Day 9: NYC

Coming soon

Day 8: NYC

Coming soon ... too much to do in NYC!

Day 7: NYC

Ok, so our room is small .. bordering on very small .. but really all we need is a bed, a shower and somewhere to store our stuff while we tour ... check, check and check.

After showering and prepping for the day we got out and about and had our first breakfast in New York ... we walked a few blocks to Cafe Metro where $13 got you a sandwich and an orange juice (freshly squeezed) .. good eats, just not cheap.

A few more blocks and now we were outside the St. Patricks Cathedral, a Neo-Gothic style Roman Catholic church. Luanne ventured inside for a bit, while I waited outside. I had my fill of touring churches back in 1987 when my French Club toured France. Directly across the street was Rockefeller Center. This is where their famous ice skating rink is in the winter months, however, at this time of year it is packed with food tents. While Luanne was taking some pictures I began talking to one of those guys who sell Bus Tour packages .. and before you could say 'what's that' I was the owner of 2 packages. We were now hooked up for the Uptown tour, Downtown tour, the Bronx tour, the Night time tour and the Boat tour around lower Manhattan. We now strolled back towards Times Square as if drawn by some outside force. We were given a tip from the casino guy I met that Wednesday matinees were the best deal for checking out a Broadway show .. so we made our way to the TKTS line, where you can get tickets to shows at half price. We purchased two tickets to Evita, starring Ricky Martin as Che.

After the afternoon show we strolled outside and soon found ourselves randomly at the stage door where a group of fans were waiting for the actors to come outside .. Luanne got a few autographs and a couple pictures later it was learned that Ricky was staying in to have a nap. The crowd groaned and dispersed. We then started walking around and venturing a bit more outside the Times Square circle .. we checked out a number of stores and got the low down from the NHL store on a pub not too far away that had decent lunches and more importantly beer.

We visited Connolley's Pub & Restaurant and had our meal and a drink. After eating we made a quick pit stop at the hotel to regroup and then it was time to get back to Times Square and find our tour bus to catch the Night Tour.

We hopped on the bus and were ready to go. Our tour guide was friendly, she gave everyone the low down that if you stand up while the bus is moving you may lose your head, literally. At first this sounded unlikely, however, after we finally started moving it was crystal clear that losing body parts due to street signs or street lights was a real possibility. Our bus tour started just north of Times Square and we headed south, driving through Times Square in a double decker bus was pretty cool.

Our tour took us through part of the downtown tour, across the Manhattan Bridge and toured some of the Bronx. We had some wicked views while crossing the bridge and more scenic views from just across the river of lower Manhattan.

After a long day of touring and a lot of walking it was time to hit the sack and get re-charged for the next day.

New York Fact of the Day: Rent is nuts in Manhattan, check out this poster looking for a room-mate .. half of rent is $1400 for a 2 bedroom apartment, 1 bathroom .. yikes!

Day 6: Atlantic City to NYC!

We woke up and after tallying up my losses (a whopping 25$) we made our way to the front lobby to check out .. what a zoo .. there were so many people standing in line to check in I thought we were going to be there all day. Luckily I was able to find an automated check out system, swipe my credit card, click a few touch screen buttons and we were done. After squaring up the bill and finding our car it was time to check out the boardwalk .. I had pictured in my mind a scene right out of Boardwalk Empire but to my surprise it was nothing like what I had pictured. The boardwalk was pretty ok, a lot of shops/tourist traps selling all the same junk. We checked out a few stores then checked out an amusement park right on the boardwalk. It was very humid on the boardwalk, probably because we were so close to the ocean :) Overall I was not impressed with Atlantic City, it was very run down and appeared all the hotels care about is getting you to spend your money in their casinos .. even the Trump Taj Majal was in poor shape .. I am sure the Donald would not approve if he actually visited this place. Now that we finally left AC we were on our way to the big apple ... the city that never sleeps! A quick pit stop in Nutley, New Jersey was in order to drop off a few packages. Cheryl and Doug's daughter Ainslie lives there and we brought a few items on their behalf. We visited for a little bit and were once again on the road. Oh ya, Ainslie was very kind and baked us some cookies ... very tasty.
We drove to the Lincoln Tunnel and paid a crazy 12$ toll to get to Manhattan ... then it was time to drive like a New Yorker ... let me tell you, they love honking their horns at everything .. should you not have your car moving 1/10th of a second after the light turns green, HONK ... if you stop in order to let someone cross the street safely, HONK ... it was quite funny honestly.
It took us a bit to track down our hotel, but once we did we were quite pleased. We picked a hotel that was close to Times Square and in a safe area. After unloading our required gear it was off to the parking garage. 4 days parking cost 120$ .. and that was after getting a deal from our hotel. The regular price would have been 192$ .. welcome to New York!
Now it is time to check out the city, Times Square here we come. After about 15 minutes of walking we were right in the heart of Times Square .. us and about 5 thousand other tourists standing around taking tons of pictures ... I am sure real New Yorkers stay away from here, but we didn't care .. it was pretty cool.

Day 5: Pittsburgh, PA to Atlantic City, NJ

We had an average free continental breakfast at the hotel, and were on our way before checkout time. We stopped at a couple stores in the area – HH Gregg, Target, Battery Plus and Best Buy before hitting the highway and heading back toward Pittsburgh. We decided to stop at the HRC and take the incline up Monags....  mountain ($7). Then back on the PA Turnpike and set out for Philadelphia. It was a long drive through the hills and valleys of PA. Approx 5 hours later we arrived in Philadelphia, and began searching for the HRC in its downtown and an authentic Philly Cheese Steak. We found the Liberty Bell and went to Jim’s Steak based on recommendation from a security guard at the Liberty Bell and it was in the tour book.  Wow. Tasty stuff. I had a Cheese Steak with Whiz and fried onions. Derek had a Cheese Steak with Provolone and fried onions and peppers.

We then left for Atlantic City and found our hotel – Harrah`s. Checked in and discovered the door to the room looked like had previously been broken into. Nice. Locked up our stuff and wandered down to the casino to check out the tables. Derek took a crash course in Craps – got some advice and tips from the guy playing next to him. The guy was originally from New York City – grew up in Queens, went to school in Manhattan – but now lives in Florida (has his own business) and said that Harrah`s flew him here for free and gave him room. He plays a lot of Craps, and really knew the numbers and odds. 

 

Derek played a little longer after this guy retired for the night, and Lu checked out the rest of the casino. We eventually called it a night and had a good sleep in a comfy king-sized bed!

Day 4: East bound & down

Today was a real road day, we woke up in Granger IN packed up our tent and hit the road. Just like in the movie Smokey and the Bandit we were 'East bound & down & loaded up & trucking'

Ok, so maybe we weren't bootlegging a semi full of beer across state lines to win a bet, nor am I sporting a 70's mustache .. but we did have some serious ground to cover as we have hotel reservations in Atlantic City for Monday and to get us to Pittsburgh I was playing that song over and over in my head. Click here to hear inside my head :)

After spending what seemed like a small fortune in toll fees to drive to Pittsburgh we finally made it here in time for supper.

Luanne was on the hunt for a good Pittsburgh meal and by golly did she find it. If you google 'Pittsburgh sandwich' you will be guided by the google gods to Primanti Bros. Restaurant. Who would have ever thought to stuff your french fries and coleslaw into your meat sandwich .. well, the Primanti Brothers back in 1933 did, and they were on to something. The sandwich was great and may be tough to top on this cross country trip.

After stuffing ourselves we quickly toured the Downtown Square district of Pittsburgh that was really impressive. It had a European feel to it that made us wonder if the Exchange District back home could pull it off.

After taking some pictures we hopped in the Trans Am, err, Ford Focus and punched the coordinates to the hotel into Nuvi. Not sure why, but Nuvi had a meltdown and just could not figure out how to get us here .. after a mini sightseeing tour of various parts of Pittsburgh and a reboot it seemed that Nuvi got his act in gear and eventually guided us to the Microtel near the airport .. once again flashing some Federal Government plastic we were given the government rate .. you gotta love this country.

Anyhow, tomorrow we are headed as far East as we can go by car and once we hit the ocean we will stop and check into Harrahs for a night of gambling and drinking. Time now to research how to play craps .. I'm not sure if that will really help, but stay tuned and find out.

Weird fact of the day :: Heinz was founded in Sharpsburg (a suburb of Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, in 1869 by entrepreneur Henry John Heinz.

Day 3: Tomah, WI to South Bend, IN

Today we had a good start from Tomah, Wisconsin -- after a quick breakfast at the hotel, and a quick stop for cheese at Humbird Cheese (we actually stopped at this exact same place last year on the way home from our trip!) we set out for Chicago. Driving went smoothy until we hit Illinois .. Then the tolls began. Started off with $1.90 to get on the Jane Addams toll highway then not too far in, another $3.50! Then more tolls .. And they even make you pay to get off the crazy thing!

We stopped at Johnnie's Beef in Arlington Heights (a suburb of Chicago) for the famous italian beef burgers / sausage burgers and ice drinks. My watermelon ice drink was very tasty; Derek's lemonade ice drink was good but quite sweet.

Then we set out to go downtown Chicago, but changed plans once we realized how slow traffic was turning out to be. For the most part we drove about 10 mph and at one point we were at a complete standstill for several minutes. All in all, ittook us about an hour and a half to go 20 miles. Good grief! Realized tonight that there was a White Sox game, but although that may have contributed to more traffic, probably not the only reason. Imagine what 'rush hour' might be Iike during the week.

Finally out of Chicago, and entering Indiana, we paid our first dues to the Indiana toll system, then remembered that we still need to fuel up. So we kept watch for an exit with fuel. Eventually decided we really needed to stop, so we exited at Scary, ....correction - Gary, Indiana. We have driven through parts of Gary before (further northeast, closer to Indiana Sand Dunes Park), and this experience was much the same and worse. Maybe the fact we were coasting on gas fumes into an area that looked like an apocalypse had just occurred added to this feeling, but seriously ... Gary, Indiana is one of the scariest places I have ever been. Such a strange feeling about this place. There could be several abandoned and/or burnt out houses, and then one nice looking home with a beautifully landscaped and irrigated yard. After Nuvi directed us to a desolate, abandoned gas station in the middle of all this, and then sitting at the longest traffic light in the country (in a next to abandoned center), we were never so thankful to finally find fuel. We would have paid $6/gallon if that's what they were asking, just let us out of here! Derek had asked the guy at the gas station about the history of Gary, and apparently the guy commented that it wasn't good. Derek asked if that meant it that meant we shouldn't stick around and the guy told him to get out as quick as we can. Hmmm. We high-tailed it out of Gary and continued east.

We decided to stop for the night at South Bend, Indiana as we have now lost an hour as we have crossed into eastern time zone. We found a decent place to pitch our tent at the South Bend/ Elkhart North KOA in Granger, and grabbed a snack at the Between The Buns Sports Bar & Grill just down the street. The food was very good and we had a gigantic mug of beer to wash it all down. It was great - the place even had wifi and I was able to borrow a plug-in nearby to charge my camera battery for tomorrow!

We returned to the campsite and settled in for the night. Just crickets and frogs now ...beats the sound of trains, motor bikes and police cars we were hearing earlier in the evening. Tomorrow we hit Pittsburgh, if everything goes as planned

Day 2: Albertville and beyond

Today we woke up after a relaxing night camping, the weather threatened to get nasty last night but it was all bark and no bite. This morning Luanne took advantage of the pool before we showered and hit the road. On the way to the outlet mall we stopped at Emma Krumbee's and enjoyed a great meal to start the day.

After brunch we made our way to the outlet mall where the Columbia store once again provided some good deals. I found a nice rain jacket and golf shirt for a whopping 30$ total .. Luanne found a winter jacket and shorts. After the Columbia store Luanne found some wicked sunglasses and shoes at some of the many stores. We burnt a few hours in what seemed like minutes, then it was back on the road.

We drove for a few more hours and found a good deal at the Quality Inn in Tomah, Wisconsin. After plugging in all our electronic devices to charge and buying some cheap beer we hit the pool.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Day 1: Starting out

After a long day of packing and other preparations on Wednesday, August 22, Derek and I rounded up the cats and hit the road for the farm. Unlike Oscar, who typically goes into hiding when he sees the cat carrier, Olivia amazed us by simply walking into hers. She maybe thought her time was up with us and we were taking her back to the humane society.. But nope, a few minutes later we re surprised by how light her carrier was, and discovered that she is a bit of an escape artist. After tracking her down, she pulled a trick out of Oscar's book and ran to hide under the bed. Dragged her out of there, back to the carrier ...she waltzed in and then a quick 180 and she darted out of there just as we were starting to feel pretty awesome for outsmarting the cat. Hmm. Back to the bedroom, and crawling under the bed, again ... But this time she was precisely in the very center where neither of us could reach her from either side. She almost got left behind at his point!

We arrived at the farm late, can't even say it was wednesday evening anymore ...so it ties into today's post just perfectly. Unpacked the cats (and their luggage) and the perishables from our fridge, then made time for a quick drink. Derek was drawn to troubleshooting my mom's most recent computer issue (unfortunately it remains unresolved). Finally, to bed - for some much need Zzzzz's!

We left the farm today around 1pm - this year's experience crossing into the U.S. at Hannah, ND was less grueling than last year's. The border guy checked the car and asked us the expected questions, but we didn't have to go inside. The new port building is expected to be opening on tuesday apparently. Last year we saw the construction beginning, so interesting to see what it looks like now. There are lots of combines running around here on this side of the border, and lots of outfits with straight cutters and semis.

We stopped briefly in Langdon for a fuel up at the SuperPumper, and continued east. We realized around Cavalier that we seemed to be on a different path than other times (like last year) when we've started our trips heading toward Grand Forks. No big deal, just different. Made it to I-29 and cruised by Grand Forks from the north instead of from the west.

Note to selves: next time we are in Grand Forks, should check out "Deek's Pizza". How dare they steal this name before Derek could finish his 100 test-run pizzas and open his own pizza place?!

We switched up the driving for something different and continued to Fargo. it was about 5pm now, so we stopped at Taco John's to grab some quick grub, then ran into the SunMart Foods to pick up a couple pocket note pads and magazines. 

We left Fargo around 6pm and entered Minnesota!

Stopped at Big Chief near Fergus Falls for fuel and observed the rolling hills nearby at the tiny Continental Divide tourist spot. This was around 7pm.

 

The next 2 hours were uneventful and just driving to make it to the Minneapolis NW/Maple Grove KOA Campground for 9:20! Despite the big winds, lightning show and tornado warnings in nearby counties, we managed to get the tent set up in only maybe some spots of rain. We were please to be received by a note for us from the campground office that a spot had been reserved for us at site 90. We found it easily with the marked map, and were comfortably resting in our tent well within a half hour. The campground seems quite nice - with a shady tent site, wifi, and an outdoor pool.

 

 

 

Tomorrow we intend to jump back to Albertville Premium Outlets for a few hours, then make tracks toward Chicago.

 

The wind has gone down now and it's time to fall asleep listening to the crickets and nature around us! Goodnight!