New York City!!

We arrived in New York City around 12:30 a.m. last night.

We got lost near the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Who knew that you are on the 95 and then you have to take the 195 to the 295 to get back on the 95!!!

There are absolutely NO Signs on the interstate and we Never saw a sign the entire time directing us towards New York. So we were off course for an hour.

I had thought about looking into Verizon GPS before we left, but we got trip & map information from AAA and I thought we would be fine.


Miraculously I was able to call Verizon on my cell phone, sign up for the GPS service immediately - only $15 a month........... and find our way out of Pennsylvania through New Jersey and on to New York.


Then, wouldn't you know it but we came out of the Lincoln Tunnel, were on 46th street in NYC and the battery ran out on my phone!! We needed to be on 49th street for our hotel!!


So we made finally made it to the Waldorf Astoria.

It was so late that we didn't get much of a look at the lobby. However, the next morning I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting a glamorous huge marble lobby. And there just isn't that much to see. The actual check-in / reservation area is very dark colors like burgundy & evergreen and darkly lit.


There is a gorgeous clock there.



On top of the clock is a miniature Statue of Liberty. Around the sides are carvings of the presidents: Cleveland, Harrison, Washington, Grant, Lincoln, Franklin, Jackson and Queen Victoria. Every quarter hour, the clock sounds the Westminster Chimes.

We got our first cab and headed out to Battery Park. Our cab just dropped us off at the Ferry Station, next to Battery Park. Right where the cab dropped us off there was a Hot Dog cart. We were wanting to have a hot dog from a cart on the streets of NYC.
We ordered 2 hot dogs and a pretzel. The hot dogs were fine. The pretzel was yucky!
It was from a steam compartment and tasted like old steam if you can even call it that.

We are on our way to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

I had looked online for tickets before we left home, but was not willing to commit to a time and date for the reserved tickets. They do offer a 3 day time period Flex Ticket. And I should have done that. It would have saved us standing in line for an hour to get our tickets and get on the Ferry. Really though it wasn't that bad. It could have been 2 or 3 hours.

But next time, we will definitely buy the tickets in advance and avoid the lines there. If you have a reserved ticket you get to go in a separate - note Empty - line to go through the security tent immediately and board the ferry. However, that would be where the separation would end. Everyone gets whisked aboard the ferry quickly with shouting and urging. Hurry, hurry, but watch your step. They want you to move quickly and get on and keep moving up to let as many people get on as they can.
All those past news stories of sinking ferry boats were freaking me out in my head. I can definitely see how a ferry boat could be overcrowded, sink fast and lose a lot of people.
Well now you can see the pessimist in me! But as you see we made it there and back safe and sound. Well you have to read the next story to see that I might Not have made it .............. when we were on the Statue of Liberty Island.......