I’ve fallen behind on some of my projects over the last week, so I spent most of yesterday afternoon in the NYPL’s reading room trying to get caught up. I’ll have to work most of this afternoon as well.
But when I left the library, feeling a little stir crazy, I had to decide what to do with my evening. I’m still in the operative mode of “cheap,” which limits my options a little. Luckily, though, one of New York’s most enjoyable attractions is very cheap–free, in fact.
Josh urged me earlier this week to get aboard the Staten Island Ferry while the weather was still nice. Because yesterday was mild, sunny, and cloudless, it seemed like the perfect day for it.
The ferry ride across to Staten Island takes about 25 minutes. Riding it round-trip as I did (I didn’t exit the ferry) will take an hour.
After boarding the ferry, I made my way to the upper deck for a better view. An outside walkway allows you to look out over the water on either side of the boat. I looked out over the Brooklyn side for a while, finding familiar landmarks for orientation and staring off at Governor’s Island, and then walked over to the other side. Let’s Go New York claims that the ferry ride provides the best available view of the Statue of Liberty, and the book’s probably right. Although many points in Manhattan and Brooklyn have provided nice views of Liberty, obviously none allow her to loom this large.
I was happy the boat wasn’t full. Finding a vantage was easy, no matter where I wanted to be. I stood watching Lower Manhattan recede from view as we passed Ellis Island, Liberty, and the New Jersey shore. I then walked over to the Brooklyn side, to get a view of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and the Brooklyn skyline.
The breeze on that side of the boat was much stronger, so I closed my eyes to feel the air snap against my skin, to listen to the engines gently groan, and to smell the fishy salt of the bay water. When I opened my eyes again, I saw seagulls floating alongside us, wings spread wide to catch drifts off the boat.
During the ferry ride, I felt a new dream beginning to take seed–to travel by ship across the Atlantic to Europe. Ship travel is probably some years hence, for I think the only companies offering such European travel packages are luxury cruise liners, which means the tall dollar, but that just means being diligent with my debts and getting money saved up.
