tour2

I chilled out today my back & leg were giving me a lot of pain today and add to that it was a fine rain drizzle that was coming down, I had breakfast in the hostel and some pain killers the Metro down to the main shopping area with the intention of getting some flight socks for the way home. After going to about a dozen Pharmacies and Outdoor/Travel stores and having no look I gave up and went for a beer and food in the Hartland Brewery which is located in the base of the Empire State Building, then meandered my way back to the hostel

My flight today was not due to leave until 10:30pm so I took my time checking out at 11am but leaving my bags in a pay locker at the hostel and to a ride in to downtown Manhattan for something to do, I wandered around for a while and then took a different Metro back up to near the Hostel but walked through a part of Central Park as I think this was one of the only places we didn’t see on Jerry’s Tour! Back to the hostel I got my bag and took the Metro and SkyTrain out to JFK airport. I had been told it would take me nearly 3 hours to do the journey but in the end it only took an hour or so. Luckily I was able to check in even though it was only 4pm so with about 6 hours to kill I went over to Terminal 4 – which has the largest selection of restaurants and bars and had a couple of beers and some food there and generally mooched around the shops before returning to T7 to go through security and wait for the flight. We left about 15 minutes late due to the place being a little late gettin...

I took the 12:30 Megabus today to New You’re and all went well until we got to the Lincoln Tunnel, just as we got there it got shut down because of an incident in the tunnel and we sat in gridlocked traffic for a good 20minutes until they re-opened it. Once under the river we were dropped at Penn Station and I took the Metro up the 1 line to the hostel. This is the biggest hostel I’ve ever stayed in with over 700 beds but with an average hotel room price of $267 a night in New York I was glad I was paying a lot less than that. The hostel is huge with large bunk dorms but very clean and seems to have had a recent make-over with big lounger settees and a rather smart modern kitchen area. Not sure what to do I signed up for the Happy Hour drinks evening this evening, not having a car any more not having to worry about driving the next day. We met up at the reception at 7ish and we were just given an address of a bar about 2 blocks up the road. It was tiny and there was no way we we’re all...

I started late this morning with a very heavy head! I jumped on the Metro and rode it down to central Manhattan and had a wander around I had looked in the phone directory and found the address of the Scout Office but it turned out to be just the admin office but the did direct me to the Scout Shop which turned out to be on the 4th floor of the Empire State Building so I headed over there and had to get a pass to get in. That was no problem – a driving licence works here! Unfortunately it doesn’t get you further than the forth floor though so I couldn’t sneak a lift to the top! After getting some badges I wandered aimlessly around for an hour or two and came across Times Square and sat and watched the world go by before heading back to the hostel and chilling out for the evening.

Took the long walk back to the bus stop this morning and waited for the bus – I managed to get the bag on my back like a rucksack and balanced it with my day sack so it wasn’t too bad. We then took the bus back into the town centre and just had a short walk to find the Apple Hostel in the centre of town. We checked in and dropped the bag in the bag store as we were too early to check in and having been loaded with things to do/see we headed off into town. The first place we went to see was the Eastern State Penitentiary which was excellent. You use an audio guide to wander around the part ruined grounds of the prison, with the narration given in many places by the voices of previous inmates and warders of the prison there are also art installations at various places around the site which gives it a slightly surreal feel to some of them. The nice thing is that it has not been fully restored which gives it a very eerie feel in places. Al Capone was incarcerated here and his cell has been...

Today I was to finally get rid of the Chevy Impala that has given me so much grief for the last week or so, first I called at a Target store to get a lager travel bag to put all my stuff in. picked a large drag-along holdall for about $40 just the job. I dropped it off back at Jo's then drove the car down to Union Station where the Alamo returns are done. Just made it in time the traffic around Union Street Station is horrendous. After dropping the car and getting lost trying to get out of the car park; confusingly the signs pointing to the rail station are located over the escalators which take you back into the car park. The huge hall of the station is grand and awe inspiring and laid out with smart restaurants and cafés. The 'lines' are actually hidden away from the view of the station user and you could easily be led to believe that you were in some strange temple to food and not a railway station at all. Leaving the station I found the Postal Museum next door. I deci...