Ferry Fun Friday in New York

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Friday was definitely my most exciting and active day of my July 2024 trip. Here are the highlights:

In an effort to save time (and $), I ditched my early morning exploration of UWS coffee shops, opting for convenience and settling on the Wandering Bear iced coffee my brother-in-law has in the fridge in their apartment. I am VERY picky about my coffee and drink Peet’s coffee almost exclusively. But I liked Wandering Bear and would look for it again when staying somewhere without a nearby Peet’s (or coffee maker).

Thursday I discovered the 90th St. Ferry so I decided that today I would repeat my walk on 90th from the Hudson River to the East River (through Central Park). I’d checked out the NYC Ferry site and downloaded the NYC Ferry app. Tickets are $4 to take a beautiful ferry ride from 90th Street to Wall Street. You can by your ticket on-site from the machine or from the app. Here is a portion of the ride in a time-lapse video (don’t get dizzy…): Ferry from 90th St. to Wall Street/Pier 11

After disembarking, I followed the signs toward the Statue of Liberty viewing point, but then came upon the Staten Island Ferry station. I’d watched several youtube videos about this and was curious to try it, so this was the perfect opportunity! The station is large and clean. The ferries run frequently and it is free so you just follow the crowd for the next departure and walk on. I made sure to stand on an upper deck with against the rail for optimal SOL viewing. Here is a time-lapse video of the return trip: Staten Island Ferry to New York This was so easy to take and I’d highly recommend going with young families for their first SOL viewing. If I could take my grandchildren, I’d consider getting them some binoculars to get a closer view of Lady Liberty. Once you walk out of the station, the subway station is directly across the street. Couldn’t be easier!

I hopped onto the subway waiting to take me right to Washington Square Park. I delighted to walk through the bountiful Farmers Market. Too bad I’d be out and about all day throughout the city and couldn’t bring anything back with me. I met Ariel for lunch at abcV, a chic plant-forward restaurant in the Flat Iron district. I opted for the burger, which I enjoyed and recommend. Ariel had a yummy Quinoa and Chickpea bowl. She surprised me when she said she had Friday afternoons off from work and could spend the next few hours with me.

Ariel is newly-engaged and was very excited to show me the uber-chic (and expensive!) abc Home and Carpet store just around the corner from the restaurant. We then visited a really fun store, Fishs Eddy. I highly recommend you pop in it if you’re in the area. Then Ariel asked me if I had any cash… I wondered, why is she asking me that? No one really needs cash these days (though I did need it to buy some honey roasted Nuts4Nuts–I ALWAYS get them in New York!). She smiled when I answered affirmatively and suggested we head over to the Whitney Museum. Excitedly, I agreed and said we could stop at Seed + Mill to get their halva and oat milk-tahini soft-serve. Ariel proceeded to tell me about the cult movement following Ana Inciardi‘s mini-print vending machines.

After a quick stop at Chelsea Market and Seed+Mill, we headed over to the Whitney Museum Gift Shop. Once inside, Ariel took me to the back of the shop (facing the Hudson River) where there are two vending machines that have four slots for quarters that buy you a miniature screen print. Each machine has a theme and about 12 – 16 different prints. It’s like a slot machine–SURPRISE–you don’t know which print you’ll get! She explained that we had to go to the register to ask for quarters and that they would only give us $3 worth. We exchanged my cash for quarters and headed back to the machines, where there were a few other young women Ariel’s age (early 30’s). I proceeded to watch their excitement in putting their quarters in the slots, pushing the lever and then opening their cardboard-covered mini-print with bated breath. Their glee in getting a new print was infectious, and their fun at trading their “repeats” with each other reminding me of when my own kids collected and traded Pokemon cards 25 years earlier! Even I got into it and took home seven cute little mini-prints! After that fun afternoon, Ariel and I parted ways, looking forward to seeing each other back in California at her Engagement Party!

I then headed over to midtown to meet my nephew Nate for an early dinner at Beyond Sushi. It worked well for both of us since Nate would be having a Shabbat dinner much later that night, and I had my theater ticket for a 7 pm performance. I’d discovered this vegan restaurant during my last NY visit, and we liked it so much, we went twice. Beyond Sushi consistently serves delicious and well-priced dishes. The servers are charming and efficient. I’m sure if you try it, you won’t feel deprived and you will be surprised at how tasty everything is. They are also very sensitive to different food allergies. I hope they open an UWS location soon!

Nate took off back to his place in Murray Hill on one of the CityBikes. We loved using the similar Velib bikes in Paris. With over 10 walking miles clocked, I headed back over to the Shubert Theater. I consistently used my iPhone map apps to route me to my next destination. However, I sometimes found that my location didn’t update accurately on the app. I also get easily confused about which subway line to get on, despite how specific some of the apps directions are. One thing to note is that once you get downstairs into a subway station, you many not have connectivity, so it’s really important to be familiar with your route before hand.

Alicia Key’s Hell’s Kitchen has got to be one of the best musicals I’ve seen. I couldn’t have enjoyed it more! I had been listening to the soundtrack while trekking all over New York (though not yet directly through Hell’s Kitchen), and I got to see the original cast perform. I’m still listening to the music and dreaming about the next time I get to see it!

What’s your favorite Broadway show out right now? Have any tickets for an upcoming performance? Please share in the comments!

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