Your Moment Of Zen, From New Jersey Transit

On the commuter train from New York to the town where my sister lives in the New Jersey suburbs.       

A Town So Nice They Had To Name It Twice

New York, New York, a helluva town.

The Bronx is up, but the Battery's down.

The people ride in a hole in the groun'.

New York, New York, it's a helluva town!

From Leonard Bernstein's 1944 Musical, On The Town. You might say that this was the pre-show on our hotel terrace before the fireworks started.

The top picture is the Queensboro Bridge, sometimes called the 59th Street Bridge for the latitude where it enters Manhattan. Us geezers will remember the song made famous by Simon and Garfunkle. The bottom one looks straight into midtown at about 55th and 56th Streets. 

NYC Fireworks

Short video at the end with commentary by Madeleine. Best fireworks ever. Shot from a roof terrace in Long Island City where we were staying.     

The Fourth of July

Part of the inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty says:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!   

 I don't think we take the words so seriously these days.

Going to try to shoot the NYC fireworks tonight. It's a big deal.

 

Tourist Shots

We all take pictures of lower Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry. We all sneak pictures of other people in the subway. Everyone takes pictures of their squirmy kids when they travel. Who am I to differ?       

Back To Queens

Ellie on the way for her first trip to New York. There were thunderstorms, LaGuardia was closed for a while, and we spent an impatient hour in Richmond, Virginia. Got there just in time to hop in a taxi and go directly to the restaurant we had booked, Soleluna in Sunnyside. It was fabulous. Narrow storefront, superb, fresh Italian food and lovely people. A great NYC experience.

Queens Boulevard is the main thoroughfare of my old neighborhood. The convenience store next to the restaurant had a coin-operated kiddie ride. This stretch of the Number 7 line has graceful concrete arches, not the usual steel girders. Note the Empire Sate Building in the background of the last picture.   

The Old Neighborhood

Arial view of Sunnyside, Queens, the neighborhood where I grew up, taken from a plane approaching LaGuardia (obviously in the winter). There are a few labels in the photo. We may see this vista later today. The area is a short train ride from midtown Manhattan.  

It was, and still is, a solid middle-middle class area although housing prices have gone up at an alarming pace. The family plans to have dinner there tonight.