T For Travel

“Hey, Beth?” Dave asked, “Have you every stayed in a five-star hotel before?”

“Well sure I have. One time in New York I stayed at a place called the Lowell Hotel”

“How was it?”

Beth replied, “Well Dave, let me tell you some of the reasons why I like the Lowell Hotel, aside from the fact that it is a five-star hotel.”

“Well before my trip I booked my room online in one of the Lowell’s Deluxe One-bedroom suites. The first thing that I noticed when I got to the Lowell is that all of the concierges are multilingual and available twenty-four hours a day. Not to mention the fact that everyone at the hotel was extremely helpful and courteous. One of the concierges even helped me practice my French. J’aime l’hôtel de Lowell. After I received my complimentary welcome beverage, the hotel also lent me one of the complementary iPods that are available for guests, which was great considering that I forgot to pack mine. The suite I stayed in was only one of the Lowell’s 33 suites with a wood-burning fireplace.  Let me tell you, it was so relaxing sitting on the couch drinking the complimentary Voss water and just slowly watching the embers crackle in the fireplace.”

“Besides the gorgeous fireplace my suite also had a separate kitchen, living room, and bedroom.  The television in the suite was pretty awesome too and loaded with on demand movies and shows. Guess what? One of the guests told me that the suites were all newly renovated by Michael Smith. Do you know him? They saw all of his work is great, and if the Lowell’s design is any indication then they are certainly right. By the way, each suite comes with complimentary wireless and hard-wired internet access, New York Times delivery, and access to the hotel’s business center. “

“Alright, Dave, you know how I love to excise right? Well the Lowell has an exclusive fitness center with equipment that I could only dream about working out on like the Ergo Pro 535 Stationary Bike. And for those times when I wanted to go for a jog the Lowell is comfortably located only a block away from Central Park.

The Lowell even has two in hotel restaurants: The Pembroke Room and The Post House. For my first night at the Lowell I ordered Chef Michael Fred’s signature Young Zucchini Blossoms Stuffed with Blue Claw Lump Crab – that meal was delicious and worth the trip by itself.  Oh, and one night I had one of my late night cravings that I usually get and called up room service at 3AM, but since the Lowell offers 24-hour room service everything worked out great.  So, Dave, it should be obvious now why I love the Lowell Hotel. I going back to New York next week and I already have my room booked. You should come with me!”

One of the most popular tourist sites in America, is the Empire State building in Manhattan.  This one structure held the title of the tallest building in the world for forty years.  The famous building has starred and held supporting roles in over 100 films, and is one of the first places visitors go when in NY for the first time.  This is part of one of the most incredible skylines, most recognized, and sits on a corner downtown among other New York restaurants and historical attractions.  It has come to symbolize the spirit of the people of the city.  Built during the Depression, it stands as testimony to strength and will of New Yorkers, something that continues to this day.

This building was part of a race, a competition between two car companies actually, Chrysler and General Motors.  The two men heading up those companies at the time, and in competition with each other were Walter Chrysler and John Raskob.  It was quite simple, involved  just… who could complete the tallest skyscraper first.  Raskob’s commission to task, included members of the DuPont family and corporation and Alfred E. Smith, a previous New York governor.

The project was started in 1930 and took just one year, and one month…45 days to be exact to finish.  All phases of the construction were completed ahead of schedule, and as it was during the Depression, the materials necessary for the construction were priced relatively low.  The land and the cost of construction is  just over 40 million dollars.  Herbert Hoover, the current US president at the time, turned the lights on at the Empire State Building, on the first day of May in 1931.  The famous observation deck, providing views of the entire city of Manhattan as well as the Hudson River and banks that border New Jersey.

And now, the building, though no longer holding the ‘tallest building in the world’ achievement, still holds visual, as well as romantic titles.  Visually, depending on the holiday or the particular celebration the colors of the lights atop it change.  And romantically, well, this building is New York.  It symbolizes a city and the people of that city.  And no person who has ever stood on the deck can not be affected by the history of a city, that for all intents and purposes, was the beginning of an entire country.

The ride on the Metro North railroad from New York City’s Grand Central Terminal is full of breathtaking scenery. A short walk from a best New York City hotel to the station and your on your way for a trip back through historic towns and villages and gorgeous scenery. The train ride begins in the cavernous railway platforms beneath the streets of New York City in Grand Central Terminal. For the first part of the trip the train travels in a subterranean tunnel till it reaches the Bronx when it comes above ground to continue its journey north. After Bronx the train takes up its way along the west bank of the Hudson river at river level. The river is wide near Manhattan, over a mile from bank to bank. On the opposite side of the river you can see the white cliffs of the Palisades of New Jersey as the train passes through lower Hudson river towns like Terrytown, Croton-on-Hudson, and Scarsdale. These are towns that have histories rooted in this continents pre colonial history. Many are very charming and quaint with streets lined with shops and a mixture of architectural styles spanning from the 600′s to present. As you travel further north there are more stops at little towns. A favorite stop for tourists and shoppers is Cold Spring. This towns Main St is lines with wonderfull shops full of treasures, antiques, galleries, beads, jewelry, gifts and curios and bakery, ice cream shop, coffee shops and resturaunts. What makes this town so special and a great stop is that all of this is accessible within walking distance of the train stop. Further up the Hudson the train comes to the city of Beacon, home to the world famous Dia Beacon Modern art museum on the Hudson in gigantic old Nabisco packing factory. The train continues up the river to the its final stop the city of Poughkeepsie. This is a city rich in American history. The colonist government was moved from NYC to Poughkeepsie during the revolution to protect it from the British. In the area are the Roosevelt, Vanderbilt, Moorse, Mills, and Astor estates.

I have spent many a great day and night in New York City! There is more to do than you can fit in in one lifetime. Museums, shopping, site seeing, Broadway, Off Broadway, Opera, concerts and more. From sunrise to sunrise there is never a lack for something to do. I particularly enjoy the museums. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is enormous. It has a gallery with reconstructed Assyrian temples inside, they are in a beautiful rood with one side of glass overlooking the green trees of Central Park. The collection there is vast and spans the entirety of human history. Pre recorded historic art, Egyptian, Roman, Byzantine, Greek artifacts. Paintings from Leonardo de Vinchi to Andy Warhol and everyone you have ever heard of and not heard of in between! The museum area is studded with 4 star hotels new york for your accommodation needs. A short walk from the Met is the Guggenheim, an unusual building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The round structure with its simple lines and form stand in stark contrast to the straight lines and ornamentation of the 1800′s buildings that surround it. The Guggenheim houses modern art shows. Its gallery is an open room several stories height that is round and is accessed by a spiral ramp way lined with art. From there heading to MOMA, the Museum of Modern Art or the Modern as it is called by New Yorkers. This splendid museum houses works of the Dadists, Surrealists, Expressionism and more modern art movements. I remember going to MOMA years ago when the additional floors were added. The entire museum displayed Picasso’s work… Only Picasso. It was wonderful. There is also the International Center for Photography, The Frick Collection The Cloisters, The Museum of Natural History and enndless smaller museums and galleries. Oh and I don’t want to forget another favorite of mine across from the Museum of Modern Art is the American Folk Art Museum. The collection of folk art there is amazing and worth a look. These is wood working, needle work, quilts, hand made garments, from fun and funky to fairly ordinary and mundane but the workmanship is always top notch. Make sure to check museum listings for changing exhibits, you never know what might be showing, you may be surprised.

Birders can find new exciting species to observe even in the midst of the largest cities. For example, where I booked a room at a New York Cheap Hotel, Central Park is home to more than 150 species of birds throughout the entire year. I was fortunate enough to pack the right equipment to help me with my birding project.

I’m a recreational birder, so I only needed a few basic birding supplies in order to find birds on my trip. I brought binoculars, a compact, portable pair which helped me easily observe birds no matter where I was. A field guide tucked into my field jacket. A notebook so I could take quick notes on all the species I observed so I can compare and do a positive identification. I found a simple digital camera to be valuable for capturing birding observations quickly and easily so the species could be identified later on without interrupting any other plans I had. I could’ve brought more extensive equipment, like a multiple guides, a fully-equipped field bag or a spotting scope, but they really weren’t necessary for my casual birding vacation.

I knew when to spot birds effectively which increased my chances of finding a new or unusual species during my vacation. The very early morning hours, before any business activity begins, is one of the best times to observe birds feeding and preening after a long night. Later in the afternoon is another feeding time and taking an hour or two for casual birding was a welcome break from my structured vacation itinerary. Plus, putting in a few extra hours into my schedule helped too, like while at the beach, I not only built sand castles, I observed gulls and other shore birds. At the zoo, I visited the aviary and I contacted a birding organization prior to travelling to get tips on the best hot spots.  All of this made my birding a pleasure.

When one visits the city of New York for the first time it can be an overwhelming experience.  There is so much to do, so much to see.  One of the busiest and most bustling areas of the city is Times Square.  This is one area that truly never sleeps, for no matter what time of day or night, the streets are packed with people.  Many chose to stay in this section for just that reason, and there are many famous and top New York hotels to pick from.  Prices range and there are many luxury accomodations, as well as smaller less expensive options.  Staying in this area is for those travelers that want to experience the full excitement of Manhattan, as there are many restaurants, including the famous, and delicious, Ray’s Pizza. There are trendy bars and the nightlife, well, it goes on all night and continues through to the wee hours of the morning.

Central Park, is of course a huge draw for tourists, for reasons exactly opposite the reasons Times Square is.  Located right in the center of Manhattan this is one of New York’s most important and most loved landmarks.  The residents of the city love this park as well, this is a place that one can really escape the busy city streets and get lost in the forest.  Many run through the pathways, or bike and rollerblade.  One of the traditons of New Yorkers has become the watching, every spring, of the descendants of Pale Male hatching.  Pale Male is a hawk who has made his nest in the ledges of a 5th Avenue apartment for years, and is responsible for siring the many hawks living in Central Park today.  The park spans seven hundred and sixty eight acres, and the plan for the park was conceived in 1853.  The design is that of Calvert Vaux and Fredric Law, the two who won the design competion during that same year.

The city of Manhattan and the people living there are dedicated to the continued developments and improvements made to the parks located throughout the city, and to the city streets themselves.  Some of those projects span one hundred years, as in the constant updating and renovations made in the park along the East River.  One such project has been happening for fifteen years, and that is the planting of trees throughout the city during April.  Million Trees NYC has teamed up with Adrian Bebepe, the commissioner for the city parks, and Gary Bagley, the Exec. Director of the organization called New York Cares.

The goal is that, within the next decade, one million trees will be planted, putting back twenty percent of the natural forests that were removed throughout the history of the city and creating not only a more pleasant atmosphere, but a more healthy one as well.  Healthy for the souls and healthy for the bodies of all those living and working in the businesses, the city streets, and the small hotels.  New York citizens are well known throughout the world, as those most willing to come together when their city or any of her people are in need of help and this occasion was no different.

More than 5,000 people were out last month, all volunteers, located throughout the city’s parks, tending to the landscaping there, while another 1,300 people planted trees throughout the city.  In one day, twenty thousand trees were planted.  In one day!  That is the number of trees that are in Central Park, an amazing feat and an inspirational one as well.  In the Bronx, citizens planted fifteen hundred trees in Claremont park.  Brooklyn’s Spring Creek Park received two thousand trees.  Staten Island was not left out, as two thousand more were planted there.  On this one day, not only were the trees planted and tended but other areas of the city were as well.  Many volunteers worked fixing up the city’s paths, spreading mulch in the gardens of the parks, and painting fences.

One aspect of the city of New York that is strange when one visits for the first time, is that metropolis is green, filled with plants and flowers hanging from the fire escape “balconies” of the apartment buildings, throughout the parks of the city, and along the streets where rows of trees shade the windows and the doorways of the NY hotels,  museums, restaurants, and shops.  The city has been home to some of the trees for years.  One interesting walk through the city is the search for the oldest tree on the island.  Although many candidates are in the running for that title as the Magnolia Tree the stands in Brooklyn, the Hanging Tree in Washington Square Park, and the White Oak tree that stands in Pelham Bay Park.  One of the traditional characteristics of the commissioners of the Parks and Recreation organization in New York is the planting of trees on a regular basis, along with the constant care of the city’s many gardens located in the parks.  This is similar to the city of Chicago’s devotion to the flowers that decorate that cities streets, and gardens located abundantly throughout the neighborhoods and park’s of the windy city.

Last month more than five thousand volunteers were brought together by the commissioner and organization called New York Cares.  The goal of the project is to have one million trees throughout the city during the next ten years.  So far, 20,000 trees have been planted last month, on one single day alone.  This is an attempt at creating a more visually beautiful city, and is an environmental action as well.  With the planting of the million, the forests of the city will be increased by twenty percent.  Hands on New York Day, brought the city together, and the communities throughout felt a spirit and a joy in the connection of not only participating in the same event at the same time, but in partaking in something that will forever affect those living and working in the city, and will inspire those traveling and touring Manhattan for the first time.  The people are bringing the forest into downtown, and the forest will breath more life into the communities, the atmospheres and the feel of this already vibrant American city.

There are many aspects that are amazing about the city, New York, USA. Hotel concierges offer up suggestions of tours and activities, but one way to spend the afternoon is to just walk around the neighborhoods and take in the history.  One aspect many may overlook is that of the oldest residents, the trees.  Many of the trees have been growing on the island long before the first European settlers landed on the shores of the East River.  In the Brooklyn borough, one tree has become quite famous.  This is a Magnolia tree that is located on the 600 block of Lafayette Street.  In 1970, this tree became a recognized landmark of the city, the only living landmark.  While the Magnolia tree of Brooklyn is most famous, it is not the oldest tree.  In Prospect Park, an area that once was a full blown forest, stands an oak tree, one of the last few standing.

However, research on the many trees in the park lands of the Bronx may turn up an older living legend.  For there are thousands of acres to discover throughout this borough of the city.  Currently the oldest tree standing in the Bronx is a White Oak.  This one dates back to the 1700′s.  This giant tree stands in the middle of a golf course in Pelham Bay Park.  Many have walked through Central Park and have the idea that the oldest trees are found within the park, and though they are older trees, most were transplanted.  There is one tree that stands along the reservoir that is believed to have been growing there before the construction of the park.  This London Plane is dated to the early 1800′s.

The two other species that are in the running for the oldest living trees on the island are located in Washington Heights and Washington Square Park.  In the Heights, stands an elm, over one hundred and ten feet tall.  Legend has it that George Washington stood beneath this tree on many occasions.  And then there is the Hangman’s tree, and Elm tree that dates back to the time in the history of New York, when Washington Square Park was the city’s location for the gallows.  This one is dated at three hundred and ten years old, and it is doubtful that any hangings really happened at the tree, many find it morbidly fascinating to wonder about.  Walking through the city is a joy for anyone, especially on their first visit as there is so much to discover about this small island, the largest city in the United States.

The East River is one of the locations in the city of New York that is steeped in history, and one of the places that is most loved by the residents along the banks of the river.  Much of the development of New York has been along this river.  Much of the city owes part of their existence to area, from the New York boutique hotel, to the hot dog stands on the corners.  Previously the Native American Tribe, the Nechtanc, made this river their home.  The Dutch began arriving to the island in the late 1600′s.  Once the neighborhood was further colonized by the European immigrants, trade ports were built along the river to ensure a viable means to promote trade with Europe and with the West Indies.  In the first part of the 19th Century the industry of shipbuilding was booming.  Many travelers and sailors were filling the area, and the waterfront developed into a bustling market center.

By the end of the 19th Century, in less than one hundred years, other industries dotted the shores.  There were yards for the railroads, power and electric stations, factories producing glass, and slaughter houses.  Many tenement buildings were built and the area had a vibrant life.  It was during this time that the city park was built.  Throughout the years, the East River Park has seen good times and bad, but was always in the process of being renovated.  Playgrounds were built in 1994, as well as up-grades on the basketball courts and baseball fields.  And then the city added to the park further by the 1996 construction of the comfort station…which is the term used for public bathroom facilities.  This was celebrated, as is everything in this city, in grand style, with the First Flush Ceremony.  Park lights were added to the baseball field in 2000, and by 2001 a bike path was laid that winds through the park and along the river.  Many now enjoy this park and it has become a popular spot for recreational activities and outdoor performances of music and theater.