The Walk to Tenafly - Part One

It was early, maybe, but the weather was bright, clear and cool - alright, chilly - as I stepped out of the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal onto Fort Washington Avenue. Today I’m walking to Tenafly. The suburbs are going to be close, and not so “car far” that we can’t make a day’s walk more interesting and enlightening, even.






So, now you know the hours - but I got there at 8:30AM, a little late by my schedule. We shall see what pace I can keep up.

I had originally intended to take the Northwalk (as they call it) but that one was closed; I don’t know why, but no matter. It turned out I wasn’t alone - but I couldn’t get my camera out in time - whoosh! a whole fleet of bicycles passed me by!

I was amazed, actually, to be able to have an unobstructed view off the bridge. There was no high barrier at all, and considering the recent tragedy of the young man who jumped that was especially unnerving. But it didn’t bother anyone else, I guess.

Away in the distance is a group of speeding bicyclists too fast for me to catch for you, but I just had to enjoy the morning on the bridge - and get the pictures when I could. After all -

I could look over the Henry Hudson Parkway and the River toward New Jersey.

Jersey City is the city in the morning mist

I am planning to make this walk a public tour for those with an interest in understanding the growth of New York, and the establishment of its suburbs. After all, I grew up in Tenafly and biked all around when I was a kid there. Never really knew where I was, but, as they say, I never got lost.

People would stop me on the road and ask where route 501 was, or something like that, and I really had no idea! Maybe I knew that that was County Road, but that didn’t matter to me either. I just knew that was a way to go and that you’d find something down “that way.” My friends Scott and Bob would call, and we would all agree that we’d go for a “bike hike” and be off for the afternoon. We’d always be back home at about 5 or six; we never called to tell our Moms where we were, or if we’d be late. We never were.

We never even told them where we were going. We were, well, just going out. And that was that.

It is amazing how we’re all - or at least many or most of us - attached to our cell phones, our GPS, our umbilicals to Central, so to speak. How did we live back then?

So, Saturday I set out to see if I could, at least in part, recover that old spirit.

I reached the Fort Lee side.

I think that’s where the actual Fort was ... I'll have to go there, some time soon.

But first ... !