Days 10-16: NYC Playscapes, Brooklyn Bridge, Liberty & Ellis Island, and Legoland New York

Days 10-14: Jersey City Home Base While Exploring New York City (Jul 22 – Jul 26)

Middle River, MD to Jersey City, NJ – 160 miles, 3 hours
We arrived at Liberty Harbor RV Park at 4 p.m. EST—early for once! Liberty Harbor RV Park campground is the closest RV park to NYC, making it an ideal home base for exploring the city. Its convenient location meant just a 15-minute walk to the nearest PATH to NYC subway station 5 blocks away (Grove Street Station). It has easy access to Liberty State Park, Tours of the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island. For the first two days, we traveled into Manhattan by subway but later discovered the ferry as a scenic and bike-friendly option!

Our first evening in the city began with an impromptu adventure to Times Square via subway. Feeling a bit puzzled, we were grateful when a random kind gentleman named Fred whom we met while purchasing our subway ticket helped us navigate the subway route—and even accompanied our family until our final train connection.

Day 11: Central Park, Playground, Lego Store, and Edge @ Hudsons
On our first full day in NYC, we hopped on the subway to Manhattan. We found some tasty food vendors at the entrance of Central Park and enjoyed a family picnic. The kids especially loved the incredible playscapes in Central Park and Battery Park, both of which lived up to NYC’s reputation for world-class green spaces.

The Heckscher Playground next to Umpire Rock was a top favorite–it is the oldest playground in Central Park, it is also the largest at almost two acres. The water fixture running throughout the playscape and giant rocks for climbing was super fun for the kids.

After all the playground fun, we walked down 5th avenue and visited a few stores including the LEGO store and DJI (the drone camera company). We then soaked in stunning 360-degree views of NYC and Jersey City from the sky deck at Edge NYC at Hudson Yards.

We ended our evening at an Italian restaurant not too far from the 9/11 Memorial.

Day 12: Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, and Battery Park Playground
On our second day in NYC, was all about Ellis and Liberty Island. We hopped on a ferry from Jersey City to Ellis Island where we learned about the history of immigration in the America. The kids had plenty of questions, even asking if Dad and Mom went thru Ellis Island when we came to America! No, we didn’t. Ellis Island was well before our time bewteen 1892 and 1954!

The kids earned their next Junior Ranger badge by following the footsteps of 12 million people who came to the United States of America through Ellis Island–leaving, the tough voyage across the ocean, and the renewed sense of hope as they arrived at the New York Harbor.

After Ellis Island, we hopped back onto the ferry and visited Liberty Island as we stood in awe of the Statue of Liberty. We were not able to get tickets to climb up to the crown as they were sold out 2-months in advance. Still, the pedestal was enough of a wonderful educational experience!

After the Statue of Liberty Tour, Mom wanted to take the ferry to Battery Park from Liberty Island. The kids, however, was ready to head back to our home on wheels at the campground to refresh and explore on bikes. In doing so, we discovered the Paulus Hook Ferry way from Jersey City to Brookfield Place/Battery Park in Downtown NYC.

We hung around Playscape at Battery Park, ate at Italian Restaurant for dinner, and biked to the 9/11 Memorial but it was closed off. We returned to our campground in Jersey City by catching the ferry again with our bikes. A fun experience to ride the ferry and see both NYC and Jersey City lights!

Day 13: 9/11 Memorial, Brooklyn Bridge, and Little Italy
On our 3rd day in NYC, we returned to Battery Park & Castle Clinton National Monument so Thao can get her cancellation stamp. The kids ran around Battery park/playscape until there was a meltdown before grabbing a tasty lunch at NARA Sushi on Pearl St. After our bellies were full, we stopped by the 9/11 Memorial but didn’t visit the museum as it was already late afternoon and wasn’t worth the short visit for the price.

From there we went on a hunt for the next awesome spot on our bikes—Brooklyn Bridge Park. There are 6 piers. Each pier each provides a different set of activities. To get there we had to first bike over the Brooklyn Bridge. The inclines were just challenging enough to keep it exciting. The kids confidently led the way, and Thao (Mom) powered through like a champ—just a couple of minutes behind us!

Along the way, we stopped to enjoy the sports courts at Pier 2 and playgrounds at Pier 6 where kids can climb up and go down the Slide Mountain, jumped in Sandbox Village to play in one of the largest sandboxes, and swing adventure at Swing Valley! And if that wasn’t enough, they got to cool down with water features in the Water Lab!

We capped off this adventure-filled day with a delicious dinner in Little Italy which included La Nonna and gelato at Ferrara Bakery, a well-deserved treat after conquering the Manhattan Bridge on our way back.

We barely caught the last ferry ride from Brookfield Place/Battery Park back to New Jersey. Otherwise it would have been an hour long subway route back to our campground. Few!

Day 14-17: Legoland and Florida, NY (July 26 – July 29)

Day 14: Jersey City to Florida NY – 62 miles, 1.25 hours.
After a late final night in NYC, we departed Jersey City mid-morning at 11 a.m., heading toward Legoland New York in Goshen, NY. On the way, we made an impromptu stop at Woodbury Common Premium Outlet for lunch—those large parking spots are a win for RV travelers! By the time we arrived at Legoland around 1 p.m., we still managed to conquer most of the rides and attractions the kids were excited about before the park closed at 6 p.m.

That evening, we checked in to Black Bear RV Park in Florida, NY. It was a quiet spot to enjoy dinner, relax, and recharge for our next adventure to Boston. Or so we thought…

Day 15: A Super Fast Curveball
The morning of Day 15 (Saturday, July 27) threw us a major curveball. Our Ford F-250 tow vehicle decided it had other plans. It quickly became clear that the truck wasn’t in a condition to keep going, derailing our carefully planned RV itinerary. Sad.

We spent the next few hours on the phone with our insurance company, coordinating towing arrangements and finding a dealership for repairs. Eventually, our truck was towed to Sunshine Ford in Newburgh, NY, while our Airstream was towed back to Black Bear Campground. Let’s just say we unlocked a new fear and learned a few valuable lessons—but I’ll save those details for another post.

Day 16: Exploring Florida, NY in One Day
Despite the hiccup, our adventure didn’t come to a halt. We made the most of the extra day at the campground. About a mile from our campground was Main Street where we explored the charming small town of Florida, NY, on our bikes with no plans in particular. We visited the local library, got a haircut for all the boys, ate some pizza at Barrel 28 Restaurant, stopped by a Glenmore Brewing Co where we met some locals who was celebrating their son’s graduation.

Our boys also made fast friends with some other kids at the campground as they captured and release fire flies together.

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