Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

Hello Spring. The weather was absolutely gorgeous yesterday. Blue skies, warm temperatures and a slight breeze made it the perfect day for sightseeing. We decided to go back to the Flushing Meadows Park and visit the site where the World's Fair was hosted. So we packed a lunch, hopped on the subway and off we went. It was so great to get out of the apartment and enjoy the fresh air while stretching our legs.

We got to see the New York State Pavilion up close. It once had a stained glass ceiling and a map of New York on its floor, but now it is in ruins and not used for anything. Here is a picture of Brian in front of it.

The main attraction that we both enjoyed was the Unisphere. It was so BIG! It is 140 feet high (12 stories), 120 feet in diameter and weighs 700,000 pounds. It is constructed completely out of stainless steel for the 1964 World's Fair. We looked it up on Wikipedia and it said that the three rings orbiting the sphere "represent the tracks of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, and Telstar, the first active communications satellite." Very cool to see it in person. These pictures really don't do it justice...even though we look tiny against it. In person its this giant looming sphere, and you can see it from pretty much anywhere in the park. We could even see the top of it from the subway as we were on our way home.

There were signs all over saying to stay out of the surrounding fountain, but there were skaters and skateboarders zooming around in it. There wasn't any water in the fountain, but it would be a neat spectacle to see water shooting up around the sphere.

There were pink flower trees in bloom all over the park. It was GORGEOUS! The air was fragrant with the blossoms. It was a beautiful spring day, and I'm so glad we got to be there for the trees flowering. I know I probably should know what kind they are but I'm not sure. Flowering cherry or plum or something.

The park was crowded with people out enjoying the sunshine. The trees are beginning to leaf out also which always makes me happy. I love spring. I also saw three robins that made me think of my Grandma (mom's mom). I really miss her! I can't believe that she has been gone for over a year. She loved spring too and would always remind me every year of that one spring day when I was little that I ran up to her saying " 'ping is coming, ping is coming." I was wondering when I would see my first robin and was hoping that I would get to over here in big old New York. Apparently they have all been hiding out here.

There were lots of statues around the park. We ate lunch by this guy...not sure who or what he is, but it was cool.

After we ate lunch, we were planning to go to the Queens Museum of Art which is right behind the Unisphere, but it was getting late and they were closing soon so we decided to skip the museum and just stay outside and enjoy the weather. Guess that means we'll have to come back at least one more time. We wandered over closer to the Pavilion and got a few close up shots of it. Very interesting building/structure.

All in all it was the perfect day. Brian says that this is my postcard photo of the day....I think it pretty much sums it up.

Until next time....hello from Queens. Wish you were here!