26. The Big Apple

Frank Sinatra sang, “If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.” We were in the neighborhood, so we wanted to pay a visit to the “Big Apple” . . . New York City. We camped in the village of Florida, New York, about 50 mi. north of the city. Florida’s claim to fame is the former home of Mr. Seward who was largely responsible for the purchase of Alaska (Seward”s Folly). But that’s another story.

We chose the Black Bear RV Park because a guy named Al runs a van tour of New York right from the campground. His all-day tour began at 8:00 am. Al provided a non-stop flow of factual information and interesting stories about the city as he drove us down the New Jersey Turnpike, past the Giants stadium in The Meadowlands, past Sinatra’s home town of Hoboken and to Liberty State Park and the ferry terminal for a boat ride to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Along the way he pointed out huge mounds of new industrial lands that were once “worthless wetlands” but, after years of channel dredging and sanitary landfilling, are now productive industrial lands. (Not wanting to ruin the tour, we withheld our comments.)

Many of the European immigrants stayed in New York, but most were sent to this New Jersey terminal where they boarded trains for other parts of the country. The old rails and train sheds remain but are deteriorated and weed infested.

Ellis Island was one of the most interesting places we visited. The immigration station on the island opened in 1892 and processed about 12 million immigrants who came to America looking for new opportunities and better lives. This process only lasted until the 1920s when most of the operation was transferred to the U.S. consulates.

The old buildings deteriorated until the 1980s when the main building was restored and opened as a museum telling the immigration story. It now contains lots of old photos and documents and it’s a very fascinating place to visit, especially for those who had an ancestor enter the country through Ellis Island.

The ferry ride from Ellis Island to Liberty Island took only a few minutes and offered front porch views of the city and harbor activities from the Brooklyn Bridge to Verrazano Narrows. It was an overcast day but the rain held off.

It was a special feeling to finally set foot on Liberty Island, at the base of its famous statue, which was a gift from France in 1886. It was very interesting and, to many, an emotional experience. Visitors can no longer climb into the statue itself, but that was okay. Just being there was good enough.

Al drove us through the Holland Tunnel and into the heart of Manhattan. Our first stop was “Ground Zero”, the site of the former twin towers of the World Trade Center. We walked around the area and looked through the heavy steel fence into the massive pit. It was hard to find a good picture angle, but you can see that the rubble is gone and the new “Freedom Tower” is under construction. When finished around 2011, the tower will reach a height of 1,776 feet. The Empire State Building is about 1,250 feet high.

St. Paul’s Chapel dates back to the 1700s. George Washington attended church there. His pew and personal chair are still there to see. The chapel is near the Ground Zero site and was one of the most important staging areas during the 9/11 tragedy. Today, it has memorials to those who lost their lives.
The final piece of steel salvaged from the twin towers was in the shape of a cross and has been placed near the chapel as another memorial. Several other wall sculptures and murals adorn nearby buildings. The Sept. 11, 2001 event made an impact on New York City that will never be forgotten.

Al drove us all around Manhattan, through the financial district, up the East River, past the Brooklyn Bridge, along the west side of Central Park, and past the Empire State Building, Trump Towers and other interesting sites.

We spent some time walking around Times Square and the Broadway theater district. This was a pretty intense part of town, especially on Wednesday which is matinee day at the theaters. Traffic was near gridlock, horns were honking (against the law in NYC), pedestrians were scurrying in all directions, bicycle taxis were weaving in and out of traffic, sidewalk vendors were selling their wares on the walkways, and street sweeping guys with rolling cans were cleaning the streets and gutters. The huge animated flashing signs of Times Square seemed out of control to us, after spending years dealing with sign regulations in our jobs. The total combination of sights and sounds was a challenge to the nerves and senses. It’s a different world.

We were advised not to drive downtown. It was good advice. Al gave us a white-knuckle ride that left us impressed with his ability to weave his van through heavy traffic and wedge it into the tightest places, inches from other vehicles, pedestrians, utility poles, etc. New York drivers are very assertive and not at all polite. They have no respect for bicycles or pedestrians. In turn, cyclists weave in and out of traffic and pedestrians J-walk everywhere. Many of the downtown streets are one lane with parking on both sides. It’s very congested. Driving in the Big Apple requires a different set of skills. It’s not for the timid. Al does it every day.

We left Manhattan around 5:00 pm. We didn’t think we’d ever get out of town during rush hour. But, once we got out of downtown, it was an uneventful ride back to the campground. Freeways flowed smoothly and Al put on a Joni James cassette tape for our listening enjoyment. Just before arriving at the campground, he played Frank Sinatra’s classic “New York, New York”. It was the perfect ending to a full and interesting day. Our one-day tour barely scratched the surface of New York, but gave us a quick overview. Maybe we'll return some day and take in a Broadway show or a game at the new Yankee Stadium. In the meantime, we're happy to continue into New England in search of a good lobster dinner.

25. Pennsylvania and the Amish

We associated Pennsylvania with the Amish, but really didn’t know much about them. Amish people were often characterized as a strange clan of very religious but poorly educated folks who made sturdy furniture and fine quilts but refused to adopt the conveniences and lifestyles of modern society. Since that’s what we heard, we wanted to learn more about their unique lifestyle and see their farms and products. So, we headed west toward the largest settlement in Pennsylvania in the vicinity of Lancaster.

The terrain changed from flat to rolling hills as we got into Amish country. Small farms dotted the landscape and each was surrounded by its own patchwork of mixed crops and woodlands. It was some of the prettiest countryside we had seen so far. The farms were very neat and well-kept. Most had good sized farmhouses, a barn or two, a couple silos and an assortment of farm animals. Not all of the farms were Amish. If there were no utility lines going to the house and a buggy or wagon was parked in the yard instead of a pick-up truck, it was most likely an Amish farm. We saw lots of horse-drawn buggies along the country roads and in town.

Mennonites and Amish share similar backgrounds and customs. They live and work side by side in the area. The Old Order Amish are the ones we see on post cards and calendars. They are very religious and stick closely to the old traditional ways. The men typically wear overalls with solid color shirts (usually blue) and black hats. The women wear long solid color dresses and small bonnets. Amish men are expected to grow beards after they’re married. Older men who have failed to marry, may also grow beards as a sign of their maturity.

We saw an excellent movie and picked up some literature at the Amish/Mennonite Information Center. Bonnie loves horses and wanted to ride in one of the buggies. So we hopped aboard a horse-drawn wagon for a back roads tour of the countryside.

Our driver/guide was a young Mennonite bachelor with several earrings, a plaid shirt and good sense of humor. He explained that Mennonites aren’t as strict as the Amish. They wear colorful clothing, drive cars, use electricity and tend to blend in better. Both groups encourage their kids to leave the nest and explore the world after finishing their 8th grade education. Some find the outside world to their liking, but many return to the family. Once they decide to stay with the faith, they are baptized. If an Amish member decides to leave after being baptized, he/she is usually banned and not allowed to return. When they marry, it’s for life with no provisions for divorce. You have to be seriously dedicated to faith and family to be Amish.

Our guide explained that the Amish are determined to remain as independent as possible and refuse to be hooked up to the electric system. They can provide everything their family needs on a 65 acre farm and they manage very well without electricity in their homes. If they have more acreage, they raise additional produce and animals to sell. Horses are essential for farm work and for transportation so they are very careful to take good care of their horses. Our guide was a horse dentist for a while and gave us an overview of what that job entails.

While the men of the family are out tilling the fields and tending to the livestock, the women are taking care of the domestic chores. They are also producing beautiful quilts, canned and baked goods, jams and jellies and other things that fill the local stores. The quilts are works of art and the ones we looked at were selling in the $1,000 to $2,000 range. It would be nice to know how many hours of work went into them. The cultural center of Amish country seemed to surround the small towns of Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse. Tourists like to have their pictures taken by the latter's town sign. Both towns are rich in small stores, quilt museums, farmers markets, buffet style restaurants and very nice old brick buildings.

Many Amish women and young girls work in the stores. It was also interesting to learn that they have adopted cell phones as one of their tools. It makes their work much easier. They get around the electrical hurdle by having a non-Amish friend take the phones home with them to charge them up for the next day.

Workers use mechanical horse-drawn farm machinery in the fields and small buggies trot along the roads, oblivious to the cars, trucks and motorcycles that surround them.

It appeared to us that the Amish and Mennonites continue to enjoy their simple productive lifestyle. But we couldn’t help feeling that they are being caught in a sqeeze. New growth, development, traffic and congestion are closing in. We also noticed lots of non-Amish businesses that are cashing in on the Amish image. Many stores sell quilts, furniture and other items that are not authentic Amish products. We also noticed a certain amount of disrespect. Some stores carry amusing (but insulting) products such as bobble-head Amish, goofy Amish cartoon figures, funny dolls, etc. They don’t deserve that. Based on our observations, the Amish are simple quiet productive people who prefer to live in a manner that's different than ours. They came here from Europe to exercise that freedom and, as long as it works well for them, we hope they’ll be able to continue their choice of lifestyle well into the future.

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania was a few miles from our campground. Ron didn’t know it was there, so it was a pleasant surprise and became a “must see” item on our list. It was a terrific accumulation of old full-sized engines, train cars and other railroad related memorabilia.

After a couple hours in the museum we went across the highway to the depot and boarded an old train for a slow ride through the farm country on one of the oldest RR rights-of-way in the country.

We’ve probably eaten our weight in Hershey chocolate over the years. So, we took a side trip to the factory in Hershey, PA, not far from the capital city of Harrisburg. We expected the usual factory tour, but were a little surprised and disappointed at what we found. It was a huge Chocolate World complex, consisting of a Disneyland-like amusement park ($47 admission), a chocolate museum, a food court, gift shops and other candy-related things that we really didn’t need to see. We did go on the free “simulated” tour of the factory. It whisked us through in a matter of minutes on a roller-coaster like conveyor complete with animation, hi-tech video and continuous singing of candy songs. It was obviously designed with kids in mind, and the place was full of kids. It was a unique experience indeed.

Bonnie’s niece Nancy and her husband Ed invited us to visit them in their new home in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. They let us park the RV in their driveway next to the pool, which was very convenient. They also let us take a refreshing swim and lounge around for a few days. Ed came to our rescue and replaced some broken bolts that were holding a stabilizer bar under the motor home. It steers a lot better now. Thanks again, Ed. They were great hosts and we had a very nice time there.

Ed’s company was having its annual picnic that weekend, so we tagged along. It was held at Knoebel’s Amusement Park. It’s an old park with roller coasters, carousels, flume rides, a ferris wheel, lots of food, etc., and no parking or admission fees! It’s located in a heavily wooded little valley far from freeways and urban areas. It was a hot day and the place was full of people having a good time.
Ed and Nancy took us on a long all-day tour of the farms, covered bridges and small towns of central Pennsylvania. Many of the farms were Amish, but without the tourism that they would have to put up with in Lancaster. We were amazed at all the beautiful large old homes in the small towns, and the very low prices. Ron was ready to buy and renovate a few of these relics.

Ed also took us through his hometown of Shamokin, an old coal mining town. It has seen better days, but is still very interesting in its classic architecture and narrow streets. We had some really good pizza at James Pizza, a small old corner tavern that probably hasn’t changed much in 50 years. Ed’s dad was a regular there.
After lunch at a roadside cafe with Ed and Nancy along the Susquehanna River, and a great week or so in Pennsylvania, it was time to move on down the road once again.

24. New Jersey - It's all about Family

After leaving Washington D.C., we dodged Baltimore traffic and tunnels by following the beltway around the city. Then we encountered our first dreaded toll roads. We were charged $15 to cross the Susquehanna River in Maryland and it cost another $7 to cross the northern tip of Delaware to get to New Jersey. All bridges crossing the Delaware River are toll bridges, but only for westbound traffic, so we got a break that time. We were relieved to finally arrive in the “Garden State” of New Jersey. We got off the turnpike as soon as we crossed the Delaware River and sailed through farmlands and small towns on a secondary highway. It was a very pleasant drive.

Things were going well until we got about 10 miles from our RV park. We apparently missed the mandatory briefing on Jersey’s highway naming and numbering system. We got confused by roads and highways with multiple names and numbers and our main road didn’t go where the map said it should. In desperation, we called the RV park and they tried to talk us to the park. That didn’t work and we ended up on a narrow dead end road. We had to unhitch the car in order to turn around. Fortunately, a resident came out to see what we were doing in his front yard and gave us good directions to our destination. We set up camp in a nice spot overlooking Chestnut Lake (photo) and its population of messy Canada geese.

Signing and numbering are a little different in each state, so we have to be cautious. Most people advise us to toss away the maps and get a GPS. Granted, a GPS would probably get us out of some confusing situations and we'll probably "upgrade" some day. But, in the meantime, we like to plot our course on maps and our archaic method of navigation gets us there most of the time.

Our RV park was about 15 miles from the famous Atlantic City boardwalk. Atlantic and Pacific Avenues are lined with hotels and casinos. Public beach access points are few and far between.

We parked in the Trump Plaza parking structure ($10 all day) and walked through the casino and onto the boardwalk. The historic convention center (photo above) where the Miss America pageant was held for many years wasn’t open to the public, but it’s still an imposing structure, as are the Trump Taj Mahal, Bally's and other casino structures.

The boardwalk is a great place to take a walk. It’s interesting, colorful and lined with businesses of all kinds. You can gamble, buy a souvenir, get a quick massage or tattoo, eat a Philly cheese steak or water ice, visit your favorite hero in the wax museum or take a stroll on the beach. We did a lot of walking and managed to limit our gambling losses to $5.

Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal is across from the old Steel Pier, which is crowded with carnival rides and games. A newer upscale pier down the boardwalk offers plenty of small shops and restaurants where the tourists can dump any left over money they might have after escaping the casinos. We peeked into the expensive boutiques as we searched for a cheap buffet. We couldn’t find one, but we found a reasonably priced cafeteria with a great variety of excellent gourmet sandwiches, salads, pasta, etc. We made two trips to Atlantic City. That was enough for us.

Bonnie’s dad was born and raised in New Jersey. In 1942, while stationed at Ft. Lewis, Washington, he met and married Bonnie’s mom. He was later killed in Europe during World War II. Bonnie was only 13 months old at the time and didn’t get to know her dad or his family very well. Most of them still reside in New Jersey but Bonnie hadn’t seen most of them in 40+ years. Naturally, she was excited about reconnecting with her dad’s side of the family. She made some early contacts and the family’s response was amazing. They were all very friendly and treated us like royalty. We were overwhelmed by their hospitality.

We spent the Fourth of July with a family group at the Pitman home of Bonnie’s cousin Darlene and her husband Gar. Their son Ryan was there as well as Aunt Alma, cousins Cynthia and Bob, and Frank and Linda and their children and grandchildren.

We all walked to the town’s 4th of July parade a block away. It was a two-hour parade with marching bands, church groups, scouts, volunteer fire fighters, other groups representing the community and lots of fire trucks. Ron especially liked Pitman's own Hobo Band.

After the parade, everyone walked back to Darlene and Gar's house and spent the afternoon talking about old times over a large assortment of great food, including Gar's barbecued chicken and ribs.

It was a perfect day and lots of fun. They even managed to get the group together for a family photo, including the kids and a puppy. It was a Norman Rockwell kind of small town Fourth of July . . . perfect. We spent the next day at the home of cousin John and his wife Gail in Burlington. They invited us to their holiday party on July 5th. Bonnie was able to reconnect with a couple more cousins – Eileen and Alan and David and his wife Joyce.

There must have been 60 or 70 people and tubs full of Chesapeake blue crab, clams and muscles, as well as delicious barbecue. It was excellent!

Uncle Jimmy (90) and Aunt Alma (93) are the senior members of the New Jersey family. It was a special pleasure to spend some time with Jimmy in Burlington (photo) and with Alma in Pitman. Both are doing well and their memories are very sharp. They spent a lot of time with Bonnie’s dad and had lots of stories and historical information to share about him and the family.

We drove down to Long Beach Island on the Jersey shore to see Aunt Alma’s former home in Surf City. We also spent a little time on the beach. Beaches aren't free here. Most required a "beach button" which could cost up to $7 per day to use the beach. The fee goes toward beach clean-up, maintenance, life guards and other costs.

Burlington is one of the oldest towns in New Jersey and very picturesque. Jim, Eileen and Alan showed us around the town and we got to see several former family homes and churches. Cousin Frank took us to visit the graves of Bonnie’s grandparents and other family members.

We had a short-term visitor of our own while in Jersey. Daughter Becky flew out from Seattle and stayed with us in the RV for five days. She got to meet most of the relatives and spent a day with her cousin Nancy who drove down from Pennsylvania to see her. She also joined Jim, Uncle Jimmy and us (photo) for lunch at a nice restaurant along the Delaware River in Burlington. She had a good time and seemed to survive her RV experience.

There were several other family get-togethers, including excellent dinners with Eileen and Alan at the Tuckahoe Inn, with Jim and Mary at the Oyster Creek Inn, and several stops at the home of Darlene and Gar in Pitman. All were very pleasant with lots of reminiscing about memories of long ago. Bonnie feels very fortunate to have reconnected with so many family members and we appreciate their generous hospitality. Now that we know them better, we’ll try a little harder to keep in touch. And that’s why New Jersey was “all about family.”