Marcy and Todd

When I wrote the other day I forgot to talk about the visit of my sister Marcy and her husband, Todd, so I thought I’d add it.  They drove up from Washington D.C. and got here at about 2:00 PM Saturday (10/21).  We took them on the big tour of the office and our apartment, and then we walked up the street to ‘Maca’, a Peruvian Restaurant and had a great talk for an hour or so while we ate.  Then we drove with them over to their hotel in Astoria, got them checked in, then took an Uber (a first for Diane and I) over to the big Pepsi-Cola sign on the East River.  We got to the river near dusk, then walked down the riverfront walkway and caught the ferry at Hunters Point (directly across from the UN building) and rode south to the Wall Street stop, enjoying the lights of Manhattan on one side and Astoria/Queens/Brooklyn on the other side!  At the Wall Street stop we got off and walked around lower Manhattan for an hour or so, seeing the ‘Wall Street Bull’ and the ‘Fearless Girl’ statues for the first time.  (Somehow, even though we had been all over that area of Manhattan, we had not run across the statues before.) I didn’t know, but both statues are actually guerrilla art.  The bull has since become a Wall Street institution, and the girl was just put in place this year and hopes to follow suit.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the “Charging Bull” statue: Charging Bull, which is sometimes referred to as the Wall Street Bull or the Bowling Green Bull, is a bronze sculpture that stands in Bowling Green in the Financial District in Manhattan, New York City. Originally guerrilla art, installed unofficially by Arturo Di Modica, its popularity led to it being a permanent feature.

Here is what the New York Times says about the “Fearless Girl” statue: “Fearless Girl,” the wildly popular statue that has spent the last few weeks staring down the financial district’s well-known “Charging Bull,” has received a new lease on life. Originally scheduled to be removed next week, it will now remain in place until early 2018, officials said on Monday.

“Fearless Girl” was created by the sculptor Kristen Visbal and erected in Bowling Green, a small park, by the financial firm State Street Global Advisors in honor of International Women’s Day in March.

The statue was an immediate hit, drawing crowds who snapped selfies or stood alongside the bronze child and mimicked her pose: hands on her hips, slight smile on her face, and her skirt and ponytail seeming to blow in the breeze.

New York Stock Exchange

Charging Bull statue

As usual, a few other people had the same idea! Bull is left
center, Girl is on the right of the crowd.

After our walk in the Financial District, we caught the ferry and headed back up the East River, enjoying the lights again along the way!  After an Uber ride back to the hotel, we said goodbye, and Diane and I enjoyed a late-night stroll through Astoria until we found the subway stop. (One of us was just a little uneasy during part of the walk…) It was a fantastic day - - 75 degrees and sunny, and the company was great, too!!  We feel so blessed to have family that we admire and enjoy spending time with!!!! (But not enough to take a picture of them, unfortunately...)

Lights of lower Manhattan

Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan

Giant Pepsi sign on east side of East River