June 14-15                               Jersey City, New Jersey

We awakened to sunshine, blue sky, and little wind.  We couldn’t believe it!  David had office work to complete before we could leave for the city.  He stayed on the phone for several hours with various clients.  He loves doing work barefoot on a boat!

The small yellow ferry comes into our marina, makes a two minute trip to Warren Street, leading into Jersey City, on the opposite side of the channel, and then proceeds across the Hudson River to the terminal near the former site of the World Trade Center towers.  The terminal is a beautiful modernistic structure of aluminum and glass that also serves larger ferries for Statue of Liberty cruises.

On previous trips to New York, we had spent very little time in Lower Manhattan and were not familiar with the many new buildings and structures.  Battery Park on our first visit in the late 1970’s was neglected, filthy, and considered dangerous.  Today, it is beautiful with plants and blooming flowers, exceptionally clean, and filled with hundreds of people.  Strollers with babies and dogs were everywhere.  It was apparent the weekend had begun early for many New Yorkers who were enjoying the opportunity to be outdoors in lovely weather.

We were surprised to see the Irish Hunger Memorial, a mammoth structure erected in 2004 to honor and commemorate the thousands of immigrants from Ireland who came to this country to escape the horrible potato famine.  The memorial is entered through a tunnel lined with quotations from many sources on hunger and the importance of adequate food.  The tunnel ends in an unroofed room made of ancient stones from Ireland and designed to resemble the ruins of an Irish cottage.  The path then leads up a simulated hill with indigenous plants and ancient stones meant to recall an Irish landscape.  It is an unusual and moving memorial to a tragic event.

Our mission was to find the subway we would take on Saturday to the Theater District.  It was very near Trinity Church, the home church of Alexander Hamilton.  We had visited Trinity many years ago but wanted to see it once again.  The exterior was covered in scaffolding and the interior, open, dim, and uncrowded, was in need of refurbishing and scrubbing.  Trinity has an active congregation and ministry to the Wall Street area.  I could not resist a charming nativity from Peru in the small gift shop.  It will be a special addition to our collection of more than one hundred nativity sets.

Saturday was a beautiful day to go into the city.  We left early, rode the ferry across, took the subway to Times Square, and located the theater for Bette Midler’s play, I Will Eat You Last,  on Forty-Fifth Street.  We had time for lunch and opted for the Marriot Hotel where we had often dined in the past.  We were amazed to see the interior changes.  The eighth floor no longer revolved to give a view of Times Square and the entire area had been made into dining.  We enjoyed a light lunch before going across the street to the Booth Theater for the show.  Bette Midler starred in a one-person play based on the life of Sue Menger, a renowned Hollywood agent and hostess.  The set was beautiful, the dialogue was profane, and the gossip was incredible.  It was relevant more to older attendees than younger ones because references were to stars more famous twenty years ago than those of the present.  I found it entertaining but not wonderful; David was mostly bored. 

On Sunday, we had tickets for The Lion King, a show we had seen almost twenty years ago but wanted to experience again.  It was staged at the beautiful Marquis Theater.  When we entered, the attendants immediately noticed David had a cane and directed us to an elevator and gave us preferential early seating.  They were equally considerate after the show to be sure he was accommodated in exiting.  The show was incredible and we loved it as much as we had the first time.  On the subway, a young woman rose to give him her seat in the crowded car.  Someone has been teaching manners to New Yorkers!

We rode the subway and ferry back to the boat, stopping enroute to replenish our wine supply. After reaching the boat, we had a glass of wine and enjoyed the lovely sunset from the bow of the boat.  We are still incredulous that we couldlook across at the most beautiful skyline in the world.