our holiday road trip and the wear and tear

well we took the magnum and went on a road trip during winter break to see snow but that never happened , i guess it some ways it was lucky we only got in the 30's once. We left sunny south florida and headed north along 95 . we hit pedro's south of the border for a little leg strecthing and toured the reptiles and sampled the ice cream. then it was back on the road till we hit the amusement park called Kings Dominion in Virginia. Unexpectedly for us was one of the most incredible christmas lights display and i suggest you see it if you can . it is one of those drive thru kinds and you do drive thru the lights. Next day was the beginning of 2 days in dc. we went to Ford's Theatre , smithsonian and saw the star spangled banner flag, we saw the Ice show at the gaylord national hotel, took a nighttime tour of the monuments. From there it was to Fort Mchenry in baltimore for my daughter to raise our flag where the star spangled banner was written. From Baltimore it was just a hop ,skip and jump to Hershey PA for a quick drive thru on the way to Kosair's christmas village in Bernsville Pa ( 50 yr+ history of a xmas village was enjoyable with the family.). Stopped in philadelphia and saw the liberty bell and toured independence hall, then took a carriage ride around the city. Went to Campo"s famous philly cheesesteaks for lunch , had an egg cream for old time sake at the fountain shop up the street and then went to the ben franklin museum. From there we headed into the big apple for a few days .We went to Ellis Island and the statue of liberty and my wife made it up to the pedestal which at 6 stories was an accomplishment for her as her other hip is going rapidly. we then went to the central park zoo and the Rockette's christmas show on christmas day, manhattan is always entertaining for my wife who grew up in south florida, helps her to understand why i am the way i am. We went to thomas edison's laboratory in west orange nj and that was incredible. i never knew he employed over 10,000 people . it will kill an hour or two of your time but even my wife and kid found it intersting, my daughter actually got a junior ranger badge there which is a neat thing for kids at the national parks. we then took the circle line around manhattan whaich was an enjoyable few hrs , then it was off to coney island and the Original Nathan's. i've always told my family about going there as a kid so we did and took a walk on the boardwalk but it was cold. We then met my niece and my nephew at the staten island zoo which was fun looking at the place i haven't been in 35 yrs. after the city it was time to start heading home, at this point we had 2 issues arise but neither was major
1- magnum stalled after getting gas a few times and a load klunk when we hit a pothole
2- i was going to surprise my family with dog sledding in the pocpno's but no snow no sledding so it was back to Hershey
In Hershey we made our own chocolate bars and did the tours, we even went to hershey park for the xmas nights but it was cold so we left early. the next day we woke up and went to the AACA muesum so i had some fun and then it was off to the amish country for a great home cooked meal and bus tour thru lancaster Pa. .We decide to try and find some family things for new yrs so we decided on Columbia sc where we got to see the fireworks over the capital and the O'Jays in concert . From there we went to the columbia zoo as it seems most zoos are open 365 days a yr so it is always fun. it had some neat things including a baby kawala bear . the only thing was my wife's hip was hurtinng so bad that she finally let me rent a wheelchair so she could sit and relax. good thing was my daughter felt so good pushing her around in it. From there it was into Savanagh Ga for the night and dinner at the Pirate's House restuarant . The next morning we were up and on our way. our way to fort Pulaski for another ranger badge and a ranger tour of the fort . then were on our way home i swear

aftermath of our vacation
4276 miles
4 ranger badges
2 upper control arms
2 lower control arms
2 strut rods
gas tank
thermostat
thank goodness for extended warranties

 

That sounded like a great experience. Sorry about your old worn out wife. She seemed to take it well and at least you all got to enjoy many things.
I'd forgotten about those "Junior Ranger" badges. Our son here got a lot of them as we camped. Means a lot to them.
So now you have to get your wife ready for another surgery..... or have her put to sleep! Good luck.
My new hips are doing fine. Now everything else needs replaced.

PS They don't make Chrysler products like they used to.

 

how did i forget mount vernon

 

edisons machine shop
fort pulaski
liberty bell
McClean house appomattox court house va where the civil war truce was signed
ojays in concert columbia sc

 

Those are some great pictures.
Did you break that old bell?

 

seems its not as hard as my head

 

Chrysler is giving unlimited mileage/lifetime warranty on I believe '06 and '07 LX platform cars, I found out after changing all coils and plugs in my mom's '06 Charger and was a Chrysler dealership employee at the time. When I inquired the first time Chrysler denied they were extending the coverage so I had my mom keep no more than a 1/2 tank of gas in it until I finally seen one pop up on a VIP report. They never notified customers because it isn't a recall or RRT but a extended coverage that pops up with the VIN of the vehicle in the warning messages as a X11 extended warranty coverage for the gas tank.

 

59 wagon man: That sounds like a WONDERFUL road trip!
SO many cool things!

 

yes even though my wife was having a lot of trouble walking we did do a lot of things and they both said it was the best winter break we took

 

Way to go Wagon Man.
Thanks for sharing your vacation experience.
This really motivates me to hit the road and see our great country.

 

Love a great road trip.

 

yes luckily we missed all the horrible weather which has seem to hit the north east lately

 

That clean livin pays off. I'm with the others. Nice to read about a great road trip.

 

59,

Wow! You hit many of my favorite places. What an excellent trip! I love that Pirate Restaurant in Savannah! It's funny that places are all about food too...Philly Cheesesteaks, Carolina BBQ, Mary-Land Crabcakes, New York Deli's........Well done Sir!!

 

speaking of food i forgot Harold's deli in rariten center NJ. one corned beef sandwich was about $25 but it was at least a foot high and came with extra bread so we all made sandwiches , enough meat for about 6 sandwiches of normal size. also stopped at Cowboy's BBQ in Fort Pierce fl which has some of the best brisket we have found .and Hot Dogs at Coney Island
I also realized that staten island Ny has more bagels store per block then any other place in the world prpobably