Jill’s Jottings NewYork (Part C)

Friday 15 May, So wet, but not such a problem when sight seeing from a bus in the dry! Unfortunately no good for photos. My first ‘All accessible bus tour’ had a malfunctioning w/chair access ramp. Next one had a manual over-ride to allow me on. So stayed on this bus 1.5 hrs with water running down from the open top deck stairway beside my w/chair location. Interesting seeing the sights of New York, but nothing that really caught my interest. Maybe its all be different on a sunny day. Next bus also had malfunctioning w/chair access, so this time I walked on.

Saturday, fine sunny day for touring, see Mary-ann’s notes.

Sunday headed off to visit the NY Natural History Museum. Had a smooth ride on my now familiar 104 Metro-Bus to catch the touring bus. Hopped on a tour bus which had yet another malfunctioning ramp, then found my Museum stop was cancelled due to a New York Parade being held in nearby streets. Apparently at least one parade is held each w/end in NY. I ended up alternatively walking & pushing my trusty w/chair a few blocks, and looking at the street stalls in streets along the parade route. These stalls were more than the usual airport tourist stuff. Really enjoyed the Museum visit as the ‘package’ I purchased included “Horses through the ages” and Planetarium plus IMAX ‘live’ Dinosaurs screenings.

The horse exhibition showed horse evolution from three to one toes, with digestive system, muscles & skeleton structure interactive displays, including a skeleton comparison of horse rearing and human to compare heights. The display also showed how far back in history man began domesticating the horse, and how the horse supported man’s development.

The planetarium show was about earth’s fiery start from two rocks colliding zillions of years ago with surface crust exploding and then coming together again as earth and the moon, all of which according to this show happened in 4 weeks. The show also showed how asteroids hitting the earth then and subsequently have both caused havoc and created life as we know it. The IMAX dinosaurs were like a short David Attenborough television program, but fascinating to see on a 3 dimension screen.

I finished the day browsing in the horse souvenir shop, plus buying horse souvenirs. Amazingly as I crossed the road departing the Museum, who should tap me on the shoulder but MARY-ANN. With heart-felt thanks I accepted being pushed back to our hotel. I am beginning to look f/w to getting back to my ‘stable’ of mobility scooters in Melbourne - USA street surfaces & road crossings are getting on my nerves. Partly as I’m not used to sightseeing in a manual w/chair & partly from a lack of consistent road crossings & side paths, or smooth surfaces that makes it impossible to go far. Road works also force w/chair users on the roads regularly!

Now settling down for typing, tea with Mary-ann, packing then bed ready for our trip to Framingham (near Boston) Monday AM.

Jill Pickering