Day #22 - July 5, 2010

Jersey City, NJ to New York City (Times Square) to Niagra Falls, NY
476 Miles

Ladies & Gentlemen:

I made it!!!
Lincoln Park in San Francisco to Times Square in New York City in 22 days.

The drive from Jersey City to Times Square this morning was actually quite easy. I left the hotel about 7:30 a.m. and drove through the Lincoln Tunnel. With the help of my GPS system, I arrived in Times Square before 8:00 a.m. Because today is a holiday, there was virtually no traffic. The pictures below were taken in several locations around the Times Square area and Broadway. My car is prominent in the first photo.




And of course Mr. Lincoln in these shots.

There is no Lincoln Highway marker in Times Square. The Lincoln Highway Association plans to place one there in 2013 on the 100th Anniversary.

I stayed in Manhatten for a total of about 45 minutes only. I have been in New York City twice in the last 10 years for extended visits, so I elected to move on and see other places I have not visited before.

I drove north on 8th Avenue and Central Park West and then took the George Washington Bridge back to New Jersey and Route 80 west.

My trip east on the Lincoln Highway was mainly through small American towns and cities. Going west I intend to take interstate highways between major cities to see some specific attractions along the way.

With that in mind, I drove 476 miles today; Route 80 to Route 380 north to Scranton, PA and Route 81 north through Binghamton, NY to Syracuse, NY, and Route 90 west south of Rochester, NY to Buffalo, NY, and then north to Niagra Falls, NY where I am spending the night.

Late this afternoon on my drive from Rochester to Buffalo, my cell phone rang. I was unable to pull off the highway (Route 90), so I answered it while driving (bad!). It was David and we chatted for a short time. I told him where I was and he said he used to live near Buffalo as a boy, in Clarence, NY on Christian Drive. About 5 minutes after I hung up the phone, the next exit off Route 90 was Clarence, NY, so I exited the freeway and within 20 minutes was on the street where he was born. What are the chances of this happening? Amazing!!

Here are the photos I took of Clarence.

I proceeded on to Niagra Falls, NY and checked into Days Inn. The desk clerk told me I can walk to the falls tomorrow, about a 15 minute walk. That will be tomorrow's adventure.