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The 2003 Q1 random vacation began as I had just finished up a series of meetings for work in another building, but had come back to the building where my office is for a short time.
I had come back to work for only one reason this late in the evening right before my vacation. Namely, I hadn't yet loaded the maps for my vacation into my GPS, and needed to use one of the computers at work to do so. So I sat there in my office while I loaded up the software.
I then picked the maps I needed, and then uploaded them all into the memory card for my GPS.
But soon it was time to say goodbye to my lovely place of work.
Then I could go home.
So I could watch Buffy.
Once Buffy was over, it was time to get a few things taken care of, like bills, and then get myself all packed and ready to go. Of course, I did no such thing. I cleaned the apartment a little bit, I watched a bunch of TV, I answered some email, I read some websites. Just about everything other than actually getting ready for my trip. I did this for about six hours. Good for me.
I finally got so tired I decided I had to take a little nap. But I knew I had to leave in just a few hours, or I'd be late. Plus I still needed to pack. So I snuck a couple of hours of sleep on the couch.
So I finally got up, and realizing I had very little time, packed in a hurry. I got all my stuff together, shoved it into bags, made several trips around the aparment to make sure I had everything, then made sure the birds were fed and I was showered. Then I left the keys in the agreed spot for Kathy who would feed my birds and check my mail while I was gone. Originally she was going to go with me on the trip, but ended up not being able to. But she could still feed my birds.
Finally all was ready.
Then I looked outside.
It had snowed overnight, and was actually still coming down quite hard. And I was actually already late at this point. I should have left at 12:00 UTC or so. It was 20 minutes later than that. Also, while this was supposed to be my first day off of my vacation, as it turned out, there was an important meeting in Manhattan today that I needed to go to. So I was actually working today, even though I planned to not come home again, and just leave directly from the meeting, straight west heading toward the random spot. Argh! I was definately going to be late. Oh well, nothing to it but to get on the road.
Luckily, it turned out to be a short lived squall. Before long I was zipping down the NJ Turnpike in clear weather.
I got to the Colgate Ferry in Jersey City just in time for the ferry that would have gotten me to my meeting on time. Just in time to see it leave that is...
So, after calling the folks I was meeting to tell them I was waiting for the ferry and would be a bit late, there was time for a few pictures. First the World Financial Centers, with a view to the buildings behind there that before September 11th were not visible because they were also behind the World Trade Center.
Then a quick look to the North for a view of the Empire State Building in the haze...
Then finally another ferry arrived, and I was on my way into the city.
So, I finally got there, and it was time for the fun exciting meeting on content management systems and site content admin systems. It was the final review to go over one last time a lot of things we had been dealing with for several weeks. Some of the issues I've actually been dealing with for years. But only weeks in terms of this poarticular thing. There were a bunch of people at the beginning of the meeting, but after the free lunch was gone, it trailed off and there were just a few tired folks left.
Then the meeting was over, and I was free to start the vacation in earnest.
Since I was in Lower Manhattan, I decided to take my time walking back and make sure to get in some of the standard sights. The place I was meeting was less than a block away from the New York Stock Exchange.
And the famous bull guiding the markets was nearby...
Then a quick pass past Ground Zero, where they are rapidly building the temporary replacement PATH station to restore train service from Jersey City to the Financial District.
From there, it was back inside to the warmth of the World Financial Center complex.
And into the Winter Garden...
Overlooking Ground Zero, passers by look at proposals for the new World Trade Center buildings...
Leaving the WFC, there was a backlit view of the back of the Statue of Liberty...
Then after a short wait for the ferry, it was back to Jersey City. And as I am stepping off the ferry, who do I see? My friend Mike waiting to go the other direction on the ferry!
After a quick chat with Mike, he got on the ferry, and I headed back to my car. Ready to finally start actually heading toward my random spot!
Or was I... at this point I should explain a little complication for the story. Because of reasons I will not go into here, but basically boiling down to my own stupidity, my car insurance was not being renewed by my old carrier, and was going to expire at 18 Feb 2003 05:01 UTC. And although I had known about this since December, I had procrastinated (surprise) and had not dealt with this fact. In the last few days before this vacation began, I had made a few phone calls, but had yet to really make contact with a new dealer. I figured however that since this was a driving vacation, and my insurance was going to expire before I was due to get back, that I should probably take care of this little issue before I actually left the state.
So I decided to make one more round of phone calls. The first place I called answered, told me they could set me up no problem. But it had to be done in person, and they closed in 90 minutes. They were located in Trenton. That was around 90 minutes away.
So, my plans for leaving directly from Jersey City were thrown away. Instead, I high tailed it south as quickly as I could manage. I got to Trenton before they shut their doors, and before long I was seated in a small cluttered room with an aging and portly African-American gentlemen who was taking my information down for the insurance. I was cursing myself for having left the camera in the car, because the whole scene would have made a very interesting picture. But there is no picture. Sorry.
He priced out a policy for me (slightly less than my old policy) and sent me to wait in the waiting room until a woman in another small cluttered room was ready to actually make out all the paperwork for me. After about half an hour she was ready for me. She printed out all sorts of things and had me sign a bunch of things, and before too long I was all set.
Only one problem. Unbenounced to me before a few days prior to this, New Jersey law requires a seven working day waiting period to activate new insurance. (To allow time to check you out for fraud before making the poilicy official.) And, due to my procrastination, I did not have seven business days until my last policy ran out. So. I was all set. My new policy was all signed, sealed and paid for. But I would still have a gap. I would have a few days uninsured. Starting while I was still in Ohio.
I really should probably have immediately gone and parked my car at home, and rented a car for the next two weeks and gotten full insurance on that car and used the rental for the Ohio trip. I thought about that. But it was already getting late, and my mind was not ready to wrap around the logistics of arranging that. (Although in retrospect, there would have been ways to do it without too much trouble.) And plus, I didn't want to go home. My vacation was already started. I would leave and make the drive to Ohio. I'd leave the decision of what to do with my car during the "gap" open until I got to that point.
But it was time to say goodbuy to the insuance place. I wasn't able to get a picture of the inside, but here is the outside...
Oh, and of course we have to have the traditional shot of my dashboard setup... 2 GPS units and an XM radio...
Now, for this trip, I had decided that every time I was an even 50 miles from my spot (as the crow flies) I would stop and take a picture, while I forced the GPS to recalculate my route to ensure it really was keeping me on small back roads, and not trying to be a weasel and get me on bigger roads and Interstates. I hit the first of these while I was still in New Jersey, not that long after leaving the insurance place (and grabbing a quick meal at Burger King). So, at 450 miles from my spot, I pulled over and took a picture of what was there. This house in Ewing, NJ.
And as I was heading West from Ewing, and as I refused to get on 95 to cross the river into Pennsylvania, and instead went North and crossed at Washington's Crossing... Day 0 of my vacation was over.
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