Thanksgiving 2017 – Monday 11/27-30

Monday:

I was awake at 5AM, knowing that my schedule was wide open for the day. I dozed and read email. We had a breakfast muffin and coffee at the deli down on the street corner. We stored our bags at the hotel and taxied with Eric and Andrea to Penn Station where they boarded to return to Cary, and we bought NJ Transit train tickets to Wayne, NJ for later in the day. We boarded the Hopon Hopoff Red Line tour bus for the Downtown route and rode the entire route through Wall Street, Battery Park and the Downtown-Lower Manhattan area. After a two hour ride, we had lunch at Rock Park Cafe overlooking Rockefeller Ice Skating Ring. It was a relaxing day. We walked back to Hotel Edison through Times Square to get our bags and taxied to Penn Station to board NJ Transit train to Newark-Broadstreet drop off,  where we visited and had dinner with Marianne and Jim, Norm’s brother, at their home.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28

We enjoyed a very relaxing day in Wayne, NJ, with Jim and Marianne, taking a ride to Wykoff Nature park and enjoying an amble through the woods there.

Wednesday, November 29

New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York

Jim, Norm and I headed out by bus and train to the Bronx. Vanderbilt constructed the railroads, and he was clever enough to put a train stop adjacent to the Botanical Gardens that he also built. This is a gorgeous 58 acre park in all seasons, but at Christmas time, they host a model train and buildings show in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. All of the model buildings represent 150 NY landmarks.

“Marvel at G-scale locomotives humming along among familiar sights such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and Rockefeller Center on nearly a half-mile of track. This year’s exhibition showcases Midtown Manhattan’s iconic skyscrapers and other architectural wonders, featuring new replicas of the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, General Electric Building, and St. Bartholomew’s Church.”

All of the model buildings are finished with natural products from woods and gardens.

The first three pictures in the slide show are of Grand Central Train Station in NYC. Each slide show is quite lengthy, so don’t move on too fast.

 

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30 –

We boarded Amtrak at the Newark Penn Station at 11:22AM and arrived home in Cary, NC right on time at 9:15PM. It is a relaxing ride…. but bring your own entertainment and food!!!! These pictures are of Newark Penn Station… an old fashioned but comfortable and clean place to board the train.

 

Thanks for joining me on this journey!

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