Our week in NYC

Tuesday we took the dinghy to the marina and walked up to the Subway.  We rode down to Little Italy and Chinatown to wander around, look at the shops and watch the people.  We made a trip over to the tkts booth to get tickets to a couple of shows.  We rode up to Grand Central Station to wait out a rain shower and to take in the station.  It is a very impressive building.  From there we rode to Times Square and had dinner then went to the musical “Beautiful” at the Steven Sondheim Theatre.  I grew up listening to Carol King music without knowing it and when her Tapestry album came out I bought the 8 track and about wore it out.   Recently Cori bought the CD.  After the theater we made our way back to the boat.

Wednesday we made our way back downtown to the Stage Door Deli for the pastrami sandwich I have been craving.  The Deli has moved and is no longer the old style deli that I remember from when I would travel to the city for work but the food is still good.  From there we went up to 54^th street to take in the play “An Act of God” featuring Jim Parsons of Big Bank fame at Studio 54.  It was very enjoyable.  After the play we happened to walk out the exit where the cars were waiting so we joined the group waiting to see Jim when he left the theater.  We were close enough to be able to get our Playbill and ticket autographed and a couple of photos.  From there we stopped at a bakery for a piece of cheesecake, I love New York style cheesecake.  We walked down to Rockefeller Center then up 5^th avenue to Central Park.  We walked through a lot of the park finally exiting at the area designated Strawberry Fields in memory of John Lennon.  From there it was back to the boat to take some Ibuprofen for the aches and pains caused by all of that walking.

On Thursday we hung out on the boat most of the morning and then took the subway to the lower east side to have lunch at Katz’z deli.  Katz’s is the deli used in the movie “When Harry Met Sally” where they filmed the orgasm scene.  Just by luck we ended up sharing the famous table with a couple of nice ladies from Monterey CA that were on vacation.  The pastrami sandwich is expensive but well worth it.  It was the best pastrami sandwich I have ever had.  From there we walked to a bakery that according to our phone mapping programs specialized in cheesecake.  Unfortunately it was not the best but the walk wore off any calories it contained.  From there it was back uptown with a stop at Columbus Circle then back up to 79^th street.  Walking up the street we came across a Barns and Nobles store so I went in to browse and Cori headed down the street to find a new pair of shoes.

Friday we spent the morning on the boat then went to the marina with the intent of getting a couple of loads of wash done.  While the machines were running we wondered around the neighborhood and picked up a couple of things at TJ Max and Michaels.  Cori made the run back to the marina to change out loads I hung out at a little bookstore we came across.  On the way back to the boat we stopped at Café Lalo for another try at cheesecake.  Café Lalo is where they filmed the scene in “You’ve Got Mail” where Tom and Meg meet for the first time.

Saturday was overcast and cool so it was another good day to walk around the city.  We took the subway to Greenwich Village then walked to SOHO stopping at a small bakery for a croissant and some coffee for Cori.  From there we walked down Canal Street to catch a subway to Union Park.  There is a very big farmers market there on Saturday and we were advised to check it out.  You could buy just about anything there including ostrich eggs.  From there we moved to midtown to check out the Empire State Building and Macy’s.  I had found out there is a West Marine store there and I needed some bolts for a project.  From there it was back to the lower east side for lunch at Katz’s again.  This time I wanted to try their Ruben sandwich.  It was good but we still prefer the pastrami.  At this point it was threatening to rain so we caught the subway back up to the marina with a last stop at Times Square.  It proceeded to rain the rest of the evening and into the night. 

We had arrived at the marina on Sunday and paid for a week so it was time to leave.  First I had to bail out the dinghy which had about 8 inches of water in it from the rain.  Just before we were ready to drop the mooing lines Homeland Security stopped by to check us out.  It was just a routine stop so we didn’t get boarded.  We dropped the lines and started down the river back to the Battery.  With the engine doing a low idle the current was pushing us at 7 knots.  We made a pass by the Statue of Liberty again then motored around waiting for the tide to change.  After about an hour of dodging other boats we started up the East River.  We needed to time the trip up the river to make use of the incoming tide and to be at the area called “Hell Gate” close to slack tide when the currents are the calmest.  We made the trip up the river without incident and headed for Manhasset Bay where we are planning to spend the next week.  It is a 45 minute train ride into the city so we will be back in a couple more times and to be there on Saturday for the fireworks.  This is big change with the calm waters of the bay compared to the current and wakes we had on the Hudson River.