Day 27, July 11: New York City

Up with breakfast and coffee and then off by train back to New York City. Our first stop in the morning was kind of an off the beaten path place: The High Line Park. This was a couple mile park that was a walking path remade out of and abandoned elevated train structure. Neighborhood activists insisted that the track not be demolished, but turned into a community place. We walked for quite a long time in the shade of the cool morning and the trees growing in this new park. We enjoyed the native plants which were being tended by volunteers supervised by horticulturalists. There was also a lot of beautiful art that was created for this public area.

We took a break off of The High Line to visit Chelsea Market. This massive redeveloped Nabisco cracker factory is now a stunningly beautiful commercial place, with shops and restaurants all in a re-purposed beautiful building. We had some New York pizza for lunch as well as gelato. It was as a great place for a break.

We walked further along the High Line and then spotted another interesting park. This one was called “The Little Island” and was made by putting really interesting tulip shaped pylons on the site of an old pier.  They literally made a new little island on the river. We walked and enjoyed the plants, the views and people enjoying themselves overlooking the Hudson River.

We wandered back and caught the subway up towards the Broadway area. There we separated with Gere  and Betty going off to a bookstore while Patti and Dick went to visit the new Museum of Broadway. This museum only opened about six months ago, but has some things worth seeing and is focused on the history of Broadway especially its musicals. Theater started way back in the late 1800s, and of course continues to the present. Both of us enjoyed seeing the video clips, costumes, props, play bills, and other things focusing on Broadway. As we walked through the various displays music could often be heard from Oklahoma, Showboat, Phantom of the Opera, Hair, and Hamilton. There were lots of things to read, as well as some photo opportunities. It was sobering to reflect on the impact Covid had on the theater community with no Broadway shows for 18 months in 2020 and 2021. We’re so grateful that they are back to a more normal time again.

We trudged back to the train station having picked up some things for dinner and got back to our Airbnb apartment exhausted and all either read or took naps. Another day of 9 miles of walking, which is more than we are used to. But we sure saw some beautiful sites in New York again.