Sunday, May 31, 2015

Croton-on-Hudson, NY - $24.95? Just to Cross a Bridge?

And here we are, north of New York City, in one of the closest parks to the city that we could find. I thought it would be nice to park in Central Park but it’s not that kind of park. There is a park that is closer, on the New Jersey side and we spoke with a couple from Oregon who were actually going to stay there. It is near a marina and looks more like a parking lot from the air, though the views across the water to the Statue of Liberty must be pretty cool. On the other hand, the view across the parking lot to the junk yard must not be so cool. They can have that spot, we’ll camp here in Croton-on-Hudson.

And, speaking of the Statue of Liberty. Here’s my hint: If you know you will be in this area, get tickets for the ‘Crown’ of the Statue as soon as you can. I didn’t try to get tickets for this until last week and, because it’s summer, they are booked until September, after school starts. We still get out to the island and to Ellis Island also but we won’t be able to climb up into the crown. Ah, next time. I actually climbed up into it in the 80’s and - it is spectacular.

We took the chicken way around New York today. There are many ways to get to our next destination. We could take the 30-minute, frantic, stressful way through NYC or the 55- minute lively but manageable route around the city. My choice: simple - the lively, manageable route Interstate 287 which is goes out around the city - way out. It was busy but manageable - just what I thought. Then we hit the accident and the inevitable slowdown. Actually, it was the STOP - since we weren’t moving at all for a while. Then there are those who get antsy and think they are special - the ones who decided to pass us all by driving in the break-down lane. Oops, then they have to get back into the traffic lanes and try to nudge their way in. Today one of these jerks played chicken with us - thinking that the old grey haired people in the RV would stop and let him through. Cripes we almost hit him - he was nudging in so close. But, we were the chickens - we let him in.

The Tappan Zee Bridge soared high over the Hudson River buy no big deal - until we hit the toll booth at the end. We kept seeing ‘$5.00 for car’ signs along the way - how bad can it be for us - a motorhome towing a car? But the toll taker told us $24.95 - only cash. Holy Cow. Luckily I had it but need to hit the ATM now. (We talked with a guy in the campground who says that he’s taken that route before and there is no way to avoid that $24.95.)

We had started early to avoid the inevitable rain and we only ran into during the last 1/2 hour of our trip.
RainyDrive-1-2015-05-31-21-49.jpg
I mentioned the rain earlier but it continued through the afternoon. Gary found enough time between sprinkles to hook up the electricity and the water and, then, after dinner, he got the sewer hooked up. Since it was still not spitting, we decided to circle the campground and try for our daily walk. When we drove in around this large grassy hump in the land, ‘landfill?’ Gary speculated. Sure enough, the map said ‘landfill’ but over it and circling it was a trail. So we headed up to become King and Queen of the Landfill Hill and then down and around. As we were returning to the park, we felt some sprinkles and, instead of continuing our walk, came back to the RV. Good thing because it began to rain heavier and didn’t stop until well into the wee hours of the morning.
what%252526where%25253F--2015-05-31-21-49.JPG
As we headed to bed, the rain was pretty steady and, on the roof of the RV sounded like I was under a waterfall. Gary found a single pair of earplugs and gave me one and then found two cotton balls. I tried them but couldn’t get them to fit inside my ears. Gary got them fitted just right and slept like a lamb. Me, I lay there and fell asleep, slept all night and woke in the morning. Whew.

We saw this sign recently. ‘Went?’ How about ‘gone?’ Maybe CBS had it wrong, but that doesn’t mean that the Wild West Casino has to have it wrong, too. Maybe this is just the old teacher speaking. 
WalkingtheAtlanticCityBoardwalk-5-2015-05-31-21-49.jpg
Don’t drive your RV on anything that says ‘Parkway’ we were advised but we took the Garden State Parkway from Atlantic City to the jct with 287 and it was fine. I’m not sure about some of the others with their low bridges and we won’t take any more.

“I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places”

                                                                                        Henny Youngman

No comments:

Post a Comment