Heavenly New York City – Part Five

After the Empire State Building and a nice lunch, it was time to head back towards Times Square to enjoy a lovely afternoon in a neon-covered theater.

I first had to wander through Bryant Park on my way. Seeing green parks in this concrete neverland amazes me, so I had to enjoy a sliver of it today.

In the far-left corner, you can see the back of the New York Public Library. Maybe that helps you pinpoint where I am. Maybe not.

There are lots of pretty things about Bryant Park. The table tennis. The chess tables. The fountain that sprayed every sitting surface within forty feet. It felt great…kind of like my own personal mister.

Have I casually mentioned that I’m not used to humidity?

While I sat in the park in New York City (how cool is that!), I got to see some very bright buildings just across the street. I absolutely love this greenish-blue color, but I’m sure that comes as no surprise to you.

You probably won’t believe me, but I didn’t buy something from this ice cream stand.

A black-brick building with gold corners. Very high-end, I would say! It’s even cooler next to those bright-green leaves.

I don’t play chess. As much of a planner as I truly am, I apparently don’t like planning three, four, and five moves ahead. I think it comes down to patience, of which I have very little.

Especially for things at which I’m no good, like chess.

I saw Elmo. Maybe on his way to work on Sesame Street? Elmo carries a man purse, by the way. I think they call them “Murses.”

Let’s walk back to Times Square, because we have a schedule to keep this afternoon. Starting at precisely 2 o’clock today, I have an appointment with a flying lady using an umbrella, carrying an ugly carpet suitcase.

Was that too many clues?

Just like Salt Lake City (who knew?), New York City has shut off some major downtown streets to cars and reserved them solely for pedestrians. And they planted some really cool how-did-they-do-that square plants in the process.

As if you couldn’t figure it out, I’m going to watch Mary Poppins on Broadway! I first triple-checked with Hubby that his heart wouldn’t be broken for going without him. I could actually hear his sigh of relief all the way from Arizona.

Not only was he OK with me going to see this without his presence, but he was secretly thrilled that he wouldn’t be required to attend at some later date in time.

Before we go inside the beautiful New Amsterdam Theater, let’s appreciate the main Times Square subway entrance just across the street. I love subways. But not of the sandwich-variety.

With quite the colorful history, this theater was stunning in every aspect. It was built from 1902 to 1903, which (I’m sure you need no reminding) was the very same year the Orville and Wilbur completed their first successful flight in Kittyhawk.

In 1985, it temporarily closed. Disney bought it and renovated for two years before the theater became their hosting building for everything Disney on Broadway.

I loved looking around until I was led to my seat. Five rows back, right in the center.

Did I mention that I scored $212 tickets for $67? I swear, that internet thing is something that I love. I snickered at the other guests around me, knowing that they had paid full-price. Bwaahahaaahahaaa!

I chose the Saturday matinee performance, which was packed with kids. It makes sense…during the week, this presentation wouldn’t be over until almost 11:00 PM! Kids don’t do so well that late at night, so I’m told.

Holy smokes. Look at the detail on the side seats. Forgive me for not knowing any official theater terminology. “Side seats” is sufficient for my needs.

I got to the theater in plenty of time…about half an hour before the show began. It gave me the chance to admire my surroundings and my Skittles, all at once.

Those upper balcony seats cost more than what I paid for my orchestra seat today. Man, I was tickled about scoring such a great deal…

Needless to say, the show was amazing. I laughed. I cried. And then, I realized that I need to own the movie. How is it possible that I don’t own Mary Poppins on Blu-ray?

After my Broadway experience for the weekend was over, I hoofed it to the Hudson River-side of Manhattan. With my New York Pass, I had free tickets to ride the Hop-On, Hop-Off Water Taxi to some neat landmarks around the city.

    

I walked along 44th Street until I made my way to the dock on the west side.

Of course, I passed some neat places to live.

I loved this old brown building with what looks like ancient advertising. That stuff has probably been there for a century! So neat!

Again with the American flag. I love that they flags are constantly popping up as reminders.

Much to my dismay, I didn’t have time to go aboard the Intrepid today, though my pass would give me free entrance. There is simply too much to do in this city, and I can’t cram it all in just two days.

I was going to go on the taxi that was scheduled to leave in about fifteen minutes, but the last taxi was running late. She radioed the captain to wait for me, so I ran to join this one!

And then I saw this…and regretted not having time for the Intrepid today. This was the very Concorde jet that broke the world speed record for New York to London…two hours and fifty-four minutes. Can you imagine?!

I love these things. What a loss when they were retired in 2003.

Oh man! They have a Space Shuttle Pavilion, too?! Who made the decision to miss this place? Why aren’t they open late for me?

Soon we were zipping along at top speeds of our own in the bright-yellow boat. We passed a beautiful cruise ship as it left port.

I love that it was escorted out of the river by a tugboat. Those just remind me of happy childhood days, so it was fitting that something so happy should ride along a happy cruise liner.

I don’t know why a tugboat reminds me of my childhood in a land-locked state. Maybe I just read some cool books as a kid…all about tugboats?

Being out on the water gave stunning views of NYC. This harbor used to be the lifeline of the city. It is slightly more dormant now.

Isn’t that a pretty view of the Empire State Building! We saw it together already. I want to go back already.

I was most excited about this taxi ride because of the up-close view that could be seen of the new One World Trade Center tower. Can you see it just to the right of the taxi? It’s hard to miss.

I loved this shot, which was a great reminder of the storm moving into town. Just a few moments after disembarking from the taxi, I would be rained on for the remainder of the evening.

This is actually my private yacht that I keep docked in New York City harbor. I didn’t want to seem too flamboyant today, so I rode the taxi with the little people.

This was our first stop in the taxi at Chelsea Park. As you can see from the random mushrooms in the grass, this place is pretty unique.

The cruise ship caught up to us while people got off at this stop. I love the sailboat in the picture, too.

Let’s be on our way! The next stop is where I will get off the taxi…in Battery Park. I want to check out some of the buildings in lower Manhattan as well as return to the 9/11 Memorial.

Oh boy. There it is. What a beautiful building.

I got a little emotional seeing it. That day really had an impact on me, just as I’m sure it had an impact on everyone in the country.

It’s great to see it so near completion at last. It feels like this project has taken a long time to happen.

  

It was stunning up against the water of the Hudson, and it was stunning against some of the buildings in lower Manhattan.

One final look at the beautiful One World Trade Center.

Can you see the storm on its way? I love rain storms but prefer to enjoy them from the comforts of inside. Luckily, I found ways to prevent it from ruining the rest of my evening exploring New York City.

I had too much to do to let some bad weather slow me down! Just like these guys! Lots of rich people live in New Jersey but fly to work in Manhattan every day. We see them taking off from Teterboro all the time, headed for the city.

Can you imagine? I cannot.

Just like in all things, New Jersey doesn’t get enough credit for some pretty buildings of its own. It looks like these have been built fairly-recently, too.

Here is my stop at Battery Park. It looks like some renovations on the dock are taking place. It should be a neat tourist trap when finished.

What a beautiful view of the city! I wish I had time to hop back on to the taxi later to see the Brooklyn Bridge and Ellis Island. I guess I will just have to come back…

She is tiny. I am not imagining it.

Battery Park, which houses all sorts of memorials but was named after the original batteries guarding New York Harbor, was simply lovely.

We will end today with a dreamy shot of a giant boat!

More to come tomorrow!