New York City // 29 July
Ready for another warm day we packed out hats and water and this time headed to the Greenpoint ferry. We took in the breezes and views from the top deck, along the east River, under the Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, to Pier 11 (near Wall St). It was Saturday morning so people where heading out to parks and markets along the river.
Ferry ride down the East River…
Little Island and Chelsea Market… We walked past the busy Staten Island Ferry terminal then jumped on the subway up to the Meatpacking District. We visited Little Island, a park created on one of the piers along the Hudson’s River. We were looking for some shade and a breeze but Little Island was more walking paths and lookouts, with a sunny courtyard. Probably perfect in any other NYC weather than today. We headed to nearby Chelsea Market to escape the heat and enjoyed lunch and looking through the quirky shops and boutique cafes/eateries.
The High Line… From Chelsea Market we took the stairs up to the HighLine, a park and walkway along a retired elevated subway track. Lots of people were walking and enjoying the lush gardens. You can still see the old subway tracks in some sections and there are sculptures, artworks on buildings and seating areas along the walkway. As we passed in between the rows of buildings the breezes from the river swept through, so good to help cool down!
Dinner at Macy’s… At the north end of the High Line we stopped to admire The Vessel artwork/building and walked through Hudson Yards shopping center to Macy’s. We had an early dinner booked at the Italian restaurant on the 7th floor with views of the Empire State Building, which the kiddos felt was very fancy. Before dinner we browsed in the air-con and rode some of the original wooden escalators, apparently the first in a department store. The were satisfyingly clunky and sturdy.
Circle Line Cruise… Our early dinner was because we were booked on the 7pm Circle Line Harbour Cruise. We were excited to see the city lights from the river. We forgot that it wouldn’t be dark until 9pm, so it was more of a sunset cruise, but it was gorgeous to see the city from the river and as it was a 2hr cruise we did get to see the city lights as we came back along the Hudson – best of both worlds! We tried to get seats upstairs but the top deck was already full, lucky for us, as a huge storm came over while we were onboard. We had been watching the forecast all day, worried the cruise might be cancelled. We hoped it would pass but it was looming behind us as we set off from the pier. About 20mins in it started pouring! Some people upstairs had ponchos but lots got soaked. Most people didn’t mind as it was still so warm. The storm passed quickly and we got some bonus views of the storm clouds and rainbows along with the sunset.
Times Square… On the way to and from our cruise we also got to experience the craziness that is Times Square. Robin had been talking about getting a NY hotdog every day so this was his final chance. Unfortunately we got stung by not asking how much they were beforehand so it didn’t taste quite as good 😬.
It was very late again by the time we arrived back at the RV, weary but glad that the storm had started to cool things off. We took in the city lights from our spot along the river before showers and bed. The next day was much cooler which made pack-up a breeze and it was a pretty straightforward drive out of the city and north towards Boston. Whew! Talk about a few huge days. A rest day was certainly in order.