It's not a sprint, it's a marathon

As mentioned yesterday, my lovely wife was the planner in our family, I was always a little more loose with the preparations. I am also the one that gets easily frustrated - like today.

I slept in a little, figuring that I had all day to figure out what was at the core of the Big Apple. After a simple breakfast (why do hotels not have their own restaurants anymore?) I had the front desk call a cab and made it to the train station without any problem. Several people (and the AAA tour book) said to be sure to get the Metro Pass because you get unlimited on and off privileges and it would save a lot of money over individual fares. 

The first problem was that they no longer use ticket agents to sell tickets. For those of you that are young enough to not know what a ticket agent is, I'll tell you. A ticket agent is a machine that sells tickets except it has a heart and, if you're lucky, a sense of humor and a feeling of sympathy for others. So in addition to selling you a ticket they answer questions, tell jokes and/or show pity for someone who is trying to figure out the transportation system in New York City for the first time in nearly 50 years. I started poking the screen at the station to purchase my Metro Pass without human assistance. The cynic in me would say the machine was intuitive. I found the selection that offered a seven day pass (that seemed to ring familiar for some reason). As the ticket printed I noted that the cost was $82.50! Yikes, if this is a deal the individual trip tickets must really be expensive.

So with my ticket in hand I took a seat near the tracks. It was then that I asked a very nice lady if I was on the correct side to go into NYC. She said I was. I asked her how I found out the train number that would get me to Battery Park. Not only did she laugh but the lady next to her did also. I took that as being a bad thing.

Turns out the train goes into NYC where I then need to buy a pass for the Subway system. It's this subway pass that is the Metro Pass. I had just purchased a week's worth of rides into the city! I sat next to her once we were on the train and she told me when I was to get off (last stop), where I was to go and how to use the ticket machines. Surprise, it didn't turn out to be that easy.

I eventually went up, over, then down to where I could find a ticket booth, this one with a ticket agent inside! The extent of her help was: "I only do cash, if you're using a credit card you have to use the machine" she said pointing toward another dreaded ticket machine. At least this one sold the Metro Pass! 

Map of New York City Subway Routes. Heavy black lines denote major routes

Step by step I went through the purchase process until I reached the step where the machine instructed me to "Dip your credit card". Now I know what sheep dipping is, so I figured the machine thought my credit card had a virus!

Just then a Transit Authority lady came by and told me that my machine wasn't reading cards. She had put tape over the slot but people push their card right through it. So I jumped over to the next machine, bought the Metro Pass then moved on to the next challenge. Now that I was the proud owner of a Metro Pass how do I figure out what subway I need to take? After wandering around for 15 minutes I found an information booth. It was for the Long Island Rail Road, and there was no one in it, but this was a step in the right direction. A hand written sign said they'd be back in five minutes, and they were. There was one lady in front of me and as she finished at her window she heard I was looking for the subway train to Battery Park. She said "follow me" so I did. We went around the corner where she showed me how to scan my pass (the same scanning device that Hillary was caught on camera trying in vain to go through), then left me with these parting words, "I'm going down, you're going up, look for train 1, and don't ever let anyone tell you that New Yorkers aren't friendly!"

By the time I got off the subway at Battery Park it was already 11:30. I was seriously thinking about packing it in and forgetting about my bucket list. As I stood in front of the station at Battery Park a couple walked by and the guy said, "Boise?" I realized he had spotted my BSU shirt. "I'm from Boise" he quickly added, as his wife corrected him, "We're actually from Emmett". We talked for a few minutes and they explained that the Staten Island Ferry was the best way to see the Statue of Liberty and it was free! They also said they were on their own adventure. They left the week before I did and are traveling the country in a 5th wheel trailer. 

So rather than return to New Jersey, my spirit of adventure was rejuvenated. I know it was no accident that the couple came along when they did, and it saved my day.

I travelled from Battery Park to Staten Island, then like most of he passengers, got off, went down and around and boarded the next boat going back. In between I finally got to see the Lady Liberty. I have been to NYC on no fewer than 4 occasions,and probably more, in my life and have never seen the Statue of Liberty! Ironically, I possess a piece of the original skin of the Statue that was replaced during refurbishing in the mid '70s. Now I have seen her from multiple angles.

As we approached the pier on the return trip another layer of the onion was peeled back. My preliminary plan was to include a helicopter tour of the Lower island and I spotted the helipad just a short walk south from the ferry terminal. 

I walked down to the helipad thinking that I would be told that I needed a reservation. Instead they welcomed me in, saying it would be a 45 minute wait. Before you can say "rotor wash" I was packed into the back seat of a sight-seeing helicopter! It was a short trip, about 15 minutes, but gave an incredibly unique perspective of Manhattan Island.

Upon getting off the chopper I headed north along the west side of Manhatten, my intended objective was the Twin Towers Memorial. But first things first, I was hungry. Rather than eat at the Wendy's in the terminal at Battery Park I decided to start north and watch for a place to eat. I found one that featured locally grown ham and cheese (really?) and sat down for a quick bite to eat. While seated in the small park-like area near the waterfront I noticed a very large sculpture of an eagle. I decided to look closer, so finished my lunch and drifted closer for a better look and a picture. 

From there I glanced to the water just south of where I stood, and another layer of the onion was peeled back. 

I noticed a couple of poles rigged with ropes and soon deciphered that it was one of the tall ships that occupied a high priority on my list of possible points of interest. So, having seen Lady Liberty from a passenger ferry and from over head, I signed up to sail around the bay on a tall ship!

The tour took about 45 minutes and was a lot of fun. I volunteered to hoist the jib, working right alongside the crew member that was raising the inner jib. GO FROG!

From there I continued north to the September 11 Memorial and Museum.

I took pictures of the Memorial but opted out of the museum due to the price, long, long line and the time. It was getting close to rush hour so I just couldn't wait to ride the subway! (Wait, I can't find the "sarcasm" font). I hoped that I could simply reverse the mornings travel itinerary and make it back to Rahway, N.J.

Oh, but were it that easy. Subway entry points are in different locations, stations are not listed the same way (I.e. Penn Station was now 34th street) and, because I was going in the opposite direction the train was listed only by it's final destination and nothing I found showed which train stopped at Rahway. But fear not, there's an app for that. I asked several people for help to decipher my conundrum before finding a man who had a train schedule showing what train number I wanted to be on. That, unfortunately, was not the end of my torment. I found the train on the schedule board but there was no track number listed.

It seems the track number changes nearly daily. So large groups of people gather round the big boards and watch their train climb the board. As the train at the top departs, all others move up the board and a track number is displayed for the next departure. When this last piece of critical information is made public a crowd of people pushes up or down the platform to the appropriate track entryway. 

Even after you're on the train, the anguish continues. Most of the stops have numerous signs on the platform walls so that a glance out the window lets you know what stop you are at. That's most stations. Some are apparently unmarked. The P.A. System on the train announces which stops are coming next but, at least for me, was not loud enough and was suffering from the same thing I recently wrote about tour guides. The same person makes the same announcements multiple times a day. His voice wanes and his diction suffers immensely. You simply can't understand most of what he drones on about. Lucky for me, Rahway is a well maintained station replete with signage. I made it "home" just in time to stop by the Harley dealership before they closed (at 7 p.m.) and was able to confirm that my bike is ready to pick up in the morning.

Tomorrow will not be easy. The main task will be to find a way through or around New York City. I may end up with a picture of the "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign!