Weekend in New York City, or riding the bus and seeing a parade.

                                              
We weren't really expecting too much in New York City at this point in our trip, but we both really enjoyed it.  If the marina where we are was a bit better we might actually stay a bit longer.  It's over a hundred bucks a night - which isn't the end of the world - with one bathroom and one shower.  That would even be OK, but the boat wakes from all the shipping on the Hudson is terrible.  If you've seen pictures of  "Galloping Gertie" - the bridge which used to span the Tacoma Narrows before it collapsed - then you 've seen what our dock looks like.  Our boat moved so much at first that our shore power cord pulled out, and it's hard to keep our fenders in place!  Cabinet doors have popped open and the cats are spooked.

The subways were fun after we got the hang of it.  We decided to take the double deck bus tours which take a couple of hours each.  We were able to see lots of buildings and neighborhoods.  The architectural detailing on the older buildings is really wonderful.  Sunday was the annual Gay Pride Parade which runs down 5th Avenue.  We spent a couple of hours watching that between bus tours.  Just two days before Governor Cuomo signed the bill legalizing same sex marriage, so this year's parade was quite a special event.  The crowds were huge and it really screwed up the traffic, but we were walking so who cares.  Actually traffic was still gridlocked several hours later when we were on the city night tour.  There was also a big fireworks display that we watched from the cockpit of our boat.

We are now waiting for the tide to change so we get an assist against the current in the Hudson River.

Tiffany stained glass windows.

Gridlock after the parade on 5th Avenue.

Building detail - caryatids.
Actually caryatids are draped figures, so maybe I should call these "caryatits".

Just in case you want to park your Ferarri long term, check the exotic surcharge.

More wonderful building detailing.

The Dakota - a beetle used to live here.

Guggenheim Art Museum.

Just some of the crowd watching the annual Gay Pride Parade
held once a year.

Crowd in The Village at the end of the parade route.

I think there used to be a cattle farm around here.

Times Square with just a few of the electric signs on buildings in the background.

New York Public Library.

Detail of Flat Iron Building.

If you are ever offered a bridge to buy in Brooklyn...

From the parade, what can I say?

The Flaggots - I kid you not.