Brunswick, Georgia

From Washington D.C. our next destination was Brunswick, Georgia, some 600 miles south.  We made three stops along the way, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina and took 6 days, staying a couple of days at the better RV Parks.

Why Brunswick, Georgia – there was a boat we were really interested in.  Rich spent quite a few days with the owner, looking over the boat.  He even inspected the underneath - while it was still in the water, donning a mask and snorkel.  The propeller was covered in barnacles, so Rich went ahead and gave it a good clean to ensure it was in good condition under all that growth. 

There were two more things to do before Rich was happy to go ahead with the purchase, sea trials and an inspection out of the water. 

Then we had a very unexpected turn of events, Rich was rushed off to hospital at 9pm in an ambulance (I wasn’t keen on turning up to emergency in the RV) with abdominal pains.  I rang the hospital a couple of hours later but of course due to ‘privacy laws’ there was nothing they could tell me, except he was there.  That was reassuring!  Finally at 2.30am Rich rang me to say it was his gall bladder and he would be having surgery the following day, once they dealt with the infection.  The medical care he received was first class.  So both our experiences (Luke’s broken arm) with the American health system have been fantastic and thank god for travel insurance.  We hand over our insurance details, the hospital bills them directly and we don’t even hear boo from the insurer.

The doctor told Rich had he been out at sea and not been able to receive medical treatment he would have died a slow and very painful death.  It certainly got me thinking.  We already had reservations sailing with the kids, well I did anyway, particularly the long passages that can last days, even weeks.  They are hard enough when you just have yourself to look after, let alone two small kids.  So I suggested to Richard that perhaps this wasn’t the right time for us to be undertaking this type of adventure.  Although I don’t think I convinced him, he said we both had to want it and he knew I didn’t.  Later he tells me I got him at a weak moment, post-op, drugged-up and in pain.

Richard’s sister Louise summed it up beautifully ‘all you can do is assume life has different plans for you that are even better than what would have been'.

So we are heading back to Australia in December and with our house rented until March, who knows what we will do.  

Washington D.C.

We made our way out of Jersey City, trouble free!  On our way to Washington D.C. we stopped at Annapolis to look at a boat.  No intention to buy, just a ‘sticky-nose’ for comparison purposes.  We arrived in College Park, just out of Washington D.C. on Sept 10^th and decided not to go sightseeing on the 11^th due to the heighten security for the 10^th anniversary of 9/11. 

We spent a lazy day at the RV Park, swimming in the pool, playing at the playground and cheering on Sam Stosur in the US Open.

Our sightseeing day started with a bus, two trains and numerous escalators and that was just to get to the Capital City.  We arrived at Union Station, a beautiful building over 100 years old and decided this was the perfect spot for a coffee stop.

Inside Union Square Station

Station

We then got on board a double decker ‘Hop On Hop Off’ bus, much to Richard’s delight!

  We jumped off near the White House and of course had to go and take the tourist photo. 

We then finally found somewhere appropriate to have lunch with the kids.  There was a number of restaurants that looked very inviting, just not child friendly.

Streets of Washington D.C.

Back on the bus, we passed many of the Capital’s monuments, memorials and historic buildings: Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, IRS and FBI buildings and many museums.  The streets of Washington are very pretty, with many wide streets and gardens.  There are no buildings higher than the U.S. Capitol and it gives the city a feeling of space.  It is very different to many of the other cities in America, perhaps because it was designed by a Frenchman.

Capitol Hill

New York - Day 3

Our final day in New York and rain, hail or shine we were going to make a full day of it.  We made our way to the ‘PATH’ (train station) in a light drizzle and by the time we emerged on 33^rd Street we could see blue sky, first time in 2 days.  Funny how little things can make you so excited. 

5th Aveune

While the weather was good we headed to Central Park via Starbucks for coffee and 5^th Avenue for a squiz.  We passed through the Central Park Zoo and the Delacorte Music Clock and archway. 

Lazy bones in pram at Central Park  Zoo

Delacorte Music Clock

We had a great lunch in a lovely outdoor café in Central Park.  We then made our way to one of the playgrounds and the kids had fun in the sandpit, on the slides and playing with the other children.

From Central Park, we headed back to the PATH via Broadway and came across a completely different looking Times Square from the other day.  We couldn’t get over the contrast there was so much activity and such a buzz about the place.

Times Square

Tired kids, weary parents and one very sore right ankle we made our way home, getting on the right train this time!! and very pleased the rain stayed away.

New York - Day 2

The next day we woke to more overcast and wet weather.  So we decided to spend the morning in Jersey City, walking around and stopping for coffee.  After lunch, Rich seemed to think the weather had improved, so we caught a ferry to Ellis Island – America’s busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 to 1954.  Some famous names that passed through Ellis Island as immigrants are Bob Hope and Cary Grant.

Ellis Island

Statue of Liberty

From Ellis Island we caught the ferry to Battery Park, Lower Manhattan.  We were headed to Mel’s house for dinner and as we had plenty of time we decided to walk part of the way.  It was around 5.30pm, commuter peak hour, so we dismissed the subways as too busy and hard with the kids and pram and a taxi was almost impossible to get with the intermittent rain and the traffic was a nightmare.  So we found ourselves walking the whole way – 5km’s later.  Rich hobbled the last remaining blocks with his bad ankle.

Chloe on the Ferry

But it was well worth it.  We had a beautiful dinner at Mel’s and once again it was nice conversing with other adults.  We wisely got a taxi back to the RV Park from Mel’s as the heavens opened up.

New York - Day 1

The plan to spend 3 full days exploring Manhattan was dampened a little with a forecast of 72 hours of soggy weather, thanks to Tropical Storm Lee that cast a rain band all the way from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada.

The first day we woke to rain but the ferry was only 100 metres away, so we pulled out the raincoats and headed into New York.  We walked down Wall Street, snapped photos of the New York Stock Exchange and then made our way to Ground Zero – World Trade Centre site.  

NY Stock Exchange

One World Trade Centre

We then braved the NY Subway - wet coats, pram, lots of steps and one very independent little girl ho insisted on walking up and down the stairs on her own!  

Kids on NY Subway

As we exited the subway on 42^nd Street the rain was teeming.  We walked to Times Square but it was difficult to get the full impact of the place with the rain and all the tourists, us included, seeking whatever shelter the buildings could provide.  

Soggy Times Square

We made a beeline for Toys R’Us, 3 levels of kid heaven including a merry-go-round.  We happily spent over an hour playing in the store until it was time to go.  Chloe received the fireman’s carry out, kicking and screaming. 

After lunch we hailed a taxi to Richard’s cousin’s place in West Village.  Richard hadn’t seen Mel for over 12 years.  We’re good friends with Mel’s sister Vicki, so it was nice for me to finally meet Mel.  We spent over 2 hours there, drying out and enjoying the company of other adults.  Mel had a box of toys for the kids to play with and they happily played the entire time – another miracle….

Pennsylvania to Jersey City!

The trip from Pennsylvania to Jersey City was memorable for a number of reasons.   First we missed a couple of turn offs half way through the trip.   No problem, the GPS recalculated and took us another way – the long way. 

Second, which we hadn’t expected, was this incredible view of the Manhattan skyline as we came up and over a crest of a hill.  The picture doesn’t do it justice as it wasn’t a clear day, but it did take both our breath away for a moment as we took in the sheer size of the city.  It just didn’t appear to end.

Our third incident was getting completely and utterly lost just 3 miles from the RV Park.  The GPS lost its bearing for a while as we hit road works.  At one stage we were under an overpass, stopped at a railway crossing with an old freight train going by.  We were the only car in the vicinity which was an odd feeling having just left the busy freeways.  It was dark and very seedy, the kind of place in the movies where the homeless hang out and dead bodies are found.  We made sure the doors were locked.

We returned to the chaotic traffic, praying that a wrong turn didn’t take us into a tunnel to Manhattan.  Miracles of miracles, Rich took a right turn through this narrow passage while all the other cars were going left, we popped out on a major road, came down a hill, stopped at traffic lights and got our bearings.  The Holland Tunnel to Manhattan was up ahead, so we made sure we avoided it, took a right and drove another a mile to the RV Park, very relieved and amazed we made it.

Streets of Jersey City

We went for a walk around Jersey City and viewed the impressive skyline of the business district of lower Manhattan.  On the boardwalk there was a memorable to the people of Jersey City who lost their lives on Sept 11.   The twin towers would have been directly opposite, across the Hudson River and you could see the new building ‘One World Trade Centre’, being built.

One World Trade Centre building being built.  Tallest building with two cranes on top.