Saturday, July 06, 2013

Noa Family East Coast Trip

We just got back from an amazing trip to the east coast.  Here's what we did!

Wednesday June 26th

·         Drove from Champaign, IL to Annapolis MD
·         730 miles
·         11+ hours
·         Six states
o   Illinois
o   Indiana
o   Ohio
o   West Virginia
o   Pennsylvania
o   Maryland
·         We went over and under the Appalachian Mountains


Thursday June 27th

·         Annapolis, MD
·         My eldest son, Sean Noa, reports to the USNA for induction day where he will become a midshipman.
·         Up at 4:45am
·         Dropped off Sean at the United States NavalAcademy
·         Toured the yard
·         Visited the Naval Museum
o   Saw model ships build by POWs out of beef bones
·         Picnic Lunch
·         Visited downtown Annapolis.
·         Walked the docks and had drinks on the water
·         Watched the Sean’s induction ceremony
·         Saw Sean in his uniform and said goodbye
·         Dinner on the water

  

Friday June 28th

·         Travelled from Annapolis, MD  to Flemington, NJ then on to Greenlawn, NY on Long Island
o   307 miles
o   7 hours
o   Five States
§  Maryland
§  Delaware
§  Pennsylvania
§  New Jersey
§  New York
·         Drove on beautiful country road, route 29 in New Jersey
·         Visited Aunt Chris and Uncle Lou. 
·         Visited the horse farm
·         We met Lexi
·         Ate at the Blue Fish Grill, saw Jennifer and met Karim. 
·         Travelled Greenlawn, NY
·         Crossed the Geothals Bridge and Verrazano Bridge
·         Took the BQE (Brooklyn Queens Expressway) by NYC
·         Experience epic New York traffic.
·         Shannon saw her first Bodega
·         Arrived at Jeri and Josh Weitman’s in Centerport, New York
·         Ate Carvel Ice Cream.


Saturday June 29th

·         Hot New York Bagels for breakfast at Cup O’ Joe’s. 
·         Took the train to Penn Station in New York City
·         Visited the observation deck of the Empire StateBuilding
·         Walked by the NYC Public Library
·         Visited Times Square and met the Metz Family; Chris, Louis, Jennifer, Karim and Lexis
·         Spent time at a 4 story Toys R Us with a Ferris Wheel inside
·         Ate lunch at Carmine’s, NYCs Legendary Family Style Italian Restaurant
·         Took the subway uptown
·         Visited the Museum of Natural History
·         Visited Central Park
·         Ate a NYC Street Pretzel
·         Ice Cream in NYC!!!
·         Road downtown in a crowded 110 degree subway!
·         Returned to Greenlawn
·         Ate at Tim’s Pizza in Centerport, NY (First NY slice in many years)


Sunday June 30th

·         Went to Church down by the water,
·         More hot New York Bagels! (the kids were hooked)
·         Visited Northport
·         Fabulous BBQ at Eric and Monica Mayer’s house. 
o   Met their children Ingrid and Hans.
o   Eric singing “C is for Cookie” and other Sesame Street songs with his son Hans was a heartwarming highlight. 
o   Met’s Monica’s friend Natasha from Australia
·         Visited Ernie’s old houses where he grew up on Lowell Ave and Stratford Ave
o   We were invited to look around both homes by the owners.  It was a wonderful experience
·         Visited Ernie’s schools
o   Thomas J Lahey Elementary School
o   Oldfield Middle School
o   Harborfield’s High School
·         Visited Greenlawn
·         Visited Huntington
·         Visited Asharoken Beach
·         Went to the  Jellyfish for seafood in Centerport.
o   3.5 star resturaunt.
o   Alex and Josh met the chef, Danny Gagnon, a former Top Chef contestant.
  

Monday July 1st

·         More hot New York Bagel’s (we’ve got some addicts on our hands)
·         Visited Robert Moses State Park on the south shore of Long Island.
o   Swam in the Atlantic Ocean.
o   Kids played in big ocean waves
o   Crazy birds tried to steal our food.          
·         Visited Northport, NY
·         Ate a Sicilian pizza at Jimmy’s Pizza in Greenlawn

Tuesday July 2nd

·         Travelled from Greenlawn NY to Syracuse, NY
o   290 miles
o   5 hours
o   Three states
§  New York
§  New Jersey
§  Pennsylvania
·         Last Batch of hot New York Bagels at Cup O’ Joes
·         Stopped at the Delaware Water Gap and hiked on the Appalachian Trail
·         Arrived at Uncle Murray and Aunt Ellen home
o   Their buildings on their property were built between 1812 and 1840 and have a very rich history
·         Alex and Josh cooked an amazing dinner on the ‘BigGreen Egg’ with Uncle Murray.
·         The Noa clan enjoyed a clawfoot tub on legs in the guest house

Wednesday July 3rd

·         Day Trip to Niagra Falls
o   320 miles round trip
o   5 hours round trip
·         Visited Cave of the Winds and touched Niagara Falls
·         Road on Maid of the Mist
·         A huge tree fell near the guest house back at Uncle Murray an Aunt Ellen’s tearing the power lines away from the guest house.  This resulted in a 911 call to make sure the site was safe and then a lot of work to restore the power.
·         Another fabulous dinner with Uncle Murray and Aunt Ellen featuring burgers and Syracuse’s famous ‘Hoffman’s Hot Dogs
.

Thursday July 4th

·         Saw the house my Grandmother Gould grew up in, built by my Great Grandfather in Syracuse New York.
·         Visited Oswego, NY
o   Visited Grandma Gould’s house in Oswego which I visited frequently as a child.
o   Visited Fort Ontario, originally built in 1755
§  Climbed the ramparts and explored the fort
§  Visited the nearby cemetery with graves of fallen soldiers
o   Ate at Rudy’s, a popular Oswego lakeside restaurant on the shore of Lake Ontario
o   Drove by the site of Grandma Gould’s old store.
o   Uncle Murray showed us many sites around Oswego related to our family history.  (amazing)
o   Visited a tug boat at the H. Lee White Marine Museum, that shot down a Nazi plane on D-Day in WW II.  The tour was given by a WW II vet who served in the pacific.  Josh walked up to him, shook his hand and thanked him for his service.  The veteran told Josh he did it for him.  The veteran spoke to the boys directly while we toured the ship about World War II and the sacrifices that were made.  It was a very powerful and emotionally intense  visit. 
o   Ate at Stone’s Ice Cream, which my mother loved when she was a child.
o   Purchased Italian Sausage from ‘Bosco &Greers’, a butcher founded in 1959 to bring home to Champaign, IL
o   Visited the graveyard where my Grandmother Gould, and other members of the Gould family are buried.
·         Back at Uncle Murray’s and Aunt Ellen’s. 
o   Everyone made giant man sized bubbles
o   Uncle Murray and the boys made homemade ice cream
o   Had fabulous smoked pulled pork BBQ
o   Big bonfire

Friday July 5th


·         Said goodbye to Uncle Murray and Aunt Ellen and their amazing home.
·         Travelled home from Syracuse, NY to Champaign, IL
o   765 miles
o   12 hours
o   5 states
§  New York
§  Pennsylvania
§  Ohio
§  Indiana
§  Illinois
o   Saw Lake Erie on the way home.
·         Home Sweet Home. 



Thursday, April 04, 2013

R.I.P Roger Ebert

I’m not usually interested in celebrities and rarely post about them, but I am sad to learn about passing of film critic Roger Ebert.   I am a huge fan of movies and films.   I have even made a few amateur movies.  I remember watching “At the Movies” with Siskel and Ebert when I was young and later enjoyed Ebert’s reviews and books.  I’m even lucky enough to live in Champaign, IL, home of Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival.   I will miss Roger Ebert.