NYC Trip Day 3

Okay, enough procrastinating on my part; I better write up my experience before my memories fail me. :) So here goes nothing . . .

After a jammed packed day, the night's rest could not be any more welcomed. We would get up a little early to make our way down to the Today Show set in hopes of getting the opportunity to say
"Hi Davin!" to the only audience member we cared to surprise. Much like the previous day, the streets of Manhattan are empty in the morning of the hustle and bustle that fills it during the rest of the day. It was nice to walk the streets without the fear of being run over by the cabbies that zoom up and down.

Getting there a little early, I got the opportunity to take a few pictures without the crowds which was a nice change of pace. There is not too many places or times in NYC were you can have free roam of the area. We got in line, just in the nick of time I may add; a group of about 125 teenagers from some ensemble scurried promptly behind us. We got in to position around the set, observing all the prep work the occurs in front of as well as behind the cameras. From the camera men prepping their shots of the crowd(one being so nice as to direct us how lazy they get and showed us where to stand to ensure we get on) and with Jenna Wolfe "adjusting" herself on camera to make sure she is appealing enough to the audience. After a few shots and segments, even with my ugly mug in the mix; we were able to wave and greet my little nephew 3000 miles away in Aurora, CO. I highly recommend getting to the Today Show set early as we were able to stake claim to some prime positions around the outdoor studio. Once the show finished, we hurried back to the hotel room to fill up on some breakfast and to get a quick glimpse of our morning results on the television. The rest of the day would have us heading south towards China Town, Ground Zero and ending our journey at the Statue of Liberty.

We gathered enough courage to actually figure out the mass transit system, and thank god we did. Like everything in life, once you figure out the basics and how it works, it becomes second nature. It all came down to figuring out what direction the different stops served and which trains it serviced. First stop, China Town.

Piss hole, street vendors, and not at all what I had imagined prior to. I might not have explored it enough to give it justice nor was our intent to spend much time there; so we promptly worked our way south downtown by foot through the early afternoon heat and humidity.

We strolled our way down Broadway to Vesey Street, where Saint Paul's Chapel stands. Across the street, the rebuilding around the World Trade Center was in progress. The whole time there, it feels quite surreal; the atmosphere still felt stagnant, with only the sounds of cars driving by and construction vehicles constantly running. Its hard for me to place in words what I felt looking over the site from the mezzanine of WTC 3; but it brought me back to September 11, 2001 on board the USS Carl Vinson, huddled around the TV in the lounge, watching in horror as the second plane is filmed crashing in to the WTC as we steamed through the night to the Straits of Hormuz. Much like the USS Arizona site and Iwo Jima (which we passed by during my 2002 deployment), there is a serene sense of solitude that fell over me. The sheer number of lives lost in a single point of history, the families who would never have the chance to see their loved ones again and the pure senselessness of the act; one can not feel disheartened by the lack of respect for human lives that was displayed that fateful day. Today, I still can remember that day as vividly as it were yesterday. After going through the 9/11 Memorial (which is free for military) and passing by the WTC firehouse and memorial, we made our way down to Battery Park to finish off the last leg of our trip to the Statue of Liberty.

For those who want to go to the Statue of Liberty, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND going to this website and pre-ordering your tickets. It saved us about a hour and a half of waiting in line, not to mention, we were able to actually go insidethe statue. So after the first set of security check points, we all get herded on to the tour barge to make our way to Liberty Island. I have met some colorful sailors during my time, but no more colorful then the staff of the barge that took us to and fro. I was quite surprised by their language and lack of respect for the passengers aboard their vessel; maybe it was to give us the added experience of what it might be like being an immigrant in the 1900s. I personally thought it was quite humorous, made it worth the value of the ticket for the on board entertainment whether it was intended or not. After a short 20 minute ride, we set foot on Liberty Island.

After taking a few pictures of the NYC skyline and Ellis Island, we made our way to the second set of more intrusive security check points to enter the Statue of Liberty. The most fascinating thing I found while inside, was that there was an elevator inside, which was a welcomed surprise as my legs and feet were really wearing down from the long walks of that day as well as the previous. Inside is a very interesting walk through of the history of not only the statue but of the island as well.The view from the Statue of Liberty is quite amazing, with the Manhattan Skyline and Ellis Island on one side, the Atlantic Ocean and sailboats on the other. All this under the shadow of this immortal monument. The masonry and iron works that it took to build the statue is astonishing to say the least. You can't help yourself but to take many pictures of everything around you, which means lots of work when you get home trying to go through all of them. I know its an excuse but there really a lot of pictures, really.

After a quick bite at the island vendors and a few by the massive horseflies that infest the area, we left Liberty Island for Ellis Island. This was one area I had hoped to spend a little more time at. But as the day waned on, so did our legs; and the thoughts of having some Korean BBQ for dinner hastened our walk through of the exhibit at Ellis Island. I took some departing pics of the area and made our way back to the ferry back to the Big Apple. If you have some thoughts of going to this trip, I suggest investing a large amount of time just for the sheer fact that there is quite a bit to look at and ingest. As we departed on the ferry, the sun began hiding behind the clouds, making the departing image of the sky amazing from the aft end of the ship. This is one of my favorite photo from the entire trip.

We took the train back uptown and exited off the Broadway and 32nd Street station, and what did we find? The elusive Korean Town that we had unsuccessfully did not find the day before; we were about 2 blocks from finding it and stumbled upon it by blind luck. Literally there are Korean BBQ's all lined up on either side of the streets. After a delicious dinner and a few shots of Soju to warm the belly, we made our way back to the hotel room to rest our feet and legs and enjoy the welcoming AC that seem to have eluded us most of the day. After a couple of beers and some Korean snacks we bought at some Korean store, I made my way back to Time Square to take some final pictures. The nights rest would bring an early morning departure back home to Saratoga Springs, sans huge delays. Although it was a short trip, it was one of the more gratifying ones since I got to share it with loved ones and it was jammed packed with as much as one can do over a weekend. I will return one day, for as much as I did over two days, there is about a hundred of other things I would love to see and experience. Thank you NYC for a great time. See you soon.