Subject to Change

For the second time we changed Cole’s diaper on a park bench. Then we tried to find our way from Ground Zero back to the subway.

We were lost in the financial district long enough to see the New York Stock Exchange, Bowling Green (and the Charging Bull), Battery Park, and the Staten Island Ferry terminal.

We hadn’t planned to see any of this, but I couldn’t figure out how to get us back to the subway station. Midtown was much easier to navigate. On the southern tip of Manhattan the streets have names, and they run at funny angles. When we kept running into famous sights we just wandered more.

While I was crouching to take a picture of the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park a NYC rat ran right under me. Kelly spotted it and flipped out. I thought it was a convenient parting memory of New York. That, and the cockroach I almost stepped on in Penn Station.

Kelly and I agreed that we wouldn’t want to live in New York City permanently. We could manage a year there, to see all the seasons. We’d also be happy to have an exuse to visit once a year for a week or two.

Cole’s stroller broke on the subway, right before he fell asleep. So, I cradled him in my arms as we walked from the Renton St. station to Ground Zero. He didn’t wake up until we stopped for a quick bite to eat at the Burger King overlooking the site. Burger King is one of the few places where you can still get a full view of the area. Another is on a foot bridge near the site.

The Bronx Zoo is the perfect example of how New Yorkers don’t realize there’s anything in between New York and L.A. Everyone we talked to said it was a must see, best zoo ever. The reality, I’d say, is that the Bronx Zoo is an average zoo with New York style admission. It’s expensive to get in and the fee doesn’t cover all the attractions. We took to calling it an a la carte zoo.

The grounds are very green, practically a forest. They’re so overgrown, in fact, that you can’t see the animals unless you’re right at the exhibit fence. Even then you might not see them because the exhibits are large and the plants are overgrown. This is probably all part of some “natural zoo” initiative, but I’ve seen it done better. The Toledo Zoo is a good example. It’s very green, but the landscaping doesn’t take away from the experience. In fact, the Toledo Zoo is so well kept that we actually noticed and appreciated the greenery.

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of a scarlet ibis. In middle school, we read a story titled “The Scarlet Ibis.” I don’t remember it much, expect that it was a depressing story about an infant death. That’s some great reading for a pre-teen, right?

On Saturday we went back to NYC, to see the Bronx Zoo, Ground Zero, and anything else we might run across. We started the adventure by wandering east across Manhattan, in an attempt to find Grand Central Station.

We wasted quite a bit of time, because I didn’t know exactly where the station was. I guessed from my subway map, which put it much further east. We asked for directions from someone working outside a store and learned a valuable lesson: just like in Las Vegas, nobody you meet in New York City is actually from New York City. The eight million people who register on the census as New Yorkers must hide out underground most of the day. Once we found Grand Central we didn’t bother to take any time to see the terminal. So, that trip was pretty much wasted.

Riding the subway to the Bronx with a toddler was a bit unnerving, but not for the reasons you might expect. Cole wanted to exit the train at every stop. I wonder how many kids get lost on the subway every year. Those trains don’t wait for anything! Kelly and I almost got separated getting on a train because the doors only opened for ten seconds.

The federal budget deficit has exceeded a trillion dollars for the first time in history, and it’s only July.

Trillion: that’s billion with a ‘T.’

I tried to steer us toward Rockafeller Center, without actually knowing where it was. I thought that it was under the Empire State Building, so we headed that way. On our way, we saw a man dressed in a Batman costume wandering the street. Kelly refused to let me chase him down for a photo.

Suddenly, a woman wearing a fancy headset jumped in front of us and steered us into the street. Looking up, we saw big lights, trailers, and a crane mounted camera.

As we passed the movie set I looked for clues about the film. The posters on the building advertised “Gotham Hall,” so I assumed this was another Batman film. I’ve since discovered that “Boy Wonder” is currently filming in NYC.

We watched the actor mills about. After a while we could see that they were taking their places. In a flash, it was all over and the lights were being taken down. This must have been a second unit shot of people exiting their limousines.

It was late by this time. We headed back to Secaucus Junction via Penn Station and drove the hour back to our hotel. We already had big plans for day two in New York City and needed to recharge.

Update: “Boy Wonder” does not appear to be a comic book movie. I just checked it out on IMDB. Some of the actors listed kind of look familar, though.

Also seen on Friday night: Radio City Music Hall.

I never could have imagined how therapeutic a trip into Midtown could be. Since I’m a food junkie the smell of pizza, kabobs, and grilled meat everywhere was amazing. Every couple of blocks I would put my nose in the air and tell Kelly I smelled something yummy. She, on the other hand, was more sensitive to the other smells of the city. I don’t envy her for that.

After hunting for a place to change Cole’s diaper, we settled on changing him in the middle of Bryant Park. That’s also where we discovered another unexpected landmark.

Our first trip into the city was a recon mission, to see how easy it would be to get around. We didn’t have a rigid agenda in mind, just a few sites we wanted to see “really fast.”

I loaded tourist maps, subway maps, and rail schedules onto my phone before leaving. This was a huge time saver while we were getting around town. It was also much easier to manage than full sized maps. 

We wanted to see Central Park before dark, FAO Schwarz if it was open, and Ground Zero. That’s not how the trip worked out. We did make it to Central Park first. Schwarz was closed already, and the rest of the night was spent wandering Midtown.

We walked from Penn Station to the park. When we found ourselves standing in front of a familar sign I said, “I think we’re in Times Square.”

The area we were standing in seemed too small to hold all those people on New Year’s Eve. Yet, I saw evidence that my hunch was right. There was a Times Square information booth nearby, and the manhole covers looked like they had been welded shut. Later on a shop keeper confirmed that we were in the right spot, but it was still hard to believe. Television really does make the square look much bigger!

I went to the Catkskills on business last week. Kelly, Cole and the dog couldn’t resist coming along, for the opportunity to spend a day or so in New York City. We made our first journey toward the city on Thursday evening, to see Liberty State Park in New Jersey. This was also a test run, to see how easy it would be to get to Manhattan.

Liberty State Park allows pets. We enjoyed a leisurely walk along the river, with Ellis Island and the backside of the Statue of Liberty so close we felt like we could swim to them.

People were so friendly in and around NYC! At Liberty State Park a man gave Cole a quarter to use the binoculars. I was so expecting to be treated like a piece of meat that every smile caught me off guard. Driving wasn’t bad either.

If you’re curious about New York, don’t let your nerves get the best of you. I highly recommend that anyone who has the slightest interest in NYC take a chance and see it. Kelly and I were there in 2003 and I drove across Manhattan without stopping. I never felt comfortable enough to go back. Now that I’ve seen what I missed I’m really sorry we didn’t make an effort.