29. Apr, 2016

SUNDAY 28-09-08 

We didn’t sleep too well last night due to the noise of the heavy rain hitting the RV’s roof all night. We arose at 07:00 determined to up sticks and move on, Cape Cod had been such a disappointment due only to the weather. Once we were ready we booked out then made our way to the nearest beach just to take a look, having gone to so much trouble to get here we couldn’t leave without seeing the local beach. The spot was pretty popular; I think all six people were coming to see if the sea condition had been affected by Hurricane Kyle which was out there somewhere not too far away to the east. It was due to play merry hell with Cape Cod this afternoon before finally hitting shore in northern USA or Canada Monday morning, so it was best we moved on, and quickly. 

We made our way off the Cape Cod peninsula via US6 West and as we progressed the cloud base lifted and the sun shone a little. In my rear view mirror I could see the heavy black clouds we were leaving behind. 

I had managed to discover some Wal-Mart stores in New Jersey online last night which will act as our back up should Liberty Harbor RV Park, the one and only campground for New York City, be unable to take us. 

Rosina phoned Liberty Harbor, and they could take us for at least three nights which was a huge relief to me, it is the only campground in the whole area. I had tried to book them via email before we left the UK but they had very limited availability at that time and so I didn’t book, I can only assume they’ve had some cancellations. 

Onward we ventured via the I195 & I95, stopping only for a shopping trip to the Wal-Mart store at New Haven, Connecticut. Most of the trip was made in sunnyshine, with occasional heavy rain showers. As we approached New York with the campground’s address loaded in to the Satnav I began chewing on the gum I’d bought at Wal-Mart in an attempt to keep me sane whilst we locked horns with New York City roads and drivers. 

‘She’ in the Satnav did pretty well in navigating us very close to where we wanted to be, we were travelling down the west side of Manhattan Island, until………………… we came across the Holland Tunnel. Up there bold as brass were the signs telling us that Liquid Propane Gas (LPG) was a hazardous substance and could not be taken through the tunnel. We were flagged down by the police who explained that we would have to go all the way back and cross the George Washington Bridge. So back we went, disobeying ‘She’ who was still hell bent on turning us around and sending us through that tunnel. Eventually we found the Bridge and crossed the Hudson River continuing to duel with New York’s finest including their cab drivers, to eventually find ourselves, due to road works, in the left hand lane of a 6 lane traffic jam. About 400 yards ahead of us was, unbelievably, the other end of the Holland Tunnel which we would never be allowed to enter nor wanted to, and about 200 yards ahead was a major road junction controlled by traffic lights with the right turn we wanted for our campground. It was dark by now which didn’t help. To the rescue came my navigator and photographer who wound her window down and gestured/pleaded with other motorists to allow us to cross their paths to reach the 6th lane, they did, thankfully, and we got there, hung the right turn and about half a mile down the road reached the campground, part of a marina complex and just across the Hudson River from the Manhattan skyline. To think that in 2000 when we were last in New York I saw the traffic and vowed I would never drive a car in the city, yet here I was driving a 32ft mobile home. 

Sanctuary, we parked up, plumbed in, deployed the slide-out which hadn’t been used for a while due to our constant travels and the weather, then had our evening meal, fresh cooked chicken & chips from good old Wal-Mart, washed down with lashings of wine. 

I look forward to tomorrow morning when we’ll be able to get our bearings. We should be perfectly situated for the city and close to public transport to get us there. We plan to visit places we didn’t get to see last time including the Ellis Island Museum and hopefully a few of those places we visited last time and would like to take a second look at. 

Oh and we’ve now got the sound of rain hitting the RV roof ……..again. 

LOCATION TONIGHT: Liberty Harbor RV Park, 11 Marin Blvd, Jersey City, NY 07302 (GPS: N40.712102 W74.044063).

29. Apr, 2016

29. Apr, 2016

29. Apr, 2016

SATURDAY 27-09-08 

We had a bit of a lie-in this morning; there didn’t seem much point in rushing to get up and out. When we did eventually surface we caught the bus to Harwich about an hour west of here. Once there we had about another 70 minutes before our connecting bus to Hyannis for another hour’s journey. We’d bought two Day Passes for $9 but there was no way we were going to endure a three hour return journey. Once at Hyannis we made for the Kennedy Museum www.hyannis.com , not too much to see in there other than lots of mounted photographs and a short video of JFK & family enjoying time here at the Kennedy compound at Hyannis Port. It had been raining on and off all day and following a bit of a stroll around downtown we decided to pay extra and return on the 16:30 express bus for $7 each, expensive, but at least we’d be back home in 40 minutes, the bus driver being kind enough to drop us off right outside the campground. 

On our return we had considered a walk or bike ride to find the beach but the heavens opened up again, and we were getting tired of feeling damp. We have now decided to head straight for the beach when we leave this campground tomorrow morning heading for New York City. 

We won’t be sorry to be moving on, this area has been quite disappointing for us, the lack of suitable campgrounds from which to get in to Boston coupled with the bad weather at Cape Cod which I’m particularly sad about as The Chef was really looking forward to seeing this area. She was right about Boston, it was better to hold on to the memories we have of our last visit in 2000 when the sun was shining, rather than struggle to get there again in the wet miserable weather and have those good memories replaced. 

We’re certainly not enjoying this trip on the Eastern side of the states as much as our last one over on the West, but we needed to visit this side in order to get a balanced picture, but there’s no doubt our hearts lie out West. 

LOCATION TONIGHT: Atlantic Oaks RV Park, 3700 State Hwy, Eastham, MA 02642-2114.

29. Apr, 2016