New York City

The National September 11 Memorial

The Memorial mural plaque honoring the firefighters killed in the 9/11 attacks

We're up in North Jersey now, staying with our Friends Joni and Tim and their sons Noah and Nate. I told them that I wanted to see the memorial at Ground Zero which was less than half an hour away from their home. Erin and I had been there a few months after the terrorist attacks while in town for her step-brother's wedding in Manhattan and it had made quite an impression on me. So yesterday morning we crossed the Hudson on the George Washington Bridge and headed down to Battery Park (thanks for driving Tim -- he sped and weaved through the city like a fearless New Yorker).

The George Washington Bridge

Driving down the West Side Highway with the as yet completed Freedom Tower looming in the distance

One of the most inspiring elements of the memorial are the two reflecting pools that are situated at the footprints of the Twin Towers:

A placard describing the layout of the memorial

One of the awe-inspiring reflecting pools, which are completely surrounded by a cascading waterfall

At the rim of south tower reflecting pool

A short video of the north tower pool:

A few other random pictures from New York City:

A view across the Hudson River of the Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty memorial, covered with 9/11 artifacts

George Washington's pew in St. Paul's Chapel, next to September 11th memorial

We also had some quality time with Joni and family at their home across the Hudson. Two nights of energetic Reverse Charades, some tasty meals and a visit to the stables where both Noah and Nate ride. I myself know nothing of horses and I was impressed to see Noah handling his horse with apparent ease.

Noah on George

Nate holding George for his brother

George stabled and relaxing after a good workout

Bonus Picture:

Joni and Tim: Interpretive Dance or Reverse Charades? -- you decide.

Bonus bonus picture. I find it interesting that the only two states in the U.S. where you can't pump your own gas are our home state of Oregon and out east here in New Jersey. I ask you -- what's the connection?

Cape May Picture Wrap-up

 

As with Ocracoke on the Outer Banks, Erin and I left Cape May vowing to return before too long. Whether we will or not -- it is, after all, over 3000 miles from our Oregon home -- remains to be seen. The Oregon coast, incidentally, is an incredibly beautiful place, with miles of rugged coastline to explore. And there's many other attractions on the west coast. But sometimes a place resonates with you and Cape May is one of those places.

The shops on Washington Street Mall

We've got fall colors to see up north, so we decided that we couldn't delay any longer. Farewell Cap May . . .

Bonus picture:

Believe it or not, horse riding and rodeo is huge in rural Southern Jersey

Cape May, New Jersey

[My 50th blog post!]

View of Cape May along Beach Avenue

After six nights of Outer Banks camping, bookended by single night stays (in Charlotte, North Carolina with cousins Lynn & Jim and in Aberdeen, Maryland at my step-dad Ed's and Georgette's house), Erin and I were heading next to Cape May, New Jersey, which is on the southernmost tip of land, a tiny finger, that juts down into the Delaware Bay on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. I have a bit of history with Cape May. My mom and step-dad had a vacation place here for several years, my younger brother Jeff was married here and, since this was a place that was near and dear to my mother's heart, we spread her ashes in the Atlantic Ocean on Poverty Beach, one of her favorite shelling haunts. I myself also lived in New Jersey (just across the Delaware from Philly) for a few years when I was in high school. I was nervous about what Erin would think about Cape May and, since I hadn't been here myself in two decades, concerned that maybe Cape May was just a fond memory of mine from the past. Thankfully, Cape May is still the quaint seaside vacation town I remember and Erin has fallen under it's spell. Yes -- Erin has become an honorary Jersey Girl. She loves it! And we've both bought about a dozen items -- t-shirts, car decals, coffee mugs -- that say "Cape May" on them.

Sunset over the cabanas on the shore

The "Painted Ladies" along Beach Avenue

Beach Avenue in the morning

The Inn of Cape May

Erin and I decided to pop for a few nights in a hotel. We're considering it a belated 13th Anniversary celebration, which we never got around to celebrating in August. After almost a week of camping, we felt we needed a break (this is only our 3rd and 4th nights of hotel stays for the last 4 months). So we found a nice place called the Beach Shack down on the south side of Beach Avenue and have hunkered down for some tourist-type sightseeing.

The Beach Shack

The view from our room

Erin reading poolside

Your humble blogger posing from the pool

We also visited Poverty -- or Poor Man's -- Beach to pay our respects to my mom. Visiting the beach where we spread my mom's ashes over twenty years ago was the first thing I thought of when we talked about an eastern leg of our 5-month sojourn. I often feel a connection to my mother anyway, but here on her beloved beach I felt an especially strong connection.

I love you mom.

Mary Jane's Beach, Cape May, NJ

Heading Back Up North

First a picture wrap-up from Ocracoke:

Two pair of sandals and a sun just waiting to set

Erin standing by a beach sculpture we came across just as the sun was setting

The sun dropping on our last day in Ocracoke . . .

. . . and breaking camp the next morning

The day had to come. We couldn't put it off any longer. It was time to start heading back up north. So with heavy hearts and about five pounds of seashells, we broke camp and headed up the Outer Banks. First there was a ferry:

And then there were a few more sights before leaving the islands:

The famous "Nights In Rodanthe" house (a movie with Richard Gere and Diane Lane)

Cape Hatteras lighthouse

Another night of camping (and geographical confusion)

Awesome sunset (yaaawn)

. . . and once again packing up Lil' Red

I wish I could devote an entire posting to our visit to Kitty Hawk in the upper Outer Banks. It was much more fascinating than I had thought It'd be. This is, after all, the exact spot (specifically at Kill Devil Hills) where the first powered flight took place, launching the new field of aviation. A true revolution. The Wright Brothers -- Orville and Wilbur -- came here from Dayton, Ohio (where they had a bicycle repair and sales business) because they found the winds and gentle hills to be optimal.

The monument on top of Kill Devil Hill

The marker tells it all -- I'm standing where the world's first plane landed

So that's it. I wish I could write some more here but we're on to other things. There never seems to be enough time on the road to do these postings.

A quick rewind. I never gave proper thanks to my cousin Lynn and her husband Jim for their generosity. We stayed with them in Charlotte for a night in between Atlanta and the Outer Banks. It was also great to see my Aunt Helen as well (and Lynn and Jim's ridiculously cute grandaughter, Berklie).

 

So long and keep on smiling everybody

Ocracoke Images

The Ocracoke Lighthouse (oldest in North Carolina)

Renting bikes is huge here (also golf carts)

Blackbeard was killed in a bay in Ocracoke

We were originally going to stay here for only a night or two, but we've decided to stay just "one more night" (our forth), which is what we tell the Park Ranger every morning when we pay for that night's campsite. It's just been too damn gorgeous to leave. This has thrown our East Coast schedule off a bit (sorry Ed, Joni, Jamie, et. al.), but we've been hankering for some sandy beach hang-time for quite a while. So we should be off tomorrow . . . or will we?

Erin reading on the beach ("State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett) . . .

. . . and Yours Truly walking off into the sunset (okay, it's a sunrise, but how ineloquent is it to "walk off into a sunrise")

I haven't done a video in a while, but this one gives an idea of the size and underpopulation of the beaches here: