New York Central Library

Our last stop in New York was at the Central Library at 42^nd Street and Fifth Avenue. It’s a grand structure that offers a free guided audio tour. It’s worth stopping in to see the architecture, some of the murals on the ceilings and the room of “Treasures” that includes an original copy of the Bill of Rights and one of 48 remaining copies of the original Gutenberg Bible. There is a small café and gift shop as well.

NYC: Summit at One Vanderbilt

As I investigated the various observation decks at buildings in New York, the one that stood out to me to visit was the Summit at One Vanderbilt.

 

Not only does a general admission ticket get you access to three floors of 360-degree views of the NYC area, it’s set up with artistic additions that make it a fantastic experience.

 

Located at 42^nd Street and Madison Avenue, adjacent to Grand Central Station, you’ll ride an elevator up 91 floors in 41 seconds. As you exit on the 91^st floor, not only do you have 360-degree views of the city, a system of mirrors creates unique reflections and images.

There’s also a room filled with silver “beach” balls that float around, allowing for more unique photo opportunities.

 

The visit continues on the 92^nd floor where you can take a turn standing on one of two glass floor ledges that extend beyond the side of the building, giving you the opportunity to look straight down 1,070 feet.

 

Floor 93 includes a café and an outdoor viewing deck.

 

The visit to the Summit at One Vanderbilt was definitely a highlight of our visit to New York.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

One of the things I was looking forward to the most while visiting NYC was a visit to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

 

Tickets are only offered by one service provider, so please go directly to nps.gov and follow the links there to get your tickets.

 

And book early, especially if you want to climb up to the crown or the top of the pedestal. General admission tickets have better availability.

 

From NYC, the ferry to the islands leaves from Battery Park on the southern tip of Manhattan. There is airport-like security screening to go through, so your ticket will reflect the time to arrive to line up for the screening.

 

Once on board the ferry, find a seat on the right side of the boat – preferably on the open-air top deck. As you leave the dock, you’ll be treated to a great view of the NY skyline, and as you approach the island, you’ll have a great view of the Statue of Liberty.

 

When you arrive at the Statue of Liberty, plan to spend at least 2 hours on the island. There is a free audio tour available. If you listen to the entire tour, it will take about 40 minutes to walk around the island. Climbing to the top of the pedestal or crown, if you’ve purchased those tickets, will require more time, but will give you great views of the city as well as of the inner parts of the statue. The pedestal has a museum inside.

 

There is also another museum on the island with the original torch, replica face and replica foot along with many other interesting exhibits.

 

Ferries to Ellis Island and then on to Battery Park pick up approximately every 25-30 minutes.

 

Ellis Island is also worth a couple of hours of your time. This island was the first landing point for millions of immigrants to the USA, especially from the late 1800s to about 1920.

 

My wife and I found records for three of our relatives that arrived and were processed at Ellis Island before starting their lives in America.

 

Ellis Island also has a museum that details the many reasons why people chose to come to America and the successes and challenges they faced in their new country.

NYC Subway System

 During our trip to New York City, we rode the subway several times each day.

 

I will admit that prior to arriving in NYC I was a bit nervous about how safe and clean the subway system would be, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

 

We never felt unsafe, and the hallways, platforms and subway cars were all relatively clean. We didn’t see much litter or have any problems. There were a few more homeless on the subway on the Sunday of our visit, but they weren’t harassing people.

 

The subway and bus system has adopted a payment system called OMNY. You can use any contactless credit card, tap it on the screen at the entry turnstile and you’re in.

 

The current fare is $2.90 per ride. Transfers are free.

 

The system recognizes your credit card, so if you use the same credit card every time you ride you will not be charged more than $34 in a 7-day period.

 

Google Maps worked pretty well getting us on the right train. Apple maps was a notch less effective in our experience. I also used the CityMapper app.

 

My recommendation would be to download the MTA app, which includes a map of the subway system as well as directions on how to get to your destination.

New York City: LaGuardia airport

 I’ve been fortunate to do quite a bit of traveling over the years but have never made it to New York City. This year seemed like the right time to go to the Big Apple – taking my wife to a Broadway show to celebrate our 30^th anniversary.

 

Fortunately, getting to New York is easy from many major cities, including our home of Indianapolis. As regular Delta flyers, it was great to see that Delta offered multiple nonstops every day to both LaGuardia and JFK.

 

One caveat about Delta’s service to LaGuardia is that the flights are on smaller regional jets. Some people may have concerns about flying on the smaller planes. There is limited overhead bin space on those aircraft, requiring many people to gate-check their carry-on luggage.

 

Flying time from IND to LGA was only about 90 minutes. We flew in over the harbor with a view of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan off the left side of the plane.

 

And another highlight for me as a sports fan was flying over CitiField (home of the NY Mets) and the Arthur Ashe Tennis Center (home of the US Open).

 

Baggage claim at LGA was quick and efficient, and we were able to pick up the FREE Q70 bus to the nearest subway station.

 

The buses run every 8-10 minutes and take passengers on a 15-minute ride to the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue subway station is located. Subway lines E, F, M, R and 7 run from there to Manhattan.

West Baden / French Lick

 The resort towns of West Baden, Ind. and French Lick, Ind. are located about two hours south of Indianapolis. The drive is quicker now that more progress has been made on I-69.

The resorts attracted the rich and famous in the early 1900s as guests were attracted by the lavish hotels and mineral springs. After falling into disrepair, they are attractions again.

West Baden's opulent domed structure is a marvel to behold.

The grounds feature stables, a baseball field, walking track, gardens and more.

The resort is neighboring French Lick features a non-smoking casino.

French Lick is the hometown of Indiana basketball legend Larry Bird, and it's impossible to spend time in the town without seeing references to him. My favorite sign was at French Licks Ice Cream Shop where a door to the kitchen was labeled "Employees Only Or Larry Bird."

There is great golf in the area as well as a water park. We enjoyed a 1:45 ride on the French Lick Scenic Railway. The ride travels through the Hoosier National Forest and includes a half-mile tunnel, the second-longest in Indiana.

San Juan, Puerto Rico (Miramar food & groceries)

Our family visited Puerto Rico for the first time recently. We had several days to enjoy the outdoors as well as the history of this beautiful island that is a territory of the United States.

Many US travellers love Puerto Rico because no passport is required, the dollar is the currency and English is widely spoken.

Our accommodations were in the Miramar section of San Juan, which is just south of Old San Juan and southwest of Condado, the strip of hotels and restaurants.

Upon our arrival, we learned that Ponce De Leon Avenue was just a five-minute walk from where we were staying. If you're staying at the Sheraton or Hyatt, or if you're at the convention center or the Distrito T-Mobile, you'll be within 5-10 minutes of Ponce De Leon avenue.

Some Puerto Rican friends had recommended Los Pinos restaurant to us, so we tried that. Mofongo, a dense food made of plantains, was on the menu there. It can be served with many types of meats or vegetables. It was delicious.

We also found a grocery store two blocks away that allowed us to purchase some breakfast foods, fruits and LOTS of bottled water. The heat index was above 100 several days we were there so we were glad to be able to fill our 36-oz. water bottles with cold water from our refrigerator.