Plymouth Rock, Cape Cod and NYC

We decided to take a trip to the "oldest continueous lived in city in America" and to see where the Pilgrims decided to make their home in the "New England".

You can look around a little bit and maybe have lunch but otherwise not much going on.

Monument that surrounds the rock

Yep, it looks like a rock!

I guess the Native Americans are really upset with themselves for helping the first white settlers from England. If it wasn't for them, Native Americans, all the Pilgrims would have died that first winter. 

Can we really blame them ?

We picked a  beautiful day to take the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard. It was very cool to see the island after hearing so much about it and where the "elite" vacation.

Gorgeous homes

We decided the best way to see the island would be to rent a moped... so off we went.  Andy really wanted to see Aquinnah but they had the main road to there closed for Obama's arrival.  Turned out to be a lucky turn of events because:

This is where our moped broke down

If we had done the other part we would have been stuck out in the middle of nowhere.  They gave us a new one and off we went to finish exploring.  Now, I can thank the President for something !  lol

We took a Whale watching trip out of Provincetown on Cape Cod...saw lots of whales and even a few Sharks. 

Andy was so dang funny.  During the tour the boat captain would follow a particular whale for a while and the tour guide would talk about this whale...it's history, how many babies she has had..etc.  We must have seen about 5 or 6 different whales. 

Andy thought we saw about 20-30 different whales.  She thought that every time a whale would surface it was a different one.  Since she can't hear the tour guide she had no idea we were following the same whale...lol 

After the tour she said to me " that was a lot of whales we saw".  I said "yea about 5 or 6".  She continued to tell me " no, we saw a lot more than that...about 20 or so, at least".   I explained to her what happened. We both had a good laugh !  Poor Andy, she does miss a lot due to her hearing loss but she is a good sport.  She still believes she saw 20 or so whales.  I guess she can believe that...LOL

Took at least 40 shots to get this...FINALLY !

 We saw a few people out in the water trying this when we were coming into Martha Vineyards.

A water jet attached to their feet and they shoot themselves up and forward...looks like fun

You are what you eat...she has eaten so much of this...she should be one

We were staying at Earle Navy Weapons Station which is New Jersey. 

We learned we could drive about 15 minutes to the train station and jump right on a train. It would take us right into the heart of NY City and from there we could take the subway everywhere we wanted to go.  The train and subway worked out great.  We went uptown, downtown and all around town with ease.  I highly recommend taking the NJ Transit into Manhatten. The subway station is right there !

The first thing we wanted to do was go see the "Statue of Liberty".  We knew, if we didn't get there early, there would be a long line.  We got there about 9 am and we got right on the shuttle boat. Afterwards, when we got back, there was a very long line that would have taken hours.  So go early !!

If you just want to take a boat ride past the Statue and get some great pictures you can take the Staten Island Ferry for free.  You just ride the boat to Staten Island and then jump back on the ferry for the return trip. We decided we wanted to get "up close and personal" so we paid the few bucks to take the ferry to the island.

Most of the people on the ferry were from other countries which kind of shocked me. Here I am 57 and this was my first time.  How many people from the USA have never seen her up close !

Andy and I getting ready to get off the ferry.

She is beautiful

My favorite picture of her

On the way to the Statue of Liberty you go past "Ellis Island".  The island is closed due to the Sandy storm damage. I really wanted to stop here because it's where my family came through.

Ellis Island where my Grandfather Haig Barsegian came through in 1919

We took a short walk over to the The National September 11 Memorial. The memorial's twin reflection pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in North America.  The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood.

The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the pools. It is the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil.  This single event changed the entire world in one way or another.

The Memorial Museum was closed for some reason...what a bummer !

It is free to visit the memorial but they do ask for donations.  We did have to wait in line for about 45 minutes which gave us a chance to talk to some wonderful people.  People come from all over the country and world come to visit the Memorial.

It was quite moving and emotional for us.

                                                      LETS US NEVER FORGET !

The new !

North Reflection Pool

South Reflection Pool

Andy felt sober and sad...can you tell !

I have always wanted to see and visit the Empire State Building.  I don't know why !  Just one of those things I guess.  I thought we could walk around a little and see the 1930's decor.  NOPE !

I was very disappointed.  Maybe I expected too much !  You barely walk into the building, maybe a few feet, and they shuttle you to the line for the observation ticket station and then to the line for the elevators.  The cost to ride up to the observation tower, 86th floor, is like $24 each and it took us about 1.5 hours.

It reminded me about the time in Disneyland last year.  You mean you want me to wait in this line for over 1 1/2 hours for a 6 minute ride...ah..nope !

I wish I was smarter this day... but I wasn't.  Guess I can say, " I've been there and done that at the Empire State Building"...lol

Empire State Building

Took forever and not worth the time and money !

The entrance is really all you can see in the building

Very brave girl !

No way was Andy going to look down...nope ..NEVER !

The NYC subway drops you right off in "Times Square".  We walked around a bit. We looked and listened to the sights and sounds of the Square.  People were everywhere!  Working people, tourist people, and just plain weird people.  It was fun "people watching"

See the weird person right in front !

Different people in time square...for the guys !  You too Dale !

I wanted to see where the crooks hang out at. I found it but didn't see any crooks. I did see barriers, guards and "Do not Enter" signs all around the building.  Maybe this is their private club...ummm !

Otto this for you...now you know where your money is won or lost

 
This sure stood out and out of place !   The 25 story spire of Trinity Episcopal Church rises up from Broadway, Majestic yet muted by the skyscrapers.  This Neo-Gothic Church was established in 1697 under the direction of King William III of England.

The current Trinity Church is the third building to stand at this location and was build in 1846.  There is a graveyard and many tombstones that date back to the 1700's.  It is a little spooky.

Trinity Church

Big Brother is now watching you from above

Miracle on 34th Street

Andy just had to have a picture of this place...can "ANYBODY" tell me why?

The Subway and the NJ Transit train is right under the building

We are now in Washington DC staying at Andrews Air Force Base.  We will be hereuntil we fly out on September 3, 2013. We will return on October 15, 2013. We plan on putting the RV in storage during those 6 weeks or so.

Tomorrow and for 17 more days we will be checking out the area.  Will keep you posted.