The Eagle Has Landed

Yesterday, we found out just how good Google Maps could be. We explored a bit of central New Jersey, then I reviewed the on-line map to find out how to get to where we were going. Up I-95, take 287 to the Verrazano Bridge, get off at exit 27, follow Atlantic Avenue, left on Clinton, then onto Remsen, where our sublet is. Only problem, Remsen is one way the other direction, but otherwise the map was perfect and we drove straight to our front door, then got to exploring the neighborhood.

After our son Tristan got off work at Simon & Schuster, he came by, helped us get settled a bit, then we walked over to his apartment, less than 20 minutes away, and he demonstrated his new-found skills as a cook, whipping up a nice fresh pizza nearly from scratch! Great to visit with Tristan and his girlfriend Olivia!

Today, we got oriented with some of the brass tacks ... where's the nearest laundromat, where do we pick up our mail (137 Montague Street #213, Brooklyn NY 11201 in case anyone's interested), where do we buy a cup of coffee, where do we park the car so it doesn't collect parking tickets ... all the important stuff.

At noon, Tristan came by and we set off exploring further afield. First we walked along the Brooklyn Heights River Walk, with it's gorgeous views of the lower Manhattan skyline. The walk ends at DUMBO, the area "Down Under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Overpasses." We had a delicious vegetarian food lunch at Siggy's on Henry street, then explored the galleries and bookstores in the DUMBO neighborhood.

On the way back, we made one more important stop ... at the neighborhood Trader Joe's! At last! Healthy and inexpensive groceries ... something we really missed during the 25 years we lived in Hawaii!

Zooming In

The trip is full of small adventures. Our intended route from Roanoke Falls to Washington DC was along Interstate 95. Unfortunately, a tour bus driver fell asleep at the wheel, killed four of his passengers, and closed the highway for several hours. The only good thing about the tragic accident is that we happened upon the back end of the tailback just as we got to an off ramp, so we got to explore a bit of the Virginia countryside from a smaller highway.

As it turns out, that was the extent of our touring (aside from getting lost in Washington DC as we tried to find our hotel). Washington's temp was 98 in the shade, and we'd already seen most of the monuments anyway, so we were not tourists ... just weary travelers looking for a room at the inn ... and for me, eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Wyn didn't fare quite so well in the sleep department, but she got to enjoy the good shows on HBO.

In the morning, we again explored Washington DC (Arlington, actually) thanks to hopelessly inadequate road maps and some pretty poor urban planning in my opinion. We were looking for Johnny Rocket's restaurant in the Shirlington area, and eventually found it, only to discover that our friend Yoko wasn't in that day. We telephoned Yoko, told her that we meant to surprise her, but would love a visit anyway. Ten minutes later, Yoko showed up at the restaurant (she and her husband Kevin manage the place) and we had an early lunch and a nice visit.

I was determined not to get lost again, so I finally turned on the GPS on my cell phone, and we had a wonderful female voice who navigated for us, and never got cross when we made a wrong turn. However, she had some competition. Wyn decided it would be really nice to have some lamb for dinner, and of course none of the highway rest stops have restaurants that serve anything besides fried chicken, hamburgers and pizza. But you wouldn't believe the serendipity ... or if you know us, maybe you would believe it.

We turned off the New Jersey Turnpike to look for the hotel we'd booked in Freehold New Jersey. Less than half a mile after we turned off the turnpike, we came to a place called Basil's Lamb Chop Grille. Wyn got her lamb chops, the GPS lady quit squawking about our missed directions, and we found our hotel just as a torrential downpour and lightning storm ended.

Tomorrow, we have a leisurely day as we finish the initial "getting there" part of our road trip, and begin the "being there" part of life's journey.