October 23. Washington D.C. to New York City. Starting Mileage 30,757.

We woke up to a dense D.C. fog. After a light breakfast, we loaded the car, and hit the road for New York City. We had the handy-dandy road atlas, but stillgot tangled in the rainy, foggy morning traffic out of D.C. Even a pull-over for a longer look at the map didn’t help us. Unless you know where you are, it’s difficult to get where you want to go.

Mama’s car was equipped with OnStar and she buzzed them for help. But even they had trouble locating us. While on hold, I opened my iPhone maps and immediately saw where we were, and the road we needed to be on. Duh! The phone! Why hadn’t we been using this all along?! I typed in the address of our next destination, saw the options for directions, chose one, and hit go. And calm, cool, collected Ms. Siri joined us as navigator. Siri did not disappoint–her directions were accurate, and included ample warning for upcoming exits, and even which lanes to use. We learned over the next few days that she was also psychic–knowing where there were hazards, accidents, and traffic and offering us go-around options on the fly. Lesson #5 of this trip: Trust Siri.

It was a day of tunnels, bridges, turnpikes, tolls, and checking off new states. We drove through Maryland eating clementines, and passed under Chesapeake Bay in a long tunnel. After a few short pit-stops / photo-opps in Maryland and Delaware, we entered Pennsylvania and the outskirts of Philadelphia.

A Philly Cheese Steak in South Philly

Several places fell so close to our route that it would be stupid not to go. The first one was the home of the Philly Cheese Steak in Philadelphia.

Mama Lucy loves getting a Philly Cheese Steak at the mall. So, why not stop and get a genuine cheese steak in Philly? We’d read that the inventor of the “cheesesteak”, Pat’s King of Steaks, and their chief competitor, Geno’s Steaks, were close together in a working-class South Philly neighborhood. Thanks to Siri, we drove through Passyunk, where the boxy, row house doors came out onto the sidewalks without stairs or porch accessories, and straight to the scissor-X corner of Pat’s and Geno’s. It was a busy corner. Both places are open 24/7, famous, and popular. We found street parking, the overhead menu, and two windows to order in a time-honored Philly ritual.

At the first window, a tall man leaned down to talk to us. An army of young men were behind him in a cloud of steam, churning out meat sandwiches and fries–the only things on the menu.

“Wit or wit-out?” he asked (for onions).
“Whiz?” (for the cheese choice).
“Just one?” he asked.
“Yes, but two fries and two cokes please.”
“Second window,” he nodded to his right, “$11. Cash only.”

Stepping over three feet to the second window, we ordered two fries and two cokes.”$12, cash.” Done. We waited only a moment and took our tray to the end of an enamel-red picnic table. Mama Lucy said it was the best Philly Cheese Steak ever.

 

The Atlantic Ocean and the Atlantic City Boardwalk

We took a hard right in Philadelphia, heading out I-76 to the Atlantic City Expressway, and southeast to the Atlantic Ocean. In just a couple of hours, we were standing in front of the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean called to come closer. We walked off the Boardwalk, out across the dry sand, to the wet sand, to where the birds were sifting around in the surf. And there she was, the great Atlantic Ocean on a windy, cloudy day, roaring and splashing and gray.

When we returned to the Boardwalk, the wind eased up. Miles of the wooden boards stretched ahead of us. I had imagined the Boardwalk as it must have looked in its heyday, with a Zoltar to tell me “your wish is granted.” Instead, like so many places around the world, the old is not treasured, taken care of, or protected. Progress plunders on. Development happens. Casinos and modern strip malls replaced many of the beautiful old buildings. These days, rows of cheap souvenir shops and lackluster ice cream parlors line up on the Boardwalk, facing off against the ocean and the beach for tourists’ attention.

 

Into New York City

Our agreement for this road trip was that Mama Lucy put in her car, I paid for the hotels, and we split gas and food. I wanted to take care of her car–who, along with Siri, was becoming a major character in our story. I’d searched and searched for the unicorn hotel–a clean, safe place in the budgeted price range, with parking, and close enough to public transportation for a 79-year-old to walk. This is no easy set of criteria. I struck gold in New York with the Best Western Long Island City in Queens. I’d called to confirm there was parking and the hotel clerk had advised me to call on the morning we’d be arriving and they would make sure one of the eight spaces was saved for us. They were true to their word, and after a long day of driving, some shocking toll tallies, and a tense twilight drive on busy, narrow lanes into New York City, we pulled into the hotel’s last skinny parking spot. I think I heard the car and Siri exhale their relief.

 

October 23-25. New York City.

First, we took the F train from 21st Street Queens Bridge station to W. 4th at Washington Square where we switched to the E train and to the last stop near the World Trade Center.

The 9/11 Memorial

The morning was brisk, but sunny. We walked around the footprints of the twin towers, now a memorial of waterfalls into waterfalls into a black abyss. Wind sprayed water. White roses graced the engraved names of those victims who would have celebrated a birthday today. We touched the cold marble of the 9/11 memorial, tracing a few names with our fingers. Sixteen years before, this space had been under a heap of debris and disbelief. Today, it was quiet, powerful and peaceful.

 

Times Square in the Rain

Later in the morning, it began to rain. We stumbled into a cozy little Italian Place for a comfort food lunch before catching a train uptown. The rain may have dampened the day, but it made the lights of Times Square glow. Leave it to Mama Lucy to find an empty folding chair under a construction awning in Times Square during the hardest rain. Huddled there with other tourists and locals, we once again enjoyed an unexpected break–this time under the bright lights, with the big city views.

 

Click to read more about our decision to make this trip, the first stop, and the second leg of our road trip.

Maps and Legends

Finally, some maps of our route from Washington D.C. through Maryland and Delaware to Philadelphia PA, Atlantic City NJ, and into New York City.