Farewell Friday

Friday, August 23rd and another sunny and comfortable walking day in New York City. We headed off in different directions today. Jan, Kyle and Paul decided to walk through Tribeca, Chinatown and do an easy walkaround of the city before Kyle heads back to Toronto in the morning. Cynthia, on the other hand, went by herself and spent time in Chinatown shopping, at Liberty Bagels buying, visited Union Square Park and then took an excursion to the very top of the Empire State Building, which was at Floor 102. She was gone most of the day, but enjoyed here stroll into different parts of NYC and especially the 360 degree view of Manhattan from the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building Observation Floor.

We took the PATH train from Jersey City at the Exchange Place station to the World Trade Center and began walking towards Tribeca. We became familiar with the PATH route as it was the best way into the city and allowed us to connect with the subway lines into Manhattan.

On our way to Tribeca we came upon a statue called Jasper's Split Star. In 2021, it was installed as public art in the Silverstein Family Park at Seven World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. Larry Silverstein, Chairman of Silverstein Properties, acquired the artwork to display in the center of the park’s fountain. Silverstein had previously purchased two paintings by Frank Stella in the late 1990's that he displayed in the lobby of the original Seven World Trade Center, which were both destroyed on 9/11. The sculpture, Jasper’s Split Star, was inspired by a painting Stella made in 1962 called "Jasper’s Dilemma". Jasper's Split Star monument, is a tribute to his contemporary Jasper Johns work and it was also a tribute to the survivors of 9/11.

We dropped into Robert DeNiro's Restaurant called Tribeca Grill but he would not open it up for us............ said it was for certain clientele and was only open in the evenings. Oh well, we tried !

Most of our morning was spent walking around both Chinatown and the Korean neighborhood area, but we were always being interrogated by street vendors to buy some copies of famous purses, watches or anything they could sell. Even three baseball hats for $10 was offered at nearly every spot. I guess they have to do anything, or sell whatever they can, to make a living.

We visited the Empire State Building but chose not to go to the observation deck but rather look at the entrance and the exterior. Then we found out later that Cynthia had gone up to the very top and she got some amazing photos. Such a beautiful building, and it was ahead of it's time when it was constructed. Today it is the number one Attraction in the World, according to TripAdvisor's 2024 Choice Best of the Best.

Construction of the Empire State building, started in March 1930 and was completed in 1 year and 45 days later and at that time it was the tallest building in the world. It has been featured in many movies and is remembered for King Kong in 1933.

We finally had enough walking and decided to settle down, relax and get something to eat and we chose a place called Stout Public House.

Finally we walked to Madison Square Gardens and enjoyed the vibrant crowd in that area. It was busy and had been recently renovated. And it was just down the street from the Macy's Department Store, famously remembered for the Macy's Christmas Parade.

I have been to this area of Manhattan many times and I have the same question each time..

....... Why is it called Square Gardens when it is Round?

I did some research and this is what I found out ......

Madison Square Garden, also known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Midtown Manhattan and above Pennsylvania Station. It is the fourth venue to bear the name "Madison Square Garden". The first two, opened in 1879 and 1890 respectively, and were located in a park called Madison Square, on East 26th Street and Madison Avenue, with the third Madison Square Garden (1925) farther uptown at Eighth Avenue and 50th Street. So it got its name from the location of the original Gardens on Madison Square. That location was named after President James Madison, America's 4th President. Over the years it just kept it's name and the Park still is in the same spot.

Quiz - Who played the most shows at Madison Square Gardens? (The answer is at the end of the Blog)

On our way back we looked up and saw the beautiful Empire State Building. Check out the details of all the windows and exterior of the structure.

We took our favorite PATH train back to Jersey City and then walked to the boat. It was a fun day but a bit shorter than normal. For the Captain he walked 18,353 steps today and that is another record. We passed a peace offering on our way back to our boat........................ and could not resist to snap another Flic.

After a delicious dinner prepared by Jan, and dishes all cleaned up by Cynthia, Kyle and I took a walk around to the Surf City Bar and checked out some boats, particularly this 2011 Yacht called Diamond.  It is 100 foot long, and it is for Sale, for the low low price of $7.9 Million US. We checked it out online and we didn't like it much, so we agreed that we would stick with what we have, for now. If you want to check it out further go to https://www.worthavenueyachts.com/yachts-for-sale/diamond/

On our way back home we saw 5 fire trucks with lights flashing and horns blasting and we didn't know what the fuss was all about. We never did find out what happened but we are guessing someone called 911 and reported something.

Across from the Fire trucks we say a sunken boat at the Manhattan Yacht Club. We sure hope he had insurance. That must be an ugly feeling in your gut when you see your boat under water.

That's all for a Friday night. Thanks to Kyle for all his assistance on helping with lines in the locks. assisting in tie downs when we dock and for helping his Papa drive the boat and spell him off as the route is long and can be monotonous at times. His Mama and his Papa are proud to spend time with him and watch him grow. Come back again Kyle.

Answer to the Quiz - Bill Joel played 65 shows at MSG. He is a hometown boy. and the best Piano Man around the city.

Safe Trip Home Kyle........... and come back Captain Paul