We made this a destination for a summer get-away, and we got from New York City to Fort Wayne in ten hours. Toll Road 80 was fast, even with some construction. Other than a few grand, picturesque hills in Pennsylvania, It's an uneventful drive.
We stayed at the Renaissance Hotel in Times Square. If you have ever stayed in a city high rise building, you know it's lots of elevator trips and vertical perspective. I liked this hotel's layout, however - there is a second floor foyer with two restaurants and spectacular views of Times Square. The architecture and design is very modern; beautiful wood floors and walls, chrome and silver fixtures, eclectic furniture with leather and textured upholstery, and organic-looking glass art light fixtures. It's masculine, (not normally my style) and I loved it - every bit of it. Earth tones and warmth, it was inviting, creative, and comforting in the big city.
We roamed the city - including Central Park, Barney's iconic department store, and One World Trade Center. The 1776-feet high structure (including antenna spire) is the tallest structure in the Western hemisphere. The complex has a bit of an identity crisis; for a while this building was called Freedom Tower, and the 9/11 memorial is officially called the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Eventually there will be three other high-rise office buildings erected at the rebuilt World Trade Center site.
The 9/11 Memorial, with its waterfall reflecting pools in the place where the Twin Towers once stood, is in itself worth a visit to New York City. The two pools contain the largest man made waterfalls in the United States. Victims' names (of the terrorist attacks) are inscribed on the edges of the waterfalls. The two one-acre pools aptly symbolize the loss of life and the physical void left by the horrible events that occurred at the World Trade Center. I thought the memorial was breathtaking, and the sounds of the great waterfalls cascading into the void of the building healing.
In the other photo above I've used for this blog post, is a shot from the Brooklyn Bridge, looking into Manhattan. I've wanted to walk over this bridge for years, from learning about the amazing bridge on PBS, and also seeing it featured in "Sex and the City." The walk was a bit crowded the day we made it, and there was construction happening. Traffic from cars below the walkers was noisy also. But it's a gorgeous bridge, and I will never forget the experience and the views. The park on the Brooklyn side is quite lovely also, and worth a stop.
We traversed the city by cab and by subway. Cab travel can be a bit slow in lots of traffic, but interesting, especially if you happen upon an interesting driver with whom to chat. We thought the subway would end up being a lot cheaper. But with a family of four, a cab ride, even across town, was never more than about $12 - $20 for us - the subway was $2.75 per person one way, so the saving were not huge. Yet sometimes a cab was hard to hail in some areas, and the subway ends up being incredibly quick in comparison. Any subway is a bit of a challenge for a newcomer to decipher, but worth it as a unique experience. Be ready for strong smells and foul language at the very least. I stepped on the foot of a kind soul, and he didn't even yell at me. I sat next to a mentally challenged or mentally ill woman who was stroking her plastic pull-along toy dog, and she was charming and sweet - I asked her the dog's name (Spike), and found her a much-needed tissue. I wonder where she lives and how she manages so well, but she seemed to know what she was doing.
We also took a great water taxi, and saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I will save more about the trip for a later blog. I am not a city person, and somehow I love NYC - I can't explain it. I hope to return again sometime soon.
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