By Lisa Davis-Burnett
I am someone with a long bucket list, and so far not many tick marks on the side of it, either. But I checked off two during a recent trip to The City That Never Sleeps.
I had a one night sleepover in New York last week while flying between Charlotte and St. Maarten. It was cold, but thankfully dry; rain had been forecast, and I hit the ground around midday, took a yellow cab to my hotel smack dab in the middle of Times Square.
There I checked in and dropped my bags, and quickly asked for direc-tions to the High Line. I was about to check off one item from my list of things I must do before I...well...kick the bucket.
Jeff, the helpful concierge at the Ameritania Hotel, had my walking journey all mapped out. I was to take the subway downtown to the 14th street stop, then walk west, towards the water. The High Line Park takes you almost all the way back, well minus a brisk 30 blocks or so, back to the hotel.
I of course walked east upon climbing the stairs from the underground train platform. How do I know which way the water is? And it was so cloudy and grey that the sun provided no aid for telling directions.
Anyway, what are a few more blocks of walking when you are in New York City? I asked for directions quite a few times and people were friendly and kind. By 2:00pm, I was climbing the stairs up to the city’s elevated park, The High Line.
The High Line caught my attention when it was first opened almost 10 years ago. A relic of a bygone era, the elevated train tracks took the train cars right into the factories, an innovation for the 1800s, designed to save the lives of pedestrians in this bustling section of town.
Back in the 1970s, the elevated railway had been slated for demolition, but a few residents saw the potential and lobbied hard for their vision of an elevated park for the benefit of all in the community.
It took decades of plans and persuasion, but by the end of the century, the plan was beginning to be realized. I was blown away by that story and so wanted to celebrate the repurposing of an amazing structure that I vowed to someday walk the length of the park.
The park is now a much loved addition to the Chelsea scene and even though the wind was harsh and cold, out on the walkway were lots of people – tourists and locals alike – enjoying the creative space that lifts you up above the streets to a quieter zone where nature is untethered and art installations provide a pleasant distraction.
The train tracks remain, now grown into a garden, and the railings are still the original art deco-ish metal framework that stands as a tribute to how things used to be made. I loved it.
I hope to return to the High Line and walk it again and again in hopefully warmer weather, when the flowers are in bloom, but I will always member this first time when I finally achieved a long time goal. Later that day, I ticked off a second goal: seeing a Broad-way show. I used a ticketing app called Head Out, which sells last minute seats to the various shows such as the Lion King, Wicked, Kinky Boots or Hamilton.
The show I chose was none other than Phantom of the Opera! It was in the Majes-tic Theatre and is hailed as the longest running show on Broadway. My hotel was just 10 blocks away, so after a rest from my long, cold foot jour-ney on the High Line, I once again hoofed through Time Square and located the venue.
Hanging out on the street waiting for the Head Out agent to appear with my ticket was a bit nerve-wracking but just like clockwork, thirty minutes before show time he arrived to pass out tickets to a dozen or so of us, shivering outside the Majestic and in we went.
Phantom of the Opera is a breath taking spectacle that must be experienced to appreciate. Any description would only pale in comparison to the actual show. I literally sat at the edge of my seat through the entire show.
The whole audience was captivated and entranced. At the end, I wandered down to the orchestra pit to see the conductor and musicians as they played the final reprise. There were maybe 25 of us, standing around right next to the stage looking in at these talented artists. At the end, we all applauded and the conductor turned to us with a bow. It was very special.
Wandering home and prepping for my flight back to St. Maarten seemed a bit surreal, but that is what traveling is all about. Get out your bucket list and make your plans. Life is what you make it. Don’t deny your dreams.
