Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Recover day
Tuesday, October 25th-We lounged in Miss Jim B all day. Though it was sunny and nice, we were all too tired to do much of anything today. It was nice being inside and having the sun stream in the camper. Did some laundry and I practiced on the porch of the neighbor cabin in the late afternoon sun.
NYC day two
Monday, October 24th-After breakfast we left for our 10:00 tour of Statue of Liberty. However, one of the trains had shut down, everyone was trying to get to work and trains were delayed. We met really nice New Yorkers while waiting. Once enroute, we found ourselves jammed as sardines but enjoyed meeting an English family. This week Europeans are on holiday so we met many Europeans which was kind of fun. Everything though was more crowded than we had anticipated since it was a weekday off season. After waiting in long lines we were on the ferry to Liberty Island. It was a beautiful warm day, and we rode out standing next to a French family which we thought was pretty apprepo since France had given her to us. After listening in on a Ranger tour, Mark and I were moved. We learned:
l. France gave her to us to encourage us after the Civil War and Lincoln's assassination when moral was down, a symbol for us to keep going and a symbol to themselves to stand strong as we had againt tyranny and a symbol for the world that it is possible to have freedom.
2. She is stepping out of chains and to us her stepping forward seems a symbol of confidence and resolve, peaceful strength. She is holding a tablet, the Declaration of Independence with 1776 written in Roman numerals.Very moving that she is looking over the Harbor to the Freedom Tower that will be 1776 feet and the tallest building in the US. They are building 1-4 floors a week. A testament to what she and the American people stand for. We felt proud and humbled by our history.
3. 7 points on her crown stand for 7 continents and 7 seas.
4. 12 million people visit her a year.
5. She was built in France, taken a part to send here and rebuilt here. It was a monumental feat financially to get her base built here.
After finishing the Jr. Ranger booklet here, we went over to Ellis Island. The movie was very informative and moving about what people had to endure before they left, on the journey here and what was life after arriving. They gave us contact info on how we can look up when our ancestors arrived which we hope to do over the holidays.
We wished we could have gotten a tour of Ground Zero Memorial but we were told it took weeks to get a ticket but our English friends had just gotten them a day before.
I had always wanted to take a carriage ride in Central Park and since it was such a beautiful day, I thought it would be a great way to see the park. However, it turned out that the rides only went for 20 minutes and only went about a 1/3 of the park. It was kind of a rip-off and disappointing. I'm sure we'll laugh about it someday. After our brief, ploddy ride, we ended up walking in the park which there was some grumbling and complaining about. Not saying who.
We wanted to get to the Top of the Rock for sunset but when we got there, the next tour wasn't avail until 8:00 p.m.. Didn't think it would be sold out on a Monday. We went and got supper at Chipotles and picked up our bags and went to the Top of the Rock. Loved seeing the city lights but wished we could have seen it so the kids could have seen the water too.
Met a native New Yorker on train ride home who lost lots of friends in 911. He's a volunteer fireman and had lots of memories and stories to share.
Dropped in bed exhausted at 11:30 p.m.
l. France gave her to us to encourage us after the Civil War and Lincoln's assassination when moral was down, a symbol for us to keep going and a symbol to themselves to stand strong as we had againt tyranny and a symbol for the world that it is possible to have freedom.
2. She is stepping out of chains and to us her stepping forward seems a symbol of confidence and resolve, peaceful strength. She is holding a tablet, the Declaration of Independence with 1776 written in Roman numerals.Very moving that she is looking over the Harbor to the Freedom Tower that will be 1776 feet and the tallest building in the US. They are building 1-4 floors a week. A testament to what she and the American people stand for. We felt proud and humbled by our history.
3. 7 points on her crown stand for 7 continents and 7 seas.
4. 12 million people visit her a year.
5. She was built in France, taken a part to send here and rebuilt here. It was a monumental feat financially to get her base built here.
After finishing the Jr. Ranger booklet here, we went over to Ellis Island. The movie was very informative and moving about what people had to endure before they left, on the journey here and what was life after arriving. They gave us contact info on how we can look up when our ancestors arrived which we hope to do over the holidays.
We wished we could have gotten a tour of Ground Zero Memorial but we were told it took weeks to get a ticket but our English friends had just gotten them a day before.
I had always wanted to take a carriage ride in Central Park and since it was such a beautiful day, I thought it would be a great way to see the park. However, it turned out that the rides only went for 20 minutes and only went about a 1/3 of the park. It was kind of a rip-off and disappointing. I'm sure we'll laugh about it someday. After our brief, ploddy ride, we ended up walking in the park which there was some grumbling and complaining about. Not saying who.
We wanted to get to the Top of the Rock for sunset but when we got there, the next tour wasn't avail until 8:00 p.m.. Didn't think it would be sold out on a Monday. We went and got supper at Chipotles and picked up our bags and went to the Top of the Rock. Loved seeing the city lights but wished we could have seen it so the kids could have seen the water too.
Met a native New Yorker on train ride home who lost lots of friends in 911. He's a volunteer fireman and had lots of memories and stories to share.
Dropped in bed exhausted at 11:30 p.m.
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| Freedom Tower will be 1776 feet |
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| NYC skyline |
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| Ellis Island |
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| Looking into great hall at Ellis Island |
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| Our rip off carriage ride |
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| Empire State Building seen from Top of the Rock |
NYC here we come
Sunday, October 23rd-We left bright and early for the train. We got off to a little late start as Janae found a tick and it was an emotional event to remove it. I carried a small satchel and Mark a backpack to spend the night. We missed our train and had to wait another 1/2 hour. The train ride was beautiful and went right along side the Hudson River. Very enjoyable. Grand Central Station is also quite nice with its Chandeleers, painted artwork ceilings and marble floors. We hoofed it to the Times Square Church. Mark and I had both attended here at different times in the past and hoped to visit again. Because we didn't get there a 1/2 hour early, we had to split up 2 and 2 in order to get a seat. It was a different experience for Janae and Stefan to experience the muli-ethnic, gospel, electric service. The serman was quite powerful and centered on it's not our circumstances that define us but rather what God says about us that should give our lives hope and purpose. It was a two hour service so we barely had enough time to hurridly eat our packed lunches and make it to a Broadway Show. I hoped to go to Lion King but since the tickets were over $500 (a good reason to plan early), I opted for Mary Poppins instead. It was very good but we had seats in the balcony which bothered me a bit. It didn't seem to bother Mark, Janae and Stefan so we stayed put. The singing, sets and dancing were excellent especially the tap dancing. Stefan loved it when the chimney sweeper danced across the ceiling, everyone loved the better ending of the story compared to the movie and we loved Mary's ascent at the end. After the show, I talked the family into letting me shop a bit at the open market. Great stuff for great prices that is only open on summer weekends. We grabbed a guiro sandwich and enjoyed eating it in Times Square. Great, warm, sunny weather. We walked and found our hotel on 5th Ave. It was a great price and so close to everything. We checked in, rested up a bit and then went walking around. We were trying to find a place to view the city lights at an affordable price to no avail.
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| Riding the train into the Big Apple |
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| Times Square Church (Church is in an old Broadway theatre) |
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| Enjoying the show |
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| Our narrow hotel worked out great, cheap,clean, close to everything and a free breakfast to boot. |
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| Watching the skaters at the Rockefeller center |
Hiking around Great Pond
Saturday, October 22nd-We stayed put at the campground today to make arrangements for our NYC trip tomorrow and to enjoy this beautiful place. We took a lovely hike in the afternoon to one of the adjacent lakes. It was a glorious, Indian summer day and at one point Stefan took my hand and said, "I love you Mama." Ah, music to the soul. Janae later took my hand and proceeded to talk and talk and talk. When we are in nature, her creative juices start flowing and she loves to share them. This particular hike she was designing her favorite necklace pendant that when rubbed would do magical wonders. She was curious as to what my design would be and what my pendant would do. The conversation later modulated into favorite dress designs.
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| Round Pond |
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| Conversations |
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| Round Pond |
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| Round Pond |
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| A five trunked maple tree |
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| Beautiful berries that we want to find out name |
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| View from the Bear Mt. Bridge |
A relaxing day
Friday-October 21st-Janae woke us up to show us the incredible sun streaming our window at 7:00. We caught up with some school in the morning and got acquainted with our neighbors. One had a son at West Point and the other couple from Texas gave us invaluable rv and travel tips. In the afternoon, we ventured out and enjoyed driving around the Hudson Valley. Mark and I had no idea how beautiful it would be. At sunset, we drove to the top of Bear Mt for an incredible 360 panoramic view of the area and view of NYC in the distance.
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| Enjoying the view from Cold Spring (a quaint little town) |
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| From the top of Bear Mountain |
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| A lookout point,notice the brown water from all the rain |
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West Point
October 20th-We woke up to a glorious, sunny morning and were pleasantly surprised with our surroundings. It was beautiful. We always have a hard time leaving where we are but then we always fall in love with our next place. We stayed at the Round Pond Recreation Facility of the Army, three miles away from West Point. We sat up on top of a hill overlooking a small lake and surrounded by tall oaks. It was nice because even though we were in the trees, there was a lot of sun. We enjoyed relaxing around the campsite and moving to site 17 which was a much bigger and probably our favorite campsite so far. In the afternoon, we took a guided tour of WestPoint and learned so much.
We were immediately taken with the beauty and compactness of the campus. All the stone buildings and the spot on the Hudson River is awesome. West Point is the oldest running base in the country. The Academy started in 1802 with 10 students and 5 profs. Freshman are called Pleebes, 2nd year-yearlings,3rd year-cows and 4th year-firsties. The chapel was amazing with its largest pipe organ in the world. The chapel is built around the 26,000 pipes which gives a new meaning to surround sound. In 1916, classes started adopting the class 100 years before and buying a stained glass window. This lasted until 1976 and the windows all have the dates of both classes. The windows cost $300 from a company in PA and over the 60 years, they kept the price the same. The Battle Monument has an incredible view of the Hudson and features a monument with the names of West Point grads who lost their lives in the Civil War. It is surrounded by canons buried upside down as a reminder that we never fight our brothers again. Also interesting is that Custer was last in his class, and Eisenhauer and Ulysses Grant were grads. Grant's family gave the alter in the chapel. Or particular interest was West Point held a stategic position in the Revolutionary War and at one point a chain was put across the narrow spot in the river to deter the British. It took 270 men to hoist this chain into position. What was particularly moving was how they have a special pew and candle burning that is reserved for graduates that are missing.
We were immediately taken with the beauty and compactness of the campus. All the stone buildings and the spot on the Hudson River is awesome. West Point is the oldest running base in the country. The Academy started in 1802 with 10 students and 5 profs. Freshman are called Pleebes, 2nd year-yearlings,3rd year-cows and 4th year-firsties. The chapel was amazing with its largest pipe organ in the world. The chapel is built around the 26,000 pipes which gives a new meaning to surround sound. In 1916, classes started adopting the class 100 years before and buying a stained glass window. This lasted until 1976 and the windows all have the dates of both classes. The windows cost $300 from a company in PA and over the 60 years, they kept the price the same. The Battle Monument has an incredible view of the Hudson and features a monument with the names of West Point grads who lost their lives in the Civil War. It is surrounded by canons buried upside down as a reminder that we never fight our brothers again. Also interesting is that Custer was last in his class, and Eisenhauer and Ulysses Grant were grads. Grant's family gave the alter in the chapel. Or particular interest was West Point held a stategic position in the Revolutionary War and at one point a chain was put across the narrow spot in the river to deter the British. It took 270 men to hoist this chain into position. What was particularly moving was how they have a special pew and candle burning that is reserved for graduates that are missing.
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| West Point Chapel |
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| The organ pipes surrounding the chapel |
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| Battle Monument |
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| The view of the Hudson from the Battle Monument |
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| Miss Jim B loves her new home |
Moving Day
Wednesday, October 19th was moving day to West Point, New York. We got a late start leaving Vermont and it rained the entire way. It was after dark when we arrived at Round Pond Recreational Facility and we couldn't find our site. It was frustrating in the pooring rain and dark but we finally found the camphost who helped us find our site.
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