We're up early and back to the subway for a trip down to Battery City in lower Manhattan....

This station has some interesting tile work.........

The subway is our transportation of choice when in NYC........

Dwight always gets a bit emotional when we get near Ground Zero at the World Trade Towers site..........

It's great to see progress at last--the Liberty Tower is now progressing above ground level......

One of my favorite old time NYC buildings--the Barclay-Vessey Building.......

It's pedestrian arcade along street side was a very classy and European touch.....

Some detail from the building.........

These details continue all the the way up to the snowcaps atop the building............

This is the Irish Famine Memorial in Battery City near the ferry docks. It is a wonderful memorial. All the soil and plants were brought over from Ireland from each of the counties, so it is a piece of the "old sod" right here in New York........

We're on the ferry now, leaving the World Finance Center in our wake.........

The world Finance Center is a wonderful group of buildings each featuring a different percentage of stone to glass to pay homage to the old stone city of NY prior to the late 20th century and the new glass city of the post mid-century. The tops of each building are also homages to iconic older buildings in NY. All the damage from 9/11 has been repaired and the Winter Garden--that glittery little glass box between two of the buildings is still the home of huge palm trees and many events..........

A view of the New Jersey side from the back of the ferry.........

And a view of that beautiful lady in the bay...............

The Jersey side is really pretty built up too. These very ferries helped rescue some of the survivors of Captain Sully's airplane when it landed in the Hudson........

Lower New York.......

A lonely sailboat floats by the distinctive skyline of the Madison Square area..........

After a very brief ride, we are approaching the ferry/train terminal in Hoboken.......

Hoboken, the home of baseball, Frank Sinatra and ON THE WATERFRONT.........

The station hearkens back to the days of stylish travel....

When the elegance of each community's stations was a point of civic pride............

Ice water , anyone?.............

The glass ceiling.............

Some striking lighting............

Maybe Francis Albert Sinatra, himself, got a shoe shine here.........

I LOVE THIS STATION..............

A glorious timepiece........

More details........

Dwight poses outside the station..........

In the British tradition, it is always best to photograph a building across a body of water.........

This is Mr. Stevens who started Hoboken and who apparently had more money than anybody in New Jersey.........

"Cigars, cigarettes, tipperillos?"...................

Some of the new dockside development in Hoboken..........

With quite a view! I love that working tugger........

This rock is kinda the opposite of Plymouth rock, it commemorates the spot on the docks where all of the American dough boys set sail to WWI.............

Unfortunately, who knows if many of these very boys ended up as cannon fodder for Blackjack Pershing's gigantic ego..........

This lovely little park is quite possibly one of the very piers used in filming ON THE WATERFRONT. Many of the docks have been reclaimed as parks, esplanades and other public places................

This particular little park features a flagstaff commemorating the Hoboken boys who died in the Vietnam War--like our Santa Fe Memorial in Barrio La Canada Park.............

Yet another memorial in up ahead...........

This one honors the servicemen from WW II..............

It has insignia from all the branches........

I am really impressed by the design of the fencing surrounding the figures...........

Can't forget the Navy and Marines! Hoboken also has one of the pre-eminent WWI memorials in the country, but we missed it--yet another reason for a return trip someday..........

A shady respite on a reclaimed dock. Brooklyn is starting to do the same thing along it's dockline........

Beautiful! and great for the community!..........

A man I met at the Hoboken Museum told me that when haughty Manhattanites diss him about living in Hoboken, he says "And what is YOUR view like?"...........

Just a block or so over from the docks is the main drag of Hoboken--Washington Street.........

A charming flower bedecked thoroghfare..........

That is lined with row houses and businesses...........

Remeniscent of an earlier era............

This is also "nannyville". With so many young New Yorkers moving to the gentrfied environs of Hoboken, we saw more baby carriages today than even in Central Park...............

Hoboken offers all the attractions young families want...........

Want a portrait of your dog?.................

This is Sibyl's Cave--the greatest Hoboken attraction of the 19th century.........

Click on the image if you want to enlarge the plaque describing the natural spring hidden within the cave...............

The rugged terrain on the pallisades above Sybil's Cave............

This was the scene of one of the "Crimes of the Century" in the 19th century--the murder of Mary Cecilia Rogers--"The Beautiful Seegar Girl". The beauty was the sensation of lower broadway and her cigar customers were some of the most prominent men of the era. The tabloid press of the time loved this story and featured many atmospheric engravings of the eery scene of the crime. Edgar Allan Poe used this murder as his background for his story "The Mysterie of Marie Roget". The crime was never solved.............

Atop the pallisades is a castle at the Stevens Academy of Engineering--another place to explore on another visit..............

The Empire State Building dominates the view of Manhattan from the west...........

This our hotel neighborhood near Central Park...................

As viewed from the Elysian Fields portion of this riverfront park.................

Older than Central Park..............

And the "home" of baseball..................

A 19th Currier and Ives print of The Elysian Fields...............

Thanks for baseball, Hoboken............

Business is booming on Washington Street................

All of the upper stories have a magnificent view of Manhattan. Our friend Karen lived here............

All the streetside cafes are getting ready for lunch, but we still have some exploring to do before we eat......................

This "Boys Department" is not on a Department Store, it's on a school.............

We walked down Frank Sinatra Drive to Frank Sinatra Park.......................

A great place to fish with a view--hey, where are the fishermen?..............

Maybe they're getting some grub to eat here under the canopy where they can admire the view and watch their rods.....................

For sure they're not skateboarding.......................

These concerts have a fabulous venue. I think this poster is sponsored by the young mayor who was arrested along with 14 others (including a rabbi) for racketeering a few weeks after returning from our trip.......................

This is a new park in the process of being built from an old pier........................

It's not easy building a park on water..............

Here's an old rusty dock that has yet to be gentrified................

But the end product has given this city a new lease on life and gorgeous public spaces.........

The sign explains that the "America Cup" originated here--again thanks to the rich Mr. Stevens...............

There's a yatch docked today..............

Pretty nifty..................

Maybe Dwight is starting to think about getting lunch.................... We'll catch the skyline later.....................

Right here!--the Miracle on the Hudson happened.........................

What an artistic spigot....................

But Dwight demonstrates that it is actually a pretty miserable drinking fountain..................
"Dwight, I'm getting hungry"......................
Goodbye fancy city lights..................
It's time to look for lunch.......................
We've had a wonderful morning, but we'll catch ya back after lunch...........................................