Middleboro, MA to Lancaster, PA

A-Middleboro, MA; B-Mystic, CT; C-Newburgh, NY; D-Lancaster, PA

Monday we drove through Rhode Island to Mystic, CT. It was a very cloudy and sometimes rainy day, but we arrived without problems. That evening the four of us went to Old Lyme, CT to have a lovely pasta dinner with Lee White – our son Jeff’s, mother-in-law.

Large picture in the Mohegan Indian Casino

Tuesday was nasty rainy, but we took off to explore Mystic, CT – it’s a beautiful village on a bay. We spent an hour wandering around Mystic Village – lots of cute shops, nicely landscaped. We also drove a few miles to see the Mohegan Indian Casino – my goodness – it is huge and is decorated in all the Indian themes – corn, trees, wolves, etc. It has several different casino areas, an area of many shops, several restaurants and bars, and a huge hotel lobby with a waterfall two stories high. It was a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon. No, we didn’t put even a penny in the slot machines – we just enjoyed looking at everything.

Rich, Diann, Ellen, Lee, Gordon

That night we went to Lee’s again for some wine, then she took us to a local restaurant (The Bee & Thistle) where we didn’t eat – we dined. The restaurant is in an old house and has a wonderful cook. Lee is a restaurant critic who writes articles for local newspapers, so she knows the great places. The meal was outstanding and since the owners are friends of Lee, we were treated like royalty.

Nautilus submarine

Finally Wednesday we had a lovely day (between rain storms). We drove to Haddam, Chester, and Essex – three very lovely east coast towns. Many of the homes have signs saying when they were built – many in the early 1800s and a few in the 1700s. We spent some time at the Submarine Force Museum where they have the Nautilus – the first nuclear powered submarine – we could even go through the vessel – very interesting. We finished the day by having a late fish lunch at Flander’s Seafood and Restaurant in East Lyme. Tomorrow we will head inland, so this was our last chance to get some coastal seafood.

September 30 we took off in the rain for Newburgh, NY. The prediction was for thunderstorms and lots of rain all up and down the eastern seaboard. But it was supposed to be even worse the next day. So we decided to take off and hope for the best. We did have a few heavy downpours along the way, but we made it OK. We are getting quite tired of being soggy. All the maps are damp, clothes are damp, - oh, for the southwest!!! But we haven’t seen all we want to see yet, so we’ll put up with WET!!

First day of October and the rains keep coming. We heard reports of lots of flooding in the area, so we ended up staying close to the RV park for the morning. Diann and I got some groceries. Then in the afternoon Gordie and I drove to the West Point Military Academy and saw the Visitor Center and Museum. You can’t go onto the campus unless you go on a tour, and we didn’t have time to do that. The weather report is for a nice day tomorrow – sure hope it’s right.

FDRs home in Hyde Park NY

Yup, Saturday was a beautiful day. We left the park about 9AM and headed across the very wide Hudson River to the Franklin D. Roosevelt 

home and Presidential Library. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour of the home very interesting. The library was excellent as well. FDR was President for over 12 years and was the author of legislation such as The New Deal and Social Security.

One of the gardens at Vanderbuilt mansion

From there we drove up the road just a few miles and toured the Vanderbuilt mansion and grounds. Here again the tour guide did a great job of bringing the Vanderbuilts to life. The house is opulent and contains much of the furniture, paintings, and accessories that were there when Frederick and his wife, Louise, died. The couple had no children, so the home and property were left to the wife’s niece. She was wealthy in her own right and didn’t want the place. She tried to sell it twice and didn’t get any offers, so with the help of FDR, the US government took over the property and it is now a federal historical landmark. The Vanderbuilts had a huge flower garden to keep the home supplied with bouquets. The garden had gone to grass. But now there is a volunteer group that has returned the gardens to their original state. The gardens weren’t particularly exciting when we were there because of fall season, but no doubt they were gorgeous during the spring and summer months.

Two of the three entrances into the Lincoln Tunnel

Sunday we got up at 6AM (UGH!) so that we could have breakfast at the clubhouse and then board a charter bus for a tour of New York City. We were lucky that it was quite a nice day (a bit cool and breezy though). We had a very good tour guide who talked most of the trip, including the 1.5 hours it took to get to NYC. We entered via New Jersey and the 1.5 mile long Lincoln Tunnel. This tunnel is 90 feet under the Hudson River. Even though it was Sunday, going was slow.

Ellen & Gordon and the Statue of Liberty

Our first stop was the ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty. We had to go thru airport-type security on the way to the ferry. We got some great pics of the Lady and the NYC skyline while on the ferry. We had an hour to take pictures and enjoy the statue before boating by Ellis Island and back to Battery Park. 

'Sphere' 

Here the guide showed us a relatively new statue called ‘Sphere’. This large statue sat between the twin towers. When they came down, ‘Sphere’ was damaged but not broken. It stands alongside an eternal flame in rememberence of those who died on 9/11 and hope for the future.

From here we were driven through NYC streets with Mitch giving us facts and info all along the way. We were dropped off at South Street Seaport where the four of us raced 4 blocks to ‘The Best New York Deli’ where we had wonderful deli sandwiches. Then we returned to the waterfront where we were able to go up three floors and take pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Time Square

Back on the bus and we next went to the Empire State Building where we once again went through security and went to the top deck and enjoyed the views of the city in every direction. From there we did some more sightseeing from the bus before heading to Rockefeller Center (OOPS, there was a parade that blocked the way, so we missed it.) So it was on to Times Square (Named for the NY Times Newspaper) where we really got the true taste of New York with the very busy streets, theater district, huge lighted billboards……….and the most wonderful NY Cheesecake – absolute heaven!!!

By the time we got back on the bus it was 6PM and definitely time to head back to the RV park. The tour was a great way to see ‘The Big Apple’ without the hassle of subways or trains. It would be great to spend more time there, but we were out of time.

Ellis Island

Some observations of NYC: It is much cleaner than it used to be. Cars that HONK can be ticketed for $350 (so the streets are much quieter than in the past). The South Street Seaport was wonderfully clean and exciting – NYC had increased its police presence and the city is much safer than in the past. Parking IN the city can be over $8.50 for half an hour (We saw the signs). Mitch told us that minimum cost for a 16 hour period is $25.

October 4th and we are off to the Lancaster, PA and then to DC. It's nasty rainy and we are again wet, wet, wet!!! Oh goodie!!!