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Friday, August 19, 2022

New England and New York City August 2022

 

New England and New York City

August 2022

 

          To celebrate our 20th anniversary, Becky and decided to take a trip out to New England and New York City.  Since Becky would be volunteering at an exchange student orientation at the end of our trip, her portion of the airfare was paid for!  We left all four kids at home by themselves, hoping that we would still have a house to come home to!

            After a red-eye flight from Seattle, we arrived at JFK airport in New York City at 8am, picked up our rental car, and headed out of the city. Of course, we got stuck in rush hour traffic in Queens, but it didn’t take us as long as we thought it would to get out of New York.  During our driving through Connecticut, we decided to make an unexpected stop in New Haven and visit Yale.  The Yale campus is very picturesque and full of history. 

Yale University, New Haven Connecticut 

Yale Library





            We then continued to drive north through Massachusetts and crossed into Vermont.  We had to stop at the “Welcome to Vermont” sign and take our picture, since Vermont was the 50th state we have visited!  Vermont is beautiful, with it’s rolling hills covered in trees.  Our next stop was Sharon, Vermont, which was the birthplace of Joseph Smith.  The Joseph Smith birthplace monument was more isolated than I thought it would be.  We took a tour of the site with one of the senior missionaries that was serving there. 

Our 50th state to visit!

Joseph Smith Birthplace Monument




            After a short drive we arrived in Woodstock, Vermont, which is a small, typical Vermont town, with many old historic buildings and homes.  We walked around town, but by this time most of the shops were closed.  On our drive out of town, we stopped at a large covered bridge, one of the largest in the state.  We continued our drive the northeast, crossing over into New Hampshire and arrived at our friend’s family cabin just outside of Franconia, New Hampshire, where we stayed for the night.  They were very gracious and let us stay there for two nights!

Woodstock, Vermont




Our friend's family cabin in Franconia, New Hampshire


            The next morning we got up and drove over to Mt. Washington.  Initially, we wanted to hike up Mt. Washington.  But since we only took backpacks for our carry-on luggage, we didn’t have space to bring any of our hiking gear.  Additionally, Mt. Washington is notorious for having some the worst weather in the world that can roll in anytime of the year.  Instead, we took the easy way and paid the toll to take the road to top.  The road ascended to a very surreal setting, where the vegetation was stunted and most everything was rock.  Fortunately, the weather was somewhat mild.  It was in the mid 60’s with rolling fog and only about a 20 mph wind.  Mt. Washington can experience hurricane forces winds any time of the year.  We walked around the summit and went inside the building where the highest wind ever recorded in the world was measured (231 mph)!  The building is held down by giant chains to keep it from blowing away!  On the summit there are several buildings that are used by scientists and meteorologists and a visitor center and museum.  This is also where the cog train arrives and departs from the summit.  After taking some pictures at the summit and eating lunch, we started our descent down the mountain. 

Sampling Cheese

Building held down by chains on Mt. Washington

Summit of Mt. Washington 


Cog Train that goes to the summit


We then drove to North Conway for some dinner and to look around.  In the evening we made our way back to the cabin for the evening.  On our way back we stopped at the Old Man of the Mountain overlook.  The famous rock formation sadly crumbled and fell several years ago, but the viewpoint has an interesting sign where if you stand just right, recreates what you used to be able to see.

Sunset at Franconia Notch

Sign showing what the Old Man of the Mountain looked like

   

   Since we were already in New England, the next morning we decided to get on the around 5:45am and drive to Arcadia National Park over in Maine.  The drive took us almost six hours, but it was very scenic and worth it.  Once we arrived at the visitor center, we hopped on one of the free shuttle buses that loop through the park.  This was definitely the way to go, since parking can be very limited.  We decided to first to the Beehive Trail, which was a short, but steep hike up a cliff face to an amazing point where you could overlook a good portion of the park.  After we finished the hike, we spent some time walking along the ragged shoreline.  Since our time was running short, we jumped back on the shuttle bus and saw other parts of the park during the drive back to the visitors center.  We then hopped in the car and drove a few more hours south to Saco, Maine, where we stayed in a very tiny cottage for the night.

Beehive Hike, Arcadia National Park, Maine



Arcadia National Park

            The next morning we tried to get a somewhat early start, since we knew we had at least a six hour drive back to the airport to drop off the rental car.  Well, we should have planned for more time.  Driving through the outskirts of Boston, we got stuck in traffic multiple times.  Then, as we started approaching the New York City metro area (as in, part way through Connecticut), traffic started getting backed up.  We finally arrived in Queens around 4:30pm, dropped off the rental car, and caught the Long Island Railroad to Penn Station in Manhattan.  We walked several blocks, found our Airbnb apartment and dropped our bags.  We were off to explore the city!

Our room in our shared Airbnb apartment in midtown Manhattan

            We had reservations for a 6pm elevator ride to the top of the Empire State Building.  I had been there before as a kid, but they have vastly improved the whole experience.  There is a cool museum/ hands-on experience you go through before you take the elevator ride to the top.  Once we arrived at the top, the view is amazing!  We took lots of pictures from all the different sides.  Once we came back down, we walked up 5th Avenue and over to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  Since we were in New York, we had to get some street food for dinner.  We took our dinner over to Rockefeller Center and ate next to the famous ice rink (which was converted to roller skating for the summer).

Top of the Empire State Building


Looking toward downtown Manahattan

Empire State Building Lobby

New York Public Library

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Dinner at Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center


            After our dinner, we continued north on 5th Avenue up to Trump Tower and went inside, just to look around and see if anyone was home (he wasn’t).  Since our Empire State Building ticket came with an additional free night entrance, we walked back down 5th Avenue and went up to the top again.  The view was beautiful with everything lit up.  To end the evening, we walked over to Times Square, where there never seems to be a dull moment!  Since it was getting late, we decided we better head back to our apartment for the evening.



Trump Tower

Looking toward Times Square from the Empire State Building


Times Square


           



















Our first stop the next morning was the 9/11 museum.  Before we entered the museum, we walked around the giant monuments where the twin towers once stood.  It is very peaceful there.  It is hard to imagine the terror that took place at this spot over 20 years ago.  With our timed entry tickets, we were some of the first to enter the museum.  As you descend below the site and into the museum, you become overwhelmed by the stories that are told there.  We spent several hours looking at the exhibits, which lead you through the events of that day.  Many of these exhibits are in the very bottom of the foundation of the buildings. 

Survivor Tree, 9/11 Memorial

9/11 Memorial

One World Trade Center and Memorial

9/11 Museum

9/11 Museum

Survivor Steps

Remains of a firetruck




            After leaving the museum, we grabbed a hot dog and pretzel and walked over to Battery Park, where we caught the boat out to the Statue of Liberty.  Just like I remembered it, they cram as many people as possible onto the boats.  I guess it’s the park service’s way of recreating the phrase on the Statue “give me your tired, huddled masses”.  After a short boat ride, we arrived on the crowded island.  There is a neat museum there that walks you through the history of the statue and some of the changes that have been made.  They even have the original torch there.  We then did a short loop around the statue and made our way back to the large line to get on the boat over to Ellis Island.  It might have been faster to just jump in the water and swim there!

Statue of Liberty

Mold for foot

Original Torch


            Once we arrived at Ellis Island, we entered the main hall and took a few hours looking around at all of the great exhibits.  The park service is constantly renovating all of the buildings, so not all of them are open.  It was amazing to read about all of the struggles people went through to come to the United States.  We then went out and waited a very long time to catch one of the last boats going back to Manhattan. 

Ellis Island

Main Hall, Ellis Island

Ellis Island

            After getting off the boat at Battery Park, we started to walk north on Broadway.  We stopped for a few minutes at Wall Street, then continued north past City Hall and finally found our way to Little Italy.  We found a great Italian restaurant and ate outside, enjoying the atmosphere.  After dinner we took the subway back down to Battery Park and tried to take the free ferry over to Staten Island (we heard that it is a great, free night trip to see the city lit up).  Unfortunately, they were down one ferry, so the next one wasn’t leaving until 11:15pm.  Since it was getting late and some of New York’s finest were starting to come out, we decided to catch the next subway to midtown before it got too late and crazy.

Wall Street

Parking Lot

Great Italian Food in Little Italy

Little Italy with Empire State Building in background

            Sunday morning we went to church in the chapel that is under the Manhattan Temple, which is across the street from Lincoln Center.  After church we walked along Central Park, stopping at the Dakota Apartments where John Lennon was shot.  Across the street in Central Park, we went over to Strawberry Fields, where there is an “Imagine” mosaic as a tribute to John Lennon.  We then went to the American Museum of Natural History, which is an amazing museum!  Our first stop was the planetarium, which looks like a giant spaceship.  Afterward, we wandered through various exhibits on different lands, animals, and you name it!  One of our favorite halls was the rock and mineral hall.  The minerals on display were beautiful and some were gigantic!

Manhattan Temple

Dakota Apartment Building

Imagine Mosaic in Strawberry Fields, Central Park

American Museum of Natural History









          



  In the late afternoon we walked across Central Park and went to the Guggenheim Museum.  This world-famous museum is actually smaller than I thought it would be (at least in my opinion).  The building itself is fascinating.  Most of the art exhibits were too modern for us  and several were too crude, in our opinion.  After walking up and down the ramps and looking at the art, we started to get hungry.  We walked south through Central Park and stopped at the Bethesda Fountain for some people watching.  There were people from all of the world there.  In just a few minutes, you could hear countless languages. Now that we were somewhat rested, we decided to take the subway to Chinatown, where were found an amazing, but busy Chinese restaurant.  We ordered several items off the menu and shared them.  Wow, it was good food!  We wandered around Chinatown a bit, and then took the subway back to our apartment in midtown.

Central Park

Central Park

Guggenheim Museum

Guggenheim Museum

Chinatown



            Monday Morning we went straight to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) and got there right when it opened at 10am.  Even with our timed-entry tickets we had to wait to get in.  The Met is huge!  You could spend weeks there and not fully see everything.  We started in the Egyptian wing and spent a little too much time there when we realized how much more there was to see.  We then went to lots of different halls that had everything from historic fashion, to medieval knight suits of armor, to musical instruments, art from various time periods, to you name it.  As our time was running out, we literally ran from the Asian wing to the Greek and Roman wing.  We definitely could have stayed longer, but had to leave as the door were closing on us. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)


Egyptian Temple (brought from Egypt)

Coat worn by Abraham Lincoln when he was assassinated 




Mosaic and glass by Tiffany


Washington Crossing the Delaware

Silver items by Paul Revere

Guitar owned by Les Paul

Van Gogh

Sultan's palace

Asian Wing

Japanese Garden

Greek and Roman Wing


            












After walking almost all day through the Met, we went back and got some great pizza and took a nap at our apartment.  In the evening, we went over to Broadway and saw “Phantom of the Opera”.  It was an amazing production!  The special effects were great and made everything come to life.  Once the show was over, we walked over to Times Square again to see a bit more craziness.  By then we were exhausted and slowly walked back to our apartment.

Phantom of the Opera


Times Square














            Since this was our last day in New York together, we walked over and caught the Highline.  The Highline is an old elevated train track that has been converted to a beautiful walking path.  We walked the entire length of the Highline, stopping on the way at Chelsea Market.  Once we got off the Highline, we weaved through Greenwich Village and took some pictures at the “Friends” apartment, before heading over to Washington Square.  While there, we witnessed a short lady that was on drugs try to steal money from a street musician.  The police immediately got involved and tried to be nice to the lady and calm her down.  Once she stared swinging and hit a police officer, it was all over.  They took her to the ground and cuffed her.  Just a bit of excitement in the square.

The Vessel

Hudson Yards

The Highline

The Highline


            We then made our way up 5th Avenue with a few stops at a Goodwill, the Harry Potter Store, and the Flatiron building.  Since it was already lunch time we decided to go to Sarge’s Deli.  We got turkey pastrami sandwiches, which were good and large, but way overpriced.  After lunch we walked up Park Avenue to look inside Grand Central Station.  We then hurried back to the hotel where Becky would be staying with the exchange students so I could get my bag.  She walked me over to Penn Station where we said goodbye and I caught the train back to JFK to catch my flight home.  Becky stayed a few more days chaperoning exchange students during their orientation meetings.

            Overall, we walked 60 miles during the trip!

Flatiron Building

Grand Central Station


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