Liberty Harbor, New Jersey and New York City, New York

** New Jersey and New York City **

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

So, NYC, being NYC, obviously the RV aint gonna get in there....

There is an RV Park called Liberty Harbor in New Jersey at the marina.  Talk about location location location.. we honestly didn't think we'd get this close to NYC in NYC.  We thought we'd have a large commute to get over or perhaps we'd have to park the bus somewhere and then get a hotel.. but what a place !

We can see the statue of Liberty from the RV which is pretty cool when you're seeing it for the very first time.. we have the most incredible sky line  to look at from each window which we never get and incredibly it takes only  12 minutes on a ferry to get to NYC from where we're staying.. we're about 100 metres from the ferry and the ferries come every 15 minutes.. so this is awesome!

In addition, there's a light rail about 200 metres down the road that gets you around New Jersey and also into Hoboken which you can then catch a ferry and end up in NYC.. so either/either (notice the difference in pronunciation there) it's pretty simple.

We checked into Liberty Harbour before 9am and set up.  We didn't stay at a camp the night before and I didn't sleep well at all and was knackered.  I vaccuumed the RV and caught up with some washing, had a shower etc and started to feel better now that everything was in order!

Booked the Sex and the City bus tour tickets.. just as well as they require 48hours notice.  Charlie is coming with me.. you're meant to be 13, but she's 12 and a half and certainly looks older and I figure it'll be a fun girlie day for her.. anything to get her out of her "I don't want to do this, I want to go home, I'm not fussed about much' attitude !

The boys hopped on a light train and began their adventure.. off the see the NY Giants game !  That's not football.. all that padding and helmuts, that's ballet with protection if you ask me.. !  Ah well.. each to their own!

Charlie and I watched DVD's for a couple of hours while the boys were at the game.. at least this time they took the camera with them!  The wind started to pick up after lunch and it felt like the RV was going to do a Dorothy and Kansas and take off in a twister !  IT was fierce!

The boys got back around 530pm and then we all caught the light rail and went to the mall in New Jersey.  We all had dinner together and then Al and Greggy watched a movie while Charlie and I checked out the mall.

The thing I detest about their malls is that they're so spread out and hot and stuffy.  Our Winter coasts and hats and gloves are boiling in the mall and awkward to walk in when browsing the shops, but you have to lug them around.  There's no coat checkin at the mall entrances.. there damn well should be.. It would make me spend more as it would be easier to look around.. !  And then worse.. no trolleys !

You'd never see a Target in the mall or a Walmart in the mall, they're on their own sites with their own carparks as they're an entity on their own with their size.. the grocery shops are not in the malls so again, no opportunity to grab a trolley and throw your bags in (and coats, scarves, gloves, lounge suites, spare liver.. [you're still with me.. just checking] etc)

Once you have a few bags, plus your heavy 'outerwear' as they call it, it's really unpleasant which just puts you off..

Anyway.. whats a day without a whine :)   The boys movie finished at 930pm or so and then we all hopped on the light rail and headed back to the Marina.

Tomorrow we'll explore NYC and see the Statue of Liberty which will be great !

Monday. December 8th, 2008

Woke up early.. and we really struggled getting the kids up.  We didn't leave until 1045am which meant we missed the ferry (ferry service from Liberty Harbour to NYC runs in the morning until 10am each 15 minutes and then again in the afternoon from 4pm to 940pm) to NYC so we did the light rail (the station is about 200 metres down the road) and then hopped on a ferry in Hoboken, New Jersey and headed over to NYC.

Walked around for an hour or so, had a hotdog, bought some hot nuts (yum) and then headed over to Battery Park to catch the ferry to see the big girl.

Man it was cold.  The ears are covered, the hands are covered, the head is covered, the body is covered, but the cheeks and nose are icy... we should have balaclavas.. Al is the only one that has one, makes him look like a mini terrorist but frozen cheeks and noses are the pits!

The ferry was pretty packed and the view looking back at New York City of the skyline was incredible.  We had lunch at the big girl, walked around and took some pics and grabbed some souvenirs and then headed back to the city.

Walked the length of Wall Street.  We wanted to the site of the World Trade Centre's ground zero but it's not really zero anymore..  I mean you can see there's a big hole but they're building on it again and they've got it locked and covered pretty tight.. scaffolding and partioning all around.. only a few gaps from the train station that I could see and even then.. teenie tiny gaps so excuse the pics, but it's as good as I could get it I'm afraid.  The new building is at street level already.. you can still see the gaping hole where they were but it's great to see things moving ahead.

We went and had a look around the World Financial Centre (directly opposite from where the towers were).  It was an errie feeling standing where it all happened.  We've all seen it on TV, but being there and seeing how difficult it would have been is so sad.

We walked down Wall street and passed the Combover's building (The Trump Building), the NY Stock Exchange and marvelled at all the limos in the street parked with drivers and waiting.. waiting..

Had dinner at great little Italian restaurant and terrific hot coffee.. (that makes it easier to keep trecking in the cold)

No snow in NYC yet but the wind is a killer.  Without the wind, it'd be a breeze (boom boom.. ) and every now and then it eases up and you breath a sigh of relief.. but then sure enough she comes back!

Got back to Missy around 8pm (to defrost) and then our 'hands across America' decided to go shopping .. about 5 stations on the light rail and topped up our essentials.. bless him!

Caught up with handwriting the blog (so I wouldn't forget), charged up all of the cameras, watched some TV and called it a night.

Tomorrow.. the SATC tour, Timesquare, perhaps Central Park if there's time..

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Woke up and took the light train to Hoboken and ferry to Wall Street and then braved the subway to Times Square.

The Subway, whilst a little smelly, wasn't too bad.. most people just sit there and kip.. not too scary I guess :)

Had some lunch and then walked the 12 blocks or so down 7th, then 5th to the Plaza HOtel for the Sex and the City tour.

Surprisingly, (and mentioned by the tour guide) there were more guys on the tour than  normal (about 10% men, to 90% women)  It was very well done.  The down side was that it was near impossible to take pictures of sites whilst on the bus.  Sites on both sides of the road and you can only sit on one side of the bus.  Due to our getting the 3pm tour, (the tour lasts about 3.5 hours) most of it was not in daylight... It's dark just after 4pm and so bus windows and camera flashes just don't go well.. so not many photos unfortunately.. if you're a fan, come back to the blog in a few days when I've caught up and I'll doa review of the tour, where we went, what we covered etc..

Bus dropped Charlie and I off at 42nd and 6th at Bryant Park.  They have an icerink there (1 of 3 we've seen in NYC) and some stalls set up for the Holiday Season..

Went to Hard Rock Cafe - had a great meal (and a faboulous oversized frozen strawberry margharita).  The waiter was great.  Born and bred in NY, has only left once to go to Texas in 1981 and mocked all of the southeners.  He reminded me of someone that would have been cast as a character in the old sitcom 'Taxi'.  His attempt at an Aussie accent (what accent right?) was a classic.  Anwway, he was worth all of his tip.

Left HRC and bought some trinkets and then headed for the ferry to come back to Liberty Harbor.  Off the ferry and about 20 steps and we were back in the RV.  The weather was a lot milder today.. I actually held my coat a lot today and could actually say that I was warm and even hot during the afternoon.. go figure !  I hope tomorrow is the same weather wise, that wind that wasn't there today was certainly not missed !

Great day !

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

Woke up and caught the ferry over to the city.  Jumped on the subway and headed for Central Park.

Had a hotdog on a street stall for breakfast and then got into a horse and buggy for a slow ride around Central Park.

Unusually UNcold today.  About 13 degrees (C) but drizzling all day.  Had to buy some umbrellas (another street stall).. people are always right there with what you need on every corner in NYC.. yesterday no rain and no people selling umbrellas.. man I lurrrrrrrrrrve this city !

The horse ride was beautfiul.  Central Park is beautiful.  There's an icerink in there too.  Joggers everywhere, couriers on bikes, dog walkers, tourists taking happy snaps.. just a beautiful park.

Went to FAO Scwwarz (a huge toy store) for a look and some more trinkets.. what a fantastic toy store !

The welcome guy dressed as a toy soldier set the scene at the front door.  When you walk in, there are humungus stuffed toys everywhere... In the baby doll section, the babies are in newborn cribs (you know, the plastic ones in the nursery that you see in the hospital that you view through the window) and the staff in that area are dressed as nurses.. in the empty plastic cribs are little signs saying 'stork coming soon'.. so damn cute !

The lolly section is something else again.. called FAO Schweeetz .. lol lols everywhere.  Upstairs, the lego area.. lifesized lego of Chewbakka, Batman and others.. also the BIG piano with two guys entertaining.. dancing away making some great music.. very very clever.. just like in the movie BIG !

The Rockerfella centre was next (another ice rink) and then some lunch at a cute place called the Primeburger..  Oddly enough, whilst not part of yesterday's SATC tour, was actually a restaurant used in the movie.. it looked a little grotty but was extremely busy and casual which looked good and we just stumbled across it.. then we saw the pic of Sarah Jessica Parker in a scene from the show in the same seat that Greggy was sitting in..   Go figure !

The waiter there was a classic.

"May I have a black coffee please"

"Oh.. you want milk in it?"

"No thanks, just black"

"Ah.. we call that a 'regular' coffee".

"Ok.. I'll play, I'll have a regular coffee pleae"

"Ah.. so you want it black right?"

Yup.. he was a real character.. felt like I was in a Seinfeld Episode !

I'll update the rest of this blog tomorrow hopefully.. it's after 1am as I'm typing this and if I don't get some shut eye I wont be a good tourist tomorrow :)

K (and him and them)

Ok - Update, I'm back.

Did some shopping after lunch - some typical tourist shopping, some I love NY T-Shirts, some caps and trinkets etc and bought a new lens for my camera.. hope the quality of photos improve !

Had dessert at Planet Hollywood and hung for an hour or so looking around and then around 6ish or so headed back on the subway to Wall St and then caught the ferry back to Liberty Harbour.  They say this rain is settling in for a while which is a real pain. Tomorrow, we're off to see the Amish !