Holly's trip back east....Pennsylvania, New York and Canada!

[Xplantdad]

While Holly was on dialysis, we made her a promise that once she got her transplant and was subsequently cleared by the doctors-that we'd take her to New York-as she wanted to go to Ground Zero.


So, once we got clearance-a plan was put in place to make the promise a reality :)


Today is part one-The trip to Benny's


We hooked up with Benny (BBBenny) and took him up on his offer for us to spend some time with him in Lehighton, PA. We flew into Philadelphia and Benny picked us up from the airport and we stayed at his place in the Poconos. Benny showed us around the area that he grew up in. Even though it rained, it was amazing


In this group of pics:




Nice waterfall in the rain!
Looking out on the pond
Hickory Run boulder field in the Poconos
Dam near Benny's house...quickly nearing capacity!
Dam near Benny's house...outflow regulating the river level. It's near flood stage!

[Xplantdad]

In this group of pics:




Neat railroad tunnel no longer in use
Used to be a hotel here...where the railroad would drop off passengers!
Haunted Old Jail Museum in Jim Thorpe, PA
Old houses in Jim Thorpe, PA
Old houses (and church) in Jim Thorpe, PA
Old buildings in Jim Thorpe, PA
Clock tower in Jim Thorpe, PA
Old church in Jim Thorpe, PA

[Xplantdad]

Tomorrow-Part two...The trip to New York and the New York sights!! :biggthumpup:

[Bill Pritchard]

Pretty cool, Bruce.....wish we had some of that rain out here in AZ!

[x77-69z28]

Bruce, you have your audience riveted!!!!
Buddy

[Xplantdad]

Part two-The trip to New York Wednesday (Times Square)-May 23rd


Benny was nice enough to drive us back to Philadelphia so we could catch the Amtrak to New York City. (At this point, I need to thank Benny, Dan Schutzbank, Buddy W., Christopher Stone and his sister and quite a few others for all of their recommendations regarding New York City....what to do and what not to do! Your advice was invaluable!)


The trip to New York via train took about 1 1/2 hours from Philly...with a few stops along the way. The train dropped us off at Penn Station and really close to our hotel.



After we got checked in, we went to Times Square...and the pics below are from the last day with Benny before New York (at a neat horse farm) and the Amtrak Station in Philly the Times Square adventure and the surrounding areas, including the Empire State Building!

[Xplantdad]

Tomorrow...more from New York!

[Xplantdad]

Part three-More from New York Thursday (One World Trade-9/11 Museum and Ground Zero and the Harbor Cruise)-May 24th


On Thursday, we got on the double decker Big Bus Tour and there were three things that Holly wanted to see.

First was One World Trade.

The second was Ground Zero and the 9/11 Museum and finally the harbor cruise and the Statue of Liberty.



The following pictures are from these places. The architectural history is unbelievable! These first pics are from us riding on the bus....and include a building with 1867 on the top of it-the flatiron building and a firehouse.



Once we were done for the day we met up with Buddy W. and Dan Schutzbank for dinner at Tony's DiNapoli's in New York City. We were celebrating Holly's birthday early-and Buddy and Dan treated us to dinner. It was a wonderful evening with two great guys-and something we won't forget! :youguysrock:

[Xplantdad]

And this group of pictures are from One World Trade. We were blessed with wonderful weather the whole time we were in New York! The views from up top were amazing.....

[Xplantdad]

In this group of pics was from the Harbor Cruise that went close to the Statue of Liberty. From the water, you get a real good view of how much is in a space so small!


As we pulled into the harbor, we were being 'tailed' by a Carnival Cruise ship!

[Xplantdad]

And these are the rest of the pics from the harbor cruise!:biggthumpup:

[Xplantdad]

Tomorrow... continued....Ground Zero and the 9/11 Museum!

[x77-69z28]

Awesome pics Bruce! Especially Lady Liberty!!
Buddy

[flyingn]

Great pictures Bruce! we are so luck to live in this area where we have the Poconos and within 90 minutes we have NYC. Looking forward to the next set

[cook_dw]

Echoing what others have said. Fantastic pics.

[Steve Shauger]

"Once we were done for the day we met up with Buddy W. and Dan Schutzbank for dinner at Tony's DiNapoli's in New York City. We were celebrating Holly's birthday early-and Buddy and Dan treated us to dinner. It was a wonderful evening with two great guys-and something we won't forget! :youguysrock: "

Well done Buddy & Dan, that is what this site is about. Tony Di's is one of my favorite restaurants. I was there two Saturdays ago after seeing the musical Beautiful.:youguysrock::beers:

[NorCam]

Good times Bruce. Thanks for sharing the story and the trip.

Enjoy it with your family and friends. :)

[Tenney]

Cool Bruce! Diggin' the tour!!

[danachevroletfor1967]

Thanks Bruce for all the photos and story. Made me feel like I was there.

[Xplantdad]

Part three, continued-9/11 Museum and Ground Zero -May 24th

We also went to ground zero and the 9/11 museum (actually right after we went to One World Trade-I posted the harbor cruise pictures out of order!)


It was VERY hard-lots of tears flowed-and there was a multitude of emotions as well...anger, sorrow, hopelessness, hopefulness and finally feeling the awe inspiring New York vibe....the "We got this handled-we are stronger than the jerks who perpetrated this horror". We had some great conversations with some of the docents, some of the employees and some of the people going through the museum as well.


Enjoy the pics!


In no particular order in this group:


The before and after of the World Trade Centers
Some of the posters looking for missing loved ones
A very neat wall hanging/American flag representing the ones who were lost
A really neat phrase on a wall
Part of the antenna from the top of the WTC1 and a part of one of the elevators from WTC1

[Xplantdad]

In this group:




The ladder Company 3 engine
A section of the steel facade from one of the towers
A section of a column that was bent over from the stresses of the building collapsing
The lone surviving pane of glass from one of the towers, after collapse!
A concrete pillar with the call outs of some of the departments involved
Lynn and Holly standing in front of the lone surviving tree after the collapse of the towers
Some outside shots of One World Trade
Two final shots of Lynn and Holly at Ground Zero. Each single stream of water in the waterfall in the background represents a life lost at 9/11

[Xplantdad]

Tomorrow...day two from New York City :biggthumpup:

[Xplantdad]

Part four, Continuing the tour of New York city-Central Park, The Dakota Apartment Homes and The Natural history Museum-May 25th


On day two in New York City Lynn and Holly wanted to go walk Central Park and end up at Strawberry Fields. They also wanted to see the Dakota Apartment homes where John Lennon lived (and was murdered). I believe that Yoko still lives there?


They also wanted to go to the American Museum of Natural history so that was our next stop.


There are also miscellaneous pictures going to and after both places :)


Enjoy the pics!:beers:


In this group we have the Central Park/Strawberry Fields/Dakota pics...And Holly tired after the long walk from one end of Central Park to the other :)

[Xplantdad]

In this group are the pics from the Natural History Museum. The turret is on the far left...and the one picture in this group that is looking out over Central Park is from the 4th floor of this turret. :eek2:

[Xplantdad]

In this group of pictures are miscellaneous pictures in and around New York City..including Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Building

[Xplantdad]

Tomorrow...Pictures from Canada!:beers:

[Xplantdad]

Part five, Leaving New York-getting the rental car and heading to Canada May 26th


So once we were done in New York City, we 'Uber-ed' our way to Jersey City New Jersey and went to the rental car place to pick up the rental car.





Once we picked up the car after some issues (Thanks Dan!)-we headed to Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken...since it was right down the street...and we had promised Holly we'd take a trip over there...so off we went, before we left to drive to Canada.


Here's those pics (and by the way, the "treats" were good)!

[Xplantdad]

Then it was time to head north, eh? Off towards Canada, through upper state New York :)

[Xplantdad]

We cruised through the border pretty easily into Canada-and arrived at Keith and Dale Tedford's house at around 9pm on May 26th :burnout:


We were pretty tired, so Keith and Dale already had our accommodations ready and we were off to sleep pretty fast.

[Xplantdad]

Part six, First day in Canada-FULL of cool surprises-May 27th

On Sunday, we got quite a few surprises.



First off, arrangements had been made for some of the Canadian Yenko.net members to visit at Keith and Dales's. It was also Keith Tedford's 72nd birthday-and his whole family showed up for the great celebration, too! Keith and Dale were also nice enough to have Holly partake in the birthday celebration as well...since her birthday was three days later :)



We need to thank Ryan and Amy Weaver for driving for a few hours from Elora and taking time out of their busy weekend to meet up with us. Fred Cini also came from Wasaga Beach (about 2 1/2 hours away) so he could meet up with us, too!. Andy Elliott and his wife Julie (PeteLeathersac) also came for a while as well.



Again, we have to thank all of you for taking time from your busy weekend to come meet up with us crazy folks :youguysrock:
In the first picture...left to right is Lynn, Fred Cini, me, Holly in front of me, Keith Tedford, Ryan Weaver behind Keith...and Dale Tedford in front of Ryan!


In the second picture...left to right is Andy Elliott, his wife Juile, Holly, Keith Tedford, Lynn...and Dale Tedford!


The third picture is the cake that was made by one of the friends of Keith's daughter...and it's a representation of the 1969 COPO Chevelle that Keith bought brand new in 1969! In fact, Keith had two buddies (one was there for the birthday celebration) that also bought 1969 COPO Chevelles brand new too-so if could imagine, there were THREE of them all in the same area! Keith and John's were silver and the other one was Hugger Orange!


Enjoy the pics!:beers:

[Xplantdad]

Tomorrow...the first car show of the season in Canada...and YEP, we were there! :headbang:

[MosportGreen66]

Bruce, Lynn, Holly,

Such a special treat seeing you in NY and what a special night Buddy and I shared with you over dinner! Anytime you come back to NY, will be a welcomed opportunity for more of the same!

Happy Birthday H!

Dan

[Xplantdad]

Thanks Dan. It was great to meet you girlfriend as well!:beers:
We had a great time with you and Buddy at dinner, too!


Oh, and thank YOU for driving back from Connecticut to meet up for dinner.

[x77-69z28]

Bruce, Lynn, Holly,

Such a special treat seeing you in NY and what a special night Buddy and I shared with you over dinner! Anytime you come back to NY, will be a welcomed opportunity for more of the same!

Happy Birthday H!

Dan

X2!!!!
Buddy:HollyRocks:

[Xplantdad]

X2!!!!
Buddy:HollyRocks:


And thank YOU for meeting up with us as well. It was awesome!!!

[Xplantdad]

Part Seven, First Bridgenorth Cruise night of the year in Canada-May 28th

What do car folks who are on a vacation visiting other car folks do while they are in Canada? That's right, they go to a car show of course. At this point, I need to thank numerous folks who have all played a great big part in Holly's life so far. You all know who you are :)


I do, however, have to call out Keith Tedford for a special thank you-as while Holly was on dialysis every night, Keith made it a point to be online at the same time and he and Holly would converse back and forth the whole time she was dialysing. I don't think Keith understood how important what he was doing was...Keeping Holly's mind off of the dialysis...and making a good friend (for all of us) in the process. Once we planned the trip-visiting with Keith and Dale had to be part of the trip, too!



Like I said, we've been blessed many times over by very good hearted folks who are great friends as well-and we are trying to pay it forward as well.



Anyways, enjoy the car pics!


In this first group, Keith and Holly in Keith's really clean Corvette. A clean GTS 383 Dart and 58 vert and yellow Chevelle

[Xplantdad]

More of the cool cars that had been put away for the winter..and were happy to be out for the spring!:headbang:

[Xplantdad]

Yet more!

[Xplantdad]

More cool cars, including some Canadian models :) goggles

[Xplantdad]

Also, you never know who you might run into...in Canada. Holly has a new friend (even on Facebook!). This is Holly with John Carrey...who is Jim Carrey's brother. John is a definite car guy...and Jim bought him an immaculate unrestored low mileage Thunderbird (it wasn't at the show this night). John and Holly commiserated regarding their health issues...and both had stories to tell. :)

[Xplantdad]

Here's more of the cool iron (Even Canadian :) ) that was at this cruise!

[Xplantdad]

And yet more... :)

[Xplantdad]

There were so many clean cars here...and I ended up talking with a lot of folks (surprise, I know!)

[Xplantdad]

Here's more!

[Xplantdad]

Even more including two outstanding Oldsmobiles!

[Xplantdad]

A neat 1967 original owner Beaumont...and a few more cars!

[Xplantdad]

And Keith's Corvette...and the last shot, the cars pulling out when the show was finished :)

[Xplantdad]

Of course, when in Canada, one must do what the Canadians do :)


Go here (It was conveniently close to the car show)!

[Xplantdad]

Part Eight, Trip to Niagara Falls, Canadian side, of course!-May 29th

Our gracious hosts, Keith and Dale drove us to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls (a few hour drive each way from their place).



It was amazing to see...words cannot describe the volume of water that flows over the falls every second!


The horseshoe side is the Canadian side (closest to you in the pictures)...and the straight waterfall is the American side




Enjoy!

[Xplantdad]

Two more pictures from up top on the Canadian side :)

[Xplantdad]

And a few more cell phone pictures, too! :)

[Xplantdad]

Part Nine, Trip to the Lift Locks-May 30th (Holly's Birthday)

Among going to many cool places in and around Omemee and seeing a lot of Keith and Dale's family housing dating back close to 200 years, Keith and Dale took us to the Peterborough Lift Locks...what a marvel to see!


Click link to see it operate in time lapse! https://youtu.be/eE_uS9hy0LI


More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterborough_Lift_Lock

[Xplantdad]

The evening of the 30th, Keith and Dale treated us to dinner to celebrate Holly's 28th birthday at the Keg Restaurant :)


The next morning we got up early and headed back down to Pennsylvania to stay at Benny's place again, before heading back to Philadelphia...and catching our flight home


Like I said above, we saw some really cool historical housing. There seemed to be a Victorian farmhouse every few feet all over the area, but Dale said that they were spaced out about every 100 acres :)


Here's an example of an abandoned one (rarity) from the cell phone

[Xplantdad]

Oh...and a fairly famous guy was raised in Omemee, too! Neil Young! Neil occasionally plays benefits to raise money for the area as well...too cool!


This was his childhood residence. We bought a book here in AZ, and brought it up for Keith and Dale :)

[Xplantdad]

Part Ten, Last day in Pennsylvania-June 1st



Benny was gracious enough (again) to let us stay at his cabin for the night. We had a great dinner at a converted schoolhouse and then hit the sack.


The next morning we got up early and headed back down towards Philly so we could drop off the rental car-and get to where we needed to be-and not have to rush.


But, we had to make one more stop :)


Sam Scardino and Lynn, Holly and I had a great breakfast before we headed to the airport. Sam treated us to a great meal- then showed us around Souderton (briefly). We'll have more time next time, Sam, we promise!


Here's the group...and one of Sam's cool Chevies!

[Xplantdad]

Then, it was time to get on the plane....and fly home.


We hope you enjoyed the trip pictures as much as we enjoyed sharing them with you!


:youguysrock:

[Keith Tedford]

It was definitely a pleasure having the Blythes up to Canada for a visit. Everything, including the weather, fell into place so well that it couldn't have been planned any better. You folk are welcome back any time. The pictures are great too.

[Xplantdad]

It was definitely a pleasure having the Blythes up to Canada for a visit. Everything, including the weather, fell into place so well that it couldn't have been planned any better. You folk are welcome back any time. The pictures are great too.


Keith-like I said many times we were there....thank you making us feel like part of your wonderful family :):beers:

[BJCHEV396]

Glad you and your family enjoyed your stay up here Bruce.

[flyingn]

loved your trip!! So glad Holly enjoyed

[CC Rider]

Yet more!

Nice '69 SS. :3gears:

[Xplantdad]

Nice '69 SS. :3gears:


He's owned it a long time!

[Dicky]

Bruce you have done a great job of sharing your family vacation with us. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to find and view your posting.
It sure is great seeing the Architecture and Design of original Eastern America as compared to the Western history. Even tho I've lived in the East it was certainly good to see again.
Happy B.D. Holly :HollyRocks:
Welcome Home to all of you and I must say you guys take some great SELFIES.


DH


ps. Thanks again for your sales help.:BruceRocks:

[Xplantdad]

You are welcome, Dicky! We had a great time:headbang:

[Lynn]

Don't know how I missed this back in June. Glad it popped back up.

Thanks for sharing Bruce.

[Xplantdad]

You are welcome, Lynn! We may be coming your way next spring :)