New York City Day One 4th of July

This first pic is out of order, it was taken on Monday, our last full day there. We were sitting on the steps of the New York Public Library when we saw this filming going by. We didn't know what it was for at the time but I do now...

I saw a promo on TV last night for a 20/20 show airing Friday called "Who Killed GM?" While in NYC we went on a boat cruise in the Hudson River to view the fireworks. It got off to a rocky start for me. First, some back story. I'm in charge of the safety patrol in my elementary school and at the end of the year I get a small stipend for doing it. I used that money to treat us all to this fireworks show. When we got on our boat there were NO seats left outside and we had to sit under the top roof. I was so disappointed, how could we see the fireworks now?? I may have dropped the F bomb once or twice but eventually got over it. Turns out we got out on the bow for the show and it was wonderful.

People, people everywhere, as far as the eye could see. This is along side the USS Intrepid which is now a museum.



Security was tight out on the Hudson River.



I always think of the Coast Guard as a rescue type role, never with guns.


There was a strong police presence everywhere. These helicopters are two of a low flying formation of four that patrolled up and down the river.

Our boat's sister. There were lots of tour boats on the water along with rich people on their million dollar yachts but surprisingly no average folk boats to be seen. There was a DJ on board and he played tunes from all different decades. I liked the disco the best. We even had some pole dancers on board.

Not that kind of pole dancer, get your mind out of the gutter. These kids had so much fun dancing around for hours. I wondered if they'd be awake by the time the fireworks started.

A fire boat putting on a show.

Is it getting dark yet? We've been on this boat for hours.

Looking up the Hudson River at the George Washington Bridge. It was there where US Airways flight 1549 landed several months ago and our boat was about where the passengers were plucked off the wings.

FINALLY, three and one half hours later the fireworks started!

It was hard to get a good shot of them since I had to keep the camera very still for a few seconds while bobbing on the water. Sorry it's the best I could do.

They were truly AWESOME and went off for a solid 25 minutes and not just one or two at a time but 8,9,10 at a time continuously. The only thing they didn't have were the big boomers. Maybe too much echoing off the building?

After the show waiting for the traffic jam of boats at the pier to clear out.

The kids. That's the Empire State Building between them.

I'm so happy we did this.