The Big Apple has a lot to offer

By Marise Boehs

July 11, 2008 12:30 am

— If you are going on vacation you might as well go somewhere big. For this Okie gal it doesn't get much bigger than New York City.
My interest in New York City was sparked last summer when I was unemployed and watching street vendor food and I was hooked -- intrigued enough to swallow my fear of flying and massive crowds and being away from home for days on end.
And the experience did not disappoint. My partner Ursula Faus arranged the trip. She has much travel experience, having been to Costa Rica and China the past year, so I knew I was in good hands. Our flight left Oklahoma City early Thursday morning on time and without conflict and continued through the Chicago airport into Newark, N.J. We found our hotel shuttle and off we went.
Our hotel, The Wellington, was in midtown Manhattan a couple of blocks from Central Park, next to Broadway and within easy walking distance of Times Square and Grand Central Station. As soon as we'd checked in and caught our breaths we began walking south on Broadway to Times Square and on to the Financial District and the harbor. We'd walked six miles without even realizing it -- soaking up the crowds of people, walking and talking and all the many sights we'd seen on television, magazines and newspapers. It was intense.
We walked through Battery Park, past Ground Zero and up through Greenwich Village. Dusk turned to dark and still we walked. Back at Times Square we went into the subway and purchased a seven day MetroCard and caught a train back to a few blocks from our hotel.
Friday we started the day in Central Park. This turned out to be my favorite place in New York City. It is pretty, peaceful and a good place to see how the residents of Upper Manhattan spend their leisure time. I had my first hotdog for lunch in the park that day. It was good. We went through the American Museum of Natural History in the morning, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the afternoon.
Later that afternoon, we took a river cruise around the harbor. The cruise was 7-9 p.m. which allowed us to see the Manhattan skyline from all sides as the city lights came on.
This is a trip I would highly recommend. The guide pointed out the hole in the skyline left by the towers and other interesting tidbits about the buildings and their inhabitants.
While I was constantly amazed and moved by the things we saw, what really impressed me was the number of visitors other than Americans who had come to see the same sites we'd come to see. Tourists come from around the world to New York City. English was not the language we heard spoken most.
This was most evident at the Empire State Building where we were intermingled with a group of more than 40 South Koreans on tour. Their tour guide was an American from West Virginia who throughout the summer takes groups through New York and Canada.
By the end of a day of museums, a river cruise and the Empire State Building we were exhausted. The street crowds had really picked up for the weekend and the rickshaws were abundant, so Ursula hired one to take us to the hotel. This was a traffic experience like no other, sitting on a bicycle seat for two with this guy peddling through the traffic. He was weaving in and out of traffic between cabs, cars and buses as they honked and impatiently waited -- or not. Was I ever glad to be at the hotel door.
Saturday morning we slept in. Around noon we started south to Times Square again and found the Broadway box office. Here is where you can get "day of" tickets for drastically reduced prices. We weren't too particular about what we wanted to see, and scored big on our third request -- third row seats to "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" for $50 each. What a deal and what an experience. It was at the Broadhurst Theatre which first opened in 1917. The atmosphere remains authentic and the cast was first rate. It was a memory I'll treasure forever.
Sunday, we started out in the park on the east side and went into the Central Park Zoo. After the zoo, we walked through the park and past the Dakota Building -- where John Lennon lived and died -- and to a flea market farther north. Then, we took the subway closer to Riverside Drive and Grant's Tomb. This Upper West Side walk was interesting. The street traffic was considerably less and the atmosphere was one of exclusive schools and really high-dollar high-rise apartment buildings.
Mid-afternoon Sunday, we struck out on the subway for the Bronx Zoo. This was a total change from the Upper West Side. First of all, the subway emerged to run on top of the ground. The train conductor was protective of us. Ursula asked her before we got on the train if it went to the Bronx Zoo. She said "yes" and then proceeded to caution her about which stop to get off. We got there and got off, the conductor left her post and came looking for us to make sure we were safe. The Bronx train stop looks absolutely like what we've seen in movies.
Monday morning, we awoke to a cold and rainy New York City. Our plan for this last day was to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We took the subway to South Ferry and came out into the cold, wet day. It was miserable and we were soaked by the time we got to the boat. Riding this big ferry was another fearful first for me. It was bigger than the river cruise boat, the water was choppy and we sat and swayed for a long time.
Finally, we were loaded and moving out into the harbor toward Lady Liberty as the Manhattan skyline quickly disappeared into the misty haze. One could surely feel the fear and anticipation the immigrants must have felt as they finally arrived in America.
My New York City experience was coming to a close. But wait -- there's more. The airport shuttle picked us up at 8 a.m. for our ride back to Newark. Being the first pickup had its advantage. For the past five days we had been on foot, dodging other walkers and vehicles. Now we were riding in one of those vehicles.
I had to close my eyes a lot at first until I convinced myself that this man was a professional driver. Then I began to appreciate his skill in maneuvering through the traffic. There were people hurriedly walking to work, cars, cabs and delivery trucks on one way streets with narrow passage. For an hour and a half we rode around Midtown Manhattan picking up other passengers.
Was I ever glad to see the freeway -- even the tunnel seemed to be a relief. I'd never believe I would be happy to see an airport. But I was. And happiest of all to see Will Rogers.