More on New York

" And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence are

                more to me and more in my meditations, than you

                might suppose."

                                                “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” Walt Whitman

We did not take the ferry.  But we did try to take a three hour tour ( shades of the Minnow ) around the entire island. However  we only got as far as Harlam when a transformer fire at the base of a small bridge wreathed the river in thick black smoke and the captain wisely turned back.  It was a great way to see the city though, all the iconic building, bridges and the evocative place names did make me think of Whitman and his list like poems.

" Stand up, tall masts of Mannahatta! stand up, beautiful hills

          of Brooklyn. "
                                                 “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” Walt Whitman

                             
We did get ferried in a way on our trip.  We stayed in a hotel by the American Museum of Natural History ( WOW ). One night Obama hosted the UN there.  When we came back from supper the cement barriers we had seen for days had morphed into several walls.  To cross the street thru the line of limos and security staff you were ferried across the street by a policeman in groups of six or eight. Once across more police examined id, passports in our case and another policeman escorted even smaller groups to their apartment or hotel.  As we passed one very large very expensive looking building we a saw a father with several pj clad little girls.  He was alternately talking on his cell phone and saying " Can you see mommy she's waving".  Everyone seemed very relatively good natured about the whole thing but given how big the throng across the street was I wondered how long it took mommy to get across.  We had been one of the first groups to cross and we stayed in out hotel for the rest of the night.