24 States in 27 Days - Day 18:

Oct. 27th, 2012, Saturday:  I sat outside the next morning, where it was still warm enough to not need a jacket and enjoyed a bowl of cereal with almond milk, while watching a guy with two boys float by in small motor boat fishing, while I waited for Brad to finish showering. 

He returned, made coffee, joined me for cereal then we packed things up. 

We headed to hwy.177 then stopped at a market to see if they had any highlighters. All they had were boxes of beer! We zigged our way through beautiful farmland, eventually connecting to I-15 veering south around Gettysburg where looking at the map we noticed we’d completed a figure 8 in our travels. From there we went south on 15 to Maryland. 

It was still warm and in the upper 60’s. Stopping at Catoctin Fruit Orchard we admired the flowers, Brad collected seeds and I took pics. 

We left with a delicious jug of fresh squeezed apple juice. Our next stop, purely by accident was Frederick Maryland. Brad loved Frederick - we both did - it was very historic, with lots of cool art, signs, and murals. We parked downtown, fed the meter and went for a walk. 

Brad recognized several signs and murals from his sign trade magazines. We had fun trying on vintage clothes, chatting with gallery owners and getting the scoop on where the best murals and other galleries were. We drove across town to the local art center where we’d heard there were more murals to discover. While purchasing a hat, we were told about a particular angel mural that could be viewed through a window at the art center, where it looked proportionally correct. It was painted to look right from the window, but skewed when viewed while standing directly in front of it. Of course we had to go check that out! 

Viewing the Angel through the window at The Delaplaine Visual Arts Center

Viewing the Angel standing right in front of it. 

We spotted several other trompe l’oeil images along the canal walkway below the art center.

Frederick was a real cool discovery - one of our favorites of our road trip. It was very hard to be so close to Washington DC though, and not stop there, but we knew that’d be a multiple-day adventure just in itself. 

We also were disappointed to have to head west sooner than we’d wanted, and not fulfill our wish to dip our toes into the Atlantic, but Hurricane Sandy was making its way towards the east coast, and we knew we should avoid its arrival. 

We kept going south on I-340 crossing the Potomac River into Virginia and West Virginia, all within seconds from each other on that stretch of highway. Stopping, we walked back onto the bridge over the Potomac, spotting several groups of rafters floating the river. 

We also spied some poison ivy, looking glorious in its autumn splendor… 

We continued on 340 as it became more of a backroad through West Virginia, then back into Virginia. We crossed over the beautiful glassy Shenandoah River multiple times, as the sun set and it became too dark for photos. We debated about finding somewhere to camp, but decided to keep going, and in Elkton we turned onto hwy. 33, then onto I-81 where we zipped along ‘til we stopped at a rest area, choosing to sleep there that night. It had a sparkling clean restroom, and soon we had our curtains up in the truck canopy, the cooler and bags moved into the front seat, ready to nod off early. Unfortunately it was too early - we were too warm again and the place was noisy with truck generators, the coming and going of cars with loud people, crying babies... not the best place to sleep, that’s for sure! It made for a long night.

24 States in 27 Days - Day 17:

Oct. 26th, 2012, Friday: It was time to leave Manhattan since Hurricane Sandy was barreling its way towards the east coast, so after a casual morning with our hosts, they took off for work and we packed up our things to go. 

Leaving the island we were all set to pay toll fees again, but discovered you only had to pay going into Manhattan, not out. Sweet! 

Back in New Jersey we hopped onto I-78 - a section of the freeway that was a toll road, catching us by surprise again. Luckily it was just a couple of dollars for this section. 

We drove into Pennsylvania from New Jersey, stopping to prepare snacks at the visitor center where we cut up apples and cheese, then continued west on 78, exiting at Hamburg hoping to find a little shop to get a new highlighter and some ice. Instead we drove through town and marveled at the cozy houses, tucked right next to each other, almost on top of the sidewalks. We continued off the freeway for a ways then I helped direct Brad through Harrisburg - the capitol of Pennsylvania. Our goal was Gifford Pinchot State Park so we headed south on 83 and were happy to see the park listed on the freeway exit sign. We took hwy. 177 and followed a big RV, thinking they were on their way there too. Nope. We had to turn back, circle around the park until we found the correct road and entrance. 

At the kiosk, we talked with a fellow that had a long white beard and heavy accent. Our campsite was next to a lake and right off I saw two turtles and a heron. 

We settled in and had a nice dinner then sent texts and made a few phone calls while the moon climbed into the night sky. Children hollering, the splash of water, dogs, hummingbirds and crickets serenaded us as we sat outside on this late October night - balmy enough to not need a jacket. It felt more like August as we struggled to sleep in our overly warm truck.

24 States in 27 Days - Day 16:

Oct. 25th, 2012, Thursday: Brad had to do a bit of sign design work before we could go explore more of Manhattan, so it was almost 11:30 when we finally left, going west from Jerry’s condo to a bike / walking path along the Hudson River. 

The One World Trade Center in the background, under construction.

It was a more leisurely walk today, no bustling crowds to keep up with, just the occasional jogger, or dog walker passing by. We hiked all the way to the southern point of Manhattan - Battery Park where you could view the Statue of Liberty off in the distance. 

From there we went north, around the World Trade Center area, then down Greenwich St. hoping to catch some of the Greenwich Village scene. 

Instead we walked past lots of concrete warehouses, parking garages, nothing much to spark our interest. Our feet were killing us so we headed up to Jerry’s for a break and bite to eat around 3ish. We both did some computer work, then since Brad was antsy to go, we took off, this time to the High Line Elevated park - a walkway above the street level in west NYC. 

Our pick-up parked outside the condo.

On our way to the High Line Park.

It went for about 30 blocks, all above and overlooking Manhattan with great people spaces. 

It had wide pathways and narrow ones, bench seats, and areas with stadium seating looking down thru glass to the road below. 

There were a lot of plants and trees creating a fabulous park space for all the people up there exploring like we were. 

Looking down on a road from up on the High Line.

Fun murals.

We zoomed along, stopped for pics, then zoomed some more. At one point we were halted by a class of high school students, walking 3 across totally oblivious to anyone behind them. We walked all the way to the end, although Brad was ready to descend before we got there. I told him it’s like having to watch the credits when movies are over - I didn’t want to miss a possible surprise at the end! There wasn’t anything at this north end, aside from the potential to continue further some day, so we descended stairs into another construction zone - so many in NYC - walked to 10th and headed south. 

You can see the High Line park behind Jana.

Jana, next to the mural we saw from High Line Park (see above).

Stadium seating with glass windows seen from the street below the High Line.

We soon started seeing fun shops and places we’d spotted from up on the High Line. Brad got a text message from Jerry saying we’re going out tonight to meet some of their friends - aim for 6-6:30 to be home, so we hurried a bit, as much as our tired, sore feet could handle. We went into the Chelsea Mkt. an indoor market with ”pop-up” vendors selling used clothes, tables of jewelry, bags, etc. then walked through a block long market with cafes, bakeries, food and tons of Halloween decor - creepy things hanging everywhere! People really decorate for this holiday east of the Mississippi! From there we went down 8th and through the true Chelsea district. We were wishing we had more time to explore.

A rare bit of color and greenery in Chelsea in October. 

The Condo Elevator.

Back at the condo we uploaded and perused photos until Jerry, then Jason arrived, bringing their very well behaved labs, Jack and Diane. Downstairs past the doormen we four hopped into a taxi - our first NYC taxi experience. After directions were given to the driver we soon were lurching our way through Manhattan towards Brooklyn. The driver charged through green lights, squeezed past cars and finally crossed over the Williamsburg bridge into Williamsburg, a supposedly up and coming “hipster” area of Brooklyn. At the bar, we met two friends of theirs - one that was DJ-ing the music that evening. We were seated in the back and enjoyed a terrific meal of raw oysters, lamb tartar with pastry, amazing goat cheese with pickled anchovies and peppers with crostini, along with our main dishes - chicken medallions for Brad and stuffed squash with polenta and kale for me. Mmm! After dinner we moved into the bar and hung out ‘til late, returning to the condo in another taxi, tired and ready for bed after another very fun adventure! Thank you Jerry and Jason! 

24 States in 27 Days - Day 15:

Oct. 24th, 2012, Wednesday: Brad was up and saw Jerry before he left for work this morning, but I didn’t wake until after. We had a bite to eat then finally took off to walk Manhattan. We’d heard there were few public bathrooms in NYC, so of course, soon after we left, I was in need of a restroom. Going north on 7th Avenue we popped into a Pottery Barn - nope, no bathroom there. Whole Foods? It was quite the zigzag, nooks and crannies store, and again, no bathroom in sight. Back outside we came to a baby and toddler store - I knew they’d have a bathroom and sure enough we found one downstairs in the basement. Yay! Continuing north on 7th Ave. we stopped often for photos - quintessential tourists for sure! 

When we weren’t taking photos we walked fast, like the rest of the crowd, and the closer we got to Times Square the busier it became. The night before, while walking with Jerry, we learned it was ok to charge across streets whether the light said go or not - as long as there wasn’t any traffic of course! Considering that’s how we cross streets at home, it felt pretty natural. 

Today the weather was cloudy with the occasional light sprinkle and temps in the 60’s. We walked all the way to Central Park, then meandered our way through half of the park, taking photos and even taking turns shooting photos for people from other countries - tourists like us. 

Taking 5th Avenue back it felt like we were in a mall full of people. Everyone seemed to have a camera. 

The New York Public Library - above, and below, some of the murals inside.

After a late lunch at a deli, we kept wandering, at one point into a small park where a bunch of people stood under a tree looking up. We stopped and saw a hawk, fluffing and futzing high in the tree. A couple passed by with a Whole Foods bag, so we asked them where the nearest store was. It was the same one we’d stopped in that morning - a few blocks away. We wanted to cook Jerry dinner so bought veggies for a salad, a good loaf of bread and prawns. We were intrigued with the check-out system - 3 lines - yellow, blue and green. A number would show up on a screen with the corresponding color - then if you were first in that colored line, you’d go to that numbered checkout desk. Damian was a cheery young fellow - very friendly and full of information - he told us his favorite place to go in NYC. He even pronounced Oregon correctly :). 

It was pushing 6:00 and getting dark when we started off again, this time south on 8th Avenue, spotting the Chelsea Hotel on our way. My feet were aching, so we tried to slow our pace a bit. Upstairs at the condo, past the crew of doormen we finally arrived, opening the door to find Jerry already home. Yay! He was happy to see us and ready to mix martini’s. What a fun night - sipping martini’s in Manhattan, peeling shrimp and prepping dinner while Jerry watched and took pics with his camera.

After a delicious dinner, we sat around visiting until late, as I uploaded the days pics.