P.S.S - In Case You Were Curious!!

The theme for the 1974 Ocoee High School Jr/Sr Prom was : "Just You and I"
Now you are completely up to date.... Aren't you glad?

Take Care,
Grampy Dave :)~

Day 9 - EPILOGUE / SUMMARY

HOME SWEET HOME
3,125 Miles and 54 hours driving --- We Made It Home!!! Reunions with the grandkids were awesome.
In Florence, SC, We had a yummy Holiday Inn Express breakfast, which the sausage gravy doesn't measure up to that at Gail's Cafe (have you noticed that all food is compared to that served at the "world famous" Gail's Cafe) The customers in Old Town are truly blessed

During our drive home, we began to think of a few funny things that happened on our trip. Most are from Gail's perspective, but I may have to clarify things to give an objective point of view.

In NYC, the girls were taken in by a con artist hot dog vendor while Bob and I were dropping of the van in NJ. 2 hot dogs and 2 bottles of soda totaled $12.00. Everyone else paid $8.00, but not our naive girls from Florida. Gail figured that each hot dog cost the vendor about .07 cents at most. Needless to say, she wasn't a "happy camper" once the evidence was eaten and she figured out the true cost by prices that other vendors had displayed. Jean in her best "Madonna" style said with her angelic smile, "Its Okay"

Also, NYC is not known for numerous public bathrooms or places to sit and relax (of course Gail didn't make it to Central Park or the tons of place to sit in the steamy subway stations). So you better have good bladder control, which you know is not always possible in your "50's"(especially when you birth "big-headed" kids, thanks John!)

Dave has definitely earned his tour guide flag. He knew where he was going at all time, unfortunately the rest of the groups didn't. Sometimes we were just spinning around like a dervish, but Dave would make a drill instructor proud "hup 2...3....4, hup...2....3...4" Bob being the "protective gentleman" usually covered the rear guard position behind Jean and Gail.. sometimes too far back that he had to call out to Dave from 1/2 block back to close the ranks.

As you all may know, we had a loss while we were gone. It weighed heavy on our hearts, especially our "Gentle Giant" Bob. Until the rest of us realized that "Do-Do Head" should not have had it with him. Of course, we're talking about the "infamous" Boy Scout knife. Bob says that if he has his pants on, he has a knife in his pocket.... well he now he has no knife- should he have his pants on.. After much pleading (and crying from Jean), we convinced him to keep his pants on. Bob rationalized that he got his knife back when he went to the Empire State Building. Dave went on to explain that the ESB is privately owned... the Statue of Liberty is "Federally" owned and operated as a National Monument by the U.S. Park Service. Even after we got back to mainland, Dave talked to one of the Park Service Officers, trying to use is law enforcement influence.. but to no avail, obviously they don't think too highly of lowly deputy sheriffs. PS: Dave did have his SWAT knife as a back-up so Gail could carve her apples. He had it, because he left it in the room. :::Remember::: "Pennies For Bob"

NY is "real proud" of their sodas. We found a some at about $1.79, but mostly paid $2.50 and up. I guess that was a good thing, because of the limited restrooms available, it limits the number of sodas or anything else you drink.

Gail started out the trip in Old Town with a stash of vanilla sugar wafers. She really, really liked them. After much "begging" she finally shared with us. She had to replenish her stash at least twice at WalMart stops. On the homeward stretch and about 1/2 way through SC, Gail was literally throwing them at us. Let's just say that sugar wafers in Old Town are safe from her now.... for the time being anyway.

Jean said through all the wonderful states that we visited, all she wanted for a souvenir, and it was free / wouldn't cost us a cent; except a couple nights in jail, was the nice, soft, green northern grass. NO not the smoking kind Bob and Dave, but the mowing kind. If David could have figured how to manage it without throwing everything out of the back of the van, he would have hauled back a pallet of that green stuff, just for her. Awwww how romantic!!!

We have seen gas (smelled a little too, but the guys won't own up to it, blamed that on skunks) prices as low as $2.19 per gallon and as high in northern NY as $2.79.

During the trip, we began a running tally of "live" animals that we saw along the road. Jean started it out officially in either NC or VA, by shouting at the top of her lungs.. DEEEEERRRR!!! After David got the van back on the road, we continued the game. Because he was driving, Dave got a handicap portion of our animal spottings. Here's the official totals, Jean had 2 deer, 1 chipmunk, 1 rabbit. David had 2 deer and 1 rabbit by himself. Bob had 2 chipmunks, 1 rabbit, 1 coyote. Gail had 14 deer (12 were concrete yard deer) and 1 rabbit.
This total doesn't count all the "wildlife" we saw in NYC. Especially the lady being body painted in the street at Times Square and was 3/4 undressed (only had on string bikini bottom). The tour bus guide kept telling everyone on the top deck of the tour bus to sit down while the bus was moving. Never saw so many flashes going off, short of New Years Eve. On older "very senior" lady kept on standing, and straining to see the half naked woman either in awe or envy. Bob has a picture (private stash) of this public spectacle in case anyone wants to see it FREE??? Yeah right, Bob says "for a fee" you can see it. Remember the lost knife, Yeah.. its part of the fundraising campaign to by another priceless BSA knife.

Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or Slim Fast have nothing on the Bill McKinley Weight Loss Plan. You have heard about his 4th floor walk up apartment. Remember, No elevator.... Just stairs.. and more stairs.... and more stairs.... and just when you thought you were at the top of a 30 story building....MORE STAIRS. When we left in the morning we didn't go back up those stairs and more dreaded stairs until the end of the night when we barely could barely drag ourselves up to the top. Gail admires a man that she has never met for doing this on a daily basis. One of our tour bus guides says that he lives in a 5th floor walk up apt, and once he goes up for his 2 days off.... he doesn't come back down. Now that's the way to do it, but he doesn't have sightseeing to do.

Whoever said that vacations aren't educational.... Well you have never been on the 'Great Tire Adventure" with Bob. Every piece of heavy equipment or machinery we saw or passed, Bob informed us of not only the tire size, but how much the tires cost and the "speed rating" for the tires. At a rest area in SC we came upon a convoy of fine upstanding Marines (according to Gail, what else is there but upstanding Marines). Anyway, coming out of the rest area bldg, we found that Bob had somehow managed to get across the invisible security line and we thought that he was thanking them for their service to our country.... Nooooooooooooooo he wanted to get close enough to their crane vehicle to see what size of tires it took. Bib (the michelin tire figure) has "nothing" on Bob.

We ate at the finest establishments. Wendy's, Burger King, KFC, McDonalds and Zaxbys. But for the "Mother of all NY Restaurants in Downtown NY-Times Square" OLIVE GARDEN!!!!! That's Right, Kellie we found it right there in NYC.... hot buttery breadsticks and all.

On the last day in NYC, Bob got his street hot dog and sausage dog. 7-Eleven has better dogs for his taste. Pizza from Carve on our first night in NYC was the one thing that impressed us... maybe we were just starved.. but it was yummy.

On a personal note, Gail said that this was very touching trip. Jean and David have held hands, Jean has curled up against him on boat ride from the Statue of Liberty. Yes, she has pictures of it, PG of course. She said that she and Bob have survived being together for not only 14 months but 9 days on the road, that's a plus.

It took a while to find, but we really had some good music on our trip, thanks to the XM radio (channel 23) in Kellie's van. We played who's singing that song and when it came out. The only thing that stumped us was that Jean and Gail could not remember the prom theme for their Ocoee HS Senior Prom. (not even David could remember and he was there with Jean)
We did have a cool moment in that SC rest area (yes! the one where Bob was drooling over the military tires). As we pulled to the curb, we started to get out and make the run for the bathrooms, the Manhattans song "Let's Just Kiss and Say Goodbye".... Jean said put it on pause, (what did she think the radio had a DVR feature??), Dave said let just enjoy such a memorable song from our youth (yes the 80'S), so we closed the door and all sang along in perfect harmony (well.... maybe not perfect.. but I'm tone deaf and it sounded good to me) Okay... you young 'uns, quit laughing, google or i-tune that song and tell me you don't like it. Gail said we were just trying to tell each other something without saying it (ha ha)

(Now in my best Michael Buffer voice) Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls..... Are You Ready? ARE YOU READY??? Live From Florence South Carolina...
Its time for THE MAIN EVENT
For 2,555 grueling miles we hauled around the Scrabble board (we even took it up the "Dreaded Stairs") But not getting into the hotel or back from sightseeing until 11pm or midnight, we never had the chance. But Sunday night was the night, we rolled into Florence around 8pm, we went to Zaxby's for dinner. We got back to the hotel, settled in the tv lounge and prepared for what turned out to be a battle of wits. David & Bob vs. Gail & Jean--
The first volley out was Jean with the word ANGELS, and it went on from there. Bob and Jean both swore they couldn't spell were coming out with words like AGENDA & FELON.... truly amazing. David was enjoying his game early on with words like QUID & DREDGE, but we discovered that in plain sight, he was using his computer to verify the spelling of words. When confronted, David has such a look of innocence that well all laughed out loud. He said "What? Am I doing something wrong?" (This is Gail's version.. but I must interject.. my 93 yr old Grandmother Tittsworth, allowed me to look in the dictionary for correct word spellings, this made for fewer challenges and time delays.. That's the way i've always played it... But I must admit, computers are better than a dictionary because it gives you spellings of words that are close to the one your looking for too :)) shhhhhh)
Gail "says" that my words got simpler like FOX & OF (Boy is her memory short... LOL) Anyway, after much back and forth, the guys finished with a score of 212 and thanks largely to Jean, the girls finished with 211. I know to some that means that the guys and "the computer" won, but the girls could be proud to have played with honor and rest on their losing laurels. David did use all of his tiles and went out 1st and got to start off the 2nd game. (we asked the girls if they wanted to cut their losses now or suffer another humiliating defeat) Yes, the guys (minus the computer) tore up the girls on the second game. That's right, 2 games to Zip... We have yet to hear the call for a "rematch", that may or may not happen... We'll keep you posted.

LADIES and GENTS.... That's about it.. It was a fun trip, lots of laughter, some amazing sights provided by both man and non-mankind, a few tears, but most of all "We Are Family"
Stay tuned and save this blog page, check back to see what other Adventures Merdie & I have made together.
So in the famous words of T-I-G-G-E-R.... TTFN (TA TA FOR NOW!!!!) :)~

Day 8 - "Home James, errrrr David"

I forgot to read the "heartstrings clause" in microprint in the vacation itinerary. It says, whenever grandparents (specifically Merdies and NaNas) have a desire to see their grandbabies, it supercedes all other plans. With that being said, Jean and Gail used this clause to veto the Gettysburg stop, just like the broadway show option too.
As I mentioned in the previous post, the Howard Johnson's was a last ditch effort to find a room during the hurricane like conditions that were blowing through the mountains of PA. It was a large hotel (2 floors) but it was definitely dated. (Don't read this part Kellie) Gail found a live roach in their bathtub, the tile around both tubs had mildew/mold in the grout, there was a mold ring around the toilet bowls, and the rooms were quite warm which took the a/c half the night to cool the rooms. They obviously had not used this wing of the hotel recently and weren't prepared for travelers to be diving off the interstate seeking refuge. However, the sheets were clean and the pillows comforted our weary heads. We had planned to wash clothes, but no washer/dryers, so Gail and Bob's clothes could stand in the corner by themselves. Also, no elevator on the property.... you guessed it, we had 2nd floor rooms which required a 2 flight walk up, less stairs than the NY apartment and not as steep and narrow, so we survived.
The continental breakfast was okay, cereal, yucky bananas, and "cop food" YES the donuts were fresh and melted in my mouth, yummmm. During the meal, Gail and Jean stocked up on cream cheese, jelly and utinsels for a planned picnic later (we had bought bologna, salami, bread and chips at the WalMart in Hazelton, and I found a 6 pack of Birch Beer-my childhood favorite soda)
We also saw Santa in a "kilt", he was obviously forced out of the skies, the previous night too. As we were checking our, we saw him again wearing a green Santa Claus Convention t-shirt. I didn't know he had conventions for his elves :)) We followed him out of the hotel driveway; he was driving a Chrysler PT Cruiser-- what color you ask... why of course, Red with White Convertible Top and a "Santa4U" vanity license plate. As we mentioned this to each other, he and the car just seemed to disappear, he must be out checking on all the good little boys and girls.
We actually drove right past Gettysburg 45 mins later.... oh well.. saving that for another adventure because we had to make Florence SC by sundown. We picked the Holiday Inn Express (our fav) for its decent breakfast, reasonable rate and a washer/dryer... gotta get those clothes washed. Jean and I had 3 suitcases between us and enough clothes for probably 2 weeks, Bob and Gail kept to the 2 suitcase rule.... they are so obedient. (HA HA)
We had our bologna(Gail & Dave), salami (Bob) and cream cheese and jelly(Jean) sandwich picnic in I-95 rest area in southern Virginia. I made the mistake of parking in the buses only parking area to be close to the picnic tables as it was beginning to rain. The rest area "parking nazi" warned me that I would get a ticket if I left the van there and directed me to the front of the building. Well that was a trick because as you know, most rest areas are "one way" in and out. Hmmmm, what to do, I just whipped it around into the employee parking area off the outbound driveway and hopped out. I knew the nazi wouldn't bother it because it was raining and I read somewhere in the history books that parking nazi's melt in the rain like the Wicked Witch of the West. The picnic went well, refreshed, invigorated and wide-eyed we were off like a herd of turtles, because traffic had slowed to a crawl since we cleared Washington DC. Advisory signs said it would clear at exit 160 and sure enough when we had crept to that exit, traffic started to move steadily and eventually we got back up to cruising speed. The was no accident, police activity or other reason for the delay... my theory to the group was someone said "its Sunday, let's choose exit 160 to back up traffic today"
After that we made good time and arrived at our Holiday Inn at 8pm. A very nice hotel. We passed on the indoor pool, and opted for food and decided to try Zaxby's Chicken where none of us had ever eaten before. Actually, though a little pricey for fast food, it was not bad (Bob said he'd eat there again) and we did get plenty of food for the money, plus it was cooked to order.
We had hauled our Scrabble game this whole trip and hadn't had a chance to play, So this was the night, we would play while the clothes were being washed. Boys against the Girls, no holds barred, well not really like a steel cage wrestling match, but close LOL More on this later in the wrap-up epilogue wrap-up. Let me just say that the result was not exactly a bloodbath, but the cream did rise to the top :))

Day 7 - Escape From New York

Where's Kurt Russell when we need him. As I mentioned yesterday, we decided to pack up and continue our travels, "out" of NYC. It was a combination of lots of things (mainly the "dreaded daily stair climb")... Gail says that Jean and I are just OLD and she & Bob are OLD and DECREPIT. But, Gail is a history buff and we thought we would go to the Gettysburg Battlefield National Park and check things out.

First on the list was getting to NJ to pick up the car, did you know that the bus route times are different on weekends and don't run as frequently? I do now, I was at the Port Authority Bus Depot by 10:30 and didn't get on a bus until 12:15, which put me in Teaneck NJ at 1:10p. So much for our planned noontime departure. THEN, you have to drive back.... No matter which way you try to get onto Manhattan Island from NJ it costs you $8 per car. You can leave Manhattan for free, but coming back $8 bucks. Good thing Gail wasn't with me on this trip, her #1 pet peeve is people trying to jump ahead in line by traveling all the way to the front in the EZpass lane and then try to squeeze into the cash lane. Going to Niagara Falls and approaching toll booths, Gail would yell at me if I let someone in and if it looked like another car was trying to squeeze in she would say "DAVID!! Don't you dare let him in" and then cheer other drivers who wouldn't let them in either. Such a mean streak for such a lovely lady. Well, with that being said, my 20 min drive back to the city took over an hour. It felt like Mission Impossible; fighting traffic and getting texts and calls from Jean trying to coordinate my arrival with them bring down the luggage on those "dreaded stairs". Bob's idea was just to toss them down from the fire escape outside Bill's front window. Anyhow we got loaded and on the road by just before 3pm. We took a quick spin up Broadway to the Upper Westside to see the NY Temple. Such a neat sight to see the Angel Moroni statue among all those modern buildings across from the Kennedy Center for Preforming Arts. We made our way to the Lincoln Tunnel (no outgoing toll), got on I80 and headed west. I love, love love, love to visit NYC, but like I tell Jean about Miami, if I ever say "honey I want to live there" I am not in my right mind and commit me to the nearest looney hospital.

Again our greatest of thanks to our friend Bill and being able to stay in his apartment. Jean took a picture from the outside (see above) You may notice that pictures of scenery or points of interest will have a person in them, that's her style, I have no problem at all taking a picture of just a tree or a nice looking cloud.

We made a little detour near Hazelton PA, to go by my grandparents gravesite and their old home in Drifton PA. Brought back some old memories of happy times when I was much much younger, and I shared some of those with everyone while we drove. We got a quick bite to eat, gassed up and loaded up a few necessities at WalMart in Hazelton and off we went again. We had got no farther than 10 miles down the road when a Florida type thunderstorm hit the area. This was the mother of all rainstorms, It slowed traffic to a crawl, and i'm sure my white knuckles were shining brightly. We decided to find a room ASAP, but were having no luck and finally found one in Harrisburg PA at a Howard Johnson's.

It may sound like we're having lots of difficulties, but really we're not, we set off to go wherever our desires may take us and our itinerary is just a guideline, we're on no timetable except to be home by Tuesday 14th at the latest. We'll see which way our route will go on Sunday, all I can say is that it will be south of Harrisburg and closer to home. Stay Tuned :))

Day 6 - Liberty Day

Today was our day to visit Liberty and Ellis Islands. I'm sitting up after 12am to complete this post and on a Friday night, the song by Frank Sinatra rings true, this city "never sleeps" I can hear all kinds of people outside on the side street, sirens, motorcycles etc. Thats what makes this town unique and wonderful all in the same. I love to "visit" here, none of us can take long periods here, especially like Gail says if we have to walk up all those dang stairs every day :)

We didn't get started until 10am because "David was blogging". I sent Gail and Bob down to the corner store to get Gail her SO (see day 1) because she is going through withdrawals or something, while I finished up the blog from 3 days ago. Who's idea was this blogging thing anyhow.. oh yeah.. it was mine, i'll keep my mouth shut :)

I got done and Jean and I headed down to meet them as they were picking up our tickets to get to the island. It wasn't decided how we were going to get to the Battery Park, but I was thinking the fastest way, via the subway and remembered I had left my subway card up in the apt. Yep you guessed it, up the 3 dreaded flights of stairs to get the card and back down to find out that we're taking the tour bus because we still had another whole day we could use its services, even with the multiple stops along the way. We definitely got our money's worth out of those tickets. We hope on the bus and endured the 1st half of the tour with our guide Jose, who did an okay job to get a $2.oo tip when we got off at Ground Zero. We checked out the St. Pauls Chapel that served as the command post for emergency workers and a place for them to rest after their shifts. The memorials and information inside the church were very imformative and touching. I even met a guy who lost a friend during 9-11 and we had a moment to talk as he was obviously overwhelmed with emotions. The new Freedom Tower construction is underway and once completed will rise to a height of 1776 feet and will be the tallest structure in New York. These New Yorkers are very resourceful and resilent.

With tickets in hand we began our 40 minute wait in line in Battery Park. We got to the screening building which is "airport type" screening (no guns, knives, mace, liquid containers, etc - you get the picture). Well Bob has his trusty commemorative BSA Swiss Army knife in his pocket. He was given option to take it outside and do what he wanted with it and he could get his place back in line or just turn it over to the US Park Service "forever" He chose the latter(what a man).. So, being poor as Bob and Gail are.. We are startings a fund to replace Bob's BSA Swiss Army knife.. so when you see him, put a penny in his palm and we should have him able to buy that knife in no time at all.

We got to Liberty Island to see "Our Lady of Liberty" This was a trip highlight too. Lots and lots of photos, pretty amazing sight. We even took time to ask other people who where taking pics, if we they wanted us to use their cameras to take pics of their entire group, family or couple. As you can see, with her in the background, it makes for a pretty wonderful picture.

We next wen to Ellis Island. I may or may not have had relative(s) who immigrated through Ellis Island from Hungary or the Netherlands. We heard a pretty boring speech about Ellis Island by a Park Ranger and then we watched an equally boring moving about the immigrants and where they came from and their experience at Ellis Island. Truthfully, the sitting down and relaxing for a few minutes put us in LaLa land. Jean says she didn't sleep, but Gail said she had to nudge Bob to keep him from snoring. I just kinda dozed in and out. I did get some good information to search ships records and try to find information about my grandfather and others. Pretty intersting stuff.

We made it back to Manhattan and caught a tour bus for the 2nd portion of the downtown loop and we got off at 54th St and 7th Ave..... World Famous Carnagie Deli. We have been here before and knew and tried to warn Bob and Gail about the food portions. And before I go any further, those of you from Gails Cafe... you won't be getting these portion sizes anytime soon.When I say big, I mean BIG portions and equally Big prices to match.

I had a beef brisket sandwich on rye (no side items) and I ordered a separate order of fries to share with Jean (sharing is not allowed unless you pass a $3.00 service fee, we didn't get charged luckily-Gail couldn't believe it), Jean had a monster BLT, I think there was a whole slab of bacon and a head of lettuce on that thing. Gail had an enormous plate filling Ruben, which she only ate about 1/4 of and Bob and a corned beef and pastrami sandwich with swiss cheese on rye, equally BIG. Jean did the best out of all of us except for a few strips of bacon to bring home with my 1/2 uneaten sandwich. Bob put his 1/3 sandwich with Gails almost complete Ruben to go. This deli has so many rules that they hide them throughout the menu. Tomatos are extra $1.00, cheese is extra $1.00 and the kicker is "cash only" no credit or debit cards. It was good food, no doubt, but also an equally interesting eating experience. Not bragging but our bill came to just under $100 and 2 of us had water to drink, amazing huh? That was our extravagance for the trip.. now back to Wendy's and McDonalds.

After dinner we caught the tour bus the 5 blocks down to 49th St at the top of Times Square. I wanted to check out the M&M's Store.. they have coconut and chocolate M&M's now... and I wanted to try them out.. Pretty good I must say- got a few to munch on while I blog :))

We actually got back to the apt before 9pm and had a chance to talk for a bit and the grandmothers got a chance to call their grandbabies whom they miss terribly. Some changes to our itinerary may come as early as tomorrow, I'll keep you posted... Until then- Take Care Always.. ~Grampy Dave.... Over and Out~

Day 5 - We're Loopy

We have had wonderful weather. We haven't had a day that it was much over 80 degrees. In fact, its been cool enough at night that we've had to wear jackets, plus we've had no rain at all except for a little bit driving into Charleston WV on Sunday night.

Thursday was double decker tour bus day. We did the downtown from midtown down to the tip of Manhattan, the uptown from midtown to Harlem, and the night tour which took us across the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn for a wonderful view of the skyline from across the East River. We saw some awesome sights that you hear about and see in movies and TV.

Our downtown tour started on 47th St and 8th Ave, which is literally 100 yards from Bill's front door. Family knows about our dear friend Bill McKinley that we met at WDW 26 years ago when Jean and I were dating. He's an man of many talents- singer, actor, (tv and movies). he does cabaret, bodywork and most recently is an ordained minister. He's always been very generous with his time when we visit NY and this time allowed us to stay in his apt. while he is in Indianapolis visiting his mother and attending his HS class reunion. This trip would not have been possible without his help and support. Anyway, highlights of our downtown loop was Times Square, Macy's, Madison Square Garden, Empire State Bldg, Ground Zero-World Trade Center site, Soho, Greenwich Village and the United Nation. The tour guides can make or break these tours and our 1st one on the downtown was very knowledgeable, born in Brooklyn, but we lost her when our bus was taken out of service. Our next tourguide was Asian-American, who spoke very broken English to the point that we couldn't understand half of what she said. Plus, she told us jokes that we think were more funny to herself than anyone on the bus. We tried to tape her just for laughs and I may try to get it on the blog, give us some feedback if you can make her out or not.

But we survived and we had lunch below Rockefeller Center and then got on the uptown loop bus. As in the song, Jean and Gail were our "Uptown Girls". Our tourguide, Steve, was from Brooklyn too and spent the entire trip soliciting tips for him and the driver when anyone hopped off at one of the stops. Not as much history on the trip except which famous person lived her or there. Highlights were seeing, Central Park, The Dakota Apt. where Oko Ono still lives and where John Lennon died, Grant's Tomb, Harlem, Guggenheim Museum as well as the Museum of Natural History and Metropolitan Museum of Art. There is just so much to see in NYC that you would walk, ride and subway yourself to death just to try to see most of Manhattan, plus theres 4 other boroughs of the City to see too. I've yet to make it out to Coney Island, Queens, Bronx or being a baseball fan seeing a Yankee or Mets game, even though they both are in new stadiums. At the end, it was nice to bid Steve goodbye as we headed back to the apartment to pick up our jackets. We talked all day about the "dreaded" walk up of 3 flights of steep stairs to the 4th landing to get to Bill's apt. Once we head out for the day we try to not go back until we're calling it the night.

Anyway, we got our jackets and hopped on the R train subway at 47th and Broadway and rode it down to 34th and 6th Ave which is right there by the Empire State Building. Gail and Bob went up to the observation deck on the 86th floor, while Jean and I waiting on solid ground because we've "been there and done that" :) Gail said that Bob "chickened out" and wouldn't go anywhere near the edge to look down at the city. So, each of you have the right to call him a "wimp" the next time you see him. They were actually in and out of the ESB in less than an hour which is record time for summer high tourist season.

We caught the subway back up to 47th St to catch our night tour loop bus. Now the highlight of this tour is the photo op from Brooklyn. Our driver must have been Tony Stewart or something, because we literally "flew" through Times Square, Chinatown, Greenwich Village, Westside Highway, and the Battery Park area at the tip of the island to get across the bridge in record time. But it was a once in a lifetime photo op which I've put on the top of this posting.

We were famished after this long day and dreading the "walk up" that awaited us, we started looking for an italian place to eat. Carmines (family style servings) was packed with over an hour wait, so we walked around.. and where did we wind up..... Gail's most favorite... Yep you guessed it.. Olive Garden overlooking Times Square. We had a table by the window and had a nice dinner with wonderful views. With full bellies, we made it back to the apt and drug ourselves up the stairs into the safety of our 4th floor apt by 11pm.

Day 4 - Road To NYC

We've heard that news of our blog is starting to spread to more friends and family which is great, "Welcome To All"
The Holiday Inn breakfast was a little better this morning. And "yes" fruit (bananas) but no apples for Gail. After our great church history experiences in Kirtland, we decided to alter our itinerary and make the short drive to the birthplace of the Church in Palmyra, NY.
We left at around 9am and made it to the Church visitors center at the Hill Cumorah by 10:30am. We originally had hesitated going to Palmyra because this week starts the 2 week pageant which usually has large crowds. But we found the pageant volunteers hard at work rehearsing. Its quite a view driving north on Hwy 21 from the interstate to come upon the Hill Cumorah site and seeing the chairs set up at the bottom of the hill. After a brief "potty break" we decided to drive to the top of the hill, yes we could have hiked up- but we're "old". A magnificient view at the top of the hill. We took a couple of pics at the base of the monument and then we were off to the Smith Cabin, home and Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith had his first vision of The Father and Jesus Christ. Our guide was Sister Hayes (of course from Utah). She asked Bob to tell what happened on this site, and he did a mighty fine job. We went to the family cabin first and sat in the upper "small" room where the Angel Moroni visited Joseph and told him about the gold plates (which would eventually be transcribed to become the Book of Mormon) and there location at the Hill Cumorah. As with Kirtland, it is a daunting experience to be in "the place" where such spiritual events have transpired. Next we went to the homestead which is about 200 yards down the path which happens to be in another county, which I found funny because reading church history it says that the family moved to Manchester, which sounds like they moved farther than 200 yards. We next took the short stroll down the path to the Sacred Grove and spent some time meditating in the place where Heavenly Father started the series of events to begin the formation of Christ's Church again on Earth; all in answer to a 14 year old's prayer.
Then it was back on the road at 12:30p for NYC, which took us east to Syracuse, then south to Binghamton NY and Scranton PA, where we took a little detour because I didn't listen to Jill's (gps) directions, (or maybe its because I was talking and didn't hear correctly... shhhh I didn't say that) We got back on the correct path and headed east on I-80, through Jersey. With each mile we became more and more anxious with anticipation. I think my grip on the steering wheel became tighter dreading driving in NYC traffic. We were trying to make it before 7pm so we could pic up the keys to Bill's apartment. Our speedy travels came to a sudden halt as we approached the Lincoln Tunnel ($8.00).. But it only took us about 45 mins to get into the tunnel and then back up and we were on 42nd Street in Manhattan YEA!!!! We made our way up 8th Ave and then left on 47th St. WE MADE IT. We picked up the keys right at 7pm and swung back around the block, parked in a no parking zone like a true New Yorker would and unloaded the car. Hauled our suitcases up 3 flights of stairs to Bill's apt and then Bob and I were off to NJ to park the car at Bill's friend, Clair Porter, house. Nice meeting Clair and getting directions on how to catch the bus back to NYC. Not wanting to waste time, we had a bowl of ice cream while we waited at the bus stop. Finally at 8:40p our bus arrived, we paid our $3.40 fare and off we went back to the city. The NYC skyline was amazing from across the Hudson River, truly amazing view with all the lights. Yes this is the same section of river that "Sully" emergency landed his US Airways jetliner this past January. While we were away, the girls took off on their own. They found Times Square (which is only 1 block from Bill's Apt), Radio City Music Hall on 6th Ave, Rockefeller Center, NBC Studios and I'm sure a few more places. Gail had a hot dog from a street cart, which she says is not as good as the one's at Gail's Cafe. Bob and I got back to the city at about 9:30 and reunited with our lovely brides. We walked up to Times Square and got a pizza (BIG ONE) and went back to the apartment to collapse for the night. Thats about it for now.. More to come about our Thursday sightseeing on the double decker buses soon.

Day 3 - The Great Falls

We woke up after a nice nights sleep at the Holiday Inn Express and indulged in the continental breakfast, which we all agreed was just okay (no fresh fruit). Gail was so excited, that she said if she started crying, it was just the emotions catching up with her because she never thought she would see this natural wonder. Jill our trusty GPS got us to the park in record time and at 9:30 and found the parking lot to be only 1/4 full, of course probably most people were waiting for it to warm up closer to the high of 68 degrees (which I personally don't think it made it to). Merdie Jean of course was wishing she had brought her parka and swears there was ice and snow in the forcast.

1st stop was the Maid of the Mist boat ride up to the horseshoe falls. We rode the elevator down to the base of the gorge and donned our free blue ponchos and headed up stream. The wind and mist off the falls was incredible. Back on dry land, we rode back up the elevator to the observation tower (minus Merdie who is scared of heights). We then rode the trolly over to the Cave of the Winds which is a walking tour to the base of Bridal Falls on the American side. We wore yellow ponchos this time and they gave us each sandals to wear. We got to keep them too, so if you get a pair of these special sandals with Niagara Falls inscripted on them as a gift... Act excited (LOL) So we got on the catwalks and headed up toward Bridal Falls (minus Bob who "chickened out" even though he used his injured foot as an excuse). The fresh water was quite cold. Gail and I headed up to the Hurricane Deck where the water is hitting the rocks a few feet behind the platform. You get "soaked" and the wind off the falls, whipped the water all around you- the ponchos are not much help. Theres even one part on this deck, that has an extension where you can walk or back up under the edge of the water falling over 100 feet onto you. NO, we did not brave that one, I think the ponchos would have just been laughing at us saying "you want me to protect you from that fury of water" Some others in our group were crazy (dumb) enough to do it though and it looked awesome. We agreed that our boys (and girls) would have had no problem doing that, the daredevils that they are. I've uploaded a video that Merdie Jean took of Gail and I on the Hurricane Deck. BTW, Jean did join us up there for a minute or two but I couldn't get her close to the water. We then got a bite to eat at the Top of the Falls Restaurant. The headed back to the visitors center to watch an IMAX movie about the falls. We rounded out the day by going to the Niagara Falls Discovery Center and Aquarium. We were pooped at the end of this day, as you can see from the picture of Gail and Bob above. This was a definite trip highlight for Gail, and Bob couldn't get over the power of the water and being able to be within

3-5 feet of the water before it tumbled over horseshoe falls.

We found a pizza place in town where the girls got a salad and steak sub. Bob and I tackled some authentic Buffalo wings (wimped out by just getting medium sauce) but they were pretty dang good. We found a local Walmart (what kinda trip is it without a Walmart detour) for a few supplies and head back to the hotel for dreamland.

Day 2 - Road To Kirtland

We woke up around "7ish" Monday morning, had a wonderful breakfast that only an Embassy can put on for free. Of course Gail isn't shy, and she spoke to the airline pilots to see where there travels were taking them and wished them a safe trip. We took a few pictures in the hotel lobby and then with full bellies, gas tank and DC & SO in hand we hit the road at 9am. We were so looking forward to driving during the day in WV and it didn't disappoint us. Fog and a little cool, descending out of the mountains with the wonderful views was amazing. The ups and downs of the roadway with steep accent and descents made me focus on maintaining a steady speed. We made it to Ohio in record time and stopped at the Welcome Station. Did you know that Buckeyes were a “worthless nut” and have no use whatsoever except by what Ohioans are called? We spent a little time taking some silly pictures at a the rest area (i've posted a few)
We even spent 10 minutes listening to Jean and Gail narrating about an older lady with we assume were her 3 small grandchildren and 2 dogs. Well the kids were in the backseat and being treated sternly by their grandmother, and the dogs had "nice fluffy pillows" to sit on in the front seat. Well, need I say more if you know family history here..... all kinds of comments were flying about that one.
We got off I-77 in Canton, just after passing the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which Gaid said "that would be a good place to have an induction ceremony" Oh That Gail!!!!
We were so glad to get off the interstate and see some of the countryside. And boy did we see some nice farmland and some of the coolest small towns. We stopped for gas in Randolph, Ohio and when heading out of town, Gail saw a sign about the Randolph Underground Railroad.... Sooo, guess what... U got it ... Uturn and back we went. Jean and Gail got their pics taken at the Randolph City Hall sign. Gail decided to go into the library (in sock feet) to see if there was any historic information as to how the town got its name (I think also hoping for some ancestoral insights). As she was opening the door, Bob was rang the 1802 Town Hall Bell that was on display out in front of the building. The librarian said, "what IDIOT is ringing the bell" and Gail said "that would be my idiot" Gail got no info after that, apologized and said she needed to go before someone rang the bell again. Hey I agree with Bob, if the bell wasn't meant to be rung, the bell donger with attached strap should have been removed--- I would have done it too. But, we got on the road and left Randolph in our rearview mirror. Kids... you just can't take them anywhere can you?
We made it to the John Johnson Farm and got a nice tour from Elder and Sister Darwin from Denver, CO. The "foundation" of the Church was laid while the saints were in Kirtland. We learned that during the year that the Church Headquarters was there at the Johnson Farm, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, among other revelations - 76th section of D&C were revealed as well as the well known story of Joseph being tarred and feathered with Sidney Rigdon and then Joseph delivered a powerful sermon the next morning. We also learned where the saying "pop goes the weasel" comes from.. ask us later. This was a very touching and moving experience by us all.
Next stop was the Kirtland Temple which is owned by the Community of Christ (RLDS Church). It was nice to see, but the presentation didn't leave us with the "warm fuzzies" They let other churches use the temple for special ocassions besides Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter services.
Next we went to "our" church visitors center. We toured the Newell Whitney Store which was the Church Headquarters for 18 months. Br. Whitney was the 2nd bishop of the Church. Several revelations to include the Word of Wisdom was revealed there.
We also checked out the sawmill where all the lumber and woodwork for the Kirtland Temple. We even saw the the wood that Troy Wright had cut when he worked in Kirtland for the Church. I never knew what an Ashery was. This was where Newell Whitney made more money than at his general store. He would buy ashes from peoples fireplaces, etc. for 25 cents a barrel, and through different processes make lye for soap, potash for gunpowder and fertilizer, or pearl ash which could be for making china. The pearl ash could be sold for up to $200 a barrel.... quite a profit huh?
We left Kirtland, got on I-90 and drove to Niagara Falls arriving at 11pm... We were all ready for bed. Big anticipation for a day at the falls on Tuesday.

DAY 1 - Escape From FLA

So sorry for the delay you all, its been a busy 3 days. So sit back.. This might get lengthy.
We left from Bob & Gails at about 9:40 and our route took us to Jax where we caught I-95 thru GA and then SC. Stopped for gas in GA where Merdie could get a DC (diet you know what) and Gail a SO (sunkist orange). We got on I-26 to Columbia and then caught I-77 north. We talked about what better subjects that our children and yes our precious grandchildren too. Jean and Gail reminisced about their younger years, what they wore to prom and who they went with, and got stumped what the Ocoee HS prom theme was. Bob and I kept trying to find a station on the XM that would satisfy everyone (no bluegrass, no hard metal), so we settled on "love song" or soft rock/pop. I guess Jean and Kellie had a wager as to how long it would take for me to get stopped for speeding.. well it was in NC and almost 10 hrs into the trip (I did pretty good huh?) Jean says I was going 90 but Bob and I swear it wasn't anything over 85 and I was being distracted by the lively conversation when Jean asked how fast I was going, and then it turned to "David, you know if you get stopped you will be in trouble" Of course, my comeback to aggravate her is "I never get stopped" Well.... as fate would have it, I was gaining pretty quickly on an unmarked NC trooper car in the outside lane, he flipped on his lights and I just pulled over (shhhh don't tell anyone my heart was racing, plus I was thinking of the crow I would have to eat if this roadside conversation didn't go well) I had my ID case out and was pulling out my DL from its strategic location behind my OCSO ID card. This trooper was amazing; his "keen investigative mind" led him to deduce that I was a police officer somewhere and his first question to me was to just ask where I worked. I told him and offered my DL to him, and he said he didn't need to see it. I told him about the ribbing I was already getting from the "backseat" and promised to be more careful . I thanked him and whew.... off we went. Of course, Jean just HAD to call Kellie IMMEDIATELY and inform her of what a criminal she has for a father :)
We all munched on a bag of trail mix until we were tired of it and we decided to ditch the crumbs somewhere in VA when we stopped to grab a Subway sub. We finally rolled into our Embassy Suites in Charleston WV at 11:30pm. Bob and Gail got the bedroom, Jean and I the couch which I was dreading, but it actually slept quite well (maybe I was just to wiped out to care)

New York Here We Come

OK.. Mama Jean and I have started a blog page. We can't promise that it will be great and wonderful in the beginning, but we'll gradually build it up. Mostly in anticipation of our upcoming trip to Kirtland OH, Cleveland, Niagara Falls and NYC. We are leaving on July 5th with Jean's sister Gail and her husband Bob. Gail has never done a trip like this and its going to be an awesome road trip. We "hope" to upload pictures and chronicle our travels for family and whoever wants to peek at what we're up to.
Enjoy and "Good Times" to everyone!!