Journal of a Continental Road Trip Part 2.

Journal of a Road Trip . Part 2

We began the trip from my son's apartment in Norwalk.
To be exactly on the Atlantic coast we had to drive some extra miles. So we drove to the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge in New York. The bridge is built above the mouth of River Hudson, as she joins the Atlantic. When a ship passes in, under the bridge it enters New York Harbour's upper bay - where Statue of Liberty stands.
In the days of ocean travel she was the first to welcome millions of poor immigrants from Europe, to the 'new world' as they arrived on ships.
I mean people like Jack in the movie "Titanic". They were landed on an Island in the harbor and thoroughly examined for disease or mental illness or criminal records before being allowed on boats to the city.
And those like Rose, arriving First Class, had special arrangements, at the city's West Side wharf. There was no bridge during those days. 

 Verrazzano bridge has  6 lanes either way.  It is about 8 am. On a working day the lanes would be bumper to bumper traffic. Speed limit is 55 miles /88km. Today we have the bridge almost free of cars.



While on the bridge one can see the Atlantic on one side and the cities on the other.  Ships either entering or leaving   are all over the waters.

  The New York harbor as seen from the bridge.  New York and New Jersey are  2 cities devided by a river called Hudson.  Both  are different States and  busy hubs of marine transport,
 On the left of the picture is New Jersey Port. Right is Manhattan of NY,  home of the sky scrapers like Empire State Building and Freedom Tower.
If you have very good eyes you can  find in the yellow box  Statue of Liberty.

High above the waters for tall ships to pass. America used to stun the world with its amazing works in the 20th century. Now it is the turn of countries with new money. China UAE etc. Like spoiled children bankrupting the the legacy of their parent's hard work, they squander the wealth on wars and infighting.



Verrazzano was completed in 1964. It has a length of 4,260 feet ( 2 km) and was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. Being a double-decked suspension bridge and as situated across the entrance to the New York harbor it is built very high over the shipping channel ( 70 meter above water or about the height of a 22 story building). While on the bridge you can sea the Atlantic ocean to your left and New York City sky-scrapers on the right.
The morning was a little cold - 8 degree Celsius- as the weather usually is at this time of the year. It was a sunny day. Being a Saturday- an office holiday, road to New York was not busy. Skirting the East River in Manhattan we rode down the FDR Drive and took the Hugh L Carey Tunnel to cross the river under its water and came up in Brooklyn. Turning right from I 478 to get on I 278, we could see 3 miles ahead, the bridge - the starting point of our trip across this vast country.
We have the geographical areas of, the Eastern States the Mid West, the Great Plains, the Rocky mountain and the the Pacific Coast to cross. Setting off 3 three weeks earlier would have been good. We could escape road closures in the Rockies, but we had good reasons for the delay.
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What is the best time to make a US road trip? Or more generally- for a visit ?
Some would suggest Spring (April, May) because of the blooming trees and flower beds all around; not to speak of salubrious weather. But in spring you should also expect an odd rain (they call it thunder-storm). Spring really is a good time to visit USA and oh boy, doesn't the Americans know how to decorate their towns and countrysides in spring?
Yet others would choose the summer( June,July, August). It is the holiday season of the Americans, as schools are closed and almost all the families travel with kids to some place or other, road trips or otherwise. Yachting and sailing has a lot loyal following. You can see family cars towing boats on trailers along inter-states and Routes on their way to the sea or lakes.
In summer all attractions - and America has a lot of them - are chock-a-block with travelers, local as well as foreign. Some 20 years ago Japanese were the biggest crowd. And the biggest shoppers too. Then it was the turn of the Chinese. Nowadays you could see a lot of Indians among-st them.
Irrespective of the crowding , I personally would suggest summer, for visiting Indians- at least to the first time visitors - as you would be comfortable with the weather - even as the country remains at its beautiful best, and all the attractions are open.
Fall (autumn is always called Fall owing to trees shedding leaves) and Winter, - though quite different as they are from summer - has its own peculiar charm. But trees - except evergreen pines- will have no leaves and the landscape looks gloomy and bleak. Beginning mid October temperature comes down rapidly and by Thanksgiving you would need real warm clothes. The north of the country is white by Christmas.
In my humble opinion, for a seasoned traveler mid September will be a good time, for two reasons , the weather in the comfortable 20 Celsius (70 F.) and when schools reopen in the first week of September, the swamping tourist hordes will all have moved out. But the down side is, you get only 3 weeks of this fall window.
We could not make the road trip in September . One of my younger cousins was getting married at the end of September in Kottayam, while at the end of October we had an invitation for a wedding of a grand-niece, in Queens, Long Island. As it is always good to keep the vacations short or contained to a calendar month (over-stay being a bit boring) and because of the weddings, we had only one choice, October. But then, for us it had a significance, that the trip actually coincided with the birthday.
Yet my preference for the September window would not have been practical for another reason too - Mathew, one of the travel companions was expecting September to be a bit busy with work. So October - it was. Tickets booked , medical insurance purchased, and credit cards replenished and most things tied up at the home end - we are ready to go.
I feel it will be useful to mention a few things about medical insurance . America is one of the most expensive places for medical attention. A troubling tooth could significantly deplete your purse. It is wise to get a dental and physical check up, preferably from doctors who are your personal friends - as they really know what you want.
Here I would like to mention my younger friend Dr. Maneesh Scaria ( a traveler himself ) for his kind services, medical prescriptions, advises and an open ended offer to call him any time of the day if there was a need. And on previous occasions, some complementary medicines too - for a contingency.
A few years ago I had to travel in Europe with a sore throat and was disheartened that that i would miss some good European wines and beers, unavailable in India even if you are willing to pay. I am thankful Dr. Paul ENT who came up with some really good quick fix and also told me to call anytime.
It is wise to be prepared. An MRI would most likely cost you 3 times what they charge in Europe and several folds higher than what they charge in India. A few years ago our senior friend Ln. T K Rajan chettan, was in hospital for 5 days in California due to common fever and if I remember correct the bill ran up to 55,000 dollars plus. For less than $ 200. you can buy insurance.
So any one visiting should procure a traveler's medical insurance. It is not that expensive either. Though you can buy it here from an Indian insurance corporation for about Rs, 3,000/- per person of 51 - 61 years age to cover $ 5,00,000- (and some what cheaper for younger persons ) I advice you to buy it from a US insurer as I have heard that Indian ones are not cash-less payment in US hospitals. What good is an insurance if you have to pay a hefty price upfront and try your luck to see the insurer will honour your claim subsequently.
The US company issued insurance for $ 1,000,000/- (1 million) for a month for both of us was $ 308.76 ( about Rs. 19,700) Though the difference is not insignificant, my advice again would be to go for it. Even if you may not use it ( more happy then, as one should be) you will have peace of mind, a condition precedent to enjoy the trip. With a little bit of online research anyone can select the insurance company and the policy that he may need, easily and pay with Indian cards.
It will also be prudent to keep yourself in good condition with an appropriate regime of strength and endurance to exercises, beginning at least a month before the trip. The better you feel the better you enjoy the trip.
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Our plan is to ride the first one third of the trip in 3 to 4 days, and use the remaining 18 days for the the last part.
The reason is that we would be spending more time in new places. So from the several possibilities we decided to restrict our stops to three places, till we reached St. Louis. If you look on a US map you can see that this city is situated some what short of the geographical center of USA. New York to St. Louis is about 1000 miles, while coast to coast is 3000. If one travel on the fastest route - by I 70 West ( I 70 means Interstate 70 ) one could be there in 15 hours if one rides non stop.
Inter State highways are engineering marvels that the rest of the world has adopted, including India. As country of auto mobiles, it is America's life line, and had been one of the prime reasons for the economic dominance of the country after the second world war. More on these roads later.
Fastest to St Louis and then on wards - keeping out of Inter-states- we would take slower motor ways called US highways and Routes, that go through small towns and villages.
We had only three stops up to St Louis. Flight 93 Memorial, Air Force Museum in Dayton and Abraham Lincoln Home in Springfield.
The Flight 93 National Memorial is located at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked in the September 11 attacks. The memorial was made to honor the passengers and crew of Flight 93, who stopped the terrorists from reaching their target by fighting the hijackers. It is off I 70 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania,- a small detour.
The National Museum of the US Air Force is the official museum of the Air Force, located at Dayton, Ohio. The museum has one of the world's largest collections with more than 360 top of the line aircraft and missiles on display. Perhaps the best of its kind in the world. It attracts more than 1 million visitors each year. To do some justice to the displays , it requires the very least, half a day. If there was time I would have spent the entire day or even more. I have some really special war plane exhibits to look for.
Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois is where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1844 to 1861. By this time Lincoln, who was born in a wood cabin was a rich and famous lawyer. His house was one of the best in town and as he was running for the election he was living here in style. He became the 16th President of the United States. The presidential memorial includes the old home and surrounding streets preserved as it was in 1861.
And as I said we were on our way.
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Journal of a road trip Part 3............ to be continued.