the works

With the weather still very cool and rainy, work was slow the other day. So slow that I spent most of my time reading a book called The Works: Anatomy of a City, which has been sitting on a table in the exhibit for visitors to pick up and peruse. It is a fascinating book! It is interesting to consider everyday processes, like that of trash and recycling, cargo routes by air, land, and water, and mass transit systems. The average person only participates in a few aspects of the inner workings of their urban living environment and this book explains it all, with plenty of illustrations, and it uses New York City (of course!) as its example.  I wonder how many people in the Bronx are aware that a Waste Management train transports 35 containers of their garbage to Waverly, VA each day-- that's 400 miles away.

Since I recently visited New York City, I was particularly interested in the bridge and tunnel systems. When I drove to the city, I wasn't expecting to pay a $7.50 toll each way to cross a single bridge into and out of the city. And today I found out why that's the case. The Washington Bridge has 159 radar detectors that measure volume and speed of traffic. It has 39 cameras to capture road conditions, pavement sensors for temperature, ice and freeze point, and additional sensors for wind speed, air temperature, and visibility. Add in call boxes, message signs to tell you how long you'll be stuck in traffic, and finally 107 toll collectors that take in $1 million in tolls each day! Amazing.

new york

Before my official first day at work today, I decided to take a short "weekend" trip to New York City. It's not the true weekend for most people, but it's the only two consecutive days off I have for the next few months. As tranquil and quiet as Cape Cod is in its early season, I was very excited to be going to the city. I have a list of all the places I want to visit there, and was able to check off several from the past two days, most of which are museums. I'm saving all the others for the warmer months. A friend of mine who lives there was kind enough to take me around to each of the places I wanted to see, which made the trip seamless, and much less stressful than it would have been had I been navigating on my own.

I drove to New York since it was the most convenient. Staying in Brooklyn, parallel parking overnight in the street is free, and all I had to do was move my car to the other side or another block when the time came for the street cleaners. Not so bad.

First stop was the Rubin Museum of Art, all Himalayan art. The Rubins were obviously big collectors. Since my trusty guide is Tibetan, he was able to tell me much more than I could read from a museum label, a definite plus.

Then we took the subway up to 42nd Street to walk around, then to Central Park and walked through-- this was my favorite because people were scarce, and it was very pretty, even though spring hasn't shown up yet.

We walked all the way up to the American Museum of Natural History, another museum that I have always wanted to visit. It's huge! One could easily spend a whole day there. We ended up rushing through the last few areas before they closed, but I'd love to go back another day. Then dinner was at a great Japanese restaurant where they were having some special sake event, so we got to sample some. Finally, we made it back to Times Square so I would be able to see all the lights at night. Everyone was there it seemed! It was a lot of fun.

The next day I had planned to visit the Tenement Museum, another museum recommended to me, so we walked a mile through Chinatown in the wind and rain, only to find out the most immediate tours were sold out and going on a tour was the only way in. Next time then, and again to Central Park, this time to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, another enormous one. Too large to see in one go, but I got through what I wanted to see most.

What a wonderful time!

Boston, again

Today was another Boston day, more successful than the first. I took the mid-morning train in to downtown Boston. About 20 minutes out, all of us passengers suddenly heard and felt a CLUNK, CLUNK, CLUNK...all the way down the train. It sounded like we had run over a boulder, or a piece of the train had fallen off and had gotten stuck underneath. We were pretty sure it wasn't a person or other living creature though. They stopped the train, completely turned it off for some time, then after we had waited, the engineer came on the intercom and said they would test the brakes and be on our way. Everything went smoothly after that, although we never did find out what had happened.

Once in Boston, I stopped for lunch at a dumpling cafe in Chinatown, since it is very nearby the train station. I spent most of my day walking downtown after that.

 There was a short ferry to the other side of the harbor to see the USS Constitution (from the War of 1812) and a WWII destroyer, the USS Cassin Young, in a dry dock. It was really windy everywhere near the water, and especially on the boat, but I had on my down jacket and hood, so I stayed on the outside deck.

 Painting the hull

 So narrow-- I bet it's fast!

USS Constitution

 

 Massachusetts state capitol building

Boston Common

Everyone was out enjoying the sun, even if it was still cold.

things I like: my neighborhood

the smell of chimney smoke

 

beautiful old churches

a lawn that's mostly moss

creative, colorful doors

all the ponds

so many trees

preserved historical buildings still in use

 

another president's museum

What a timely post from another blog I frequent, as I just visited Boston for the first time today. I can't say I'm used to the accents yet: "Banging a Left in Boston".

I really only got around to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and then Ikea on my way out of town. The traffic was too much. I figure I will come back another day when I can get around on public transportation or walk. I ended up taking my auto tour through the city, so I didn't get any photos past the museum. I parked the car for $8 worth to take a walk in Cambridge, and had a great meal at a Tibetan restaurant-- momos and all. It seems to be a beautiful city, so I'm eager to return and spend more time there. Being only an hour away, I'm sure I will have plenty of opportunities to do so.

It took about 30 minutes to locate JFK's museum, which turned out to be hidden away in the UMass campus on the water. I loved this portrait done by Elaine de Kooning.

           There were more galleries than expected focusing on Jackie Kennedy, which was enjoyable. There was a video that included her talking about how she had worried beforehand that moving into the White House would destroy her marriage, but then she later noted that those were her happiest years.

 The museum building itself has an amazing view out to the harbor. It was a very clear day, and it eventually warmed up to nearly 60 degrees!

                                                  Here's the largest American flag I've ever seen.

                                                                The city looks so small from far away...

                                                                                    Rippling water

It's been a while since I took a history class, and the last time I learned about the presidents was about 5th grade, so I really enjoy going to these presidential libraries & museums. I think it will be my new goal to visit each one!