Tag: Vacation
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.
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).
Abbotts 75th Magic Get Together 2012
James got to help set up some of the booths at the Abbotts Get Together, an event which takes place each August. James has come to this festival since he was 3 and has always enjoyed it, however this is the first time he got to actually help out in the preparations. James helped out the weekend before then got to attend and enjoy the festivities the weekend after (his camp prevented him from attending during the week).
A bonus surprise was that Jame’s pet doves were used on the Friday night show (tickets were $25 each for a Vegas quality magic show but James got in for free because of the work he did the weekend before).
James enjoyed pizza in a place that had a girl floating in the window and posters from many of the past Abbott Get Togethers.
Towards the end of the event, a huge rainbow filled the sky over the magic village of Colon which just thrilled James.
The 2013 Abbott Get Together dates are Aug 7,8,9,10, this will be their 76th year doing this. We heard that some other magic shop was copying this event and putting it on a week earlier in Colon so make sure if you do attend that it is the Abbott Magic Get Together that you attend and not “the copycat” as James likes to call it.
We would truly like to thank the staff of Abbott Magic for their hospitality and kindness during this event. We all had a great time.
Soo Locks & Soo Museum Tour 2012
James and Mom got to go on a two hour tour of the Soo Locks. This was James first time going through the locks and also the first time he got to go to Canada (that he remembered, we took him a couple times to Kingsville and Windsor while he was in a stroller). James has been wanting to go to Canada since studying about it at school and online. Going on the boat tour not only did he get to understand the workings of the Soo Locks, but also the boat took him to Canada without the headache of going through customs.
After the boat tour we went by the other museums and finished off the day shopping in the tourist trap area.
Mothman Prophecies Adventure 2006
Our journey took us to Charleston WV, Pomeroy OH, Marietta OH, and of course, Point Pleasant WV, the site of the Mothman legend
In Charleston, Mary visited where she lived during her college days. In Pomeroy we had a chance to cross the old bridge across the Ohio river and see the new bridge being built. Marietta is well known on the Ohio river as an up and coming resort town.
The main attraction was Point Pleasant and the TNT area (Mothman was first seen near abandoned ammo igloo’s on the outside of town, hence the name TNT area came into being). Their story was made into a movie called “The Mothman Prophecies” starring Richard Gere a few years back.
Although the movie was set in present time, the actual events happened in a span of 13 months, from Nov 1966 till the collapse of the bridge on Dec 15, 1967.
The most amazing thing that we noticed was the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone that we met at Point Pleasant. So if you are looking for a little mystery and adventure in your next vacation, check out Point Pleasant West Virginia!
Meijer Garden 2005
We visited Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids Michigan for a day. Truly amazing flowers and gardens, even predatory flowers could be found there. This is the same Meijer who operate the Meijer super centers throughout Michigan and the midwest.
On the way home, James got sick and we had to stop in at Criss’s doctors office to make sure the little guy was ok. We were already on our way there anyhow but we did not expect James to be sick. When he got into the Doctors office he threw up. Poor kid, and poor Aunt Criss, she doesn’t get to see James that often and when she does he throws up at her work.
However James was fine at Meijer Gardens and enjoyed the play area there.
Mackinaw 2005
Our annual visit to Mackinaw and one of the largest suspension bridges in the world. Mary was a little under the weather today so James and I went to the Fort. It’s still pretty much the same way I remember it when I first went there with my mom and dad about 40 years ago or so. The thing I remember most about the Fort was the skeleton in one of the watch towers so that was the first place James and I went, sure enough, he was still there.
James is much more mobile than he was at the last visit here so that helps, we don’t need to keep him in a stroller all the time. He enjoys running around in the open areas that they have at the fort and at the parks. He is not yet thrilled by the historical significance of some of the indoor displays at the Fort.
