Long Island

 Tuesday September 28

I should have known it was going to be a challenging day. I woke up still with a gimpy foot and sore throat. Add to that some vertigo! Luckily I had my medication with me so I took it and lay back down. In about a half hour I was feeling better so went down and had breakfast. Then back up for a nap. We took a late check out and left around noon. 

Somewhere in NJ, we pulled onto an exit to find a restroom. A simple turn right proved almost impossible because of a traffic back up. So we decided to turn onto the main road and make a U turn. We found out the hard way that THERE ARE NO U TURNS OR LEFT TURNS IN JERSEY! Well, there are but you have to turn right! We drove MILES before we figured out how to get turned around. Once kinda back on the way we stopped to eat at a WaWa. No tables anywhere so we ate in the car. I used a plastic bag as a bib.

From there we had no problem getting through New Jersey. We took the Goethals Bridge over to Staten Island then the Verrazano Bridge to Brooklyn. THEN we hit traffic! We passed JFK airport and crawled along. Finally turned north towards 495. We were turning right and Paul had to inch up to see oncoming traffic. Then BAM! We got hit from behind  (we bought our car exactly one year ago tomorrow)! But luckily our bumper absorbed the impact and there was no dent or scratch. I made Paul pull over so I could get myself calmed down. 

Once I updated my GPS, we made it to 495 okay. I checked the map and found the nearest hotel—a Marriott in Melville. Pretty luxurious. After dropping off our luggage, we drove to a nice Italian restaurant and ate dinners  

We plan to drive to Orient tomorrow and take the ferry to New London, CT tomorrow  

I need a rest! My teeth hurt from so much clenching!