New York City - Gapstow Bridge

Our hotel was a few blocks from Times Square - which was just close enough to be convenient to the subway stop but far away enough to put some distance from the craziness. We did have to walk through there a few times, and it was as crowded, hectic and overstimulating as always (and filled with an oddly large amount of people dressed as Minnie Mouse). The best way to appreciate it was from the 40th floor of our hotel, which had a nice little rooftop terrace. From there we had this view looking towards the cacophony of chaos of the Times Square area.



And also a nice view looking back towards Hudson Yards. From here you can just make out some people hanging out over at the Edge.



After that I rode the subway north for a few stops and ended up at Central Park. I made the short walk over to the Gapstow Bridge, which was built in 1896. Fans of great cinema may recognize it from its appearances in Home Alone 2, as it is the spot where Kevin both meets and says goodbye to the Pigeon Lady.



There were no Pigeon Ladies there that night (just an occasional rat), but the views from the bridge are pretty spectacular.





From here you can see the Plaza Hotel, which was built in 1906 and is where Kevin stayed in Home Alone 2 and racked up a $967 room service bill (the bill is estimated to translate to $2,233 in today's money).



Even with a wide angle lens, it was hard to get pictures of the supertall skyscrapers reflected in the Pond. But here you can see the Central Park Tower, which is 1,550 tall and the second tallest building in New York City. But it is technically the tallest building in the city in terms of roof height, and has the tallest roof height of any building in the world outside of Asia. And it also claims the title of the tallest residential building in the world. Also from here you can see 111 West 57th Street (aka the Steinway Tower), which is the third tallest building in New York City. It's billed as the world's second tallest residential skyscraper and the world's most slender skyscraper.

New York City - The Vessel

Situated in the middle of the new Hudson Yards development is the Vessel, which can be described as a large interactive sculpture/tourist attraction. It is a series of interconnected staircases which climbs up to a height of about 16 stories. From the outside it looks like a giant honeycomb or a massive shawarma.



I paid the $20 entrance fee, and made my way to the top. And to be honest, it really wasn't worth the price. But that's just me, other people might find joy at climbing a bunch of stairs in order to reach a view that doesn't really show much of the city around it (there is an elevator but it is reserved for disabled visitors only).



Also a good portion of the Vessel was blocked off and closed, limiting visitors to just one section of the structure.



I quickly got my steps in for the day when I headed back down the stairs and then got this shot with a fisheye lens from the bottom.





From the Vessel you can take a quick walk along The High Line, an elevated park that was built on abandoned railroad tracks.





There are many pieces of art along the High Line, including this large aluminum sculpture of a pigeon. There were even a few actual pigeons walking around the base, which made me wonder if the real pigeons are even aware of this sculpture? Do they notice is as they scavenge for people's old french fries? Do they consider it their King?



And one last shot from the High Line. We were pleasantly surprised at how nice the fall colors were in New York during our visit.

New York City - The Edge

A few weeks back, Caroline and I celebrated our 12th anniversary by taking a little trip to New York City. It was a great trip - New York is an amazing place that is filled to the brim with things to see (and photograph). So it was well worth waking up at 3:30 in the morning so we could catch the first flight out of the airport.

Say what you will about the Little Rock airport, but one great thing is that you can occasionally catch it when it's not busy at all. That morning there was not a single person waiting in the TSA security line. I don't think I've ever been able to just walk through security like that before (thank you Clinton National!). Our flight took off at sunrise and then a few hours later deposited us at LaGuardia airport. And then after sitting through some traffic, we finally made it to our hotel. We dropped our bags off and were free to start exploring the city. Our hotel wasn't too far from the new Hudson Yards development, so we headed off that way first. Along the way we passed by this place which has taken so much of my money in the past:



And then we went to the observation deck called Edge, which sits on the 100th floor of the 30 Hudson Yards Building (I'm assuming they named it after the guitar player in U2). The Edge is billed as the highest skydeck in the Western Hemisphere, and has a 80 foot cantilevered outdoor terrace that stretches out 1,100 feet above the streets below. The views are pretty good from up there.



The overlook offers views of Lower Manhattan, the Hudson River, the Empire State Building, and Midtown Manhattan.





You also get a good view of two of the city's newest skyscrapers from here - One Vanderbilt (the 4th tallest building in NY) and 270 Park Avenue (the 6th tallest). They both seem to tower over the Chrysler Building.



And the view of the One World Trade Center tower, the tallest building in NYC. We'd get a much closer look at it later in the trip.



There seems to be a strong competition between all of the Observation Decks now for customers, and each offers various other attractions to see beside the views. At some you can do skywalks, or recreate famous photographs (like at Top of the Rock), or have influencer-friendly spaces (like at One Vanderbilt). Here at the Edge, there is this random hallway filled with plastic bananas. I can see how this would appeal (or a-peel) to certain tourists.