After breakfast, we moved the boat into the yacht basin. Then we paddled ashore and went to the Dockmaster's office to make sure we could use the dinghy dock. Found out it costs $12 a day, but that includes use of the showers, so that's ok. We paid for two days.
Walked to the Visitor Information Center to see if they had a schedule for the bus to Manhattan. They usually have them but were out. However, the man at the desk said the buses ran every hour at the half hour. It was 11:20 then, so we hurried to the bus stop, getting there right at 11:30. When no bus arrived, we figured it must have gone by just before we got there. Later, when we finally got a schedule, we saw that the bus usually ran every hour but not between 10:30 and 12:30. Fortunately, there was a bench to sit on, so we waited and eventually caught the bus. The senior fare was only $2.85 each. The trip took an hour and a half, so it was two o'clock when we reached the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.
The Port Authority Terminal is probably the largest bus terminal in the world. It covers an entire city block and is several storeys high. As many as 200 buses can be loaded simultaneously. Forty million passengers pass through there every year. The terminal contains stores, restaurants, banks, etc. We went upstairs and ate a not-too-bad lunch.
I wanted to look up some phone numbers and addresses. There were lots of telephones but no directories. I asked at the information window and was told the directories are in the manager's office in the next building, so we went over there and found a stack of phone books. Looked up the numbers for every Tulchin listed. I want to try to locate Billie Jean, my ex-sister-in-law, while we're here.
There were a lot of brochures in the manager's office, so we got some of them. One was especially interesting, as it told how to ride the buses and subways. For senior fare, we have to have a Medicare card or a Senior ID card. Roy has his Medicare card, but I managed to lose mine. I've applied for a new one, but won't get it for a month, so I phoned the MTA to find out how to apply for a Senior ID card and was given an address to go to.
We went to the nearest subway station. Roy bought ten tokens and showed his Medicare card. We thought the tokens would be half price, but it turned out they charge full price but give you a slip of paper for a free return trip. We were wondering how I'd get a free return trip and what we'd do with all the extra tokens. Anyway, we went down to the MTA, and I applied for a temporary ID card. The clerk could scarcely speak English and typed with one finger, so it took a while. Then we made the mistake of asking him about the subway tokens. He gave us a lengthy and totally unintelligible response. He ended by saying, "It's perfectly clear, yes?" Rather than waste any more time, we said it was perfectly clear and left.
We were just a few blocks from the World Trade Center, so we walked over there and went up to the observation deck on the 107th floor. What a view! We could see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and all of Lower Manhattan and even a glimpse of the George Washington Bridge. We went up on the roof, too. It was a really thrilling sight.
There was a subway station in the basement of the World Trade Center, so we went down there. Roy turned in his return-trip slip at the ticket booth and was admitted free. I showed the man my Senior ID and was given a return-trip slip, but I had to use a token to get through the turnstile. We were no sooner on the platform than I realized we were on the downtown side, not the uptown. Luckily, the man in the ticket booth was very nice. He had us exit, told us how to get to the uptown platform, and gave us two more slips. We had to go back out to the concourse and walk quite a ways, but eventually we reached the uptown platform, turned in our slips at the ticket booth, and were admitted without paying another token.
When we were at the World Trade Center, there was a snack bar on the observation deck that had utterly ludicrous prices. Needless to say, we didn't buy anything. I wanted three post cards and had gone into Walgreen's at the Port Authority Terminal to get them, but they were two for a dollar, so I didn't. At the observation deck, post cards were 75 cents to three dollars each! Needless to say, I didn't buy those either. When we got to the Times Square subway station, we found post cards five for a dollar. Bingo! Those I bought.
There was a long underground passageway from the Times Square subway station (Broadway and 42nd Street) to the Port Authority Bus Station (8th Avenue and 41st Street), so we were able to walk to the terminal without going out on the street. Bought our tickets and got to the gate just in time to catch the 7:30 bus.
Arrived in Atlantic Highlands at five before nine. The grocery store was supposed to stay open until nine, but it had already closed, so we couldn't get the things we wanted. Decided that the following evening, we'd take the seven o'clock bus instead of the 7:30.
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