The Manhattan Sites

Noelle and I woke up early this morning, 5:45 to be exact for a drive north on the New Jersey Turnpike to Elizabeth, New Jersey. We would park the car in our hotel's parking lot, then walk a few blocks to the North Elizabeth train station where we would hop on a train to Penn Station. Well, our plan went off without a hitch. We were in Manhattan by 9:30. At Penn Station, we bought a Metro Pass and hopped on the Subway north into the Bronx. We got off at the last station Dyer Avenue, then walked a few blocks north into Mount Vernon, New York where we visited Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site.

It was certainly a neat place. The church was built in the 1700s and the cemetery contains some very old headstones.

Perhaps the coolest thing about our visit was going up into the old steeple

where we saw the old church bell

and were offered a commanding view of the Bronx and the northern suburbs. After our tour of Saint Paul's, we hopped back on the 5 train south to Battery Park. After lunch at Chipotle, we checked out Castle Clinton, Federal Hall,

and the African Burial Ground.

Then we headed north to Times Square where we ate dinner at the Heartland Brewery before our show: the Lion King

at the Minskoff Theater.

Chirstmas Day

It was a great Christmas. It reminded me of some of the ones of my youth. Gifts were exchanged as usual. A hearty breakfast was eaten. in the afternoon we even got to do some hiking, just like the Christmases we celebrated in Carlsbad. My father, Noelle and I grabbed the dogs (all four of them)

and drove them over to Valley Green where we walked Forbidden Drive from Northwestern Avenue to Rex Avenue.

From there we hiked up to the Indian Statue

then back to the car where we cleaned up some muddy dogs, then headed back to the homestead for some food, drink, and a Wii bowling tournament.

A lot of fun was had by all!

Christmas Eve

Noelle and I awoke to a sheet of ice blanketing the roads surrounding Harrisburg. After a delicious breakfast prepared by Dan, we braved the icy roads and detoured around a closed segment of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. We drove through Hershey, but did not stop to see any of the tourist sites. We had one destination in mind: 23 Waverly Road in good ol' Wyncote. We made it to our destination by around noon and took Parker for a walk in my old stomping grounds: Ralph Morgan Park.

It was nice to see the old park and some of the changes that had been made to it. A lot of Honeysuckle had been removed (this made me quite happy), and one of the bridges was in the process of being replaced. From there it was back to my parents' house where we ate and went to church for the first time in two years.

Touring Western Pennsylvania NPS Sites

We awoke this morning, grabbed breakfast in the hotel and headed east into Maryland, then north into Pennsylvania. We made it to our first destination, Flight 93 Memorial by 11 am. It is a somber place, and very cold and windy as well. There's not much there yet, but hopefully they will begin construction of a permanent memorial soon. After Flight 93 we moved on to another somber National Park Service unit, Johnstown Flood National Memorial. Finally, after lunch, we visited the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site before heading further east to Harrisburg.

Driving to Pennsylvania

Noelle and I worked a half day today, then drove home to finish packing for our epic trip east. The weather was cold, but fortunately not snowy. The light traffic and good driving conditions meant that we were able to make it to Morgantown, West Virginia, our intended destination for the night by 8:30.

Red River Gorge Geologic Area: Red Byrd Arch

Well today I met up with a bunch of folks who frequent the Kentucky Wilderness website for a hike to the famed Red Byrd Arch. Red Byrd is reputed to be one of the most difficult large arches in the Red River Gorge to find. I know I would not have been able to find it without the help of my new friends. We met at the rest area in Slade at 8 am and drove to the trailhead together. We started hiking on some old logging roads that have been slowly reclaimed by the wilderness. It was a fun hike; not too strenuous. We made it to the arch by about noon.

It was quite impressive. After about a half an hour of poking around (there was a random frying pan at the arch)

and snacking, we headed back to the vehicles. It was nice to meet some new people with similar interests. I hope to meet up with some of them soon for some more adventure!

High Cliffs Park

Today Noelle and I went for a short walk to the most interesting little city park in Galesville.

Okay, so it's the only city park in Galesville, but it's still worth a visit. High Cliffs Park is just outside of downtown and features high sandstone cliffs, an old mill dam, and some small sandstone caves and arches.

For adventurers like us its a good place to get our outdoors fix when we don't have a whole lot of time. Despite the cold temperatures, it was a good hike and it made us feel not so guilty about all the food we've been eating lately.