Our week in NYC

The first week of our vacation, we were in Manhatten. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we were free to do as we pleased. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday we attended Book Expo America, the reason for our trip to NYC.

Monday we had something scheduled, that fell thru, so we got on a bus! I'd always wanted to ride the NYC buses; I have to tell you, we rode them for two days and never had a bad experience. The bus drivers were tops.



So, on Monday I decided we should visit the Little Red Lighthouse. Since we had all day, we got on the first bus that came by and rode it until the end of the line, then we got on another and did the same thing. We were in Harlem, so I knew we were headed in the right direction. We walked a couple of blocks and asked an off duty bus driver what bus we should take next. He said just go around the corner, and get on my bus when I come by. We did, and he let us know when to get off. Then it was a nice hike to the lighthouse, up, over, under, down and thru parts of Manhattan off the beaten path. The Little Red Lighthouse is almost under the George Washington Bridge, and several natives we talked to didn't even realize it was there. It's a working lighthouse with a working lens that blinks proudly at cargo barges and passenger ships sailing under the George Washington Bridge.

On Tuesday, we rode the buses, again, this time to Battery Park. My main reason was to see if I could get a decent shot of the Statue of Liberty, without having to get on a ferry. Not great, but no too bad.

You could even get your photo taken with a faux Statue.

After this man posed, he told his family, "That guy was a real asshole."

It was an overcast, cold and breezy day, just the opposite of Monday. The sweatshirt vendor was doing a booming business!

The park was full of beautiful flowers,

and many statues and pieces of art. I especially liked the huge mandolin.

Wednesday we had our two meet-ups with friends.