June 8 to 21, 2017

An unexpected occurrence forced us to change plans.  One of the many lessons we have learned, in the five years since moving into our RV full-time, is that we need to be flexible when making plans.  Because you just never know what little or big bump in the road may force a change in plans and whenever this has happened to us we have tried to have a positive attitude and “go with the flow.”

 

We set an alarm for 7am because we wanted to get an early start.  After I prepped the inside, I noticed there were a couple of rigs in line to use the one and only dump station at Liberty Harbor RV Park. 

 I decided to walk over and stand in line while Monte finished hitching up. 

It turned out to be a good idea because by the time it was our turn seven rigs were behind me in line. 

Even though I had researched the route we had to take I goofed and told Monte to take the next exit. 

 

Darn it.  We ended up driving in city traffic again!  Luckily the GPS quickly rerouted us.

After crossing into Connecticut, I asked Monte to stop at the Darien Service Plaza so I could use the restroom.  When I got back to the rig, Monte told me we had a “Big Problem”.  There was transmission fluid pouring out from under the truck.  We called the closest Dodge Dealer (five miles away).  They informed us that they did not have a life heavy enough for the truck and suggested we call Danbury Dodge.  Danbury Dodge instructed us to have the truck towed in but when we explained that we are towing a 5^th wheel they said they could not accommodate us, suggesting we have the rig towed to the Walmart a few miles away from their location.

We knew that wasn’t going to work so we called another Dodge Dealer in Meriden.  The service advisor, Bryonna, said, “Come on down.  We will work something out for the RV.”

When we called AAA to arrange the tow we were informed that we would need a heavy duty tow truck and the soonest they would have one available was the next morning.  So we spent a very restless night in the service plaza.  It was difficult to sleep with all the traffic from I-95 and the constant semi-truck engines idling all around us.

BUT, that being said, we counted our blessings that we had this issue in a safe place.  I shudder to think about it happening while we were on the highway or while we were driving in the city.

AAA ended up sending two trucks. 

They towed us 50 miles to Robert’s Dodge in Meriden, CT.

I cannot say enough good things about the staff at Robert’s Dodge.  In preparation for our arrival, they had cleared off several parking spaces along the perimeter of the parking lot. 

Then they diagnosed the issue-several nut plates had sheared off the torque converter. 

In addition the transmission pump had to be replaced.  Another 1000.00 dollar part.  The good news was the transmission checked out okay.  The better news was that our extended warranty was going to cover the entire repair less our $200 deductible. 

Monte opted to purchase a Banks torque converter (we would pay the difference out of pocket) because it would provide more power than the Dodge torque converter and has a very high rating. The dealer ordered the converter.  Unfortunately, it wouldn’t arrive for another 11 days on the 20^th. 

So we ended up dry-camping at Robert’s Dodge for a total of 12 days.  The weather cooperated with sunny days so our batteries charged allowing us to have power in the evenings and our roof top satellite dish worked great. 

  The extended warranty covered 7 days toward a car rental, Enterprise gave us a couple of extra days because we were willing to swap out our van for a smaller car before the rental was due back and Robert’s Dodge covered 2 days. (Did I say how awesome this dealer is!)

During our 12 day stay in Meriden we did some exploring beginning with the Mohegan Sun Casino.

  Both Monte and I received $50 in free slot play when we signed up for their players’ card. 

We played the slots for hours stopping when we had enough money left to eat at the buffet. 

 

Another day we took a drive to Mystic Seaport and continued on to Waverly, RI.

One day we shopped at Stew Leonard’s.  This is the largest bottle of wine I have ever seen.

The sign said look in my mouth so

of course Monte had to put his hand in the mouth.

On the 14^th, we celebrated my birthday with a dinner at Chili’s. 

 

 Earlier in the day we had taken a ride to Hop Brook Lake, a COE park.  It was the closest place I could locate that sold the National Park Senior Pass.  Yep, it’s official-I’m an old fart.

One of the crew at Robert’s Dodge suggested we go to Wooster St. in New Haven and eat at a local favorite, Frank Pepe’s Pizza.

The following is listed on their website, "Frank Pepe knew in 1925 that only coal burns hot and dry, and doesn’t give off steam like a wood fire. He knew that only a coal fire could give his “tomato pies” their famous crisp, charred, chewy crust. "

"We knew when we began to bring Pepe’s Pizza closer to you that we had to recreate his original oven, brick by brick, with a fire door cast from a mold of the original. And even in today’s fast-paced world, we knew that our customers might at times be willing to wait a few minutes longer for a PERFECT PEPE PIZZA. So that’s how we do it today. Grandpop, you taught us well."

 

 

Still having casino fever we spent an entire day at Foxwoods. 

 

I began with $50 and after going up and down (at one point I had 24 cents left and managed to get it up to $70) and several hours later finally lost my original starting money. 

 

We ended up with one free coupon for the buffet so it only cost us $25 for the both of us to eat. 

 

 After dinner, Monte watched a live band while I went back to the slots.

We went to Ninety 99 Nine Restaurant for Father’s Day.

We spent the final two days while at Robert’s Dodge just doing some local shopping, filling our propane tank and doing laundry. 

The final ordered part arrived Tuesday afternoon.  After it was installed Monte went with the mechanic for a test drive.  Rides GREAT!

We spent one last night dry camping at Robert’s Dodge. 

By 10AM on Wednesday morning we were pulling out of the parking lot and onto our next adventure. 

June 4^th-7^th, 2017

June 4^th-Travel from Cosca Regional Park, Clinton, MD to Wal-mart, Clinton, NJ

We had only planned on staying at Cosca Regional Park for a few days but ended up staying 2 weeks.  First order of business as we were leaving the park was to dump. 

 The sites have electric and water but no dump.  The only dump station is at the entrance to the campground. 

Our travel to the Walmart in Clinton, NJ was uneventful.  The semi truck driver in front of us in the parking lot recommended Franks Italian Restaurant, a short walk away.  We really enjoyed our pizza and topped off the meal by sharing a piece of tiramisu.  Luckily the sun had been out the entire day so we had a full charge on our solar panels and we were able to watch a couple of hours of TV before calling it a night.

June 5^th-We got an early start.  We only had 50 miles to travel from Clinton to Jersey City, NJ where we had reservations at Liberty Harbor RV Park.

I had spent so much time planning our route because I was paranoid about accidentally ending up at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.  (The exit we needed to use was the very last exit before the tunnel). 

 When I saw the sign for the tunnel I panicked and told Monte to exit right away.  We ended up driving in downtown Newark.  I was freaked out but Monte was pretty calm as he maneuvered around double parked cars, taxi cabs darting in front of us and pedestrians crossing in the middle of the block.

After a few more wrong turns down very narrow streets we arrived at the campground that is really just a parking lot with water and electric.  But for our plans and the places we wanted to visit it is in an ideal location. 

As we pulled into the campground, Monte noticed a burnt odor coming from the front passenger tire.  Oh no.

He removed the tire and the caliper and determined that the pistons were sticking.  Monte extended the pistons and lubricated the boot of the seal hoping that would solve the problem. 

After dinner we took a walk along the harbor admiring the sailboats and yachts. 

June 6^th- We got up early because we had 8AM reservations for the Statue Cruises ferry that would take us over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. 

The ferry departs from Liberty State Park, a short drive from Liberty Harbor RV Park.  We could have walked to the harbor but decided to drive the truck there because it was raining and with temps in the mid 60’s it was chilly.  We also wanted to see if Monte had solved the caliper issue.

There is a large parking lot at the harbor that charges $7 for all day. 

I had prepaid for the ferry on-line.  After showing the printed confirmation we were given tickets and a wrist band that would allow access to the crown at the Statue of Liberty. 

The ferry stopped at Ellis Island first.  We stayed on board and disembarked at the Statue of Liberty. 

The clerk who gave us our tickets had suggested going to the crown first thing in the morning because there was several large school groups scheduled to tour the statue during the day.

 

As we climbed the 354 steps to the crown I was glad I had taken the advice to go to the Statue of Liberty first.  There was no one in front of us or behind us so we could take our time.  Although there are landings you can step off to take a break, the steps get narrower and narrower toward the top with no landings until you reach the top. 

The effort was definitely worth it because the rain stopped and the view was spectacular. 

The Statue itself is made of copper.  It is a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess.  She holds a torch above her head and in her left arm carried a tablet inscribed in Roman numerals with July 4, 1776.  A broken chain lies at her feet.  The statue, a gift from the people of France, became an icon of freedom that was a welcoming sight to immigrants arriving from abroad. 

We spent the next couple of hours touring the grounds, museum and gift shop.

The crowds were not too large as we took the ferry over to Ellis Island. 

 

 

 

I had packed a lunch so we took advantage of the dining room in the café to eat before touring the museum.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures on Ellis Island because I just wanted to enjoy the visit and there is so much to cover that I feared not getting through the entire museum if I took time to take pictures.

Ellis Island was the gateway for over 12 million immigrants during the inspection stations opening years from 1892 to 1954.  My mom, who was toward the end of her pregnancy with me, emigrated from Germany in 1955.  Even though she didn’t come through Ellis Island, I couldn’t help but think about her journey and how intimidating it must have been for her to come to the United States. 

Immigration officials reviewed about 5,000 immigrants per day during the peak times at Ellis Island between 1905 and 1914.  Generally, those immigrants who were approved only spent two to five hours at Ellis Island.  The new arrivals were asked questions including the amount of money they carried because the American government wanted to make sure the new arrivals could support themselves and had enough money to get started. (The average amount was between $18 and $25)

Those with visible poor health were send to the island’s hospital facilities or were sent back home.  Some unskilled workers were rejected because they were considered likely to become a public charge. 

I would highly recommend for anyone who emigrated from another country or have relatives who emigrated to read about the conditions and hardships that those early immigrates were willing to endure for a chance at a better future. 

All too soon we had to return to the ferry just prior to closing time.  We visited Ellis Island and the State of Liberty in the same day but I regret not having more time at Ellis Island.  It is almost impossible to watch all the short films in the exhibits and read all the signage so I found myself having to just glance at the exhibits toward the end of the visit.

When we made the short drive back to the park Monte could smell that burnt odor again so he made the determination that the caliper needed to be replaced.  After calling around to three different Advanced Autos we discovered that none of them had the item in stock.  Monte put the wheel back on and drove to the closest Advanced Auto to order and pre-pay for the caliper and bracket.   While he was at Advanced Auto he inquired if they knew of a local mechanic that would replace the caliper.  They referred him to a garage on the next block where he made arrangements to bring the truck the following morning after picking up the order from Advanced Auto.

June 7^th-We picked up the part at Advanced Auto at 8:30 and dropped it and the truck off at the nearby service station.  We planned on taking the Path train into Manhattan and didn’t know if we would make it back by the shops 7PM closing time so we pre-paid the $60 they were charging to install the new caliper.  We made arrangements for the mechanic to lock the keys in the truck and park it on the street in front of the shop.  (After making sure we had our second set of keys of course).

We walked to the closest train station only a half a mile away.  We figured out how to purchase metro cards at the machine just inside the station. ($1 service fee for the card and $2.25 for one fare.  We opted to purchase two fares each so we wouldn’t have to do it on the return trip at the end of the day).

It was towards the end of rush hour when we entered the train so it was standing room only but luckily we only had to travel two stations exiting at the World Trade Center station.

When you exit the train at the WTC you enter the Oculus, an 800,000 square foot glass and steel structure that resembles a dove in flight.  The transportation hub replaced the Path station that was destroyed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 

The Oculus serves as the centerpiece of the WTC transportation hub, incorporating multi levels with state of the art retail and dining.

After exiting the Oculus we got our first glimpse of the WTC close up. 

We had 2PM prepaid tour tickets for the 9/11 Museum.  It was only 10AM so we had plenty of time to do some exploring prior to our tour time.

The first thing we did was visit the plaza where two enormous waterfalls and reflecting pools are set within the footprints of the original Twin Towers. 

The memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed on 9/11.   The names of every person who dies that day are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools.

After an emotional visit at the Memorial we began walking toward the South Street Seaport, a historic area in NYC centered where Fulton Street meets the East River. 

 

 I had hoped to have enough time to walk across the historic Brooklyn Bridge but our walk to the Seaport took more time than I realized but I did manage to get a great picture of the bridge.

On our return walk to the WTC we stopped at Little Italy Pizzeria and enjoyed a real New York slice. 

 Yep, it was as good as I remembered from my years living in New York.

We took a few minutes to walk into St. Paul’s Chapel, “The Little Chapel That Stood”, located on Broadway between Fulton Street and Vesey Street in Lower Manhattan.  The Chapel was built in 1796 and is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan. 

George Washington worshipped at St. Paul’s Chapel on his inauguration day in 1789 but the real significance of the Chapel relates to 9/11.  The rear of the Chapel faces Church Street, opposite the east side of the WTC.  After the attacks on 9/11, the Chapel served as a place of rest and refuge for recovery workers at the WTC site. 

For eight months, hundreds of volunteers worked 12 hour shifts around the clock serving meals, making beds, counseling and praying with fire fighters, construction workers, police and others.  THE CHURCH SURVIVED WITHOUT EVEN A BROKEN WINDOW. 

I lit a candle before we left.

It was still a little early for our 2PM tour but we took a chance we would be admitted early and it paid off.  I regretted I hadn’t selected an earlier tour time became once again we found ourselves having to rush through exhibits toward the end of the day.

The National September 11 Museum is operated by a non-profit corporation whose mission is to raise funds for programs and operate the memorial and museum. 

The underground museum has artifacts from September 11, 2001 including steel from the Twin Towers.  The museum is about 70 feet below ground and accessible through a pavilion.  Other Ground Zero artifacts include wrecked emergency vehicles, pieces of metal from all seven World Trade Center buildings, recordings of survivors and first responders, pictures of victims and the wreckage and other media detailing the destruction.

Then entire museum is designed to evoke memories.  The exhibit that got to me the most was where pictures of people jumping from the towers are displayed.  I don’t know if I will ever be able to get those images out of my head. 

We rode the train back to Jersey City and walked the half mile back to the service station arriving a few minutes before 7PM.  We were surprised to find the truck was parked near Advanced Auto and not in front of the service garage.  I used my key to open the truck.  We couldn’t find Monte’s keys that were supposed to be hidden under the floor mat.

Monte called the garage.  The mechanic FORGOT to leave the keys.  He walked over from the garage to give us the keys.  I was relieved that we had arrived prior to closing time because it would have been a hassle to have to return the next morning for the keys as we were planning on leaving Liberty Harbor RV Park early.