Dallas weather is soooo beautiful today that we cannot stay in the house. When at the airport in New York yesterday, I was craving a donut and do you think I could find one? So sad. By the time I gave up the hunt, Mister wanted one, too. He was as sad as me. So . . . first thing this morning, he is off to find donuts and we even visit two places to test taste. So funny.
Well, the past five days have been simply magical! Seriously. Just us two time was what the doctor ordered and we had a blast. The only unhappy part is that we have to go home today. I know, right? A subway to the bus station and we're spending our last few minutes on the streets of New York. We're not even in Manhattan anymore since we caught this bus in Queens. It's a double size bus and they are always fun so I have a seat right at the middle to giggle as we turn. The simple things in life can bring absolute joy. Is this guy filming me?
Happy Birthday to my Love! He has hit another milestone and apparently so has Lady Liberty. Pretty cool, right? Well, hers is not quite "on" the milestone, but three years from 150 is pretty cool.
With Day 4 beginning, this is now the longest trip to New York City that I have been blessed to do. I'm sooooo excited to still have two full days here --- now to get going. We are starting the day a bit somber and heading down to the 9/11 Memorial. One quick subway ride away and - behold - One World Trade Center (formerly called Freedom Tower) standing majestically. This is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center Complex. As we all know, the original Center was comprised of seven buildings, all of which were destroyed. The Pullman Performing Arts Center sit below and in front for this picture.
It's a day for tripping down memory lane for my sweetheart. We are heading north out of the city to Hasting-on-Hudson, the village where he lived as a child.
First step - Grand Central Station and on the outside, Mister tells me to look up. The Graybar rats are an homage to more nautical times and the effort made to keep rats off the ships. (Hey Gwen and Frieda - remember talking about this on the cruise?) The Graybar Building, built in 1927, was designed to pay tribute to New York City’s position as a key transportation hub, with its trains (the building is right near Grand Central Terminal) and its seaport. The cables that connect the canopy in front of the exterior to the building itself are made to look like the mooring lines of a ship. And as with real mooring lines, these mooring lines have rats climbing up them, attempting to get into the “ship” that is the Graybar Building. The rats are thwarted by conical structures called baffles near the top of the lines that stop the sculpted rodents from getting all the way to the building, as they would stop rats from entering ships. At some point, the rats disappeared from their mooring lines, but during the building’s restoration in the late ’90s, a special note was made to “replace [the] missing rats.” And so there they are, once more, still unable to board the ship. The architects had one more little joke, though: The carved rosettes that the mooring lines lead to depict the heads of clever rats that, presumably, made it on board before the baffles were put in place. Kinda cool, right? Now, get those tickets purchased and find our train. Tickets were $6 a piece and we've located the right terminal.
I am pumped for the first full day in New York. Less than 40 degrees out, we are bundled a bit but that's okay. Time for some fun. We are starting out in Upper Midtown and Mister has a place in mind for breakfast so we are on foot. As we walk, my eyes are darting here and there, looking for as many images to imbed in my memory as possible. If you think I take a lot of pictures on this trip, I will let you know that this is only a tenth of the many things to see and absorb. Einstein on a Bicycle was painted in 2018 and the Weeping Fireman, which is an image taken on 9/11 and recreated here. One makes you smile and the other helps us to remember how lucky we are to smile. (49th and 3rd)
When I arrived home from a cruise on the 3rd (yes, 15 days ago), Mister indicated that he wanted to go somewhere. The very next day, we had booked a trip to NYC and today we are off. Why NYC? Well, it's the Birthday Season for him and he's going home. You know - the kind of home that touches our heart as we started out there. We have five glorious days and, now, at the you know what of dawn - we are getting started. It's a quiet airport this early on a Sunday, but that's okay. Oh, maybe I should mention that at this point we only have $330 invested in the trip. BOTH flights on American (upgraded) and our hotel for the week (Marriott) have been paid in full along with insurance just in case. I am merely pointing this out because there are ways to travel on the cheap and live nice - ya just gotta play the games. The aforementioned dawn, is starting to show her face. We have a plane and a crew - life is good. Boarded and leaving just as the sun makes an appearance. Up, up, and away we go.
