I'm Back! Back in the New York Groove.

NP Roadtrip – Days 102 – 104 – Delaware – NYC

Coming from the west coast, it’s hard to comprehend how close the states are to each other.  While we could have easily left Washington, D.C. and gone straight through to New York or Boston, we opted to take our time and check a few more states off our list.  And the more states we go to, the more we get to explore.

We left D.C. mid-morning, but didn’t get far before needing to check out a foodie spot.  Our neighbor is from Baltimore, and he made the most spectacular crab cakes for his lady’s birthday before we left town.  Come to find out, he has them shipped from his favorite spot in Baltimore.  I’m no genius, but aren’t frozen crab cakes the MOST AMAZING CAMP MEAL EVER?  I felt like it was my job to stock my freezer with these delectable treats!  We stopped at Pappa’s in Parkville and ate an awesome crab cake lunch, then walked over to their take out seafood shop across the street for to-go crab cakes.  Everything looked so awesome we ended up leaving with 6 crab cakes to freeze for 3 meals, crab stuffed shrimp, corn and crab soup, and some frozen crab dip for a special celebration (yet to be determined).  They are the BEST crab cakes I’ve ever eaten and what a find for us!  We even got to meet Pappa himself in the parking lot whose family still runs the joint.  Though he didn’t understand when G said, “we just gave you a bunch of money!”  Haha.  So we just showed him the bag of treats and went on our merry way.

After Baltimore, I really wanted to drive through Lancaster County, PA on the way to our overnight camp spot in Delaware, but we opted for an afternoon of the stress free/no tourist zone seclusion of Lum’s Pond State Park, instead.  We had a nice big site, campground was empty, and they have brand spanking new bathrooms that are awesome!  We had leftovers from our 101st night on the road dinner (Jaleo D.C.), and thought we would have a good night’s sleep, but allergies from the spring blooms sought revenge and kept G up most of the night, which in turn kept me up most of the night.

In the morning, we ventured over to the First State National Historic Park.  Even though their stated hours showed they should be open, the door was locked when we walked up.  I hadn’t read much about this park, but we decided to stop in since we were so close.  After finding the locked door, we walked down the street to another official looking building where we did find someone sort of official, although they had no affiliation to the park service.  She was extremely helpful, and I got the feeling they didn’t really see a lot of visitors.  She also mentioned that the main court house locks the door if they have a tour going through the building, but that it should be open shortly.  I walked right in to the courthouse to obtain my stamp and had an interesting interaction with a ranger.  And by interesting, I mean a little on the rude side.  Not wanting any confrontation, I hurried out of there and we left Delaware, probably for good.  For those REALLY interested in the First State NHP, it might be worth a stop; but the weird hours, crotchety attitudes, and stupid rules would deter even the most hard-core history buffs.

We headed to New York City, or rather Jersey City, going through a series of toll bridges and roads, about $60 in total tolls to be exact.  I’ve gotta say, if I’m going to pay that much in tolls, I would hope my governor wouldn’t have his cronies close toll lanes and, in turn, create a major traffic jam just to spite a non-supportive mayor.  Because that would be horrible, wouldn’t it?

We stayed at, what I believe to be, the closest RV park to New York City.  A ferry or the PATH will take you right across the Hudson River in less than 15 minutes.  It’s nothing fancy (like, at all), it’s a literal parking lot, with crummy bathrooms and no services.  You cannot beat the location, though, despite the high price tag to park there.  It’s definitely cheaper than a hotel, and you get to sleep in your own bed!

Because we were going to be exploring the city for an extended period of time, we opted to have someone babysit our dogs for 2 nights.  We found someone on Yelp and they picked up and dropped off our dogs, without issue.  I’m so glad we went for this option (I was skeptical) because Jersey and NYC aren’t super dog friendly.  I don’t believe they are allowed at restaurants at all, and if they are we didn’t see any dogs seated outside at restaurants/coffee shops while we were there.  After the dogs were picked up by the sitter, we walked through downtown Jersey City and got some food and cocktails at Mathew’s Table.  It was such a light and bright restaurant with awesome food and cocktails, I would highly recommend to anyone traveling to Jersey City, specifically.

For our New York adventures, we made reservations ahead of time for some of the attractions.  The first reservation we made was for the 9/11 National Museum & Memorial.  The exhibits and guided tour were extremely sad, but it was very well done; a moving experience that all Americans should visit once if they can.  It is a stunning museum, and of course the memorial outside is beautiful.  We noticed there were white roses placed on a few names on the memorial.  I thought they were placed there, perhaps by family members or friends honoring their loved ones.  Our guide told us that these are actually placed on the names if it’s the individual’s birthday.  Every.  Single.  Day.  Until the end of time.  Isn’t that amazing?  It’s truly an incredible memorial for such a horrific attack and loss of life and I am honored to have been able to visit.

We had skipped breakfast, but had a limited amount of time to grab a bite to eat on our way from the World Trade Center to Battery Park to catch our ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  I quickly found a Dim Sum spot on Yelp so we headed over to Ningbo Café right on the water at Battery Park. Anytime I can get some dim sum in my belly I am a happy person.  Plus, they were Shanghainese, AND they had XLB (also known as xiao long bao or soup dumplings) which sent me over the edge.  I may have ordered too much food, because I was so hungry and excited.  It was all so awesome though, especially the scallion cakes.  What a find!

We arrived at the Battery Park ferry terminal 30 minutes prior to our scheduled departure time, per the NPS website instructions.  However, we got there and had to wait in line for close to 45 minutes to get through security.  I guess this is their way of doing “timed” departures, but I felt it could have been a little smoother.  People who arrived with no reservations ended up departing well before we did, which is a disappointment.  It didn’t benefit those who planned ahead at all, and in fact, punished us by delaying our departure and necessitating a longer wait time. 

We finally boarded our boat and were dropped at the Statue of Liberty first.  I have been to NYC a few times and G has been about 50 times, but neither of us had ever been on Liberty Island.  Wow!  She is very impressive up close.  And the view of the city from this vantage point is absolutely perfect.  In order to go inside the statue, you have to purchase those tickets ahead of time.  There weren’t anymore “Crown” tours available (these go inside the crown of the statue), so we got the “Pedestal” ticket that allows you to go to the pedestal just below the robe.  We walked up to the ticket scanner and they advised me that my backpack was not allowed.  I would need to store it in a locker.  No problem.  We walk over to the lockers and they don’t take credit cards.  We gave our last dollars away not 15 minutes prior, without knowing cash would be needed.  Where was the nearest ATM?  Across the island at another gift shop.  Wonderful.  G walks over to get some cash, comes back about 20 minutes later, we stow our bags and go through the entrance.  Even though we went through 45 minutes of security just 30 minutes ago, we were sent through security again.  Look, I know this is a national treasure and because of attacks like 9/11 we have to be very cautious.  But 2 times in 30 minutes is crazy talk.  G’s shoes set off the metal scanner and they asked him to take his shoes off.  Yet, they had no where for him to sit to take off his hiking boots.  He was “over it”.  Done.  Not happy.  He said I should go up, but that he had lost his desire, his energy, and his good mood.  I ventured up on my own.  I have to say, if you can get crown tickets (fyi, you have to get them at least 5 months in advance) do that rather than the pedestal.  It was cool to be up there, but the main draw is the crown and that’s going to provide you with your best view. 

We hopped back on the ferry and got off at Ellis Island.  We went immediately to the research library and looked up G’s family.  We found them easily and had a nice time reading about their arrival in the states, the ship they had arrived on, the dates, etc.  I had been there previously with my mom and my sister so we had already been able to look up this information for my family that arrived at Ellis Island.  We ventured about the buildings and grounds, then got back on the ferry heading for Manhattan. 

We made it back just in time to look around Castle Clinton National Monument, and then hopped on the subway over to Greenwich Village.  At the time we started planning this trip, our newest National Monument was the Stonewall Inn.  I told G that I really wanted to go to the nation’s newest national monument, so it stuck.  There have now been more monuments appointed, but I’m glad to have seen this one, because it’s the only BAR!  Hahahaha!  The Stonewall Inn is the site of the Stonewall riots in 1969, which is widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States.  After having a drink, we headed across the street to the aptly named, Big Gay Ice Cream Shop.  We ordered a single Salty Pimp Cone to share and ate it while walking down 7th Avenue.  What a dream!!

I mentioned that G has been to NYC many, many times.  He has a lot of friends that he has either worked with or went to school with that live in NYC, Brooklyn, and New Jersey.  We met up with a few folks in Williamsburg, ate dinner, had some drinks, chatted about our trip, celebrated a friend's engagement, had more drinks, chatted some more, and ended up staying out until 2:30 in the morning.  I’m 39, not 22, so this was not awesome in the morning.  But…good times were had by all and we got to hang out with some rad folks.  I can’t complain.  Our New York adventure was quick and brutal.  We’ll have to go back for a longer period of time so we can visit more and go to bed at a decent hour.