Day 148 - End Of Trip - One Last Night In New York City

 

We’re back. After 46,000 miles, 25 new countries, and untold islands, it was great to see the Manhattan skyline and Lady Liberty. We had a final day on the boat, so we decided to get into town and see the 9-11 Memorial. Before that, we woke up early to watch the sail-in. A little too early as we were still 20 miles off the NJ coast while eating breakfast! Eventually, we saw Sandy Hook on the port side and the Verrazanno Narrow Bridge ahead of us. For many folks on the boat, it was either their first time to NYC or at least the first time they'd arrived by sea - so it was nice to act as a "tour guide" and show them the sights. Although Coney Island and the Belt Parkway might be stretching it a bit as "sights."

Eventually, The Statue Of Liberty, the famous Staten Island Ferry, and the Financial District of downtown Manhattan came into view as we sailed up the Hudson towards Pier 90. No matter how often you experience it, the sights and the skyline are still magnificent. (My first time was July 1984 on the QE2!)

But first, history. Manhattan was originally Lenape Indian territory (translated as "the place we get bows") before the Dutch established a trading post here in 1624 and renamed it New Amsterdam in 1626. The Brits arrived in 1664 and kicked out the Dutch, renaming it New York. British occupation continued for over one hundred years until November 25th, 1783, when some guy named George Washington arrived. Everything went rapidly downhill after that. It actually all started about ten years earlier when some foolish businesspeople in Boston tried to make tea with cold seawater. They realized their mistake and rebranded it as "The Boston Tea Party."

After a quick lunch on board, we Ubered down to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. That was quite a profound experience. Allison knew several folks who died in the towers, and I spent a chunk of time in the 90s working with dozens of clients in the complex. The complex has a nice layout. There are two large pools outside, with the names of everyone engraved on the side. The museum staff places a white flower by each name on their birthday.

The piece inside the museum that really got me was the Survivor Staircase. These are/were a flight of stairs that connected the WTC to Vesey Street and Tobin Plaza. On 9/11, it served as an escape route for hundreds of people in Building 5, particularly because the large overhang shielded them from falling debris. I've been up and down those steps more times than I care to remember when I worked at Sybase. This was my first time back on the site, and I'll admit I had tears in my eyes. When people asked me that evening, "Did you enjoy your day?" it was tough to answer - "Yes, I did, but .."

That morning, we, along with our seven suitcases and a few backpacks, left our home for the last five months. Fortunately, Regent had arranged for the LuggageForward service. So after we cleared non-existent customs on Sunday, we handed four large suitcases over to them, and, like magic, they arrived on our doorstep the following Tuesday.

We’ve made many friends we’ll stay in contact with and even more memories. Leaving the boat was hard, although we missed friends and family. There will be some adjustments as we get used to getting our own coffee, cooking, doing laundry, and not being waited upon hand and foot. Or even playing hand-and-foot ( a canasta variant).

I'll make one more post in a few weeks - with lessons learned, our top 5 sights, and the +/- of taking a World Cruise.