The City of Bridges

New York City is many things to many people. It is famous and infamous. From Brio's point of view, it is a city of bridges that serve to connect the five boroughs (Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island) and New Jersey. Of course there are other features. Let's see what we noted.

Here's picture of the Whitestone Bridge. We have already passed under the Throgs Neck Bridge. Notice the tall buildings of midtown Manhattan ahead. Now look carefully and you'll see an airplane flying from right to left. It looks like its flying below the Bridge. And it probably is, because it is about to land at LaGuardia Airport in Queens.

To say that New York City is busy is an understatement, as we will see. We will leave the westernmost end of Long Island Sound, pass LaGuardia and enter the East River at Hell Gate. On the chart, find Bronx R, for the Bronx River. Look up and to the left to "RI" next to a smoke stack. That's Hell Gate, so named for the fierce tides that flow.

From Hell Gate, traveled down the East River, under the Tri-Borough Bridge and this time we could go down the western passage of Roosevelt Island since the UN wasn't in session.

At the top of the East River, then, is Hell Gate Bridge, pictured below.

Going down the East River, we encounter Roosevelt Island and the Williamsburg Bridge.

And south of that, the UN building.

Further south along the East River is a series of bridges connecting Manhattan with the Queens and Brooklyn, finally ending with the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.

Notice how choppy the waters are here, due to the strong tides and lots of motor boat wakes.

Once we clear the tip of Manhattan, we head over to the Statue of Liberty.

This is the southernmost extent of our trip. We turn north and start going up the Hudson River. First sight is Ellis Island, landing place for so many legal immigrants.

Then, looking back to Manhattan, we see the World Trade Center.

And, further north, we can see the Empire State Building.

Motoring further north, we head up to Columbia University and Riverside Church.

Next door to Riverside Church is Grant's Tomb.

And, the final bridge: the George Washington Bridge with the Little Rd Lighthouse at its base.

This ends our story of our trip to Manhattan. From here, we travel north on the Hudson. That's a story for our next blog!

Cheers,

Brio