VISIT TO THE BIG APPLE

I am still running behind here due in large part that October and November has been exceptionally busy. In October and November I was on an extended adventure in Arizona and I still have one more post that I am working on to close that out. I hope to have that finished up in the next week or so.

When I got back home from Arizona I spent a week taking care of all chores that piled up while I was home. Then it was off to Hickory, North Carolina for a wonderful Thanksgiving with my Mom.

I absolutely hate traveling over Thanksgiving and usually don't do it because traffic is just horrible. But this year I traveled to Hickory early on the Wednesday Morning and and traffic wasn't too bad. I was able to travel back home on Black Friday and once I made it to the Interstate it was for the most part smooth sailing.

After returning home from Hickory, I spent Saturday packing my bags and preparing for a little mini-adventure.

On Sunday Morning I November 25) I boarded a Tour Bus for a little trip to Bethlehem (Pennsylvania that is). A few month back I reserved a seat with SUNSHINE TOURS for a 3-night, 4-day trip to the Sands Hotel and Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I am not really a gambler, but this tour also featured a day trip to New York City.

So on one of the busiest travel days of the year I board a bus and headed north on Interstate 81. We left Christiansburg at 8:a.m. and for the first hours or so traffic wasn't back but that changed when we hit Rockbridge and August Counties. For the better part of 30-miles traffic was either stop and go or moving several miles per hour less than the posted speed limit.

Traffic slowed again for several miles around Harrisonburg and Winchester. Once we left the State of Virginia traffic cleared up and we clipped along at the speed limit until we got on the other side Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where I driver decided to leave the interstate and bypass what google maps showed was a 10-mile backup.

We arrived at the Sands Hotel and Casino at about 5 p.m. and a hotel guest services representatives greed us and provided us with our Room Key and our guest vouchers. Our guest vouchers included two $15 dollar and two $5 food credits along with a $90 casino credit that can be used only in the casino.

After arriving on Sunday Night a group of us had a nice dinner before heading into the casino to try our luck. The first thing I done was to transfer my $90 casino voucher to a Sands Player's Card. I ended up playing several different slot machines for about three house and when all was said and done I had increased my initial $90 for $106. so I cashed out the $16 and called it a night.

Monday morning I was up early and used one of my $5 food vouchers for breakfast in the food court. One thing about the Sands is that in addition to a Hotel and Casino there is also an outlet mall and food court all under one roof.

After breakfast, it was back on the bus for our day trip to the Big Apple. It took us about 90-minutes to make the trip to the city through the Lincoln Tunnel. Our first stop was at Rockefeller Center. The bus stopped in the street and let us off to walk around.

It was really cool to see the area all decked out in Christmas Cheer. While the Christmas Tree wouldn't be officially lit until Wednesday Night, the were testing it and we managed to get a couple of looks at it all lit up.

There were a few people skating on the ice rink, which is in the shadow of the tree. In the hour that I had to walk around 30 Rock I managed to grab a few photo of Radio City Music Hall, the NBC Today Show studio and the magnificent St. Patrick's Cathedral.

From Rockefeller Center it was back on the bus for the short trip over to Times Square where we were dropped off and had about 90-minutes for Lunch and to walk around the Cross Roads of the World. The still had the 2018 New Years Ball up in the Square but in the next couple of weeks work will begin on the 2019 Ball and extensive security measures will begin to be implemented.

After a very tasty lunch at a Cuban Restaurant in Times Square we re-boarded the bus for a trip to the Circle Line Cruise of the Hudson and East Rivers.

For our time at Rockefeller Center and Times Square the weather was overcast but no rain fell. That all changed when we arrived at the dock to board our boat for the cruise. The sky opened up and a steady rain was falling. The rain and low ceiling really inhibited our ability to see and enjoy the New York City Skyline. We could only see a small part of the Freedom Tower and could not see the Empire State Building at all. While the rain inhibited our view, I still enjoyed the cruise as we went bay the famous Colgate Clock, Ellis Island and of course Lady Liberty.

By the time was began our return trip to the dock, it was getting dark and I was able to enjoy a nice twilight view of the skyline. I would have loved to have seen it without the rain and clouds but it was still a beautiful view and I got some of my best photo of the skyline on the return trip.

Arriving back at the dock our bus was waiting and we headed up to "Ground Zero." It was still raining but our bus driver let up off for a quick, and I mean quick, visit to the memorial that is in the shadow of the new Freedom Tower.

Our Final stop in the Big Apple was in Little Italy where we had about an hour to grab some dinner. After a nice dinner it was back on the bus and we headed back through the Lincoln Tunnel toward the Sands.

We arrived back at the Sands Hotel and Casino about 10:30 p.m. and after a quick trip to my room, I returned to the Casino to try my luck. I didn't have as good of luck as last night but I still managed to play a couple of hours on the original $90 dollar casino voucher. When I ended the night about 12:30 a.m. I still had $75 on the voucher. You can't cash it out so I still have another day to turn it into a little profit.

Tuesday was our final full day in Bethlehem. It was a very cold and windy day but a friend and I decided to take a Lyft into downtown Bethlehem and have a look around. Downtown Bethlehem is a historic, with a number of old building including the Sun Inn and Tavern and the Hotel Bethlehem.

I really enjoyed walking around the lobby of the Hotel Bethlehem as it was beautifully decorated for Christmas. After spending some time in the Hotel we opted for a nice lunch at the Bethlehem Brew Works. As I said it was a cold and windy day so my chili and IPA hit the spot.

The rest of the day was spent back at the Hotel and after using one of my $15 meal vouchers at the buffet I returned to the Casino and continued to play with the house money. At the end of the night I had used all of the $90 on my original voucher and managed to cash out $118. So I ended up about $18 to the good. Not a bad outcome.

Wednesday we boarded the bus at 11:00 a.m. and headed back home arriving back in Christiansburg about 7:30 p.m. All in all it was a very enjoyable trip. This was my second bus trip ever. The first one was in 1992 when we traveled to Atlanta for Richard Petty's final NASCAR Race. That one was less than enjoyable as it was filled with several drunks both going and coming.

This trip was filled with a group of very enjoyable people and I can say I made some new friends and enjoyed the trip.

Now that I am back home, I am working on catching up on some of the posts that I have put aside. I don't really have anything planned for the next few weeks. So I should be able to get things caught up and start planning my next big adventure.

Here are some of the photo from my visit to the Big Apple