Daily Crack - NYC Water Taxi’s, Vacation Transportation
The weather was beautiful and I played tourist with a friend on Sunday. A camera was a vital essential to fit the part, so was smiling and being happy. Actually it’s hard not to smile and feel a sense of happiness and well being when setting out on an adventure on your home turf.
I have been on water taxi’s on Fire Island, shuttling from community to community, but I had never been on a NYC Water Taxi until Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t until then that I realized I have been missing out on a wonderful little New York treasure. For just $20 you can buy an unlimited “One Day” pass, which will ferry you to all parts of the city and definitely the tourist hot spots.
We got on at the Chelsea Piers stop on 26th Street and immediately climbed the stairs to the top open deck of the taxi to procure a best view status. I can’t tell you what fun it was to see NYC and Manhattan from the water. It’s probably been about 8 years since I’ve done that. It was also fun spending the afternoon with tourists, feeling their enthusiasm, and honing in on some of their excitement.
Our taxi’s first stop was midtown west by the Intrepid Museum, then it was back to the Chelsea Piers, a stop in the West Village, then further south to the World Financial Center, Battery Park, offering great views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and finally making it to the tip of the island, the South Street Seaport. Again they have a schedule of drop offs and pick-ups and you can get on and off to your hearts content. We decided to stay on board, as our destination was Hunter Point, Long Island City. From the South Street Seaport along the way we happened to see the NYC Waterfalls, all four of them, got a great view of and went under the Brooklyn Bridge, watched people in Brooklyn Heights dining at the River Café, and continued our way uptown up the East River. It was awe-inspiring. I have to say NYC is a magnificent place!
At Hunters Point the Water Taxi company has actually created a little beach with fake palm trees that glisten as you look across the water directly at the United Nations, Tudor City, and a great view of the Chrysler building sitting in the background. We opted not to go to the “Water Taxi Beach,” but to pay a visit to a nearby restaurant and get king crab instead. The restaurant we went to was a wonderful discovery for me; my friend had been there one time before. It’s a restaurant that I now highly recommend, especially if you take this little tour and stop off at the Hunters Point water taxi landing. Housed in what is left of a 100 year-old building, much of the building years ago was destroyed in a fire, obscurely sits this fabulous restaurant, the “Waterfront Crabhouse,” serving among other dishes fresh crab and crab delights to rival those in Maryland. From the outside it doesn’t look like much, but when you walk through the door you are greeted with nothing but total and complete character, old photo’s, stuff hanging from the ceilings including an old sled, boxing memorabilia in a wood soaked bar, friendly people and lots of history and stories to match. We ordered the King Crab served Scampi style with melted butter and also an order of Maryland Crab Cakes. Both came with salads and side dishes and were delicious. A real treat!
After our late afternoon lunch, we walked along the Long Island City waterfront. Like Manhattan it too has seen quite a facelift and its waterfront is quite pleasant and beautiful. But best of all are the views of Manhattan. I must say those that live on the other side of the rivers both the East River and the Hudson, truly are the ones with the amazing cityscape views. Manhattan is really beautiful during the day and especially at night.
On our way home we got to watch the sunset on the city and the river, see the moon rising behind the Brooklyn Bridge, the waterfalls lit at dusk, knowing that as the sun was setting NYC was just awakening and opening its eyes, readying itself to come alive as that is what it does each and every night.
Having taken photo’s of the city like I hadn’t taken in years, a few photo’s of Long Island City’s “cracks in sidewalks,” seeing NYC bleached in sunlight and later covered in red, having a healthy windblown look and sun on my face; yesterday I visited my own town and I was as happy, as happy as if I were on a vacation, which in a sense I was.
To find out more information about the NYC Water Taxi’s and also the “Waterfront Crabhouse,” either click on the links below or cut and paste them into your browser.
http://www.nywatertaxi.com/
http://wfcrabhouse.com/