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Visit Dates: February 27 & 28, 2019

All right, let’s see if I can do this. Carla, Linda, and I went to New York City at the end of February to visit Linda’s son, Kevin, who moved there last Fall. We were joined by Nancy – a long time family friend who has trekked with us through the US and parts of Europe over the years. Nancy is a nurse and a hero; she saved my niece’s and grand niece’s lives a few years ago – but that’s a story for another time.

I picked up a nasty bug on the trip and have been pretty laid up since we got back. I finally went to the doctor Friday to discover I had a slight case of pneumonia; she fixed me up with some drugs and I’m definitely on the mend.

Anyway, back to New York City. Back when we planned this trip I asked “Why are we going to New York City in February?” The answer: “It’s Kevin’s birthday!” I rejoined: “Well, that explains why Linda is going but it doesn’t explain why we are going.” Cue the laughs. We had true winter weather with snow almost every day. But there wasn’t enough bad weather to stop us from exploring. We found an AirBnB in Brooklyn just a few blocks from the “L” train so it was easy enough to get into Manhattan.

It took all day Tuesday February 26 to get to the east coast. Nancy flew from the San Francisco Bay Area and we all met at the Newark Airport; then hired a Lyft to drive under the Hudson River, over the East River and into Brooklyn. On Wednesday the four of us headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the east side of Central Park. Carla and I were there a couple of years ago but it is so big there is always plenty to see.

A word to the wise – if you are traveling with Carla and Linda you WILL see some museums. After Kevin was done working for the day he met up with us at The Met and we all walked up to the the Museum of the City of New York. I particularly enjoyed an exhibit about Jackie Robinson.

I especially like this picture of fans getting autographsy

Kevin’s partner Natalie was able to join us for dinner. On the way home we got off the subway at one of the first stops in Brooklyn, picked up some Barbeque at Fette Sau – which was excellent – and took it up for a feast. Yum!

The weather was clear the next morning so we decided to hit Chelsea Market and The Highline. Taking the “L” train to its stopping point in Manhattan dropped us off within blocks of Chelsea Market. We window shopped and then had lunch. I had an AMAZING deli sandwich.

Kevin met us at lunch and then joined us on the walk along The Highline. Carla and I walked part of this elevated-train-track-converted-to-a-long-park in July 2016. On this day we walked the entire length starting at Gansevoort Street (15th ST) and ending up at 12th Ave and 34th St.

The famous New York skyline is visible along the walk; here is the Empire State Building (I think!)

There is a lot of new development going on in this area – most of it in an area called Hudson Yards. Although Brooklyn wasn’t happy about the residential impact of Amazon setting up shop in Brooklyn, Manhattan opened its arms wide.

Hudson Yards is aptly named – it is near the Hudson River and is a train yard for subways and commuter trains.

The weather was clear but boy was it cold – we had to stay bundled up to protect from the wind coming off the Hudson River.

As the afternoon progressed we headed over to The Tenement Museum on Delancey Street at the west end of the Williamsburg Bridge. We had tickets for a 3:00PM tour. When the apartment buildings were first build, the word “tenement” didn’t have the negative correlation it has today. It was an attempt to provide working class housing in the burgeoning city during the Gilded Age. But they are hovels compared to today’s standards. There was no lighting in the hallways and the only water was a common pump in the courtyard. Heat was provided by a coal fireplace in the main room. Bathrooms consisted of 4 outhouses in the back. The tour followed two families who lived in the apartments – one when it opened in the 1860’s and another when it closed – due to poor conditions, in the 1930’s. It was my favorite museum of our visit – I highly recommend it for your next NYC trip.

After the museum we headed over to Russ and Daughter’s deli for dinner. I had a secured bagel: that is, a bagel with Lox (locks) on it.

Another great meal in New York City. We went home, and slept well that night.

EDIT: March 21, 2019. Added pictures of Jackie Robinson and the Russ & Daughters placemat menu.