One busy day with more to come

My cousins from New Jersey came to join us in our busy day. We started off going on a Circle Line boat tour around Manhattan. In the middle of the trip we got cut off by sailboats twice but we did see the Chrysler building, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and a lot of apartment buildings. Only 1% of these apartments are vacant even though the rent costs a minimum of $3,000 per month! We did not just see Manhattan. We also saw Brooklyn and Queens. One of three bridges we saw was built in the early 1800s and the measurements were done with only paper and pencil. The guide on the boat told us a lot of really interesting stories like this. Afterward we rode the subway, which was very loud and packed with people, to Ground Zero. I was expecting to see more but they had the area fenced off for construction. I did get to see the new Freedom Tower being built. It is half done. We then rode the subway to Times Square and ate at an Italian restaurant where I got a Caesar salad and penne to eat.

A plaque welded to a steel beam in the shape of a cross near Ground Zero

Freedom Tower...halfway done

Going to see Lion King at the theater tonight. More on that later. It should be fun.