# 67 Happy Memorial Day

First a Happy Memorial Day to all the veterans & their families. Next, to everyone, however you celebrate the holiday, take time to remember those who have & are serving our country in all branches of the armed services. As for me, I am going to rest & I will tell you why. I misspoke in my last 2 blogs. For some reason I decided to map out our treks around NYC on my mapping software. This was a mistake. Day 1 was not 2-3 miles, it was closer to 5 miles. Day 2 also was not the estimated 3-4 miles it was more like 8MILES! I feel more tired just knowing how much more we actually walked. Also Mary now swears that I was trying to kill her. I try not to mention that most of the things we saw were on her list of "must sees" because it wouldn't do me any good. After all as all husbands know, right or wrong, it's always the husbands fault.

Yesterday we spent on the motorcycles....destination, Long Island. I mean, come on, motorcycling is a lot easier than walking! Besides, Mary said she wanted to ride her bike in NYC. So off we went, through the Holland Tunnel, right into the Big Apple. No problem. This was going to be a fun day. A nice ride down West Shore Drive, through the Brooklyn/Battery Tunnel, & around Brooklyn to Queens. We made a quick stop at my Grandmother's cemetery. I don't know why, because I don't usually believe in that stuff. I feel that as long as I have memories I can keep my departed loved ones near, but something about her makes me stop by whenever I am in the area.

Anyway, except for the occasional "NY driver" the ride was nice. Memorial Day traffic to the beaches was heavy as expected but nothing to be worried about. We drove around my old neighborhood just to see how it has changed over the last 23 years. We stopped for lunch, went to a bakery I frequented way too often when I lived here, & did some sight seeing along the north shore of Long Island. It's a combination of quaint little villages & Gatsby-esque mansions. We stopped at Teddy Roosevelt's home at Sagamore Hill but opted for pictures & no tour. A tour would entail walking & that was a No-No for today. After that it was straight home. Ha Ha.

No problems until I got to Brooklyn. Of course I made a wrong turn & got lost. Several circles, bumper to bumper traffic, & Mary's hand was cramping up on the clutch lever. The day was suddenly getting longer & Mary's patience was getting shorter. We stopped & got directions from an MTA bus driver & were back on our way. The roads were some of the worst we had ever ridden on & it was still bumper to bumper. Finally the bridge into Manhattan & more B-B traffic. We take the scenic route through China Town to get away from a tour bus that is obviously lost & eventually find our way towards the Holland Tunnel. And we are home, right? WRONG! Not bumper to bumper, PARKING LOT!. Mary's hand is cramping worse, it is getting hot, & the motorcycles are over heating. So we pull over & let the bikes as well as us cool down. My hand was cramping up also but complaining wasn't going to make the situation any better, if you husbands know what I mean. I got us a couple of cold drinks & we sat & watched the traffic NOT move. We literally look at the same car for 20 minutes. We were having conversations with the people as the were "driving" by!

After cooling down for about 30 minutes we started the bikes & got moving. HA! We inched, or on a motorcycle walked, our way to the Holland Tunnel. Upon entering the tunnel, traffic was not much better & Mary's bike started to heat up & run rough again. About the middle of the tunnel it died & panic started to set in. Traffic also started to move so Mary calmed her self, managed to get the bike running, & without letting up on the gas kept it running until the breeze from moving got it to cool down some. Out of the tunnel into the approaching dusk we rode the last mile home. Home, where ever it is never looked so good. The bikes will get put away & probably won't see the light if day until Lake George.

As I said earlier, today is going to be a day to relax, which means laundry day. No walking, no biking, no touristing. Today we will be getting things together for our departure tomorrow. So today is my last blog from our home in Jersey City because....

Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary