New York
The kids had to see Manhattan. I could have passed, since big cities are not my idea of fun. But we all had a great time! We found an RV park in Jersey city, just across the Hudson from Manhattan. It was more of a gravel parking lot, but it was close. The public transportation in New York is very good. Not as clean, or in as good of repair, as that in Washington D.C., but it gets you where you need to go, is on schedule and runs 24-hours a day.
We arrived in the afternoon, and headed to Times Square. I have never experienced so much stimulus to the senses. The sights and sounds are almost overwhelming.
We were blessed with fantastic weather (again). It seems this entire journey has only been interrupted with poor weather a few days (actually, we had more bad weather over the holidays when we returned to Seattle then we have since we departed on September 9, 2006). Most of our week in N.Y. was sunny skies and mid 70's to low 80's.
Driving in Manhattan is not a good idea. Honking your horn is a $350 fine. But, we have come to the conclusion that being able to read is not a prerequisite to getting a drivers license in N.Y. Drivers are very aggressive, use their horns a lot, pound on their steering wheels often, roll down their windows and yell, run red lights, make illegal turns, double park, and the like.
So, we decided to take a tour. The first tour we boarded was 1/2 a day and we visited Central Park, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the financial district, ground zero of the twin towers, and China town. We really spent most of our time on board an old bus, but it was good to get acclimated to the layout of the city and worth the time. We have found that in big cities it is best to bite the bullet, and take a tour on your first full day. Get an orientation, and then plan what you want to do thereafter. During the second half of that day, and the following, we boarded a double decker bus that follows several routes throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. This was great, and we could have skipped the previous bus tour. These buses follow pre-determined routes, have a tour guide describing what you are passing, and you can get on or off when ever you want. There are 2 such tour companies: one has red buses, and one has blue buses. We chose the blue bus company from a recommendation received; and it was the wrong one to choose. They left us stranded in Central park as their buses stopped running (still not sure why), and when we purchased our tickets we were told all of their buses run until 2:00 AM: after being stranded the first time we realized some of them stop running at 5:00 PM; and other's stop running just whenever they feel like it and/or the traffic gets so bad that the drivers just decide to do something else.
This picture is taken from the top of the bus, in Harlem, looking down a row of tenement houses. We were surprised to see that most of Harlem was pretty clean, and our tour guide told us that the crime rate in Harlem is actually lower then most of the more expensive neighborhoods. Rudy Giuliani really cleaned up the city with his "no tolerance" campaign. We were never concerned, afraid, or felt threatened. We did not see anyone who had any problems. We rode many many subways, and there were absolutely no problems.
Central park is a jewel. It covers between 800-900 acres with large beautiful trees and landscaping. Every single tree was planted there. It is very safe, and used a lot by the residents and visitors to the city. We took a brief carriage ride, and the kids enjoyed climbing on the granite rocks that are all throughout the park. Manhattan is made up of the hardest granite known to man. This is why they are able to build such high buildings, and tunnel underneath. It is a perfect bedrock material to support such structures, and build tunnels without the fear of cave-ins.
You have to take a boat to access Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. These two stops are packaged in a tour, and you can rent an audio package, with headphones, that guides you through the exhibits. We do not do museums well since we all get bored and stop reading the captions below the exhibits. I thought that the audio package might allow us to learn more. It was fantastic! I will do this again, every time it is available. We spent hours at Ellis island going through the exhibits; and it is very well done. 
The Statue is of course on a separate island, so you get to board the boat again. Unfortunately, tours up to the crown and the torch have ceased, and you can only climb 258 stairs to the top of the base. It's OK, but I can only imagine what it used to be like. Nevertheless, quite a humbling experience.
On our last day we decided to take the subway to Coney Island. 
Since it was a Thursday, most of the rides were closed, and Erik was too short to ride the Cyclone, and too tall for the kiddie rides. The amusement park is very old and uneventful. However, it borders the water, with a good beach and very wide wooden boardwalk. I would not make this a priority if I visited, but overall, not bad.
We arrived in the afternoon, and headed to Times Square. I have never experienced so much stimulus to the senses. The sights and sounds are almost overwhelming.We were blessed with fantastic weather (again). It seems this entire journey has only been interrupted with poor weather a few days (actually, we had more bad weather over the holidays when we returned to Seattle then we have since we departed on September 9, 2006). Most of our week in N.Y. was sunny skies and mid 70's to low 80's.Driving in Manhattan is not a good idea. Honking your horn is a $350 fine. But, we have come to the conclusion that being able to read is not a prerequisite to getting a drivers license in N.Y. Drivers are very aggressive, use their horns a lot, pound on their steering wheels often, roll down their windows and yell, run red lights, make illegal turns, double park, and the like.So, we decided to take a tour. The first tour we boarded was 1/2 a day and we visited Central Park, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the financial district, ground zero of the twin towers, and China town. We really spent most of our time on board an old bus, but it was good to get acclimated to the layout of the city and worth the time. We have found that in big cities it is best to bite the bullet, and take a tour on your first full day. Get an orientation, and then plan what you want to do thereafter. During the second half of that day, and the following, we boarded a double decker bus that follows several routes throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. This was great, and we could have skipped the previous bus tour. These buses follow pre-determined routes, have a tour guide describing what you are passing, and you can get on or off when ever you want. There are 2 such tour companies: one has red buses, and one has blue buses. We chose the blue bus company from a recommendation received; and it was the wrong one to choose. They left us stranded in Central park as their buses stopped running (still not sure why), and when we purchased our tickets we were told all of their buses run until 2:00 AM: after being stranded the first time we realized some of them stop running at 5:00 PM; and other's stop running just whenever they feel like it and/or the traffic gets so bad that the drivers just decide to do something else.This picture is taken from the top of the bus, in Harlem, looking down a row of tenement houses. We were surprised to see that most of Harlem was pretty clean, and our tour guide told us that the crime rate in Harlem is actually lower then most of the more expensive neighborhoods. Rudy Giuliani really cleaned up the city with his "no tolerance" campaign. We were never concerned, afraid, or felt threatened. We did not see anyone who had any problems. We rode many many subways, and there were absolutely no problems.Central park is a jewel. It covers between 800-900 acres with large beautiful trees and landscaping. Every single tree was planted there. It is very safe, and used a lot by the residents and visitors to the city. We took a brief carriage ride, and the kids enjoyed climbing on the granite rocks that are all throughout the park. Manhattan is made up of the hardest granite known to man. This is why they are able to build such high buildings, and tunnel underneath. It is a perfect bedrock material to support such structures, and build tunnels without the fear of cave-ins.You have to take a boat to access Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. These two stops are packaged in a tour, and you can rent an audio package, with headphones, that guides you through the exhibits. We do not do museums well since we all get bored and stop reading the captions below the exhibits. I thought that the audio package might allow us to learn more. It was fantastic! I will do this again, every time it is available. We spent hours at Ellis island going through the exhibits; and it is very well done. The Statue is of course on a separate island, so you get to board the boat again. Unfortunately, tours up to the crown and the torch have ceased, and you can only climb 258 stairs to the top of the base. It's OK, but I can only imagine what it used to be like. Nevertheless, quite a humbling experience.On our last day we decided to take the subway to Coney Island. Since it was a Thursday, most of the rides were closed, and Erik was too short to ride the Cyclone, and too tall for the kiddie rides. The amusement park is very old and uneventful. However, it borders the water, with a good beach and very wide wooden boardwalk. I would not make this a priority if I visited, but overall, not bad.We left the big city and headed up-state about 100 miles into the country. It is beautiful here. Farms, rolling hills, and rivers. Spring is in its glory, folks are more laid back, and we are enjoying it. Next Saturday we board a plane to Rome, and spend 2-weeks touring Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and then fly out of Paris on June 10, 2007. When we return we will begin the 3,000 mile trek out west. We rented a house on Lopez Island this week and will settle down there in mid-july.
Our best to all of you following our journey.
Love the Paton's
posted by James C. Paton at 5:27 PM
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