Month: September 2012
James Birthday Surprise 2012
James gets a surprise in a card from Uncle Ken and Aunt Criss
Pocono Speedway 2012
While driving along on the Pennsylvania interstate we saw a sign for the Pocono Speedway Exit and Mary immediately recognized the name since she is an avid Nascar Fan. We took the exit and went a few miles then came across the raceway. There is a real nice gift shop that seems to be open most of the year and sells souvenirs, shirts, etc.
The Pocono Speedway also known as The Tricky Triangle among Nascar fans, its one of the few tracks located in the mountains, actually in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania to be specific. The race track is one of only three NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation, the dominant track owners in NASCAR. The other two tracks that hold this distinction are Dover International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A Drive Through Pennsylvania 2012
About half the drive from Michigan to New York is through Pennsylvania which has the highest elevation on I80 East of the Mississippi. The terrain is nothing but hills and is very beautiful to say the least. We were fortunate enough to see the sun rise in this beautiful country and the next day watch the sun set in the same terrain. Some of the highlights of the trip were a stop in the Pocono’s to visit the Nascar speedway there. Mary has often said the only Nascar track she has ever seen in person was Michigan so now she can no longer say that. Also the Deleware Water Gap, a National recreation area where the Deleware river cuts through the Appalachian mountains on the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey was quite spectacular. The early morning mist settling in the valleys as we drove through the high land of Pennsylvania was truly beautiful and haunting.
Statue of Liberty – Liberty Island 2012
It had been quite the whirlwind tour but finally James got to see what we promised him, the Statue of Liberty. We had communicated with James teacher before we went to make sure James would not miss anything important in school and it was his teacher who suggested we take him to the Statue of Liberty (originally we were thinking the top of the Empire State Building).
From the first time he saw the statue James exclaimed “its big”. Upon leaving the ferry we walked around Liberty Island, had our pictures taken as a family in front of the statue, then stopped in the gift shop and bought some souvenirs and reviewed our pictures. Liberty Island is really a small island and you could walk around the whole thing in about 20 minutes or so. After shopping for a bit we walked around the island again continually snapping pictures of the Statue which would have to go down as one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen.
Not only was this the first trip to Liberty Island for James, it was also the first time for Mom and Dad. It would be a tough choice to pick who was impressed the most.
THE NEW COLOSSUS
Emma Lazarus (1849–1887)
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Ellis Island 2012
The first stop on the Liberty Ferry was to Ellis Island which is located right next to Liberty Island in the New York Harbor. Ellis Island was the place most immigrants were processed into the United Stated including James ancestors from Europe. Ellis Island closed in the mid 50’s and was added to the Statue of Liberty National Park in the mid 60’s. It is now a museum.
A little history about Ellis Island. The first Ellis Island Immigration Station was made in 1892 and made of wood. It burned down in 1897. Three years later the second Ellis Island Immigration Station (the one most of us are familiar with) opened on Dec 17, 1900. After 1924, Ellis Island became primarily a detention and deportation processing station.
Liberty Park 2012
To visit Ellis Island and Liberty Island (aka Statue of Liberty) we had to take a ferry from Liberty Park which is located in New Jersey.
At this location is a monument to the World Trade Center and (as you can see in the picture to the left) if you take a picture of it head on it recreates the New York Skyline with the Twin Towers. In front of this are a couple beams from the wreckage of the towers. I had heard about this display already because an atheist group says it is in the shape of a cross and should be removed since it is a religious symbol. Believe me, when I saw this the last thing I associated it with was a crucifix or any religion.
James did his own honor to the fallen by striking up a “Liberty” pose with souvenirs he had purchased from Liberty Island.
Once we got home, James went a grabbed an encyclopedia from his room and put batteries in his “torch” flashlight and asked us to take one last picture of him in his Statue of Liberty pose before he went to sleep.
Visit to Sleepy Hollow New York
We stayed right next to this small historical town in its sister city of Tarrytown NY. Let us give you a little history on this city from Wikipedia and you will know why we made a visit.
Originally incorporated as North Tarrytown in the late 19th century, in 1996 the village officially adopted the traditional name for the area. The village is known to many via “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, a short story about the local area and its infamous specter, the Headless Horseman, written by Washington Irving, who lived in Tarrytown and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Owing to this story, as well as the village’s roots in early American history and folklore, Sleepy Hollow is considered by some to be one of the “most haunted places in the world”.
A Drive Through New York City 2012
We came into New York via the Tappan Zee bridge and stayed in Tarrytown. Dad got to attend a banquet where he was honored for 25 years of service to his Company. The banquet was held in a beautiful banquet hall at the Knollwood Country Club in Elmsford.
The next stop was not a stop but a trip through New York City for James. From a time perspective it would have been much better to go back through New Jersey to get to the Statue of Liberty but James’ favorite city on earth is New York so we made sure he got to see it. Most of the pictures of the New York Skyline were taken from the New Jersey side at Liberty Park and the Statue of Liberty Ferry.
Truly this must be the greatest city on earth, just beautiful!
A Drive Through New Jersey
They call New Jersey the Garden State and from some of these pictures you can see why. On the trip to New York we simply drove through the state, not really stopping anywhere. However on the way home was a completely different story. After crossing into New Jersey via the George Washington Bridge we took 95 South past the Newark Airport to Liberty Park. Liberty Park has two sections, The first is a park with a view of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhatten skyline, the second is the ferry dock which is where we went to (those pictures have their own section and are located elsewhere on this blog).
