Description: As a loyal fan for more years than I hate to admit of the morning news show "Good Morning America", I felt it was very appropriate to be at the location where they do the show in Times Square. Of course, I wanted to be there early, so I drug Hubby out of bed and we were on our way before the City really woke up. It took just a few minutes to walk from the Hotel to Times Square only to find out that no audience was being accepted into the studio until further notice- another casualty of September 11th. So, there we were, at 7:00 a.m. on the streets of New York City with nothing to do. We started walking in the direction of the Circle Line Ticket Office at the Harbor.
We arrived at the Ticket Office by 8:00, only to find out that it did not open until 9:30, with the first tour at 11:00. Oh, what to do? Breakfast sounding good. We walked several blocks and found the Market Diner at 572 11th Avenue, a 1950 décor café complete with seats at the counter and booths along the walls. Hubby had the traditional breakfast, egg, bacon and toast, and I had a toasted bagel with cream cheese, very New York.
We chose the 2-hour Semi-Circle Harbor Cruise. As we left the dock, we had a great view of the U.S.S. Intrepid. Proceeding down the Hudson River, we passed the Empire State Building, the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and got a quick glimpse of Hoboken, New Jersey, Frank Sinatra’s hometown.
As we approached the area where once stood the World Trade Center, the smell of burning debris was heavy in the air. Everyone on the boat became very silent as we passed, watching the smoke rise from the rubble, seeing the shards of the facade of one of the Towers protruding from an adjacent building. We passed Battery Park where there were several barges waiting to haul away debris. We saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, devoid of any tourist- Lady Liberty has been closed to the public since September 11th.
Then, sailing north up the East River we got a good look a Wall Street, and a peak at the Old Trinity Church, passed under the Brooklyn Bridge, then the Manhattan Bridge and saw the United Nations Building in the foreground before turning around and retracing our route.
Even on a mild day, you will need a light jacket as the boat moves pretty fast and it does get a little chilly. There is plenty of seating both inside and outside, but the very best spot is at the bow, which was opened after the boat is underway. The narration on our cruise was excellent, presented by a very knowledgeable guide who pass on not only the history of the sites, but also little pieces of very interesting information. The boats offer a full snack bar.
www.circleline.com
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