The Big Apple - Day 1&2

We drove into the Big Apple in the pouring rain.  As we jostled through the traffic (Holy! that's a bit of an adrenalin rush) on our left we spotted the Statue of Liberty, out there in the rain, just doing her thang.  Awesome.

We were visiting my (Susan's) niece, Rachel, and her husband Bartek who live in Brooklyn.  We were lucky that my sister Mary was visiting at the same time.  Also awesome.  We were craving some family time.

After an afternoon of visiting and catching up we headed out to take in the ballet.  Not just any ballet. This one was special.  It was a series of seven dances which paired a visual artist with a choreographer.  The two artists would meet, dialogue and collaborate to produce a performance. The special part is that Rachel, my niece, was one of the visual artists!  So we got the chance to participate a little in her professional life.  Once again.  Awesome. You can read more about it, if you'd like, here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/counterpointe-collaborations-tickets-22360055528?aff=efbnreg

The next day, with lots of coaching from Rachel and Barty, we set out on our own in the big city. Yes, we messed up on the subway a bit and got just a wee bit lost but NYC is a GREAT place to just walk around and find your way. We walked for hours just soaking it up. On our route we took in the 9/11 memorial and took the Staten Island ferry across and back so we could see the Statue of Liberty.

While we were on the Staten Island Ferry two Coast Guard boats came roaring up and circled us with one guy on the bow manning a big gun.  We're not sure what that was all about but after they circled us they took off and circled another ferry.

We made our way back to Brooklyn on the subway (we started to get pretty good at using our newly downloaded apps to find our way around) and headed to a barbeque place that Bart said was one of the best in the city (or State or Country or something).  It was Jeff's birthday weekend and he had a hankering for ribs and really wanted to watch some of the masters (golf tournament on tv).  We settled in at the bar to enjoy.

Next on the birthday agenda:  an NHL game.  Islanders vs. Phillies.  We walked the twenty minutes or so to the Barkley Stadium in the warm Brooklyn spring air to enjoy the last regular game of the season.  Barty met us there.

If you ever plan to visit NYC, here's a short travel video that Rachel showed us.  We found it very helpful:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LmPBPWHJu4   Jonny T's NYC Travel Tips.