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.