New York City via Sandy Hook, NJ

 We arrived at a nice campground in Freehold, NJ called Pine Cone and decided to check out the area the next day before making our way into Manhattan.  It was a gorgeous day so we drove out to Sandy Hook to visit what's left of Fort Hancock.  Of course we had to stop for lunch on the beach.

The locals were friendly and very informative; Frank is a bridge structural engineer and "Seaweed" (also known as Jim) is a fisherman.  Can you tell which one's which?  The cute guy in the middle is a traveler from way out west.  





Hancock Fort is located at the very tip of the NJ peninsula, and during  WWI and II the fort protected the NY harbor.   There are several of these very large guns on display, but you could see where others had been removed.  

 I had to "stop and smell the roses" and get a photo of these large butterfly.

 There were a few people enjoying the beautiful fall day playing volleyball on the beach.  Some of the sun bathers were nude!!  They were too far away for Jim to see.  Poor baby.

 Old, decaying steps leading up to a bunker....isn't that exciting?

Jimmy Joe enjoying every nook and cranny.

This whole area is a bird watching sanctuary.  This "Wandering Warblers" sign made me think perhaps our feathered friend, Hamburger, might have "wandered" off to unknown territory.

These 70-year old barracks were probably filled with snakes and spiders and I wasn't about to explore.  Notice how far away I took the picture?

Of course we had to visit the only light house on Sandy Hook. 

The Park Ranger is looking us over to see if we were qualified to climb to the top.  Jim's thinking, no problem.  I'm glad my mug wasn't in the photo.

A very narrow stair case of approximately 100 steps.  Whew!

View from the top looking out over NY harbor.

Now both Jim and I can say we've climbed a lighthouse!  It was a great day on Sandy Hook Peninsula. 

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Thursday was our BIG and exciting day visiting New York City!  We went via ferry through NY harbor and passed under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge extending from Statten Island, NJ to Brooklyn, NY. 

This double decked suspension bridge and span is 4,260 feet long, almost a mile! It has the eighth longest center span in the world, and is the longest suspension bridge in the United States.  The Hudson River flows into the upper NY harbor and this bridge separates the upper NY Harbor from the lower NY Harbor.  Our ferry passed under this bridge into upper NY Harbor.

I've waited all my life to see the Statue of Liberty....it was a thrilling moment!

The Statten Island Ferry

We're almost there!!!!!!

We're arrived!

This building was different from the others with an ornate green design.

The corner hot dog stand.

The New York Stock Exchange is very well guarded.

This is one of many subway entrances. 

Down under.....Jim's getting our all day subway passes.

The subway system is very efficient and cleaner than I thought it'd be.

Four musicians in the subway trying to make a living.  Their money basket was full!  All the people we met were very friend and nice.

This corner art display was taken from the 9-11 disaster aftermath.  

The reconstruction of the World Trade Center is very much on its way.   One of the buildings is now 6 levels below ground and 6 levels above ground.  Hundreds of constructions workers continue to recreate the area.

According to the plans, there will be three 100-story structures with two memorial fountains in the location of the two buildings that were destroyed.  If you enter WTC on Google you can see pictures of what it will look like when finished.  One of the buildings will look a lot like the Empire State building. 

Every large crane had an American flag hanging.  It was very touching.

Ah,....Times Square.  Never thought I'd see this either. 

There were flashing, glittering lights everywhere;  advertisements and billboards.   I think of New Year's Eve when Times Square is on TV for the count down.   

M&M billboard on top of the M&M store.

Can you imagine an entire store devoted to M&Ms?

And....an entire store devoted to Legos.  Each one of the colored bubbles on the right are filled with Legos!  Colton, Ian, and Beau would have a blast in there!

The first Rocketts started here at Radio City Theatre, and they still entertain here.  Just imagine downtown Manhattan around the Christmas holidays.

Among the tall modern Manhattan buildings was this old cathedral.

The Rockefeller Center was another highlight of my day.

We ate lunch at the Rockefeller Restaurant and watched the skaters go round and round.  Some were better skaters than others. 

Many of the people we've met in the northeast are immigrants from Ireland, that's why it's NOT hard to find an Irish pub.  Claire traveled to NY by herself from Ireland and had a wonderful accent.  We became fast friends when she told me she was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's decease.  After her chemo treatments were completed, she decided to visit NY where she had always wanted to visit.  She was on "holiday" and her plane left at 6:30 pm that day.  She was so friendly and sweet, I hated to see her leave.   

The weather turned from sunny to rain, but that didn't slow us down walking through Central Park.

We have many more pictures of our NY visit.  There's one more thing off my bucket list!  I hope we can come back when the World Trade Center is completed.

We have traveled through 21 states so far, and have enjoyed every minute.