I do hope all the USA Presidents appreciate the Port Authority lighting up the George Washington Bridge in their honor on their special day.
I think most folks, even New Yorkers, think Manhattan is flat. Well, that is wrong. Up in northern Manhattan, it is very hilly. In fact, it is strategically hilly for none other than the first president, George Washington, encamped there with the Continental Army after the British chased them from Brooklyn at the beginning of the Revolution. That is why the area is called Washington Heights as well as the reason for naming the bridge. Factoid: bridges on flat land need a great deal of land for the approaches. Here the problem was neatly solved because of the Heights on the Manhattan side and the Palisades on the New Jersey side. The approaches here are about 1000' each rather than two miles.
Railfanning these Manhattan hills is unusual for this flatland Manhattanite. The worst is the fact that the nearest subway is a 1.5-mile hike up a San Francisco-type hill on top of the Heights. However, it is all worth it for the best part is the fact the scenery is amazing.
So, while I have been to this spot before, I was a younger man, and the getting down and up was no big deal. However, I can tell you coming back up after this shot it reminded me I was no longer that spry kid of 58.
Last note, all that hiking, all the cold and wet, the 1 1/2-hour trip both ways resulted in exactly one exposure.
I say it was worth it. I hope you do too.
