Liberty Tour, Day 2: Anticipation

  Anticipation. The waiting. When you can not believe you will ever see such a thing in your own lifetime. That is how I have felt about New York City and Boston. This trip was taking me to places I have wanted to visit and never thought I would. And the waiting-as they say-was the hardest part.

 The long, full day's drive from Tennessee to Pennsylvania took all of day 1. Day 2 would start with a nearly three hour drive across most of the Keystone State. In the fog. It made the time seem indefinite. We started early, and though it seemed the sun was already up, there was no way to tell where it was or how high it was. 

  I live for seeing new places. In fact, I would probably be most happy if I spent every waking morning in a new town, seeing new things. My hunger for learning is insatiable. Every little thing, of even the slightest interest, along the road gets my attention. To some I may not be a good road companion. I'm not one for small talk, my full attention is paid to every sign, every building, every exit. Taking mental notes, taking photos. Even if the photos don't turn out very good-at least I can be reminded to go home and learn more about that place that caught my eye.

  Roadside America, now this is a place that I would love to come back to! The website itself lends a mighty hand in finding those out-of-the-way and not-well-known places that I love to visit. Kitsch is cool, everyone wants photos of the Corn Palace or World's Largest Ball of Twine! 

 Then we spotted the first sign for New York City. Maybe the reality of it all started to set in, maybe not. I did get goosebumps. For those who live in the area, I'm sure signs like this are no big deal. It was a big deal for us. Two hours to go, depending on traffic of course. And boy did we expect some traffic. It's a Thursday in May, at about seven or eight in the morning, the biggest city in the United States-why wouldn't there be traffic? 

  New Jersey, we are almost there. See the traffic? We slowed near on-ramps, when cars were merging, and that's about it. Then I spotted these overgrown overpasses. What on earth could they be? Take photos, check later. Turns out to be wildlife overpasses for the Watchung Reservation, built when the interstate was constructed right through the park in the 1980s. Very thoughtful!

  Getting closer. It was really a maze of interstates. Signs were confusing for us noobs. I mean, we did finally end up at Liberty Park, but thinking back, I'm not really sure how! It was sensory overload, between trying to help navigate and seeing new things everywhere.  Going up and over the Newark Bridge and letting out a yell when spotting Lady Liberty for the first time. There was lots of yelling-good yelling-in the car. The low clouds also added to the "is that Manhattan?!?" "Yes I think so!!"

What an experience. 

Coming tomorrow I will get to the meat and potatoes of the trip. Anticipation...