A Tour Of Weehawken With Danny The Freelancer—Part I

I’ve only been to Weehawken, NY, NJ, once since I moved here in 1993 and that was over twelve years ago. It’s easy to get to, you can take a ferry and be there in ten minutes, after I took the ferry to Staten Island I made a mental note that I’d have to take the ferry to Weehawken some time and that time is now. TWM commenter and bonus photo contributer, Danny the freelancer invited me out to Weehawken for a tour of the town and I happily accepted. I’ve known Danny for some time, we used to work together, and it will be great to see him again and introduce him to all of you out there. And so it’s off to Weehawken we go!

All the ferry's run out of New York Waterway, here at 39th and 12th street.

And so let's go through the front doors...

And purchase tickets for the ferry ride.

You have to wait for the ferry's at these outside docks or slips as they call them.

Ours is coming in at Slip 6.

And there it is in the distance approaching the Slip's gate.

Here it is, it's almost to the gate.

They're lowering the bridge...

All aboooard for Weehawken!

Goodbye Manhattan...

Hello Weehawken!

The ferry is steered into the gate at Weehawken, it's an easy ride over here.

Okay, here we are, let's head out the doors...

And here we are in Weehawken, now where's Danny the Freelancer?

Speak of the devil...

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce, Danny the freelancer! You've read his comments, seen his bonus photos and now you get to see him in person. Okay time to start the tour!

The first stop Danny took me to is a 9-11 memorial that went up in Weehawken last September. Here's the plaque at the bottom.

And here's the memorial, two tridents from the columns at the World Trade Center. They stand 30 feet tall.

Here's a close-up of them at the Tower from a photo on the plaque at the bottom of the memorial.

And here's another angle of the tridents from the column. Quite a memorial and it was cool to see it.

And now we had to climb this massive outdoor staircase to get to the rest of the tour. Danny said to me, "You'd don't mind climbing this do you?" So what could I say? I didn't want to look like a pussy, so I said, "Hell, yes, this is nothing!"

By the time we got to the top I was one step away from a massive heart attack. I gotta cut back on those cheeseburgers!

Here's a shot of the Manhattan skyline from the top of the stairs.

A drug-free school zone, things sure have changed since I was in school!

We made a pit stop at Danny's apartment after that massive uphill hike for a drink or two. Here's Danny in the long hallway to his apartment.

Here's an original painting done by Danny. I didn't know he painted and this is very impressive.

And here's another painting by Danny, very cool!

Danny's also a musician and has played and toured with many bands through the years. Here's his custom built guitar that was along for the ride, next to a junior Buddah and a painting of two elephants. This apartment is loaded with cool artifacts. We could've just done the tour in here!

Here's Danny in the front room of the apartment. This photo doesn't do the room justice, it's really a great space and Danny designed the whole room.

Danny is an avid traveler and has items from all over the world in here. A Moroccan rug hangs on the wall over the leather couch.

You may remember this Dino De Laurentis King Kong statue from a bonus photo that Danny sent in to TMW, it's cool to see it in person.

And here's another item that Danny had sent in a photo of, his Grandfather's violin. It's a John Juzek handmade violin made in 1917 in Prague.

Two African masks that Danny got in Africa hang on the wall. The one on the left is from the Guro Tribe and the mask on the right is from the Ashanti Tribe from the Ivory Coast in Africa.

Here's some insect stamps from Thailand that Danny's sister-in-law brought back.

There's an impressive kitchen in here too, apartments are a lot bigger in Weehawken!

Behind the kitchen sink, Danny has lined the wall with corks from bottles of wine that have been drunk through the years.

And the most important sighting on this apartment tour, Danny's liquor selection!

Danny broke out a bottle of imported Clase Azul Reposado Tequila. Cheers and tune in tomorrow for part two of this adventure in Weehawken!

Further Reading: Hudson Reporter, Weehawken History and Wikipedia.

R.I.P. Donald “Duck” Dunn.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!