Fun in the Desert

Things are still windy out here in the desert! We’ve had some 50 mph+ winds which have made it really hard to play golf. What am I talking about – it’s really hard just to stay on your feet! McKenzie found that it was easiest to just ride on the carpet that we use to smooth over the sand greens after we've hit that little yellow, pink or orange ball into the cup. Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas! We went to my aunt’s in San Diego and spent about a week with her. Had a great time shopping and McKenzie enjoyed playing with her dog, Peanuts. Although it took them five days to determine that they weren’t enemies, the last two, they spent running throughout the house chasing each other. We went back for Christmas and gave them a chance to play again.
We’ve had quite a time with our solar out here. Seems a couple of our batteries died and we ended up having to order four new ones. George had always said that we didn’t have enough solar panels on the top of the fifthwheel, so we ordered a new one which should hopefully give us enough power to do the things we want. If not, we are going to have to start dragging them behind us because we have no more roof room for the panels. We’ve added Dish Network and an electric coffee pot since we were out here five years ago and they both draw quite a bit of amps. Gave up the coffee pot and saved the amps for something else. We had to install a new circuit board on the furnace and replace a part on the toilet. Oh yes, the refrigerator door panel dried, cracked, warped and fell out. So--- we had to find a carpenter who could build us a new one! Okay, the fifthwheel is almost 13 years old!!! And it’s a lot cheaper to replace all these parts than it is to buy a new fifthwheel!!!!! Besides, if we continue having to replace all these parts, we’ll soon know how to build our own fifthwheel! Once everything was fixed, we began enjoying our visit.

Our friends, Cal and Nancy arrived and we’ve been spending time with them, playing games, going into town, and having a beer and dinner at DaBoyz in Yuma. (They have wonderful pizzas and Italian food.) Close to Christmas, we all went to one of the churches in the foothills and listened to the dancing lights Christmas tree chorus. It was quite interesting. They set up chairs in the parking lot and we took lots of blankets and some hot chocolate and sat out under the stars in the 49 degree weather and listened to the choir sing Christmas songs. The stage was a giant Christmas tree with 22,000 colored lights on it. The 70 people in the choir stood on a rows of the Christmas tree and the lights were generated by a computerized program to blink off an on in various segments. It was kind of neat and doesn’t take much to amuse us on a Saturday night.

It’s kind of a custom out here for everyone to make, bake, or buy some little something as a Christmas gift for everyone who’s camped out here. Sometimes, it is hand made bags, potholders, cranberry loaves, honey, cookies, candies, etc. I decided to bake cookies again this year. Once ready, I learned that my new, super-duper Cuisinart electronic hand mixer does not work on the inverter! What a job having to cream the butter, flour and sugar by hand. I have a whole new respect for those pioneer women! I am building up some nice muscles in my “stirring” arm though! However, once I was finished, George figured out how to make the mixer work, so looks like I'll be able to save my arms and shoulders after all.

McKenzie is finally learning to walk on the rocks and in the wind. She doesn’t like it, but she’s learning to do it! We took her to the Arizona market and she bought herself a new visor so now she doesn’t have the excuse that the sun is in her eyes. Now if we could just figure out how to keep her sunglasses on!
We found out when we arrived here that the Yuma Proving Ground had erected a new cell phone tower. Yippee!!! Better Coverage! Then we found out we had “no coverage”. The tower was a Verizon and we have AT&T! Okay another trip into town to talk to the cell phone people. We finally decided if we wanted to be able to be in touch by phone, that we’d have to buy a Verizon phone. So we bought one and now should be fully covered anywhere we go. George has a Verizon and I have an AT&T. Thank you Yuma Proving Grounds!!!

The desert sunsets have been really beautiful lately. Though the wind has been very strong , we have still had some beautiful sunny days and the nights are spectacular with the stars filling the sky like diamonds. Wish you each could be here to enjoy this with us. Jack, the resident donkey, has been making his rounds every day around happy hour time to see if anyone has any leftover bread, apples or carrots. He and McKenzie have a "hate" relationship going on so we try to keep her safely away from him. He did attend one of our campfires but he stayed on the outer perimeter and McKenzie stayed on my lap but watched his every move out of the corner of her eye! What a protector!!!!

Most of the people who are coming here for the winter have now arrived and things are getting busier. Several of us decided to take the 4 wheel vehicles and head over to the Castle Dome silver mine museum. We had a great time there and the gentlemen who owns the property, Allen Armstrong, has done a fantastic job of restoring many of the old buildings to look just as they were in the mid to late 1800's. Allen took all of us on a walking tour of the old silver mines and shafts and imparted some very wonderful knowledge to us about the old miners of that time. Colonel Jacob Snively, after serving as Secretary to President Sam Houston began the first mining venture here in 1862. In 1864, the Castle Dome City's population was 12. In the 1880's, it exceeded that of Yuma. It was a meca for those wanting to get rich quick and for desperados hiding from the law and seeking an easy opportunity. The lonely, the misfits, the dreamers, the fools and the notorious women all came to Castle Dome. There were shootouts, brawls, murders and untimely deaths. Fortunes were made and fortunes were lost! That time and life is gone but Allen and his wife did a superb job of restoring it. While walking thru the midst of this city he has created, we listened to the echoes of the past and marveled at how life could have been abundant at all in the harsh but beautiful landscape.

We have had one set of the Coyote Races here so far. There are six to eight people who are assigned a coyote (a golf club with a cardboard cutout of a coyote head on it). They line up and as three dice are thrown, the three coyotes with those numbers move forward one square. Whoever gets to the finish line first wins! Bets are made and winners of each race compete in the final race to see who is the "fastest coyote on the ridge".

We've also had one of our waffle bakes. Several of the guys have waffle irons that sit on pipes filled with charcoal. Each of them gets a hat and an apron and they are named after the seven dwarfs - I especially liked "Grumpy"! Everyone brings a topping or something that will complement the waffles and what a feast it becomes! This first waffle bake fed aroung 40-50 of us. A second one will take place later in February. Yes siree!!! We sure eat good out here!!

Cal, Nancy, George and I took a day trip into Quartzite. The big white tents are expanding every year and there are hundreds of vendors trying to separate you from your money! The RV show is the beginning of Quartzite's really busy time and there are usually close to half a million RVers there. We've noticed that there aren't as many people as usual out here this year. I'm sure the price of fuel has something to do with that. Anyway, we spent the day there and found that there wasn't much that we just couldn't live without. So, we left the hustle and bustle of Quartzite and headed back to our peaceful, beautiful ridge.

We have about six more weeks here and then we'll be heading toward Washington State. We have sure enjoyed the winter thus far and are looking forward to the next few weeks. Wish all of you could be here to experience this with us. Hope you are enjoying Coyote Ridge as much as we are!

P.S. Somebody had her 6th birthday this month. Can you guess who?

Catch-Up

No, we haven't dropped off the face of the earth, I've just been having so much fun, I couldn't find a good time to update the blog. Sorry to all you folks who have been wondering and worrying about us and I'll try to get you updated as soon as possible.

When we last updated the blog, we were heading from Illinois and our son's family toward Texas by way of Kansas to look at some custom-made fifthwheels. We took our time and scouted out some very lovely campsites where we spent a night or two before getting into Kansas and the first custom trailer maker which was Spacecraft. We spent approximately 1/2 a day there visiting with the folks and looking at the current fifthwheel they were building. We must say that Spacecraft is truly a custom made rig from the bottom up. You draw up the plans and select every detail. Then the plans are given to their engineers to make sure that the finished product will be safe and roadworthy. Once that approval is given, you choose every single thing you want- just as you would in building a house. We were impressed with them, but aren't sure we really want to get into that much detail. So, on we drove to New Horizons. They also make a custom fifthwheel, but they do it differently. They have several floor plans to choose from and you can add or subtract, within reason. We had initially been very impressed with this factory when we saw them about three years ago, but we decided this wasn’t really the way we wanted to go either. The prices would certainly make you think that there should be a lot of quality there, but the fact is, there isn’t. Our old fifthwheel is looking better and better.

After roaming around the trailer manufacturers, we decided to head over to Hutchinson, Kansas and spend a week just resting up. After a few days of getting chores done and getting in some good reading, we decided to take a trip to the Kansas Underground Salt Museum. The adventure began aboard a double decked elevator that took us to the mine carved from salt deposits formed 275 million years ago. While going down, you are surrounded by total, black, black darkness. (I know that is repetitive, but I mean to tell you, it was really, really dark!) When the doors open 650 feet below, we were surrounded by walls that stretched for miles in a calm, exotic subterranean world where it is always 69 degrees. We boarded a tram and were given a very detailed ride and description of the salt deposit. From 1923 to 1965, the Carey Salt Company mined salt from this huge deposit. It also is a storage facility for many important documents, tapes, and materials.

Once we left Kansas, we headed to Huntsville, Texas to visit with Jan’s parents. We parked our rig at the Elks Lodge in Huntsville and spent three great weeks visiting with George’s sister and brother-in-law and Jan’s parents. They were having a sun porch built on to their home and it is really going to be nice. We know it will give them many, many hours of enjoyment. Though we hated to leave there, we felt we’d better move on if we wanted to make it to the desert before the winter was over. However, on the way, we definitely wanted to stop to visit with our dearest friend, Nancy, in New Braunfels. We had a great five days with her, shopping and spending evening hours sitting in front of the fire with a good glass of wine and her favorite, furry companions, Nell and Willow. Then gradually we made our way back over to Yuma, Arizona where we would spend the better part of the winter.

We arrived in Coyote Ridge (which is about 20 miles outside Yuma and about 4 miles from the Yuma Proving Grounds) around November 11th. Several of our Canadian friends were here already and we began settling in. We quickly adopted somewhat of a routine in that we’d watch the sunrise come over the mountains, have breakfast and then step outside our door to the golf course and play “sand golf”. For those of you who have never played, let me explain. First of all, you don’t have to have any ability for golf in order to play “sand golf”. You tee your ball up on a small rubber tee that looks somewhat like a small funnel. Then you hit the ball and watch closely. Once it hits the rocks, it may continue on toward the green (which is really very fine sand), or it may bounce all the way back to you. We normally play on teams and use the best ball for each shot. At any rate, it can make the most experienced golfer very humble! We normally play 9 holes in the morning and 9 holes in the afternoon. Along about the middle of February, we will have a golf tournament which will consist of about 100 golfers, a potluck, and who know what else!

Now, if you don’t want to golf, there are lots of other things to do. Happy hours are most days at 4:00 p.m. and you can really learn lots of interesting and exciting things at those times – such as who got locked in their bathroom the night before when the door handle got stuck and who’s going to be heading up the public works department out here to ensure that water and waste tanks are emptied? Anyway, as you can see, it is a worthwhile event even if you didn’t want to have a glass of wine and cheese and crackers. Okay, so if that is not your cup of tea, how about a trip to Algodones, Mexico. We always go to get our teeth cleaned and pick up thyroid medication (a year’s supply costs $10.00) – usually avoiding the hawkers with all the junk for sale. If Mexico is not your bag, we can always go to the Arizona market where booths are set up to sell all sorts of things that snowbirds and rvers can’t do without.

As if this is not enough, we also have campfires at night, play games, participate in horseshoe tournaments, and cheer on the homemade boats that race in a children’s swimming pool. There’s hiking and animal watching also. For as many years as I can remember, there has been a donkey, named Jack, who has always visited the many rvers out here. He normally comes around about 4:00 p.m. (as someone always has some stale bread to feed him at happy hour). Jack also loves to have people scratch his back with a yard rake, but he has no great love for dogs! Of course, the feeling is mutual with McKenzie now that she knows that he’s not an overgrown, furry, dog! We were walking in the wash one day and met Jack. He started to come over to us and McKenzie immediately took the “attack stance” and barked, growled and howled at him. Jack did a “Mr. Ed” with his lips and “hee-hawed” as loud as he could. This went on about two minutes between Jack “hee-hawing” and McKenzie barking and then finally everyone decided to just go on their way. McKenzie was sure she could have “taken” Jack and once he turned tail and began to amble away, she tugged on the leash and wanted to chase him down. I figured we were blessed enough to have him leave us alone and refused to let her have her way. We also have coyotes (not good for McKenzie – we watch her very closely when she is outside the trailer) and small red kit foxes that like to join the campfires. I’m sure there are lots of other creepy, crawling things that are currently under the ground and as far as I am concerned, they can stay there!

We are fortunate this year to have one of the Canadians who has lots of power and has set up a Wifi for everyone to use. Imagine, we are out in the middle of the desert, but can still send e-mails and update the blog! What a deal!! I’ll sign off for now but will try to keep a regular update going while we are out here. Stay tuned and we’ll join you again soon.

RV's and Family

We are now on the downhill run! Seems like we have packed a lot of travel into five months. After leaving New York and Niagara, we headed over to Goshen, Indiana. We had quite a trip getting there as we had routed ourselves thru a lot of the small towns and back roads. Unfortunately, a lot of those roads have underpasses that are 12 feet or lower. Our trailer is 13 feet 2 inches, so we spent a lot of time having our GPS recaculate to get us over the railroad tracks instead of trying to go under them. I didn't know there were so many railroads around the upper Ohio area, but we saw some very beautiful sites along Lake Erie.

We made it over to Goshen and had scheduled several factory tours of RV manufacturers. We hit the Carriage, Newmar, Travel Supreme, Heartland, and Doubletree factories. All of these make some higher end fifthwheels which are suitable for full-time living. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed in most of the quality of the units. We thought being in the middle of Almish country and employing Almish workers would guarantee better quality, but we were wrong. The companies have done two things to stay competitive which is really hurting us consumers. First, they allow their workers to go home once they have built "x" amount of units every day. As most of the Almish are farmers, this works well for them, but tends to make quality become a thing of the past. Secondly, the RV manufacturers have eliminated a lot of their quality control workers and are now relying on the dealers to fix anything they find wrong when they take possession of the unit. Most of the dealers could care less! It's beginning to look more and more like we will have to have our next unit made to order. That will be a big burden on us to pick and choose everything, but I can guarantee, we'll be sitting on the factory site while they build it and will be out there everyday making sure they build it to our specs. We're planning on going by a couple of factories that build nothing but custom units after we leave our son's place.

While in Indiana, George and Shirley met up with us and we took a tour of the Newmar factory together and then decided to take a visit to the RV History and Museum. It was really interesting and we got to see many of the old, original units. It's hard to believe that what we saw there has evolved into the units we have today. Don't think I could have lived in one of the old ones.

A 1931 Model AA Ford Housecar - believed to have been built by an unknown custom maker and woodworking artist. Floor is yellow pine - cabinetry and interior is oak and yellow pine. The seats for the driver and passenger were added during restoration. The original seats were flat benches without backs.

We arrived at the Kankakee State Park in Illinois on Thursday, August 30th and were able to get a nice open site. We got set up and though we don't have any water or sewer hookups we do have electricity, so we should be okay for a few weeks. We went over to our son and daughter-in-laws to visit for a while and see the grandchildren. They have surely grown! Our grandaughter, Debra is now taller than her mother and growing into a very beautiful young lady. Our grandson, Drew, is much taller than the last time we had seen him and such a character! He's destined to be a salesman or a politician as he can talk anyone into anything!

We've spent a lot of time with the kids this visit and have enjoyed it immensely. Seems like we never get to see them often enough. We had the grandchildren out to the RV for a sleepover and had loads of fun. We cooked hamburgers outside, had a campfire and made "smores". I think they enjoyed seeing how "Ma and Pa Texas" lived and decided the RV lifestyle wasn't so bad after all. Of course, if it is up to Drew, I don't think he'll ever take a "campground shower" again. He wants his privacy and if he's going to take a shower, it is going to be in the confines of his own home, by himself!!! Anyway, we have enjoyed everything. George and Damon have golfed several times and I've enjoyed being connected to the internet, but most of all we've enjoyed just visiting with Damon, Kim, Debra and Drew (and of course, the dogs, Scout and Lucy and the cat, Dudley). Kim has been the most gracious hostess, providing us with really delicious meals and including us in all their plans.We will head out on Monday, September 17th and start making our way to Missouri and Kansas where we will stop to take a factory tour of the custom RV makers, Space Craft and New Horizon. After spending a little time in that area, we'll head on over to Huntsville and spend time with Mom and Dad and George's sister and brother-in-law. After a few weeks in Huntsville, we'll head over to New Braunfels to spend a few days with our best friend, Nancy and then off to the desert for the winter. Hope you all will periodically check in with our blog to see what we are up to. Though we won't be traveling for a while as much as we have the past five months, there will still be lots of fun things going on that we want to share with each of you. Until then, take care!

Niagra Falls

As much as we hated to leave Croton-on-Point and New York City, it was time to move on to the next adventure. Since the weather had turned a bit cooler, we decided to spend our first evening in one of our favorite “campgrounds” – Wal-Mart! The next morning, we drove about 15 miles to Corning, New York and stopped to see the Corning Museum of Glass. It was plenty cool to leave McKenzie in the trailer (hard to believe in August) so she did her guard duty, consisting of protecting our truck, trailer and all our possessions, while we took the tour.

For those of you who have not been there, the museum is very large and contains several different facets such as the Glass Innovation Center, the Art and History Galleries, the Sculpture Gallery, the Steuben Factory and the Hot Glass Show. It contains over 45,000 glass objects that traces 35 centuries of human experience with glass, starting in ancient Egypt’s 18th Dynasty when the search for perfectly clear crystal began. You can watch master glassblowers create glass pieces while a narrator explains each process, with the Steuben Factory as a backdrop. You can also look through the glass windows to see the engraving process that makes Steuben glass so unique and valuable. The engraver first coats the glass with protective shellac, then transfers an image onto its surface with India ink. To cut the design, the engraver presses the glass upward against as many as 50 different fine copper wheels on a rotating lathe. Intricate designs may take 300 hours to engrave. You can explore the optics gallery and follow the story of optical glass, from the first microscope to today’s optical fiber.

One of the contemporary pieces in the Sculpture Gallery was entitled “It’s Raining Knives” by Silvia Levenson. It was conceived in 1996 in response to her personal experiences during the Videla dictatorship in Argentina. It has since become a thought provoking commentary on the threat of terrorism in general.

Still another interesting piece was a chessboard made entirely of glass. The chess pieces are made to the form of Jewish and Roman Catholic religious figures. A Jewish rabbi and a Roman Catholic bishop (kings) join a group of holy men and women holding Judeo-Christian symbols of faith, including crosses, Torahs, menorahs, and single candles. Each chess piece has the appropriate costume, hairstyle and accessory of its rank.

We especially liked the exhibit featuring the story of the Harvard Glass Flowers, which is an exhibition about two men, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka and the glass models that made them famous. They were born in what is now the Czech Republic in the 1800’s and over a 70 year period, created models of more than 1500 species of invertebrates and plants. The models were designed to be substitutes for living animals and plants, and they served as museum exhibits and teaching aids for professors of natural history. In 1886, a professor of botany at Harvard was struggling to assemble a teaching collection for the university’s new Botanical Museum. After examining the Blaschkas’ models of invertebrates, the professor realized that life-size three dimensional glass models of plants might be the solution to his problem. He persuaded the Blaschkas to make glass models of plants, with an emphasis on economically important plants that are used in everything from food to medicine. The Blaschkas also created three additional series of models, which show the life cycles of non-flowering plants, insects and pollination, and diseases of fruits. This diseased apple looked so real, you could almost smell it.

After leaving this museum, we took the shuttle up the street to the Rockwell Museum of Western Art. This museum was much smaller and exhibited paintings and sculptures of American Western and Native American subjects.

By 3:30, we were heading out of Corning to our destination which was the Elks Lodge at Lockport, New York. Here we were very pleasantly surprised to find concrete pads with water and electricity hook ups. This would definitely be a nice place to kick back for a few days and to stay while we viewed Niagara Falls, which was about 35 miles away.

As we wanted to see the night colors at Niagara Falls, we decided to go across the border to the Canadian side around noon and spend the day just looking around. All we can say about the Falls is, WOW! The sound is like thunder and the sight is awe-inspiring!

First a few facts about the Niagara Falls:
Less than 10% of the water flows over the American Falls with the balance flowing over the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. It’s the massive volume of water that flows over the Horseshoe Falls that gives it its green color.
The average depth of the water below Niagara Falls is 170 feet, which is as deep as the Niagara Gorge banks are high.

The water that flows over Niagara Falls comes from four of the five Great Lakes: Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior. From the Falls, the water travels down the Niagara River and finally to the Atlantic Ocean.

Originally, 202,000 cubic feet per second or 5.5 billion gallons per hour of water flowed over Niagara Falls. Now, however, half of this water is diverted for power by the United States and Canada.

Our first adventure was to take a ride on the Maid of the Mist. They provided everyone with rain ponchos as the boats cruised to the base of the American Falls and then to the basin of the commanding Horseshoe Falls. Our hearts were racing as we confronted millions of gallons of water crashing like thunder onto the nearby rocks all around us. The roar was deafening and we definitely needed the rain ponchos to keep us dry from the mist and spray. This is North America’s oldest tourist attraction and millions of visitors have enjoyed the boat tours since they began in 1846.

Well, as if we didn’t get wet enough from the boat trip, we decided to also take the Journey Behind the Falls. Once again, we were given rain ponchos prior to stepping into the elevators that descend 150 feet through bedrock to tunnels that lead to the Cataract Portal and the Great Falls Portal which is one third of the way behind the massive sheet of water, then on to the Upper and Lower Observations Decks at the foot of the Falls. Along the tunnels there are tidbits of information about the Falls, such as the story of the 7 year old boy who fell out of a boat with just a life jacket on in 1962 and was swept down the river and over the falls and lived. Being on the Observation decks was like being caught in a horrendous downpour as the mighty Horseshoe Falls tumbled from 13 stories above.

After experiencing both of these attractions, we have to say the Maid of the Mist was by far the better of the two. Perhaps the second would have been better if we had opted for the audio tour which provided informative commentary, but basically you walked through a cement tunnel and at the portals, there was nothing to see because tons of water gushed over the falls at these spots. The observation decks were spectacular, as you were right next to the Falls, but we thought the experience from the boat was much better. So, if you only want to do one, take the Maid of the Mist.

The Canadian side of the Falls is landscaped beautifully with lots of flowers and plants. Clifton Hill is a street which reminded us of Las Vegas with all the lights. All types of attractions, shops and eating establishments are here, as well as an amusement park with one of the tallest ferris wheels in existence.

We also watched the Prince of the Air, Jay Cochrane do his skywalk with the mighty falls as his backdrop. He was born in Canada, is 63 years old, and is the world’s most celebrated high wire acrobat holding a long list of world records.

There are many other attractions to see and do on the Canadian side of the Falls, but since we had already done a lot of similar things on our trip this summer, we decided to pass. There definitely is something for everyone from the Butterfly Museum, the tropical bird kingdom, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, a wax museum, a ton of eating establishments,and a sky ride to Old Fort Erie.

Every evening, beginning at dusk, the Falls are lit in the colors of the rainbow. Lighting the Falls was first attempted more than 140 years ago. In 1997 and 1998, new fixtures replaced the outdated lamps and fixtures, doubling the intensity of the lights on the Falls. Currently a total of twenty one xenon lights are used to illuminate the Falls in a rainbow of color. It was breathtaking and as usual, the pictures don’t nearly do justice to actually being there, but we did want to share it with all of our friends and family.
A few days to rest up and we’ll be on the road again, this time heading down toward Goshen, Indiana. We are going to take about a week to visit some of the fifthwheel manufacturers and take their factory tours. From there, we will head over to Illinois to see our son, daughter-in-law and two great grandchildren (and of course, some great grand-dogs too). Though a lot of the touristy stuff is done, we will still stay in touch with all of you thru our blog so you know what we are doing and where our next stops will be. Who knows what we’ll find along the way – but whatever it is, you can bet that you’ll be included. Til then, be kind to one another and remember “Life is Good”.

New York City - Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Empire State Building

We got up at 3:30 a.m. again today as it was supposed to be one of the better days this week. This is beginning to sound like déjà vu of our old workdays (getting up so early), but we have to allow McKenzie time to get a couple of walks and eat if we are going to leave her alone for 12-14 hours. Anyway, we caught the 6 a.m. train down to the city as we wanted to catch the first ferry over to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty and then on to Ellis Island to see the American Family Immigration History Center. There are no fees to enter the Statue of Liberty but if you want to go inside, you have to get a free timed pass and there are limited numbers of them. Of course, you have to pay the ferry fee of $11.50 per person and that gives you a ride over to the statue and then on to Ellis Island. It was awesome the closer we came to the statue, a symbol of New York City and the United States to people throughout the world! Again, security is very tight. Nothing can be taken inside the statue such as food, water, or drinks. Anything larger than a fanny pouch must be checked into lockers and each person is scanned with air to ensure that they don’t have any explosives on their person.

Once we got into the lobby, we saw the original 1886 torch, and visited the museum to learn more about the statue’s history and centennial restoration. We saw architectural drawings and models of Lady Liberty and also learned some fun facts such as why she’s green (the statue’s shell is copper, which oxidizes when exposed to the elements), what the 7 points of her crown represent (the seven seas and the seven continents) and that at 151 feet, the Statue of Liberty is the tallest statue of modern times. The exhibit also traces the history and symbolism of the Statue through museum objects, photographs, prints, videos, and oral histories. The exhibit opened in July, 1986. In addition to historical artifacts and descriptive text, full scale replicas of the Statue’s face and foot are also on display. The statue is made of copper 3/32 inch thick, the same as two pennies put together, it is 305 ft. tall from the ground to the tip of the flame, her nose is 4 feet 6 inches long, and the face of Lady Liberty is said to be modeled after the sculptor’s own mother. The copper skin weighs 62,000 lbs.

Transporting the giant figure from France to the United States was a difficult task. Each individual piece had to be numbered for reassembly, then carefully packed. A special 70-car train carried it from Paris to the port where it took 17 days for the crew of the French naval vessel Isere to stow the 214 crates safely on board. Finally came an unusually rough four-week voyage, during which the steamship ran out of coal and had to rely on sails. She sailed into the New York Harbor on June 19, 1885 and was met with tremendous fanfare and a naval parade. Then her pieces were stored in sheds for nearly a year until the pedestal was completed. At last, in 1886, the construction crews were ready to begin the most difficult and dangerous work of all – reassembling the Statue without scaffolding on Bedloe’s Island, which would be renamed Liberty Island in 1956.

We walked the 156 steps to the top of the pedestal which is the farthest point you can now enter since 9/11. It was quite warm, but we made it and were rewarded with panoramic views of New York Harbor, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and New Jersey. You can also look through a glass ceiling at the base and see the inner part of the statue as well as the stairs that used to lead to the crown. The Statue faces Southeast and was strategically placed inside Fort Wood which was a perfect base for the Statue. The Statue’s position was also perfect for ships entering the harbor, to see her as a welcoming symbol. The torch is a symbol of enlightenment. The current replacement torch, added in 1986, is a copper flame covered in 24K gold. It is reflective of the sun’s rays in daytime and lighted by 16 floodlights at night. The original torch was removed in 1984 and is currently inside the lobby of the monument.

The second part of our journey took us to Ellis Island to the immigration museum which was the country’s main point of entry for immigrants between 1892 and 1924. Over 12 million third class and steerage immigrant steamship passengers were processed here. The first and second class passengers were processed aboard the ships. The museum describes the patterns of immigration and a multitude of interesting facts about the millions of people who passed through the processing station here. Most people came to America because of political persecution or because they wanted a better life for themselves and their families. They were loaded on to ships for a 14 day voyage. Their first stop once they arrived at Ellis Island was the Registry Room where they were inspected and registered by Immigration officers. On many days, over 5,000 people would file through the space. They were given a 6 second physical. Doctors watched as immigrants entered the building and climbed the steps: a limp, labored breathing, or other suspected troubles warranted further medical exams. If they did not pass the physical, there were fifteen buildings set up across the river for caring for people with illness and disease. If they were found to have a non-curable disease, they were returned to the ships to be sent back to their home countries.
We boarded the ferry, rode back to Manhattan and walked to the Empire State Building. We were told that it could take hours of waiting in line to get to the top so we were prepared. Though it was somewhat hazy from the rain yesterday, the visibility range was still 10-20 miles so we decided we’d better get this site done while we could as they were predicting rain for tomorrow and the rest of the week. The Empire State Building is the granddaddy of all skyscrapers and now a National Historic Landmark. It was completed in 1931 and its famous Art Deco spire, visible throughout much of New York is immortalized in countless movies.

The building’s colorful history includes a 1945 crash by a B-25 bomber, which killed 14 people but did little structural damage, even at the point of contact on the 79th floor. For a time there were thoughts of turning the skyscraper into a dirigible “airport”. Although the plan for mooring blimps to the top was eventually abandoned, evidence of this scheme lives on in the observatory of the 86th floor (which was to hold the customer lounges, ticket agencies and baggage rooms) and the observation deck on the 102nd story (which was to be the mooring site). There was only one elevator working at the 80th floor, so once again, we trudged up six flights of stairs to get to the 86th observation floor. Once outside, we saw a spectacular site of New York City, over 30,000 buildings are visible, including the Chrysler Building and the UN. By the time we were back on the ground, we had spent two hours in the building, most of it waiting in line, but it was definitely worth the wait to see the view. As with most other buildings in NYC, this one is also being renovated and upgraded.

As you can imagine, we were two tired puppies again, so we headed back to the park. We decided we needed a day of rest and because the weather was supposed to be rainy, we decided to stay home on Wednesday. Someone was watching over us. Wednesday morning brought a heavy rain which flooded the tunnels for the trains and subways. Passengers were left without a way to work and were caught in the subway stations waiting on subway trains that could not get there to pick them up. It was hot and muggy and tempers were flaring. A tornado struck Brooklyn, further adding to the problems. And, here we were 35 miles away, sleeping cozily, not even realizing what was going on until we got up and listened to the news!

Thursday looked like it was going to be the best day for the next few days, so we decided to do our last day in the city and walk Central Park. Amid all the chaos in Manhattan lies 840 acres of tranquility and escape. Although the park declined during the 70’s, the Central Park Conservancy, founded in 1979, changed all that. The park is once again a thriving oasis. We started at one end and walked around the complete 840 acres. It took us five hours but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Our legs will probably never be the same, but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we didn’t want to miss it. There are joggers, walkers, bicyclists, skaters, dog walkers, and horseback riders who all use the streets and trails. We walked the jogging track around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis Reservoir, then stopped by the Boat House and had coffee and a scone. Here all the dogs and their owners congregate before taking their morning walks. Both dogs and owners get fed here. We enjoyed watching all of them integrate with each other. I must say the dogs were very well behaved and were able to be off leash in the park. We watched the men race their model yachts at the Conservatory Water, and took pictures at the Bethesda Fountain, probably the most popular movie site around. We stopped by Strawberry Fields where 2 ½ acres were planted with 125,000 strawberry plants to pay tribute to John Lennon, and where an artist recreates a sidewalk image called “imagine” every day. There is an amusement park, a children’s zoo, ice skating rink, swimming pool, and baseball diamonds. There is also a cultural area which is home to the Delacourte Theatre which holds free Shakespeare in the Park performances, the Great Lawn is home to concerts in the park, including performances by the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, and the Metropolitan Museum is nearby. A children's section holds statues of Alice in Wonderland. Belvedere castle was another unusual site to see in the park. It is now a weather station but was originally built to view the park.

One of our favorite parts was the Conservatory Garden. Jacqueline Kennedy’s apartment was just across the street. It is just inside the park off 105th street and is a breathtakingly beautiful spot filled with carefully planted flowers and trees, maintained by volunteers and the Parks Department. While sitting in the midst of this, we felt like we had unlocked the gate to The Secret Garden. We were so impressed with the park that it is hard to describe our feelings. We had debated about walking this entire area but once we got started, we just didn’t want to stop.

On our way back to Grand Central Station, we stopped at St. Patrick’s Cathedral which is the largest Catholic church in the United States. Its seating capacity is 2,500, the pipe organ has more than 7,300 pipes, the rose stained glass window is 26 feet across and it has two spires, both 330 feet high. Thousands of people visit here each day and we have to say that it is truly one of the most beautiful cathedrals we have ever seen.

By 4:30, we were back in Croton and though worn out, we weren’t too tired for an ice cream. The lady who had checked us in at the park suggested that we not miss the Blue Pig for ice cream, so we headed over there. I didn’t have a cone but did have something they called grape ice which was like a sorbet and it was very good. George had a butter pecan cone which he said was excellent.
That about does it for our tour of New York City. There’s still more to do and see but we are worn out, so we will have to leave the rest for another visit. We’re hoping to go to the Black Cow tomorrow and post this blog since they are a coffee shop that offers WiFi. On Monday, we will be heading across New York state to Niagra Falls. We won’t have WiFi for a few weeks but if I can find a coffee shop, we’ll update when we can. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait til we get to our son’s home in Illinois. We hope you’ve enjoyed traveling with us thru NYC and that you’ve seen or read some things that were new to you.

Thanks to Michael at the Black Cow Coffee Company for allowing us to use his WiFi to update this blog so we can share it with all of you. If you're ever in the area be sure to stop by his coffee shop.

Until we meet again, we’ll just leave you with this thought from John Lennon: “Imagine all the people living life in peace”!