It was another great day in NYC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This morning we took our bikes on the 8.45am ferry, but this time to midtown Manhattan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We made our way the the start of the Highline, an old above ground railway which has been converted to a walkway. But bikes are not allowed up there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We locked our bikes up under the stairwell in a dubious location. A dark spot, very little foot traffic, grafitti etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we walked up the steps, an unusual looking homeless person of an unidentified gender walked down. I just knew I didn\u2019t want to mess with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They wandered off, not even looking at our bikes. We looked around some of the Highline, then looked down to double check on our bikes. The homeless person was back, now standing near our bikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They took a pee, smoked a cigarette and had a drink, then moved on. We deemed it safe to leave our bikes there and continued on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the next lot of stairs, there looked to be a better place to park our bikes, surrounded by cafes and more pedestrians walking by, so we went back to get our bikes to move them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two guys were standing by our bikes smoking a joint, but they weren\u2019t interested in our bikes. But, we moved them anyway feeling better that they weren\u2019t parked in a tramps toilet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was cool walking along the high line, away from all the traffic and hustle and bustle. Plants lined the edge of the walkway, nestled between old railway tracks, while skyscrapers towered above us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We stopped and had some tacos at a food cart and they were yummy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After we\u2019d finished the Highline, we checked on our bikes then found a bagel place for lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We both opted for the cream cheese bagel and it was soooooo delicious. They bake their own bagels on site and it was the best one I\u2019ve ever had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After our bagels we were both so exhausted from the heat. We cycled along the Hudson greenway to the downtown ferry and the 5 min trip back to Jersey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We cranked up the air conditioning in the van and had an afternoon nap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We both felt so much better after our break. We went out for lobster rolls again, then walked to the waterfront to watch the lights come on in Manhattan. I didn\u2019t want to stay too late, unsure about walking back in the dark, but when the lights started coming in, it was so beautiful I didn\u2019t want to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We walked back in the dark, and I commented how dark it was, the streets not very well lit. it felt like a safe area but I put my dog spray in my pocket just in case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Little did we know, danger lay ahead\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Walk like you have a purpose,\u2019 I kept saying to Mike, something I\u2019d learned to do while living in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up ahead we saw a man lurking. Why was he just standing there, what was he going to do? Both of us were on high alert, we knew he was about to say something and I was getting ready to run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019d read Jersey was a dangerous city on the drive here, and a turn off the wrong street could have you in a bad area. I didn\u2019t think that was the case here though, we\u2019d walked this way, it was a nice area. But that was in daylight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We continued walking towards the man, refusing to be afraid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man stepped towards us and held up his hand. \u2018Watch out!,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why we didn\u2019t just cross the street when we first saw him, I\u2019m not sure, but it all happened so fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Watch out,\u2019 he repeated to someone coming from the other direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then we saw it, sauntering along the street towards us, tail in the air, getting ready to attack us if threatened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can you guess what it was?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a skunk! I\u2019d never seen one before, but we\u2019d run over a dead one on our car a few weeks back and the smell was disgusting. Apparent you do not want to get sprayed by a skunk, you\u2019ll never get the smell out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man was amazed it was in such an urban environment. I managed to get a short video of it without getting too close. But if you didn\u2019t know, you would have thought it was a cat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are just amazed at all the wildlife we\u2019ve seen since being here. Skunks, alligators. Armadillos, turtles, raccoons, snakes, a bear, chipmunks, elk, squirrels and a tick!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We leave NYC tomorrow and head for the Catskills mountains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was another great day in NYC. This morning we took our bikes on the 8.45am ferry, but this time to midtown Manhattan. We made our way the the start of the Highline, an old above ground railway which has … Continue reading