Pennsylvania Station in New York City sees 650,000 people pass through it, and is home to one of the largest homeless populations, every day. A far cry from where we started where 6 total boarded for the trip to NYC.
Walking about, waiting for the train a Pink Floyd song came to mind.
On the Turning Away
“On the turning away From the pale and downtrodden And the words they say Which we won’t understand” “Don’t accept that what’s happening Is just a case of others’ suffering Or you’ll find that you’re joining in The turning away”
So we passed out a few breakfasts to those taking shelter in the station amongst the Prada and Gucci passing by. Big cities are not our thing.
A mini micro world of people rushing to suceed, among those struggling to survive, and everything in between. Points everywhere!Time to go, again!
Tidbit: There was a Tim Horton’s in Penn Station! Those who have been following the blog know how much we love our Timmy’s.
Another type of beacon shining on a chilly NYC ‘morn.
An overnight train layover in New York City necessitated the finding of a hotel walking distance from Penn Station. A quick google map search showed several hotels in the area, the Fairfield Inn had great reviews…….perfect! We opened their website, put in our dates expecting a few very expensive options. Instead we got a ‘Sorry, there are no rooms available, please try different dates’. Assuming I had typed something wrong, I tried again…same result (turns out the Westminster Dog Show was in town). Hmmm…this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought. Another quick search showed several hotels nearby with questionable ratings, damn what are we going to do…we have very high standards as you all know😂. What’s this, wait…The New Yorker. Close to Penn Station, decent reviews and, glory be, availability at a reasonable NYC rate. Hallelujah we are saved! Okay, enough drama.
The New Yorker Hotel is one of the grand dames of NYC. She was built in the Art Deco Era much like the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. Opening in 1930 and costing 22 million dollars to construct, she boasted 2,500 rooms, a ballroom, private dining rooms, a radio in every room with the choice of 4 stations and the snappiest looking bellboys in all of NYC. Over the years, she has hosted such notables as Spencer Tracy, Joan Crawford, Fidal Castro and the Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey Bands. Her most notable guest was Nikola Tesla who spent the last 10 years of his life on the 33rd floor, spending the majority of his time feeding pigeons. He passed away in 1943.
After years of glory she fell onto hard times passing from owner to owner until she was sadly shuttered in 1972. Three years later the Unification Church of the United States bought and began restoring the old hotel, investing millions. On her 75th Anniversary, the iconic sign was relit after being dim for 38 years. It was to that beacon we trudged last night in the pouring rain seeking shelter and warmth just like the notables of old, perhaps with a bit more emphasis on comfort food and hot showers and less on the glitz and glamor from the Glory Days gone by.
New LED lights bring the iconic beacon back to life. www.travelzoo.com
The New Yorker during the glory years. www.newyorkerhotel.comWe didn’t get a chance to waltz the night away, perhaps next time. www.newyorkerhotel.comEven the bathrooms show an era of times gone by, before toilet paper came in rolls!The iconic New York skyline as seen from our window, not too shabby.And in color…
Tidbit: We were so soggy and vagabond looking, with our backpacks and disposable Xfinity bag, that the doorman didn’t want to let us in. We had to convince him that we were actually guests at the hotel🤣
Well its been a long couple of months and we are ready to get back on the road. We have decided to make the trip back to Oregon a mini vacation by taking the train. We will be linking various Amtrak routes back to the Wee Rover in Oregon.
We are currently working our way up the coast north to New York City where Amtrak turns west. It’s off season at the beach and pretty much everything is closed.
The view from our current hotel room. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an east coast beach so empty.
Even the streets are empty and the stores are closed. It is a summer town sleeping on a sunny winter day. Without her summer glamour and glitz, she is just tired, old and a bit depressing. King Neptune waits patiently for the summer crowds to return.
Dredging a chanel into a small harbor.
Two cargo ships passing on the horizon. It looks like a good wave will send their freight to the briny deep.
My mom, Audrey Inez MacKenzie, left this world for the next on January 12th. Her passing was peaceful and amongst loved ones. Fiercely independent, she wanted no fanfare. I am tiptoeing right up to the line of her wishes with this blog, but the past 3 months are as much a part of our trip as any other and she really enjoyed following the trip. We are very grateful we were able to spend the time.
Well the wee Rover’s diesel conversion has us thinking it may be time for something different. So while we are in Florida we spent a little time looking at a few options.
The Duke, David Niven, Doris Day, Lauren Bacall and Bogart! We feel like we are walking with the legends from Hollywood’s golden age. The Rookery, our home for the next few days, as it turns out, was built by actress Ida Lupino as a getaway from the paparazzi of the era. It’s located outside Grants Pass, Oregon at the end of a long drive next to the Rogue River. It is part of a small number of cottages that were retained and restored. Ours is a nice little 2 room cabin with a fireplace, small kitchenette and a hot shower. The perfect place to layover during the Wee Rover’s heart transplant! Here’s lookin’ at you!
The time has come to say goodbye to the Oregon coast. We have had an amazing time walking on the beach, sitting by the fire and spending time with new friends. Ron and Karen, hosts extraordinaire, became good friends and made our extended stay even more special. Now the hard part of traveling…saying good-bye (or toodles as Karen would say).
Thanks for everything!
We will see you when we see you.
Budha thinks he is a lap dog and Ron’s lap is his favorite spot.
Karen and I hanging out by the fire.
Out final good-bye barbeque. John, Sunny, Budha, Darrin, Karen and Ron. New friends all.
We were deputized for the weekend as junior park hosts, in training. Ron, host extraordinaire, had to run to the big city to pick up Karen from the airport. Per Ron, Buddha was technically in charge, but we would handle the money since he doesn’t have thumbs! Buddha then proceeded to try and delegate all of the jobs that didn’t revolve around swimming, and ball chasing to us. Checking the garbage cans, cleaning bathrooms, and his favorite, dog mess duty!
Budha, the official camp host.
Clean the bathrooms…can’t find the mop.
Clean up dog poop…eeeewwwww, not gonna happen.
Pick-up garbage…the bag isn’t not full enough, yet,. We wouldn’t want to waste valuable county resources:)
Attend meetings with international guests…we can do that.
Survey the camp for marauders…Darrin and Budha are ready for duty.
Like our souvenirs, we have been selective about the travel stickers we put on the Wee Rover. It’s a space thing and well, we are picky. While shopping at the Langlois (prounounced Langlass) Market the other day, we noticed a really beautiful local artist designed sticker of Oregon! Since our time living on the Oregon Coast has been so awesome, and Oregon being where the Wee Rover is getting her heart transplant, we decide it would fit nicely, and close out the right rear panel of our travels in the north from the Arctic Ocean, the Northwest Territory, the Yukon, British Columbia and Alaska down to the Oregon Coast! We will have to start a southern panel as we venture to Baja and points south.
The sticker was created by Brooke Lovaas of MiraCole Creations in Eugene, Oregon.
Stickers from the top down: Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean, Inuvik just south of Tuktoyaktuk, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska and Oregon.
The park has been quieting down over the past week or so with the cooler weather. The vacationers have fled back to their homes leaving the travelers to flow through on their way to their next adventure.
Despite the quiet, Ron, the camp host, continues his work maintaining the trails near the park, which includes clearing dead trees. The benefit of Ron’s tireless work is we often have an afternoon campfire. We barbecue, share road stories, enjoy each others company and the quiet solitude of the park.
The best part is Ron’s dog, Budha, gets to enjoy the freedom of the empty park, as well as a few well earned cookies!
Ron, Darrin and Budha…they look like they are up to something, I probably don’t want to know.
A young Australian couple, Sunny and Jonathon, who have been working and traveling around Canada and are now ttaveling in the US, joined us around the fire.
The boys insist we need to start with a bonfire so we have just the right amount of coals for cooking
Ok, so maybe they were right. A yummy dinner of hot dogs, potatoes with onions and veggies.
