Gee Toto I don't think we are in Kansas anymore

Wild Life update:  one faux celebrity -Geraldo Rivera,  one dog walker with six or seven pooches, a ton of pigeons, lots of tattoos.

Three full days in New York City and other than a bit of sensory overload on the short walk to our hotel from the Port Authority bus terminal, all is well. And we have been busy -Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, two Broadway plays, 911 museum and memorial, walking The High Line, Times Square at night, Air and Space Museum, Grand Central Station. We are not expert subway riders yet but hey we have another day and who knows maybe we will have a successful day navigating.

Lady Liberty

There is no admission fee to either The Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island, but the boat that ferries visitors back and forth costs $18. It's a nice ride with great views of the city and Lady Liberty, if you could see over the crowds on the ship. We were packed in like sardines and it was not clear how the staff determined how many passengers were allowed on board. No one appeared to be counting. The Big Fella suggested that it may have something to do with the water line but as near as I could tell it was based on the sailing times. So, the boat is to leave the dock at 8:00 and at 7:55 boarding stops. Once underway the cameras started clicking and with each new view of the city of the statue, passengers would all move to that side of the boat which caused it to list and yes it was a bit unnerving. It was an enjoyable first day and ended with a Broadway play.

boatus overloadus

Day two started out pretty darn good. We found the right subway station, got on the train and off at the right stop, but from there it went down hill  pretty fast.  Yes indeedy whilst trying to find a particular deli -recommended to us by the hotel staff- we got a bit turned around. Matters were not helped by the map. The street we needed was not on it. The Fella even took out his compass although I am not 100% sure why because the street was not on the compass either.  Seeing that we were perplexed, a sweet young woman  tried to help. She had no clue where the street was but suggested that we just continue "up that way" and the street would probably be there. Ugh, after 15 minutes of walking in circles, it was time to call out the cavalry. A member of the NYPD  was walking in our direction and I asked for help. He whipped out his smart phone and declared that directions are a piece of cake, he usually worked in the Bronx and  is never asked for directions, they shoot at him sometimes but nope no one had ever asked him for directions. Turns out that Nassau was about 2 blocks from where we were standing. Just as we were on our way someone else asked him for directions and in his think New York accent said boy two in one day how did that happen!  By the way the Deli fixed up a tasty sandwich. More directionally challenged moments: boarded the 'C' train from the wrong platform and wound up in Brooklyn...the destination was Chelsea, finally got to Chelsea and walked the wrong direction for long enough to get annoyed but made the correction. The day ended with a fun dinner out with an old friend of The Fella's who also took us to hear a Country Western band of a friend of his  - Miss Babs & the Kickin' Boogie Band. Country Western was not what I expected to hear in NYC

Today was supposed to be the Air and Space Museum, Top of the Rockefeller Center, and Grand Central Station. The Fella announced that he did not NEED to do the Air and Space Museum.  Wonders never cease.  Today's events were adjusted and we set out with rain coats and umbrellas in hand to take in Grand Central Station, The Top of the Rock, and Central Park. Since it was drizzling when we left we thought -mistakenly so- that the umbrellas were unnecessary but we took them. Within a block or two of the hotel the sky opened up. Central Park was quickly jettisoned from the day, and the Top of the Rock soon followed  -not worth it the cloud cover was too low nothing was visible. So that left Grand Central Station which was at least inside but boy we  were we soaked. My pants were wet up to my knees. To stay somewhat dry we took a train for a few blocks and began the slog back to the hotel. Except we went several long blocks in the wrong direction and it was still raining.  Finally back at the hotel, Greg changed into some dry clothes, I opted to stay wet and we were off again to, wait for now....the Air and Space Museum...and the sun came out. Sigh.

Moose and Mosquito crash The Big Apple