New York day 3

October 15

This is our last full day in the USA. Hard to believe that tomorrow we fly again after being such terrestrial creatures (albeit wheeled ones) for so many days and months now. It's been so long since we've been in an airport; such a distant memory.

It is Saturday and we have always made it a point to get to a synagogue whenever possible for Shabbat morning services. The fact that we chose not to go today testifies to the tension I was under by now to get the packing resolved before the Baldwin, NY Post Office closed today at 2:30 PM. I had to resolve the packing issue by that deadline or it became someone else's burden – and I didn't want to place that burden on anyone else. When I awoke this morning, I still didn't know if the remaining items Razelle and I had decided would be accompanying us back home would cause us to exceed the weight limit. I dug a bathroom scale out of its storage space in Monte and Mindy's home and weighed myself, then stood on the scale again holding each of the items of luggage in turn and calculated their weights. Some were grossly over the limit, some were happily well under the limit. The problem was that we had three semi-hard boxy back-pack-type bags, and one completely soft duffle-like bag. Fragile items had to go into the bottoms of the boxy back-packs. Larger flat pieces that wouldn't fit into the deformable duffle-bag also had to go into the back-packs. These items tended to be heavier, leaving me the light soft items to fill the duffle, but not sharing the weight distribution evenly among them because of this.

Ilyssa watched me stepping on and off the bathroom scale several times and announced she had a better device – a hand-held spring-loaded scale that hooked into the bag's handle; as the bag is pulled up off the floor, its weight can be read. Doing the math after using this device, I saw that the combined gross weight of all four bags came to just a bit less than the airline's limit. It would require creative thinking and artful packing (and packing is a fine art, believe me) to balance it all out. I applied this fine art as I transferred items from bag to bag to bag to bag until the weight was evenly distributed, eventually, to my ultimate satisfaction – and relief.

Then Razelle brought me some more items that hadn't been accounted for earlier and the process began again. We had some maneuverability with the carry on bags: these had weight limits we didn't see ourselves even reaching, and size limits we already knew we wouldn't exceed. Every item Razelle brought me just bumped something out of the bags and into the carry on – until that ceased to be practical. Still, I was convinced before noon that we were "good to go" to the airport tomorrow without needing to pack any cardboard boxes and mailing them or paying extra at the plane for them.

Now that that was off my mind, I had time to interact with Monte. He had purchased an articulating ladder and he needed help mounting it on the inside of his garage wall. It took the two of us to do this efficiently and I was happy to be part of this project. Afterward, when we went out to the back yard, we discovered that the Sukkah Monte had erected had been damaged by yesterday's storm. Its metal structure had suffered damage and would need to be repaired; so, together, we collapsed it entirely and stored it away.

Razelle had souvenirs of Israel she had promised to send to Joan in Connecticut – laminated placemats depicting the Mona Lisa of Galilee (a mosaic-tiled floor in the ruins of ancient Tzipori). Monte gave me the keys to his car and I drove to the Baldwin Post Office to mail the package to Joan from there. Whoa! After driving that van, driving a car again felt strange! I brought the car straight back to Monte after completing my mission and he left in it to keep an appointment.

After yesterday's experience at the restaurant in Manhattan, there was no way I was going take a chance on having that happen again. Already, while we were staying with Mark and Evelyn in New Jersey, my cousins Sherry (Mark's sister) and David had reserved time with us this evening. This was to be another family gathering involving Mark and Evelyn coming up from New Jersey, Monte and Mindy and Razelle and me. Razelle and Mindy and Sherry brainstormed earlier over the phone about just which restaurant we would meet at. It had all been settled by yesterday, but today, when I objected (quaked and panicked at the very thought of it!) the plans were changed. The restaurant was replaced with a pizza party.

We rode with Monte and Mindy to Sherry and David's home in Westbury, Long Island, NY. Mark and Evelyn had arrived ahead of us. It was a wonderful reunion. I haven't seen Sherry and David in about a dozen years and that was at a bar- or bat-mitzvah where we hardly had time to really talk. This was a very pleasant reunion of first cousins around a kitchen bar and dining-room table over pizza and pretzels and nuts and fruit and soft drinks. It was quiet and conducive to conversation. I learned that David had had a long career as a dentist, so naturally my saga of the tooth that had plagued me during the trip was a topic of discussion between us. Monte and Mark talked about paranormal phenomena, and Sherry related to Razelle what I had been like as a small child. Mark and Evelyn have traveled extensively all over the country and the world, so Evelyn and I had many travel experiences to compare.

I remarked after we took photos of several family groupings that this was the perfect moment to call cousin Belle Fields in Columbia, SC. Bell is 98 years old and we had stayed overnight in her home on our way north from Florida. Belle has been the family chronologer and repository of family memories and publisher of the Serbin Splatter newsletter for as long as I have cognizance of such things. Belle spoke to each of us in that room in turn. This important moment seemed to me to be the culmination of all the travels Razelle and I had done throughout America. During the time we had available, we had packed in as many visits with as many of Razelle's and my relatives as we could. And Belle was our witness to this. She promised to write something about this in the next edition of the Serbin Splatter. Now I look forward to seeing how she parses it.

We all parted shortly after that. Mark and Evelyn had a distance to drive to get back home to New Jersey. We didn't have far to drive, but it seemed to be a good moment to leave also. Back at Monte and Mindy's I looked at the bags assembled as they were in the "staging area" near the door to the garage. I hoped I hadn't overlooked something. It was a little hard to digest the fact that, except for the flights into and out of London, we were, in essence, truly on the threshold of successfully circumnavigating the globe. I took that thought to bed with me in anticipation of tomorrow.

New York day 2 and New Jersey

October 14 Fri

I awoke ahead of everyone else in the house this morning. This is the day we've anticipated for the past 10 and half weeks. This is the day we part with the van. Originally, Monte was going to follow me in his car to North Middletown, New Jersey and after the van-returning process was complete, drive me back. But Monte really couldn't afford the time away from his business this would involve today, and I didn't mind at all. Adventures on Wheels advertises on their website that they provide free shuttle service to the airport, so I figured I could get that close from New Jersey on my own without a problem and call Monte from there to see where he was by then in the scheme of things.

It felt odd driving the van all alone without Razelle by my side and without a single item of our possessions in it, except for the GPS mounted in front of me and my small backpack on the seat beside me. I had a supply of dimes and quarters in the driver's door to cover the tolls in New Jersey and bills in my billfold to pay for the Verrazano Bridge crossing. I monitored the odometer as I drove from the Sunrise Highway to the Belt Parkway to the Verrazano Bridge and across Staten Island to the Garden State Parkway. As my GPS counted down the miles and my odometer counted them up I could see that I would reach my destination without the compulsory 5000-mile oil change being an issue. I would have about 120 miles leeway since the oil change in Columbia, Missouri. As I slowly moved along, accompanied by so very many other New York drivers this morning during rush hour as we threaded our way past a "serendipitous" stretch of highway construction, I switched on the radio for company. I came across an intriguingly annoying but captivating voice that stopped me from scanning the radio any further. So this is what "Imus in the Morning" sounds like! It was my first exposure to his show (and served to advance my understanding of the local culture one more notch). Imus and company kept me company all the way into New Jersey. I had occasion to use the wipers intermittently while doing all this.

Three miles from my destination I pulled into a Quick Chek gas station. It had a bathroom, and a coffee shop. I needed both and I had time for both. This was where I filled the van's tank with gasoline for the very last time. I brought the receipt with me to the drop-off location, as stipulated, to show that the tank had been filled within 10 miles of their establishment. There was a homeless woman loitering here with a cardboard sign and I appreciated that she didn't approach me.

I pulled into the "Road Bear" lot. I now understand that Road Bear is the name of the entire network and "Adventures on Wheels" is what Road Bear offers. Finally, that distinction has been cleared up. I walked into the office and was greeted cheerfully. I handed over the paperwork. They were expecting me by 10:30 AM and I had navigated all that traffic and arrived with plenty of time to spare. The significance of 10:30 AM – that's the hour of day I picked up the van in Agoura Hills, CA, 74 days and 13,600 miles ago, and that’s when they wanted it back. The receptionist seemed to be the person who took my frantic calls when I was still in California and the van was not behaving well. She was pleasantly surprised to meet me! She said a long time had passed since we last spoke and she wondered whatever had become of me and the van; and then, here I was and here the van was. I related some of our adventures and told her that in fact it was all on the Internet in the blog I was keeping. She asked for the URL for the blog and for a moment I hesitated. I tried to recall if I had written anything in it that would actually dissuade potential customers from renting it. I was quite unhappy with it at the very beginning and only learned to like the van and rely on it with the passage of time. I certainly looked after it as if it had been my own property and had returned it in the same condition I received it; no, actually in better condition, considering all the work that was done in Hayward, CA by their mechanic there. After a few second's pause, I gave her the URL and helped her with the spelling and punctuation so that anyone curious about our "adventure on wheels" could find it and read all about it.

The local mechanic came back with his inspection report: all was in order. She told me that within a few days I would find my bank account credited with the amount of my initial deposit and the cost of the oil change in Columbia, MO, based on the invoice I handed her. I was done here. That was that. Now "van-less", I asked to be taken to the airport so I could return to my brother's home near JFK. The free shuttle they advertised wasn't available at that hour, though. It was scheduled to go to Newark Airport several hours later to pick up a customer, but JFK was never an intended destination. Oh, I didn't know that! I asked if I could at least get a ride to the nearest train station. That they gladly did for me, and I was driven to the Middletown, NJ Transit Station. I paid for a ticket to Penn Station in Manhattan and the train soon arrived. I kept track of my location using my GPS in the train, even though it got confused often because it wasn't set up to follow railroad tracks.

At South Amboy, NJ, a group of 6 nerdy guys in weird black outfits and makeup carrying makeshift costume weapons got on. They didn't accost any of the other passengers, but they were rowdy and loud – and shockingly foul-mouthed. I overheard them talking about riding the train into Manhattan for a Comic Con Convention. The other passengers were mildly annoyed by their behavior, but said nothing about it to them. Even the ticket inspector let them carry on (he was only annoyed with them for moving from the seats they first sat in to a different set of seats without moving their ticket stubs as they did so – this is how he knew who paid for which segment of the train line). So, I took my cue from the other passengers and silently disapproved of their crudeness and inconsideration, and held my tongue all the way to the last stop at Penn Station, NY.

There is a lot to see in New York City. I called Razelle from Penn Station to see if she and Monte and Mindy wanted to meet me in "the City" since I was already there and do some of the sightseeing Razelle and Mindy had talked about earlier. Razelle said they weren't ready for that and I should continue traveling on the Long Island Rail Road to the Baldwin Station and then call to be picked up when I got there. I was very pleased with myself when I finally did alight at that station. I had independently traveled the entire distance back to my starting point of the morning by public transportation. It hadn't cost much either (less than any other alternate method of travel would have cost).

I decided to walk the last mile from the Baldwin Station to Monte's. This gave me the chance to stop at the Post Office along the way and check when it's open. The sign on the door showed that there is still a window of opportunity tomorrow for sending a parcel of our possessions to Beer Sheva if we can't get them all to fit within the weight limits the airlines have set.

Razelle said that one of her "bucket list" items for this trip was to ride in a horse-drawn carriage through Central Park. I fully expected we would be leaving Monte and Mindy's in time for Razelle to have this dream fulfilled. But she lost her enthusiasm for it when the weather reports said that stormy and possibly destructive weather was headed that way. By the time we did all leave together for Manhattan in Monte's car, dark threatening clouds hung ominously low ahead of us over the Manhattan skyline. The heavy showers they produced were brief, but convincing enough to justify leaving this item on Razelle's bucket list for a future visit.

We crossed into Manhattan on the Queensboro Bridge and Razelle pointed out the landmark smokestacks that can be seen in so many motion pictures filmed from this approach. This was a seminal moment for Razelle. During our entire journey across America, it was the signs announcing the direction to "New York" that had been her guiding compass. For the first time on this trip Razelle was finally in New York, New York. She was thrilled.

Between Monte's GPS and mine, finding a parking garage near the Fig and Olive restaurant should have been a simple thing, but neither of us could find one with our navigational devices. The parking garage we did eventually find simply came into view on its own. It was on 50^th Street between Madison and Park Avenues, several blocks from our restaurant on 52^nd Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues. We walked this distance and stood before the Fig and Olive to wait for Barry and Brenda's arrival. Razelle, Monte and Mindy chose to stand under an awning in a dark spot in front of a cultural center displaying a sculpture of dismembered-anatomy that I found disturbing. I crossed the street to a brightly-lit bridal-dress store instead and stood alone. It was so much cheerier there.

Presently Barry and Brenda came into view and we all went into the Fig and Olive. We were met at the door and escorted up a set of stairs to a table reserved for us. We were handed menus and we began to study them. Shortly after we were seated Ilyssa and Mike also arrived and joined us at our table.

While we were reading the menus the ceiling lights were suddenly dimmed. Razelle and I exchanged glances. She knows I am not comfortable eating in a restaurant when I can't see my food. The place filled up quickly with patrons, who began to converse among themselves very loudly. I couldn't hear my own voice while speaking across the table to others in our party and I could hardly hear them either. I had something to share with Barry, but trying to explain it was hard to do. I wanted to give Barry a chance to read Phil Markowicz's book, which Phil had sign for me personally. At least Barry and I had spoken of it while Razelle and I were with them in Florida, so Barry recognized the book with no explanation needed as I handed it to him.

The place was rather pricy, but this is Manhattan after all. In light of that, I made a point to order a few of the least expensive entrees on the menu. I ordered a dish of assorted olives, a glass of inexpensive full-bodied red wine and a plate of creamed pasta with black mushrooms and scallions (this seemed more Italian than Greek, but that didn't bother me; it sounded like the meal I'd had in Canberra that I liked so much and wanted to try again). Razelle also ordered simple inexpensive items to keep the cost of our meals within a reasonable range. As our waiter took our orders, Razelle requested that he calculate our check separately. She insisted this was what she wanted, but he said he couldn't do that. Brenda said we could work this out later and the waiter went off to the kitchen.

The din grew worse, the crowd of patrons grew denser and the food took forever to arrive. Waiters bumped into us as they passed our table and argued among themselves over who ordered what among the various tables of patrons they were serving. I grew hoarse trying to be heard and eventually gave up trying to talk at all. After a ridiculously long wait our food finally arrived. I was extremely disappointed. Considering how long we had waited, I couldn't understand why my pasta noodles were so badly undercooked. The sauce was OK, but the scallions were too plentiful and too sharp to allow the mushrooms to be enjoyed. I drained my glass of wine but only ate half the pasta dish. I passed around my olives and they were eaten by others at the table and only a few were left when the bowl was returned to me. I could take no more of this place and got up from the table to take a walk in the fresh air outside.

Like a moth seeking light in the dark, across the street I saw a brightly lit passageway leading through the building before me. I went straight there, then continued through the passageway onto 53^rd Street. Before me I saw a small cluster of delicate trees in a food court. Even in the darkness of night these trees served to lighten my disposition. I turned left. At the corner I found myself awestruck by the incongruity of a large gray gothic cathedral set among modern glitzy towers of glass and steel. I crossed the street to read the sign: St. Thomas Church. What an amazing discovery for me to find this here. I turned left again onto 5^th Avenue and came to a pair of large department stores. One was a Hollister clothing store. I remember seeing someone in Hawaii with a shopping bag that bore this brand name; now, finally, I understood what the name represented. The other was a Zara department store. In front of it an obese, bearded and unwashed man was protesting the affluence this store represented and claiming it only sold clothing to an elite segment of society. Perhaps this character had wandered up here from among the protesters on Wall Street who were making news at this time. Passers-by didn't even engage him in argument. He seemed to need psychiatric assistance. As I prepared to turn left again at the next corner onto 52^nd Street I noticed another cathedral one more block ahead on 51^st Street. I walked closer to get a better look and saw that it had scaffolding around its base. It was being restored. It's spires pointed way, way up toward the firmament above Manhattan, but still they were out-competed by the towers of commerce on the surrounding streets. This short tour outside the restaurant took no more than fifteen minutes, and I was glad I had seen a little of the "color" of Manhattan this night. I was loathe to return to the restaurant, but knew I had no choice. I mounted the stairs and rejoined the family around the table.

Shortly after I sat down the bill was brought to us. It had been equally divided three ways. Our "share" (Razelle's and mine) greatly exceeded the cost of what we'd ordered. I looked at Razelle and she was in shock. This could not be so! We had purposely ordered so little and Razelle had insisted before we ordered that we be billed separately in anticipation of this problem. The atmosphere at the table took on an uncomfortable pall. It was embarrassing to be disputing this here.

Never during our entire trip had I ever felt so trapped by circumstances. This moment, without a doubt, was the lowest point of the entire trip for me. Barry saw our distress and after doing the math gave Razelle back some of the money she felt we should not have paid. That also made me uncomfortable, because now Barry was bearing the cost of this. There was no gracious way to repair the atmosphere. What a mess.

We parted at the entrance to the restaurant. Barry and Brenda headed back to their Hotel in preparation for tomorrow's cruise. Ilyssa and Mike went in a direction of their own, and Razelle, Monte, Mindy and I returned to the parking garage. The time we had spent in that restaurant was so protracted that the parking bill had ballooned. Razelle covered the parking bill for Monte. It was the least we could do to try and repair the evening.

Back at Monte and Mindy's I continued to feel bad that this evening had ended this way. That feeling stayed with me until I fell asleep.

New York day 1

October 13

Sukkot I

We awoke this morning in the quiet coziness of our quarters in Monte and Mindy's basement, surrounded by our round-the-worldly possessions. Some semblance of order among them was taking shape, but much thought will still be needed before it is all reduced to what will fit into our luggage and what will stay behind and what (if necessary) will be packed into another parcel or parcels and shipped ahead (or by now behind, because if we send it/them from here it/they will arrive in Beer Sheva after we are scheduled to conclude this epic journey).

We went upstairs when we heard human activity above us (hearing Missy the family beagle's padding feet earlier didn't have the same significance). More piles of our possessions cascaded from where we had heaped them beside the dining-room wall, and another cluster of boxes and bulky items occupied a space in the front hall "staging area" nearest the garage where they will leave this place when we do in three days. I opened the refrigerator door and rummaged through the items we had taken out of our van's little refrigerator and had stashed within it. On the kitchen counter were several other consumable items that we hadn't managed to consume by this point. I ate some of these and self-consciously considered how it must seem to our hosts to have our stuff intruding upon their living spaces.

Mindy joined us for a light breakfast; then we rode in her car to Sukkot morning services at the Beth Shalom/Oceanside Jewish Center. This is the last in the series of conservative congregations we will visit during our round-the-world sampling of Jewish houses of worship. The weather we drove through was overcast but a half-hearted drizzle added a subdued sparkle to all it landed upon.

There were several lulavim and etrogim on a table at the back of the sanctuary. I received a nod of approval to take a set from someone watching me eyeing them so I selected one of each and joined Mindy and Razelle already in their seats. As the point in the service arrived when these are prayed over and shaken in six directions, the Rabbi climbed to his podium and warmly gave the clearest and most cleverly insightful explanation I can recall hearing about the proper technique on how to "Shake your Lulav." The enthusiasm of the congregants was infectious. Because we were sitting next to Mindy, someone linked me to Monte and approached to ask if I was his brother. I confirmed this and he offered me the last Aliyah to the Torah. I asked if Razelle could join me in this honor and he was pleased to have us go up jointly. Razelle and I stood before the Torah here and it meant a lot to us to have this honor at the conclusion of our trip across this continent and before our flight to the next.

After services we sat in the huge Sukkah they had built on the lawn beside the parking lot. There was plenty of room for everyone. The only problem was that the folding chair I sat on seemed imminently poised to poke its legs through the drizzle moistened grass the permeable-roofed Sukkah was built over. It was rather cool out in the Sukkah and bunches of concord grapes in bowls on the table seemed to be the perfect choice to pluck and munch on during this holiday season.

Mindy drove us back to her place and we changed out of our synagogue clothes and into casual wear. For me the task at hand was to continue consolidating our stuff. My greatest concern is not whether or not we can fit everything we want to take back home with us into the four bags we are allowed (plus carry on). I am concerned about the weight restrictions. It's not about paying extra for an extra-heavy bag – that's just not allowed by the airlines. It's about having extra boxes that get charged extra baggage fees and balancing these fees against paying the postage rate for sending them. How many extra boxes are we talking about? I had no clue at this point and the task looked overwhelmingly daunting. But that was my department and I was trusted with it while Razelle and Mindy planned how to see Manhattan properly.

Our last days here in the area have been tightly packed with planned visits to and from relatives on both sides of the family. This required some juggling of schedules and logistics to make it happen. Tomorrow I return the van so whatever transpires, transportation will of necessity involve others doing the driving. These visits include meeting Barry and Brenda in Manhattan tomorrow, where they are staying before their cruise of the Canadian Maritimes, and visiting my cousins Sherry and David, who live a short distance away, on Saturday, where we will be joined by Mark and Evelyn who we stayed with in New Jersey on our way up here. The morning of the very day we fly out of Kennedy Airport, Sunday, Razelle's first cousin Nicki will come out to us by train from "the City." Razelle has more cousins very nearby in New Jersey, but because Sukkot lasts two days here in the Diaspora (today and Friday) and is then immediately followed by Shabbat, we aren't able to include visits to them during this trip. They observe these days strictly and traveling to see them wouldn't be acceptable to them (we can't call them either). No amount of juggling the logistics can trump these religious restrictions.

Tomorrow is the day our "Adventure on Wheels" comes to an end. Mindy and Razelle sorted through restaurant options and Monte and I sorted through carpooling options for returning the van. Eventually the restaurant that was settled on, from information on their website and from their proximity to Barry and Brenda's hotel, is a Greek restaurant called "the Fig and Olive" on 52^nd Street in Manhattan. Razelle and I have found that the Greek restaurants we have visited during our travels always reminded us of cuisine back home. We are looking forward to eating there tomorrow.

In the meantime, while I had daylight to work with, I went out to the van and went over every inch of it looking for anything we might have left behind. I brushed up all the crumbs and swept the dust out the door that we'd tracked in during 74 days of calling this van our home. I gave Mindy the grand tour of this "Bordello on Wheels" as Razelle likes to call it, with the mood-lights on behind the mirrors in the ceiling. Mindy was duly impressed. She had asked for photos of the interior of this van so she could consider such a cross-country trip with Monte some day. Well, this was her last opportunity to see it for herself, and now she has. Tomorrow it goes back to New Jersey.

This evening we stopped at an ATM machine and topped up our cash supply in case we needed some for unexpected contingencies in the coming days. Then we treated Monte and Mindy to a meal at the Outback. We have found that of all the food chains we have sampled as we've crisscrossed this continent – and we haven't even made a dent in the choices available to American diners – this is the one we have gravitated to most often.

Back at Monte and Mindy's, Razelle and I made some executive decisions about which items we are going to jettison and leave as gifts to Monte and Mindy or as contributions to the community they live in. Then we called it a night. I fell asleep still sifting through our stuff in my dream-fogged mind ….

Connecticut to New York

October 12

Erev Sukkot

Throughout this trip we have visited many places and done many things that were on my so-called "bucket list." Razelle hardly ever mentioned things that she would have considered bucket-list items. During the past two days we did a number of things in Connecticut that could be labeled as such, but the one thing Razelle very passionately wanted to make sure we did while in Connecticut was take the Ferry from Bridgeport, CT to Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY. We made a dry run to the terminal two days ago so we'd know where it is and to find out about tickets. This morning we awoke before dawn so we could pull this off. I was also eager to experience this, so we both got ready for the day with the same eager anticipation. An added bonus to taking the ferry was that this part of the distance we would travel today would not be on the van's odometer. I was mindful of how close we were getting to the obligatory oil change and I was hoping not to have to do this before turning in the van two day from now (October 14th)

We decided to take the 7:30 AM ferry so we wouldn't have competition for space on board. We were told to arrive half an hour early, which meant leaving Debby and Zvika's in the dark around 6:30 AM. It was genuinely cold here at that hour. By the time we lined up at the dock dawn was breaking in shades of pewter grey, it was so heavily overcast. The smell of sea air and the sight of gliding gulls made our excitement palpable.

The chain was dropped and we were motioned to drive aboard. My van was guided into the forward-most position in the parking bay, meaning we'd be first off once we had gained the opposite shore.

The ticket window was in the enclosed passenger area. Large windows enabled us to see out while comfortably seated on benches provided for our convenience. Above the ticket window was a banner with the catchy slogan: "Break the Sound Barrier". We were about to cross Long Island Sound under that banner.

During the ferry ride Razelle found an interesting gentleman to talk with. He was a builder from Bridgeport with large construction projects to oversee on Long Island; this ferry was his daily commute to and from work. While they talked I explored the ferry. Razelle stayed put because the motion of the rocking vessel was too much for her leg. I went up to the open-air top deck, where I was exposed to the elements. The strongly whipping wind was cold enough to make my eyes water and numb my cheeks; the choppy water and ominous grey sky added to the nautical feel. The motion of the deck made walking a strait line a challenge. Only one other person was crazy enough to be on that deck along with me. Eventually, the wind chill got to be too much and I rejoined Razelle and bought both of us hot cocoa in paper cups.

Port Jefferson, NY was a pleasant surprise. I'd never been east of Ronkonkoma on Long Island before. This place looked like a New England seaport, rather than an Empire State community. We drove the van off the ferry and headed through this quaint port directly south across Long Island to get onto the Sunrise Highway near Patchogue, NY. Driving west on this Highway was a pleasure – until we reached Lindenhurst, NY. On-off ramps were replaced by traffic lights and traffic became heavy. It was stop and go the rest of the way into Baldwin, NY. The advantage of not taking the Long Island Expressway seemed lost by this point; nothing could be done about it now, so we just crawled with the flow.

We had a destination in Oceanside we wanted to reach before we stopped at Monte and Mindy's. Our GPS had us on a course that would take us directly there, but on a sudden whim, I broke off from this course and drove past Monte's house, to show Razelle where it is. At the precise moment we were passing it, my phone rang. It was Monte. He called because he needed to go to a meeting and needed to leave a key with us. I wheeled around the next block and greeted Monte in the driveway. He handed me the key. It was too perfect an occurrence to be coincidental. Monte and I have been telepathic before. Razelle was stunned that we'd done it again.

We continued on our way to Simcha Boutique, in Oceanside to keep our appointment with the proprietor. Razelle wanted to buy more handcrafted head-coverings to wear in the synagogue, made by this woman, like the ones I'd purchased for her via the Internet in the past. We had thought this boutique would be just around the corner but it was two miles away and involved a number of maneuvers to get there; however, my GPS was up to the task. After admiring her work and making our purchases, Razelle gave this women one of our souvenir magnets. It was important to reach this boutique as early as we had because the holiday of Sukkot would start at sundown, and the proprietor had to travel yet, to be with her family.

We then made our way to a CVS pharmacy I knew of at a strip mall at Atlantic Avenue and Long Beach Road in Oceanside, not far from Monte and Mindy's. We turned in another roll of film that needed to be developed. While we waited for processing, we wondered in and out of some of the shops. Again, no luck with the "talking book" quest I was on for Noga. An SUV, parked beside our van at this strip mall, had a bumper sticker on it advertising the Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island. Some day we have to contact this company. The owner of this vehicle would have had a lot in common with us, I surmised. At the end of an hour I went back into the CVS and got our developed pictures.

We drove to Monte and Mindy's house and parked the van – for perhaps the last time – on the side street beside their house. This is our final address in the United States. We've driven 13,500 miles to get here. Early on I wouldn't have wagered that the van would make it this far. But it certainly has.

We used the key and let ourselves in and sank into the living room furniture to decompress from our travels. Missy the beagle greeted us. She remembered me. She asked me to let her out into the back yard. I double-checked that the back gate was secure so she wouldn't leave the confines of the back yard and I saw that there was a Sukkah out there! Monte had put one together for this Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).

Members of the family began to arrive soon. Ilyssa arrived and greeted us warmly, Mindy arrived with a cheery welcome, and, closer to meal time, Monte come home from his business appointment and, through the fatigue behind his eyes, smiled broadly and shared in the warmth of this family moment.

While dinner was being prepared I set to work bringing in items from the van, one trip after another, after another. Missy had to be kept behind the gate so I needed to be mindful each time I went through it to keep it secure against a beagle breakout. Some of these items ended up in a cluster in the front hall and some in a gathering heap next to the fireplace. Once I knew what our sleeping arrangements were to be (the entire basement suite was ours) I began dragging more stuff down the stairs to arrange them around the furniture down there. We had much work ahead of us for the next leg of our around-the-world journey – onward to London! – and the scope of this task was overwhelming at this stage. We had expanded the volume of our possessions beyond what the luggage and the airlines would allow and the task at hand would take a lot of thinking. If we used our time prudently we would be properly packed by departure time four calendar days from now. If it didn't all fit I would need to know soon enough to organize boxes and masking tape so we could send the excess baggage that way – or not, if it would cost less or be more efficient to take it all on the plane with us and pay extra baggage fees. It was too soon to answer that question. I had to do some consolidating and some research before I could say.

We gathered around the dinner table for the festival meal and the doorbell rang and one more person joined us at the table. Ilyssa introduced us to her boyfriend Mike. We did the blessings over the wine and bread for this holiday and, while we ate, conversation was lively; there was so much to relate all around. After the meal Mike and Ilyssa went out together and we all settled down for a quiet evening. Each of us had something to do.

Eventually, I had to stop sorting through our stuff. Tomorrow would be another day. It was time to get some sleep.

Connecticut day 1

October 11

We awoke at Debby and Zvika's, totally refreshed from a good night's sleep. Today was going to be dedicated to anything Razelle desired. Our visit here to her native environs was meant to be as significant as we could make it for her. I had my trip down memory lane while we were in Orlando, FL, now it was Razelle's turn. But first, a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese from our own inventory.

Leaving Debby and Zvika's subdivision of Trumbull, CT led us along Twin Brooks Drive through a lovely municipal park. The clear morning sunlight accented the colors of the autumn leaves against the crystal blue sky and reflected their hues off the still waters of the brook so invitingly that driving through this park without capturing this scene for posterity would have been a virtual sin. I framed several images with my digital camera and snapped the virtual shutter.

We came to a covered bridge as we exited the park. I pulled into the driveway of an auto repair shop and jumped out to take pictures of Razelle posing with this iconic New England bridge and the autumn colors behind it. A woman came out of the shop and asked, "Can I help you?" I said, "No thanks, I can do this by myself," and continued to aim my camera at Razelle and the bridge. She then said, "You can't park here." I answered, "I don't plan to park here. I'm just going to take a few pictures and then drive off." It wasn't until much later that it dawned on me what she was really trying to say without actually saying it. This is what I call a "Rip-van Winkle moment." Being away as long as I have been, I find myself missing the subtleties of speech and behavior that others who have lived here all along would not miss. This has happened over and over again as I travel through this, my native land.

Near the entrance ramp onto the Parkway, Razelle saw a sign that said "Bridgeport" with an arrow pointing the way. She had to take a picture of this sign to remind herself that she had been here. And I had to take a picture of her taking this picture.

We drove to the Jewish Cemetery off Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield where Razelle's parents are buried. But before we went in we made three stops along Black Rock Turnpike, all of them in the short distance between Tunxis Hill Road and Stillson Road: the ATM machine at Patriot National Bank where we withdrew another $250 in cash; the CVS where we finally dropped off the film Razelle has been trying to get developed and the Katona Corner Postal Unit to mail our Washington Metrorail passes back to Ralph. This postal unit was very well hidden and it took a lot of help from passersby to zero in on it.

Then we went to the cemetery and straight to the graves of Ruth and Milton, Razelle and Ralph's parents. This was Razelle's first opportunity to visit her mother's grave since she was interred here two years ago in my presence. Razelle took out the pages Ralph had prepared for her, contain prayers traditionally said at graveside, and prayed from them while I split the ball of ice we had carried all this way across America to place half of it on each of their graves (as I had done on my father's grave when we were in Ohio). These represented the spiritual place we had visited in Wyoming (the Medicine Wheel) where we had said the mourner's prayer (Kaddish) for each of our fathers around the anniversary of their respective deaths.

Many more of Razelle's relatives are buried in the plots that surround her parents' graves. Razelle related to me who had been whom. One more grave of importance eluded Razelle. We called Ralph on my cell phone and he directed us to the grave of Razelle's dear childhood friend Frances, who had died suddenly of leukemia when they were college age. I left Razelle to her thoughts while she prayed at this grave, but remained nearby.

After a while we got back into the van and began our tour of landmarks that had been important places in Razelle life. We stopped to gaze at the home in Bridgeport where her Aunt Hilda and Uncle Ernie had lived, then we drove up to the Sheridan School that Razelle had attended during her elementary school years. School buses were parked across the street waiting for the imminent ringing of the bell.

Razelle then guided us to the house beside Lake Forest Reservoir where she had lived with her father and mother and brother in earlier days. So much of what her father had wrought with his own hands to landscape the property still remained in place. Razelle paused on the steps leading into the lake and gazed pensively over their waters. She would have liked to have gone into the house and looked around, but the current occupant didn't offer to let her do that when he answered the door and Razelle didn't ask. We moved on.

Our next destination was Joan's home in Woodbridge, CT. Joan had been friends with Razelle and Frances; and Joan had been at our wedding. Razelle and I had a wonderful visit with Joan on the back porch of her home in a forested setting. Autumn in New England, slices of cheese and fruit, and nostalgic reminiscences – who could have ask for a more pleasant way to catch up with friends?

When Joan's husband Harold came home from work, we followed them in our van to a nearby shopping plaza in Milford, CT. Harold and I looked for the "talking book" Maayan wanted for Noga, but there was no such thing in the toy store there. Razelle and Joan went looking for overalls for Noga at the Oshkosh Store. They had better luck.

We took the Merritt Parkway back to Fairfield and, before exiting, entered a rest stop. This has been here for as long as Razelle can remember, but she had never in her life stopped here before. There's a first time for everything. We returned to the CVS in Fairfield to retrieve the now-developed pictures then drove to Debbie and Zvika's to leave the van.

Debbie drove us in her son Gabe's car (so she informed us) to the Chinese Restaurant she had picked out for our postponed reunion with her mother (Razelle's Aunt Mila) and now with her sister (Razelle's first cousin) Vicky as well; they arrived shortly after we did (Zvika was already waiting for us when we got there). Aunt Mila has been doubly blessed with longevity and acuity of mind and spirit. We were duly impressed with her wit. It has been a long time since Razelle and Mila and Vicky have all been in the same place. They had a lot to catch up on during this meal. The menu here was built upon the supposition that everyone around the table would pick and choose from a set of main dishes placed in the middle of the table. It was hard for us all to decide which dishes we wanted these to be so Debby took a poll then decided for all of us.

After the meal Vicky drove away with Aunt Mila and we rode with Debby through the dark in a light rain that bejeweled the windshield between intermittent swipes of the wipers. The effect was pleasingly hypnotizing (particularly since I had the luxury of being a passenger and not the driver, for a change). We made light conversation about our kids and their achievements; interesting how quickly our little ones have come of age and now have lives of their own. When we arrived at Debby and Zvika's home we got ready for bed, our last night in Connecticut. We plan to get an early start tomorrow.

New Jersey through New York to Massachusetts and Connecticut

October 10

I woke up this morning ahead of everyone else in the house. I took a shower and noticed that my shampoo was missing; it had been left behind at the Rabbi's house in Virginia because I hadn't taken the time to search for it when we left there before sunrise. Oh well.

I checked my email and messages on Facebook this morning. Because our remaining visits with friends and relatives are so closely interwoven, and because there isn't time left here in the Northeastern US to reschedule anything, it is important that I stay current with these now. I found email Maayan had just sent, requesting that we try to buy a cosmetic product for her here in the States before we return home. We must be getting close to the end of our journey around the world if Maayan is now sending us last-minute requests. She also asked for a talking book that speaks English, so Noga can hear English while she looks at the pictures. Searching the Internet I found that Macy's carries the specific line of cosmetics Maayan asked for. Searching further, I found a Macy's en route, in West Nyack, NY. The scavenger hunt for requested gifts was on.

Mark and Evelyn drove us in their car to a diner near their home they particularly like, where we had breakfast before we hit the road. It was a nice send off from a very nice visit with these cousins.

Where we slept last night is less than 10 miles from the endpoint of our journey in this van; Adventures on Wheels in North Middletown, NJ is where we are scheduled to drop it off in four more days – so near after coming so far. And yet, we still have about 800 miles left before we are due to change the oil, according to our rental agreement and maybe 500 miles still to cover before we finish connecting all the remaining dots we have promised to connect before this road trip in the van comes to an end – as I said, in only four more days (audible sigh). Yesterday's traffic taught me a valuable lesson: Don't be stupid! Take the toll roads! Being that today is Columbus Day in the United States, a lot of people would be on the roads during this extended weekend.

We took the Garden State Parkway all the way into the state of New York, our 36th state. Toll booths on this Parkway are different from the ones we had encountered on the bridges we paid to cross earlier in our trip. These booths require fistfuls of coins, which are tossed into a basket to get a green light so you can proceed (there is no barrier, just a camera to keep you honest). The first toll plaza we came to sent Razelle into a panic. We had been hoarding quarters for most of our trip so we could use them in washing machines and dryers as needed. But just yesterday, Razelle turned her cache of quarters into paper bills because she thought we wouldn't need them any more, now that we were at the end of our travels. Fortunately, I still had about $10's worth of quarters left in the driver's elbow-rest on my door of the van. These were more than enough for the three toll plazas we had to pass through before we reached the New York State Thruway (not a spelling error) and turned in the direction of the Tappan Zee Bridge. Before we crossed the Hudson River on this bridge, we visited a humongous shopping mall, called the Palisades Center Mall, in West Nyack, NY.

The Palisades Center Mall is the largest mall we'd seen on this trip! It is four stories high and packed with shops of every kind. You need to refer to maps at the elevator and escalator points just to keep track of where you are and where the stores are you want to reach. We entered the mall near where we'd parked the van; the Macy's store I wanted to get to was too far away at the opposite end of this vast building for Razelle to walk there with me. She stayed put and I sallied forth to get what Maayan asked for. They had exactly what she wanted. I sent her a message while I stood there with the clerk to ask how many she wanted and promptly got her answer. Isn't it amazing what can be done with gizmos and gadgets nowadays?

Leaving the mall, we crossed the Hudson River on the Tappan Zee Bridge. The toll is collected after you have reached the other side, unlike what we'd seen elsewhere. I continued driving until we came to Interstate 95. I pointed out to Razelle that we had just entered Connecticut, or 37th state, to which she replied, "Oh no, I didn't want to be here!" She was upset that we were not on the Merritt Parkway (not upset that we were in Connecticut). I reprogrammed the GPS to guide us there. This led us back into Port Chester, NY, where we stopped for tuna sandwiches for Razelle at a convenience store/pit stop. Then we re-entered Connecticut and drove east on the Merritt Parkway. Razelle was now very happy. The Merritt Parkway is such a breathtakingly beautiful way to get to Bridgeport-Fairfield, CT. As soon as we were on it, Razelle had flashes of nostalgia for all the times she had lived in Connecticut and traveled this road.

Our timing couldn't have been better. The trees were changing color here in New England this fine October day. Red and yellow and orange hues greeted our eyes wherever we gazed, all the way to the horizon and back again. We didn't want to miss the experience of seeing fall foliage during our trip around the world and here we were, immersed in picture-postcard scenery that thrilled us at the sight of it.

We exited the Merritt Parkway onto Stratfield Road in Fairfield, CT and took it directly to Ahavath Achim, the synagogue where Razelle and I were married. We met someone there who remembered Razelle's mother and he called the young rabbi we'd corresponded with, who promptly arrived to greet us.

We searched the memorial plaques together and found the ones with Razelle's relatives' names on them – most importantly, the one bearing her father's name.

Our next stop was in front of the home on Melville Avenue where Razelle had last lived before immigrating to Israel, and where I had stayed during visits with her mother Ruth while she still lived there. Lots of memories! Particularly important to Razelle was the view of the stream and dam and duck pond behind this home.

I walked around back and took several snapshots for Razelle while she stayed with the van, then I ran into a former neighbor of Razelle's mother, who was excited to meet us. He took us to his door and called his wife out. She was thrilled to tears to be able to see Razelle again. She remembered seeing me at Ruth's funeral two year ago. Our next stop was to be the cemetery where Razelle's parents are buried, but our visit with these neighbors was too precious to tear ourselves away. The cemetery visit will wait until tomorrow. We chatted with these nice people for as long as we could afford to, then got into the van and drove to our next rendezvous.

My first cousin Brenda had lived in North Carolina and I wanted to visit her there while we were down that way. But her family was recently transplanted to Boston just before we started this trip, so that wasn't going to happen. For quite a while now we have been corresponding and trying to coordinate a rendezvous with Brenda and Stewart somewhere during our journey. The only opportunity left was to meet them half way between Boston, MA and Fairfield, CT today, Columbus Day, because they and the kids had the day off to travel. That halfway point was Springfield, MA. The time we had arranged was perfect for supper and the restaurant we chose was the Olive Garden. Having set my GPS to get us there, I knew how much travel time it entailed and that is why we broke off our visit with these neighbors when we finally did. We drove back to the Merritt Parkway and headed through Hartford, CT rush hour traffic into Massachusetts, our 38th and final state of this trip. We reached our destination in Springfield with 5 comfortable minutes to spare. This far north we expected the fall colors to be even more dramatic than they were in Connecticut, but they weren't. Why that was so is a mystery to me.

I was anticipating that my cousins would arrive in their oversized recreational vehicle so I kept a lookout for one to pull into the parking lot. I know how much they love traveling in their RV and I'd heard so much about it; but they arrived in a less ostentatious vehicle and walked up behind us to greet us before we were aware they had arrived. They all went into the Olive Garden together, except me. There is a Walgreens across the traffic light from the Olive Garden and Razelle sent me over there quickly with her film to have it developed while they ordered. Razelle asked that the photos be developed with a matt finish, but Walgreens could only develop them with a glossy finish. I called Razelle's phone but she didn't answer so I brought the undeveloped film back to her. She was not pleased.

Brenda and Stewart have two kids. I had met Jeremy when he was very small. He's grown so much since. This was my first opportunity to meet Heather. I enjoyed watching the interactions among them all while we talked and ate. Brenda has been following my blog and knew everything I'd written so far. Razelle, Brenda, Stewart and I talked about the art of parenting. We also talked about mutual travel experiences; we had Walmart camping in common, for example. Unfortunately, our family reunion could only last so long, but it was certainly worth the effort.

While I was eating the food I had ordered, which was nothing more than a plateful of succulent iceberg lettuce with blue-cheese dressing, a standard favorite of mine, I bit into something and felt a crunch. I ran my tongue over the teeth on the left side of my mouth and discovered a sharp edge on a tooth that had not been that way before. What is it with me and dental disasters?! Of all the hazards of traveling far from home, I've made it this far without mishap, [knock on wood]. But in the dental department I haven't been able to get a break! There was no pain so I don't know what the damage will turn out to be. I just have to hold my breath and hope I can get back to my dentist before this turns into something urgent.

We all went out to the parking lot and said our goodbyes. We headed in opposite directions, they toward Boston and we toward Trumbull, CT, where Razelle's first cousin Debbie lives, and where we will spend the night. We re-entered Connecticut and received a call from Debbie almost at the same moment. "Where are you guys?" Debbie wanted to know; "We've been waiting for your arrival so we can all go out to eat. Aunt Mila was hoping to greet you, but she can't wait any longer." Apparently some wires had gotten crossed. We couldn't be everywhere at once and we didn't know about this miscommunication until Debbie called. This was what our last days in the United States were turning into. We had masterfully juggled all the balls we had in the air, but one of them had just fallen. We apologized to Debbie and she said that the dinner date with Aunt Mila would have to be rescheduled, without fail, for tomorrow.

The ride back to Trumbull was hard on me. The bright lights of oncoming traffic on the un-illuminated Parkway gave me a lot of grief. But we made it safely, and with a little guidance on the phone and with flashing of porch lights when we were not certain which house was the right one, we pulled into Debbie and Zvika's driveway and turned off the motor. We had covered a lot of territory this day. We spent some quality time talking with Debbie and Zvika before the bed beckoned. Razelle and I found the crisp cool night air inviting and argued half-heartedly with Debbie about sleeping in the van once more, but Debbie prevailed and we slept on comfortable beds in their home instead.