City Views, Country Dreams

Good morning from New York.

I woke up on this foggy Sunday with a few achy muscles, perhaps as a result of a long walk I took yesterday afternoon.  I will share a few pictures showing some of the folks who were walking along with me.

You all may already have seen news regarding this walk, described as a women's march.  My photographs are those of an amateur, but will give you an idea of what I experienced along the route that sprawled  westward along East 42nd Street and then turned uptown on Fifth Avenue.

In the above photograph, you may be able to see some children waving to us from the window of the Grand Hyatt Hotel.  If you click on this link, you'll be able to learn how that hotel intersected with the early career of our new President.

The following photo features a poster that amused many folks in the crowd.

 The crowd was much larger than expected, and has been estimated to have included 400,000 people.  We really moved along at a very, very slow pace.

It took hours to reach Fifth Avenue.  

Police barricades had been set up along Fifth Avenue, to prevent the marchers from spreading onto the sidewalks, as had been possible on 42nd Street where there had been no barricades.  The above photo is a view looking down Fifth Avenue.  It was taken at about 43rd and Fifth.

I'd not seen any police presence along 42nd Street, and the slow-moving crowd had been very friendly and orderly.  Along Fifth Avenue, there were police officers who were helping at intersections with crosstown streets to let pedestrians cross east or west.  No crosstown vehicles were allowed.  Not much Fifth Avenue shopping going on.

As we drew closer to our destination, the pace of the march slowed.  I  elected to leave the group just after we passed by St. Patrick's Cathedral, and continued uptown behind the barricades on the westside sidewalk of Fifth Avenue.  This allowed my tired legs hopes of being able to be able to walk all the way home.  I imagined that the subway stations were going to be packed.

Another amusing poster.

The crowd was made up of family groups, school groups, friendly groups and individuals like myself.  My decision to participate was formed after watching the new President's inaugural address.

In the above photo, the tall building with the zigzag rooftop and the golden glow is Trump Tower, the march's 56th Street destination.  Security measures prevented most of us from reaching that location.  That didn't matter.

By the time we reached 54th Street many folks, like myself, had decided it was time to go home.  Folks were milling around, trying to locate friends, or rejoin the groups with whom they'd traveled together earlier in the day.  The warmth of the sun that had been a welcome factor was rapidly chilling.

Time to walk home.  I walked over to Sixth Avenue and continued uptown to Central Park South and westward to my apartment.  Along the way I noted that the Trump Parc space that was available on Election Day is still available.

Opportunity knocks.

I may be posting a brief video over at my Instagram page.

Once again, I thank you all for your visits and comments.  I will now return to knitting those striped socks.  I did not knit a hat for the march.