High Line Explore and a Birthday Dinner... oh, and Jillian just saw Billy Ray Cyrus... He's staying in our building too!

My gosh, one lazy morning after the other... and this was no exception!  love, love, love it!  This has been a great trip... we were excited to get here, and now we're excited to get home!  But, don't let me get ahead of myself...
Today started with fresh Starbucks and Morning Buns.  Jerry made a run bright and early for the birthday girl... Love that guy!
Eventually we started out and wanted to check out High Line.  The High Line is a public park built on an historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side... that's about the only way I can describe it.  Before we got there, those we stopped at a couple different geocaches... the last one, you see the picture with Jerry, we were trying to be sneaky as we were searching... so I  was taking his pic to disguise what was going one.  Was fun, cuz while we were signing the log, a couple saw us and figured out what we were doing, cuz they had the same coordinates... They were from Sweden and also were doing geocaches! 
Back to our original mission, we ended up checking out the Chelsea Market on our way... It's located in the National Biscuit Company building, and in the 1890's, the ovens baked everything from Saltines to Oreos. How's that for some history... It's now filled with restaurants, some shops, like Anthropolgie... The foodie part of the complex was huge... and, I will say, it smelled really fishy to me... There were bakeries, bookstores, restaurants, florists, etc.... but, the fish... that's all I smelled.  Walking by some of the tables next to the restaurants, I saw a couple plates with huge lobsters on them... aha!
We passed on through and then climbed up to the Rail Park. Really done nicely... we were darn chilly though... closer to the water, and the breeze was nippy... but, not as bad as yesterday. The walk was beautiful with lots of interesting artwork along the way. Highly recommend the jaunt through this area. Probably even more pretty in the warm weather!
Had Birthday dinner at The Smith and Nancy Pedot joined us! Fun conversation, great drinks, good food - perfect! And, to top it off, a little birthday cake!
Now, we have not been aware, but Billy Ray Cyrus is staying in this building we are in. Last week, Miley was here while we were here... and dang we missed it all! Jillian saw him tonight as he was coming home from his 8 o'clock show 'Chicago'... he has a limited run there now playing Billy, the lawyer. WooHoo 
Okay, so tomorrow, we are bidding the city goodbye and heading home. Thank you, Big Apple! We enjoyed taking a bite out of you this past week!
 

A very interesting fountain, coming from the ceiling!

and ending up here in the floor!

 

Chelsea Market

These lobster's were HUGE!

Heading on through 

Interesting artwork on the wall as we left! 

 

what fun wooden lounges up in the park... some of them, like these, were on roller wheels that ran on the tracks!
 

 

This sign was funny... but I know, he's never too busy for anything!

A different view of a parking garage that stacks the cars... this is from above... 

 

So, that would be the Empire State Building in the distance
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In person, this really looked like a person.... the picture, being one dimensional could encompass that!  It was a hoot as you walked along the rail line!

Happy Birthday Celebration.... Thanks to my fam and Nancy P for joining us!

Wow... Woke up to a breezy, chilly, crisp day... A great one for a walk in a park!

We knew it was breezy when we could see the leaves blowing around... right out our window on the 10th floor.  Not a determent at all... after a lazy morning, found our way back on the train and headed for the park... and decided to do a bit of geocaching.  The park was full of folks... and horse drawn carriages (with lots of blankets)... and pedicab type bicycles... If you stood still for too long, someone would call from the road "Would you like a ride?"  No way, we were on a mission!
The park's leaves were so fun when the wind whipped them up!  Course, no camera out when that happened!
 

So here's a geocache that we found (out of it's hiding place, obviously)  ... it took way too long... but there are so many people around and you have to look for it discreetly... Hidden in a big Manhattan schist there (don't know what that is?  you'll have to Google it)... The different rock formations are so beautiful... much rounder than what we have in the northwest.  We also searched for another cache, but alas never found that one.  Looking at the online logs, seemed two other folks searched and couldn't find it... me thinks it might be missing!
 

Piles of branches... cleanup in the park after Sandy... The Park really had very little damage...in comparison to Staten Island and New Jersey!
 

So, after a great dinner, we ordered a cannoli to share... it disappeared so fast, how did that happen?
Jillian... was it you?????
and she put on the best innocent look...

And, of course, a mom's all knowing eyes... she knows, Jilli and Jerry plowed through it! 

So we're not speaking anymore!

 

From 9/11 to the Tenements.... Our country's history.... old and new!

Quite an emotional, fun and educational day.... all rolled up in one!  Hopped the train to get us to Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial.  Jerry and I had been here two months after the initial tragedy... I remember the odor, the stunned silence of people still, truck after truck being filled with debris (knowing that in that debris, there were probably human remains that had been pulverized) and I still can see a lady standing there with her rosary and praying as each of those trucks went by. The site is now so different.  They have created a memorial that is built right over the area.... and around the memorial park, new high rises are being built (one of which, the one that is most recognizable, is having a spire on top, and as we are here, it is being floated down from Canada...When placed on the building, I think it said the building will be the tallest in our hemisphere).  The pool fountains are beautiful... one for each tower...North and South...and with the names of all who perished (rescuers and workers) etched in the granite.  The actual Memorial Museum is not yet open... but I was able to get a few pics through the windows of pieces of the original towers.
A little know item in the park... at least to outsiders like us...there is also a special pear tree on the grounds call the "Survivor Tree".  It was originally there when the Towers stood.  9/11 workers found the tree, just a huge 8 foot fall stump in the wreckage.  The tree was brought back to health at another park, and grew to, I think, about 30 feet.  Even while recovering at the Park, when Hurricane IRENE (not Sandy), it was again uprooted... but...  true to it's name, it survived.  It was  moved in December 2010 back to the park... supported by temporary guide wires while it is taking root.  It survived Sandy...
We got back on the train and headed toward Little Italy.... time for lunch... and it was delish..topped off with a canoli! They had a display outside the restaurant... and the stack of garlic bread was like a magnet for Jerry...
Went to another bakery that was known for their famous canoli's. We each ordered a mini one and, well, theirs were pretty darn good. We have not been disappointed so far! We had tickets for the Tenement Museum. Time to get hoofing!  They have the tours divided up into individual families that lived there, life styles, store fronts... AND you need to make RSVP's in advance.  The place fills up.

I cannot say enough about the museum.  I feel like a broken record, but, I wish I had been more interested in history when I was in school.  In 1863, this tenement apartment building was home to nearly 7000 working immigrant working class families. When built there was no running water, no toilets...Eventually, I don't remember when, outhouses and a newly developed system of removing the was created.  Water, though, had to be lugged up the stairs in buckets. There is so much more I could share...but, I'll spare you!

How we treated immigrants... well, in some respects, it is still not much different.  Some were well thought of... while others treated with disdain... gee... sounding familiar isn't it!  I never realized how much the Irish were looked down on.... yet, German's, they were well liked.  The Tenement Museum didn't allow pictures, but I tried to grab a few. This building was forced to lock up all the upper floors in 1935, rather than continue to modify the building (the last modification the city required was to remove the wooden staircase, cuz it was a fire hazard), the landlord evicted the residents, boarded the upper windows, and sealed the upper floors, leaving only the stoop-level and basement storefronts open for business.  In 1988, a woman interested in created a museum/memorial to these hard working folks, discovered this gem and with help from many created this place.  

Okay.... enough... Am looking forward to putting Christmas Decorations up when we get home.... Can you believe that? 

 

 

That is just a crane on top... not the spire!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Layers of life in the tenement walls.  They actually counted in one place, 35 layers of paint.  Wall paper, dark and dreary, few windows, and each apartment consisted of a parlor, kitchen and bedroom... and sometimes up to 10 members of a family lived in one...
 

 

 

Our weekly Metro pass has really gotten a workout!
 

So, what's a crumb cake look like? and what did we do this Turkey Day".... well, not much!

Ahhhhh... what to be thankful for? I will tell you... a wonderful life blessed by the Lord and family and friends that mean so much! Today we talked about just that.

The day started out slooooowwwwwwllllyyyy.... I mean really slow... we watched the parade... ON TV... and we were in our jammies till almost lunch.  A really wonderful morning!  We were watching neat stories about the balloons and last evening when they were blowing them up... sure made it seem like a super, romantic, family thing to participate in... I can tell you... not so much the case! Anyway... still a great day!

Took off after lunch and Darren called just as we were leaving... love those speaker phone calls... it brings all of us together on days we are apart.  One sis is in Paris Illinois... and the other, well, I reserved some of Jon's special dressing for us when we return!  And, talking about our return, we found out Oliver is being quite clingy to Linn, who takes care of him while we are gone... made my heart sad for him.

Walked around and headed toward Hell's Kitchen and couple geocaches.  On the way we found skinniest, out of place, high rise apartment building... looked so weird.   Jerry and Jillian broke the law and stood where no standing was allowed... trying to take the pic was a gas... Jillian had the worse case of the giggles!  It was contagious to say the least!  

Back home, and just started to settle in for an evening of NCIS marathon... aren't we exciting!  Had the best Thanksgiving dinner... and I'm writing this under the influence of a couple glasses of wine.... feels good!

 

Yup.... that would be a skinny building...
 

aha... finding a geocache and getting ready to sign it!  All the ones in the city here are tiny or what we call, nano caches!
 

Jillian taking a pic of me being very clever!
 

And... what are you shocked by Jerry?.... never did find out!
 

I love these steam pipes all over the city.... trying to be artsy and made it black and white!
 

Oh no, will they get a ticket?
 

Okay.... what doesn't belong in this picture?