Crak & I trekked back in to finish the remaining four sights on our pass that is to expire this Tuesday. We knew it'd be a looooonnnnnggggg day & were (sort of) prepared for it. We met again at 10:30 in our spot at Penn & grabbed that same subway to head right back over the the now shady Intrepid-area. We were taking the Circle Line but couldn't believe that we actually did the Intrepid on the hottest day the other day. We have a PhD & a half between us & not a "lick of sense" at all. We should have done the museums the other day. But no. We made a plan & stuck to it. Maybe our determination is the flaw in our character. But I digress.
We got on line for the Circle Line & stood in the blazing sun. We had a 1/2 hour wait to board the ship & I was taking inventory of the families around us who came much better prepared with food & snacks & coolers of drinks. We had packed our little sandwiches & a bottle of water & I was hungry at 11am so I was not sure how I'd hold out until at least 1:30. Our tour guide, David, was so informative & entertaining. He pointed out the home of Alexander Hamilton & the infamous spot of the duel with him & Burr. We saw the Jersey City developments, the Chelsea Piers, the Statue of Liberty, the Verrazano Bridge, heard all about Tribeca, Chelsea, the Village, Little Italy, China Town, references to 'Gangs of New York' & 'Spiderman', the Brooklyn Bridge (and how it's use of cables make buildings over 6 floors possible), the Manhattan Bridge, & the Williamsburg Bridge. We saw Brooklin & Queens & the old Domino Sugar Factory. It was really a great trip & I recommend it to everyone!
We got off at 1:30 & I was beyond hungry, even though I had eaten my sandwich & chips on the boat. We grabbed another subway & headed over to the MOMA. I have never been interested in seeing this musem. I wasn't now, but it was on the pass & so I was going. It was okay. Smaller than I expected & I never realized that I have passed it dozens of times & just never noticed it. We did see the 'Dada' exhibit & the Andy Warhol famous pieces of Campbells & Marilyn Monroe. I had Crak rolling her eyes when I pointed out that the arrangement of the soup was incorrect. My knowledge from my days of being a Campbells rep. stick with me to this day. We even snuck a few more Jackson Pollock's in there. I can now say yes, I have been to the MOMA.
By this time we were famished & needed to eat. We stopped at some little place called Fluffy's Bakery. I had a broccoli cheese quiche with a small salad on the side. It hit the spot. I'd have preferred the Seattle Cafe again but that was out of our way & we had a schedule to keep.
After dining, we hopped another subway to 81st to the Museum of Natural History. There I got to see the photo exhibit of the 'Yellowstone to Yukon' which was so pretty & makes me want to go west. We also went to the Rose Center & the Hayden Planetarium. There we saw the Big Bang Theory broken down for us & the new movie "Cosmic Collides". So pretty & enertaining & comfy chairs.
Back out to the subway for our final stop. We were going to the top of the Empire State Building. I haven't been up there in like 20 years. We got on a line that was filled with annoying people & waited. And waited. And waited. While waiting to enter the hallway that would take us to the elevator, we had the chance to chat with the young man at the rope. He was the one who let the line in. He asked us a few questions & then showed us a picture of his 2-month old son, Angel. He was such the proud father! Then I told him that he "is so lucky" because that is what I say to anyone with a baby because I want one. He then looked at Crak & me and said "You ain't got no babys, miss?" We both said "No". He said "Oh, you gotta have a baby". Yeah--from your lips to God's ears, Angel's daddy.
This line, however, cracked us up & we held it until we got to the top of the building. It would have been rude to laugh at him when he was so nice.
We walk out onto the observation deck & the first thing we see is King Kong. Yup. Someone in a costume taking pictures with the tourists. I am not a fan of people in costumes. They freak me out. Crak, on the other hand, is terrified. We immediately went the other way to avoid him. I took a look out at the Chrystler Building & then backed way up so that there was space between me & the people across the make-shift aisle to see out. As I am waiting for Crak, I turn to look to my left. However, on my right I hear the odd sound of a footstep that does not belong to a normal person. I whip my head around just in time to see Kong behind Crak. OH NO! I couldn't say her name & he taps her on the shoulder & she looks back & up & the color drains for her face. Oh I felt sooooooooo bad!
We made a beeline in the other direction & finished up at the top. Down we went in the speedy elevators & over to the nearest Starbucks because I was hungry again. We snacked & rested & then made our way back to Penn to hop a train home. This all seems like not much but it took us 12 hours from start to finish. I got on a 9:40am train & arrived back at the station at 9:40pm. That's a lot to do!
Another hot, funfilled, touristy day with Crak. Always a good time.
