Barton Trip: 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.