Road Trip 2011 - Hoboken & NYC! - Day 3

The drive in the mountains was beeeeauuutiful!! Some of the colorful Fall leaves were still on the trees, and it was another sunny day with temps in the 60's!

FINALLY entering New Jersey.... and seeing signs for New York City!! YAY!!

After getting to our hotel in East Rutherford, NJ, just outside of Hoboken, we called Jason and set up a meeting place. At first we were going to take a shuttle to the train station and then go to a place by Jason's apartment. But we found out the shuttle only runs every hour. So we asked how much a taxi would cost.. $40!! (to go about 8 miles!)...so, Jason said he had a parking pass we could use, and we decided to drive into Hoboken ... it was a short and pretty easy drive there, thankfully!

So, from Jason's we found a parking place, walked to a bus stop and took it to Carlos' Bakery, home of THE CAKE BOSS!! We have watched that TV show many times, and since it was about 10 blocks or so away, we made it a stop. Jason was a good sport about taking us to all these goofy tourist sites..*L*



After Cake Boss, Jason took us on the train into Manhattan, Greenwich and the West Village to see some sites...



On the train .. heading into the city... (Jason and Kasey)



One of the places I had mentioned to Jason was a place I just had to check out... they have a TV show I've seen before too... so we went to the Obscura Antiques and Odditities store ... it is so much smaller than it seemed to be on TV ..but it had a lot of cool stuff...but a bit pricey for my tastes....



I had asked about several items there ... a metal hand, the piranha fish, and some old children's shoes with metal braces attached... but they were all way to expensive for me ... but they would have been pretty cool in an assemblage I might make ... instead, I opted for a small token purchase.. a replica of a shrunken head .. not sure what I'll use it for yet .. but it was easy to carry around at least..*L*





Jason took us to a few city parks ... This is Washington Square Park, which has a replica of the Arc de Triomphe, like in Paris ... pretty awesome ... and the lighting around it caused some great, and odd, photos of Kasey and Jason..*L*






This was the park where they filmed part of the movie "When Harry Met Sally", and other movies over the years as well... it was also the meeting place for many protests and demonstrations. Artists and performers use the park during the day and night too... we heard several singers at this one, but it was too dark to take a photo with my camera.

One advantage of having a "tour guide" who has lived in the area for about 9 years, is that he knows some cool and off beat places to eat .. we went to S'Mac's for dinner ... a small, but very popular, place to get some delicious mac n cheese with most anything you can think of added to it. Who says you can't eat cheap and good in NYC?? *L*























These pumpkins outside a market were no match for John-John's giant pumpkin back home! *L*





It was a great night for a walk, we stopped in at an old NYC pub for a drink, then we walked around Greenwich and the West Village. We passed by the Greek Restaurant where Jason works, and saw an apartment that is the narrowest one in all of New York City area, we joked that it was Jason's "future home", once he wins the Lottery..*L* It's for sale now too ...for only 3 or 4 million dollars!!





A short video of part of our stroll....


We passed by some buildings and streets that were used in many movies and tv shows ...the street that Glee was filmed on... the apartment building that was filmed as the building where "Friends" lived, below it was a restaurant, but Jason said there is NO Central Perk Cafe for real. We went by an old "speak easy" that was used back in the 1920's, and was often busted by the police.




We passed by quite a few Episcopal Churches too in our walking around the areas...





And it was time to get back on the train, then the bus back to our car in Hoboken, then to the hotel for the night.
It was a WONDERFUL night in NYC!! Thanks Jason for the places you took us to and for being a great tour guide!!

Tomorrow it's more fun ... heading to Central Park, Ground Zero 9/11 Memorial, Times Square and a Broadway Musical, and MORE...

Road Trip 2011 - Day Two

Heading to Pittsburgh.... another wonderful, sunny, warm day...temps in the 60's!!








Arriving in Pittsburg....




Lucky for us, the Warhol Museum had their own parking lot, because there was a Steeler's football game later that night, and tailgaters were already arriving at noon to party and they were filling parking spaces all over town!




The entrance to the Warhol Museum...




Photos were allowed on the first floor but not on the other floors...











Lots of interesting things about Warhol's life ... and art ... and influence on other artists....


There was a room there, that you couldn't photograph, but I found this photo on the internet that was similar to the one at the museum ... Silver Clouds .. an interactive installation, of silver mylar helium balloons, that people could go into and push the "clouds" around, as fans blew them around as well ... it was fun to do it, as well as watch others and their reactions to it.



Oh my gosh!! On the bulletin board by the cafe in the basement at the Warhol Museum was a brochure of my art assemblages!! Now HOW did THAT get there, I wonder?? *G*



We decided to head out of Pittsburg before the traffic got worse since there was a football game there in a few hours ...





After driving a few more hours we stopped for the night, and found right next to our hotel a wonderful Steakhouse with European cuisine (Raphael's), where we had a delicious dinner!










Kasey had Pollo Fromagio-chicken breast stuffed with four cheeses lightly baked with sundried tomato cream sauce with fettucini & roasted zuchinni veggies, and I had pistachio crusted char-grilled lamb chops, served in a fresh rosemary demi-glaze, with saffron risotto and roasted veggies... YUMMMMMMMMMM







A perfect end to a great day! Tomorrow we arrive in New Jersey and meet up with nephew Jason in Hoboken and head to Manhattan and other fun sites!

Road Trip Extravaganza 2011 - Day One

Up before the dawn to get ready to leave ... we had hoped to get going by 5 a.m., scratch that ...we slept until almost 5, but did leave about 6:20 a.m....van packed, gps and radio set... and two, up early, tired travelers, with excited smiles, start out!



We watched the sunrise in Illinois, which was blinding! Seared our eyes and made driving toward it a bit difficult in Chicago traffic....but we survived.





Here is something that our $$$ didn't survive.... all the Toll Booths along the way... egads!!




We decided to stop in South Bend, Indiana since we saw there were some art galleries and shops there to visit...




Of course we had to purchase something there at a shop .... I found a cute little purse that hangs from my purse, in a bright yellow to match the wallet I already had... and Kasey gives a thumbs up to her new spoon ring!




Saw an old catholic church from the outside - St. Patrick's ... great architecture... and some memorials on the grounds.








The river was pretty ... near an art museum, but we didn't take the time to visit it..we wanted to get on the road to head to Pittsburgh, PA and get there on Sunday.





It was a great sun-shiney day for driving! And we discovered there was some giant campbell's soup can along the way...so we took a short detour off the highway to go see it in Napoleon, Ohio... *L*




The courthouse in Napoleon had Lady Justice on the top, the soup can was at a Campbell's Soup factory... a bit out of town, off the highway, so we drove some of the back roads for an hour or so to see the countryside.

We stopped near Cleveland, Ohio for the night ... heading to Pittsburgh and the Andy Warhol Museum tomorrow!

ON VACATION!!

Haven't had time to blog for awhile because I was busy trying to get all my work done so my daughter and I could go on our annual Road Trip Extravaganza!

So, as of Friday afternoon, I am officially, ON VACATION!!

We leave early in the morning for New York City ... and all points inbetween! We are driving there, stopping at whatever points of interest we find along the way.


Hubby will be holding down the fort while we are gone exploring out east. I am SOOOO excited to head out in the AM and will be posting some of our adventures as we travel...

"O God, You called Abraham Your servant out of Ur and kept him safe and sound in all his wanderings. According to Your will, protect Your servants. Be for us a support when setting out, friendship along the way, a little shade from the sun, a mantle against cold and rain, a crutch on slippery paths, and a haven in shipwreck. Bear us up in fatigue, and defend us under attack. Under Your protection, let us fulfill the purpose for our trip and return safe and sound to our home. Amen."