Thurs. & Fri., October 5-6, 2023
Pull up a comfy chair, a cup of rich, strong coffee and a big cigar too if you like before reading this post, it's a long one.
I was being joined by son Michael and grandson Jacob for a three day weekend in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut that would be all about being both football fans and tourists.
Jacob at the Panera Bread store
near LAX before our red eye flight
to Newark, New Jersey
We needed to treat ourselves to one solid dinner before our five hour, cross country flight.
A huge thanks to Laurie for driving us down to LAX for the start of our adventure.
New Jersey,
HERE WE COME!
Bleary eyed but none the worse
for wear, we made it
Our Alaska Airlines plane touched down on time at precisely 5:45 a.m. as advertised.
We smoothly picked up our Thrifty rental car and were off to our first spot in wondrous Weehawken, New Jersey.
Weehawken, New Jersey?
If you are a fan of the hit Broadway musical, Hamilton, or simply an American history buff, you will know why.
This was the spot
The Weehawken Dueling Grounds
The very spot where American Vice President Aaron Burr dueled with former military officer, statesman, Founding Father and Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton.
The duel resulted in Hamilton's death and a fantastic musical a little over 200 years later.
Two history buffs at the Weehawken
Dueling Grounds with New York City
in the distance on the far banks of
the Hudson River
Alexander Hamilton shedding
a tear on this drizzly morning
interesting, to say the least
Burr and Hamilton were not the
only two famous men to draw pistols
on this New Jersey bluff
After breakfast, we found a park
where Jacob could run a few pass
patterns to get his wiggles out
I liked its horn
Waiting for the ferry to NYC
and Adventure
Crossing the Hudson River
we noted . . .
. . . this interesting building
The low clouds hid the view of Manhattan's tallest buildings all day long.
DAMN IT!
It was Friday, not Tuesday.
We started our stroll through mid-town Manhattan with wide eyed enthusiasm.
One of the first sites
that we stumbled upon
We just had to stop to check out
this Croatian church as one of this
blog's most loyal readers is Croatian
He and his family are all good people.
I just liked this cool,
nondescript building
Street food was everywhere one
looked in mid-town
Entering NYC's Theater District
Awesome architecture
everywhere we looked
The boys on Times Square
What the heck is that thing
with wings atop that building?
"They say the neon lights are
bright on Broadway . . ."
If Mary was with us, she would
DEFINITELY want to eat here
I would have opted for this spot
but we were on a dining mission
An historical dining mission . . .
If only this place was still active
What is a Dinges?
As it turns out, dinges is a Belgian word for unnamed waffle toppings.
Ok, makes sense now.
One of dozens of majestic
NYC buildings we saw on this day
The NYC Public Library
NYC Library Protest,
LOVE IT!
Of course the library had a fountain
with a semi-naked man
Grand Central Terminal
We just had to enter this famous building.
Extremely cool!
We were all in awe but . . .
. . . there was too much automation
in place and not enough human
workers for my taste
We're going in!
Jacob's first subway ride
was a good one
No one was even close to stabbing or mugging us or any of our fellow travelers.
Jacob loves sea life in general
and whales in particular
This museum is housed in, who else today,
the Alexander Hamilton Custom House
One of this museum's statues . . .
. . . and another
Jacob with the Charging Bull
of Wall Street
He looks a tad more dangerous
from this side
Reflections
Finally, we arrived at our dining
spot for lunch in lower Manhattan
Yes, this is indeed the spot
It turns out that this spot is
dripping with history
Imagine that!
I cozy, warm dining area on a wet
day was a good thing
George Washington portraits were
everywhere in the Fraunces Tavern
I wonder why?
Sharing a giant pretzel and a charcuterie
board fit our dietary needs to a tee!
After lunch, I got fully indoctrinated by both Jacob and Michael as to the historical significance of the Fraunces Tavern built in 1719.
In 1783, in the tavern's Long Room seen
here, General George Washington bid a
fond post-Revolutionary War farewell
to his Officers in the Continental Army
During the days when the USA was
governed by the Articles of Confederation,
the Fraunces Tavern housed the
Foreign Affairs, Finance and War Offices
During that time, New York City served as our nation's capital.
About one week before their famous duel, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were seen together for the last time talking with each other here at the Fraunces Tavern.
A well used desk on display
in the Frances Tavern Museum
Of course, we had to take the interesting tour.
Now, I had to see this exhibit
Captain America vs.
a Hessian Red Skull
I'd pay good money to see it on the silver screen!
Another great Cloaked Crusader!
I remember these fun comics
at Bob's Big Boy in Pasadena
The Cloaked Crusader exhibit
was a big hit for all of us
All sorts of Revolutionary War
flags were on display
I liked the purple flag but I had
no clue as to its meaning
General Washington
one last time
George Clinton's sword and scabbard
Clinton was one of our country's Founding Fathers.
After our thorough examination of the Fraunces Tavern, we were back on the mean streets of New York.
Beautiful mosaic on the old
Iternational Telephone and Telegraph
Corporation Building
The now sporty
New York Stock Exchange
Talking finance with Jacob
on Wall Street
Trinity Church
Trinity Church's Cemetery
was of interest
John Watts was a famed
pre-Revolutionary War judge
who was loyal to the crown
The tomb of Alexander Hamilton
Are you sensing a theme?
Random . . .
. . . Trinity Church Cemetery
head stones
Moving on . . .
Purple and Gold flowers
More Reflections
We were on our way to a much more recent, painful historical site.
A Dark Day in American History
to be sure
A building near the
World Trade Center site still
reaching into the heavens
A solemn tribute to the fallen
Their names are inscribed all along the edge of the two pools located where the Twin Towers once stood.
Let's take a quick video
tour of the South Pool
". . . and her unborn child"
Now if that doesn't tug at your heart strings . . .
A new World Trade Center building
with a futuristic bent
Quite artsy, I thought
You had to be there
What the . . .
NEVER play chess with a Rhino
Again, what the . . .
Back underground we go happily
Nice tile work at our subway station
We headed to Central Park
to see the Jose Martí statue
Jose Martí was the Apostle of Cuban Independence in the 1890s.
A band of costumed troubadours
parading through Central Park
Jacob playing Army with two
Revolutionary War soldiers that
he bought at the Fraunces Tavern
Just before entering a tunnel
at the South end of the park
musician formerly from
Ventura, California!
When he saw Jacob's Camarillo Stingers sweatshirt, he struck up a fun conversation with our budding pianist that led to Jacob using the bow while the violinist fingered the chords to produce a fun musical moment.
Unfortunately, I can't upload the video clip of this encounter to the blog.
On to Columbus Circle and . . .
. . . a delicious Nathan's
"World Famous" Hot Dog
Jacob loved his first taste of Nathan's
despite the ketchup on his cheek
A Bohemian wishing that
he too had a Nathan's hot dog
An old building advertisement still
trying to entice us to go on a cruise
with all of those exotic destinations
Good Bye New York,
we had a GREAT day!
We re-boarded our rental car in Weehawken, New Jersey for the 90 minute drive up the scenic Hudson River Valley to the town of Fishkill, New York where we had a hotel room for two nights.
The main reason to be in Fishkill was to be closer to Saturday's main event, the Boston College at Army game.
The drive up was stunning including the Fall colors, sighting some deer and going through several picturesque rural villages.
We still did have one more thing to do on this long, long Friday.
We just had to attend an East Coast edition of Friday Night Lights.
So we did.
According to the MaxPreps app on my phone, there was a good New York high school football game about to be played in the nearby city of Hopewell Junction, only about a ten minute drive from our hotel.
GAME ON!
North Rockland H.S. Red Raiders
4 wins - 1 Loss
at
John Jay H.S. Patriots
4 wins - 1 Loss
We were all loving the John Jay logo, they were the home team too, so it was Go Patriots GO as far as we were concerned.
We went up to the gate to buy tickets when we were informed that John Jay games do not charge any entry fees.
WOW!
Patriots in their home blues
It was the first game in October which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, thus the reason for the pink socks.
The John Jay student body and the parents were almost unanimously wearing pink as well.
Warming up before halftime,
this John Jay baton twirler turned
out to be mesmerizing
How long did she have to practice to have three batons in the air at all times in her routine?
The game was a good old fashioned
donnybrook in the First Half
Both clubs were hitting each other with reckless, but still legal, abandon.
Just before intermission, the John Jay capitalized on a couple of Red Raiders miscues to go into the locker room ahead by a tally of 20-6.
We were still going strong late into a
mild, dry southeast New York evening
There had been forecasts of rain all day long both in New York City and Hopewell Junction but we only had to deal with precipitation for a few minutes on our drive up the Hudson River Valley.
It was all John Jay in the Third Quarter
With the Patriots well ahead, we opted
to head back to our hotel early in the
Fourth Quarter
Final Score
John Jay (5-1) - 34
North Rockland (4-2) - 13
I was quite impressed with the quality of play and intensity from the two teams tonight, the better team definitely won the game, no doubt about it.
When we finally got back to the hotel, we all crashed rapidly for some reason.
Oh, maybe this is why
While I got in over 28,000 steps and 11.6 miles of walking on Friday, Jacob and Michael got in a lot more while they explored Central Park earlier in the day.
I opted to sit on a pristine Central Park bench during that time and watch the world go by for about 45 minutes.
I was happy with both that choice and for the invention of the Advil that I took late in the day.
EPIC East Coast Football Adventure, Part I was in the books with all three of us having had a wonderful day.
Part II on Saturday would feature the Boston College at Army game and would be even more memorable, stay tuned . . .
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