As a part of my resolve to experience more things my city has to offer, I decided to take a cruise around NYC. For those of you who don’t know about it, Goldstar.com is an amazing site that offers great deals on everything from comedy clubs to culinary classes. I purchased a 90 minute “twilight” cruise ticket for $17.
The weather was perfect; the warm summer air coupled with a crisp off-the-water-breeze was the perfect combination to view New York City’s skyline. We left from Midtown in the Hudson, traveled around the Financial District into the East River, up to Midtown and back. The tour guide was completely knowledgeable, and provided interesting historical facts, as well as details about recent events such as the “Miracle on the Hudson,” the now-famous landing of US Airways flight 1549 by Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger after the plane collided with a flock of Canadian Geese.
This is not an excursion just for tourists; I’ve lived in NYC for four years and didn’t know half of the information the tour guide provided. Hell, I could probably live here my whole life and not know everything I learned tonight. One of the more interesting facts:
In the early 1900′s, downtown NYC was flourishing with about a dozen major newspaper companies. Midtown, however, was struggling. The city wanted to build Midtown into a business district, so the city offered to name an area in Midtown after the New York Times in exchange for them moving to said area. What was known as Long Acre Square became known as Times Square because of this deal. The newspaper decided to celebrate the opening of its new building by counting down the last minutes of 1904 from the top of it. Two years later, they added the dropping of a giant ball to the celebration. The tradition continued the next year, and the next…and the next.
The cruise offered basic amenities such as beer, water, soda, snacks, and of course, a restroom. The only thing that put a damper on my evening, specifically, was the annoying group of tourists next to me who were more interested in shouting in their native tongue and taking pictures of themselves than listening to the tour guide. This, however, should not dissuade you from taking this breathtaking trip around NYC.
This is the main site for the cruise, however, I would definitely recommend checking out Goldstar.com for tickets, first.
P.S. The pics above were taken with my phone. That beautiful.