Number Forty-Eight!

8:29 am - Wednesday - October 10th - New Castle, DE (Our 48th State!)- 71º F, 97% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the south by southeast.....cloudy today with a forecast high of 80º F.

Tuesday was departure day from Liberty Harbor RV Park.  They have a very, very strict policy that if you have not departed your site by 11 am you will automatically be charged an additional $40.  So, obviously, our goal was to be rolling out of our site before that time.  We were ready to move by 9:30 am, and headed directly to their dump station.  It had been over 5 days since we dumped and we did not know when, or where we would have an opportunity to do so again.  By the time we finished doing that it was after 10 am, and time to head over to their storage lot to retrieve our trailer, which we did in short order.  It was just after 10:30 am as we exited the facility and back into the bowels of Jersey City for a short, but excruciating 2 mile drive to the I-78 on ramp.  Having just traversed those same roads 3 days prior we knew what to expect, but that did not make it any less stressful.

Within 15 minutes we were sailing on to I-78 which would reconnect us with I-95 southbound.  We passed through the toll booth area and retrieved our toll ticket to be delivered to a live person on the south end of the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95)......

.....over the course of the next 90 miles we stopped twice at 'Service Areas' to take a break, and at the second one (Clara Barton Service Area) we went inside where I acquired a mocha frappuccino.....my favorite.  By this time it had been over 2 hours since we departed Liberty Harbor, and we had covered mile upon mile of spacious, smooth Interstate.....the tension had begun to ooze from my soul.  You know, there are a lot of people who decry the national chain stores, but the one thing I love as we travel across the country is the continuity that you get from chain stores such as Starbucks.  I know that every single mocha frappuccino I buy will be exactly the same as the last one, and that makes me happy.  I know that any Home Depot I shop in will have a given product that I use on a regular basis in stock, and that makes me happy.  It is why I love Sirrius/XM Radio....I can listen to the same station day after day, and not worry about losing the signal.

Eventually we came to that toll area at the southern end of the New Jersey Turnpike at which time I handed over my toll ticket from Jersey City.....the cost?  $41.85.....WHOA NELLIE!  That was not it for tolls for the day.....in all we paid just under $70 in tolls before we exited I-95 in New Castle, DE.

Our goal for Tuesday was the Elks Lodge (# 2281) in New Castle, DE.  Originally we had planned to overnight at the Cabela's near Newark, but it was quite humid Tuesday and we really wanted to be able to plug in and run the A/C when we arrived.  The New Castle Elks Lodge has a single 30 amp outlet available, and you can stay there for no charge!  Perfect!  The lodge was just a couple of miles off I-95, and had very easy access.  We arrived shortly after 2 pm, quickly plugged in and got the A/C drying out our interior air.  So, why Delaware?  Well, it constitutes the 48th State we have visited, and spent at least one night in before continuing our travels....it also happens to have been the FIRST State, and that is their motto.....

 We have the whole place to ourselves!

.....it has been 4, or 5 days since I've had a proper nap, and once we had A/C I sat down and did just that.  On Tuesday's the bar opens at 6 pm, so we went in to introduce ourselves, and have a couple of brews......

....we met J.R., Bob, Beth, Danny, and many other very friendly folks.  It is one of the things we love about being Elks.....wherever you go you are always made to feel right at home.  Our first round was free, which is an Elks tradition, and Bob picked up the second round.....sweet!

We retreated to the Newell a little after 7 pm as they were going to have an induction ceremony.  We spent the evening catching up on several recorded series episodes, and then watched the end of the MLB Boston Red Sox vs. The N.Y. Yankees.....the game was won by Boston 4-3 sending Boston on to the American League Championship Series.  We were in bed by 11:30 pm looking forward to sleeping in, and no schedule on Wednesday.

So, now we have come to the end of our quest to visit all 48 of the lower states, and all that remains is Alaska.  Next summer we will visit Alaska in the Newell.  We were in Hawaii back in 1991 celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary, so we will physically have visited all 50 states by next summer.  What happens next?  We don't really know, but we do know we will continue living our nomadic life, and continue to seek out new, interesting places to spend weeks, or months at at time.  I do think, though, we will spend more time in the western half of the USA to be a little closer to our children and their families.

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The 'islands' and Katz'......

7:28 am - Tuesday - October 9th - Jersey City, NJ - 68º F, 96% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the south by southwest......cloudy (what else is new, hmmmm?) with a forecast high today of 78º F.  We roll our wheels in 3 hours!

Monday began with heavy, oozy, drippy overcast, and remained so for the entire day.  I wore a hooded jacket, and was thankful I was wearing it until the very end of the day.  One thing on my bucket list for years, and years has been to stand on Liberty Island gazing upon the Statue of Liberty in all her glory.  Now that we are finally here in the Big Apple it was high time we both checked the SOL off our bucket list.  We began our day walking over to Liberty Park from Liberty Harbor RV Park.  The first part of the trail is kind of ratty, but eventually you arrive at a long, narrow lane still covered in cobblestones.  There is a walking/riding/running path which parallels Audrey Zapp Drive, and that is where we walked on the final stretch to Liberty Park.  Liberty Park is one of many locations where you can catch ferries to both Ellis Island and Liberty Island.  It was, in its previous incarnation, a major railroad hub used by immigrants to continue their travels.  About 30% of new immigrants headed for NYC, but the rest took trains to all points of the compass......

........you can just see the main terminal building in the distance as we approach the ferries.....

The Central Railroad of New Jersey terminal building

.....we were trying to make the 10:20 am ferry, and we arrived at the ticket window at 10:15 am......we purchased our senior tickets for $14/person, and then hoofed it over to the soon to be departing ferry, but we had to pass through an airport level security section first.  We were the last ones on the ferry.......

.....on the ferry and on our way to our first stop of the day.....Ellis Island......this immigration facility was used from 1892 to 1954, and was the major point of entry for millions of immigrants from Europe, and other points around the world.

....I must inject a note of reality here......after walking 10-11 miles on Sunday I was not really feeling like doing more walking.  I felt a little 'punk' while we were at Ellis Island, and really just wanted to sit down for 1/2 an hour.....maybe with cup of coffee.....

....and then someone said something about a 30 minute movie (Island of Hope, Island of Tears) in Theater #1 beginning in 10 minutes.....yeah......let's do it!  The movie was actually quite interesting, and moving.....

Click to see the same movie we saw.....you will like it!

.....from there we headed back to the ferry terminal to take the next outbound ferry to Liberty Island.  A side note here......Monday was Columbus Day, and since schools were out half of each ferry we rode was full of school age children, who were lacking in proper supervision, if you get my drift.  On top of that the lines to board each ferry were quite long.....after getting on the ferry we both purchased a cup of coffee, and it was then my day began to turn around.......

.....by the time we landed at Liberty Island it was well after 12 noon, but I was feeling better about the day, and my ability to remain upright for another 6-7 hours......

"Check it off!"

My theory about photography has always been...."If you take enough pictures, you will get a keeper here and there", and it worked well Monday when I accidentally caught this seagull in flight in front of Miss Liberty...

The Liberty Bike....I remember watching this American Choppers episode years ago.....was cool to actually this bike plated in copper left over from the 100 year anniversary of the SOL

....by 1 pm we had finished our coffees, and decided it was time to get on with our day, so we got in the very, very long line for the ferry to Battery Park, NY......

.....we arrived at Battery Park 90 minutes later......a long, long wait....

Battery Park

....then it was time to take our first MTA subway ride......the 'Green Line' has a station right at Battery Park, and our destination was Katz's Deli up on Houston, about 3 miles away.  We rode the subway up to 14th Street where we exited, and walked the last mile to Katz's.....

This is exactly how I felt getting through the crowds, and squeezing into a car for our 2 mile ride up to 14th....

.....by the time we reached Katz's it was after 3 pm, and there was a long line of like minded folks waiting to enter this New York institution.....

.......at last we were granted admission, and entered another line awaiting a table where we would be served.....you can do that, or go straight to the counter, order your food, and then find a table.  I didn't want to do that....I wanted to sit down, and be served.....

......the main motivation for TLE and I to eat at Katz' was because of the Nora Ephron movie, 'When Harry Met Sally', and the famous Meg Ryan scene....

....we were finally seated just after 4 pm.....our server brought us a large plate of dill pickles....perfect!  We both ordered their famous Pastrami on Marble Rye, and a couple of Samuel Adams Oktoberfest brews......

Look at all that pastrami.....enough for two meals1

.....we sat enjoying our pastrami sandwiches for over an hour, and by 5:30 pm it was time we began our 1.1 mile walk back to the WTC, and 'The Path' subway, so we could complete our circular travels......

.....we passed through Chinatown on our 20+ minute walk back to the WTC.....

.....soon we found ourselves descending multiple fights of stairs into the bowels of the WTC to board our final subway ride of the day on 'The Path'......after completing the final 5+ block walk back to Liberty Harbor RV Park, we arrived at the Newell about 6:40 pm totally spent....we had nothing left to give NYC.  We only walked a  little under 7 miles Monday, but that on top of the 10+ on Sunday was the end of a lot of walking over 48 hours.

I turned on the MLB playoff game between my 'Trolley Dodgers' and the Atlanta 'Bravehearts'.....L.A. came from behind to win handily 6-2, which included two more home runs.  We are now headed to the National League Pennant series with the winner going to the World Series!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Walking Lower Manhattan......

6:50 am - Monday - October 8th - Jersey City, NJ - 69º F, 92% humidity, wind 10 mph out of the northeast......heavy cloud cover once again with a forecast high today of 70º F.

Saturday night we got a driving tour of Manhattan from our good friend Michael Vaccari....on Sunday we took a walking tour.  The local subway station called 'The Path', which takes you under the Hudson River and into Manhattan......the final stop being the World Trader Center......is about a 5 block walk from Liberty Harbor RV Park.  We were there, and boarding our train a little after 10 am......

 Our first subway ride....this one was called 'The Path'....took us from Grove in Jersey City to the World Trade Center

Upon emerging from the bowels of the WTC you must take a selfie of you and the WTC, right?

 World Trade Center

We spent some time at the 9/11 Memorial remembering what happened back in September of 2001......it has been just over 17 years, and yet it still seems like yesterday to us.......

 9/11 Memorial....we will never forget

....so, today's blog will almost entirely made up of pictures of our walk north to Times Square....we began our walk on W. Broadway, transitioning to 5th Avenue after Washington Square, ultimately reaching West 47th Street and Times Square.  We jogged around a little after Times Square to see Macy's, and Madison Square Garden.....of course we passed by the Empire State Building on way......

 Shrouded in clouds

 We began our walk north on W. Broadway, transitioning to 5th Ave. after Washington Square 

 Big Mormon Temple

 Tribeca

 SoHo

 Where Harry Met Sally

 'Sally' wasn't there on Sunday, but TLE was....even better, right?

 Getting closer

 Flatiron

 Been walking for an hour, and up to 26th

Just about there

 And there we are....Empire State Building

 Macy's

 Madison Square Garden

Times Square 

 We got all the way to W. 47th (Time Square) before we had to turn around and head back for our 3:30 pm elevator reservation to the top of the WTC

 Time for a cup of coffee at 6th Ave. and West 42nd...Bryant Park

 It was already Monday morning in Bejing

 Of course

 Library

Interesting sculpture near the WTC

 I didn't start my Strava until we had been walking for about 1/2 mile, so our true round trip distance was 10.2 miles, and that doesn't count the 10 block round trip walk from the Newell to the Grove subway station in Jersey City and back

 The following pictures were taken from the One World Observatory on the 100th floor

 Before I changed into more formal wear for our dinner at 'One Dine'....Ellis Island and Liberty Island in the backgroun

 Governor's Island

 Left to right: Governor's Island, Liberty Island, Ellis Island

 4:10 pm.....haven't eaten since 9 am....famished!

 The restaurant ('One Dine') is on the 101st floor

 One is never far from a soccer match

 Princess Cruise ship outbound

 Atlantic Salmon....we both had it, and cherished every bite.....one of the top 2, or 3 I have had

 In the elevator for the ride back to earth

 2nd and last subway ride of the day....almost home

Where is Spider Man when you need him....OH!......there he is!

You must purchase tickets to ride the elevator to the top of the WTC, and One World Observatory.  You can get the basic ticket for $34/person, but you must wait in line for an hour, or more to get on an elevator.  For $56/person you can buy what they call 'Priority Access', which puts you right at the front of the line.....that is what we did.  Even though our reserved time was 3:30 pm, we were able to walk right on the elevator a little after 3 pm.  The ride to the top takes about 20 seconds......that is really fast!  Your ears pop 4, or 5 times on the way up and down.

Our dinner reservation at 'One Dine' (101st floor) was for 4:45 pm, however, when we arrived a little after 4 pm they took us to a table immediately.  We ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir by Montinore (Willamette Valley, Oregon) and some shrimp (appetizer) and just relaxed for over 45 minutes before we ordered our entrees.  The view of Manhattan was mesmerizing, and we were not in a hurry.  In all we sat there for over two hours talking about our day.....ooohing and awwwing about the Atlantic Salmon.....enjoying the ambiance, and the view.  We ordered a second bottle of the Pinot....rare for us....but it just seemed to be the thing to do.  We were there until almost 6:30 before we got on the elevator to begin our trip home.....again, jumping to the front of the elevator line......a perfect end to a perfect day!

We walked well over 10 miles Sunday, and really got the feel of lower Manhattan.  Our goal had been to make it all the way to Central Park, but we fell 10, or 11 blocks short.  Each neighborhood has its own vibe, and you can feel it.  At times the sidewalks were wall to wall people, and at other times very uncrowded.  After we had our coffee at West 42nd and 6th Ave. we had planned to walk West 42nd over to Grand Central Station, but there was some sort of antiwar march going on and we could not get around it, so we just continued down 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Stars) all the way back to the WTC arriving there around 2:15 pm where we sat enjoying the quiet solitude of the 9/11 Memorial until about 3 pm when we took our elevator ride to the top.

Monday we take a few ferries and visit Ellis Island, Liberty Island, Brooklyn, and the Financial District......maybe even Katz' Deli where Harry and Sally had lunch?  Hmmmmm?

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.