June 2001
Eric and Shirley's Vacation
15 Days, 8 States, 2113 Miles...
e both recently had two weeks off from our hectic medical school schedule, miraculously at the same time. Naturally, we decided to go on vacation. Here is a little taste of what we did...
|
 |
Day 1: Ocean City, NJ
New York, NY to Ocean City, NJ (by way of Trenton, NJ)
Train Mileage: 60 miles
Car Mileage: 78 miles
|
Today, we escaped the dirt and scum New York City to begin our much needed vacations on the beaches of the Jersey Shore. Unfortunately, neither of us have a car here in New York, so we had to first take the train to Trenton and pick up my sister's car, which my parents had dropped off for us. But just a short ride later, we were at the Northwood Inn, a lovely little bed and breakfast housed in a newly renovated Victorian home.
|
|
Day 2: Ocean City, NJ
Ocean City, NJ
Car Mileage: 5 miles
Walking Mileage: 1.5 miles
Biking Mileage: 5.5 miles
|
You can't go the shore without spending some time on the beach, right? We also biked along the boardwalk and had a nice dinner at Gregory's Inn in Sommers Point.
|
|
Day 3: Ocean City, NJ
Ocean City, NJ
Walking Mileage: 2 miles
Bumper Car Mileage: 400 feet
|
This was our "do-stuff-on-the-boardwalk-night". We ate a nice breakfast at the beach club cafe, played arcade games, rode on the bumper cars, and played several rounds of minature golf. We also bought ourselves a frisbee and ate enormous ice cream sundaes at the Hobby Horse Ice Cream Parlor. Yummm...
|
|
Day 4: Ocean City, NJ
Ocean City, NJ to New York ,NY
Car Mileage: 130 miles
|
Sadly, we had to return to NYU for two nights in the middle of our vacation to take care of a few things (like me packing to move).
|
|
Day 5: New York
New York, NY
Walking Mileage: 1 mile
|
I spent this entire day packing. Blah!
|
|
Day 6: Washington, DC
New York, NY to Fairfax, VA (by way of Washington DC)
Car Mileage: 245 miles
Walking Mileage: 1/2 miles
|
We left New York early in the morning and drove down to Washington, DC, where we visited the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and saw the IMAX movie Journey into Amazing Caves. We then continued on to Fairfax, where we stayed at my brother's apartment.
|
|
Day 7: Western Virginia
Fairfax, VA to Abingdon, VA (by way of Luray, VA)
Car Mileage: 360 miles
Walking Mileage: 4 miles
|
This was a busy day. We first drove west to the town of Luray, where we visited the East Coast's largest and most popular caves - the appropriately named Luray Caverns. We then drove south along Skyline Drive, which runs through Shennandoah National Park, right along a ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. We went hiking at a couple of places here. We finally made our way to the state's southwestern quadrant, where I introduced Shirley to the joy of Shoney's.
|
|
Day 8: Gatlinburg
Abingdon, VA to Gatlinburg, TN
Car Mileage: 130 miles
Walking Mileage: 2.5 miles
Moving Platform Mileage: 300 feet
|
Today we drove down to Gatlinburg, Tennessee - the most tourist oriented town I think I've ever seen. We visited the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, the Gatlinburg aquarium, shopped a bit, and had some excellent food at the Pancake Pantry.
|
|
Day 9: The Great Smoky Mountains
Gatlinburg, TN to Mount LeConte, TN
Car Mileage: 20 miles
Walking Mileage: 5.5 miles
|
Today was our chance to really be adventurous as we backpacked through the Great Smoky Mountains. We took the Alum Cave Trail to the top of Mount LeConte, where we stayed with 10 strangers in a three walled park shelter. This was one of the most scenic trails I've hiked on, and sunset from the top was pretty neat.
|
|
Day 10: The Great Smoky Mountains
Mount LeConte, TN to Rocky Mount, NC
Car Mileage: 360 miles
Walking Mileage: 5 miles
|
We hiked back down Mount LeConte and drove to Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Not much else to say about today.
|
|
Day 11: The Outer Banks
Rocky Mount, NC to Nags Head, NC
Car Mileage: 148 miles
|
Today we arrived at the Outer Banks, a narrow strip of sand dunes and marshes off the coast of North Carolina. We stayed at a great (and cheap) hotel right on the beach, although the weather was mostly rainy while we were there. We did manage to hit the sand for a few hours before the clouds rolled in, followed by an increadible dinner experience at Goombays - a Carrabean influenced seafood restuarant in Kill Devil Hills. We also went minature golfing one final time, where Shirley kicked my butt.
|
|
Day 12: The Outer Banks
The Outer Banks, NC
Car Mileage: 45 miles
Kayak Mileage: 2 miles
|
Sadly, today's events were slightly marred by Tropical Storm Allison, but we still managed to have a nice time. We went kayaking in the salt marshes of the Outer Banks, as well as saw the Wright Brothers Memorial (which is actually not particularly exciting).
|
|
Day 13: A Long Drive
Nags Head, NC to Southampton, PA
Car Mileage: 372
|
Today was our long trip back to the Mid-Atlantic. After filling ourselves with a nice breakfast buffet at The Dunes restaurant, we were off. The drive back wasn't particularly exciting, although we did manage to see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel.
|
|
Day 14: My Parents' House
Southampton, PA
Car Mileage: 50 miles
|
Today Shirley and I hung out around my hometown. We also went shopping for camping supplies for our next exciting adventure, as well as went out to dinner for my father's birthday. Tropical Storm Allison hit Pennsylvania today, but somehow we managed to avoid her wrath. A stretch of road that we drove by on the way to the camping store was hit by a flash flood about an hour after we passed, and the restuarant we had gone to for dinner was evacuated the following morning.
|
|
Day 15: Returning Home
Southampton, PA to New York, NY
Car Mileage: 20 miles
Train Mileage: 60 miles
|
Unfortunately, our vacation couldn't last forever, and we eventually had to return to New York to continue our medical education. Click here to check out our next big trip.
|
|
