Game in New York City               
"Take me out to the ball game... take me out to the crowd...."

Old age never looked so good, as Andy celebrates another birthday.

Drew did just that for Andy as a birthday surprise.  But the only problem was that when the birthday sign popped up on the big screen, they weren't looking.  In fact, the first time they didn't even see the sign, and it was only when it was nearly too late that Drew caught the end of the message.
With few people in attendance, it came around a second time, and they both got a good look.  But the camera wasn't set, so no record of all our plotting.  Andy was surprised, so it didn't really matter!
From the picture, the father-son relationship is readily apparent!
And the Yankees won, so the day was complete!

OTHER SIGHTS AROUND NEW YORK CITY--
Museum Visit to the Big Apple                           
A full day at the Metropolitan Museum (MET) meant tired feet but a whole lot of learning.  Andy's favorite exhibit, the Egyptian temple of Dendur, was originally commissioned by Emperor Augustus of Rome and constructed by Petronius, the Roman governor of Egypt around 15 B.C.

Humans are dwarfed by the Temple of Dendur, a small edifice by pyramid
standards, housed inside the New York City MET.

Dendur was initially called the Temple of Tuzis and was located about 50 miles south of the town of Aswan.  It was dedicated to Isis, Osiris and two deified sons of a local Nubian chieftain, Pediese ("he whom Isis has given") and Pihor ("he who belongs to Horus").  The temple has been exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since 1978.  And what fun to tour the display on a beautiful sunny day!
We read the information plaques, looked at the carvings and admired the art.
The temple was dismantled in its entirety and removed from its original location in 1963. This was accomplished as part of a wider UNESCO project in order to save significant sites from being submerged by Lake Nasser, following the construction of the Aswan High Dam.  Egypt presented the temple and its gate as a gift to the United States, represented by Jacqueline Kennedy among others, in 1965, in recognition of American assistance in saving various other monuments threatened by construction of the dam.

Reportedly, the temple was
vibrantly decorated.  Here light is
used to illustrate potential color on
the sandstone walls of Dendur.

The stone blocks of the temple weighed more than 800 tons in total with the largest pieces weighing more than 6.5 tons.  They were labeled and packed in 661 crates and transported to the U.S. by the freighter Concordia Star.  Numbers to reconstruct the temple are still visible on the blocks.
Several institutions made bids for housing the temple, in a competition that was nicknamed "Dendur Derby" by the press.  Alternative plans proposed re-erecting the temple on the banks of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. or on the Charles River in Boston, but it was determined that the sandstone construction of the edifice would have suffered from outdoor conditions.
On April 27, 1967, the temple was awarded to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it was installed in the Sackler Wing in 1978.  The reflecting pool in front of the temple and the sloping wall behind it represent the Nile and the cliffs of the original location.  The glass on the ceiling and the north wall are stippled in order to diffuse the light and mimic the lighting in Nubia.
We tried imaging a trip to Egypt for an authentic tour of the Temple of Dendur in its original location.  Then we headed to more of the extensive exhibits of this incredible museum.  It wasn't Egypt, but no matter. The day was fun and educational.

The famous painting,
"Gertrude Stein" by
Pablo Picasso,
is worth millions.

Earlier in the day we had passed Gertrude Stein Way, a label on one of the street corners. So when we entered the modern art wing, I immediately noticed the 1905-1906 Picasso of Gertrude Stein.  Famous for its masklike face, the portrait is valued in the millions now.  Stein, the famous writer and expatriate, responded enthusiastically to European avant-garde art.  She had held weekly salons in her Paris apartment that was populated by European and American artists and writers.  For Picasso, the early patronage and friendship was critical to his success.  He painted the portrait of her at the end of his so-called "Rose Period." The painting reduces her body to simple masses, a foreshadowing of his adoption of Cubism, and portrays her face like a mask with heavy-lidded eyes.  This reflects his encounter with Iberian sculpture.

From the balcony, the Hall of Knights
transports visitors to the Middle Ages.

Life-size models of mounted knights dominate the hall.

Other exhibits that attracted our attention included a huge hall of armaments with protective suits for knights of different countries.  Early knights were clad in tough leather or chain mail shirts called hauberks (French) or byrnies (English), much like their earlier Roman counterparts.  But in later days of the Middle Ages, knights wore suits of metal armor. There were two main kinds of armor: chain mail and plate armor.  Chain mail was made from thousands of metal rings, often hooked together in a long cloak called a hauberk.  Knights wore a padded cloak underneath the armor to help them carry the weight of the armor.  A hauberk could weigh as much as 30 pounds.  Although chain mail was flexible and offered good protection, it could be pierced by an arrow or thin sword.  Some knights began to put plates of metal over vital parts of their bodies for added protection.  Soon they were completely covered in plate armor and they stopped wearing the chain mail.

An unexpected snow squall painted the outdoor scenery
glistening white as we toured the museum.

Even the horses were covered in metal plates that were hooked together with tiny rings of metal. The weight must have been tremendous, with an average of 60 pounds, and as much as 70 or 80 pounds for just the knight's armor.

But the sun warmed Central Park
within an hour or two, so our hike back
to the hotel was a "springtime" stroll.

A snow squall while we toured the museum covered Central Park in white, but relatively mild  winter weather made being outside bearable.  And being inside was even more enjoyable with gorgeous views and frosty window artistry.  It was a day of beauty and mystery in every respect.

OTHER SIGHTS AROUND NEW YORK CITY--
Christmas in the Heart of the Big Apple                

 

"I love New York!" and the words of the song kept time to the rhythmic beat of the city-bound Metro North train as it sped westward. We were headed for another holiday celebration in the Big Apple.
Just after Christmas we stopped at St. Patrick's Cathedral to admire the poinsettias. Most of the scaffolding from the $135,000,000 renovation had been taken down, and the ornate church was beautifully decorated for the holidays.

St. Patrick's Cathedral puts on a majestic show for the holiday.

Outside, instead of ducking under the ladders and platforms used for cleaning the exterior, we gazed upwards at the pure white stone, now cleaned and polished for another next generation. Inside, the pillars sparkled and, accented by green and red, the golden altar gleamed.

Decorations on Fifth Avenue amaze
crowds of on-lookers.

Recent travels have included a day at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and a tour of the African Burial Ground National Monument in Lower Manhattan.

The African Burial Ground in the heart of New York
commemorates the lives of slaves who lived and worked
in the city generations ago.

Mild weather allowed us to pause outside. Here hundreds of African slaves who worked in New York City were interred in unmarked graves. The expansive burial ground was only discovered when heavy machinery was brought in to dig the foundation for a federal building. In this small park, the initial graves were uncovered and the fight for protection and respect was initiated.  Now a museum retells the story of life as a slave in America of the 1700's, the early years of the Dutch in New York City.

Visitors test the sound effects that echo in the rotunda of the
Old Custom House downtown in Lower Manhattan.

Not too far away from the African Burial Ground is the old Custom House. Displays in rooms around the rotunda add to the story of life in the big city and record the history of change as New York grew and expanded.

Mild winter weather contributes
to ease of travel in the big city.

But nowhere in the city is there as much action and as much change as in Times Square.  Here, at the center of the world, every moment is history in the making.  What a place to people-watch, relax tired feet or just gaze at the multitudes.  The spectrum of humanity that passes here is history in motion.