Travel America – New York City

It was the beginning of the “lasts” on this road trip, as this was the last big city we would visit. While we didn’t prepare detailed plans for NYC like we did for DC or Philly, we were still very excited about the visit. We originally thought we’d take the train from Connecticut into the city, as that’s certainly an option. However, it was way more expensive then we planned, so Thom and Deejay worked on an alternate plan. They found a way to get on the Statue Cruise from New Jersey. They also discovered that we could get on in New Jersey and get off in New York (after the tour), but we’d have to find another way back to Jersey…but there were lots of affordable water taxis that would meet our needs. So, we got up early that morning and drove to the big city. We had a harrowing moment (again) when we drove straight towards Manhattan and Thom got panicky for a few minutes, but many fast lefts and rights in traffic put us on the George Washington bridge over to Jersey. I think this was the first double decker bridge we had gone over, and we ended up on the lower level (which was cool but not as scenic).

 

Parking was relatively easy at Liberty State Park, and the ticket line was short, but there was about an hour-long line to go through security and get on the ferry. (We later talked to people that boarded in New York and found out that their wait was twice as long.) The kids enjoyed the ferry ride to Ellis Island, and it was a fun moment to recall the crazy ferry ride we took at Patriot’s Point years ago when a hurricane was out at sea…this ferry ride was extremely calm in comparison!

 

Our first stop on the cruise was Ellis Island, also known as the Island of Hope and Tears. I expected more history on the building, how the island was chosen, and the people who first ran operations at the island. However, the majority of information was centered around immigration—both the stories of places/situations that people were emigrating from as well as the stories of the people once they arrived. It really made us think about our history, as we read about the freedoms and opportunities that drew people in from around the world while also seeing the hard life and poor treatment that many received while getting here and once arriving. It was also striking to see how many of our freedoms weren’t applied to all people.

After our Ellis Island tour, it was time to line up for the ride to Liberty Island. The line wasn’t too long, but we did have to wait about 30 minutes for another ferry to arrive and unload. It was really cool to circle all around Lady Liberty in the boat before landing on Liberty Island. We enjoyed our stroll around the island, taking pictures in front of the statue, and watching all the people around us. It was interesting to see how many groups were there with flags from other countries in their pictures, celebrating their heritage and their American life simultaneously. We weren’t able to go up in the statue at all, a side effect of “going with the flow” and not having set plans in advance. We discovered that, for this time of year, you need to make reservations three months in advance to walk up to the pedestal; you need to make reservations nine months in advance to walk up to the crown. Ah well, it was still cool to see it up close and remarkable to see how very tall the statue is (since it seems dwarfed against the New York skyline and all the skyscrapers).

 

We also saw the Liberty Bike, covered in copper, which was created to commemorate the 125th anniversary back in 2011. Before departing the island, the kids all bought a souvenir…they had all been waiting for something here and did a great job hanging onto (most of) their money during the prior week. Then we were back in line (for over an hour) to get on the ferry—this time to Battery Park in New York. On the plus side, we passed the time having a quick “lunch” of hot dogs and soft pretzels.

 

Once we got to Battery Park, we walked towards the 9/11 Memorial. It was funny that the kids thought (and Thom hoped) that this area was right off the ferry. Seeing the city from the water, everything looked close, but this area was actually six or so blocks away. It was stunning to see how they had replaced the building footprints with amazing, huge reflecting pools. There were 30-foot waterfalls all around the square, cascading into the reflecting pool and pouring into deep voids. It was mesmerizing and saddening. The shining spot was the rebuilt towers and the lone surviving tree.

 
As we headed out of the city and towards the water taxis (ie, ferries), everyone discovered they were hungry. We didn’t believe a dinner in the financial district would be very affordable, and no one wanted another hot dog (mainly because the street vendors were cleaning their carts and the smell of cleaning products and hot grease from the day was less than appetizing). We decided to push dinner back until we got to the car, and instead stopped at a smoothie stand. I bought one to share, but the kids all decided to buy their own after tasting how amazing it was. Thom & I got to enjoy ours while watching the kids make decisions on how much to tip. We also got a culture lesson as one of the smoothie truck workers left, pulled out a mat, and went through the motion of prayer right there next to the road. Smoothies in hand, we hopped on a ferry and enjoyed the late day ride on the water.

Dinner was later than planned because we dared not look for food until safely past any chance of driving into NYC. We all agreed on Mexican food and located a well-rated place in New Jersey–El Bandido. The food was great, the place was packed, and the service was shockingly fast. While the entrees were a little pricey (compared to normal restaurant Mexican combination platters), they slapped down free mini cheese quesadillas and a loaded nacho chip for each person, in addition to the chips and salsa. The party atmosphere filled with loud music precluded any conversation, but we just enjoyed the experience. It was especially funny when the mariachi musician (one guy with a guitar and an ipod playing the other parts) came to our table, stood across from Elizabeth, and sang La Cucaracha (btw, she hates all bugs, but especially roaches). As the meal finished up and we got the bill, we were about to get up from the table when they delivered a complimentary dessert…some sort of cross between bananas foster and sopapillas. It was a crazy (and delicious) way to end the night.

Reflections: Brandon really liked the Statue of Liberty, and enjoyed the immigrant stories of how happy they were to see the statue. Alexander liked hanging out with Deejay and his kids; he also loved the ferry ride back in the evening. Elizabeth enjoyed looking through all the immigrant artifacts in the Ellis Island museum, and loved the Mexican place with all the freebies. Thom found the most meaning in the 9/11 memorial since it’s something that’s been part of our lifetime.

Travel America -On the Road Again

Our time in DC was over, and it was time to hit the road to travel America a little more. We headed out of Virginia and through DC, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey before hitting our first stop in Philadelphia. We enjoyed traveling through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and went over quite a few beautiful, old bridges. We also discovered that the northeast is the land of toll roads. (I knew there would be tolls, but was spoiled by my days of the 50 cent toll on Georgia 400…the New Jersey tolls were in the $4 – $12 range.)

 

Our first adventure in Philly was, of course, the Philly Cheesesteak experience. My friend Tricia had given us advance notice that we had to experience Pat’s King of Steaks AND Geno’s Steaks. (Pat’s claims to have created the cheesesteak, and Geno’s claims to have added cheese and therefore, perfected it.) So, we navigated what seemed like days of tightly packed one-way streets filled with housing, cars parked on both sides of the streets, and pedestrians haphazardly crossing the road. We found the locations and then circled a few blocks in search of a minivan-sized parallel spot (thank goodness Thom was driving). We were shocked by the chilly temps when we got out, but that’s what hoodies are for (except Thom, who laughed at the rest of us packing hoodies.) Although we were hungry, we certainly weren’t going to eat twice, so we decided on a divide-and-conquer style of trying the two places. The girls went to Geno’s and the guys went to Pat’s and we ended up with a variety of provolone, whiz, and wit (with onions). Thankfully it wasn’t crowded (midweek and school was still in), so we didn’t have a line and could figure out how to order correctly. (I understand these places are a lot like the Varsity when busy; if you aren’t ready to belt out your order, then you’re sent to the back of the line.) Geno’s had lots of indoor seating, but we didn’t want to bring a competitor’s food inside. Pat’s had lots of outside covered seating, so we sat on the backside of the restaurant to eat together.

 

Geno’s had one line for fries and drinks, with a separate line for steaks. While there were lots of specialty sandwiches (with lots of different toppings), we went with the classics. Elizabeth ordered “whiz wit” and I ordered “provolone wit” – plus we got fries (which came with a fork stuck in the fries), a coke, and a birch beer. Over at Pat’s, the guys could order everything at once; Thom ordered a provolone, Alexander ordered a provolone wit, and Brandon ordered a whiz wit – plus they got cokes and cheese fries.
At a glance, Pat’s sandwich looked more like a classic cheesesteak. The meat was thinner/chopped and the sandwich was served open. Geno’s steak was thicker and the sandwich came wrapped up. Both breads were delicious, but Geno’s bread had that extra soft, melt in your mouth feeling. The onions were virtually the same (soft and sweet), and the provolone and cheese whiz was pretty much the same at both places. I didn’t think I would like something “fake” like cheese whiz (and I normally make my cheesesteaks with provolone), but I was obviously wrong. The whiz mixed in with the onions and meat and bread to make something magical. While all the sandwiches were great, I have to say I would go for Geno’s whiz wit if I ever went back (so Elizabeth’s sandwich won). Of course, there were some differing opinions…Thom’s not an onion person (but he did say ours with onions were good) and I think he just can’t admit fake cheese was better than real cheese. The fries were all fine, with Pat’s being a little better. Also, everyone liked the birch beer (and it was a great compliment to the heavy sandwiches).

 

With full bellies, we navigated out of the inner city and headed into the touristy area of Philly. We went down to Independence Hall and walked off lunch a little before heading to the Liberty Bell. It was intriguing to see this piece of history and learn how it’s been a symbol of freedom for many groups of people throughout the years. It was a little difficult to take a good picture with the bell, because of the crowds and because of the lighting, (it was in front of a large glass window, so it was back-lit). Still, this was a worthy stop as we continued the journey of getting up close to American history.

 

 

From Philly, we headed towards our final destination, Glastonbury CT. We marveled at all the industry in New Jersey (when we weren’t counting out dollar bills for tolls), and laughed about the NJ logo “The Garden State” since our limited view featured nothing but smoke stacks, industrial buildings, and ship yards. Some of the industry was intriguing, like a huge complex with railroad cars stacked higher than you could count and for as far as the eye could see. (The quick pic I got doesn’t really do this justice.) The most exciting part of the drive came right after we passed the NYC skyline. Waze directed us off the interstate and right towards NYC, and Thom lost his mind temporarily (I believe his words were “I’ll jump out of this car if we end up on New York city streets” and I believe he was fairly serious about it in that moment.) After a few minutes of serious stress, we saw that the GPS was taking us along the New Jersey coastline (to avoid highway traffic). That stretch of road was absolutely beautiful, and was peppered with exciting views of the NYC skyline.

 

 

The day was filled with more fun in the car, including books, video games, and the phone version of Life. We enjoyed lots of tunes again, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, PTX, Slow Children at Play, the Singles soundtrack, Enya, and the Allstate orchestra disc. We rolled into Connecticut in time for dinner, and met Deejay for some “New England food”, which turned out to be an awesome pizza place. (I only think of Clam Chowder when I hear New England food, but it turns out that, in addition to seafood, there’s some awesome pizza and buffalo chicken up there…and the guys combined forces with a bacon scallop pizza.)  Lizzy’s favorite thing about the place was a car parked out front featuring a tag that said “Das Vhip”.

Reflections: Elizabeth loved having real cheesesteaks, but she was most impacted by the drive. She felt like she would always remember listening to her Allstate orchestra CD (and her favorite writer/conductor, Brian Balmages) while driving through the mountains at sunset. Thom couldn’t settle on a favorite moment as he enjoyed lunch, dinner, and the liberty bell, but he was most excited about seeing Deejay. Alexander loved the food experiences, as you might expect from a teenage boy. Brandon thought the Liberty Bell was amazing and really embraced it as a symbol of freedom.