1 post tagged “boats”
- We were very tired, we were very merry --
- We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
- And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,
- From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere;
- And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,
- And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.
- -- Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Recuerdo"
- On Sunday afternoon, after brunch in Cobble Hill, my girlfriend, her mother, and I went on a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. It was a bit of a challenge to get to the ferry terminal via subway because of trains running on other lines and station closures, and we had to make several transfers in order to get to the R train and the Whitehall Street-South Ferry station. While there, be sure to take in the station's ceramic and glass mosaic murals by Frank Giorgini. The station itself is named after the Whitehall building, which is now located on the former home to Peter Stuyvesant, New Amsterdam's first governor.
Once we got to the terminal, however, it was smooth sailing. I love the entrance to the terminal building, with its sweeping signage and interior information displays, and the process for boarding is seamless -- and painless. Most of the passengers seemed to be along for the round-trip ride, as practically everyone disembarked, made their way around to the opposite side's boarding area, and got back on for the return trip.
But the terminals aren't the highlight of the ferry
ride, the ride itself is. The Staten Island Ferry has got to be one of
the best free experiences in New York City. One way, the trip takes
about 25 minutes, and the view of the southern skyline, Brooklyn
Bridge, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, and Governors Island
is unparalleled. In addition to Millay's historic poem about a ride on
the ferry, it's also notable because monologist Spalding Gray may have committed suicide
by jumping off the ferry in 2004. Ghosts abound among the lively scene
provided by the ferry's five boats, 110 round trips a day, and 65,000
passengers daily.
