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New York (2 - 10 August 2025)

Exactly ten years and one month ago, Kristina and I left New York City after calling it home for three years to road trip the US and Canada before eventually relocating to Texas. Since then, we've built a home and white picket fence (so to speak) in Austin, popped out a couple of kids, and are just living the life. To celebrate our decade of leaving, we figured it was a good time to visit, take the kiddos to blow their minds, and see what's changed. From the airport (JFK) we took the Air Train to the nearest subway station to commute into the city, give the girls a taste of that experience, and maybe spot some crazies. Well it didn't take long. Straight away a nice-seeming black lady offered up her seat and started making conversation with the girls. Siena, being playful, made a sort of "Baaa" noise at her (like a sheep) but I guess what she heard was "Blaaack", and out came the crazy! This chick started ranting "Yeah, I'm black! That's right! You're white, I'm black!" and so on, and Kristina got told she's raising a racist haha! Meanwhile, I was elsewhere in the crowded subway car with all the luggage, and I could hear this whacko carrying on but I didn't really know what the deal was, which was probably a good thing else I'd have gotten involved and wound her up even more. Welcome to New York, kids!

 
 
Our hotel in Midtown Manhattan happened to be across the street from the UBS building I worked in (top-left), way up there on the 37th floor (good view!), so this was my work life for those three years on Sixth Avenue, and I absolutely loved it! The noise and general chaos never ends, and it's not for everyone but I relished it, and miss it every day.

 
 
Our first activity of the trip was the #1 free tourist attraction of the city: taking the Staten Island Ferry from the bottom of Manhattan past the Statue of Liberty. Jade was impressed!

 
 
From Staten Island we took a commuter ferry north along the Hudson River and the west side of Manhattan, eventually getting off in the new Manhattan West area in the Hudson Yards neighborhood, which was just starting development when we left. Looks good!

 
 
Buried in here is the northern end of the High Line, a 1.5-mile elevated park and walkway that was a railway back in the day. This was here when we were, but has since been extended and further developed. It's a nice and picturesque reprieve from the chaos below.

 
 
Some of that new development includes a spur leading to shopping and eateries and eventually the Moynihan Train Hall (an extension of Penn Station)...
 
The Vessel, a 150-foot high, umm, structure, consisting of 154 flights of stairs for visitors to climb for whatever reason...
 
And a pigeon, a big one (New York has lots of pigeons!).

 
 
Apartment living!
 
We ended our first day chilling at Madison Square Park (another inner-city reprieve), then dinner and drinks atop the nearby 230 Fifth rooftop bar. It was nice to be back :)

 
 
We started day two wandering along Fifth Avenue for some expensive window shopping at the various luxury goods and fashion boutiques, such as Louis Vuitton's flagship store dressed up as their luggage trunks hehe. From there we wandered into iconic Central Park.

 
 
Despite being almost 850 acres, Central Park is only the sixth-largest park in the city. It's beautifully landscaped in summer, fairytale-white in winter, and one of my most favorite spots in the world.

 
 
Half a dozen blocks from Central Park is our old apartment building on E 74th Street in the Upper East Side. I could tell the girls couldn't wrap their minds around living in a 350 sqft space hehe, but we loved it!
 
From there we jumped back on the subway (no crazies this time, unfortunately) and headed down to DUMBO in Brooklyn for pizza. I'm a big fan of Detroit-style pizza but New York edges them out for mine (and I barely consider Chicago-style pizza to be pizza at all).

 
 
That night we went up the Empire State Building to enjoy the hazy views over the city. Wildfires currently raging up in Canada are sending smoke down here, ruining my photos. Here's a few I took when I was up here 13 years ago.

 
 
The next day I rented a bike and spent the entire day clocking up 60 miles revisiting some old spots, such as the Queensboro Bridge here which I used to traverse daily to and from work when Kristina and I lived in Astoria, Queens for our first year here (that was our apartment building on the right). Cycling in Manhattan traffic was my ultimate joy on a bike (central Paris was maybe a close second when we lived there), and it's still just as crazy and fun as it always was. Cycling in Austin just doesn't compare :(

 
For the last few days of the trip we rented a car, left the city, and headed north through the beautiful Hudson Valley and beyond.

 
 
I didn't bother taking many photos (too hazy). Here's a bunch I took last time Kristina and I were up this way (not hazy).
 
We stayed in the Finger Lakes area of New York state for a couple days, and Kristina had severe porch-envy from the beautiful houses around here haha!
 
They love each other, sometimes.

 
 
Watkins Glen State Park is a famous natural attraction around here. The centerpiece of the park is this deep, narrow gorge, created by glaciers during the last ice age and the flow of the stream. It's packed with tourists of course, so a bit of photography magic is needed to remove them, but it's pretty stunning in here nevertheless!

 
Kristina and I ten years ago and in the same spot today. What a cute couple!

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