WATCH THE [AERIAL] TRAM CAR PLEASE...

I have always said that I have the best customers, but I here’s photographic proof that I also have the best DRESSED customers!  Took another group to see Wicked in NYC yesterday and—no surprise—everyone had a great time.  Having seen the show a few times already, Paul and I headed off to explore Roosevelt Island.

Took the subway to the tram station for the three-minute aerial ride (I learned  last year that it’s super easy to navigate the subways using the MTA trip planner).  Unfortunately, it had rained a bit and the skies were gray and gloomy, so the video that I took was pretty poor.   

Just missed seeing a tram rescue drill which included hoisting a poor German shepherd up into the tram and back down again.  Hopefully he got plenty of dog treats after that experience.

Your first stop at Roosevelt Island should be the Visitors’ Center kiosk which is not far from where the tram lets you off.  The Visitor Guide & Map is very helpful (they ask for a reasonable $1 donation) and there are some swell souvenir items for sale (bring cash—they don’t take plastic). 

Our main purpose for visiting the island was to go to Four Freedoms Park which was open to the public for the first time on that day.  Sadly, there weren’t many other visitors at this beautiful site.   Not sure if that was because of the weather or the fact that it was a Wednesday. 

After visiting the park, we walked around the island, mostly via the river promenade.  

There are several interesting landmark buildings, including the Smallpox Hospital, Strecker Laboratory, and the Blackwell House.

Stopped for drinks and munchies at the Riverwalk Bar & Grill on Main Street.  Great place to relax and a nice variety of items on the menu.  

Chatted with the owner for a few minutes and learned that Cornell University will be opening a tech campus in the next few years...much to the dismay of some of the older island residents.  

While everything that I've read indicates that the university is doing its best to ensure that they are viewed as a welcome addition, I’m glad that I had the opportunity to visit the island before this major change took place.  Will have to visit again in a few years to see how things are going.

Trellis Restaurant is a small older establishment and appears to be the place where the locals go to dine on huge plates of comfort food served up by very friendly staff.  Grandpa Munster (Al Lewis) lived on Roosevelt Island before his death and I’ll bet he had a few meals there.

Best bargain around is the Red Bus Service.  It’s 25 cents per ride or 10 cents for seniors and free for students 18 and under.  But you do need to have your quarter (or dime) because they don’t make change.

There’s really not much else to do on the island, but if you're looking for something different to do for a few hours or you want to get away from the tourists in Manhattan for a while, it’s an excellent choice for an inexpensive side trip.

Manhattan? FUHGETTABOUDIT!

After spending the past six years taking tours in mid-town Manhattan, with an occasional side trip to lower Manhattan, I decided I needed to branch out.  I first learned about the Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tours, owned and operated by Tony Muia, in a travel magazine.  After doing some research, I decided it was time for Davis Day Trips to visit the place that all Brooklynites know is the “real” New York City.

Our tour started with guide Paula Berkenstadt bounding onto the bus, enthusiastically proclaiming that she was “stupid happy” to be with us.  I knew right then that she was going to show us a good time.  And she did.  In spades!  It takes a special type of person to command the attention of four dozen people (who had already ridden 2+ long hours on a bus, without a rest stop), making sure that her spiel and video clips matched up exactly to our specific locations, while simultaneously directing our driver (the extraordinary Don Sapp from Delaware Express who did an amazing job maneuvering some VERY tricky, tight twists and turns).

My only prior experience with Brooklyn had been walking over the bridge (you MUST do this at least once in your life), having an awesome spinach omelet at Celeste Diner, and then turning right around and walking back to Manhattan, simply because I didn’t know any better.  Boy, did I miss a lot!

Along the way to our first stop, Brooklyn Bridge Park (which has amazing views of the bridge), we learned how the area known as DUMBO got its name.  I’m not going to tell you what DUMBO stands for or give you the answer to how it got its name because you should take the tour yourself to find out. (And don’t cheat by searching the Internet.)   

The first pizza stop was Grimaldi’s, the last remaining coal-fired pizza joint in New York.  I love a good thin-crust basic cheese pizza and Grimaldi’s, with the addition of fresh basil on top, didn’t disappoint.  There are always long lines waiting to get in, but since we were with A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tours, we strolled right past the line and were immediately seated (another big plus to taking their tour!)   As much as I enjoyed Grimaldi’s (even with the super-tight seating arrangements), I’m still a huge fan of Gus’s Pizzeria in Pennsville which makes the absolute, hands-down best thin crust white pizza with spinach in all the world.  (Just had to throw that shout out to you Gus.)

Back on the bus, we drove past quite a few locations where famous movies scenes were filmed, including John Travolta’s Saturday Night Fever strut down 86^th Street in Bensonhurst and the house where Joe Pesci drives into the garage right before he gets “whacked.”   Plenty of other interesting movie locations, but like I said, you should take the tour and find out for yourself.

Enjoyed the drive through Bay Ridge (think ultra-rich neighborhood) where, according to Paula, a lot of the residents make their living as car dealership owners.  I have to wonder who in the heck buys all the cars though since I thought that very few New Yorkers actually drove.  Should have asked that question while I was on the tour…

Our second pizza stop was L&B Spumoni Gardens for Sicilian-style pie.  I’m generally not a fan of thick crust, but Paula was absolutely right when she told us that even though the crust looks thick, it's actually very light…and VERY good! 

I felt that I had to try the spumoni while I was there and, once again, my South Jersey roots are coming out when I say that I prefer the custard from Hudock’s in Salem or the Pennsville Custard Stand.  But others on the tour loved their spumoni, so I say try it yourself to decide.

The final stop on the tour was Coney Island which is home to Nathan’s (and their famous hot dog eating contest), the historic Cyclone roller coaster, and so much more.  When I do this tour again, I definitely want to let folks spend a little more time on the boardwalk.  I did a Davis Day Trip to Coney Island several years ago (LOVED the Freak Show!!) and I think that a stop there deserves more time.  Granted, we have our fair share of beaches and boardwalks in Jersey, but there’s just something about Coney Island…

  

I was definitely impressed with A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tours and am hoping to be able to include their Christmas Lights and Cannoli Tour on next year’s trip schedule--if I can find a time slot before I leave for Hawaii.  (And no, Hawaii is NOT a Davis Day Trips—it’s just Paul and me on that one!)  Kudos to both Tony and Paula--thanks so much for showing us the REAL New York City!

Small group on the bus, but BIG fun at the festival!

We had plenty of open seats on the bus for the Havre de Grace Seafood Festival as a result of lots of last-minute cancellations, but it turned out to be a great trip.  The forecast had indicated scattered showers and even a possible afternoon thunderstorm and I’m happy to say that, once again, the weather folks were wrong.  (Although about five minutes after I got home, the skies in Pennsville broke lose—almost as if Mother Nature was letting me know that she had held off for me as long as she could all day and then finally just let loose!)    

Lots of interesting vendors at the festival.  Among my favorites were Gourmet Creations (no website, but you can contact them at 610-745-4269 to get a list of their products), Pretzelphoria (which by happy coincidence go very nicely with the dips sold by Gourmet Creations), Quillows by Fran, Sculptor Teresa Yost who sells very whimsical turtle and frog pieces, and unique baskets by The Wise Woman Weaves.  

There was also a very nice young man from Pittsburgh selling fabulous fudge, but he has no website yet and sells mainly at festivals right now.  I told him to call Paul to discuss website design—I’m hoping we can work out a deal where Paul creates his website and I get free fudge for life!  By the way, did you know that fudge doesn’t actually melt and that you should NOT put it in the refrigerator?  I learn something new every day…

I enjoyed walking the wooden promenade along the waterfront even though it was hot, hot, HOT (the trade off for no rain I think).   Took a quick walk through the Maritime Museum, thinking that it would be nice and cool inside.  It wasn’t. 

I had planned to walk around downtown Havre de Grace, but it was a much longer walk than I had anticipated and, to be honest, on the drive through town to Tydings Park (the festival site), I didn’t see anything that I felt was worth the long walk in the heat.   I’m sure there are some wonderful shops and restaurants there and one of these days I’ll visit specifically to check out downtown since it’s very easy to get there from Pennsville in just under an hour.

I found that the best place to be all day was the “entertainment tent” which was nice and cool...and conveniently located directly by the beer truck.  Whisky Train was fantastic and while straight-up country music is not my cup of tea I will admit that I enjoyed Runaway Train a lot.

Plenty of food available and plenty of places to sit and enjoy it.  I tried the “award-winning” crab cakes, but they didn't even come close to the orange-sized lumps of deliciousness at DiPaolo’s and “Bomba’s World Famous” at Salem City Café.  Salem County knows how to do crab cakes and could teach Maryland a thing or two!

On the topic of food, our next trip is a dual-event:  The annual Whoopie Pie Festival in Lancaster, PA, and discount shopping at Rockvale Outlets—do either or both events for the same price!  Check out the website for details and then book your seat before we sell out!

FRIDAY THE 13TH WAS GOOD LUCK FOR THE YANKEES!

I’m not a huge sports fan and, being married to a Pittsburgher, if I have any allegiance at all, it’s to teams that wear black and gold.  I did, however, almost feel like a real Yankees fan Friday night.  It’s easy to get caught up in the spirit of things when you’re there at the stadium and I ended up cheering as enthusiastically as everyone else watching the Yankees beat the Angels 6-5. 

Luckily, the weather cooperated too.  Temps cooled down to very comfortable low 70s and our seats were under cover, so the little bit of rain that fell for a few minutes didn’t do anything to “dampen” our spirits. 

Prior to the game, Paul an I went to Yankee Tavern.  I can sum it up in one word:  LOUD!  Couldn’t wait to get out of there.   Guess that means I’m really getting old when I can’t stand the noise level in a bar...

No matter how many times I see “Yankees Welcome Davis Day Trips” on the marquee, it still gives me a thrill!  Unfortunately, it’s extremely difficult to get a good pic of it, so you’ll have to take my word that that’s what it says in this photo.

Stopped in the Yankee Museum at the stadium.  Again, not being a real sports fan, I couldn’t fully appreciate it, but the “Wall of Balls” was kind of impressive.

Another highlight of the game:  Nathan’s French fries smothered in cheese sauce washed down with an ice cold beer.  Doesn’t get much better than that!

Our next trip is to the Seafood Festival in Havre de Grace, Maryland, on August 11.  This will be our first trip there, but I’ve heard lots of great feedback from those who have gone before.  Should be a fun and relaxing summer day, so join us if you can!

It was HOT on our Pentagon trip! Really,REALLY HOT!

It's always a little nerve-wracking doing a trip to a new place, especially a venue like the Pentagon where there are strict security policies. But I was very fortunate that all of 52 of my passengers were incredibly patient and extremely prompt (and I had Paul along to help). Thank you, thank you everyone!

We made excellent time getting to the Pentagon. But that meant we had about a half-hour to kill before we were allowed to enter the security check-in building. I also learned--much to my dismay--that our bus was not allowed to drop off anywhere near the check-in building. We had to park about a quarter mile away. The Pentagon tour itself involves about a mile of walking, so adding another quarter mile may not seem like a big deal, but it was beyond hot on Friday and I had hoped to minimize time spent outdoors.

So it was a toss up whether to wait on the bus or hoof it over to the 9/11 Memorial which was about a half mile from the bus. Decided to take the trek to the memorial and had just enough time to snap a couple of pictures before it was time to head over to the check-in building.

I will say that the security process went much smoother than I had expected and we were allowed to enter the very well air-conditioned visitors' area to sit and relax before our tour started.

This is where I would normally tell you the details about our tour, but since I'm planning to do the trip again next year, you'll need to sign up for that trip and find out for yourself! What I will tell you is that the tour is informative, interesting, and there's nothing like watching your military guide in ceremonial dress uniform walk completely backwards for an hour (including on escalators) while conducting the tour.

We stopped at Pentagon Row for a lunch break. Again, this was my first visit, so I wasn't sure exactly what the layout was. Happily, the restaurants were situated together in one area, which made it easy for each person to find a place to suit his/her taste. I had a great salmon BLT (without the B) at Sine Irish Pub & Restaurant. Next trip I think I'll check out Champps.

Because of the weather, I cut our time at Arlington National Cemetery by a half hour. It was probably too short for some and too long for others, but it's one of those things where you have to try to find a happy medium. 

Paul and I walked over to the United States Marine Corps Memorial (a/k/a Iwo Jima memorial) because he had never seen it. As we were walking back, we came across a funeral procession where the casket was being transported via horse-drawn caisson. Very dignified and impressive.

I had wanted to see the Changing of the Guard again, but I couldn't deal with the blazing heat. I cannot even imagine how the guards are able to withstand the extreme temperatures in full dress uniform.

There was a threat of thunderstorms for the afternoon and they held off until right after our final rest stop of the day. Then the torrential downpour began. Kudos to our Delaware Express driver, Don Sapp, for his excellent driving skills! The sky cleared up as we drove over the Delaware Memorial Bridge, but just as we were about to hit the parking lot, the rain came again...in bucketfuls. Not the best way to end the day, but at least it was the END of the day!

Big (Tall) Ships, Big Crowds, Big Fun!

We were overdue for a trip to Baltimore's Inner Harbor and decided to go during the week-long Star-Spangled Sailabration event which is the national launch of the War of 1812 Bicentennial.  Couldn't have asked for better weather.  The day started out on the cloudy side, but ended up being mostly sunny in the low 80's with a light breeze that seemed to always kick up at just the right time.


The crowds were out in full force, but surprisingly everyone brought along their best manners.  There was no pushing or shoving and almost without exception everyone said "Excuse me" whenever they crossed the path of someone else.  It was so refreshing to be around that many polite people--even the "stroller people" (and most of you already know how I feel about them) were on their best behavior, keeping a safe distance from the heels and ankles of those in front of them. 


The lines for the tall ship tours and the water taxi were looong, but folks were chatty and friendly which made the waiting more tolerable.  And it was perfect for people-watching which is one of my favorite things to do.  I wasn't quick enough with my camera to catch the very large gentleman wearing the white rip-fringed tee shirt and rip-fringed denim shorts, but trust me, it was a fashion statement you don't see every day. 


I was lucky enough to be in line for the water taxi at Inner Harbor just when a military band started playing in the plaza and they were wonderful.  The water taxi is a great deal.  

For $12 you can ride all day until 11 p.m., you receive a pamphlet with discount coupons for area restaurants and shops, and it's a great way to cool off. 


The air show, featuring the Blue Angels, was supposed to take place between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.  There was a "subject to change" disclaimer on the schedule which was a pretty good indication that it wouldn't start on time.  And it didn't.  Fort McHenry was one of the suggested viewing areas for the air show but to get there, you had to take the water taxi to Fells Point and then transfer.  By the time I got to Fells Point, I decided that I didn't want to wait in the line again to get to Fort McHenry.  I love Fells Point, with its brick streets, interesting shops and all those fantastic pubs (100+)!  I spent a little time at Slainte on Thames Street which has a great atmosphere and a neat rooftop deck.  I would love to spend more time in Fells Point (so many pubs, so little time...) and also visit Fort McHenry, but I'll wait until a non-event weekend when the tourist count won't be quite so high.


Took the water taxi back to Inner Harbor and walked around a bit.  While waiting near the aquarium for the bus to pick us up, we were actually able to see the Blue Angels quite a few times.  Unfortunately, the batteries in both my camera AND phone had died by then, so I wasn't able to get any photos.   

Overall, another great Davis Day Trips!  

Picture-perfect day in NYC!

Like I’ve said many times before, it doesn’t pay to worry about the weather forecast.  Originally the NYC forecast for Saturday showed an 80% chance of rain and a chance of thunderstorms.  But Saturday turned out to be a beautiful rain-free day with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s.  Perfect sightseeing weather!!

I try to find at least one new thing to do each time I go to NYC.  On this trip I walked to 36^th and Madison to visit the Morgan Library and Museum which houses the collections of banker Pierpont Morgan. 

The McKim Building, completed in 1906, was the original library.  In 1924, J. P. Morgan, Jr., opened the building to the public as a memorial to his father.  Over the years, the collections continued to grow and an annex was added.  In 1988, a Madison Avenue brownstone that had for a time served as a Morgan residence was added to the complex. 

The complex further expanded in 2006 to include a performance hall, lobby entrance on 

Madison Avenue, new café and restaurant, and a gift shop.  (Can’t have a museum without a gift shop, right?)  Unfortunately, this expansion, which was called the Renzo Piano Project, looks ridiculously out of place stuck in between the spectacular brownstone and the original library.   What a shame to put such a hideous contemporary structure between two magnificent historic buildings.

On a positive note, the interior of the McKim Building underwent an extensive renovation a few years ago and the results are spectacular.  The East and West Rooms are impressive and, while I tried to capture it on video, the rotunda must be seen in person to truly appreciate.

If price is no option in your travel budget, splurge on a meal in the Morgan DiningRoom.  During my visit, I saw just one lone soul dining there.  I’m guessing the waiter didn’t need much time to count up his tips at the end of his shift.  Those with a more modest budget can dine in the Morgan Café in the glass enclosed central court, although the ambience there leaves a lot to be desired.   

I stopped in the gift shop to see if there was a book about the history of the Morgan and was surprised that there was not one on the shelves.  I did, however, find exactly what I was looking for on Amazon.com (at what I’m sure is a lower price than I would have paid in the gift shop).

Strolled through Bryant Park which is the best place to go whenever you want to just sit and relax for a while.  In the summer, it's the perfect place to find shade from the sun and during the winter, it's fun to stroll through the holiday shops and watch the ice skaters at the free skating rink.


Of course, nice weather also brings tourists and they were in Times Square in full force.  And when the tourists come out, so do the performance artists, including the ever-popular Naked Cowboy.  Gotta give the guy credit—he’s done so well that he actually has a franchise now.  For a mere $5,000 fee (and 20% of your tips!), you can don a pair of Naked Cowboy tighty whities and strum your way to fame and fortune.  Ladies, don’t despair—there’s a Naked Cowgirl franchise as well.

Next I was off to see Harvey which is playing a limited run in the building that used to house the world-famous Studio 54 nightclub back in the late 70’s.  Wasn’t impressed so much with the building, which I found to be dreary and depressing, but was completely wowed by the show.  The entire case was wonderful and Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory) was absolutely terrific as Elwood P. Dowd, the role that Jimmy Stewart played on film.   If you can get to NYC before the show closes on August 5, go see it!

Ended the day with another fantastic meal at Frankie & Johnnies on West 45th.  Believe it or not, I actually do eat at other restaurants in Manhattan, but when I’m in the mood for a great piece of salmon, there’s no better plan than F&J.  The fact that I am so warmly welcomed by every member of the staff whenever I go there (especially Mario!) is just icing on the cake.  And speaking of cake, the peach crumble, is FABULOUS!

Our trip to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for the special Star-Spangled Sailabration event is coming up on Saturday, June 16.  Only have three seats left on the bus—call us quickly if you want to come along!