Sunday, 25 September 2016 -- Sight-seeing in New York
Another sight-seeing day today but done a little differently from yesterday. Today was on a hop on/hop off ferry on the river so we didn't have to fight traffic and there were no sirens or horns to be annoying.
Before we made it to the ferry, we got caught up in a run to honor a fireman who died in the 9/11 attack. This fireman was from a Brooklyn station and had just gone off shift when the first plane hit. Determined to help, he headed for the Twin Towers via the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel but it had already been closed for security purposes. Determined to carry out his duty, he strapped 60 lbs. of gear to his back, and raced on foot five kilometres through the tunnel to the Twin Towers. He lost his life there and left behind a wife and five children. The city honors him and all the other brave firemen, with the Tunnel to Towers run each year.
Being on the ferry gave a different perspective to the city and with only a light breeze, it was a pleasant day all round.
After the trip on the ferry with full commentary of the sights and history, just like the buses yesterday, it was off to Macy's for a shopping trip. I'm sure that Therese would have liked to get far more involved in the shopping but very limited space meant anything purchased had to be both small and light.
We caught the local bus home mid-afternoon and once again saw the efficiency of the public transport system here. 1.6 million people live on Manhattan Island but another 3.4 million come to the Island each day for work. That is a lot of people to move. The subway system is massive with over 800 miles of track.
We've had a couple of days "rest", the bike hasn't been started since we parked it on Friday, and we are ready to move on in the morning after spending time this afternoon reviewing and refining our route for the next few days. If you ever come to New York but don't actually want to stay righht in the city, we can highly recommend the Hampton Inn at Carlstadt. Great place, teriffic staff and facilities, ripper free hot buffet breakfast and only 15 minutes from New York by bus.
The Spot GPS tracker has been giving some funny times due to the date settings still being for Brisbane so I reset them so tomorrow should be a bit more sensible.
See you tomorrow night from Gettysburg.
0 klms today, total to date 7052 klms.
The Times Square Tower with the Green New Years Ball
A memorial 9/11 Cross at St Peter's Church near the World Trade Center
The Story behind the cross
A Fire Engine at the Tunnel to Towers Run honoring a fire fighter who died on 9/11
Many firemen in full dress were participating in the run
A clock
Staten Island Ferry. Two of these run 24 hours a day, free ferry.
Brooklyn Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
Williamsburg Bridge
New One World Trade Center building and new Building No 4 nearing completion from under the Brooklyn Bridge
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge between Staten Island and Brooklyn, Long Island
