It took us a little less than an hour to get to West 242nd Street Station from midtown Manhattan on the subway. From there we walked over to the free shuttle van service pick-up and drop-off spot, which was on the west side of Broadway directly in front of Burger King. Upon arriving there, I got a little bit confused and concerned because I wasn't sure we were waiting in the right area. There wasn't any sign denoting that the shuttle stopped there. The pick-up/drop-off time was approaching, and the shuttle only came once every hour. My friend suggested that we ask someone in the Burger King, so we went inside, and I decided to ask a man I saw who, from what he was wearing, looked like he worked at the subway station or in construction or something similar. I talked to him for a while, confirming we went to the correct place, but neither he nor the person he was dining with knew about the shuttle. They also didn't seem to be familiar with Wave Hill. The man suggested for next time I should write down the telephone number just in case. Yeah, I probably should have done that.
As we were walking out, a woman who had overheard part of our conversation tried to help us as well, but she didn't seem to know about Wave Hill, either. She thought we were students, which the man thought as well, because apparently, there's a bus that stops around that area to bring students to a nearby college or university, I assume. I hope it wasn't a high school! My friend and I both look young for our age, but I don't think that young. I mean, it's nice to look younger than your age, but you get to a point where you don't want to be thought of as a high school student. I guess nowadays I get mistaken for an age somewhere around 19 to 22 at most.
Despite all the very nice people trying to help us, we were still unsure about the shuttle when we went back outside. Because the time it was supposed to come was very near by then, I started to get anxious about it. We ended up running over to a school bus that was stopped close by to the subway station, but of course, that wasn't it. There was a man near the station steps trying to offer taxi rides, and he told us that many people wait for the shuttle but that it never comes. I didn't know whether to believe that, and then he proceeded to tell us how much it would cost to go to Wave Hill. I would only take a taxi as a last resort, and I don't think my friend wanted to take one if it could be avoided. We also went across the street, which I didn't really want to do because we were on the side we were supposed to be on, but there were a few mass transit buses stopped there. My friend asked the bus driver and a couple of people waiting at the stop about Wave Hill, but they didn't know. You'd think at least one person we asked would.
By then, it was already past the time that the shuttle bus was supposed to arrive. I saw the man I had spoken to earlier at the Burger King crossing the middle of the busy 5-lane street, and it turned out that he had come specifically to talk to us. He had seen the Wave Hill van pull up and had told the driver that he had to stay put because there were 2 girls waiting for it. He was such a nice guy! We rushed back to the other side of the street, and I thanked him many times. He also wished us well before we parted ways. We got in the van, which was parked in the parking lot, and a few moments later, a couple who must have arrived just then asked the driver if it was the one going to Wave Hill. I told my friend later that it was a good thing I asked that man about the shuttle because otherwise we would've missed it, and that couple would've as well since they came late. My friend told me afterward that she was scared about getting into the van because she didn't see a sign on it, but we saw it later.
When we entered the garden, one of the first things we saw was the pergola on the Great Lawn and behind it a wonderful view of the Hudson River and the cliffs of the Palisades in the distance. It's a beautiful place. There was even a shoot for a wedding photo spread taking place while we were there. Since we missed the tour, my friend and I just wandered around following a map. I think we saw most of the major areas, including the flower garden, the Marco Polo Stufano Conservatory, herb and dry gardens, wild garden, aquatic garden, and Wave Hill House. We also saw a couple of art exhibits at the Glyndor House. Since pictures can tell so many words, below is a selection of some of the photos I took during my visit.
The pergola from the Hudson side:
The pergola with the Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades in the background:
The flower garden:
Flowers outside the conservatory:
A cactus inside the conservatory:
The garden pool:
The Aquatic Garden:
More photos can be seen on my Flickr.
I would recommend a visit to Wave Hill to anyone who's interested in seeing a garden in the New York City area. I've only seen a few gardens in New York, but I think it might be my favorite so far.
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