Oy vey! Such a day we’ve had! I had not mentioned last night that we were camping in a rest area. I had discovered when I was planning this trip, that some rest areas are set up for overnight camping and have dump stations. They are free! It was unfortunate that the camper next to us made a lot of noise around 2:00 AM before pulling out. Still, it was a worthy experiment.
If you look closely at the camper over one from us, you’ll see a man’s legs sticking out of the engine. He seemed to be tearing his engine apart. 🙂
We were only two miles from the border to New York when we camped last night, so we didn’t have far to enjoy Connecticut this morning. We took what looked like it was going to be the most direct route to New Jersey and ended up in a nightmare!
Entering New York again, but this time we were headed toward New York City.
When we got to New Rochelle, Mark thought we were in the heart of New York City. I said, “No this isn’t big enough.” When we got our first view of New York City, Mark understood what I meant.
We crossed a toll bridge and found out at that toll station that they don’t take credit cards. We had no cash, so they gave us a bill we can pay online.
Not only did the city look big, but we were astounded by the number of gravestones in this cemetery!
I don’t know what bridge this was, but it dumped us into the heart of New York where our GPS stopped working.
It looked like there was some kind of Saturday Market (or would that be Sunday Market?) going on beside us.
The center building seemed to be a justice building. Impressive architecture!
We got into Chinatown, and that’s where Mark’s behavior and language deteriorated. Imagine trying to drive a 35 foot RV towing a pickup through these streets, and you’ll understand why.
I thought this sign was appropriate!
If you look closely behind the school bus, I believe that’s an Orthodox Jew. I didn’t want to be too obvious taking his picture.
Our GPS wasn’t working in downtown, and my tablet kept wanting to send us into a tunnel where RV’s are forbidden. I steered Mark out of the mess and across the Williamsburg Bridge with the help of our trusty road atlas. We weren’t in the clear yet.
This is probably the closest I will ever get to the Statue of Liberty.
We had one last toll bridge to cross, but fortunately, they did accept credit cards.
There was no “Welcome to New Jersey” sign, but we were never more happy to cross a border!
Once we were in New Jersey, Mark found a Walmart to stop at for a bathroom break. I stayed in the RV and put everything that had fallen on the floor back up. Mark checked the RV and the truck and came in much happier when he was able to report that we had made it through the heart of New York without a scratch!
Somehow, after what we’d been through, driving into a military compound felt like entering a safe zone.
We got to our campsite just as the office where we were supposed to register was closing, but they told us what site we could park in. They’ll let us fill out the paperwork in the morning.
There is a beautiful little pond within sight of our RV.
It’s a little fuzzy, but I caught these black ducklings with my telephoto.
Sunset over the pond
Mark was feeling so much better once we stopped that he grabbed me and tickled me! He even thanked me for directing us out of the “Black Hole”. He said he never, ever wants to go to New York again!
Here’s the latest from Mom:
The St. Vincent Business Office sent word in today’s mail and this is what it said: “Your request for uncompensated services has been approved for 100% assistance. This is a one-time benefit.” I was shouting “Praise the lord!” at the top of my lungs. What a financial help it will be to us! They won’t pay for charges from various clinics and services that have offices in their building, but I imagine his hospital stay will be covered.
Captain Log
Star date; 1115
While in route to our next destination, all navigational equipment failed causing us to be sucked in to the black hole known as New York. First Mate took hold of the venerable road map atlas and eventually navigated us free of the menacing anomaly. Though my sanity to a direct hit, the ship and tag along equipment made it through this ordeal without a scratch….
If New York was wiped off the earth, it would be no great loss…..