Time to Leave

We know from the weather on the TV that it may be a rough ride back to Philadelphia for our plane ride home.  Tropical storm Karen is heading up the coast and dumped a lot of rain on Atlanta yesterday.  Teresa and Chris went to the gym while the girls and I started cleaning up and packing to go home.  When I was having my coffee this morning looking outside (which is still sunny at the moment) I was remembering when I was a kid.  We vacationed every year in Wildwood and it was such a big deal for my sister and I.  We waited all year for this one week here.  I look at my grandchildren and think at their young age of all the places they have been and how many times they have flown.  I was pregnant with Teresa when I flew the first time and had never been out of the country..ever!  Lindsay at 12, Chris and Paige at 10 have been to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Grand Turk, Dominican Republic, Grand Caymen, Belize, Roatan and Cozumel on 5 different cruises, 6 for Lindsay since she went to Alaska with me.  They have had passports since the twins were 5 years old and 7 for Lindsay.  Their first passports have already expired!  They are good travelers and  seasoned cruisers as well.  I am happy that I have been able to give them the opportunities to travel and have these things to look back on.

We get everything packed and head to mom's to say goodbye.  My sister is feeling better today and is at mom's to see us when we get there.  We hit the road and it starts getting more cloudy the further north we go.  We stopped to get some lunch and then back on the road.  By the time we cross into PA over the Walt Whitman bridge the sky is really looking ominous over the Philadelphia skyline and it was raining pretty good.  We need to fill up the tank before turning the van back in and the kids need to use the restroom so we exit before getting on the airport road.  It is now pouring rain when we stop so I run with the kids inside while Teresa pumps the gas.  They don't have restrooms so Chris goes in an empty water bottle on the way to return the van and the girls are grossed out.  By this time I have gotten a text message from Delta saying our flight is delayed due to the weather.  We drop the van and use the restroom there then get the bus back to the airport.  The airport is packed with people whose flights have also been delayed.  The kids were great through the wait which wound up being almost two hours later than scheduled.  When we go to board they make me check my carry on bag because the guy says its too big.  It is the same size as all the other bags we have but mine gets checked.  Of course this did not make me very happy since we all carried on so we could get out of the airport quickly instead of waiting for luggage and now I will have to wait.  Ugh!  I was a great example of what language not to use in front of your grandchildren.  The plane ride was very bumpy because of the weather and we were lucky that the kids got snacks and drinks before they stopped service.  The kids liked seeing the lights out the window and were able to see the Georgia Dome as we came in to land.  The Falcons were playing on Monday night football so we could see the blimp over the dome too.  Keith was there to pick us up and we were back home in plenty of time to watch the Falcons lose in the last 3 seconds of the game with the NY Jets.  Bummer.

I am very glad that we made the effort to make this trip.  I know that mom couldn't stop thanking me for bringing the kids to see her.  I was also excited to see my daughter Teresa actually admit that she was tired when we sat down on the plane!  Teresa has one speed which is all ahead full.  It was another of our whirlwind trips but it was lots of fun.  I believe a good time was had by all.

Sunday October 6, 2013

Another sunny day this morning.  We have been so lucky with the weather this trip and have enjoyed summer like temperatures since we started the trip.  Today mom wanted to go to her favorite little restaurant for breakfast/brunch.  It is a cute place a couple blocks from her home named Clarey's and everyone there knows her and makes a fuss when she comes in.  They are famous for their pancakes apparently and that makes the kids excited.  We picked up mom at 11:30 AM to try to get a jump on beating the after church crowd.  We have to wait a few minutes for a table but then we enjoyed the server and other waitresses that came by to talk with mom.  The kids loved their pancakes, eggs and bacon and cleaned their plates which was amazing to see.  Chris said he would rate it a 5 out of  5 and wanted Teresa to take his photo outside when we left.  Mom was not feeling really well this morning so we took her back to let her rest until our dinner.  We planned to pick her up at 5:15 PM to go to Courthouse Pizza since Teresa wanted another steak sandwich from there and it did look good.  We decided to take a drive through Wildwood and let the kids shop for souvenirs on the boardwalk.  They got to ride some rides and I bought them a T shirt then we went for a ride down the beach and enjoyed looking at the old motels.  Wildwood is a place that has kept that retro 50's look and feel over all these years and it was fun to experience that again. 

 

We went back to the condo and the kids got to swim for an hour or so before the pool closed for the day.  This complex where we stayed is called Seapointe Village and is I believe the only gated community in what is known as Wildwood Crest/Diamond Beach.  This area is located closest to Cape May which is the southern most point in New Jersey.  We have been fascinated by the features of this resort meaning its use of electronics.  There is an electronic key for the car to enter and exit the gates that just gets swiped across this pad by the gate.  There is also a similar fob that you swipe to work the elevator (without this the elevator will not access the garage area where someone could gain access by walking onto the property).  A fob swipe to unlock doors from the public areas into the condos but also has keypad access as well.  There are houses here as well but it appears that most of these are second homes to everyone.  It was relatively empty in our building which was called Centre Court.  The pools in front of our building were already winterized and empty but there were tennis courts and a large playground in that area as well.  This building and the homes around it appear to be the last built since they are a distance from the beach and don't have beach views.  The heated pool is located near 3 buildings that are 7 stories.  The beach is very wide in this area.  The kids had fun on the beach again and even found a dead shark that was a couple feet long.  We all showered and got ready to go get mom.  When we drove to Courthouse Pizza they were closed..apparently closed every Sunday.  So we went in search of another place.  We found a place called Rio Steaks and Pizza and again it all turned out to be really good.  Everybody enjoyed the food and we had plenty left over to take home and they were very nice people.  After we left mom's we made our usual stop at "Retro Wawa" for dessert and Tastykakes and then headed back to the condo.  We watched the Amazing Race and Teresa checked football scores and we started washing clothes and towels in preparation for leaving the next morning.

By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea...

Another beautiful day with unseasonably warm weather in South Jersey.  We pick up mom for lunch and her choice was McDonald's which makes the kids happy.  At 92 she is frail and her eyesight has failed her which makes getting around difficult for her.  The kids are eager to hold doors and unlock her door at home for her and that makes her happy.  But having us around also wears her out so after lunch we make a trip to the drugstore for her and then take her back home to rest up for dinner.  It has gotten really warm now in the 80's and we head back to the condo so that the kids can hit the pool and beach.    They are very excited to get to do this and I took a book and head to the pool with them.  They went to the beach with Teresa for a while and while they were gone a strange thing happened.  The sun seemed to disappear and it got very cold and windy.  When Teresa came back from the beach she said this eerie fog rolled in out of nowhere and they couldn't even see the condo buildings from the beach when it happened.  I have never seen anything like that actually happen right before your eyes.  The kids love the beach and found lots of shells, horseshoe crabs and jelly fish while down there. 

We head back to get showered and ready to pick up mom for dinner.  Her choice is to go to the Courthouse Diner.  It is very crowded when we get there and we wait for a table.  With Lindsay's peanut allergy, she wasn't comfortable eating there so Teresa said she would wait and eat when we left.  Teresa called Courthouse Pizza while at the diner to order dinner for Lindsay and herself so we could pick it up on the way home.  While waiting in the van for Teresa to pick up the order, this man with a pizza box knocks on the van window and since it is dark, we have no idea who it is.  Lindsay opens the door and it is uncle Glenn.  Teresa ran into him inside and told him we were out there.  He and my sister are both sick this weekend so we kept our distance.  We went back to mom's for Teresa and Lindsay to eat.  When we left, we had to get gas and the kids wanted to stop at "Retro Wawa" which is like a QT in the Atlanta area. In New Jersey and Oregon you are not allowed to pump your own gas..why I don't know.  We are not used to this so Teresa got out and started pumping the gas while I took the kids and went into the store.  Apparently the attendant eventually came over and told her that she wasn't supposed to pump it herself but by this time she was done.  They even sell T shirts in New Jersey that say "Jersey girls don't pump gas".   The kids got ice cream for dessert and of course more Tastykakes.   Teresa and I had wine and we all watched TV for awhile before heading to bed.

New York, New York 10-4-13

We are up early and had breakfast before heading to Newark Penn Station.  We park and get to the station with only one wrong turn on the way.  We get help getting the tickets we needed to take the train to the WTC station in NYC.  We get all 5 of them and get on the train.  When the conductor comes to us for tickets, he tells us we are on the wrong train for the tickets we had.  We now have to pay him another $30 (he didn't charge for Chris and Paige) but we would wind up at 33rd Street Station in NYC instead of the WTC.  We get off and everyone heads to the bathroom first.  Chris is upset that mom won't allow him to go alone so he comes with us.  He will get this when he grows up but right now he does not appreciate going with us in the least.  We find the exit and begin our day in NYC.  It only takes two minutes before we realize that Lindsay is very stressed about being here.  I have to admit that the amount of people and looking up and only seeing the sky in the small space between the skyscrapers is a strange feeling.  We head toward the Empire State Building and take some photos.  This was just a block from the train station and in that period of time we realized how hot and humid it was that day.  The wait was long to go to the top so we decide to go to Central Park next.  It is about 35 blocks away so we try to get a cab and have no luck so we continue to walk until we get to a Springhill Suites.  Since we spent the night at one the night before, we go in and ask them to call a cab for us which they do....yay!  We get to the park in front of the Plaza Hotel which is something Chris wanted to see because of his favorite movie..Home Alone.  We take photos at the hotel and fountain then find a pedicab to take us through Central Park.  It was the highlight of our day.  We were able to see and walk through the Rambles and see Strawberry Fields and the Imagine tiles.  We exited the tour at the Dakota where we saw where John Lennon was killed.

 

 

By this time it is a little past noon and it is now really hot in the sun and no air movement.  We find a cab to take us to Times Square.  Once there we have lunch at McDonald's.  Teresa decides it is ok to let Chris use the Men's room here so we are seated upstairs and the Ladies room is up here.  We all finish and head downstairs to let Chris go and there is a line at the Men's room!  The first time we have ever seen this but we figure out eventually that there is only one at a time in there and apparently every man waiting really needs to use more than a urinal.  So he waited in line twenty minutes for his turn.  Once we finish there we start walking toward the ABC Studios where GMA is broadcast.  This part of Broadway is so crowded you can barely breathe.  The kids wanted to go into ToysRus and they rode the ferris wheel in there and then toured the store for souvenirs.  They did find a man demonstrating a drawing board that was unique and only currently available in either New York or London so I bought them one and they did have fun with it the rest of the trip.  After we left there we walked to Rockefeller Center and passed Radio City Music Hall on the way.  They were putting the ice rink together for the holiday season.  I am so hot and tired by this time I am not sure that I will make it much further.  Since it is now so late we need to get the train back and get on the road toward Cape May before rush hour kicks in so we begin looking again for a cab that will take us to the WTC PATH station so we can use the tickets we had purchased this morning.  We walked another three blocks before we find one that will take us.  This now begins the most terrorizing ride of my life.  Teresa and the kids are in the back and I am with the driver whose head is in a turban.  I tried hard to refrain from screaming but couldn't help putting my hand on the dashboard to brace for the accidents I thought were imminent!  I don't believe I have ever come that close to that many wrecks in one ride ever...nor do I want to again.  He did get us to the station and I was eternally grateful that we all got out of that van alive!  We had no problem getting to the right train this time and our ride back to Newark was quick. Lindsay is finally relieved that we are out of NYC and on our way.

 

 

 

 

We get the car and find that like NYC, you must be aggressive and use your horn continuously in order to drive here.  Teresa manages to get us out of there and back to the expressway but it is now 4 PM and rush hour has now started.  It was stop and go for much of the trip which took us longer than we had planned.  Lindsay was able to look up a Mexican restaurant in Sea Isle City that we could stop for dinner and it was very good.  We stopped to say hello to mom and visited for a few minutes then headed toward Wildwood to the condo we rented for our time here.  We stopped to pick up some things for breakfast at a WAWA near mom's but found another "Retro Wawa" that was in Wildwood closer to where we stayed.   Teresa pulled a Chevy Chase in Vacation when she saw a liquor store and whipped the van into the lot at the front door.  She was back in moments with a bottle of wine which we really needed by now. The guard at the gate did not want to let us in and we couldn't reach the man we rented from.  After producing a copy of the contract, she finally took us and let us into the unit.  We got settled and relaxed with some wine before turning in. We didn't give the kids wine but they did have a Tastykake.  What a day!