Floyd's Travels and Thoughts on Life: March 2017

In March 2017 I visited New York City for a week. I left Cedar Rapids on a Delta flight to Atlanta and then got a plane from Atlanta to JFK airport (I know, a ridiculous and circuitous routing, but that was a much cheaper fare than any of the more direct flights; air fares often make no sense!). At JFK I took the Air Train to Jamaica Station ($5) where I purchased a Metro Card good for a week of travel on any of NYC's subways or buses ($31). Then I got on the E subway into Manhattan. The E train eventually heads South to the 9/11 Memorial, so at 7th Avenue I transferred to the D train which went to Columbus Circle. I got off at Columbus Circle and then walked several blocks to the Watson Hotel on West 57th where I had booked a room with a king-sized bed for the week.
I had a great time during my week in NYC, even though the weather was quite cold at times. NYC is a vibrant and energizing place, full of interesting places to visit and exciting things to do. I was only a short walk from Lincoln Center, and on four evenings I attended performances at the Metropolitan Opera (Dvorak's "Rusalka", Gounod's "Romeo and Juliet", Verdi's "La Traviata" and Mozart's "Idomeneo"). I was also able to hear two free concerts at two different churches, St. Paul's Chapel and St. Paul's Church, both of which sponsor free public concerts. I became quite proficient negotiating the many different subways lines in the city and spent every daylight hour sightseeing, managing to see nearly every sight I hoped to see. I went as far North as Uptown to Grant's Tomb, the largest mausoleum in the U.S., and to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, America's largest cathedral. I spent much of a day exploring lovely Central Park. I walked to Cleopatra's Needle, an obelisk gifted to NYC in 1881. The obelisk was one of two that once stood in front of the Temple of the Sun in ancient Egypt, erected in 1425 by Pharaoh Thutmose III. I walked around Washington Square and Greenwich Village in Midtown Manhattan. I visited two old and historic churches, St. Paul's Chapel and Trinity Church, the burial place of Alexander Hamilton. I spent a day in Battery Park in Downtown Manhattan, where I was able to see the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, and was able to visit a most interesting museum, the American Museum of Native Americans (one of the city's free attractions). I explored, by subway, bus, and on foot, as much of NYC as I could, from Uptown to Downtown, from the East Side to the West Side.
Especially moving was the 9/11 Memorial and the South Pool and the North Pool, where the South Tower and the North Tower of the World Trade Center once stood.
I also took the opportunity one day to go to Pennsylvania Station and take a train on the Long Island RR out to Long Island where I was able to visit my brother Roger and his wife JoAnn, and to see my nephew Jeffrey, all of whom I hadn't seen for many years.
Here are just a few of the many photo's which I took during my visit.