The first time I came to New York City was with my Mom when I was in my early teens. I’ve been back countless times.  I Love New York!

My most memorable experience was in May of 2003.  My brother, Dave, and I did the 26th Annual, Bike New York Five Boro Tour (every year, third Sunday of May).  This is a 42 mile bicycle ride through the cities five boroughs.  The streets are closed to traffic and it’s a bicyclists paradise.  We started out in front of Ground Zero and finished at Battery Park. The biggest challenge was biking the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.   What a ride!

My brother, Dave is the reason I love coming to New York so much.  He is the best New York trip planner, tour guide and companion ever!

This trip formulated when the Divine Miss M (Bette Midler) announced her Divine Intervention Tour.  All I had to do was say “Yes” when Dave asked if I wanted to go.  Ticket purchasing, hotel reservations, research and the hardest part of all,  planning the navigating were all up to him. Our concert plans evolved into a two night “Barb and Dave Getaway”.

Dave drove us to the Stamford, CT Train Station where a new overnight parking garage, Harbor Point Gateway Garage, recently opened ($10 per 24 hours).  We caught the Metro North Express Train (50 minutes) to Grand Central Station ($22 round trip).

He had booked us a room at The Wolcott Hotel ($200 a night).  The Wolcott opened in 1904.  It is very old, but well maintained.  The architecture, design and decorating is very ornate and quite interesting.  The lobby is awesome!  Best of all is the location.  It is on W 31st Street, midway between 5th Ave and Broadway, just a few blocks from Madison Square Garden.  Our room was tiny, with two twin beds that were more the size of large cots.  They were comfortable enough and the room was neat and clean.  The Hotel serves coffee, tea and muffins every morning. The muffins are fresh bakery, not frozen minis, delicious!

Dinner the first night was at The Pita Grill (291 7th Ave).  We both had Falafel Pitas and Sweet Potato Fries ($10.07).  Dave is a Vegan and I am Vegetarian.

The concert was FABULOUS!  Or I guess I should say “SIMPLY DIVINE!  Bette Midler is the epitome of a great performer.  At 69 years old she ROCKED the Garden and received three standing ovations!  Her voice, although a few octaves lower,  was superb.  She was on stage for over two hours and her stamina never waned.  She made us laugh with her jokes,  sang songs that brought smiles to our faces and sometimes tears to our eyes.  The concert was a past to the present, 40 years of the Best of Bette!

The next day, we were at the Brooks Atkinson Theater box office when it opened at 10:00 a.m..  We wanted to see the play  “It Shoulda Been You”.   There are many places to buy discounted tickets,  but Dave has found that going to the box office you can often do better. We got lucky!  There were day of the show “Rush” tickets available.  Ticket prices for this show range from $57 – $142.  We got first mezzanine box seat tickets for $35.  Have you ever been at a theater and seen these cute little balconies on either side of the stage and wondered “Are those seats only for special people?”.  Yes, they are! Those are the seats that Dave and I were in 🙂  The show, a musical romantic comedy,  was FANTASTIC!   Tyne Daly (Cagney from the TV show Cagney and Lacey) was one of the stars.  She was great!  The storyline was totally unpredictable.  Dave and I were both very pleasantly surprised!  We are having a ball!

Our days were filled walking around Manhattan.  The High Line, an elevated rail yard park, that runs from 11th Ave to W 34th, has beautiful gardens and gorgeous sky line views.  This was my first time walking on the High Line and I was very impressed.  From there we headed toward the water to The Hudson River Walkway and down to Battery Park.  We had great views of The Freedom Building the 9/11 Tribute and Lady Liberty.  We headed back to the hotel through Greenwich Village and stopped for a late lunch/early dinner at one of Dave’s favorite restaurants, Red Bamboo (140 W 4th Street).  It’s menu is vegan/vegetarian soul food.  Entrees range from $10 – $16.  Our meals were excellent (two for $27).

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Our original plan was to store the RV in Kingsport, TN, just outside of Bristol, for a few weeks and take the car home. Mid July we’re headed further west and will be taking the same route. We’ve never used storage before, but why put the miles on the RV and pay for all the gas driving back and forth. David found a place under cover and electricity for $100 a month.
The accident put a little twist in our plan. David found a repair shop, 100 miles further west, in Knoxville, TN, that will do the repairs and then store the RV until we get back. This adds several hours to our trip home. We’re in a bit of a hurry to get home, but you have to do what you have to do.
So, it’s 850 miles 14-15 hours home. Some of you may be thinking, YUCK! That’s a lot of driving. David likes to drive, which is important. I love “scenery watching” and I’m like a kid, I pack a box of “things to do” and when I’m not “scenery watching” I have no problem keeping busy. David and I also talk about EVERYTHING!
For those of you just starting to read this blog, I’ll tell a Readers Digest version of how David and I met. One day I walked into the back entrance of a restaurant and David walked into the front entrance. I thought I recognized him and waved, he waved back. After a minute of weirdness when we realized that we didn’t know each other, we started talking. That was ten years ago and we still haven’t run out of things to talk about 🙂 So we are good Roadies.
Next Stop … New York City, not by RV, by train! Not with David, but with my brother. This one will be different!

June 19 – 21, 2015.   Thunder Valley is our favorite track.   We camp at Earhardt East Campground adjacent to Bristol Motor Speedway.   Our view is of the Nascar Track.  It’s a short walk through the campground and parking lot to the drag strip.

This is out first year having E T with us.   She’s going to spend a lot of time alone in the RV, so I went on line and found a great park to walk her, Steele Creek Park,   not 10 minutes from the track. Gotta love the internet 🙂

Friday night qualifying doesn’t start until 4:30 p.m., so we get second round under the lights.  Thunder Valley sights, sounds and smells are intensifying.  This is the only venue where you can get seats as close as 75 feet from the starting line.   From the burnout to launch of the 10,000 horsepower nitro dragsters and funny cars  you are on the edge of your seat.    The strip is built in between two mountains, hence Thunder Valley.   The Grand Stands are built into the side of one mountain.  This venue brings new meaning to the saying Shake, Rattle and Roll!

Saturday we had rain showers on and off throughout the day.  You might think this would ruin the day.  No way!  It made it better, we got to enjoy two night sessions of racing instead of one.

Sunday mornings most tracks have a track walk where fans can actually walk the 1/4 mile track with many of their favorite drivers.  The National Hot Rod Associations boasts that your ticket is a pit pass.  This is one of the reasons that David and I enjoy going to NHRA events so much.  You can talk to the drivers, get autographs and photos, watch the crews work on the  cars in the pits and so much more.

This was a great weekend of racing.  One of my favorite drivers, Richie Crampton won, driving the Lucas Oil Top Fuel Dragster.  He ran 1,000 ft in 3.88 seconds at 321 MPH.   Matt Hagan won driving the Rocky Boots Funny Car,  running 1,000 ft in 4.16 seconds at 303 MPH.  Erica Enders-Stevens won for Elite Motorsports in Pro Stock running the 1/4 mile in 6.68 seconds at 206 MPH.

David has been a Gear Head since he was in his teens.  Ten years ago, he took me to my first event in Englishtown, N.J. and I’ve been hooked ever since.  We spent our honeymoon in Indianapolis, Indiana at  “The Big Go” the  premier drag race of the year and have attended at least 4 events and at least one new venue a year ever since.

Next Stop Knoxville, Tennessee to get our RV repaired from the Tappan Zee Bridge accident.

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June 17 – 19, 2015.    This is our fourth time here and we will come back as many times as we can.    “The Virginia Creeper Trail traverses through some of the most rugged and picturesque scenery in the Eastern United States and is widely lauded as one of the most beautiful trails on the continent.”  Comment from brochure …  We agree 100%  🙂

The Trail is  34.3 miles and started as a Native American footpath.  It runs from Abingdon, VA to the Virgina/North Carolina border.  The town of Abingdon was originally named Wolf Hills by Daniel Boone when he came through and saw a pack of wolves.

We stay in Damascus, Virginia “Heart of the Virginia Creeper Trail”,  at the Creek Side RV Park.

Damascus Population: 815

Traffic Lights :0

The Creek Side RV Park has a whopping 6 sites.  It’s a real small town friendly park.   The owner Russ is very nice.   It’s well kept and all 6 sites back up to a very pretty creek.  Negatives are check out is 10:00 A.M., but you can negotiate a later check out with Russ, depending on how much electricity you ‘ll be using.  We paid an additional $10 (over the $30 per night) to check out late and leave the air conditioning on for E T 🙂

Dinner is always at the Damascus Old Mill Restaurant, Inn and Pub a short walk from the RV Park.  Excellent food, fair prices and fabulous atmosphere.  There’s seating out on the deck or in the dining room with views of the Mock’s Mill Falls.  Check out the TAXES on the photo of our check …  Virginia has a State Tax, Sales Tax, County Tax, Town Tax and worst of all Beer and Wine Tax.  I could NEVER live here!

In the morning, we walk across the street with our bikes to The Bike Station and are shuttled to White Top Station,  1.1  miles from the N.C. / VA border in the Jefferson National Forest. Don our driver is a very cool guy!

From there we ride the gradual  downhill trail for 18.3 miles back to downtown Damascus.  This is a spectacular ride that ANYONE in half way decent shape can ride.   The first 12.3 miles is easy.  The next 6 miles into downtown Damascus  is fairly level, with never more than a 1 or 2% grade.   Our 7 year old grandson, Zach, could ride this trail and thoroughly enjoy every minute.   The scenery is SPECTACULAR!  The 15.6 miles into Abingdon is quite a bit rougher with lots of open areas and bright sunshine.  If your like me and like to complete a trail,  it’s an accomplishment.  Do I ever have the need to do it again?  The answer is NO!  I’m good with the 18.3 miles from White Top Station to Damascus 🙂

This is the best of the best when it comes to bike trails.

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Next stop,  Thunder Valley at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol Tennessee!  NHRA Drag Racing at it’s best.

June 14 – 16, 2015.   This is a wonderful place if you like rustic camping, beautiful scenery and hiking. I would return in a heartbeat, David would NOT.
Not because he didn’t like it, but once was enough. He said the same thing about Hot Springs, Arkansas. These are the only two places in all of our travels to date that he’s said that he wouldn’t care to go back. My one and only place to never return, New Orleans. We just hiked miles of mountains and forests with bear, bobcat and snakes. I was not afraid. In New Orleans I was afraid of getting, robbed, stabbed or puked on. Different strokes for different folks!
Four days into our travels, David has already called me a pain in his “butt”. Can you believe it? All I did was say, “How about driving another 15 miles north, for the second time, to hike ANOTHER trail to ANOTHER waterfall. He was flabbergasted that I did not realize that HE was NOT enjoying driving me (and E T) up, up, up and down, down, down and all around these fabulous mountain twists and curves while dodging black bears, deer and worse yet, bicyclists. It’s unbelievable how many people are crazy enough to bicycle on these narrow, winding, mountainous roads. These roads have, NO shoulders and are highly traveled by all kinds of vehicles.
Well, I have been enjoying the scenery and I kind of thought David liked pulling in and out of all of the 30 or so Overlooks along our way, so I could take photos, but I’ve been wrong before 🙂 So I guess I am a pain in his butt. Better than a thorn in his side, right???
Hmmmmm, I might have to change the name of this “tour” from the Rock and Roll Tour to the Power of Love Tour!
Speaking of Rocks. We hiked the Windham Rock trail. These formations are the oldest in the park. I’ll post photos, but they do not do justice. The formations are sparkle-tacular!, This was one of the trails that we hiked that branched from a section of the Appalachian Trail. There was another that led to columnar jointing rock formations. This trail would be on my list if I came back. We just ran out of time and energy. Most of the trails here are miles long and have steep grades and rocky terrain.
E T bailed on the last hike. We had time for just one more hike … There is a trail called Traces that circles the campground. No driving just walk a few hundred yards from the RV to the trail head. We walked about 100 yards from the RV and E T laid down in the middle of the path. She was not going any further unless it was in the direction back to the RV. She’d had enough hiking! So we put her back in the RV and went without her. She is very spoiled and very smart, says my aching back, knees and feet 🙂
We’re on the road again, headed for one of our favorite small towns, Damascus, Virginia, home of the Virginia Creeper trail, one of our favorite bike trails.

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A few years back when I was doing a lot of hiking with the Appalachian Mountain Club I thought, how much fun it would be to hike the entire trail. Now I am thrilled to still be hiking portions.
My concern about not having enough trails that we could hike with E T was for naught. There are too many. She is in her glory.
To see the spectacular views you have to hike the trails.  Waterfalls, cascades, rock formations … The list goes on. We are having a wonderful time.
When we get back to civilization I have some great photos to post. Right now I am sitting on a stone wall at the Hogback Mountain Overlook typing.   At the campground we have zero for internet, wifi, hot spot … David’s IPhone works periodically.  I shut off my  3G phone to save the battery.
This is funny … A Red Top taxi cab just pulled into the overlook. I guess there’s a lot to the old saying Where There’s A Will There’s A Way!

June  15, 2015 Nice …. I may be getting spoiled by all of our travels, but I’m going to call this a very nice, pretty drive, park and campground. Today we drove from Thornton Gap to Dickey Ridge. Tomorrow we’ll go from Mathews Arm Campground to the Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center in our car. This will cover about 1/2 of Skyline Drive. I’ve already told David that I would like to drive the entire 105 miles from Front Royal to Rock Fish Gap, in a CAR. This is a rough go in an RV.  Not because of the roads, but the elevations.  The roads so far have been excellent. After driving the switchbacks of the Great Smokies these roads are a piece of cake. Once again, kudos to the National Park Service.
We are in BEAR country. We’ve already seen the biggest black bear that either of us has ever seen. David has hunted bear in Alaska and this one WOW-ed him. Sorry, no photo 🙂 It happened so quick that we both just gaped in amazement. He crossed the road in front of us in a matter of seconds.
The campground is pet friendly, but E T is not allowed on many of the trails we hope to hike. Since our rattlesnake encounter we’ve decided to stick with more popular and populated trails. She is having an awesome time driving with her nose out the window and seeing the views from the overlooks on Skyline Drive.
There are 75 overlooks along the drive. The views are gorgeous, but when you add a little history it makes them sparkle. Signal Knob is a location the Confederates used, during the Civil War, to send messages.  Pretty cool, when you think about the time and logistics. I can’t imagine what it would be like to climb these mountains on foot or horseback. We’re talking STEEP here!
There are four campgrounds in the park. Amenities are VERY limited. Mathews Arm, where we are camped boasts FLUSH TOILETS. The majority of campers here are serious tenters and backpackers. We’ll see what tomorrow brings but right now my impression is there’s a fine line of things to do here between the driving tour and backcountry hiking. David made me laugh today when he asked if I wanted him to take my bike off the RV. My answer was only if he wants to pick me up at the bottom of the mountain.

June 13, 2015.  We’ve had a couple of months to recoup and regroup and are on the road again.

We have fabulous travels planned for the next 11 months.  Yes, we already have reservations into May 2016.  We’ll be going back to some of our past favorites and have added a lot of  new places to explore.  I’m thinking of calling this “Our ROCK and Roll Tour. We’ve already learned that we are going to have to roll with the punches.  Or maybe I should say roll with the bumps along the road.

First stop … Tappan Zee Bridge … No Kidding!  We start this trip with a BANG!  Have you ever crossed a REALLY BIG BRIDGE and wondered what would happen if you had an accident?  Now you can ask me, I’m experienced.

There are three lanes going over the Tappan Zee.  We are in the middle lane,  there is a convoy of very cool Army vehicles in the right lane and there are the zippidy do da cars in the left lane.  Oh!  We don’t get hit by a zippidy do da car, we get hit by a U.S. Army Trac Truck (check out the photo, it’s a mini tank).   I saw it coming over into our lane and started yelling.  David hit the brakes and it hit the front passenger side, my side 🙁

The Army driver kept right on going.  He probably didn’t even feel the hit.   For that matter,  our RV hardly moved.   I call 911 and are told to pull off after the bridge.  We pull up along side the Army vehicle and I yell out the window,  “Excuse Me,  you just hit us,  can you pull over with us after the bridge?”

The Army personnel were very nice.  A  Major even stopped.   The damage wasn’t as horrible as we had expected.  The side view mirror is smashed to smithereens and there are a few scrapes,  but nothing devastating.  The important thing is nobody was hurt.

Here’s where Law Enforcement gets a bad name.  The New York State Trooper that showed up was a JERK.  He starts insinuating that there was no accident, like David was just driving down the highway looking for someone to blame the damage on.  It was totally ludicrous.  I had never gotten out of the RV.  I was inside comforting poor E T.  She was traumatized by being woken from her nap by  all the excitement.  The Trooper never even asked my name, let alone if anyone in he RV was hurt.

All the Army personnel  were nice,  David was nice,  the Trooper was NOT.  David pointed out the paint transfer on the Army vehicle,  point proven.  The Trooper filled out a half ass summary and we were on our way.  That’s all we wanted,  proof for our insurance company that we had an accident.  There was no reason for the bad attitude of the Trooper.

We continued on our way, but stopped early in Carlisle, PA, so that David could try to do something with the mirror.  If he can get the side view camera working that will get us to our first destination, Shenandoah Valley National Park.

The next few months are going to Rock!  Starting with a couple of cool formations here in Pennsylvania.