Leg 16 - New Hope, PA to Montclair, NJ

Left New Hope, PA at 11:30 am. This leg would be very short, just 72 miles, and I took the opportunity to sleep in. I arrived in Montclair shortly after 1 pm. I would be meeting a long time friend, Huwaida whom I had worked with in San Francisco and who recently moved to NJ.

Huwaida would not be getting home from work until after 5 pm so I had a few hours to kill. I found a Honda dealership 15 minutes away called Motorcycle Mall in Belleville, NJ www.motorcyclemall.com. The service department squeezed me into their service schedule to change the oil and filter when I told them I was on a 'road trip'.  I had ridden over 3000 miles since the last oil change in Houston.

Everyone I interacted with at the dealership was friendly. I even exchanged blog addresses with Monica in the apparel department where I bought a new pair of rain pants. Mine I had discovered in the previous leg had two big tears. Monica's blog address is www.storiesworthtellin.com, writing of a young person with compassionate eyes to modern issues.

Enjoyed the evening with Huwaida and her boyfriend Gregory. Both Huwaida and Gregory had to work the next day and I took the opportunity to visit New York City, one of only two major cities in the US I had never visited.

I took the train from Montclair to NYC, a short 30 minute ride. I visited the Empire State Building where I took the following photo from the 82nd floor observation deck.

From the Empire State Building 82nd floor

New York City is HUGE!

I then took the subway to downtown, shown in the above photo. On the subway three musicians played and sang 'My Girl' and exited two stops after I got on. A nice unexpected concert. They were very good.

I then visited 'Ground Zero', a sobering site. Like everyone I was glued to the TV coverage during 9/11. It raised the hair on my arms being in the same area where I had viewed the devastation over 12 years ago.

Ground Zero

The following photo of the One World Trade Center from Ground Zero. It is an awesome building. Love to New Yorkers for a gracious recovery.

One World Trade Center

I then walked down to the habor and saw the grand ole lady proudly hoisting her torch. There were street performers break dancing, doing athletic feats of strength and flips in the harbor park entertaining the visitors. They are not allowed to panhandle, but most gave something for the outstanding performance.

I took the subway back to Penn Station, the train back to Montclair to meet Huwaida coming home from work. We walked to an Italian restaurant in her neighborhood and chatted each other up over an outstanding dinner of rack of lamb and a nice Chianti.

Overall, 72 miles and 1 1/2 hours of riding.