It’s been a wonderful whirlwind tour! We were supposed to hit Gettysburg today, but last night, the Thriller wasn’t feeling well at all (he’s some better today, thankfully), and after checking the weather forecast, neither of us was particularly enthusiastic about trudging around the battlefield in the mid-80s and thunderstorms, so we pulled the trigger and canceled the hotel at the last minute. I’m glad; not only am I missing Remy (pathetic, I  know), but school thoughts are really starting to creep into my consciousness and take over. I need to get home and get busy; 18 days until the year begins, and I’ve done next to nothing to prepare.

Anyway…………….speaking of hotel rooms, dang if the Thriller didn’t luck out again. Our room wasn’t ready when we checked in, so they offered us a bigger, nicer one with an ocean view. All comped, so yay! If only Caesars were as kind with their video poker…

After we spent our egg of gambling money, we took a stroll on the Boardwalk. It hasn’t changed at all since we were here last, around 6-7  years ago. It’s a beautiful place, dedicated solely to entertainment and leisure, with casinos/hotels on one side of the massive wooden sidewalk, and the sea on the other.

Fortunately, they comped the Thriller for meals as well, so we dove into their enormous buffet. I was going to take photos of the place, but, you know…hand carved roast beef, potatoes, Caesar salad, crusty bread with butter, and mini chocolate cakes and cherry cheesecake sort of derailed my concentration.

I thought it’d be silly fun to give you a visual on how we do our road trip hotel arrangements. I have some rules:

1. King size bed
2. Absolutely no exterior door hotels (I know that sounds snooty, but I have had way too many bad experiences at Motel 6s and Days Inns…never again)
3. Room service is preferred

Outside of that, I’m totally open. Regardless, this is what the sleeping arrangements look like. Yes, that’s an electric blanket. I don’t leave home without it, because if I do, it invariably results in a battle for control of the thermostat. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

OK, time to pack up and get out of here. Probably safe to leave now, as we hope that as of 10 a.m., rush hour is mostly overwith in Philly.

See you soon, fiends! We’re on the road again.

While this has been one of the shortest Odysseys we’ve taken over the last five years, it’s definitely been one of the most exciting.

Advice to anyone doing a road trip that involves Manhattan: Stay in New Jersey, and take the bus to the city every day. Totally stress-free (depending upon your personality…I loved every minute and could move here tomorrow, while it took the Thriller a bit to grow accustomed to the constant press of humanity — I’m not sure he ever did, haha), and New York City has the most intricate and comprehensive public transit system in the world. There’s almost no place in the five boroughs that cannot be reached by the trains, ferries, cabs and buses. Imagine if I had no car payment, and no auto insurance payment…ah, dreaming…

Anyway. Yesterday began and ended with fun stuff that I simply can’t do when I have my choir with me, although I would love for them to experience it all. OK, our Tuesday:

Late morning, we had coffee with Luke, a former student of mine who schlepped it all the way in from Brooklyn to be with us. Wonderful way to start the day. This man is one talented fellow. Hear (and support him by buying) his music here: http://www.lukewesley.com/media

After saying goodbye to Luke, we walked down 42nd St. to Bryant Park. What a beautiful place in the heart of the city. When corporations build and obscure the sun, they are also expected to provide a place for the public to enjoy for free. Therefore, little (and big) parks like this exist all over the city. Bryant Park has lots to offer — even a carousel!

Places to have lunch, read, meet people, and generally relax.

After walking the park, we had lunch at the restaurant, next to the NY Public Library. We enjoyed our Caesar salads on the patio of the Bryant Park Grill in the perfect, 78-degree day.

After lunch, we walked through the NYPL, after which I had to pose by the iconic lions. Rawr.

While in Midtown, we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and went right to the European paintings section, my favorite. We then unleashed our inner middle schooler.

After the museum, we took a leisurely walk in Central Park. Such a beautiful, peaceful place in the middle of the craziness.

Literally steps away from the peace and quiet is the 72nd St. subway station, where we waited for the train back to Times Square to find some dinner before going to the theater. The main A train had some problems, so everyone (and I do mean everyone) piled on our C train. It was rush hour. My personal space was invaded, defiled, taken hostage, and killed. I couldn’t even snap a picture of the humanity. It was awesome.

Finally topside again, we grabbed some grub at the Port Authority, and took off down 42nd St. to the New Amsterdam for the final leg of our NYC stay. Far in the distance is the iconic Chrysler Building.

The view from our box at the New Amsterdam, one of the oldest Broadway theaters.

Another view from Box 10.

Our final photo in the city. An usher saw us struggling to take a selfie at intermission, and offered to take it for us. Aladdin was sensational, with really (and surprisingly, given the “poppy” nature of the music) fine singing.

So that’s a sampling of our time in NYC. What a thrill it was! Again, thank you for clicking through the photos and going on the journey with us. After checkout this morning, we hit Atlantic City for a night at Caesar’s Palace (yay for comp offers the Thriller gets in the mail).

See you tomorrow, fiends!

What a great day we had yesterday. The weather was supposed to be borderline terrible, but it ended up being a beee-yootiful day in Manhattan (and Brooklyn and Staten Island). We walked and climbed and climbed and walked — almost nonstop — for 10 hours. Needless to say, it was great to hop on the New Jersey Transit bus back to the hotel when the day was done.

We began by purchasing the keys to unlimited travel in the five boroughs — the Metro Card. Unlimited fares for a week, on the subway, the bus, the tram — anything affiliated with the New York City public transit system. They proved to be totally worth the money ($30 each).

After hopping on the 320 New Jersey Transit Bus and going through the Lincoln Tunnel to the NY Port Authority (near Times Square), the subways took us everywhere we needed to go. It was fun, but oh my, did we walk. And walk and walk and walk and climb stairs and walk and climb more stairs. Great exercise, but bad on the energy reserves. Still, it was awesome.

The subway stations were relatively not filthy. Just like you see in the movies, there are a gazillion people, all in various stages of hurrying, waiting to go somewhere. It’s a great vibe.

Waiting for the train to arrive. It’s easy to see why some people fall, or jump, or get pushed. By necessity, there are no “guard rails” to keep people away from the edge. You just have to use your head.

The trains are well-lit in the black tunnels. Etiquette states that you sort of stay to yourself, and not make too much noise.

After walking around Grand Central Terminal (the Thriller had never seen it), we took the E train — in the sweltering heat — to the financial district, where we had cheesecake and carrot cake for lunch at the Essex World Café. Then we reported to the 9/11 Museum, for what was a sobering and pensive tour of the physical remnants of the 2001 disaster.

It is amazing to consider the overwhelming power the planes’ impact had on concrete and steel designed to withstand earthquakes and tornadoes. The tour guide explained that although the skin of the building was fortified with fireproof material, no one in their wildest dreams thought that any fire would be caused by exploding jet fuel. Heartbreaking.

A section of the transmission antenna that plummeted to the ground.

An elevator motor with its wiring completely frayed.

This is a part of the base of the South Tower, still in its original place.

Ladder truck #3, FDNY. The entire cab was sheared off by the falling tower. Company 3 sustained the most casualties of any responding unit on 9/11.

We saw personal survivors’ accounts in writing and heard them on audio. We talked on the way out about the fact that if this event is seared into the minds and hearts of Americans in general, it is impossible to understand its effect on the families of those who died that day, and those who were left behind. Powerful experience.

The subway then took us to Brooklyn, where we struck one item off the Croak List and walked the mile-long Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan.

It was starting to really cloud up, and we thought we’d need to pull out the umbrellas.

Slowly, the skies began to clear up. We were delighted!

By the time we reached the small park at the foot of the bridge on the Manhattan side (where we stopped and got some smoothies), we felt like we were walking on our tongues. Still, we had some time left in the day, and I really wanted to do the Staten Island Ferry at night, but…we knew we were about out of gas, and it was dinnertime already. The heat really took it out of both of us, sorry to say. The weather was delightful by that point; it had cooled off to a perfect 78 degrees, and there was a completely uncharacteristic breeze in the city. But the morning and early afternoon just zapped us, so we decided to ride the ferry earlier rather than later.

The clouds blew away, and it was a gorgeous late afternoon on the Hudson.

There she is.

There she is again, photo-bombing a couple-a dorks.

After the ferry, we had dinner on a park bench, featuring Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs and the absolute most outrageously delicious French fries I’ve ever eaten.

I should include at this point that we didn’t intend to eat at Nathan’s (located inside the Whitehall ferry terminal), but the Thriller’s Metro Card didn’t scan properly at the subway station, so it forced him to wait 15 minutes before he could re-scan at the turnstile. Rather than stand there in the stuffy station, we decided to go topside and get some grub. Turned out to be a great decision; it was a yummy diversion.

So that was our Monday. Today is going to be just as crazy. Can’t wait!

Thanks for following this nutty adventure with me.

Well actually, we’re not in NYC yet. But its little brother Secaucus showed us a fine time last night.

View from our hotel room

Located at the west end of the Lincoln Tunnel, Secaucus is a good choice for people who want to stay *near* New York City, but not *in* New York City, because you are either insane or unwise to drive — let alone try to find a place to park for three days — in Manhattan. We like to leave the driving to public transportation.

We weren’t supposed to get the NYC view at the Embassy Suites, but during check-in, the Thriller happened to ask if they had any city view suites left, knowing the answer would be no, as the 9th floor suites are often the first to go, and are reserved for the HH Honors customers (whatever they are).

Well as it happened, they had one left, and after the front desk gal thought a minute, she said, “I can give it to you for $5 more.” Sold!

After checking in, we answered the call of our growling stomachs by driving into the old downtown part of Secaucus to have dinner at Trattoria da Pino — a restaurant we’d read about on Yelp and TripAdvisor.

Yikes. We left weighing about six pounds more — each. Living in small-town Midwest, we rarely get the chance to see a truly authentic Italian restaurant, where the owner is actually Italian and the only chef. What a treat.

The Thriller obediently posed outside.

There are 36 chairs in the entire place.

Served family style, we shared courses of bruschetta, salad, and this fantastic pasta carbonara — all before the main entree.

When we were sure we were completely full, the main course arrived. Herbed chicken and Italian sausage with crispy potatoes. Out of this woild. Cheesecake for dessert — and we were done in.

Looking a bit road-weary, but happy.

After breakfast today (and after rush hour), we’re heading into the city. On the menu is the 9/11 Museum, and if it’s not too ghastly hot and thunderstorm-y, walking the Brooklyn Bridge and heading out to Coney Island. All up in the air at this moment, but that’s OK — we’re on vacation!

Well, we’re down to the last 24 hours. Tomorrow’s the day, and I don’t have a single thing packed. Think I ought to start?

Odyssey 2014, to the unhappiest city in the US, blasts off tomorrow morning, after coffee.

For the past 18 days, our lives have been centered around dogs. It’s been great fun, but with Dusty and Oliver going home today (and taking Remy with them), it’s time to get going on preparations for the road trip. I think I’m less prepared for this vacation than at any other previous time. Why is that? I dunno…I think maybe I’m less excited this time because the Odyssey is so short:  just six days. Still, I’m delighted and blessed to have these six, so no complaints here.

We have much to do and see in these six days, and now that two hours have gone by since I started writing this post, I’m happy to report that I have all my clothes set out (and others in the laundry), so that part is done.

What’s the worst part for you about getting ready to go somewhere? With me, it’s getting over the procrastination to begin. Even on our longest trips, I really didn’t get clothes ready until the day before. The Thriller is a much better planner than I; he’s been pretty much packed for two days now.

Sometimes I shake my head at my worries about forgetting something, when the reality is that we’re going to New York — not Antarctica. If we forget socks, we can stop and get some. And we must pack somewhere in the neighborhood of eight device chargers. Like, one might break, and heaven forbid we be stuck in the hotel with a Jet Pack that’s dying. What a couple-a goons.

It’s only 7.5 hours to our hotel near the Meadowlands, so it should be a relatively stress-free drive. We plan to stop somewhere in The State That Never Ends (PA) for a nice lunch. We have vowed to not stress about keeping a schedule on this trip, except for the schedules having to do with public transportation.

Almost ready to fly!