Tales of a Shoebox Princess

The Statue of Liberty was one of those landmarks I really didn't have much interest in seeing, but like the Eiffel Tower, it really is more than I expected in person. It was one of the trip highlights We started off the day early because we didn't want to miss the ferry to the island and thank goodness we had the time buffer because we got lost and weren't sure where we were supposed to be going. Google led us to a parking lot that seemed far away from anything that looked like a ferry terminal. We re-googled and then found a much bigger parking lot near an old railroad station. We went into the terminal to see if that was where we were supposed to be and while we were much closer than we were before, we weren't quite there yet. We had to go next door to a much smaller, very much less historic boxy building to check in. Trains used to leave from here Many miles of track in this area, now all overgrown because we all have cars and planes exist. inside the old train stati...

 After our drive up the Jersey Turnpike, we got to Jersey City to our very nice hotel. Ain't never been to the Big Apple, but it's on our agenda this evening! more bridge! We did not go through the Holland tunnel yet, but there it is. We'd checked into the hotel and decided to take the subway into NYC and go to Central Park. Kinda filthy but charming because I like mass transit like this. Jim's bucket list gets another checkmark when we stop by the Dakota to see where John Lennon was shot.  In Central Park across the street is the memorial. Jim was wearing a Beatles shirt and some guy stopped him to ask where exactly John was shot and Jim was very helpful pointing it out. I laughed because out of all the people in the park at this memorial--and there were many many people here--the stranger on a quest picked exactly the right person to answer his question.  Buskers singing Beatles songs Central Park was quite busy this evening. See all the people on the bridge? And ther...

The parking lot of the cutest little breakfast diner I have ever seen. EVERY parking stop in the lot was painted like this Omelets and crepes for breakfast! Pink is definitely a theme at the Bayside Skillet.  Even the parking space strips are pink and the sign is pink and the awning is pink striped! EVEN THE EXIT SIGN IS PINK AND STRAWBERRIED   Across the street is someone's private astronomical observatory on their house. I want to meet the owner. Does he/she give tours? Do they do events?  After breakfast, Jim and I headed to the beach on the other side of the street. I could sit and stare at this view for hours.  Doesn't it look peaceful? There were some people, but the beach was large enough so everyone has several hundred square feet of personal space. I would vacation at Ocean City again. My toes just needed the barest touch of water I do have a picture of Delaware! The bridges on the east coast are fun to look at! Such geometry! Our destination is New Jersey a...