Ferry Fun Friday in New York

Originally published August 25, 2024

A lot has changed since this adventure! Since retiring from my School Nurse role, I've had the freedom to fully invest in my health coaching practice, the Sexy in Your 60s podcast, and my Sexy in Your 60s Coaching Experience — and travel has become a bigger part of my story than ever, from Morocco to right here in my own backyard. If this post inspires you to move more, explore your city, and live fully in this season of life, I'd love for you to dive into more on the blog — including why travel may be the best medicine after 50 and what Morocco taught me about friendship in midlife.

Friday was definitely my most exciting and active day of my July 2024 trip. Here are the highlights:

• Walk to 90th St. Ferry
• Ferry from 90th St. to Wall Street/Pier 11 (time-lapse video)
• Walk to Staten Island Ferry
• Round trips Staten Island Ferry  Staten Island Ferry to New York (time-lapse video)
• Subway to Washington Square; Farmer’s Market
• Met Ariel for lunch at abcV; she showed me several cute stores in Flat Iron district
• Walked with Ariel to Chelsea Market
• Soft-serve (again!) @ Seed + Mill
• Whitney Museum to get mini-print art from vending machine
• Walked to Beyond Sushi for early dinner with Nate
• Hell’s Kitchen @ Shubert Theater
• Subway home after logging 12.85 miles of walking on my Apple Activity app

In an effort to save time (and $), I ditched my early morning exploration of UWS coffee shops, opting for convenience and settling on the Wandering Bear iced coffee my brother-in-law has in the fridge in their apartment. I am VERY picky about my coffee and drink Peet’s coffee almost exclusively. But I liked Wandering Bear and would look for it again when staying somewhere without a nearby Peet’s (or coffee maker).

Just walking through Central Park is great entertainment and exercise. Walking through the UES was also fun!

Thursday I discovered the 90th St. Ferry so I decided that today I would repeat my walk on 90th from the Hudson River to the East River (through Central Park). I’d checked out the NYC Ferry site and downloaded the NYC Ferry app. Tickets are $4 to take a beautiful ferry ride from 90th Street to Wall Street. You can buy your ticket on-site from the machine or from the app. Here is a portion of the ride in a time-lapse video (don’t get dizzy...): Ferry from 90th St. to Wall Street/Pier 11

Don’t get dizzy watching these time-lapse videos!

After disembarking, I followed the signs toward the Statue of Liberty viewing point, but then came upon the Staten Island Ferry station. I’d watched several youtube videos about this and was curious to try it, so this was the perfect opportunity! The station is large and clean. The ferries run frequently and it is free so you just follow the crowd for the next departure and walk on. I made sure to stand on an upper deck with against the rail for optimal SOL viewing. Here is a time-lapse video of the return trip: Staten Island Ferry to New York This was so easy to take and I’d highly recommend going with young families for their first SOL viewing. If I could take my grandchildren, I’d consider getting them some binoculars to get a closer view of Lady Liberty. Once you walk out of the station, the subway station is directly across the street. Couldn’t be easier!

I hopped onto the subway waiting to take me right to Washington Square Park. I delighted to walk through the bountiful Farmers Market. Too bad I’d be out and about all day throughout the city and couldn’t bring anything back with me. I met Ariel for lunch at abcV, a chic plant-forward restaurant in the Flat Iron district. I opted for the burger, which I enjoyed and recommend. Ariel had a yummy Quinoa and Chickpea bowl. She surprised me when she said she had Friday afternoons off from work and could spend the next few hours with me.

Ariel is newly-engaged and was very excited to show me the uber-chic (and expensive!) abc Home and Carpet store just around the corner from the restaurant. We then visited a really fun store, Fishs Eddy. I highly recommend you pop in it if you’re in the area. Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s worth seeing!

We popped into Chelsea Market, strolled around and of course had to get a soft serve from Nuts 4 Nuts and Seed + Mill. I walked with Ariel to the Whitney Museum, where I got a couple of pieces of art from Ana Inciardi’s mini print vending machine.

I then headed over to midtown to meet my nephew Nate for an early dinner at Beyond Sushi. It worked well for both of us since Nate would be having a Shabbat dinner much later that night, and I had my theater ticket for a 7 pm performance. I’d discovered this vegan restaurant during my last NY visit, and we liked it so much, we went twice. Beyond Sushi consistently serves delicious and well-priced dishes. The servers are charming and efficient. I’m sure if you try it, you won’t feel deprived and you will be surprised at how tasty everything is. They are also very sensitive to different food allergies. I hope they open an UWS location soon!

Nate took off back to his place in Murray Hill on one of the CityBikes. We loved using the similar Vélib bikes in Paris. With over 10 walking miles clocked, I headed back over to the Shubert Theater. I consistently used my Apple Watch to track my steps. I had over 12.85 miles that day!

Hell’s Kitchen was fabulous! I’d been hoping to see it the night before but the tickets were sold out. I highly recommend it. The cast is outstanding and the music is fantastic. The lead is so talented and the dancing is incredible. You won’t be disappointed!