Manhattan, although an island, rarely exploited its coast nor waterways except for commercial reasons until recently. The Circle Line, a boat that circumnavigates the island for tourists is a noteworthy exception.

Over the past twenty years or so, the island particularly the westside, continues to develop its parks(including one with a trapeze school), walkways, bikeways, various landscaped oases, and bountiful scenic piers. Riding my bicycle over to a pier the other day I saw dozens of kayakers paddling in the Hudson River for free, people playing miniature golf, adults sipping cocktails on a docked sailing vessel converted into a restaurant, and others engaging in numerous pastimes.

“How’s the fishing today?” I asked two young park employees at a free fishing kiosk on the same pier. They were providing poles, bait, lessons and sharing their appreciation for ecology and conservation. “We caught some sea squirts, and a dead shrimp with eggs still attached to it.” The woman replied with genuine enthusiasm. “But no fish today.” she added. She took a sea squirt from a large jar with water to show me how this tiny sponge (an amorphous creature) squirted like a water gun when squeezed. It was very impressive. Unfortunately her second squeeze was overzealous. She accidentally squished the tiny creature to an even less blob-like form than it previously maintained. “Oops, poor thing. But look, now we can see its guts inside. That’s pretty cool.” she added. Her demeanor quickly transformed back into being upbeat and cheerful. Seeing the internal organs of the sea squirt was admittedly pretty cool. Even the dead shrimp with eggs attached to its body was cool too.

I hope to come back and visit the pier again soon. Maybe I’ll even try fishing.