The Little Caravan That Could: Day 18 - New York, New York

Day 18 Sunday, September 7, 2014 - Part 2 - Allentown - NYC

The drive to NYC was relaxing, as we had a lovely driver.

He was more of a limo driver than a cabbie. At times, no weekends, he will drive a handful of regular ladies around NYC for the day as they do their shopping. He reminded me of my dad when I was younger. Dressed in a shirt and pants, with a tie folded up on the dash, hair styled nicely, and just a kind manner. He made a point of slowing down so that I could get a few good pictures of our first sights of the Statue of Liberty and the new World Trade Centre.

And once we got to the marina and we found Ray, he was not willing to drop me and the children off until he knew that our caravan had arrived safely. That is what my dad was always like for me: making sure I got to where I was going, checked that my tires were safe for the winter, called to thank me for dinner. This man was a touch of home.

Oh, and I should mention, John, my wonderful helper from the night before, reminded me of my mum at one moment when he said, “Everything in moderation.” He was referring to chocolate, and I have never heard anyone but my mother ever make that comment.

Once we arrived at our campground, if you could call it that, with no grass and only concrete, we got set up. This place is unbelievable! The rigs here are 95% monsters, and there are only about four of us that are under 45’ long! They come from all over the world and rent these mansions as they travel around America! There are barely any children here; I heard one this morning as I was typing, and they were right beside us in a tiny home. The huge ones are run by older people. One day, Ray and I will sell our home, buy a tiny one, and buy one so that we can go from kid to kid in all the exotic places that they choose to live, and have a wonderful life on the road! ;)

Our View From Just Outside Our Campsite! New Jersey View to Manhattan, NYC

As soon as we had organized the caravan so that we could leave it for the day we headed down Marin Boulevard to Columbus Street to catch the PATH train for the city. Now, because I like to leave people with the inspiration to do what I have done, I shall show you how easy it is!!

The PATH has some lines in the city, and then there is the Subway, and then the buses. We took the Yellow/Blue line to Manhattan because there was no World Trade Centre stop on a Sunday. To get a Metro Pass you simply go into the station and use your credit in card in the machine and buy a certain amount of time.

As soon as we arrived at the Metro, I did my routine thing: I asked for help. I found someone that looked local - he was tuned into headphones and leaning against a pillar. Very casual, and clearly not tourist. Asking for help is the fastest way around! I have found most people are happy to help. And on this trip we have not encountered one rude person, besides the two drivers who were obviously just having a bad day!

Felix was our guide. He was wonderful. I told him his mother would be proud of him!

First he took us to the Metro machine and asked us what we were needing. I told him I needed a seven day pass, but because that was not available on the machines near us we came up with an alternate solution and went for four trips for each of us. I bought one card - big mistake as we will find later - and filled it with four trips x seven people: $70. We then headed to the turnstile and proceeded to run it through the machine, as one by one the kids and Ray went through. This worked until the card wouldn’t read. Problem! There was no-one on duty, so we had to send a kid under the turnstile, rather than through. Either that or leave one behind! That was a stressful moment. This happened numerous times, until a police officer told me it was a ‘Stupid thing. You used the card four times, right? It only reads four times, then it won’t read.” And he opened the door and let us through. But that was not before we went through the stress of being separated a few times!

Once we arrived in the city, the first thing we did was buy a hotdog. The guy suggested $3, and as I thought about it and then walked off, he said $2. Suckers he figured we were, cause as we learned, the normal price was $2 per, and he was taking us for tourists. Ha!

Instead of taking the Subway, bus or Metro uptown, we decided to walk the distance and see the sights. I am glad we did, as by the time we left we had walked most of Manhattan and feel almost like natives to the area. The PATH we took was from Grove Street, New Jersey up to 33rd Street, New York. From there, we just wandered slowly up the roads to Times Square, which was about 42nd Street. And that is where the action began!! So much to see, so many lights as the night fell upon us.

I will tell you that I felt incredibly safe in New York City. There are so many people, and they were all so friendly, and so helpful, and it was truly as mass of fellowship as we all mixed and marched to our own drummers. The first thing we found was Toys R Us, which we had heard had a ferris wheel inside the building - it did, and of course, we had to pay the required $5 because it was so darned exciting to ride a ferris wheel with Woody, or My Little Pony, or Toy Story on it!! The ride was about 5-10 minutes long, as at times the let people on and off, so it was a good value for money. Besides, from way up there you got a good view of all the candy and toys that the store had to offer! After the ride, we walked through the store and Briton could barely contain his excitement, at the sight of all the Lego structures!

Briton Made Contact With Ironman

From here we headed out to the Square. I was curious to see about Broadway shows, and we headed for the Red Bleachers. We had heard that this was where tickets went on sale, and it was true. We had a guy come up to us and offer us a good deal off seats, plus he threw in tickets for 2 for 1 drinks at the snack bar. Ray and I decided if we could afford it we would go to something we knew versus something Off Broadway - something like Matilda, but of course, due to the transmission blowing on the highway there was no way we could afford it.

This was the funniest thing!! We heard about the Naked Cowboy, and so when we came out of the subway and saw him, I was not surprised. The most hilarious thing was Ayana's "Ewwwweeee" face when she caught a glimpse of him. All sorts come out for photos in Times Square!

After walking around Times Square for a while, we decided to go the Hard Rock Cafe New York. What I love about New York is how I might have plans for things and they do work out, but at the same time, I fall across things all the time. It seems that important sights are lined up with notorious addresses, such as Park Avenue and Grand Central Station. Briton was happy to see the motorbike owned by Billy Joel and the pictures and guitars of the Beatles, since he played Piano Man by Billy Joel and Let It Be by the Beatles.

The Beatles Suits

Billy Joel's Bike

Israel Learned to Play This Song

The Framer Happy With U2

The dinner was delicious, and since it was only 3 weeks until Ayana’s Ethiopian ‘official’ birthday, I decided to take advantage of it, and informed the waitress that she would have a birthday coming up in the near future. The waitress had Ayana stand on a chair and she was given a birthday sundae, and the other waiters all did a ‘shout-out’ for her birthday. Rather special, just like when Israel had his unofficial 8th in Disneyland, and Courage and Brandon had their 10th and 16th in Jamaica.

What was rather cool was that on the wall among all the memorabilia of music stars was a 25th anniversary sign of Cheap Trick. Now, Ray and I had a Cheap Trick song sung at our wedding, and this was the year of our 25th, so I take this rather personally!!