Bright and early next morning (about 8am) we headed off to make sure we didn't miss out on our cruise around Manhattan. We retraced our steps from yesterday and arrived at Pier 83 with plenty of time to spare. On the way we passed many apartment blocks with their fire escape stairs on the outside - a really New York thing it seems. There were two cruise ships tied up beside the USS Intrepid ready for their occupants to disembark and explore the city for the day.









We discovered the boat we were on for our river cruise was involved in the rescue of passengers from US Airways Flight 1549 that landed in the Hudson River in 2009 (should go and see the movie "Sully" with Tom Hanks as the pilot). The boat took us down the Hudson River while the commentary told us about points of interest on both sides. We sailed over both the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels. Some of the highlights were catching glimpses of iconic buildings like the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building as we cruised by the streets leading to them. We passed the new One World Trade Centre, Ellis Island, where immigrants first landed when they came to America in the 19th Century, the Statue of Liberty, and also saw the Staten Island Ferry.




We then rounded the southern point of Manhattan passed Battery Park and started up the other side. The district known as Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan-Brooklyn Bridge Overpass) was on our right as we cruised under the Brooklyn Bridge (the world's first steel suspension bridge and spans 1596 feet) and then the Manhattan Bridge; these are just two of the 16 bridges that connect Manhattan with the outer boroughs and assist commuters get to areas such as Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and the small islands of Roosevelt and Ward's Island.





The commentary continued pointing out the district of Harlem on our left and New Jersey on the opposite side. Several bridges we went under were very low, one railway bridge had to be opened to allow the boat to go through as it is built just above the surface of the water. The oldest bridge still standing in New York City is Highbridge, which spans the Harlem River between Manhattan and the Bronx; it was built in 1843 but it is not accessible to passengers or vehicles as it was built as an aqueduct that carries a water main.


Columbia University was next in Upper Manhattan. This Ivy League research university was established in 1754, the university is located at the top of a cliff marked by a rock wall painted with a large letter C. Students apparently jump off the cliff in summer for the entertainment of the passengers on our boat. We rounded the upper end of Manhattan and returned to Pier 83 after two and a half hours of informative cruising.



A trip on the Subway was next. In 1982 on our first trip to New York the friends we were staying with warned against Subway travel, they told us it was dirty and unsafe. Not so today! You can travel all over Manhattan on this fast and efficient form of transport.
Our trip was to Lower Manhattan so that we could visit the new One World Trade Centre and the 9/11 Memorial. In 1982 we visited the observatory at the top of the original twin towers, in 2009 on our last visit the site was still a huge hole in the ground after the terrorist attack. Now the twin towers have been replaced by a single tower, 2 memorial pools to commemmorate the two destroyed towers and an enormous Museum that displays memorabilia from the towers, rescue workers and families of both victims and survivors.
The Memorial pools are large waterfall structures on the sites of where the original twin towers stood. Into the sides of the pools, the names of the 2977 victims of 9/11 and the 6 victims of the 1993 bombing are carved; the design allows for small flowers to be placed at the site of each name. The pools are surrounded by a forest of trees. The Memorial area was opened on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
The Museum is built underground and is the focal point for preserving the history of the events of September 11, 2001. It houses personal artifacts, multimedia displays, first -person accounts of events, steel from the collapsed towers, the Survivor stairs and memorabilia from the workers who risked their lives to save others.













Beside the Memorial and Museum is the rebuilt One World Trade Centre, also known as The Freedom Tower. It is the tallest building in the western hemisphere, the 6th tallest in the world. It was deliberately constructed to a height of 1776 feet to reflect the date of the signing of The Declaration of Independence.




After a tour of the Museum we returned to Midtown on the Subway. We did a little shopping before dinner at Carmine's Midtown, a noted Italian Restaurant where meals are made to be shared by families. Their mission statement is to make every day feel like a Sunday afternoon at Nonna's. We ordered Spaghetti Bolognese and probably had enough food to feed a family of four but it was delicious. We returned to Times Square for a last chance to soak up the night time atmosphere and watch the world go by.




Our last morning was spent trying to jam our shopping in to our suitcases, after that was achieved we headed off for our last walk. We went towards the Empire State Building for a last look and then found a spot for Greg to sit while Kerrie explored Macys a little more. This time she found the floor piano that had been used in the movie "Big" with Tom Hanks; this piano was originally in the toy store FAO Schwarz which is now permanently closed. We wandered back up Broadway and ended up at the Disney Shop for a last look around.

Well, this trip is at and end. On reflection we would probably have done a few things differently, we were a little frustrated by the arrival of Hurricane Matthew but generally speaking, a good time was had by all. We once again had the chance to catch up with old friends, see new things and visit places we have not seen before. We have now visited 45 out of the 50 states of the USA so I guess another visit will have to be scheduled some time in the future to finish off the remaining 5.