May 19, 2025 – Jackson Heights, Queens, NY

We started this morning listening to an interesting talk about the 5 boroughs and how their populations changed over time.

After a break we took the subway to Jackson Heights in Queens. This is a diverse neighborhood with many ethnic restaurants. Our Queens guide took us on a walking and eating tour of the area. We started at a Tibetan Restaurant where we had a chicken Momo (dumpling). Next stop was a Nepalese food truck where we got their version of a Momo. We had beef, chicken, and vegetable Momos. Our guide explained that once a year there is a Momo Crawl where you get to try Momos from many Restaurants and vote on the best one. Our third stop was the current Momo Crawl winner. We had a variety of dishes and everyone was full by the time we finished. We took a walk to see the Garden Apartment buildings that Jackson Heights is known for. They are beautiful buildings with inner gardens. Most are co-ops or condos now. Our final stop was a bakery where we were all given a roll made with cheese and guava jelly inside.

We took the 7 subway back to Manhattan. It is called the International Express. It took 40 minutes to take us to Hudson Yards. We took elevators to the 101st floor where an observation deck called “The Edge” juts out from the building. One section has a glass floor where you can look straight down to ground level. Great views of NYC from up there.

We walked back to the hotel. After a short break we took a subway to dinner. After dinner, most of the group took a walking tour of Times Square. I, and 3 others opted to go back to the hotel.

My watch says I walked 5 miles today. Tomorrow we head to Brooklyn. After dinner tomorrow, I am going to see Audra McDonald in “Gypsy”.