New York: Off the Beaten Path
by CANDY STERN
Broadway? Blah! Ballet? Nah. Museums? Not in the mood.
Maybe I��ve lived in New York too long. Maybe I��m not as cultured as I��d like to believe. Whatever the case may be, the most amazing, bustling city in the WORLD��New York City��was suddenly unable to deliver when it came time for conjuring up even an ounce of excitement in me this weekend. That��s when I decided it was time to fire up that cute little Pontiac Solstice that��s been sitting in my parking space much too long, put the top down, and see the other side of New York��stuff that��s a little off the beaten path.
It was a Friday afternoon and I dragged my very confused friend, Karla, along for the ride. She��d later admit she only agreed to go because she was confident she could talk me in to fu-fu drinks at Bar Masa. But no dice. I wanted a funky New York sightseeing experience like no other. Armed with a list I created after searching the internet, we began our quest for the bizarre and outrageous.
We drove the Solstice to Central Park, a place I rarely visit, to check out the statue of Balto, the Wonder Dog. Back in the ��20s, Balto apparently led a team of Siberian Huskies into Nome, Alaska, in the dead of winter to deliver medicine to people suffering from a diphtheria epidemic. But why was he in Central Park? Somehow, Balto the Wonder Dog later became a favorite punch line of Johnny Carson monologues��and as such, is honored as a bronze statue atop a rock. Hmmm.
OK that WAS different. But that wasn��t the only oddity in Central Park. Before Karla threw the digital camera at me, I decided I better hurry up and get a shot of me with John Purroy Mitchel near 95th Street. Dubbed "The Boy Mayor," in 1913, he lost his re-election bid in 1917 and volunteered for the Army Air Corps. He died after falling out of his plane during training in 1918. That was sort of interesting.
It was time to hop in the Pontiac and head to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Chapel on Fort Washington Ave., where we gazed upon the body of Mother Cabrini��America's first canonized saint (minus her head, which is somewhere in Italy��though a waxed replica has been added to her body here). A little macabre��but cool nevertheless.
OK, Karla was starting to look at me funny. So I agreed to continue my jaunt tomorrow, minus Karla��s hostile stares.
On Saturday morning, I grabbed some coffee and a pastry and hit the road (alone) in my Solstice! Up Highway 87 about 100 miles from New York City to Saugerties I would trek. That��s where I found Opus 40��a stunning monolith set against the backdrop of the Catskills. This immense six-acre sculpture is comprised of finely fitted stone, and swirling pieces of art made from the rock bed of an abandoned bluestone quarry. It took the creator, Harvey Fite, nearly 40 years to build by hand, using only a quarryman��s tools. Why he did it, I��m not sure. But it��s quite a sight.
But the coolest was yet to come. I hopped back in the Solstice and drove up the road to the Katskill Kaleidoscope (the world's largest kaleidoscope)! The converted grain silo is the brainchild of '60s psychedelic artist Isaac Abrams. The 60-foot-tall contraption fits about two-dozen people, but even with the cramped quarters, the 10-minute light show is well worth seeing. I was starting to feel like a trailblazer, a bit of a crazy one at that. Surely no one had seen NY like this before!
I stopped for a quick lunch at one of the caf��s, then continued my wild trip in the Pontiac convertible. I decided to drive to Somers and feast my eyes upon the Old Bet elephant memorial. Old Bet was apparently ��the mother of America's carnival business." A farmer spotted her for sale in one of New York City's cattle markets, bought her and decided to charge his neighbors for a peek. The farmer soon turned into a circus showman, showcasing Old Bet, a trained dog, several pigs, and a horse. Old Bet was later shot by a neighbor who didn��t like the farmer charging poor people to see an elephant. Now THAT��s a story.
As I was driving back to New York City, I took a side trip in the Solstice to the Sing Sing Museum in Ossining, where I was able to check out the electric chair, prison cells, the makeshift weapons prisoners used, plus some photos of the prison's "glory days."
Feeling like a freed prisoner myself, I decided it was time to enjoy the New York I was used to. I called Karla for that martini. After my day, I was going to need a designated driver! *** About the Author: Candy Stern is an eclectic fashion designer who creates unique custom purses, wallets and accessories. In her spare time, she travels extensively and is known to periodically contribute to NYC travel and fashion blogs. For more information on the Pontiac Solstice, visit dealsonPontiac.com.
