Northeast
Family Road Trip
About 4 years ago my stepfather and I had talked about going on a cross-country road trip to New Jersey to see some family. After some medical issues, we were finally able to make the trip happen. My route started from Northern Colorado which would make this about 25 hours of total drive time to get to our destination. We decided we wanted to make this a straight shot and not stop overnight. Unfortunately from about Chicago to Eastern Pennsylvania, we had nothing but rain and a lot of that was nighttime driving. This just made a long trip exhausting and added hours of drive time.
Due to an unexpected accident on my trip to Durango, my pickup truck was in the body shop so we took my stepfather’s diesel F-250. The back seat was converted to a bed so that the three of us could rotate who was awake and who got to sleep. Since I-80 runs right through Nebraska we decided to follow it as far as we could. This was a horrible mistake - this interstate is in such poor repair plagued with potholes and damage. Our ride was anything but smooth and comfortable.
Allaire State Park
The day after our arrival we decided to get out of the house and see Allaire State Park. The Historic Village at Allaire was once an iron-producing, factory town known as the Howell Iron Works, Co. The Village was a self-sufficient community containing a carpentry and pattern-making shop, a blacksmith shop, a bakery, a boarding house, a blast furnace, mills to finish iron products, a school, a church, a general store with a post office, and workers’ homes. Iron produced at the village was shipped to New York City by wagon and steamship. It was used to produce steam engine parts in a factory also owned by the proprietor, James P. Allaire. The town is converted into an interactive museum with hiking trails.
Twin Lights Museum & Sandyhook Lighthouse
With some more time, we ended up going out to check out a couple of lighthouses near us - it was almost mandatory since it was National Lighthouse Day. We paid to go up to the top of the Twin Lights and got to enjoy the panoramic view of the Jersey Shore and New York City. Next, we went to Sandyhook Lighthouse. Since the days of exploration and colonization, Sandy Hook and the nearby Navesink Highlands have been prominent landmarks for ships approaching Lower New York Harbor. We did not pay to go up to the top of the lighthouse - instead, we explored Fort Hankcock and the gun batteries. Sandy Hook's location at the entrance to New York Harbor made it an important site for the defense of New York City. Large enemy warships had to navigate the Sandy Hook Channel to attack the harbor, putting them within cannon range of Sandy Hook. The series of forts built on Sandy Hook from colonial days to the modern missile era represented the latest defensive systems. Each fort used the newest technological improvements in weapons and construction techniques in their time.
Happy Birthday!
A highlight of this trip was gathering family who hadn’t seen each other in decades for a birthday party. My stepdad turned 59 and we had great food and a fun pool party.
Let’s Go
With a day free of plans Jay and I decided to head into New York City. We took the ferry over early in the morning and had an entire day to explore.
Due to not having a lot of money, we decided to just do anything we could that was free. While there we went into three churches & cemeteries: St. Paul’s Chapel, Trinity Church, & St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In the heart of New York City lies a solemn reminder of centuries past - the old gravestones that silently bear witness to the passage of time. Weathered by years of rain and sun, these ancient markers stand as stoic sentinels amidst the bustling modern metropolis. Each one tells a unique story, etched in fading letters and intricate designs, hinting at lives long-lived and forgotten. Each one is a silent testament to the enduring legacy of those who once walked the streets of this iconic city, their stories immortalized in stone for future generations to discover and remember.
The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
Over the last 10 years, I have been traveling to National Parks and collecting cancellation stamps. Going to The Status of Liberty and Ellis Island was a must-have since I was this close. To embark we headed to a massive line for the ferry - there must have been thousands of people all smushed together, it was excessively overcrowded. We spent the next couple of hours at these two parks learning about history and enjoying the sights.
How do we get back?
So we most definitely got lost a couple of times. Can I just say for someone who has never been in the subway that it is super disorienting…. Like I don’t know the street names - funny enough I had to bust out my cell phone and figure out cardinal directions to make sure we were going in the right direction. Finally, we made it to Grand Central Station. I have to admit - New York in August is extremely hot and after about 10 hours I was about done. To get back to New Jersey we knew we needed to find Penn Station. I can’t tell you how many times we wandered around Penn Station lost trying to find the train to New Jersey. I believe I had a couple of meltdowns before we finally figured out where New Jersey Transit was. One day was not nearly enough time for Manhatten and Midtown.
Deleware River
The last day before heading home we went to visit Eric’s aunt who lives in Phillipsburg near the Deleware River. We went on a beautiful walk along the river and could see over to Pennsylvania. I would have never imagined that both Pennsylvania and New Jersey were so pretty. Later that evening we ended up crossing over the river and going to Bethlehem, PA to go to Musikfest. Musikfest is the nation’s largest free music festival drawing in over a million people. We went to support a cousin who was playing for one of the bands.
All in all, this was a super fun trip with tons of driving. We decided to take another route home since I-80 was awful making us choose I-70 which was much better. The only trouble was yet again we were chased by storms the entire ride home.