Having been born and brought up in the sphere of influence known as New York City, I continue to have a love affair with this town. It should surprise no one who knows me. Many years ago I was lucky enough to meet John, the man of my dreams. We married and have had a good time traveling and living in many places. But New York City was always a "no" on his list of places to live. Finally, upon our unceremonious return from Thailand, we wound up in Manhattan. "For three months," said John. After about two months, I asked John about making plane reservations to our next destination. He surprised the "you know what" out of me by saying, "I would like to stay another year; I like it here." And so we did.
Why? This city so easily can make its way into your heart, grab it and hold on tight. The video below only shows one of my favorite places in the city. It is our South Street Seaport. The seaport is a place to visit that does not cost a penny. It is a shopping center located on a pier on the East River. The shopping center is three stories tall with a wrap-around deck on all three floors. While the first two floors have places to sit, the third floor also has deck chairs for the public to more comfortably enjoy a beautiful day. But a visit on a chilly day is just as delightful. Tables, chairs and a food court are located on the third floor behind walls of floor-to-ceiling windows. Look to the left and see the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges one after the other. Look to the right and there is a view out toward the sea, the Verazzano-Narrows Bridge, and off to the very right you can see the very top of Lady Liberty's arm holding her torch up high. The big orange Staten Island Ferry makes its frequent trips in and out of The Battery. Along with water taxis and sightseeing cruisers doing their thing, tug boats are always busy at work guiding barges, freighters, luxury liners both in and out of the port area. It is easy to while away an afternoon or evening here.
It is easy to come under the spell of our city, if you have the chance to spend more than a tourists' amount of time here. Every few blocks takes you to a new "small town." The city is just like any other cluster of small towns. The difference it that we can easily walk from one small town to the next with ease. And we do not have to own a car! How great is that? Because virtually every place of business delivers, you do not need a car to live here - even McDonald's delivers. Being retired and on a fixed income, we have found so many things to do at no cost or very little cost. I guess I could go on and on, but I won't.
Soon we will go on to the next chapter in our lives. Moving to Oahu on July 1. But Manhattan still owns my heart!
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