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”!

New York City - City Tour

New York City!!! Where do I start? NYC has a population of over 9 million people and is made up of five boroughs; but we will visit only three - Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx (Harlem) on this trip. Neither George nor I knew what to expect here. We had heard some pretty scary stories, but we can honestly say that the experience was very memorable and at some time we hope to be able to return to do the things we didn’t get a chance to do this time. The people here were great, willing to help anytime you asked a question, and we never got run over on the sidewalks once, even at lunch time. Yes, it is expensive, more so than anywhere else we have visited, but we had expected that so we were not surprised. Anyway, let’s get started with our experience!

We arrived at Croton-on-Point, a county RV park about 35 miles outside New York City on Friday, August 4th. This will be our home for the next 10 days. The sites are really large with lots of room; and thru the trees lies Croton Bay and the Hudson River. On Saturday, we took a walk along the beach and McKenzie ran her little legs off, scampering over the rocks and even diving into the water to cool off a bit. She’s always been a bit scared of the water and wanted nothing to do with it. So needless to say, we were flabbergasted when she jumped right into the water and started swimming out. The park is just about a mile from the rail station, but since the weather is quite hot, we’ll just drive the truck to the station, park it there and catch the train into the city. It’s a little more expensive here than in Washington. Train tickets into the city are $19.50 round trip at peak time per person. Once you arrive at Grand Central Station, you can take a subway almost anywhere for $2.00 per person one way. We decided we’d spend four days out of the ten in the city. Our first day would be Sunday, since we had tickets to see the Broadway Play, “Mary Poppins”.
To get the “feel of the land”, we went into the city early on Sunday to just look around a bit. The train ride took about an hour and was very pleasant. The trains are clean and free from graffiti and most of the ride is above ground until you get to Harlem, which then starts the underground part. That part was a bit spooky as it reminded me of being in catacombs. Though the trains and subways are air conditioned, the stations are not and are very warm while you are walking to Grand Central Station. Grand Central is one of the world’s most famous and busiest train stations and its main concourse has a majestic staircase and vaulted ceiling. From there, we had our first experience riding the subway. It took a bit to get used to reading the maps, but we finally got the hang of it and found our way to Times Square. There, sure enough, was the “Naked Cowboy” in all his glory. George had just seen a documentary about this guy who evidently has become reknown for singing and playing his guitar on the corner of Times Square in nothing but his underwear, boots and cowboy hat. Looked to me like he was getting more tips from his photo opportunities than his singing, but we were glad we did not miss this NYC icon as he is not always out on the corner. Hopefully he has another “day job” to tide him over! Mary Poppins was playing at the Amsterdam Theatre which has one of the finest art noveau interiors in the United States and was home to the Zigfield Follies from 1913 – 1927. The theatre was closed in 1985, restored to its original splendor by the Walt Disney Company and reopened in 1997. Almost every seat in the theatre would have been good and the sound was great. We thoroughly enjoyed the play with the actors being excellent and the stage props being the best we have ever seen. The grand finale with Mary Poppins flying up thru the theatre in 3-D fashion was spectacular!

On Monday, we decided to go on the Gray Line Sightseeing tour. This double decker bus gave us 48 hours of hop-on, hop-off fun. We rode around the Uptown Loop first which consisted of sites such as Harlem, Central Park, the Dakota Apartments where John Lennon was gunned down, Lincoln Center, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Grant’s Tomb, the Apollo Theatre, Fifth Avenue and the museums. Yes, I took pictures of all of it but then couldn’t remember what was what. The guide explained that Harlem was in the process of being renovated. Many of the buildings there have been turned into expensive condominiums and classy little shops. It is becoming the “up and coming” place in NYC. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is an Episcopal church which is roughly the length of two football fields. It is the largest cathedral in the world and the statue of liberty would fit comfortably under its central dome. It continues to be a “work in progress” and will likely be under construction decades from now, which makes getting a picture of it pretty difficult.

The second part of the tour consisted of the Downtown Loop, which included Greenwich Village, Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, East Village, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building and the World Trade Center Site. We got off and walked to the World Trade Center Ground Zero. Currently you can see nothing but a construction site, but a fenced walkway around the perimeter allows visitors to pay their respects and try to comprehend the enormity of the devastation. Near Ground Zero is the Tribute World Trade Center which opened on September 18, 2006 and will be replaced with a permanent museum and memorial in the future. The mangled centerpiece of the fountain, “The Sphere for Plaza Fountain” which adorned the WTC plaza prior to the 9/11 attacks now stands in the Battery Park, just a few blocks away with an eternal flame which was lit on the first anniversary of the attacks. From there we headed over to the Financial District. Unfortunately, since the 9/11 attacks, you can no longer take a tour through the New York Exchange, but we were glad to get to see it. The Financial District is very heavily guarded and protected. From there, we decided to take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. The weather was cloudy and trying to mist rain on us all day, but we figured it was worth it even if we got wet. The bridge was built over the East River and connects the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan. When it was completed in May 1883, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world. It is considered one of the greatest architectural accomplishments of the nineteenth century. At each of the arches, the walkway widens into a large square plank. There are plaques on the corners of the plank which tell the history of the bridge.

A very unique building in the city is the Flatiron Building on 23rd Street at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. It is named for its distinctive triangular shape (which was determined by the unusually shaped plot of land on which it was built). This building has been immortalized in countless photographs.

The last part of our Gray Line tour was the Brooklyn Loop, which included the Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Grand Army Plaza and 5th and 7th Avenue boutiques, restaurants and shops. As in all of NYC, property is at a premium and we saw a very innovative way of parking cars by stacking them on top on one another. The guide explained that when you entered the parking lot, you informed the attendant how long you would be gone and he parked your car accordingly. Better not tell him that you’d be gone all day and then come back in a few hours!! Fortunately, we decided on this day to do this tour because two days later, a tornado ripped through Brooklyn, destroying homes and property and leaving thousands of people without electricity.

We arrived back at the truck around 6:00 p.m., stopped by to get a New York pie (pizza that is) and drug ourselves home. Tomorrow looks like a better day weather wise, so we will probably go back to the city to see some more sites. They are predicting some pretty bad weather for the week, so we’ll have to try to select the best days to do the things we want to do. Stay with us and we’ll have another exciting adventure tomorrow!