There is a strange beauty to the reflectivity of these buildings going up. This was a cloudy day, getting dark, yet the buildings capture a light.
Had a leisurely drive back to PGH today across the southern route - the PA Turnpike.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
More on the 911 Memorial, Lower Manhattan, and making our way back to PGH
Somehow we wrested ourselves away from the OWS and continued around the Ground Zero Site. It seems that in order to go onto the Grounds itself you need a (free) "permit" from the Internet. I saw a very long line of people with a printed page. I'm not sure that the guards were checking them, but we didn't want to stand in line, anyway.
There is a strange beauty to the reflectivity of these buildings going up. This was a cloudy day, getting dark, yet the buildings capture a light.
This is a shrine to the Firefighters of 911, on one of the streets surrounding Ground Zero.
The light reflected in the buildings ...
Now it is really dark and I am impressed with the many people who ride bicycles around Manhattan. They even have a bike lane going down the MIDDLE of certain streets. These girls look like they are coming home from work.
Bars are filling up. We went into this one to go to the bathroom. We really were going to patronize the place, but it was so busy we just moved on.
Finally, decided just to get out of the city and head home. Took a LONG time to get to the Holland Tunnel and then through it (traffic just grid-locks), but finally we made it.
Stayed in a great place somewhere in NJ. Our hotel happened to be near the Hitachi main office (John worked for these guys the years we were in MO and IL). We found a good Chinese restaurant there for dinner. Somehow felt more "normal" to be out of Manhattan (definitely quieter), but had me musing on what happens in big cities. I think that being in the bosom of the mass of humanity causes a change in one's psyche, but John says that we would go wacky there after too long.
Had a leisurely drive back to PGH today across the southern route - the PA Turnpike.
We fetched Jubilee from the Lucky Paws Resort (she survived), and the plan is to be on the road to FL tomorrow!
There is a strange beauty to the reflectivity of these buildings going up. This was a cloudy day, getting dark, yet the buildings capture a light.
Had a leisurely drive back to PGH today across the southern route - the PA Turnpike.
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Safe trip down to FLA. That would be too much on the road for me.
ReplyDeleteMontreal has sold its Bixi bike system to NYC. You rent a bike at one locale and drop it at another. Not so sure I like having so many bikes on the road here. Car traffic lanes are considerably narrower and that makes accidents of all kinds a bit easier.
That's sounds like a good Bike idea, Barbara. But I agree, riding a bike in the city takes nerves. Heck, I was nervous in a car! I think that the idea would work well in a less crowded city, though. I remember several years ago seeing people in Seattle (and Portland) riding their bikes to the bus station and then putting the bike on a rack on the front of the bus. I thought that was a breakthrough.
ReplyDeleteReally, we've all been suckered in the USA - much of the economy was built on everyone needing a car. I'm sure that there are about 10 times too many cars in NYC. Most people get it, though, and do without cars there.
When I grew up in NYC, even back then!, it made no sense to drive in Manhattan. I give you props for trying and thinking you might find a parking space. I don't drive in downtown Montreal, if I can help it. Public transportation is more efficient -- especially in the socked in winter months. I usually drive to the metro station and take the subway or walk a few blocks and take one of the buses that pass through my neighbourhood.
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