Fri we left Green Bay at 8 am and went 850 miles with a small arsenal of technology. Between 3 people we carry an iphone, a Blackberry, a smartphone, an ipod, 2 ipod nanos, a laptop computer, Garmin GPS, 2 digital cameras, a camcorder, a receiver to run the ipods through the car radio and all the cords, batteries, chargers and memory cards to make it all work. The audiobook "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" held our attention for a good portion of the afternoon and evening. Not only was the story pretty eccentric, but the voiceovers were entertaining.
Stopped at a Big Boy near Cleveland OH to reminisce and get some dinner in the evening. About half the menu is the same as it was 20 years ago. Traffic, weather and construction wasn't an issue at all although it is getting more hot and humid the farthur east we go. Drove a few more hours until we found ourselves in Bloomsburg PA at 1 am with no hotel and finding that many in the area were booked. Lucked out (sarcastic!) and stayed at the Tenny Town Motel which was very clean but had the awful smell of urine...well, it was a perfect way to accustom us to the horrendous smells that waft through NYC, especially in the subway stations. We made it through 5 states today...WI, IL, IN, OH and PA. I have discovered that wi-fi, whether advertised or not, is generally available at hotels and resorts just for looking. Stealing? Hardly! Although is still amazes me how the cheap hotels will have it for free, yet the pricier ones will charge you a fine penny...per day!
Sat July 25
Sat we started out about 10 am and drove 150 miles through New Jersey into Midtown Manhattan through the Lincoln Tunnel and found our hotel almost immediately. The traffic was stop-and-go for a few miles heading into the tunnel where it filters into 2 lanes and goes about a mile underneath the Hudson River. Hotel was 100 times better than expected. What a great location! We are on 42nd St between 10th and 11th Ave. The hotel has a large pool in a courtyard on 3rd floor and free parking in their secured garage which is only steps from our elevator. Just to have parking in Manhattan is becoming a rarity, much less to have it for free. We have a view of the Empire State Building from the room, NYPD Task Force building is right across the street but was surprisingly quiet and there is a small restaurant/deli attached to the hotel. The neighborhood is called Hell's Kitchen and is near the Garment District.
After being able to check-in early, we immediately walked 2 blocks to the pier on the Hudson River and took a Circle Line 3 hour Cruise around the entire island at 4:30. Since it was 85 degrees and 70% humidity, the cruise was perfect. Cool views of the Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, Ellis Island, the Financial District, the Manhattan Skyline, Brooklyn Bridge among others, Roosevelt Island, old and new Yankee Stadium, Gracie Mansion, Jersey Palisades and the burroughs. The narrator was very knowledgable and interesting while talking most of the tour.
Times Square at night....unbelievable! Talk about sensory overload! We walked about 6 short blocks to the middle of the Square. It covers a larger area than I expected. Part of the Square is blocked off to traffic so there were tables, chairs, benches and a bleacher-type area for visitors to sit and take in the lights, video screens, street performers, people and signs. There was a police presence on nearly every corner, very clean, felt safe. Lots of restaurants, gift shops, electronics shops, etc. 2 blocks away is Rockefeller Center where they were setting up to film a movie the next morning at the Today Show site. The area where there is an ice rink in the winter is a restaurant/lounge this time of year.
All over the city, there are carts selling hot dogs, sodas, ice cream, breakfast foods in the am, fruit, middle-eastern fare (falafel, shish kabobs and such). Men are selling knock-off purses from carts on the streets and others ask for handouts or try to get you to buy things such as baseball caps in exchange for a donation to their cause. Back near Times Square we had some very large sandwiches as the Majestic Deli which had a great selection of sandwiches, burgers, paninis, cheesecakes, salads and fruit.
Sun July 26
Sun took subway to the WTC which took a matter of minutes to get to. The subway was clean but the stations have the worst smell ever....like stale beer combined with urine and rotting meat. The WTC site is mostly curtained and fenced off due to the fact that construction is going on 24/7 but there are some observation decks and the buildings surrounding the area have been rebuilt or refaced and are immaculate. We stopped at Century 21 which is a designer discount store and St Paul's Chapel.
The church became a command post in the 9-11 aftermath and contained some really moving memorials to the volunteers and victims of 9-11. It is crazy how the entire old church, courtyard, old trees and gravesites that surrounded it remained unharmed during the tragedy. It's also the church that President George Washington regularly attended. His pew has been turned into a memorial as was the pew frequented by George Clinton in the same era.
Wall Street was 2 blocks away where we saw the NY Stock Exchange, the building where Washington worked when he was President and gave his Presidential Address, sculptures and other financial district landmarks. The street was alot narrower than I expected and in an almost constant state of shade due to the height of the skyscrapers.
Six blocks northeast was Canal St in Chinatown where we found ourselves mid-day for a great Chinese meal at local restaurant of Chicken and Chinese Vegetables, beef and broccoli and sesame chicken with sticky rice. Their "tea" was a can of Lipton...definitely disappointing but the food itself was tasty. I experienced the smallest bathroom in the history of the world inside the place...LOL! The busy streets were lined with flower shops, fruit stands, fish monger shops, restaurants and souvenir stores. Locals approach you with little cards with pictures on them of designer purses they are selling. We walked 3 blocks out of the way with a little chinese man to be escorted into a storefront that was manned by a woman who unlocked it, then led us through a hidden door in the back to a room full of handbags. They had quite a selection but we finally settled on Gucci bags after talking the saleman down a bit. They then unlocked the door and led us back into the street with our black garbage bag filled with the goods:) The quality of them was not too terrible and it's all in good fun. Besides, would you rather I buy a purse for the same price in a local department store that's ugly, or purchase one of these cute bags with the designers name on it, giving the designer a little free advertising?! Sellling a bag for $3,000 is insane anyhow! Amanda noticed there was a majority of women walking around with the same black bags, packed to overflow with handbags. Kevin just rolled his eyes. LOL!
We wandered into the Little Italy neighborhood that was loaded with Italian Restaurants one after another with outdoor seating (it was sweltering hot outside) and maitre d's coming out constantly to try to get you to go to their restaurant. Walked a bit through SoHo (artsy area that stands for "South of Houston" street) and TriBeCa (stands for "Triangle Below Canal" street) where there was a nice park-like courtyard.
Took the subway back and stopped at the hotel to drop off our purchases. A thunderstorm hit so waited it out then walked through the Theater District to Top of the Rock at 30 Rockefeller Center, home to NBC. It appeared to be clear skies when we went up to the 67th floor, found out that was not the case when we got to the top. Still got to watch part of a great orange sunset and saw a second distant thunderstorm start to roll in even though they did not close the observation deck regardless of the wind. We stayed up there for quite awhile as there was no time-limit to get great shots of NYC before and after the lights came on. The view from the top really shows just how developed the city is. Made it past Times Square before the storm hit so ducked into Monetti's Pizza 2 blocks from the hotel for excellent NYC style slices.
Monday July 27
Monday July 27
We got an early start and grabbed breakfast from a street vendor...huge bagels, strawberry brioche, donuts and super hot coffee, like "burn the roof of your mouth for 2 days hot". Darted our way through the commuters on their way to work. It felt like from a movie, everyone wearing dark colors, ipod buds in the ears, rushing to work.
Our little group made it to the Today Show in Rockefeller Center but Meredith, Al and Ann were on location for “Today takes a Vacation” and Matt left for his segment of it shortly before we got there. The plaza was huge, much bigger than it appears on TV. Instead of there just being one area, there is a whole square measuring about 30 ft by 60 feet. Probably 200 people there, many with signs. We hung out for about a half hour but since the 4 anchors were gone, they weren’t showing the crowd much.
Walked up 5th Avenue past Trump Tower, Tiffany’s, Gucci (a fabric keychain was $150!), etc to Central Park. It was only about 9 am so the stores weren’t open and 5th Ave was pretty quiet on the Upper East Side. The famous Plaza Hotel on Central Park West is alot more run-down than it appears to be in movies. Wandered through the southern half of Central Park. It was a lot rockier than I thought it would be, very pretty, tons of shade and very, very clean and quiet.
Visited Strawberry Fields and outside the Dakota where John Lennon was shot. Strawberry Fields has a pretty arboretum and memorial to Lennon with a large, circular "Imagine"-themed mosaic we some great pics on. Saw Tavern on the Green Restaurant before they'd opened for the day. It appears a little cheesy with chinese paper lanterns hanging from the trees and bushes shaped like animals but I guess they were going for a whimsy theme.
Walked Kevin up to the American Museum of Natural History where he spent the next few hours while we crossed the park to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art which we then found was closed on Mondays! It was now 2 miles back to the hotel so we strolled 5th Avenue along the park and enjoyed the sunny morning. Stopped at some of the high-end shops along the way including Tiffany’s which had 6 stories of very sparkly jewels and the Trump Plaza, a masterpiece of marble and glass. Went to Dallas BBQ in Times Square for a lunch of rotisserie chicken and awesome sauce plus sweet tea so now I'm addicted to that!
Relaxed back at our hotel for a few hours then walked to Madison Square Garden for the Green Day concert! The place is huge. We were on the upper left side but it was still a great view. Kaiser Chiefs, an indie/rock band from the UK opened. GD started with "21 Guns", played for 2.75 hrs straight and finally did "American Idiot" during the encore which was as long as some bands entire show. Woot-woot!! Pyrotechnics, calling fans up on stage, lots of crazy antics. Billie Joe mooned the entire crowd, all 15,000 (?) of us. One guy stage dived and the crowd DIDN'T catch him...so funny! He happened to be wearing a helmet (no idea why). One of the best shows I’ve ever been too. Amanda and Kevin did not sit down the entire time! They played a great combo of old and new songs, told stories and were just alot of fun; worth every dime!! Had White Castle burgers on the way back at midnight. It was not very good food but really cheap. The place was so dirty and creepy but the experience was something you just have to try.
Tuesday July 28
Walked to Tim Horton’s (a Canadian coffee-house chain just opening in NYC) for bagels and iced capps on the other side of Times Square. Went up Broadway in the Theater District and took pics of the Ed Sullivan Theater where Letterman films. Strolled through Grand Central Station which is very busy and full of restaurants. Amanda and I went to Macy’s (Largest Dept store) where she found great unique Chucks and I did not find a simple pair of black sandals after looking at literally hundreds of shoes. After also sifting through what felt like a million summer tops, I victoriously walked out with one lonely shirt. Kevin went on a little walking tour of the Flatiron Bldg, Madison Square Park and the Chrysler Bldg. He got asked for directions by tourists multiple times so he must be blending in! I even heard him say "I could live here" at one point. That a boy!
Went to a little authentic Mexican place, La Paloma on W 45th St for enchiladas for dinner near our hotel located in an area full of residential apartments and local eateries. When I say restaurants in this area, I am literally talking about places not much bigger than my kitchen and that's the entire place including seating and kitchen area. Some were simply walk-up windows. Locals seem to generally get take-out. Service is very fast. Back in the Times Square area, we picked up the standard souvenirs and just relaxed and enjoyed the craziness.
Wednesday July 29
Ate breakfast at the diner attached to the hotel, Broadway Deli and Diner. Cheap and fast! I drove out of the city with no problem by noon as Lincoln Tunnel was literally blocks from our hotel. Traffic jam to get there, but it was short. Took the New Jersey Turnpike to Garden State Parkway to Atlantic City, about 2 hour drive.
Checked into Taj Mahal at 2pm. Very comfortable hotel for the price, the room is beautiful and sort of has ocean view from the 14th floor. The casino is one of the largest in the world and there is so much marble in the building that when they ordered it, the order took up the entire output from the Italian quarries for 2 full years. There are chandeliers that cost millions of dollars, and if that isn't enough gleem for you, the 9 stone elephants in front of the Taj weigh over 2 tons each. Decent soaps and mouthwash in the rooms were cute little touches. Its about 90 degrees and very humid here with threats of rain.
Walked up the boardwalk towards the very quiet north end, walked on beach a bit, then headed back to the area near the Taj where Steel Pier is located, amusement park area with rides and such. The boardwalk is 4 miles long and about 100 feet wide, shops, eateries, games and hotels line one side and in some areas they line both sides. There is a second pier that holds a very nice, designer mall. Saw Nock family show....Ball of Death (he drives motorcycle around inside a huge steel ball, then does it with wife standing inside. They also do a highwire motorcycle act. There are seagulls all over the place and they are not scared of anything. One got a huge hot dog and was flying overhead with it, when it dropped the damn thing right on my shoulder. Gross! We weren't even there a half hour and there I stood with a big pinkish stain on my shoulder from this random bombing.
Went halfway down the boardwalk (tons of knock-off purse shops) but rain was coming so we headed back to the hotel and ate the Sultan’s Feast Buffet inside our hotel. Crab Legs, boiled Shrimp, steak cooked to order, veal parmagiana, stroganoff, crab del ray, desserts, cappuccino, etc. The standard surf-and-turf buffet fare, nothing special but satisfying. The staff was polite and no one rushed us out of there.
Kev and I hit the casino around 9 pm. Got Trump One cards. Put 9 cents into the first machine and won $17.60 so played on that for a few hours. Had a few beers on the Donald, qualified for a free spin on the prize wheel on Thurs. I was down $20 and Kevin was down $27 after 3.5 hours of play. The casino is very quiet but it is a Wednesday.
Thursday July 30
Started out the day on the boardwalk for some typical "fair foods" for breakfast...cheesesteak, apple dumplings with ice cream and korean iced coffee. The way we've been walking lately, burning off the calories shouldn't be an issue. Went down and beachcombed since it was about 90 degrees and humid again. The sun and breeze felt great. Shells are HUGE, great souvenirs although the salty air has quite a fishy undertone. The water isn't that cold for the north Atlantic and the waves were decent enough that a few surfers hit the water. Walked south on the strip today all the way down to the Hilton. Went to the mall and AJ and I both finally found sandals after looking at tons of places...we ended up with the exact same black gladiators on sale at Steve Madden. I liked them so much I bought them in brown also. Took lots of pics, enjoyed fresh squeezed lemonade, stocked up on Coach keychains, campy postcards
Back at the casino, Kev and I qualified for a spin on the Millionaires Wheel since we joined the Trump One club and played a minimum of 35 minutes on slots. He won $20 towards any restaurant in the hotel and I won $10. Ate at the crab and steak buffet again with that prize. Walked off the food on the beach and boardwalk in the evening. Hit the casino where I went up and down and finally settled at $15 down, not bad for another 2 hours of fun.
Fri July 31
Headed towards Gettysburg around noon, drove for 6 hours through heat and humidity, then through a long downpour. Came through Lancaster, heart of Amish country, late afternoon and it was pouring so hard we didn't even stop anywhere. It did let up momentarily, just enough to see some Amish children on kick-scooters and a few horses pulling buggies through the middle of Lancaster. Got to Gettysburg PA and drove through the historic town on the way to the Gettysbury National Park Visitor Center and Museum to get hours and info for the morning.
Got a room at the Econo Lodge in Gettysburg then went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner....very good food, fresh salad bar and Strawberry Mojitos for a chain! Def wish there was one closer to home! Strolled downtown; many very old buildings, placards explaining dates and info, statues, memorabilia shops, museums. I bought a set of 5 hand-painted Russian Nesting Dolls for the curio.
Saturday, Aug 1
Saturday, Aug 1
Got to Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center at 9 am. Watched a very informative 10 minute film about the battle from the History Channel and viewed the Cyclorama which is a 300 foot circular painting of the Battle of Gettysburg as depicted on July 3, 1863 from a vantage point near the center of the main battlefield that we went to later. It’s set up in a circular room with a viewing platform in the center and is “blended” into the floor with sand, dirt and props to the point where it was hard to tell where the floor ended and painting started. A show is set to music with cannon blasts, lights on certain areas of the painting, narration, etc. The Cyclorama was restored within the past few years and is truly a unique experience. The museum was set up very well and had lots of artifacts and info to read. We then drove to a number of the memorials and battle areas to take pictures and walk among the grounds. You could spend days there.
It was sweltering hot degrees with no breeze but the majority of the memorials were alongside the road or within a short walk. There were also 2 fire tower observation decks.It was incredible how large the field is and how most everything, even buildings, have been maintained or restored. Every battallion from every state that participated in any way had a memorial set up, ranging from the most elaborate to a simple stone.
Left around 4pm and started the long drive home. Went about 300 miles and stopped in Middlesboro Heights OH (suburb of Cleveland) at the La Siesta Motel. It is still very warm outside, as it had been all week.Sunday Aug 2540 miles to get to Green Bay. We grabbed breakfast at Jennifer's in Middlesboro Heights as recommended by the owner of the hotel then started out at about 10 am EST for the final leg of the trip. Everything went as well as it did on the way out so we arrived in Green Bay by 6:30 pm.
The total miles was 2,200, about $50 spent on tolls, $150 for gas. We have over 1000 pictures and over an hour of video to view now not to mention a lifetime of memories to cherish!
