Philadelphia and New York 

Jun 18 Sun  We Moved to West Chester/Philadelphia  Happy Fathers Day!  This was a very short move today, just under 60 miles.  This is another older KOA campground but they have done a good job accommodating big rigs.  This evening we had fireflies!

 Jun 19 Mon.  Just hang around home today, we have a tour planned for tomorrow.

Jun 20 Tues  Today we are off on a tour of Philadelphia.  The campground offers this tour and we are a group of 14 in a van.  The driver/guide is very knowledgeable and he takes great care of us as we enter Philly and drive by the Battleship New Jersey.  First stop is the Liberty Bell. So as Rick can't find a place to park he drops us off at the entrance and we head in to look at the BELL.  And take pictures and read signs and out the far end we find Rick has parked and we are off to check out the area around Independence Hall, which we will come back to as our tickets are for 1:20 this afternoon.   In the mean time we walk through Benjamin Franklins neighborhood, and I love how they have made open frames of what the houses would have been to see the size as all the actual buildings are pretty much gone.  There was a bit of a surprise in how close the privies were to the water sources.  Sometimes I think it a miracle our founding fathers survived to get this great country started.   We wander over to Christ Church and then on to a lunch stop for Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches....really good as they allow us to hold the peppers.  Next it is back to Liberty hall and a kinda of guided tour of the hall where they representatives debated the contents of the Declaration of Independence.  Its a room where you can feel history and what it meant to this country.  I love history!  After we load back u in the van Rick shows us where the betsy Ross house is, and we see the work going on to clear away a tree limb that came down on the gift shop there.  We would have stopped, but its not open until they clear the debris.  As we head out of town one of our fellow travelers is very excited, as we approach the ROCKY steps.  This is his one single desire in touring Philly.  Rick finds a place to pull over and several of the folks take off to run up the steps, and jump up and down...Danny and I just take a few pics and go back to wait by the van.  It was a fortuitous stop as there were no parking gestapo to share us off and everybody got to see their number one attraction.  We head back toward home with one more stop on the way.  Valley Forge.  We see the remains of one of the original cabins and several replicas built, and we see Washingtons headquarters.  It has been a great day and it feels even better to get home.

The Liberty Bell

shows the proximity of the privy with the water well. YIKES

pew 56 in Christ Church, The Washingtons Box

clearing a tree off the Betsy Ross house

The Rocky Steps aka Museum of Art

Washington headquarters at Valley Forge

General Washingtons room

Jun 21 Wed  We actually need a day to recover from the walking yesterday and it is a welcome day of rest.  While talking to some of our fellow troupe yesterday we learn that 2 other couples are on their way to the same park we are going to tomorrow, so we will see some of our fellow travelers in NYC.

Jun 22 Thur  We moved to NYC/Newburgh.  We had spent part of Wed talking with our neighbors Yvonne and Dwayne about the possible routes to Newburgh, NY.  They left yesterday and kept us posted on their route which sounded pretty easy. We started their route but took a right turn a little early and ended up taking a pretty direct route and only one toll road.  It was an easy 200 miles and we were glad to get settled just down the road from Dwayne and Yvonne, although we never did see them, as they were off to New York to pick up a grandson and do a little touring.

Jun 23 Fri  NYC! There is so much that can be said, but pictures do say it best.  This was a big bus trip and we started off at 7:00 for a 12 hr tour.  First stop was the statue of Liberty, then the 9/11 memorial combined with a lunch break, then the Empire State building, then NYC traffic, lots and lots of traffic and seeing things as we made out way to Times Square before grabbing a travel snack and heading home.

First view of the skyline, yes a very cloudy day 

GOING INTO THE TUNNEL!

From the Ferry WOW!

We didn't have tickets to go up so we walked around

The BOWLING GREEN station (lol)

One of the pools at the memorial

This building is beautiful!

I was in awe at what was built in one year.

and from the top

there really is a ball up there and you can see it's already 5:15

Time Square...the naked cowboy

batman confers with spiderman

Is there really anything to say?

and more, or maybe less

not everyday you bump into a transformer

And much too soon, our last view of the skyline

Jun 24 Sat. Well, I'm sure you will not be surprised to learn we spent today at home, RESTING!

Jun 25 Sun. One more day of touring and we are off on our own to Hyde Park and the FDR home and presidential Library.  This could easily take 2 days.  The museum is top notch and we saw the rooms of FDRs papers and then over to the home, which we learned was actually his mother's home and He and Eleanor never really had a home that was their own.  We didn't have time to get to Top Cottage or any of the driving tours around, but it was a lovely day.

Dan having a chat

View of the house from the side/back

 

Jun 26 Mon.  We moved to Bellingham MA, it was an easy drive up here and we were glad to get parked, BUT they told us the gypsy moths were particularly bad this year and the trees we were under looked dead.  This evening we got a little rain and the truck is now covered in dead caterpillars and all kinds of gunk!

Jun 27 tues thru Jun 30 Fri, Jeannine got a nasty cold and spends 4 days mostly in bed.  And meanwhile Danny had contacted a Diesel shop to take the truck in on July 11th which means we need to extend our stay, well we need the time anyway to make up for my sick time.

July 1 Sat.  I am finally feeling like I can walk without aching everywhere.  I think it was a mild flu mixed with a nasty chest cold.  But today I am ready to head to Plymouth, MA.  It's a nice drive and it feels great to be out of the house.  Plymouth is a little town but the streets aren't so narrow that we can't get around in the truck.  We find a parking lot at the museum and spend a couple hours just amazed at the articles on display.  We are disappointed that the Mayflower replica is in dry dock for a  complete refresher for the 400 anniversary in 2019, so I guess we will have to make another trip up here in 2 years.  But we do get down to the waterfront for a look at Plymouth Rock.  After much research and after years of the rock being drug all over town and chipped away at, they have built a nice little enclosure and planted it back in the sand. So this is where the Pilgrims came ashore.  Nice.

July 2 Sun.  I need a day of rest, guess I wasn't fully recovered, and guess who is now feeling like staying in bed all day, yeah, Danny caught what I had and I am going up to the office to see about extending our stay for at least another few days.  But wait, and we still need to get into Boston.  So give the man at least 4 days, maybe 5 and I find a neighbor who works on diesels and he is coming by to take a look at the truck on Friday.

July 3 thru July 6 yep it takes 4 days of solid bed rest for Dan to feel like doing anything.

July 7 Fri.  Well we are feeling like we will survive this and the rain had arrived.  Paul calls to say its a bit too wet to be working out in the weather so he will come by tomorrow.

July 8 Sat.  I get the laundry packed up and we decide to take in a movie Spider Man, and we both really enjoy it.  Maybe it was just really good to get out and about.  Paul comes over about 4 and I am off doing laundry.  The verdict is that the truck computer needs a new flash and we need to take it to a Ford Dealer.  I'm really starting to hope we can get moving by next Sunday.  I have made reservations for us to be in Kennebunkport Maine and having lobster by next Sunday, so wish us the best.