New York City

As I was planning this trip east to visit Kim, the thought came to me to visit my cousin, Barbara, who lives near New York City.  I've wanted to see the city for some time having followed some of what mayor Bloomberg did, particularly in terms of placemaking and bike infrastructure.  

I took the train from Raleigh, passing through some iconic eastern seabord places, a ten hour ride.  Then disgorged into the chaos of Penn Station.  I'd gotten good directions from Barbara so found my way through the station to the right subway relatively easily with only minor glitches.  I was immediately impressed with how friendly and eager to help people were and so off I went to find Barbara's office where she had her psychology practice.  I was very proud when I found it quite easily.  She and her husband, Jerry, live a half hour's drive up the Hudson River in a town called Dobbs Ferry.  A pretty, leafy, little old suburb.  

Barbara was a first rate tour guide and I got a terrific overview of Manhattan.  Each day we picked a couple of major sights with time for a good lunch.  On the first day we did a lot of wandering and gawking, taking photos.  Went to the High Line, a relatively new park created on a disused rail line.  

It stretches for a long way and is a great place to stroll or hang out, with interesting art installations along the way.  

We took the Staten Island ferry to Brooklyn.