Up A Lazy River to Bear Mountain

Image: Bear Mountain State Park, New York, NY

In 1962 or thereabouts, a very young Bob Dylan wrote a song called, Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues. The song begins:

I saw it advertised one day

Bear Mountain picnic was comin’ my way

“Come along ’n’ take a trip

We’ll bring you up there on a ship

Bring the wife and kids

Bring the whole family”

Yippee!*

Through another eight verses Dylan describes a picnic cruise that goes from bad, to worse, to disastrous.

I’m pleased to say the cruise I took to Bear Mountain with the Classic Harbor Line on their beautifully appointed teak-decked yacht, Manhattan was anything but a disaster. This nine hour, full day, round-trip cruise up the Hudson River to Bear Mountain began at 9.00am with an open breakfast buffet, a complimentary drink from the bar, and a three hour cruise that wound its way north through the Palisades and the lower Hudson River Valley.

The open breakfast buffet included fresh bagels and pastries, fruit, a waffle maker, fresh quiche and sausage, and coffee, juice and tea. Quite frankly, it was more than enough food for the passengers on board, and there was no need to ‘top up’ with other food purchases at the concession stands or café within the park when we got there. In fact, we were encouraged to take breakfast ‘leftovers’ like fruit and pastries ashore with us.

Image: Mucking around in boats on the Hudson River

It was a perfect day for mucking around in boats, and I had to feel sorry for the folks back in New York City who were about to experience a sweltering day in among the concrete and glass canyons of Manhattan. Meanwhile the lucky 30 or so passengers on the cruise were blessed with a cool breeze and smooth running, all the way to our destination.

After docking at Bear Mountain, we were free to enjoy around two and a half hours exploring, hiking, or just relaxing. I never bothered with the Trailside Museums, the jam-packed swimming pool, rowing boat hire, or the small on-site Zoo, but I did amble my way around Hessian Lake and breathe in the fresh mountain air – laced with the smell of BBQ wafting across the lake from the dozens of family picnics taking place in the park.

Image: I love the smell of BBQ in the morning!

Our cruise coincided with the post-Independence Day public holiday, and it is clear that Bear Mountain has been a favourite picnic spot for New Yorkers, even long before Dylan wrote about it. Omar, a Honduran (see Special Thanks below) told me that apparently, on July 4th itself, the picnic site was full by 9.00am, and park staff had to turn every other visitor away – which gives you an idea of just how popular the location is.

At 3:00pm the Manhattan departed for the three hour cruise back to New York City. Again, we were treated to a complimentary beverage from the bar and barbecue picnic buffet! As if that wasn’t enough, an hour or so before disembarking we were also offered dessert and fruit platters just to make sure we didn’t leave hungry.

Image: The Manhattan at anchor near Chelsea Piers

The Manhattan is a newly built (2006) 1920’s style “commuter” yacht, which aims to reproduce the Gilded Era of Yachting (the company description, not mine). The boat features an enclosed, cushioned observatory surrounded by large windows and skylights which makes it very easy to take in the stunning views on both sides of the river. Of course, passengers could also sit on deck if they chose to.

Caveats
1. The company website and brochures advertise a three hour break at Bear Mountain. However, if it takes longer to reach the park, that delay is subtracted from the nominal three hours to ensure the Manhattan still leaves at 3.00pm for the return cruise to New York City. A practical example: Although our trip left on time at 9.00am, it was 15-20 minutes late reaching Bear Mountain due to prevailing weather conditions. Therefore, our time at Bear Mountain was reduced to around two and a half hours.

2. Even assuming a full three hours at Bear Mountain, we were advised that passengers inclined to walk to the top of the mountain would not be able to complete the round trip within that time. Therefore, if you are a keen hiker, and want to climb Bear Mountain, you will need to find your own way there, or travel with another company that allows more time to complete the climb.

3. Boat cruising isn’t for everyone. If you bore easily, sitting on a boat for six hours – no matter how luxurious the vessel – can seem interminably long. From time to time on our cruise, some folks read books and newspapers, dozed off, or distracted themselves from the cruise in different ways.

Others, myself included, were interested in watching the changing landscape and looking out for the unexpected – like birds of prey soaring high over cliffs and escarpments; or trying to work out which of the numerous fortress-like buildings we passed was the notorious Sing Sing, maximum security prison. That sort of thing.

Image: High cliffs and escarpments; a small section of the Palisades

The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeastern New Jersey and southern New York ... The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City (where their emergence is called Bergen Hill) approximately 20 mi (32 km) to near Nyack, New York. They rise nearly vertically from near the edge of the river and are among the most dramatic geologic features in the vicinity of New York City... [Source: Wikipedia]

As we cruised past the Palisades, described above, I couldn’t help thinking that it probably hadn’t changed much since Henry Hudson and his crew sailed up the river for the first time 400 years ago. It was sobering to imagine the Native Americans who must have been watching from the safety of the dense undergrowth or cliff tops, trying to work out who or what these people and their strange vessel represented.

What Is Not Included?

Apart from the complimentary drinks at the start of the cruise and on the return trip, any additional mixed drinks could be purchased from the open bar. Gratuities (tips) are also not included in the overall cruise price, but are greatly appreciated by crew members.

Special Thanks

A special shout-out to Omar from Honduras, who was generous enough to offer a complete stranger (me), a soda and something to eat. I accepted the soda, but not the food since we would be eating on the trip back to New York City. Gracias, mi amigo.

And an extra special shout-out to fellow passenger, Marlyn, who also took the time to say ‘hello’ to a complete stranger on the long trip to and from Bear Mountain. It was lovely having someone to share the ride with, and it certainly made the day more memorable for me, and hopefully for her as well.

Finally

The next cruise to Bear Mountain is scheduled for Monday, September 6, 2010, which just happens to be the annual North American Labor Day holiday. I highly recommend the outing for locals and visitors alike – especially if you are interested in doing something different on your vacation. Classic Harbor Lines offers a wide range of cruising via their website so take a look and take the time to get out on the water.

* Copyright © 1962, 1965 by Duchess Music Corporation; renewed 1990, 1993 by MCA

LINKS:

Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues…
Bear Mountain State Park…
Classic Harbor Line…

The Palisades…

New York Promenade

Image: The Cloisters commanding the best views, high over the Hudson River

~ Went out in the early evening for a walk up Cabrini Boulevard towards the Cloisters, which is only ten minutes from the apartment I’m staying at. The Cloisters is the branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art and architecture of the European Middle Ages, and is located in Fort Tryon Park near the northern tip of Manhattan.

By the time I reached the park the building itself was closed, but the park was alive with activity. I quickly realised I was walking into a typical New York summer night. While it may seem like a movie cliché, to me it was everything I expected to see on a hot summer evening. Given that the vast majority of residents on Manhattan live in apartments, very few have access to anything resembling a garden or private yard. This means that in the evenings they spill out onto the streets and into neighbourhood parks (of which there are more than you might expect).

Tryon Park had its fair share of picnicking families, strolling couples and joggers, dog walkers and book readers, and bird watchers and sunbathers. Several paths afforded great views of the Hudson River, which were spoilt only by the fact that you had to squint into the lowering sun to see anything.

A large children’s playground is located at the corner of Riverside Drive and Broadway, and this was packed with families: adults, teenagers, children and grandparents. Streams of water were spraying high into the air in one central play area and young kids squealed with delight as they ran through the mist and showers of cooling water. Ice cream vendors with small three wheeled carts walked around the area plying their wares, and Latin music boomed from passing cars.

I sat for a while enjoying a $1 cup of ice cream, before deciding to walk to the end of Manhattan. Not the bottom end of the island, you understand, but the top – or northern – end, which was less than a mile away.

That iconic thoroughfare, Broadway, runs from the southern end of Manhattan up through its centre and continues on way beyond the end of the island. It is my wish to walk the entire length of the Manhattan section of Broadway, but now that I am here experiencing for myself that much talked about New York summer humidity, I will have to adjust my goals and complete the task in stages rather than one long walk. I have nothing to prove (apart from my stupidity) by walking 22 kilometres in 95 degree heat and 80 percent humidity – and the last time I looked, I wasn’t that stupid!

Image: Evening view of the Bronx over the Harlem River
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Anyway, since it was close, I set off to walk to the end of Manhattan, and I was happy I did. Along the way I passed Dyckman Farmhouse, a Dutch Colonial style farmhouse built by William Dyckman in 1784 (or thereabouts). The Farmhouse is an extraordinary reminder of earlier Manhattan and an important part of its Inwood neighbourhood. It was of course, also closed, but I will certainly return for a good look before I leave New York.

At the corner of Isham Street and Broadway stands the Church of The Good Shephard. In the garden on the Isham Street is a steel cross similar to the better known 20 foot high (6.1 m) cross salvaged from the rubble of the World Trade Center. Though much small in size, this blackened cross and the memorial garden it watches over is a poignant reminder of that terrible day. Wherever you go in New York City you will find memorials, large and small, to the thousands of victims of that terrible event, which – as you might expect – continues to have a huge impact on the lives of all New Yorkers.

Continuing along Broadway, I soon came to that narrow body of water which separates Manhattan from the Bronx. The Harlem River is spanned by the Broadway Bridge, which may be unique in that if it needs to be raised for small ships or other craft to pass beneath, it rises parallel to the water, as one long platform. Having walked across the bridge to the Bronx – and mainland America – I began my return walk back to the apartment.

Image: Iconic New York street scene, still encountered today
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Somewhere up a side street in Inwood, I encountered another image I associate with New York: someone had turned on a fire hydrant just enough to send a curtain of water cascading across the road so that local children could play in the shower of ‘rain’ it created.

It would have made a lovely picture. Just the same, it was a great way to end my evening promenade through the top end of Manhattan.

Walking to New Jersey

Image: The George Washington Bridge looking towards Manhattan. For a while it laid claim to be the longest suspension bridge in the world.

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~ This entry could just as easily have been called: Walking the George Washington Bridge, or Walking Off My Jetlag, but let’s not quibble. What’s in a name, after all?

After heading to bed around 10.30 last night for a much need rest, I woke around 5.00am and could not get back to sleep, so I got up an hour later and wrote my earlier post (see below). I had a late breakfast (brunch) with my host, and then went off to perform a ritual I always undertake when staying in a new area: I explore my surroundings and try and orientate myself to the landscape by picking out obvious landmarks that will help me remember where my accommodations are, as well as where each point of the compass is facing.

Today I wandered aimlessly for an hour or so, but since I wasn’t achieving anything useful, I decided to walk part way across the George Washington Bridge which connects the upper end of Manhattan with New Jersey. The Manhattan end of the George Washington Bridge (or the ‘George’ as it is also informally called), is located in Washington Heights – where I am staying – while the borough of Fort Lee is on the New Jersey side.

It was a glorious morning for walking, and I have to say the view from the bridge was stunning as I set off down the pedestrian walkway running along the left side of the bridge’s upper level. A steady stream of joggers and lycra clad bike riders flashed past me as I ambled out to its mid-point.

The Wikipedia entry for the George Washington, states that as of 2007 the bridge has the greatest capacity of any bridge in the world, carrying approximately 106 million vehicles a year, and quite frankly that doesn’t surprise me. As I walked just a metre or two from roaring mass of steel, a constant flow of every type of truck, bus and automobile was pouring over the bridge into Manhattan, with maybe half that number heading in the other direction towards New Jersey. I wasn’t there to see it, but I’m sure the majority of the traffic flow would have been reversed during the evening rush hour.

Image: The view down the Hudson River, similar to the view that would have been facing Captain Sullenberger as he flew low over the George Washington Bridge.

Standing at the half way point, one almost gets the same exact view that presented itself to United Airlines pilot, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III, on January 15, 2009. Sullenberger, you may remember, rose to fame when he successfully ditched US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan. Captain Sullenberger had to fly low over the George Washington Bridge before he safely brought the plane down – in the process saving the lives of all 155 people on the aircraft.

Having reached the halfway mark, walking the full length of the bridge seemed to be the logical thing to do, especially since I could see an observation area high up on the New Jersey side – which turned out to be Fort Lee.

The Bridge is near the sites of Fort Washington (on the New York side) and Fort Lee (in New Jersey), which were fortified positions used by General Washington and his American forces in his unsuccessful attempt to deter the British occupation of New York City in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. Washington evacuated Manhattan by crossing between the two forts [Source: Wikipedia].

The George Washington Bridge was even more stunning when viewed from the Fort Lee observation area than it was from the Manhattan side. Although I hasten to add, that I haven’t thoroughly explored the Manhattan side at all at this point – but then I’ve been here less than 24 hours!

However, ignoring the constant roar of the traffic, the view down river was spectacular to say the least. I watched as tug boats slowly pushed huge barges upriver. What was their ultimate destination and what, if anything, were the barges carrying? I saw sailing boats, pleasure craft, and numerous Circle Line passenger boats carrying sightseers on a full circumnavigation of the island of Manhattan. I was even fortunate to see a lone deer grazing quietly near the fort car park, and numerous squirrels, and small rodent-like creatures I didn’t recognize.

Image: 14 lanes of traffic ferry transport and people to and from Manhattan/New Jersey.

When it opened in 1931, the bridge had the longest main span in the world; at 1,067 m (3,500 ft), while the total length of the bridge is 1,451 m (4,760 ft). As originally built, the bridge offered six lanes of traffic, but in 1946, two additional lanes were provided on what is now the upper level. A second, lower deck, opened to the public in 1962. This lower level increased the capacity of the bridge by 75 percent, making the George Washington Bridge the world's only 14-lane suspension bridge [Wikipedia],

As you might imagine, with eight lanes on the upper level and six on the lower deck, the accumulated noise spilling off the bridge throughout the day is loud and constant.

Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret) said of the unadorned steel structure:

"The George Washington Bridge over the Hudson is the most beautiful bridge in the world. Made of cables and steel beams, it gleams in the sky like a reversed arch. It is blessed. It is the only seat of grace in the disordered city..." [Wikipedia]

Well, Chazza, that’s a pretty sweeping statement to make about any bridge, but I have to agree that it is indeed wonderful to stand at the foot of either one of its two massive towers, and marvel at the extraordinary feat of engineering the structure represents. Maybe that is why the George Washington Bridge was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in October, 1981, the fiftieth anniversary of the bridge's dedication ceremony.

Maybe it’s a ‘man/guy thing’, but a walk across the George Washington Bridge is well worth the effort. Especially when you are rewarded with sweeping views of Manhattan’s Westside, the vast expanse of the Hudson River as it flows towards the Atlantic Ocean, and the sight of towering skyscrapers reduced to the size of matchsticks far off in the distance, at the lower end of the island.

Unfortunately, I set out on my walk this morning completely unprepared for what might eventuate. This meant I had no water or hat with me, and worse yet, I had left my digital SLR behind, so I had to rely on the camera in my phone to try and capture the experience. Hence, the images illustrating this entry are not exactly award winning, but they will have to do until I explore the area further, and take some better photos.

So there you have it. My first full day in New York, and I can honestly say not only did I walk from New York City to New Jersey – but I also walked from New Jersey to New York. In the same day! Pretty impressive, I reckon.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the background information...

Images: Jim Lesses