The trip home was somewhat long, but fairly straight-forward. Except for one issue: we needed to cross the Hudson River, and decided to choose the more scenic route and go via the Newburgh bridge. However, I was low on gas, and we wanted to fill up before getting across the bridge onto the Interstate 84. But, since RVs are not allowed on NY Parkways, we needed to take a smaller road, and couldn't find a gas station that had diesel gas. And the digital display said "Using reserve fuel. Head to a gas station". So, I was getting very nervous. We were on this windy, narrow road, and needed to go over the highway entrance to the Tappan Zee bridge, in order to continue on up to the Newburgh bridge. However, the exit ramp to continue on the road we were on was closed, and all traffic was being routed onto the Tappan Zee bridge. So, across we went. It is a high, long bridge, and every step of the way, I kept thinking the RV was going to run out of gas and stop right on the bridge, in the middle of the 55 mph traffic. When we did get safely over, we couldn't stop at the first exit, as Peter didn't like where it was. So we went to the 3rd exit, and finally found a diesel gas station. I said "never again will I let the RV gas gauge get below 1/4 tank, or even near it".
We made it home successfully! And, wow! Our condo feels so spacious! Even after I went grocery shopping, the refrigerator wasn't stuffed full. And we could let the showers run the whole time we were taking a shower! Yes, our RV travels were great, but it does feel good to be home (at least for a while).
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
May 5 - Raining all Day! Stayed "home" in the RV.
So our plan was to take the ferry over to the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island today. However, due to the continuous raining all day, we decided to stay in. Last time we were here, we did do a boat tour around the harbor and the Statute of Liberty, so I could live with not going today.
Paid the bills, caught up with the blog, spent more time planning the western trip.
Hangouts call this evening with the kids, and Zoom call tonight with the siblings/cousins.
So this RV park is a relatively inexpensive way to visit and stay in the NYC area, but sort of expensive if you are "sitting home on a rainy day".
Home tomorrow!
Liberty RV park in Jersey City photo:
The harbor next to Liberty RV Park, Jersey City, NJ photos:
The view across the harbor to NYC:
Paid the bills, caught up with the blog, spent more time planning the western trip.
Hangouts call this evening with the kids, and Zoom call tonight with the siblings/cousins.
So this RV park is a relatively inexpensive way to visit and stay in the NYC area, but sort of expensive if you are "sitting home on a rainy day".
Home tomorrow!
Liberty RV park in Jersey City photo:
The harbor next to Liberty RV Park, Jersey City, NJ photos:
Sunday, May 5, 2019
May 4 - Manhattan, NY touring
We walked the 5 blocks over to the NJ subway and took it into Manhattan. Once there, we were at the Empire State building. So, we went up into the 86th floor observation deck. Since it was sprinkling rain, the view wasn't as far distant as on a sunny day, but it was still VERY impressive.
We then hopped onto a NY Manhattan tour bus. It had stopped raining, and the sun came out, so we sat on the upper level, which was open air. The bus took us through all of the various neighborhoods in Manhattan, all around Central Park, through 5th Avenue, Madison Square Garden, and Times Square. I was quite impressed with the breadth of the tour. You could hop on and off anytime, but we stayed on. As it was, that took 4 hours to do the whole route. I was amazed at the huge number of high rise buildings, of all types of architecture, all stuck together in a row. I was amazed at the huge numbers of people just walking around everywhere. I was amazed when told that this group of buildings along Central Park, or the ones in Tribeca, were the highest rent district, and that the wealthiest people lived in them--and to me they looked like all of the rest of the tall, old buildings everywhere else. We were told that the population of Manhattan is 1.5 million at night, but during the day is soars to 3.0 million.
Times Square was a experience in American materialism at its peak. Building-sized advertising all over, costing from 1-4 Million dollars. The electronic overload is mind-blowing. Wall-to-wall people. Wow.
I couldn't get over looking down from the Empire State Building, how every square foot of land is completely covered with buildings. On the other hand, Central Park was impressive in how big it is, and how pretty. I am not surprised that this environment is not for me. I can't figure out why ANYONE would want to live here. And, I wasn't surprised that Peter loved visiting here. He just loves the energy of all of the people.
We met a high school buddy of Peter's, and his wife, for dinner in SoHo. They were very interesting folks. It was a little local, packed Italian restaurant--very good. We walked around a bit in Greenwich Village. Then took the subway back to New Jersey. It was packed, even at 9pm.
Empire State Building photos:
Manhattan Bus Tour building photos:
Central Park bus tour photos:
Times Square photos:
Subway Photo:
We then hopped onto a NY Manhattan tour bus. It had stopped raining, and the sun came out, so we sat on the upper level, which was open air. The bus took us through all of the various neighborhoods in Manhattan, all around Central Park, through 5th Avenue, Madison Square Garden, and Times Square. I was quite impressed with the breadth of the tour. You could hop on and off anytime, but we stayed on. As it was, that took 4 hours to do the whole route. I was amazed at the huge number of high rise buildings, of all types of architecture, all stuck together in a row. I was amazed at the huge numbers of people just walking around everywhere. I was amazed when told that this group of buildings along Central Park, or the ones in Tribeca, were the highest rent district, and that the wealthiest people lived in them--and to me they looked like all of the rest of the tall, old buildings everywhere else. We were told that the population of Manhattan is 1.5 million at night, but during the day is soars to 3.0 million.
Times Square was a experience in American materialism at its peak. Building-sized advertising all over, costing from 1-4 Million dollars. The electronic overload is mind-blowing. Wall-to-wall people. Wow.
I couldn't get over looking down from the Empire State Building, how every square foot of land is completely covered with buildings. On the other hand, Central Park was impressive in how big it is, and how pretty. I am not surprised that this environment is not for me. I can't figure out why ANYONE would want to live here. And, I wasn't surprised that Peter loved visiting here. He just loves the energy of all of the people.
We met a high school buddy of Peter's, and his wife, for dinner in SoHo. They were very interesting folks. It was a little local, packed Italian restaurant--very good. We walked around a bit in Greenwich Village. Then took the subway back to New Jersey. It was packed, even at 9pm.
Empire State Building photos:
Central Park bus tour photos:
Friday, May 3, 2019
May 3 - Liberty RV Park, Jersey, City, NJ
We drove 4 hours today, across Maryland, Pennsylvania, and into New Jersey City, thus avoiding Baltimore, Washington, DC and NYC. The interstates were pretty good today. However, coming into Jersey City, straight through town, down to the harbor marina, where the RV "campground" is, was quite the challenge. Give me the winding, narrow, steep mountain roads any day. Thank goodness Peter is somewhat familiar with the road system, so he could direct me over the phone, as our GPS and the highway signage wasn't super clear.
This RV site is indeed a parking lot, for all the folks that want to go into NYC, and have a much less expensive place to stay. The ferry and the PATH subway/train leave right from here. We do have water and electric, with a dump station. There is a laundry, and bath/shower facilities. All we need for a weekend in the "City". This place actually has the most Class C and smaller RV's than anywhere else we've stayed. Chatted with some interesting folks.
Walked around the River Walk on the Marina, looking out at the NYC financial district skyline and Ellis Island.
Harbor photos from Jersey City, NJ:
This RV site is indeed a parking lot, for all the folks that want to go into NYC, and have a much less expensive place to stay. The ferry and the PATH subway/train leave right from here. We do have water and electric, with a dump station. There is a laundry, and bath/shower facilities. All we need for a weekend in the "City". This place actually has the most Class C and smaller RV's than anywhere else we've stayed. Chatted with some interesting folks.
Walked around the River Walk on the Marina, looking out at the NYC financial district skyline and Ellis Island.
Harbor photos from Jersey City, NJ:
Thursday, May 2, 2019
May 2 - heading home, overnight in Williamsport, MD
We headed out sort of early. We can now break camp, inside and out, in around 45 minutes. Shortly after starting, but before we got onto the Interstate, my "DEF is low" warning came on. We are so proud of ourselves--we just pulled into a gas station, opened the hood (I actually now know how to do that), got the 2 gal jug of DEF from our storage compartment, and a funnel, and we just filled that little bugger right up !! Who would have thought I even knew what DEF was?
It took around 4 hours to get to our overnight KOA campground in Maryland. We drove parallel to the Shenandoah Mountain range for quite a ways--very pretty countryside. We didn't want to go through Baltimore or Washington, DC on our way home, so this is a little more westerly route. And, we wanted to stop in the NYC area on the way home--for a big finale weekend.
We drove about 130 miles on I-81. It was a 2 lane (in each direction), but was filled with trucks. I drove in the right lane, so was behind trucks that slowed down at the hills, and sped up downhill. That was very frustrating. There was a lot of traffic, so passing was pretty difficult. On the other hand, a more local highway we traveled on, with two lanes each way, and a meridian, was absolutely perfect, and beautiful. That is my perfect RV road--the RV can go as fast or slow as I want, and there is a lane for folks to pass. There is a shoulder, no steep drop-offs (or guard rails, if there are), and smooth paved roads.
This KOA campground is pretty funky, but has the nicest bathrooms of anywhere we have been so far. Go figure. Wouldn't stay here again, but it works for an overnight. After driving all day, we went out for dinner at a local place--just OK.
No photos today either.
It took around 4 hours to get to our overnight KOA campground in Maryland. We drove parallel to the Shenandoah Mountain range for quite a ways--very pretty countryside. We didn't want to go through Baltimore or Washington, DC on our way home, so this is a little more westerly route. And, we wanted to stop in the NYC area on the way home--for a big finale weekend.
We drove about 130 miles on I-81. It was a 2 lane (in each direction), but was filled with trucks. I drove in the right lane, so was behind trucks that slowed down at the hills, and sped up downhill. That was very frustrating. There was a lot of traffic, so passing was pretty difficult. On the other hand, a more local highway we traveled on, with two lanes each way, and a meridian, was absolutely perfect, and beautiful. That is my perfect RV road--the RV can go as fast or slow as I want, and there is a lane for folks to pass. There is a shoulder, no steep drop-offs (or guard rails, if there are), and smooth paved roads.
This KOA campground is pretty funky, but has the nicest bathrooms of anywhere we have been so far. Go figure. Wouldn't stay here again, but it works for an overnight. After driving all day, we went out for dinner at a local place--just OK.
No photos today either.
May 1 - Hanging out in Gladys, VA
It turns out is was really hot and a bit humid today, and I didn't feel well. My energy was zapped. So, Peter spent the day on the computer blogging, and writing, and I got my blog up to date. The rest of the day, I spent just reading, relaxing, and feeling low energy.
Tomorrow, we start heading home.
No photos today.
Tomorrow, we start heading home.
No photos today.
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Apr 30 - Natural Bridge Caverns, and Natural Bridge State Park, VA
We spent the day sightseeing. We drove over to the Virginia section of the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway, and ended up in Natural Bridge, VA. First we went to the Natural Bridge Caverns. Underground limestone caves, with a private guided tour. These formations were very different from other stalactite and stalagmite formations I have seen. These were very flowing, and a very pretty copper color. It had some underground streams, and a little pond. It also had a lot of very narrow cracks and crevices leading into and out of the main rooms. Some huge fallen boulders, from eons ago. It was nicely lit up and the tour guide was very knowledgeable, even if she was a young earth creationist (go figure).
Afterwards, we went across the road to the Natural Bridge State Park visitor center and had a nice lunch. Then, went down A LOT of stairs to reach the Natural Bridge formation. It was HUGE. It is hard to get a sense of scope through photos, but the feel of the huge rock formations, along with the rushing stream, was really neat. The area was originally surveyed by a group of men, including Thomas Jefferson's father, and a young George Washington. It is said George Washington carved his initials into the rocks, in the Bridge formation, 20 ft above the water line. It is still there, now highlighted in a white box--see the photo. Also, Thomas Jefferson purchased the land around the Natural Bridge, and owned it until he died and it was sold to repay his debts. It was all privately owned until 2016 when the State Park Service purchased it. It's hard to imagine a private person owning something as impressive as this. I'm glad the park system now owns it.
After the Bridge, there was a mile long, walk along the stream, out to a beautiful water falls. On the way, they had a re-enactment of a small Monacan Indian settlement. We chatted with the men who set it all up and were there as traders, and with a Monacan Indian woman who still does many of the crafts, the same way they did back then. All very interesting.
It was a beautiful day for a hike up in the VA mountains. We had thought we'd travel the Blue Ridge Parkway some today, but these activities took up all day. Since we were driving right through the large town of Lynchburg, we ended up going to the movies to see The Avengers-The End Game. I actually liked all of the other Avenger and related movies much better than this one. This one seemed so scattered, and the plot line was not very clearly explained. Oh well, we enjoyed it anyways.
Natural Bridge Caverns photos:
Monacan Indian settlement photo:
Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway photo:
Afterwards, we went across the road to the Natural Bridge State Park visitor center and had a nice lunch. Then, went down A LOT of stairs to reach the Natural Bridge formation. It was HUGE. It is hard to get a sense of scope through photos, but the feel of the huge rock formations, along with the rushing stream, was really neat. The area was originally surveyed by a group of men, including Thomas Jefferson's father, and a young George Washington. It is said George Washington carved his initials into the rocks, in the Bridge formation, 20 ft above the water line. It is still there, now highlighted in a white box--see the photo. Also, Thomas Jefferson purchased the land around the Natural Bridge, and owned it until he died and it was sold to repay his debts. It was all privately owned until 2016 when the State Park Service purchased it. It's hard to imagine a private person owning something as impressive as this. I'm glad the park system now owns it.
After the Bridge, there was a mile long, walk along the stream, out to a beautiful water falls. On the way, they had a re-enactment of a small Monacan Indian settlement. We chatted with the men who set it all up and were there as traders, and with a Monacan Indian woman who still does many of the crafts, the same way they did back then. All very interesting.
It was a beautiful day for a hike up in the VA mountains. We had thought we'd travel the Blue Ridge Parkway some today, but these activities took up all day. Since we were driving right through the large town of Lynchburg, we ended up going to the movies to see The Avengers-The End Game. I actually liked all of the other Avenger and related movies much better than this one. This one seemed so scattered, and the plot line was not very clearly explained. Oh well, we enjoyed it anyways.
Natural Bridge Caverns photos:
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| Peter holding up the falling boulder! He's my MAN.
Natural Bridge State Park photos:
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