On May 9 we will wander to Forest Hills Queens to visit the neighborhood and the former Tennis Stadium which was the home of the US Open from 1915to the mid 1970s We will see the site of Helen Keller’s home, as well as the home of Branch Rickey of the Dodgers. Forest Hills is also the former home of Trygve Lie, the first Secretary General of the United Nations. Teddy Roosevelt visited Forest Hills and Robert Kennedy campaigned there. A most interesting piece of New York City
David Mace, Joe Spain
Category: Wanderers (Page 1 of 4)
Your hosts: Joe Spain and David Mace
Your host: David Mace
The Wanderers first Spring Wandering is upon us. This Thursday March 30 we head to Torrington in the Naugatuck Valley. This area was one of the industrial hubs that helped to create Connecticut’s initial prosperity and is now a modern scenic venue.
Travel to Torrington will be by carpool from the DCA (274 Middlesex Road, Darien) leaving at 8:30 am. Please arrive at the DCA some minutes before. The ride is approximately 75 minutes up Rte. 8 off the Merritt Parkway. All are welcome.
The Walkway AcrWalk Across the Hudson is billed as “The Longest Elevated Pedestrian Bridge in the World” as it spans the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie NY and Highland NY. It provides magnificent panoramic views of the Hudson, and at 212 feet above the river, this 1.28 mile linear park boasts scenic views north to The Catskills and south to the Hudson Highlands. The Walkway structure dates from 1889 when it was built as a railroad bridge eventually carrying as many as 3000 train cars a day. A fire on May 8, 1974 halted train traffic forever but after 35 years the bridge was reopened as the Walkway on October 3, 2009 as a part of the Hudson Valley Rail Trail Network. For more information on the Walkway see:
Walkway Across the Hudson | World’s Longest Elevated Pedestrian Bridge
TRIP PLAN
We will gather at the DCA for an 8:30 AM departure for Poughkeepsie by car pool. The drive takes about 1.5 hours to the parking lot at 61 Parker Avenue at the east end of the Walkway. The plan is to walk across the bridge to the Highland, NY side and then to proceed along the west bank of the river to the Mid-Hudson Bridge where we will cross back to the Poughkeepsie side of the river. Same river views plus a look back at the Walkway from down river. We will walk back through some of the Poughkeepsie waterfront and historic areas to where we started and have lunch at Lola’s, a very good sandwich shop right under the Walkway. This walk is about 4 miles. For those who want a shorter walk, an option is to return from Highland back over the Walkway, a total walk of 2.5 miles. There are restrooms at either end of the Walkway. We should be back at the DCA by 3:00 PM.
As always, spouses and guests are invited. There will be a sign up sheet at the DMA meetings on October 5 and 12.
Dave McCollum
Bob Plunkett
David Mace
Joe Spain
On Thursday, September 22nd, the Happy Wanderers’ first excursion of the fall season will be to the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. We will take the Metro-North train that leaves the Darien station at 8:34 am, and the Noroton Heights station at 8:38 am. Upon arrival at Grand Central Terminal, we shall gather at the Information Booth on the Main Floor Level and proceed by subway downtown to the Wall Street station via the Lexington Avenue Line. From there we’ll walk to the other end of Wall Street to board the ferry for Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Our day will be spent walking through this historic waterside district of the City, including a stop for lunch. This area of Brooklyn was once the hub of the commercial shipping industry that shaped the life of the community for generations. Today it is gentrified with many fine dining opportunities and views of the river and New York Harbor. Upon completion of our tour, we will return by ferry and subway to Grand Central, and home on Metro North.
Please bring your MetroCard for the Subway, and, if you don’t have a card, you can buy one from the same machines that sell train tickets on the platforms at the Darien and Noroton stations.
Any questions? — please call David Mace or Joe Spain
On Thursday May 26, the Happy Wanderers will travel on Metro-North to the upper west side of Manhattan. We will visit Grant’s Tomb where Mamundi Subhas (who spoke to the DMA two months ago) will be our guide. We will also visit the site of the 1776 Revolutionary War battle of Harlem Heights. Nearby is The Riverside Church built by the Rockefellers and also the Columbia University campus. Time permitting, we will walk down to The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. We will then take the bus across 125th Street and return to Darien on Metro-North. During our wandering we will eat lunch at the appropriate time. Since this outing will likely be popular among DMA members, we will ask anyone interested to reserve a space with Joe Spain or David Mace. If we have openings closer to our time of departure, we will open participation to spouses and friends.
Happy Wanderers are planning a trek to Flushing, Queens on Thursday, May 5; the group will depart by carpool from the DCA parking lot at 9 am. Among its other distinctions, Flushing is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of New York City, with large Chinese, Korean and Indian populations. The early Quakers settled here and built the second oldest public high school in the country. Wanderers will have lunch at a local dim sum restaurant before returning to Darien. If you have questions, contact Joe Spain, David Mace or Sunil Saksena.
1) At the enormous Chinese market on Flushing’s Main Street, featuring vegetables of all kinds, meat cuts both familiar and unfamiliar, fish, etc.
2) The group in front of one of New York’s oldest houses, that of John Bowne (1661). Bowne was an English immigrant who moved to what was then New Netherland. He and fellow Quakers were persecuted, Bowne was banished back to The Netherlands, made his case for religious freedom, and returned to Flushing two years later
3) The group at the entrance to Flushing High School, a 2,000 student, architecturally impressive high school built in 1912 and set on a five-acre campus. (Hard to capture the size of the building, so we took a photo at the entrance).
On Thursday morning, March 31, the Happy Wanderers will travel up the coast to New Haven. The group will assemble in the parking area to the rear of the DCA building at 8:15 am for an 8:30 am departure. Members, wives and guests will carpool to Pepe’s Pizza parking lot at 157 Wooster Street in New Haven whence we will be begin our walk, exploring the sites on the New Haven Green, the Yale campus and other architectural features of the historic Elm City. Following the walk of about 3 miles, the group will return to Pepe’s for lunch and then head back to Darien for a 4 pm arrival, well in advance of the DMA musical event of the evening. You are welcome to join us in this first spring wandering! Please contact David Mace or Joe Spain if you have questions.
On Thursday morning, March 31, the Happy Wanderers will travel to up the coast to New Haven. The group will assemble in the DCA parking lot at 8:15 am for an 8:30 am departure. Members, wives and guests will carpool to Pepe’s Pizza parking lot at 157 Wooster Street in New Haven whence we will be begin our walk, exploring the sites on the New Haven Green, the Yale campus and other architectural features of the historic Elm City. Following the walk of about 3 miles, the group will return to Pepe’s for lunch and then head back to Darien for a 4 pm arrival, well in advance of the DMA musical event of the evening. You are welcome to join us in this first spring wandering!
Please contact David Mace or Joe Spain if you have questions.
North Central Park/City College and North Harlem Wandering
Date: Thursday, Oct 21, 2021
Metro North from Darien to Harlem/125th St—8.53 am
From Noroton Heights–8.57am
Note: get off at Harlem/125th St–do not go to Grand Central. We will congregate on the Harlem platform and head to the Lexington Ave subway station as a group to take the train to 103rd St.
This Wandering consists of two parts: first, a leisurely stroll through the northern section of Central Park–a lesser known section of the Park but no less beautiful.Then, a visit to City College and various points of interest in Northern Harlem. There will be two short subway rides in pretty empty subway cars because of the off peak hour.
We enter Central Park at 102nd St and visit the Conservatory Garden and its dancing fountain sculptures. Then on to the site of Fort Clinton, which played a role not only in the Revolutionary War but also in the War of 1812. We also visit the Andrew Haswell Green Memorial Bench since he is the star of the DMA Book Club’s November selection. The next part of the Central Park walk is more rugged as we explore the Ravine in the Northern Woods. We see all three waterfalls of the Park, two great arches and observe nature. In total we spend about 90 minutes in the Park.
A short subway ride will take us to 135 th St and the highlight of the second part of this Wandering, namely City College in Harlem. Its campus, though small, is surprisingly attractive because of its Gothic architecture.We have lunch there, around 12.30 at a well ventilated restaurant. Following lunch we stroll by , various historic sites in North Harlem, including Alexander Hamilton’s home, the magnificent townhouses of Striver’s Row and the Abyssinian Baptist Church. We may also get to peek at the famous WPA murals by black artists which are displayed at Harlem Hospital.Finally, we view the Astor Row homes.
By the end of this Wandering we will have walked about 5 ½ miles, over sometimes tricky terrain. So wear sturdy shoes. And remember to bring your masks and Vaccination certificate.
We expect to head home around 3.30pm from the Harlem/125th station.