New York City Adventure June 2009

First Impressions of the Big Apple

June 26, 2009

A friend and I took a 420 mile road trip to New York City from Pittsburgh, Pa. Since I have never been to this huge metropolis until now I have a fresh perspective of it.
I offer a qualifier of my opinion in that I do not relish large cities of any kind. I did not stay long enough to gain a meaningful knowledge of the city so bare with me.

We took the Pa turnpike to Carlisle then route 81 north to 78 east. Along the way we stopped in Lebanon Pa for lunch finding a great little place off 22 and 78 called Esther’s. It was much like a diner. The raspberry custard pie was made with wild picked berries and the vegetable beef soup was good.

As we progressed closer to New York we stopped at a great little village in New Jersey named Clinton. The village has a red grist mill standing tall along the creek running through town. We setup our tripods to photograph the mill. As we continued I noticed that many of the homes and buildings in this part of the country are built with local stone. Many dairy farms dot the hillsides along route 78.
After we crossed the Delaware Water Gap into the Garden State I could not help notice that the drivers are crazy. Storm clouds and wind welcomed us to New York and we continued to the Bear Mountain area 25 miles outside the city limits. Our first night was spent in Stony Point New York. We missed the spectacular sunset but could see it durning the Mets, Yanky's baseball game on the TV. It would have been better to be on Staten Island photographing the city but we were too beat from the long drive up.

June 27, 2009

Saturday morning we got a late start. A place called Deli Central in Stony Point is a great first stop in the morning. It is a local favorite and has delicious breakfast sandwiches called Sobo and Hobo. The corned beef breakfast sandwich includes home fries on it and a free coffee. Everything is fresh and good here. I got a genuine NY bagel with cream cheese.

The Palisaide Interstate Parkway is clean and a nice way to travel going to the Big Apple. Gas on the Jersey side is lower in price and nothing but full service. The parkway leads to the George Washington Bridge going into the city.

The city is a concrete jungle much the same as other cities only much bigger. Many nice parks and recreational areas are situated among the concrete. My introduction to New York City was by way of Broadway going to Little Italy and China Town. Some interesting observations are that many of the natives have small manageable dogs and walk them wherever they go. Water towers sit on top of many buildings. Fruit stands and vendors of other goods are everywhere. One should never go hungry in this city. I never saw so many yellow cabs racing up and down the streets. The traffic became more and more congested as the day worn on and the people crowd the streets late in the day. Many tongues are spoken by a diverse immigrant population including the occasional English. Many ethnic groups have sections within the city that is considered their territory.

The colossal scope of the metropolitan area boggles the mind. I wonder how they manage the logistics of everything, such as water and power supply, sewage treatment, waste disposal, and the like. Many transportation options are available including the infamous subway system. Entrance points to the subway are scattered all over the city and some are located in the most unlikely places. Bicycling around the streets is common.

An infinite number of restaurants and deli grocers line the streets. We went sight seeing to Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building and the main entrance to Central Park. The entrance to Central Park is very busy with horse drawn carriage, rickshaws, vendors of hot pretzels and other activities. People love to ride a bike or walk in the park. Central Park is an expansive oasis in the midst of an otherwise dreadful jungle.

China Town is a congested area close to Little Italy and has open markets of seafood and many unusual food items imported from Asia. Little Italy has several shops of imported goods and quite a few Restaurant to choose from. I just had to come away being able to say that I enjoyed spaghetti in Little Italy. We decided on Grotta Azzorra on the corner of Mulberry and Broome Street. I ordered the works just to make sure to cover all the basis; spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, salad, fried zucchini and Peroni beer. It might have been costly but worth the experience. The tomato sauce was one of the better sauces I have had the opportunity to enjoy. The price is high but sometimes you need to bite the bullet and go for it.

I took some time to go around and photograph several vendors and markets.

The traffic became increasingly insufferable as the day advanced; horns blasting, police sirens whaling, cars and trucks screeching closer and closer. Thank God that my friend did all of the driving because I would have been hard pressed to make the attempt.

We traveled into Brooklyn across the Manhattan Bridge. Brooklyn is a different part of town with different ethnicity. The buildings and streets seem ragged around the edges relative to down town. Brooklyn is unimpressive other than the famous Coney Island where Nathan’s is located. After the sun fell closer to the horizon we made our way down to Coney Island and photographed the Cyclone Coaster. Nathan’s is a prominent establishment and you cannot go away without ordering a hotdog at Nathan’s. The darker the sky becomes the more restless the natives.
We ended the day with a visit to Grenache Village after the sunset. Grenache Village is an eclectic hodgepodge of wild clubs and hangouts leaning towards the bizarre.

June 28 2009

Sunday morning we decide to drive back into the city and down South Street to the Sea Port. Pier 17 is where the action is. This day many Porto Ricans and Latinos celebrated the day with a live band and other festive activities.

I took the water taxi on a tour to the Statue of Liberty. It was an emotional trip because it was the first time to see her close up face to face. The boat captain played God Bless America and Frank Sinatra singing NYNY.
The World Trade Center location is an incredibly large gash in the heart of the city; a wound that yet bleeds. To see the location like that in person tugs at the heart and I seemed to imagine screams echo within . Many of the surrounding structures have been cleaned up and restored to their original state. But the two towers have yet to be replaced and most likely will not for some time.

Many more attractions can be found within the city but time would not permit the experience.

June 29 2009

Monday morning we stopped at Deli Central to have our breakfast and a group of old timers gathered to socialize. They had a few funny things to say and joked with each other.

We hit the road early knowing that a long road was ahead of us back to Pittsburgh. We stopped back in Clinton and enjoyed lunch at the Clinton House restaurant. I ordered the turtle soup and sliced roast beef sandwich. The trurtle soup came with sherry and the roast beef was great. The homemade rustic bread was also very good. This famous local favorite also has an outstanding bakery. Every confection that I procured was devoured greedily soon afterward. They have a web site http://www.theclintonhouse.com/


Later in the day we stopped in Bellefonte Pa off route 80. This is a nice little town with some rather interesting Victorian architecture. The Bellefonte restaurant had good food. I enjoyed the ham and bean soup with homemade ravioli.

After 420 miles up and 420 miles back we finally returned home. Total trip miles was around 1250 miles in 4 days time.

Advice if visiting New York City
Stay in town if you can.
Use public transportation, do not rent a car
Avoid weekends and holidays, try to visit during the off season
Ask the locals for advice on where to eat and how to get around
Keep alert, pay attention, and be safe when crossing streets
The city can never be fully appreciated in just a few days you will need at least 5 to 7 days to take it all in.