New Jersey, May 2007 − Travels − Captain Tom

New Jersey, May 2007

Friends are in town and we do sightseeing in and around New York. And we got to a baseball match to Philadelphia

1 Arrival

The friends arrive in the afternoon. We do not go home imediately but dive into some sight seeing.

Suit cases are stowed away and the child's safety seat gets prepared.
Approaching the city
Liberty State Park has a lot to offer:
View to Statue of Liberty
View to Manhattan
View to Verrazano Narrows Bridge - Queen Mary 2 is leaving New York
Play ground for children
Relaxation for the whole familty too
We close the day with some grocery shopping...
...and with a visit in a pan cake house diner
2 First day of visit

We want to start slowly and allow for getting used to the environment and time zone. We intend to go to an oldtimer exhibition (which does not take place) and to a nice park on the cost (for which we were not able to find the ticket office). So it is a very calm and relaxing day.

Preparation for breakfast
Relaxed breakfast...
...followed by a visit of the pool. It has opened just this day and we are the first occupants.
The little one occupies the third row of seats
Having an ice cream in a little pictorial harbor city called Old Greenwich
Barbecue in the evening
We overestimated the portion of beef a little bit
3 Second day of visit

Today we will go into the city. We go by car, we will be there all day long and we will see a lot of things.

Approaching the city via Washington Bridge
Times Square in the morning
We take the subway to Lower Manhattan
Ground Zero is still a big construction site
We walk via Esplanade and South Cove to Battery Park.
Meeting the Squirrels in Battery Park
Staten Island Ferry is next.
Passing the Statue of Liberty
View to Verrazano Narrows Bridge
Back to Manhattan
We go by subway to Central Park and continue sight seeing there
Crazy toy shop FAO Schwarz is worth a visit
We walk to Rockefeller Center and have an ice cream
The kid is still fresh as paint
Then it gets up the building. Top of the Rock - the roof deck of the Rockefeller Center
Light show inside the elevator shaft
We were here
Great view...
...to Lower Manhattan with Empire State Building...
...and to Central Park
Then we go by cab back to Times Square...
...and into the crazy M&M store
Next is musical. Tarzan is the show we will see
The stage
We are curious what's coming up
The show begins
Afterwards we enjoy the lights on Times Square
Then we drive home. The kid is zapped.
4 Third day of visit

We go to Philadelphia today. It is just 100 miles away and easy to reach within one day.

We are at the birth place of the USA. Here was the residence of the first president. Here is the place where the declaration of independece took place and where the constituion got created.
Independence Mall is a little park behind Independence Hall
Independence Hall
Liberty Bell
We were there
We decide to join a sight seeing tour with an amphibian vehicle
The Gentlemen are ready to go
Penns Landing view from the river
We enjoy a good Philadelphia Cheese Steak
Then we go to the Phillies Stadium. The next point on the agenda is baseball
Preparations
The mascot prepares too
Presenting the colors
National anthem
The game starts
The mascot entertains the audience
The Phillies loose the game
KPMG is a sponsor
Great mood in the stadium
5 Fourth day of visit

This day is for active relaxation. We go to the Delaware river for a rafting tour. The river is calm and the water temperature is about 70 F. We have six hours and we have a picknick with us.

Waiting for the start
Life vests on, raft ready
We conquer an island
Swimming in the river
Dreaming
Discovering the banks of the river
Idyll with father and son
Still live on the river
Little boy in big car
Find here a map with the locations visited

Map 2007_05_nj