Our Unexpected Visit to NYC

Hello again friends. So,this post is going to be a little different. The links to previous journal entries are below if you are visiting for first time. I’ll be talking about our visit to New York State this time. But also I will share a little about some of the challenges we’ve faced so far. “Rving” as it’s called is a lovely hobby, but there’s certainly a learning curve and it comes with its setbacks. I also talk a little about one of the most important parts of our trip: Family dynamics. Ok let’s talk about the NY tale first.

We had our heart set on not visiting the city. Dave has an aversion to crowded cities, a phobia he shares with some other family members. So you can imagined the frustration when upon arrival to the skirts of NYC we were routed out of the highway due to height restrictions. We got to get a forced taste of big city while we toured the district of Brooklyn hauling our camper. It was a short one hour tour, which felt much longer..due to, you guess it, traffic. Thank goodness we were able to get out of the maze swiftly and head to our destination: Long Beach, on Long Island, NY.

The campground facilities we stayed at “Nickersonbeach” were very nice, super clean, well staffed and with plenty of amenities. The staff was also surprisingly friendly. A highly recommend again. We spent two nights there. It was nice to experience a day of solace and relaxation by the beach. We mostly hang out at the camper. We went out just a little bit to stroll the town and enjoy a meal out. If you ever go, check out "Greek Cove". They have the tastiest, biggest, best priced gyro platters we've seen. I guess one o fthe highlights of visiting NY is the abundance of food choices available. There were all sort of interesting ethnic eateries on every corner. It would be very fascinating to learn about how immigration was a catalyst for the make up of this area. I really appreciate diversity. I find it heartwarming.

After going back to our fort, we also let the kids enjoy the playgrounds and check out the beach. The water was too cold for swimming but we enjoyed walking by the ocean and playing with the waves as they broke at shore..one almost got us soaked! It was so funny.

It was nesting season for local endangered birds, so it was also a treat to look at the birds protecting their territory and nesting on the sand. Some of them were quite aggressive. We even got to see a few baby birds. 

We hit the road early the next morning and took off on our way to Boston. The expected driving time was about 6 hours..everything was going hunky dory till we got to a fork on the road where were routed out of the highway again, this time because of road construction. The GPS went bunkers, and this time we were forced into the concrete jungle of the Bronx..and not the nicer, but the rougher part of it with the aggravation of rush hour. Seeing a huge truck pulling a 37’ camper through those small congested streets was a sight to behold by all the bystanders and local people gazing at us in disbelief. I had to get out a few times to make sure we didn’t hit anything while Dave’s pressure went up as he worried that we wouldn’t be able to get out of there neither in one piece nor without a fine or a crash. I am happy to report that although it took almost five hours to be cleared from that ordeal, we didn’t even hit a trash can! We are so grateful for God’s protection! Now, do not ever forget for those aspiring Rv’ers, do not ever get off on the parkways of New York State! 

Ok, now let me briefly talk about one of the favorite aspects of this Summer to remember. Rving is a unique fun experience for families that not only lend itself to built life lasting memories, but also allows you to build up your family through overcoming stressing situations. For example, when facing the snafu described above, we were forced to be together in very close quarters for a long time. Honestly quite often, not the best facets of our personalities come out when facing stressors, yet, facing similar situations allow us to learn effective ways to handle it and the practice is good for us. I think road trips in general facilitate this opportunity to strengthen relationships within the family. Of course is not the only way. However, I am happy that the Lord is giving us this opportunity to focus on getting to know, enjoy and support one another better by the enforced togetherness Rving provides. I am very grateful to see some glimpses of growth in the lifetime bond that we are trying to instil in our kids. The current pull of media and society on our kids to get disengaged from family ties and lonely dissapear into screens is heavy and one that we also battle ourselves. We are by no means yet the family we want to be. However we are grateful for this Summer to remember that we worked on building our family up! May the Lord prosper our endeavours..and yours too! Family is God's idea. Doesn't he have the best ideas?

Next stop, is Boston! Stay tune! Click here if you want to check our previous Summer trip posts. SC, VA, D.C.