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.
9-11 Memorial, Danny the freelancer, Weehawken Posted on Monday, May 14, 2012 at 9:57AM
Reader Comments (26)
great post today! great to see danny the freelancer and his apartment is like a museum! looking forward to part two! r.i.p. duck dunn.
The top photo looks like the entrance to a nineteenth century insane asylum in a horror movie! And yes, I knew all those 'Ready for Prime Beef' blog posts were going to catch up with you sooner or later, Marty....GRAAAAAGH! (gasp)!
Impressive wine cork set up. Very organized apartment. I know those stairs are tough, but I think you do a lot of walking,,,living in the city, so you are probably in good shape. Jerry Lewis had a heart attack after running up a huge flight of stairs filming a movie back in the sixties. (He couldn't blame the director,,,he was the director) Some Tequila's are very smooth and now there are so many top shelf brands,,,kinda like fine scotches, single malts. ,,,, @Bobby D, Duck Dunn, according to his son, was doing two shows a night in Tokyo with Cropper, might have been too much for the ticker.
@Bobby D: Danny's apartment is very cool and it was great to check it out, part two will be up tomorrow with dinner and drinks! And yes, R.I.P. Donald "Duck" Dunn.
@Jaws: It hasn't quite caught up with me yet, the ticker is still ticking so far!
@Al: I was impressed with the wine cork wall as well! I never heard that Jerry Lewis story, I'll have to look online for it. Usually I'm not a big tequila drinker, but that tequila was smooth as silk, I'd get into trouble if I had a bottle of that in my place! I read that about Duck Dunn, at least he went out doing what he loved to do.
Oh, Marty, Weehawken is in New Jersey! LOL.
@Goggla: Ha ha ha! I was still asleep when I was writing that, at least that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! Thanks for catching that!
Awesome apartment. The violin is my fave rave from the museum of antiquities!
No beer on the brief ferry ride ?
Nice place Danny has ! ... even if I had all of the stuff he has -- it would probably be sitting in a pile somewhere -- and not hung up all orderly ....
Danny's place is impressive. For posterity's sake, and for those wondering why everyone doesn't move out of the city for cheaper rents, you should probably tell people the price of the ferry fare.
Oh Weehawken is so much fun! I love that memorial. And Danny The Freelancer sure has a cool apartment!
@Spike: As cool as the pictures are, it doesn't do his place justice, a very cool pad!
@GENE: No beer on the ferry, I think you can take it aboard though.
@csp: The ferry ride is a bit steep, it's nine bucks each way, but you can take a bus there for about two bucks though.
@meleah: It was a great day and stay tuned for the evening's pictures at tomorrow's post!
Bus bonus: No stair-walking!
That's a nicely decorated apartment. My decor entirely consists of empty bottles. But I did decorate it myself.
@Spike: How true!
@Uncle Waltie: Send in a picture of your place if you ever get a chance, I'd love to see it!
I live in NJ too, used to make out WTC on a clear day from Sandy Hook before they blew it up but now nothing clearly visible stands up yet on some nice days you can just about make the Parachute Jump in Coney Island, though no one believes me when I say, "You can see it, right there!" I see it and I don't care if no one else can. Hey, I'm an ex-New Yorker ain't no one from Joisey gonna tell me what I can or can't see. So there!
Wow, Danny's got some sweet digs! Note to self: Never invite TWM to your house, Biff. All you have are lunchboxes.
You're inspiring me to get over to NJ. I don't know it at all, apart from a visit to the Ironbound section of Newark many years ago. Can't wait to see more of Weehawken. While thinking about this, I just knocked over my gin & tonic. And it's only Monday.
@Mykola Mick Dementiuk: "Hey, I'm an ex-New Yorker ain't no one from Joisey gonna tell me what I can or can't see." So there!" Ha ha ha! You tell 'em!
@Biff: Please send me in a photo of your lunchboxes!
@onemorefoldedsunset: It was great hanging out in Weehawken with Danny. It's an easy trip and nice to change up the surroundings here at TWM every now and again. So sorry to hear about that gin and tonic, hope you have plenty for a refill!
@everyone: I'm afraid we may have lost ragin' rr again! You out there rr?
Marty, What's the 99-11 memorial? The wall of wine cork's looks great. Can't wait for tomorrow.
@Danny the freelancer: Ha ha ha! I can't believe no one else noticed that! Thanks for the catch eagle-eye, I just corrected it. It was fun hanging out in Weehawken with you, thanks for being a great host and tour guide! Part II tomorrow!
Danny's wall reminded me of:
Ma gavte la nata Piedmontese (Italian) expression literally translated into "kindly remove the cork". Used to invite anyone pretentious to "take the cork out and let the wind out".
This is the only Piedmontese expression know, but it's a pretty good one,
Sharing is caring.
@csp: Thanks for sharing, I've just removed my cork.
I live with a room-mate, a very sweet lady who not infrequently helps to keep me lubricated. I fortunately live in a duplex (ground floor / basement) apartment. I learned to always descend the stairs backwards. Gives me a better chance should I slip or trip. And I count the steps...I call it my 12 step program.
@UW: Ha ha. Bravo. You have a 12 step program with safeguards against slipping or tripping. Also by living on the ground floor/basement, if there is a higher power, it's bound to be higher.
@Uncle Waltie: Now that sounds like the best 12 step program in the world! Sip ahoy my friend and steady on the stairs!
awesome digs of dannys.. he reminds me of wayne coyne form the flaming lips.
love the cork wall.
i love to make cork things..
good time out.. thank you for bringing us along:)