What a confluence of astounding events occurred as I delivered my little tapestry. My drive into NY was full of portent if I believed in that sort of thing!
Driving down the Palisades Parkway right along the western edge of the Hudson River, the two large V-22 Ospreys came into view! They were flying up the Hudson in what seemed like slow motion! I’ve never seen them before, and they certainly look like a strange mix-up of helicopter and plane! Those rotors were so gigantic! The traffic on the Palisades almost stopped as all eyes were focused upwards on those amazing planes!
I’ve never been tempted to take photos while driving until that moment! Why didn’t I open the sun roof and stand up and get that shot? I didn’t do it (damn!), and now I can’t find any photos on the internet (really, how can you have news coverage without photos??). So I’m posting this because it was such an awesome experience for me….even without pictures! (Though you can always count on YouTube!)
It was a brilliantly clear day so the view of the Hudson was magnificent, and I’d forgotten that Fleet Week was starting. People were lining the walkway on the bridge to photograph both the F-18 Hornet fighters and the Ospreys as well as all the ships coming up the Hudson. It was quite a celebration! I drove into Manhattan down the West Side Highway, which is right at the eastern edge of the Hudson (just the opposite river bank from the Palisades Pkwy), so I had great views of the ships for the entire ride. The park at 125th was also filled with people, all excited to be watching these events! Such a different mood than the last, unnanounced, flyover!
My son and a few friends knew how to get on the roof of their building at Columbia Univ. (which I will not name since it’s supposed to be inaccessible!), and Chris got photos of the flyover, as well as some great shots of the city skyline on a perfect spring day! He hasn’t sent them to me yet!
I then spent then next hour and 15 minutes looking for a parking place! It was also graduation for Columbia College students, and it was an incredible log jam! Roads were closed, out-of-towners were everywhere, and even the parking garages were full! I won’t say I wasn’t in a high state of frustration, but I did enjoy seeing all the young faces in their blue mortar boards! I finally settled for a spot with 1-hour metered parking, and Chris ran back to feed the meter at the end of the first hour!
After a lovely lunch with Chris, celebrating the completion of his first year of physics doctorate, I headed uptown to deliver that tapestry along with our funky group piece called “Not Gone for Baroque.”
3 comments:
That is quite the epic drive!!! At first I thought you were talking about traffic stopping for 2 ospreys of the bird variety....and that surprised me. But 2 planes....that I get!!!
Congrats to Chris for finishing the first year of a subject that was always hard for me!! I cannot imagine how hard it would be for me at that level....2 semesters of it in college was difficult enough!
And yay - now your tapestry has been delivered! Congrats!
Sue
Ha! Must be the part of the country we're from. I thought it was the birds, too! I have stopped to photograph them before (the birds.) Isn't it great to see our 'children' becoming accomplished adults?
Sad for me too - I am even married a Navy brat and still thought you meant birds - DUH! What a great drive and glad you were able to celebrate with your sun and deliver the tapestry!
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