Day 76 – 6/29
Gorgeous weather greeted us on Monday morning. We drove to Islip to the Long Island Railroad station and caught the train into New York’s Penn Station. We proceeded via the subway to Times Square. Brett had heard about the pedestrian friendly changes made to the Square and wanted to check them out. We ate lunch at a table in the middle of Times Square where crazy traffic used to dominate. It was amazing to see the countless lawn chairs and bistro tables packed with hoards of tourists enjoying Times Square at a leisurely pace not fearing for their safety from the countless cars buzzing by.

After investigating Times Square, we headed down to the Staten Island ferry. This free ferry goes from Battery Park to Staten Island and back. It goes past the Statue of Liberty and affords gorgeous views of the southern edge of the city. The weather was really cooperating with us and made for a very nice ride.

We headed back uptown stopping at Grand Central Station and continuing on to Central Park. We had a nice long hike through the northeastern quarter of the park. It was great seeing so many people enjoying the park – bicycling, running, walking, baseball, swimming, soccer – you name it and it was probably taking place somewhere in the massive outdoor wonderland. We sat overlooking one of the ponds for a while watching the ducks as it was such a nice day.

Brett and I roamed around the Bronx for awhile before heading back downtown in search of dinner. We had a very scrumptious Italian dinner with the creamiest Alfredo sauce that I have ever had. It was so delicious. Then we headed back to Penn Station to catch our train out to Long Island.

It was a fantastic day in the city and we had a great time. Luckily we get to do it again tomorrow!