NJ and the Big Apple ~ Part 4 ~ Views

I was told what buildings these were, but since I didn't write it down, I promptly forgot. I think that top one is city hall.

I liked this one for the gingerbread, although it isn't the fanciest builing in NYC, by a long shot. I assume that the greenish areas on top and over the windows on the mansard roof are copper which has oxidized.

These last two views and photos made the whole trip worthwhile for me. After we took the PATH train back to Jersey City, we entered the parking deck to find our car. I saw this view of Manhattan, and I couldn't stop shooting photos of it. The late afternoon sun was hitting the buildings along the water's edge, and although it doesn't look that bright here, they could have been on fire with the golden glow. It was a "take-your-breath-away" moment, and I am grateful for it.

The next day, we left NJ and headed south. After we found out that we couldn't see the Egyptian Exhibit in Philadelphia, we needed something interesting to do, so we made a decision to head for Atlantic City. We arrived about 3 pm, and found it bustling (as usual), at least in the area of the casinos. Mr. kenju headed for the Boardwalk. Seeing the ocean is a must for him, but I was more interested in the one-armed bandits. I promptly gave $$ to The Donald, to my dismay. I won some and lost some, but the net was a loss of $20 - my usual limit (I'm SUCH a big spender). Our hope of winning enough to offset the trip was not realized this time......LOL.

We headed south again; spent the night in DC with Miss kenju and headed home on Sunday morning. For some reason, The VA DOT thinks it is expedient to have road construction/repair on Sunday, so we were immediately in a massive traffic jam, stretching for miles. Our first destination was IKEA. I had seen their catalogs, but I had never been to a store, so I was looking forward to it. A trip which should have taken no more than 20 minutes stretched into 45, but we finally pulled into the parking garage. IKEA (which I have always pronounced "eye-kia", with the stress on the second syllable) is actually "EEE-KIA" (long E), according to my Swedish neighbor.

If you have not been to Ikea, I recommend it. They have stuff for every room in the house; from gadgets to furniture and their storage solutions are great. It is probably a good thing I didn't win a lot of money in Atlantic City, because I might have spent it all at Ikea!! The best thing I saw was a kitchen brush with a suction cup on the end of the handle. You can stand it up on the sink or the counter; it takes up less space and it dries easily. Genius. After 2 hours in Ikea, we had lunch there (3 hotdogs for $1.50 - no kidding) and then headed back to Raleigh. We were glad to get home.

NJ and the Big Apple, Part 1

The Woolworth Building (on the right). At one time, it was the tallest building in NYC.

We left here Wednesday afternoon, with daughter #1, at 3pm, after the plumber worked his magic mojo and stopped the leak under our house. We stopped in DC to spend the night with daughter #2, and continued on Thursday morning to NJ. Our #2 decided to take the train to NYC later in the day, and she was to meet us at the New York Athletic Club about 6 pm.

Daughter #1 has a GP system on her car, and I became a devotee almost immediately. She programmed it to take us to NJ by the quickest route without tolls. We were routed through Pennsylvania Amish country, an area which none of us had ever seen before. I want to go back sometime when we can stop and sight-see! The rolling hills are lovely, and the wide valleys with picturesque farms are quaint and beautiful. We saw some dark red barns, with large round hex signs on them, and silos, and grazing cattle and horses. I would love to see it when the trees are leafed out and flowers are blooming. When we left Raleigh, it was looking like spring had sprung and the farther north we went, the more it appeared to be winter again. Going that route (from DC through Harrisburg and Scranton) put extra miles on the car, but we paid NO tolls and the traffic was light, compared to Rte. 95 (the hellhole).

We arrived in West Orange, NJ at our hotel, the Marriott Residence Inn, and were pleasantly surprised to see that it looked like a fairly luxurious hotel (both inside and out)! Our rooms were spacious and well-appointed, and the stay included a free breakfast. This was a full buffet - not just continental fare - and it was good!

We had to hurry, as mr. kenju had to be at the NYAC by 5:30 pm, for a photo session prior to being inducted (along with his whole team) in his high school basketball hall of fame. His team went undefeated in the 1957-58 season. His brother arrived to drive us into the city and we made it with about 5 minutes to spare, despite the problem of a flat tire. My BIL asked the parking attendant to change the tire for him, and lo and behold when we went back at 11:30 pm to get the car, it had been changed. We were lucky!

Miss kenju (daughter #2) arrived from the train at 6:20pm and we left the NYAC on a quest for half-price tickets to a Broadway Show. Tomorrow, I will tell you all about the show we saw, plus other possibly interesting tidbits about the evening.