Battery Park and the Freedom Tower

For anyone who makes a trip to New York, I would highly recommend visiting Battery Park in TriBeCa. Recently, a classmate and I decided to walk from the dorm toward the water on the west side of Manhattan. I've been to a handful of parks since I arrived in New York about three weeks ago, but most are in the center of the city. This place had a different feel entirely. And I could actually envision being able to sit there on a bench and read in peace.

We wound up in the park just around the time the sun began to set.  With traffic noise dispersed by the wind and tall buildings standing only in the background, it almost felt as if the city had melted away. The area was far from deserted, with bicyclists, joggers, and others on foot, but it was never busy enough to feel crowded.

Ferry boats zipped past anchored sailing vessels and the sun sank slowly behind Jersey City across the Hudson. The colors seemed to change with each passing second.

 

In the background, the One World Trade Center (also colloquially known as the Freedom Tower) stood in partial construction. The completion date is anticipated for sometime in 2013. You can find more information about it here and here. I think it's beautiful- for what it stands for and for the hard work of those behind it who have persevered in making something meaningful out of tragedy. It's good to be here in Manhattan.

Kayaking Lake Union!

What do outdoorsy types do when they have a full day in Seattle and the sun is actually shining? Go kayaking, of course! And on our way to New York City, that's exactly what we did.

The initial leg of our expedition to New York began with a flight from Juneau to Seattle. Scotty and I had both worked all day, then went home to collect our bags (mine with everything I thought I would need for the next seven weeks!) and somehow made it to the airport an hour before our flight took off at eight in the evening.

We got into Seattle around 11:30 p.m., picked up our rental car, and drove to the Edgewater Hotel. Another Hotwire "find", the Edgewater is within walking distance of downtown and Pike Place Market. But- light sleepers be warned- it's built right next to a train track, which is something to consider if you don't want to shell out extra dough for the water side (we didn't). That night, however, spirits were high and Scotty and I agreed that we liked the sound of the train, its whistle a salute to a bygone era. (I'll let you decide how long that kind of thinking lasted...)

View from our room at the Edgwater Hotel

On the plus side, the Edgewater's rooms are small but very cute with a north woods cabin theme and gas fireplaces. They also have an awesome bar. Here I am, admiring the decor:

In the bar of the Edgewater Hotel

The next day, we woke up refreshed and ready to kayak. Almost. First we walked downtown for coffee and a bit of shopping (there aren't any many places to clothes shop in Juneau). At lunchtime we retrieved our rental car from the hotel and drove north on I-5 for about 5 miles to Agua Verde Café and Paddle Club.

Agua Verde is situated on Portage Bay near the north end of Lake Union and on the University of Washington campus. Rather than try to describe the layout of these waterways, here's a map.

Full credit to Scotty for finding this little gem online. Not only does Agua Verde rent kayaks for very reasonable rates, their business doubles as a Mexican lunch spot, with an emphasis on fresh, healthy food. Yep, my man found us a place where we could kayak AND eat Mexican food on my birthday.

The dock at Agua Verde Paddle Club

Though Portage Bay and Lake Union have ocean connections, in good weather and low winds the current is calm. We paddled side by side towards Lake Union, our only direction to have fun and avoid boats because they have the right of way. (They didn't need to tell me twice!)

We passed underneath the very bridge we'd driven across on the highway and cruised past a small village of houseboats. I could totally live here:

Houseboat on Lake Union, Seattle

After we passed the houseboats we cruised into sight of Gas Works Park. A 19-acre park, opened to the public in 1975, Gas Works is a former Seattle Gas Light Company coal gasification plant. Our Seattleite friends had taken us there a some months earlier to see the city lights at night, so it was fun to see the park during the day and from a new perspective.

Scotty paddling in front of Gas Works Park

Kayaking is a great workout! On the way back we were going against the wind and got a bit tired by then. But we still managed to enjoy the view and cross the lake to look at more houseboats on the other side.

That night we met up with our good friends, Annie and John, at this amazing restaurant. Scotty and I found it by accident almost four years ago during a layover. It's pricey but so worth it for a special occasion. It was a great birthday!

The next morning we were back on a plane bound for Newark, and after that a drive to our next stop, camping in the Catskills. I'll be posting soon about what upstate New York camping is like (a first for us!), a great peak to climb, and if Woodstock really is where all the hippies still go.

An Alaskan Girl in New York City

(Disclaimer: I'm not really an Alaskan, just an Alaska resident for the last six years. According to most "real" Alaskans you have to live there for roughly 20 years before you qualify.)

I guess I should be used to this cross-country moving stuff by now. After all, I grew up in Minnesota's Twin Cities, moved to Denton, Texas for college (it's 30 miles north of Dallas), and then spent the last six years in Alaska. I've also spent a good chunk of months at a time in other places: Pensacola, Florida, Cuernavaca, Mexico, five months in the John Muir National Forest in the mountains outside of Fresno, California, and St. Mary's City, Maryland. And that's all in my adult life. But a half-summer in New York City is unchartered territory for this girl. As much as I enjoy visiting big cities, I’ve never actually lived in one. And after living in ocean-locked, mountain-locked Juneau, Alaska (Population 30,000) for the last six years (SIX! How did the time pass that quickly??), this could be a real culture shock, albeit an exciting one.

Just a few blocks from my dorm

I was lucky to have help getting here, since my wonderful boyfriend took a week off work to fly from Juneau with me. On the way, we celebrated my birthday in Seattle, then flew into Newark and spent two days camping in the Catskills. (Details coming soon...)

Starting tomorrow, I will be attending classes at New York University’s Summer Publishing Institute (SPI). I was also accepted into their Master’s program in Publishing starting in the fall; successful graduates of SPI are awarded six credits toward that degree. I am over-the-top excited about attending the program, since I’ve wanted to learn more about the publishing industry for years. However, I’m a little worried about the cost of going back to school, especially since I’m used to working full-time.

In other news, I checked into my dorm yesterday. Yep, I just said dorm. I haven't said that word since I was twenty-one and on exchange for six months. From nineteen years old on, I've always lived in in apartments.

My room (and the guy) is cute, but the view leaves something to be desired (my two huge windows stare out at a drainage hole, home to a few nesting pigeons).

My dorm room

Still, you can't beat the location on the edge of Chinatown, Little Italy, and Tribeca. It also seems like there are almost too many good places to eat and class is only a half-mile away.

Home sweet Lafayette

I'll be back soon with more updates and big city adventures!