My old homestead
Growing up in NJ left me with many fond memories. I don't think I have ever returned to NJ and not stopped by my old neighborhood. We made a quick trip through town, while we were researching the best way to take mass transportation to NYC, to visit Dave's niece Julie. I'll use any excuse to take a drive around my hometown. This time, we stopped in for a pizza at a place I often visited, and it didn't disappoint, it tasted just like I remembered.
Our old home was looking good. This home was in the Barnes family for close to 50 years, and holds a lot of very fond memories.
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| Barnes Family home |
Manhattan
On Sunday we had the pleasure of meeting up with Julie and Bruce in NYC. They took us on a tour of an area Dave and I did not known existed, the High Line which is an elevated greenway created on a former NY railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan. The greenway itself was beautiful, and it provides a great safe way to walk around Manhattan, we didn't have to cross the street for miles. Other places we visited were Chelsey's Market for a little shopping, Fraunces Tavern (NYC's oldest building) for an adult beverage, and a insiders view to China Town and the Financial District. The new construction was unbelievable. It struck us the minute our bus came out of the tunnel when we arrived in Manhattan, there were so many cranes on on new skyscapers. I had no idea that NYC was going under such a growth. It was very impressive. We couldn't have asked for better tour guides than Julie and Bruce, as long time NYC residents, they sure knew how to show us the town. It was a great day, Bruce showed us many new things we had not seen in our past trips, and gave us an insiders view into how they came about. Thanks Julie and Bruce.
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| New construction in lower Manhattan |
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| Inside Oculus |
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| Bruce, Julie and Dave looking out to the Oculus |
Washington Crossing Delaware Park
On our last day, we decided to take a ride to the site where Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas Day. It was a nice addition to our continuing history education we had had so far this trip. You can not take a trip to a revolutionary war site without reading about "Washington Crossing the Delaware," we were very close, so of course we had to go.
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| ferry crossing house |
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| Replica of boat used by troops to cross Delaware- carried soldiers, horses and canons. |
On our trip south from Florida this summer, we planned a return visit to NJ when we traveled back to Florida. We have so many family and friends here, whom we love to spend time with. On this trip, we were able to visit with many that we missed on our first trip, and it was so great catching up. We found out, one week is just not enough time. We had a great visit with many family and friends, but I wish we had another week to visit with others. I am very grateful to everyone who was able to meet with us. To all we did not have a chance to visit with, I am sorry. I know we will be back. Our plans are that the next time we come back for New Jersey it will be for an extended period. If you want to catch up with us, we will be in Florida for the winter.
