Sep 2008

On the road again. Left the campground to catch the 1100 ferry from Cape May. They had already called and canceled our earlier ferry because of weather. The tail of a low was passing thru and winds and rains were forcast to be heavy. Our ferry was on time and fully loaded. It was not required to leave the vehicle, however we did go upstairs to see better. The crossing from Cape May, NJ to Lewes, DE took just over an hour. The seas were moderate and the boat rocked a little, but nothing serious. Exit at Lewes was easy as it was sheltered. Our drive on down to Ocean City, MD was interesting. Route 1 goes on the center of a sand bar. Both sides of the road have been built on, but the ocean and the bay were visible thru the houses on both sides. Our RV park in Ocean is just out of town. Explored the area some, but will do more tomorrow.

Cloudy day as we left Egg Harbor and headed toward Cape May. Took the back roads towards Atlantic City until we reached the Garden State Parkway. This parkway runs the entire length of New Jersey along to coastal side. Took us just over an hour to reach Cape May, thus giving us time to explore the area after setting up the coach. Unfortunately the wind was blowing, about 25mph and a few sprinkles were coming down, so could not do as much walking as we had planned. Cape May is a summer resort area for the entire region. Large houses, many motels and hotels and of course T-shirt shops. With the storm coming in the surf was fun to watch. Warnings were up for flooding and undercurrents, but people were still out there surfing. Sat in the coach that night and listened to the storm pass with heavy rain and winds.

Sorry no entrys for a short while. We have been at Egg Harbor, NJ for a week. We came here from Liberty Harbor NJ to spend time while Barbara and Gayla flew to Santa Fe for a wedding. Myron and I searched out my old haunts where I used to live an go while based at McGuire AFB. The house was still there and in very good condition, and with lots of childrens play things in the back yard. Felt tempted to knock on the door but didn't.

When the girls got back we spent a day in Atlantic City, looking at the casinos and walking the Boardwalk. It has not changed much, only bigger. Still the same T-shirt shops and other miscellany. The casinos were all nice, but held no comparison to those in Vegas. Now you cannot just drop a quarter in the slots, have to buy a ticket worth at least $5 to play.

We head out tomorrow, Thur for points south. Will be updating the blog daily then.

Hopefully the hurricane season is over as we are taking coastal roads all the way down to Key West.

On the road again, this time a short drive, relatively. We left the Liberty Harbor RV Park, right on the Hudson River and headed down the Jersey Turnpike to Egg Harbor. We plan to stay here some time as Barbara has to fly back to Santa Fe for a wedding. In the meantime I will explore the old haunts I knew while based at McGuire, if they are still there. Fall has arrived and the temps are great, only 73 during the day and a cool 40+ at night.

Busy day in the City. Left our campground on the commuter ferry and docked at pier 11, lower East Side on Manhattan. From there we walked to the Trinity Church and Wall Street. Then we boarded the Gray Line open top bus and started the driving tour. This tour is a must if you are short of time in the city. The guides are great and the routes take you to the important areas. You are allowed to exit and reboard at any stop. We exited at Rockerfeller Plaza, had lunch and then did the NBC tour. Barbara and Gayla volunteered to be the shills and they did a mock newscast. We then continued on the tour until the WTC site. We went thru the memorial section in the church and then walked to ground zero. Unfortunately ground zero is no more, it is a construction site for he new tower and the memorial. It is a realization that something of that nature could happen again.

WOW, to wake up, look out the window and see the Statue of Liberty from your coach is awesome. We left for the City on the PATH train, only 5 blocks from our coach. Next we took a cab to Pier 83, bottom of 43 Street, and the Circle Line Boat dock. The Circle Line Cruise took us on a 3 hour tour around the island of Manhattan. The guide has done this since 1989, so he knew all the buildings and sights to see. I highly recommend this tour if you every visit NYC. From the tour we headed to Carnegie's Deli. An old favorite from our flying days. The atmosphere is NEW YORKISH, and the food is outstanding; especially the cheese cake. After eating we walked down to Times Square and over to Grand Central Station. On the way down, our route took us past the headquarters of Lehmann Investments. If you recall Monday was the day they declared bankruptcy, so the news media were everywhere.
One new store on Times Square was the M&M outlet. Never saw so many M&M's and all the things to go with them.
Our trip back to the campground was again on the PATH train, a total of 18 minutes on board. Great way to get around.

On the road again. This time we left the campground and headed to New London to catch the Cross Sound Ferry to Orient Point on Long Island. We then headed towards New York City. Originally we planned to cross over the Veranazzo Bridge, but construction work prevented that. So instead we crossed the upper part of Manhattan on I-95 and the George Washington Bridge. From there we headed south to Jersey City and our campground, Liberty Harbor RV Park. This park is right on the Hudson river, directly across from the WTC site.

Been off the blog for a few days as we were having our annual RNPA reunion in Hartford CT. This was a GREAT reunion, even though it was smaller than those in the past. It was held at the Marriott Convention Center Hotel in the middle of downtown Hartford. The hotel is only a few years old, so it was very nice. Our accomadations were more than ample for our group. The first day was Check-In followed by a social gathering that night. The second day was our tour day. We boarded busses and headed to New London to visit the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, then to Mystic Village for lunch and to the Nautilus Submarine Museum. All three venues were very interesting. On Saturday we had our general meeting, with election of Officers for the coming two years. I was re-elected President, so will continue having that duty. Saturday evening was our banquet. The scholarship receipents were announced and monies raised for the fund.

Spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesday getting ready to leave the coach in the rv park and move to the Marriott Hotel in Hartford. This will be the RNPA (Retired Northwest Pilots Assn) annual reunion. Have a full slate of activities planned and lots of time to catch up with those attending. We did get our reservations on the cross sound ferry for the day we leave.

On the road again, this time from Twin Mountain, NH to East Hampton, CT. Rain was threatening all during the trip and some sprinkles did hit us. The scenery was rolling hills, still green with no hint of fall as yet. As we went some 240 south you could tell they had not had the cold snaps we had in NH. You could also tell we were getting closer to big cities and more population. The traffic was much heavier, especially around the Hartford area, and the drivers more aggresive. The evening in the campground was interesting. To start, the campground provided a free taco supper for all guests. But then the rains came. The tail end of HANNA was reaching the New England states and the weather proved it. We had heavy rain and strong winds. No damage was done at the campground, but flood warnings were out for the low lying areas.