From Hershey we headed to the town of Princeton (via a place called Allentown where we stopped in at an interesting little car museum—America on Wheels). Being in this part of the US, we couldn't resist visiting one of their old Ivy League universities which we had heard so much about over the years. And the campus of Princeton University certainly didn't disappoint. It was amazing just walking around the grounds of this prestigious university and seeing this incredible institution.
We stayed overnight nearby at Trenton, and early the next day we returned the rental car as we would catch the train to New York rather than tackle the challenge of driving into Manhattan! Driving across the US had seen us clock up 4,155 miles (or 6,648 kms) in our trusty rented Subaru Forrester.
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| Manhattan, New York |
While our road trip was at an end, we still had a few days left of our holiday. Our plans had been to leave the "best" for last... New York City, where all the movies tell us dreams are made. During our holiday we had tried to keep costs down on accommodation so we could splash out on a nice place in New York, and had researched to ensure our final night in the US would be at a nice restaurant. But, if I'm brutally honest, after experiencing New York, I think my dreams and best memories of the trip were made elsewhere... at the beginning when we drove through the Santa Cruz mountains, or being at Red Bull Rampage, or mountain biking in Moab, or even laughing our way through the corn-fields in the mid-west! Unfortunately, there were quite a few things that left us with a sour taste about New York... we had issues with our hotel room (which thankfully was finally resolved), and our last night's meal was far from the best we had (although possibly one of the most expensive).
With that said, it was still so good to have been able to experience New York and visit its famous land marks. To see the Lady of Liberty up close, and actually go to the top of the Empire State Building have been things I've wanted to do for a very long time and I'm so glad I've had that opportunity. We both felt sombre at the memorial site of 9/11, and despite all our knowledge on the tragic events, were still enormously impacted by the size of the memorial fountains. And then of course, I can't deny the excitement I felt just walking through Central Park, or going to an actual show on Broadway (we saw Chicago!).
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| 9/11 Memorial with One World Tower behind |
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| Central Park (and the Plaza) |
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| At the top of the Empire State Building! |
Our trip across the United States was all up an incredible experience. My amazing man was once again brilliant behind the wheel, getting us safely from one coast of America to the other. We have some wonderful memories and a bucket-load of photos (which we somehow narrowed down to choose just 10 to frame and put on our wall at home!). Now to decide where to visit next...
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| Map of our 2017 adventure across the United States |
Until next time x
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