Newburgh, NY: New York City Bus Tour

Yesterday Mary Lynn and I took the train into New York City. Actually it’s was the NYC metro from Beacon into Grand Central Station. Grand Central Station is a beautiful old building with a rich history. As I’m sure you know, New York is filled with beautiful architecture and many interesting stories.

From Grand Central Station we walked up 42nd street to Times Square. No visit to New York is complete with at least spending a few minutes there. Years ago Times Square was pretty run down but not these days. Mayor Giuliani cleaned it up and offered incentives for companies to move back into the area.

There are almost always a tremendous number of people in Times Square. It starts early in the morning and build throughout the afternoon and into the early evening, when the crowds are at there peak. That’s also when the sounds and sights of Times Square are at their peak. The electronic billboards are overwhelming these days and in the evening they are a sight to behold.

Plus Broadway’s theater district is right next to Times Square and of course the discount ticket kiosk, which has discount tickets for all but the latest shows, is located right at the foot of Times Square.

MLA and I took the Graylines City Bus tour; the weather was perfect and we grabbed two seats upstairs. All the tour bus companies use special buses that have seating upstairs, no roof and allow you to hop on/hop off all day long. Our narrated tour started in Times Square and included a ton of sights including Broadway Theater District, Macy’s, Empire State Building, Penn Station, Madison Square Gardens, the Flat Iron building, Greenwich, Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, City Hall, World Trade Center site, Battery Park, the South Street Seaport, United Nations, Central Park, Waldorf Astoria…  this is just a partial list. A great way to get oriented to New York City.

 

Lots to see and do. Make sure you wear your sneakers; you will do a lot of walking as well.

We also saw several items related to 9/11 and the World Trade Center. The most impactful to me personally was the Engine 55 firehouse, which lost several firefighters when the building collapsed. We also saw the remains from a piece of artwork that sat on the plaza between the two World Trade Center buildings.

This artwork, a large ball, has been moved to Battery park just as it was found. Well almost. When it was uncovered two weeks after the buildings collapsed, it was too hot to handle because of the beams and fires that surrounded the artwork. We also saw the constructions sites where the buildings are being rebuilt.

We had a terrific time in New York and late in the day we collapsed on the metro which motored back out to Beacon and then across the Hudson to our campground in Plattekill. About two hours from Grand Central to our doorstep however its the only way to travel. Driving in New York is no way to enjoy yourself plus parking is non-existent at many of the sites you will want to visit.

 

I almost forgot to mention MLA was in heaven. Her favorite TV show is Project Runway and she saw the Parsons: The New School for Design building where the show is filmed and the fashion designers ‘work their magic’.

Today we drove to Pete and Jeannine’s house about an hour south, where we spent most of the afternoon and evening getting caught up with each other. Pete & Jeannine were one of the couples we would go camping with back when both of our families were just getting started. And of course we all camped in tent and slept on the ground. Didn’t take too many years for that to get old and then MLA and I bought a pop-up.

We had a great time this weekend and plan to visit some local (to Newburgh) sites tomorrow. maybe West Point and some of the estates along the Hudson River that are now open to the public.

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: New York City,Metro,NYC,Times Square,Pete,Jeannine,tour bus,Grayline,Empire State Building,World Trade Center site,Rockefeller Center,Radio Music Hall,Engine 55 Fire House,Project Runway

Newburgh, NY: Hey-a Wait-a Minute! Sooo-a Whoooz-a Mary?

Before I tell you about this afternoons move from Verona, NY to Newburgh, NY and my visit to Orange County Choppers, let me tell you a little about what happened last night and early today.

Yesterday, after taking some late afternoon pictures of the Turning Stone Campground, Mary Lynn settled down to watch three episodes in-a-row of her favorite show (Project Runway). Then she informs me that each show has been increased from one hour to an hour and a half. Well three hours of Project Runway would have put me into a comma but watching 4.5 hours of Project Runway would have killed me.

The previous evening MLA went gambling at the casino and still had a few bucks on her card so I decided to leave her in peace to watch her TV show while I went to the casino and ‘cashed out’ her card. She gave me her ‘pin’ for the casino card and off I went to seek fame & fortune, that is if you can seek a fortune playing on the nickel slot machines.

As luck would have it, after a couple hours of playing I managed to add a few more nickels to her card. So I marched up to the cashiers cage and stood waiting in line for at least 15 minutes before my cashier asked for my card.

He swipes the card, I enter the pin#, he counts out the $$$ and then, just before he hands me the cash he says ‘Heyyyyy-a, wait-a minute.  Sooo-a whoooz-a Mary? You-a notta Mary.” Apparently he’s from strange parallel universe where an ‘a’ is appended to every word.

Maybe it was the language barrier or the fact he didn’t want to count out all those nickels, but in the end he insisted Mary had to cash out the card. So this am I drove the RV to the casino while MLA drove the toad. She pulled up behind the RV and I hooked the toad to the RV while she hiked into the casino.

So all day I have been driving the RV down the road and and every time MLA thinks I’ve forgotten about what happened I shout out “Sooo-a whoooz-a Mary? Whooz-a Mary?”. It’s just . That’s just the kind of sophomoric humor I get a kick out of. A kick that is right up until MLA threatens me with ‘bodily harm’. Even now I can hardly keep from yelling it out although I know I must, because I know MLA is serious about the whole bodily harm threat. And she is smart enough to make sure not to leave any marks…. I tell you, my life is tough!

So the next time you speak to MLA just shout out “ Sooo-a, whoooz-a Mary?”. Just be sure to be at least an arms length away…

Once we arrived in Newburgh, NY we found out there are a ton of things to do around here. There’s bus service into New York City every day during the week and train service to NYC is just down the road, lots of Hudson River Valley mansions and historical sites. Plus we are going to our friends house for dinner on Sunday. They live about 45 minutes away and we have not seen them in a couple of years. The fact that Jeannine is a great cook has nothing to do with my looking forward to Sunday…

Newburgh is also the home of Orange County Choppers; their showroom/TV studio/t-shirt factory is a 10-15 minute drive from the campground. This evening I drove over to check it out.

On display, OCC had several of the custom bikes built on the show, including the New York Yankees bike and the New York Jets bike. One of my favorites was not there: the Fire bike, built in honor of the firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. The picture above shows the spot where the bike is usually displayed which has been turned into a memorial by firefighters around the country. In addition to all of the badges on the wall the floor is littered with clothing, axes, and especially helmets brought by fellow fire fighters from all over the country for their fallen comrades. Truly a touching memorial.

I want to give a special birthday wish to my Grandmother’s sister, Aunt Edna, who turned 100 years old today. She’s as sharp as a tack; may we all be so lucky whatever our years ahead. We Love You Aunt Edna!

MLA and I are excited about exploring this area and New York City for the next couple of days. That’s all for now…..

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: Firefighter,911,Hudson River Valley,Verona,Casino,Turning Stone,firefighter memorial,New York City

Verona, NY: Officially RV Full Timers On The Road Again

Before I give you an update on our travels to Gettysburg, PA, Conwanesque Lake, PA, and Niagara Falls, NY, let me bring you up to date on our activities of the last several months.

You may know we have travelled all over the US in our RV for the last 2 and a half years, all the while trying to sell our home in Maryland -- without any success. No activity at all unless you count the number of times we reduced the price at the urging of our realtor. In the end we realized there were too many foreclosures on the market for us to compete with. Too many foreclosure and too many short sales. Too many people just walking away from their mortgages.

Not to mention the banks have stopped giving mortgages for all but the lowest end of the market. So much for all of the ‘bailout’ tax dollars provided to the financial community by the US Government. And, we now find out, our government leaders gave the economic stimulus/bailout money without any ‘strings attached’. That is, no requirement that the banks actually ‘stimulate’ the economy by providing loans. It seems the banks have kept the vast majority of the funds to themselves.  The only economy stimulated so far has been the personal economies of the financial companies executives via nice fat bonuses.

Oh well, I digress.

Since we couldn’t sell, we decided to rent our home so we might return to our RV travels full time. Amazingly enough, the rental market is doing quite well. We had several prospective renters for our house within two weeks. We spent a hectic month getting the house cleared and cleaned so the new family could move in; they seem very nice family and hopefully it works out for all of us.

I mention all the above (except for the economic stimulus rant) just to explain where Mary Lynn and I have been for the last few months. I didn’t update the blog since we were not travelling in the RV.

However, we are once again happily ensconced in our little RV and ‘on the road again’. Yes, once again on the open road with the freedom to turn in almost any direction. RV Full-timers. Our only boundaries are the oceans surrounding North America.

Well, almost. Our son Scott & his lovely fiancé get married in mid-September so we will not wander too far away from Maryland.

We left in early August and spent our first week in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Gettysburg is a favorite location of ours and we were able to visit the entire battlefield in depth plus it allowed us to have our family join us for MLA’s birthday. The landscape in Gettysburg today is so peaceful and serene it is hard to imagine the unbelievable hardship & suffering that occurred there for three days during America's Civil War. The saying “All Gave Some, Some Gave All” strikes you everywhere you go in Gettysburg.

Although we toured the entire battlefield, I was especially interested in Little Roundtop where the 20th Maine and Alabamians fought each other so valiantly. I found a small, recently prepared memoriam left for several of the Alabama soldiers who gave their all almost 150 years ago right next to the 20th Maine memorial in what is today one of the most peaceful and tranquil areas you will find anywhere.

MLA and I also took the “Church Tour” held every Wednesday evening where you visit 4 churches that played a significant role in the Battle of Gettysburg. One of the best $5 we have spent on any tour.

The National Park is beautifully maintained and the new visitor center is one of the best in the country. The Cyclorama is well worth the few dollars entrance fee. It is a painting 40 feet tall and ~360 feet in length (circumference actually). You enter from below and the painting completely surrounds you. A short narration of the battle, complete with special lighting & sound effects completes your experience. Afterwards there’s a museum with more information on the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg than you can comprehend in one visit.

After Gettysburg we spent a few days in an Army Corps of Engineers campground near the Pennsylvania/New York border. Very peaceful. Throughout the US, the Corps of Engineers build dams to control flooding and they almost always build one or more campgrounds on the lake that is created. They receive a miniscule amount of the US budget and, IMHO, is one of the best uses of our tax dollars. Of course, I may be biased…

We then travelled to Niagara Falls located on the US/Canadian border. Actually we stayed at Four Mile Creek State Park in Youngstown, NY. This campground is located on the shores of Lake Ontario about 15 minutes from downtown Niagara.

We visited both the Canadian side of the falls and the American side of the falls. Our favorite was the US side which is located in the Niagara Falls State Park. It is celebrating it’s 125th year of existence. Both sides of the Niagara Falls are commercialized however the Canadian side’s commercialization are much more visible. Regardless, the natural beauty and the power of the water is amazing.

The Niagara River water levels, and hence the amount of water that flows over the falls, is regulated. It must have been really something to see when ‘all’ of the water draining from Lake Erie flowed over Niagara Falls on it’s way to Lake Ontario. Regardless, this is definitely something to have on you bucket list.

From Niagara Falls we travelled to Rome. Rome, NY that is. We are staying at the Turning Stone RV resort which is a part of the Turning Stone Casino which is owned and operated by the Oneida Native American tribe. The casino is a full fledged resort with first class facilities, activities and entertainment. Think Las Vegas Casino minus the neon and the rat pack. It is very nice. Best integration of RV camping of any casino we have seen so far.

That’s all for now.

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: Gettysburg,Army Corps of Engineers,Niagara Falls,NY,New York,Turning Stone,Verona,Cowanesque Lake,memorium,church tour,Little Roundtop,20th Maine,Casino,rental