Pictures from my wonderful trip to meet up with family in New York City May 8-14, 2013.
First Night in the City
When I had to switch trains at the 8th Avenue and 14th Street station on my journey to April and Siebren's apartment, I came up to the street to make a mobile phone call at about 9:45 and look what greeted me! I thanked the gentleman who stopped in his tracks so I could take the pic. His response, "Oh, nooo, thank yeeeeew!" (mobile phone pic)
The View
I went to sleep each night looking at The Empire State Building...and waking up to it each morning.
The view from the apartment in the Ridgewood neighborhood on the Queens/Brooklyn border.
The top of the Chrysler building, the U.N. building, Trump Tower (blech!), Citicorp tower.
And when combined this...
Red Hook, Brooklyn
The Statue of Liberty, One World Trade Center, and The Real World: Brooklyn house from Red Hook
One World Trade Center
The Real World: Brooklyn house (with my cousin April). We were sorta trespassing. (mobile phone pic)
9/11 Memorial and One World Trade Center
I did not feel comfortable taking any pictures of the names printed along the railing of the pools.
The South Pool...
The reflection of the World Trade Center in the South Pool...
The North Pool (the new World Trade Center in the background)...
One World Trade Center...
The 9/11 Museum entrance, most of it is under the 9/11 Memorial grounds (it is currently under construction)...
The final part of the spire was attached to the top of One World Trade Center two hours before we arrived. The final height of the building is 1,776 feet.
Aunt Jeanne at Survivor Tree. It was the only tree to have survived from the grounds of the original World Trade Center.
The memorials for the 343 fire fighters who died on 9/11 (I took several pics of a large bronze memorial that stretches for many feet but I cannot get it spliced together)...
Lunch at John's Pizzeria
This is near Times Square. A Facebook friend who lives in Manhattan suggested this place when I sent out a request for a good pizza place and he was right on the mark. Excellent pizza. My half has pepperoni. Aunt Jeanne's half has hamburger, green peppers, pineapple, sun-dried tomatoes, and pineapple. And, YES, I removed that piece of green pepper from that piece of pepperoni. (mobile phone pic)
The ceiling at John's. The building was built in 1888 and it used to be the Gospel Tabernacle Church. (mobile phone pic)
Rockefeller Plaza
The fountain...
Central Park
Aunt Jeanne at the theater...
A Squirrel Friend...
Me at the Conservatory Pond...
Cherry blossoms...
The Empire State Building
Street level...
From 34th Street
The entry hall
Inside the elevator...
I thought this print in marble at the back of the elevator was beautiful.
The lights across the top of the elevator
The views from the 86th Floor Observation Deck...
George Washington Bridge, Upper East Side, Central Park, Rockefeller Plaza, Upper East Side
Lower Manhattan
The East Village, Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge
To the east and Brooklyn and Queens
East Midtown, Chrysler Building, Queens
East Midtown, Chrysler Building
George Washington Bridge, Upper West Side, Central Park, Rockefeller Center
The Chrysler Building
Macy's in Herald Square
The East Village, Manhattan Bridge (or is that the Williamsburg Bridge?)
I love the brass roofing...April says these can sometimes be seen from the apartment
The George Washington Bridge
Midtown
The view from the 86th floor downward...34th Street cannot be seen from here but it is down there
Looking thru the cage that surrounds the 86th Floor Observation Deck
The cage spikes that are supposed to keep people from climbing over the cage and jumping
The Empire State Building's spire
The ceiling of the 86th Floor Observation Deck's lobby
Times Square
North
South
North
Mobile Phone Pic
The M&M's Store in Times Square
The walls of M&M's (mobile phone pics)
The Statue of M&M's Liberty (mobile phone pic)
The East Village
I got The Bea Arthur (vanilla ice cream, caramel drizzle, and crushed Nilla wafers) at Big Gay Ice Cream Shop (mobile phone pic)
The West Village
Sitting in the window seats on The High Line at Tenth Avenue Square above (duh!) Tenth Avenue (mobile phone pic)
James Franco's tribute to late actor Brad Renfro at the store Printed Matter (mobile phone pics)
A church I would be happy to join!
Stonewall Inn bar
The Subway stop
Sheridan Square
Greenwich Avenue
We happened to be in the West Village right before Pres. Obama arrived for a fundraiser.
Check out that gun!
Pres. Obama's car...I was too busy watching it that I was watching the camera screen. Oops.
Connecticut
We went to Milford, CT, to visit Siebren's parents for Mother's Day and some feathered friends joined us in the backyard. Unfortunately, Hummingbirds are much too fast for pics.
Purple Finch
Ducks landed in the swimming pool
Sunset at Anchor Beach
Final Night in the City
Sunset
This is a Pignapping!
Before I left for my trip, I took a pig miniature Christmas ornament from the at-work collection of my friend and coworker Dee. I chose this specific pig because I found it in late February in some Christmas ornaments Mom had packed away many years ago and brought it back and gave it to Dee who collects pigs...and used to --with her sons-- raise pigs, and other farm critters. So, this is the pig I chose to take on my trip because it was once Mom's and it was little enough to be very easy to take along on my adventures. The night before my trip (and the night before the pignapping was to occur), I flipped thru some magazines clipping letters like a serial killer for a "pignapping" note that I would leave behind when she took me to the airport from work late the next morning. Once I got to the airport and I knew she had received my note, I started sending her mobile phone pic messages of Pig and continued to take pics and send them to her from various locations around New York City and Connecticut.
These are all mobile phone pics
The note I left behind at work
Pig at the Austin airport waiting for the flight to JFK
Pig in Red Hook with the Statue of Liberty
Pig in Red Hook with One World Trade Center
Pig in Greenpoint at late actor Heath Ledger's café Five Leaves
Pig in Lower Manhattan at One World Trade Center
Pig in Midtown at John's Pizzeria
Pig in Times Square
Pig in Midtown at Rockefeller Plaza
Pig in Midtown in Trump Tower. How appropriate.
Pig in the Upper East Side with the tulips in Central Park
Pig at Anchor Beach in Connecticut
Pig in Midtown in The Empire State Building
Pig in Midtown on the cage of the north side of the 86th Floor Observation Deck at The Empire State Building
Pig in Midtown on the cage of the north side of the 86th Floor Observation Deck at The Empire State Building
Pig almost got blown over the edge of The Empire State Building, a safer pose from the north side of the 86th Floor Observation Deck at The Empire State Building
