Holly's trip back east....Pennsylvania, New York and Canada!
 

While Holly was on dialysis, we made her a promise that once she got her transplant and was subsequently cleared by the doctors-that we'd take her to New York-as she wanted to go to Ground Zero.


So, once we got clearance-a plan was put in place to make the promise a reality :)


Today is part one-The trip to Benny's


We hooked up with Benny (BBBenny) and took him up on his offer for us to spend some time with him in Lehighton, PA. We flew into Philadelphia and Benny picked us up from the airport and we stayed at his place in the Poconos. Benny showed us around the area that he grew up in. Even though it rained, it was amazing


In this group of pics:

• Nice waterfall in the rain!
• Looking out on the pond
• Hickory Run boulder field in the Poconos
• Dam near Benny's house...quickly nearing capacity!
• Dam near Benny's house...outflow regulating the river level. It's near flood stage!

In this group of pics:

• Neat railroad tunnel no longer in use
• Used to be a hotel here...where the railroad would drop off passengers!
• Haunted Old Jail Museum in Jim Thorpe, PA
• Old houses in Jim Thorpe, PA
• Old houses (and church) in Jim Thorpe, PA
• Old buildings in Jim Thorpe, PA
• Clock tower in Jim Thorpe, PA
• Old church in Jim Thorpe, PA

Tomorrow-Part two...The trip to New York and the New York sights!! :biggthumpup:

Pretty cool, Bruce.....wish we had some of that rain out here in AZ!

Bruce, you have your audience riveted!!!!
Buddy

Part two-The trip to New York Wednesday (Times Square)-May 23rd


Benny was nice enough to drive us back to Philadelphia so we could catch the Amtrak to New York City. (At this point, I need to thank Benny, Dan Schutzbank, Buddy W., Christopher Stone and his sister and quite a few others for all of their recommendations regarding New York City....what to do and what not to do! Your advice was invaluable!)


The trip to New York via train took about 1 1/2 hours from Philly...with a few stops along the way. The train dropped us off at Penn Station and really close to our hotel.



After we got checked in, we went to Times Square...and the pics below are from the last day with Benny before New York (at a neat horse farm) and the Amtrak Station in Philly the Times Square adventure and the surrounding areas, including the Empire State Building!

Tomorrow...more from New York!

Part three-More from New York Thursday (One World Trade-9/11 Museum and Ground Zero and the Harbor Cruise)-May 24th


On Thursday, we got on the double decker Big Bus Tour and there were three things that Holly wanted to see.

First was One World Trade.

The second was Ground Zero and the 9/11 Museum and finally the harbor cruise and the Statue of Liberty.



The following pictures are from these places. The architectural history is unbelievable! These first pics are from us riding on the bus....and include a building with 1867 on the top of it-the flatiron building and a firehouse.



Once we were done for the day we met up with Buddy W. and Dan Schutzbank for dinner at Tony's DiNapoli's in New York City. We were celebrating Holly's birthday early-and Buddy and Dan treated us to dinner. It was a wonderful evening with two great guys-and something we won't forget! :youguysrock:

And this group of pictures are from One World Trade. We were blessed with wonderful weather the whole time we were in New York! The views from up top were amazing.....

In this group of pics was from the Harbor Cruise that went close to the Statue of Liberty. From the water, you get a real good view of how much is in a space so small!


As we pulled into the harbor, we were being 'tailed' by a Carnival Cruise ship!