Long Island, New York

Thrilled with their new prize possessions
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We arrived in Uniondale, New York at 11 p.m. on July 6, 2008. The GPS was awesome, but the drive was frenetic. It was dark, there were a lot of vehicles, and they moved fast! Neither of us could take our eyes off of the road for one second. In addition, we did not factor in that the GPS would calculate the quickest way possible to our destination, not necessary the most RV friendly way. Although our RV cleared the low overpasses into Long Island, it felt as though we merely had inches for clearance. It was a harrowing experience, but the drive brought us only ten miles from our campground.

The streets of Chinatown
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On Monday morning, July 7, we went into New York City. We hopped a train in Long Beach that took us directly into Penn Station. We were in Manhattan in no time at all. Our first stop was the Empire State Building. However, as we neared the front of the line, we were told that the visibility from the 102^nd floor was poor so decided to step out of line. We then took a subway that brought us near Rockefeller Center. Megan had been requesting to go to the American Girl store every five minutes from the time we stepped off the train as she had some business to take care of there. She had saved over $100 from her birthday until now so that she could buy an American Girl doll in New York with her own money. Taylor was a strong advocate for Megan.

The Walmart in Uniondale, our first night on Long Island
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After the American Girl store we took a subway to Little Italy and Chinatown. We dined on the streets of Little Italy. It seemed busy for a Monday evening. I can only image what a weekend day might be like. The girls were fascinated with the ambiance of Little Italy. Taylor noticed that most of the men wore pants. She was right. I would have never noticed it myself. The girls purchased some beautiful folded fans from a woman selling them on the sidewalk. They thought the fans were pretty neat.

On the Long Island Railroad on our way to New York City
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After dinner, we decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. By the time we got to the bridge the girls were very tired, but it was worth it. The experience of being on the bridge was exhilarating. At the center of the bridge, we could see all around the City as well as the Statue of Liberty. The sidewalk for us to walk on was like a boardwalk while cars rushed by underneath us. Between the cracks of the boardwalk we could also see the water. By the time we got to the Brooklyn side of the bridge, it was getting dark and time for us to head back to camp. Taylor was so tired. She kept saying “I just want home sweet RV”. We finally arrived at the RV at about 11:30 p.m. It was fun touring New York City by train, subway and foot!  When we got back to the RV, Tom and I checked out the local news to see what was happening back home.  We shared with the girls the headlines "American Girl opening at MOA in November, 2008"!