By HOWARD BERGER
NEWARK (Nov. 1) - My word, have I been lucky with flight patterns lately. If only travel on the ground were as simple. Having remained in Ottawa after the Maple Leafs loss to the Senators on Sunday, I flew to New York City this afternoon for the Toronto at New Jersey game tomorrow night. Why fly to New York for a game in New Jersey? Solid question. The answer? Economic sanity. A one-way, non-stop flight on Continental Airlines from Ottawa to Newark International Airport - four miles south of the hotel I'm now sitting in - was quoted last week at $946 USD, excluding tax. The same route on Air Canada was $732 CAD. For some blessed reason, our national airline had a $222 base-fare from Ottawa to LaGuardia Airport in Queens.
What I saved in cash, however, I made up for in aggravation.
Figure this out: the 336-mile flight from our nation's capital to New York took 58 minutes, and was lengthened by the so-called "water-tanks" approach to LaGuardia, in which an aircraft flies southward parallel to the Hudson River before turning left beyond the southern tip of Manhattan for the northeast approach to Runway-4. On a clear day like today, it provides a stunning view for passengers on the left side of the plane - as evidenced by my photos below. A straight-in approach to Runway-22 would have slashed eight minutes off the trip, making it a 50-minute jaunt from Ottawa.
Incredibly, the 16-mile cab ride from LaGuardia here to downtown Newark took one hour and 34 minutes! That's the equivalent of a flight between Toronto and Charlotte. Crossing three city blocks in lower Manhattan while inching toward the Holland Tunnel gobbled up 43 minutes. I watched a traffic-light turn red eight times before we made it through the intersection. What a treat for saving $500. Actually, it was closer to $400. And, I probably would have won something were I guesting on the TV show The Price Is Right. I predicted the taxi fare to be $80 late on a weekday afternoon. It came to $80.10. I gave the poor bastard in the front seat $95 for his trouble. Heaven knows how long it took him to get back to New York.
Anyway, I"m here... in beautiful downtown Newark. A week ago today, I stood on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building and took photos of Manhattan. Today, I took photos of the Empire State Building and Manhattan from a height of 4,000 feet. Whether a frequent traveler to this region, or a New York virgin, I trust you'll find these images rather spectacular.
NEWARK (Nov. 1) - My word, have I been lucky with flight patterns lately. If only travel on the ground were as simple. Having remained in Ottawa after the Maple Leafs loss to the Senators on Sunday, I flew to New York City this afternoon for the Toronto at New Jersey game tomorrow night. Why fly to New York for a game in New Jersey? Solid question. The answer? Economic sanity. A one-way, non-stop flight on Continental Airlines from Ottawa to Newark International Airport - four miles south of the hotel I'm now sitting in - was quoted last week at $946 USD, excluding tax. The same route on Air Canada was $732 CAD. For some blessed reason, our national airline had a $222 base-fare from Ottawa to LaGuardia Airport in Queens.
What I saved in cash, however, I made up for in aggravation.
Figure this out: the 336-mile flight from our nation's capital to New York took 58 minutes, and was lengthened by the so-called "water-tanks" approach to LaGuardia, in which an aircraft flies southward parallel to the Hudson River before turning left beyond the southern tip of Manhattan for the northeast approach to Runway-4. On a clear day like today, it provides a stunning view for passengers on the left side of the plane - as evidenced by my photos below. A straight-in approach to Runway-22 would have slashed eight minutes off the trip, making it a 50-minute jaunt from Ottawa.
Incredibly, the 16-mile cab ride from LaGuardia here to downtown Newark took one hour and 34 minutes! That's the equivalent of a flight between Toronto and Charlotte. Crossing three city blocks in lower Manhattan while inching toward the Holland Tunnel gobbled up 43 minutes. I watched a traffic-light turn red eight times before we made it through the intersection. What a treat for saving $500. Actually, it was closer to $400. And, I probably would have won something were I guesting on the TV show The Price Is Right. I predicted the taxi fare to be $80 late on a weekday afternoon. It came to $80.10. I gave the poor bastard in the front seat $95 for his trouble. Heaven knows how long it took him to get back to New York.
Anyway, I"m here... in beautiful downtown Newark. A week ago today, I stood on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building and took photos of Manhattan. Today, I took photos of the Empire State Building and Manhattan from a height of 4,000 feet. Whether a frequent traveler to this region, or a New York virgin, I trust you'll find these images rather spectacular.
FLYING SOUTH, PARALLEL TO THE HUDSON RIVER (ABOVE), WE PASS THE BRONX AND NEW YANKEE STADIUM - AN OPEN BALL-FIELD AND RUNNING TRACK ON SITE OF THE OLD STADIUM NEXT DOOR.
FURTHER ALONG, WE PASS THE SOUTHERN TIP OF CENTRAL PARK (ABOVE).
THE HEART OF MANHATTAN (ABOVE) FROM 4,000 FEET. FAMOUS TIMES SQUARE IS SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PHOTO. THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING CAN BE SEEN TOWARD THE RIGHT. CIRCULAR STRUCTURE AT LOWER-RIGHT IS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. AT UPPER-LEFT, THE QUEENSBORO BRIDGE CROSSES THE EAST RIVER INTO LONG ISLAND.
AN INCREDIBLE VIEW OF "GROUND ZERO" (ABOVE), SITE OF THE FORMER WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS, DESTROYED IN THE DUAL TERRORIST ATTACKS OF SEP. 11, 2001. TALL STRUCTURE JUST TO THE LEFT-OF-CENTER IS THE NEW TOWER, STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION. TWO BUILDINGS IN THE FORE-FRONT (WITH TRIANGLE AND CIRCULAR DOMES) COMPRISE THE WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER, WHICH WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED BY DEBRIS FROM THE FALLEN TOWERS. BEHIND THE CIRCULAR-DOMED BUILDING IS THE EMPTY SPACE WHERE TOWER 2 OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER STOOD - THE SECOND BUILDING HIT ON "9-11" (BY UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 175).
SOUTHERN TIP OF MANHATTAN (ABOVE), INCLUDING THE NEW WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWER AND "GROUND ZERO" PIT (JUST IN FRONT OF AIRPLANE WING), AND BATTERY PARK AT FAR-RIGHT.
TURNING LEFT OVER GOVERNORS ISLAND (ABOVE), WHICH SITS ONE-HALF MILE BEYOND THE SOUTHERN TIP OF MANHATTAN.
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN (ABOVE) WITH THE FAMED BROOKLYN BRIDGE CROSSING THE EAST RIVER INTO LOWER MANHATTAN. IT WAS ON THIS BRIDGE THAT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ESCAPED, BY FOOT, THE BURNING TOWERS OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER.
FURTHER NORTH, THE WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE (ABOVE) SPANS THE EAST RIVER BETWEEN THE LOWER-EAST SIDE OF MANHATTAN AND THE WILLIAMSBURG NEIGHBORHOOD OF BROOKLYN. ON THE FAR SIDE OF MANHATTAN IS THE HUDSON RIVER AND THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY. CROSSING THE WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE INTO MANHATTAN (BELOW) ALMOST 90 MINUTES LATER, I SNAPPED A LUCKY SHOT OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING BETWEEN SUSPENSION CABLES.
I WATCHED FORLORNLY AS THE TRAFFIC-LIGHT AT THE ABOVE INTERSECTION IN LOWER MANHATTAN TURNED RED EIGHT TIMES BEFORE MY EXASPERATED CABBIE MADE IT THROUGH.
FOR A FEW MOMENTS, I WASN'T SURE IF I'D GET TO THE HOLLAND TUNNEL BEFORE NOV. 6th.
Very cool shots, Howard. You're with the Post now? What happened at the Fan? I don't blame you, though. I couldn't handle working with Doug MacLean either lol.
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