Category: Trip

I’m in the city that never sleeps, which seems an appropriate moniker right now since it’s already tomorrow and I’m still awake. It’s been a long day 🙂

I came down for an end-of-summer trip, and to visit two observation lookouts. Let’s compare them.

The first was One Vanderbilt, which is the big silver skyscraper you can see in the middle (towering over the library in Bryant Park). The observation levels are the 91st through 93rd floors, and the experience is accompanied by an art installation that begins the moment the lift doors open and you notice the mirrored floors.

This gives a startling impression of walking on air while inside the building, and momentarily draws your attention away from the striking views just outside the windows.

It’s very high (1300 feet) and the views are in every direction. As you can see it was lovely today (a bit hot actually) and I could see forever from up there! Can you see the Empire State Building in the above photo?

As you move through the various levels of the observatory there are other art installations, like the ‘bubble room’ and a room with a giant video screen showing creepy living clouds. But I was mostly taken by the views, which were fantastic.

That’s Bryant Park, with my hotel the black one on the left side. I’m in there right now typing this entry!

There were loads of people and I had to be a sneaky little rat to get clean photos. But I was amused by the abundance of girls posing for their Instagram snaps or making TikTok videos. I suppose that’s what you do these days?

Overall, it was a wonderful lookout and is highly recommended.

Later in the day – after dinner – I visited Top Of The Rock at Rockefeller Center. This is a more famous and popular lookout than the previous, and consequently had many more people. That said I didn’t have significant waits at either site, possibly because I bought tickets in advance.

No art installation here, just views. It was past sunset when I went up, and the city lights were already on. You get access to the three highest levels, each of which have outdoor sections, and one of which is mostly open (not even glass shields). At 800 feet it’s not as tall as Vanderbilt, but being outside gives it a different sort of thrill.

A word on the elevators for each of these towers: they were super fast and super smooth. Vanderbilt had a crazy light show which simulated movement since the lift was so smooth you could barely feel the acceleration, and Rockefeller had a glass ceiling and a lit lift shaft so you could appreciate how fast the lift whizzed up!

I stayed on top until it got darker, but there were just so many people it wasn’t easy to relax and I was deeply exhausted after my long day. So I bade goodbye to the lovely views, but not before imaging living at these heights (or even higher, like the apartment buildings visible in the photo two above)!

That photo shows both (Vanderbilt on the left) viewed from the other. I’ve circled the observation levels. If you’re only visiting one, I’d suggest Vanderbilt (since it’s higher and has the funky mirrored floors), but if you like lookouts then both are absolutely worth the visit. I enjoyed them both so much I may have to one day visit the other two I haven’t yet gone to here in NYC!

As I’ve said it was a busy day with lots of other stuff I could write about but I’m almost asleep so I’ll leave it here. Happy end-of-summer 🙂

Ocean City is a seaside resort in southeastern New Jersey. It’s known for its family friendly atmosphere, and somewhat remarkably has never allowed the sale of alcohol (since it was founded 140 years ago)! We’ve spent the last two nights here.

The beach is about 10 miles long, and has a wide wooden boardwalk extending for about 3 miles. It’s lined with dozens and dozens of shops and attractions, and the entire place is full of people and incredibly busy.

The above photo by the way is KLS’s reaction when the Atlantic water splashed over her feet. Despite extreme temperatures today, the ocean was very cold and almost no one was swimming!

We had a hotel virtually on the boardwalk and spent much of our time here walking back and forth. Today is was dangerously hot (bordering 100F) so we took a siesta in the afternoon to wait until evening when the boardwalk really comes to life.

Almost everything on the boardwalk stays open until very late, and the crowds seemed to double as the sun began to set.

Once it’s dark and the lights start to come on the lines at the food shops are twice as long as they were during the day. There’s a slight night air chill from the ocean, but not enough to affect the long lines at the ice-cream shops.

The arcades and mini golf places start hopping (I played a Rush pinball machine!) and buskers are out in force. Kids run around with light toys and today we even saw Santa and Dr Strange posing with tourists for photos!

The lights on the rides at the amusement parks (there are two on the boardwalk!) are dazzling and the parks are so packed it’s difficult to even walk through them. Here’s a closer look at that intriguing rollercoaster you can see in the above pic:

I didn’t ride it, but apparently it’s one of the best in the USA. And it’s only about 100 feet from the waves!

We’ve enjoyed our brief stay here by the sea, especially the boardwalk after dark. To think that a few weeks ago we’d never even heard of Ocean City! Another reason why road trips like this one can be so much fun 🙂

This morning we visited Indian Echo Caverns, a cave very close to Hershey Park. I’ve been to a few caves in my time, but this one was one of the best.

The cave was known (and likely used by) Indians before it was ‘discovered’ about 200 years ago. In 1929 the cave became privately owned and opened to the public for tours, and has remained mostly unchanged since then.

It has two passages meeting at a right angle in an enormous room they call the ballroom, which is over 50 feet high and about 200 feet wide. You could easily build a rollercoaster in this room (which didn’t photograph well due to the darkness) and it was easily the biggest cave room I’ve ever been in.

Although the cave is now wired with electric lights and gravel paths have been added, it still has many striking formations and pools inside and while smaller than other caves I have visited was well worth the trip. It’s also one of almost ten caves in Pennsylvania that can be visited, which almost suggests it’s own road trip doesn’t it?

As an aside this cave has entered local folk history due to being the home of a hermit for almost twenty years back in the early 1800s. His story is fascinating: read about him here (and yes we visited the ‘room’ he lived in).

Oh and they have animals near the cave shop for people to admire while waiting for their guided tour. This turkey was about the biggest I have ever seen!

After the cave we drove to our next destination which took us right through Amish country. We passed many gift shops and places selling Amish handicrafts, and yes we saw some Amish buggies riding along as well. But we didn’t stop, since the coast beckoned. I’ll save the details of where we are now for tomorrow 🙂