[Worldtrippers home] [2025 Crystal-Viking]
June 20 was the last day in New York for our daughter Colleen and granddaughter Avery. For lunch, we went uptown to visit a friend. Julian Gargiulo is a classically trained pianist. Julian is known as “Pianist with the Hair,” and we have sailed with him many times aboard Viking cruise ships. He recently relocated from Belgium to New York, and this was a rare chance to visit him and his family.
After Colleen and Avery departed for the airport, we had one last evening in NYC with just the two of us. Russell suggested seeing one more Broadway musical, so we bought tickets to “Smash” and loved it.
On June 21, we used Uber to get our five suitcases and three backpacks from Weehawken to Hoboken, where we rented a car. When we were in London a month ago, we were unfortunate enough to end up with a gigantic SUV. This time we were no luckier. We needed a car to accommodate all of our luggage, so the only option was a gigantic Cadillac SUV with four-wheel drive. Fortunately, Russell would be the driver this time (Gail’s license had expired), our GPS was working, and we would be driving on wider American roads.
Our first stop was New Jersey, where we visited a friend Russell has known for more than 45 years. When he studied abroad in France as a college student, his constant traveling companion was Laurie. (They had music in common.) Russell and Laurie have kept sporadically in touch through the decades, and this was a rare chance to get together. We spent the afternoon with Laurie and her husband Bob. In addition to catching up and reminiscing, we had some deep conversations about parenting.
Gail had made a hotel reservation in nearby Bordentown. In her entire lifetime, there have been three hotels that she wanted to walk out of. This was one of them. Gail picked this location with the promise of a bathtub and a jacuzzi. The jacuzzi was covered in green mold, and the bathtub was not clean. In fact, the entire room was borderline disgusting. At this late hour, we had no choice but to endure the room until morning.
On June 22, we drove to Pennsylvania to see more friends. We first met Randy and Jed on the 2022 Viking World Cruise. When Gail posted on social media asking who was available, Randy and Jed were the first to reply. They own a gorgeous home, and they ended up hosting us for two nights. (In fact, Gail cancelled a hotel reservation in favor of the second night.) Randy and Jed toured us around the area, which was rich in Revolutionary War history.
On a series of day trips, Gail was able to do some genealogy work in nearby Berks County. With both Daniel Boone and Abraham Lincoln in her family tree, Gail was thrilled to discover old family wills and documents. And she was especially thrilled to discover the 300-year-old homestead of George Boone, Daniel’s grandfather.
On June 24, we made the long drive back to New York City to return our rental car. This time, Gail made reservations at a hotel in Queens. (Still cheaper than staying in Manhattan.) Unfortunately, we have spent the past week in an extreme heat wave throughout the area, with temperatures regularly topping 100° F.
But we still had two more dates. Today, we took the subway from Queens back to midtown Manhattan for an early dinner with more friends. Brian Rodriguez was one of our favorite Viking Cruise Directors before he took a landside job. Lainie and Matt are two of our favorite guest entertainers. We had a wonderful time, once more reminiscing and catching up.
We had an early dinner because we had time for one last Broadway musical. “Dead Outlaw” tells the macabre and unbelievable (but true) story of a man who was mummified more than a century ago. The show is sadly closing soon, and we wanted to catch it before it disappears. This is the second time (after “Smash”) that Gail has been able to see a Broadway show with its original cast.
On the way back from Times Square, Gail stopped to purchase yet two more suitcases (to replace other ones that keep breaking). Tomorrow we will check out and head to JFK airport. We will catch a redeye flight to Venice. The day after, we will board our final ship of this contract!
