Sightseeing – Page 9 – Tepe Travels

Exploring Massachusetts, Museums & Tours, National Park, National Parks, School, Sightseeing

Exploring New Bedford, Massachusetts

Written by tepetravels May 28, 2021November 30, 2021 1 Comment

We ended our stay in Massachusetts by going to New Bedford to see the Whaling Museum. (Questions we got: What about Nantucket and Boston? My sister lived in Boston for awhile and we had visited her and explored the city. The main goal of the trip was to see new things. Ben really wanted Nantucket, but the ferry itself was $300, plus whatever we would spend in town.)

New Bedford is a fishing town. They were big in the whaling industry and now do a lot of commerce in scallops.

We managed to find parking on the street (it looks like it is all resident pass or pay parking) near the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park. The Visitor Center was closed and only had a table open to get a map and Junior Ranger material. (The boys did not get their badges yet because the Visitor Center closed by the time we were done walking around. The ranger told us we could mail the booklets in to get the badges.) The National Park Service museum had a lot of outdoor signs around the town. The map had a nice outline of where the park’s boundaries were.

We stopped at the other New Bedford Whaling Museum. This one was not part of the National Park Service and had paid admission. However, when we went to check it out, they told us the lobby was free to look around. The lobby had skeletons of different whales and some really neat information. The one skeleton has a piece of tubing attached to the skull and it leads to a beaker. It has been collection oil for 10 years!

Next, we headed down to the Fishing Heritage Center. It was also free the day we were there. It ended up being surprisingly good! It was very interactive with a movie, multiple buttons to push to hear different sounds and fishing stories. There was even a fishing bucket the kids could pull up. It gave a nice detailed history of fishing, especially in the New Bedford region. It was really well done and everyone enjoyed it.

The town was pretty cute. However, I would stay near the museums. The farther out of the touristy area we got, it got to be a rougher part of town.

Exploring Massachusetts, Food, Sightseeing

Cranberry Bogs

Written by tepetravels May 26, 2021November 30, 2021 1 Comment

We were surrounded by cranberry bogs at our campground in Massachusetts. We had never seen a cranberry field in person, just pictures of them flooded. On our drive in, we kept seeing sunken fields with irrigation rows cut into the already sunken fields. We had no idea what they were for until we saw the campground map and realized they were cranberry fields.

There is dry harvesting, where the cranberries are sold as fresh fruit. These berries can be transported by helicopter to avoid damage that could be done by traveling by truck.

There is the wet harvesting, where they flood the fields. These cranberries are used for dried cranberries, in other food products, and juice. The cranberries float because they have a pocket of air inside.

Cranberries are judged by color, size, and their bounciness. The firm berries will bounce, whereas the bruised or too soft fruit will not.

I wish we could see them being harvested, but cranberry harvest isn’t until mid-September to early November.

We love cranberries in salads, cookies, and oatmeal. At Christmas, we made a cranberry pie and it was delicious (click here for recipe).

LINKS:

OceanSpray

Cranberries.org

Exploring Massachusetts, School, Sightseeing

Plymouth Rock and The Mayflower II

Written by tepetravels May 25, 2021November 30, 2021 1 Comment

Plymouth Rock is located in Pilgrim Memorial State Park (Plymouth, Massachusetts). The park was about a half hour drive from our campground. The park is free and you can see both Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II just from walking around. There is a charge for the Museum and to go on the Mayflower II.

Will was very excited to see “THE ROCK”. His grandparents did try to warn him that it wasn’t as exciting as he thought it would be.

It was indeed, just a rock. There was a pavilion placed over the top of it to help protect it from the elements. The rock was identified as “the rock” 121 years after the pilgrims landed. Plymouth Rock was later split during the Revolutionary War and the one piece was moved to the town square for “liberty” inspiration. The two pieces were later reunited in 1880. The claim on the informational board that the original rock the pilgrims may have seen was 3 times larger; I guess due to weathering and splitting of the rock?

The Mayflower II is located in the park as well. It is a reproduction of the original ship, with some modern technology thrown in. The ship was smaller than I thought it would be. There were not informational signs, much to Will’s dismay, but there were employees throughout the ship to answer questions and to tell you information. There were 102 passengers on board with their animals, plus crew (20-30).

We learned that the ship did not have a wheel to steer, instead it used a whip-staff to move the tiller, which moved the rudder. The crew worked in 4 hour shifts and kept track on peg board called a Traverse Board. The navigator also marked the knots on this board. It’s pretty amazing that they made it across the ocean without a wheel and only using a compass! Will was also shocked that they were not attacked by pirates, as King James ordered all his ships to be painted in brighter colors (yellow, red, blue, green).

The town is really cute with lots of shops and food options. We had a beautiful day for walking around.

DETAILS For The Mayflower II:*

TICKETS: $15/adults, $12/child. COVID Restrictions: masks required
HOURS: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
PARKING: Pay parking on street
BATHROOM: Yes, at the Pilgrim Memorial Park
TIME RECOMMENDED: 30 min to 1 hour for the ship
*Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.

LINKS:

Information on the Mayflower

Pilgrim Memorial State Park

Exploring Massachusetts, National Park, National Parks, Sightseeing

Salem, Massachusetts

Written by tepetravels May 24, 2021November 30, 2021

We’ve made it to Massachusetts! We have a few things we wanted to see while we were here. We had already been to Boston, since my sister lived there for awhile. However, Salem was on our list of places we wanted to see and it was about 1.75 hours from our campground. It has been on our bucket list for awhile, so we took the trip with my parents who were visiting us.

Salem wasn’t quite what we thought it would be. It was very new, very modern, with only a few historic houses. The The houses under the National Park Service were not open, but the House Of Seven Gables was (had to purchase tickets ahead of time online). The National Park Service had two Visitor Centers for the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. The boys got a Junior Ranger badge, although the booklets/pamphlets were not available since they were still building some of the exhibits needed to work on the books.

We did get to see the Friendship of Salem ship and walk onto the deck. We were not allowed underneath though (COVID). We walked down and saw the lighthouse as well.

We grabbed lunch at Brodie’s Seaport. I had the chicken pecan salad, which was delicious.

Physical menu on a board outside had pricing, whereas the scan by phone QR code menu did not

I’m glad we went, since it was on our list of cities we wanted to see, but I would not go back again.

Exploring New York, Food, Sightseeing

New York City: Junior’s Restaurant

Written by tepetravels May 23, 2021November 30, 2021

We stopped at Junior’s for a late lunch. They had several locations around the city, but we ate at the 45th St. location near Times Square.

We had a nice seat on the outdoor patio and an amazing waiter. We ordered the Something Else, a Ruben sandwich, and the Brownie and Strawberry Cake Shakes.

We ate dessert first. The Cake Shakes were huge and we all shared them. Our waiter brought out plates, so we took the cheesecake off of the shake glass to eat. Everything was so good. The other cheesecakes on the menu looked amazing as well. Our sandwiches were also good. The Ruben was a big surprise because we are not normally Ruben lovers. However, our waiter recommended it so we gave it a try. It was the best sandwich we had eaten in a while! Their dressing on the side was delicious and really brightened up the sandwich.

If you have a chance to stop at Junior’s, try their cheesecake and a Ruben!

Animal Sightings, Exploring New York, Hiking, Sightseeing

New York’s Central Park

Written by tepetravels May 22, 2021November 30, 2021

We spent a couple of hours walking around Central Park. It is so much bigger than I thought it would be. It is 843 acres! There are several bridges, a playground, a zoo, a fountain, a lake, and a castle. We didn’t even see all of it. If we had more time, we would have taken the Blue Line bus tour around the park to hear all of the different tidbits about it.

We didn’t really have a plan in mind, just wandered through the park enjoying the beautiful weather.

There was a large open field in the park where we saw people throwing the Frisbee, picnicking, reading, and sunbathing. We saw a lot of Speedos.

Ben brought us to Belvedere Castle and Turtle Pond. Nick enjoyed seeing all the turtles; they were swimming and lounging on the rocks. Belvedere Castle was open, but there was really only one room open. The stairs to go up were closed off.

It was an amazing park in the middle of a huge city.

LINK: MAP OF CENTRAL PARK

Exploring New York, Museums & Tours, Sightseeing

New York City: Big Bus Tours

Written by tepetravels May 21, 2021November 30, 2021 2 Comments

One of the best ways we spent our money in New York was the Big Bus hop on/hop off tickets (we bought the Classic ticket). It was a double-decker bus (open air on the top). The tour was prerecorded, but they gave you headphones that you plugged in to the bus. You also had some volume control. This worked out great for me because I sometimes have trouble hearing on the tours.

The tour bus has an app where you can track where the buses currently are, so you can find one to hop onto. There is a red line and a blue line. The blue line really only circles Central Park, while the Red line goes through different spots in the city. Their audio portion contains a lot of fun facts and trivia about the sights along the way.

During our trip, the Red Line had stops at the Empire State Building/Korea Town, SoHo, Chinatown/Little Italy, Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty/Battery Park, Circle Line Sightseeing, and M&M World (Times Square). The Blue Line stopped at Times Square.

The experience of sitting on the top floor of the bus was really neat. We had to duck under a few trees, could (but didn’t) touch the stop lights as we drove under them, and had a good view of things near street level (we could see over the other cars).

Views of the High Line (old railroad track made into walking path), Little Island

Wall Street, Chinatown, library (Ghost Busters was here), Flat Iron Building), Empire State Building

DETAILS:*

TICKETS: $47.20/adults online price ($59 on-street), $39.20/child online ($49 on-street) (ages 3-12). COVID Restrictions: masks required. They have a few options, these prices were for the Classic Ticket.
HOURS: Red Line: first bus is at 9:30 am at the M&M stop, last bus 4:30 pm at the M&M stop. Blue Line had stops at 10:00 am, 12:00 pm, and 2:00.
PARKING: No
BATHROOM: No
TIME RECOMMENDED: Min 90 tour per line (tour time without getting off)
*Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.

Exploring New York, National Park, National Parks, Sightseeing

New York City: Walking Around The City

Written by tepetravels May 20, 2021November 30, 2021

Once we got off the ferry at the Brookfield terminal, we walked around New York City to see some of the sites before our tour bus was due down at Battery Park.

We stopped by the 9/11 memorial. The area was gated off and the museum wasn’t open yet for the day. We could still see the fountains/pools that were made in the footprints of the towers. Ben and I both remember hearing the live broadcasts over the radio. The boys have learned about it in school, but it is something else to see it in person.

We walked to see Wall Street and the Charging Bull statue. There was only 1 other person there, so we didn’t have to wait in line long at all. I will say the backside of the bull had some very shiny parts.

We made our way down to Battery Park and got to see the Statue of Liberty! Ben and I saw it on the ferry coming in (the boys had fallen asleep), but we still enjoyed seeing it. We did not take the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty island, as you could not walk up to the crown (COVID restrictions). NOTE: Currently, the ferry is only available from the New York side at Battery Park. The New Jersey terminal should open May 29.

Will liked seeing Castle Clinton, although it seems like this battery is now used mostly for tickets to the Statue of Liberty. There were not a lot of informational signs available, as the only two we saw were hidden behind construction items. It looks like they are doing renovations. The restrooms were open, which were a big plus as many others were closed (COVID).

Battery Park had some nice green space and a fun looking carousel (Seaglass Carousel). There was a Starbucks across the street, so we got a coffee and a bagel to enjoy while we waited for our bus tour.

Later in the day, we visited Times Square and explored the M&M Store. Nick found a pressed penny machine and added two new ones to his collection. Will got a large warm pretzel from a street food vendor. The Krispy Kreme had the Hot Now light on, so we stopped in to get a warm donut. There was a little bit of a line, but it moved pretty fast. We got to see the donuts getting glazed on the conveyor belt. There was one cool looking donut, The Big Apple, but it was $11.99! The kids loved being able to finally try the hot glazed donuts (it only took us 10 months to have the right timing!).

At the end of the day, we had over 25,300 steps from walking. We were all exhausted, tired, and sore. The city was incredibly empty compared to what it used to be. It did get a little busier in the afternoon, but was still really down from what the city was pre-COVID. It did make for easier sightseeing though.

Exploring New York, Sightseeing

New York City: Ferry Ride

Written by tepetravels May 19, 2021November 30, 2021

While we were in Pennsylvania, Ben really wanted to show the kids New York City. The city had just recently opened back up from COVID travel restrictions. We were worried about traffic and parking in NYC, so we parked in New Jersey and took the ferry over. We woke up about 4:30 am for the almost 2 hour drive to the ferry station. We wanted to get on one of the first ferries and make the most of our day in New York.

We bought our ferry tickets online and had our route all planned out. (It was as $104 for all of us. It was $52 each way.) We were boarding at Port Imperial (NJ) and debarking at Pier 11/Wall Street (NY) to see the Statue of Liberty and Battery Park.

The ferry station had a screen showing what slip each stop’s ferry would be in. However, after not seeing the boat move or anyone going to our slip, I asked one of employees and discovered that Pier 11 was not running due to COVID. We took the ferry to the next closest stop to Brookfield Place. The ferry was pretty empty, as it was 7:30 am.

You have to be at the ferry slip on time, probably a little early to catch the ferry. They move fast! They dock, unload, reload, and they are off again. There is no waiting around.

The ferry was a little bouncy going through the river, but the boys managed to fall asleep on the half hour ride.

There is an app to buy and show your tickets, or you can buy at the ferry terminals. However, as we discovered, the app was not updated with locations being closed due to COVID.

Campground Review, Exploring Pennsylvania, National Parks, Sightseeing

Timothy Lake South RV: Campground Review

Written by tepetravels May 18, 2021November 30, 2021

Have you ever heard of East Stroudsburg in Pennsylvania? We hadn’t either! We stayed in Timothy Lake South RV Campground in East Stroudsburg, in the Poconos.

The campground offered quite a few pull-throughs and some back-ins. The back-in sites seemed mostly along the edges of the campground. Many of the pull-throughs were very long. We could have stayed hooked up to the truck it was so long. They were a little on the narrow side though. There were plenty of trees throughout the campground, so once the trees have all their leaves, I’m sure it will be quite shaded.

The campground had a laundry room and office/store. However, the store was closed for COVID. You could walk up to the check-in window to buy ice ($3/bag) and firewood. The campground had a sister site, Timothy Lake North, whose amenities you could also use (per the website, we did not go).

Laundry was $2.00 for washers (or $2.25 for super wash) and $1.75 for dryers. The laundry room was limited to 1 person at a time and you had to check out the key from the check-in window. Reservations were not accepted. They did not have quarters/change machine, although the machines were quarter run.

Our Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile were spotty around the campground and the mountain areas. We ended up paying for the campgrounds WiFi for the week to make sure we could connect for work and school. Even their internet was spotty at times. It was also not a very fast internet.

The campground was 12 minutes from Super Foodtown grocery store and 16 minutes from Price Chopper grocery store. There were several restaurants within a 20 minute drive. The Delaware Water Gap was also close (12 minutes to a close trail or 25-30 minutes to the hike we went on).

Getting There: I would take it slow on these roads. The roads are pretty narrow to fit two cars (especially one being a truck and RV) around some of the turns. The roads are hilly and twisty as well.

If you enjoy quiet with no electronics and lots of nature and hiking, you may enjoy this location. However, everything was closed in the campground (not including the laundry room) and there was just not a lot of things to do besides hiking (or kayaking if you had your own). We would not stay here again. If things were open, maybe it would have been a different experience.

SUMMARY OF CAMPGROUND:

Our rating: 2 out of 5 hitches

Cell Phone Reception: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile (all of our connections were slow/spotty depending on where we were in the park)

Laundry: Yes

Bathrooms/Showers: Yes

RV Sites: Pull-through and Back-in (grass)

Pop Up Tents/Gazebos/Outdoor Rugs On-Site: Yes

Amenities: picnic table/fire pit/grill at sites, playground, pool (closed for season while we were there), shuffleboard. (Paid for cable and WiFi)

Cabins: Yes

Tent Camping: No (sister site Timothy Lake North does)

Full Hook-ups: Yes

Amps: 20/30/50