Vacation: In June and July of 2023, we took a road trip to The Big City -- New York City! Ephraim helped inspire and plan this trip. Be sure to read his Daily Journal.

Other major destinations along the way included Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Hershey, Philadelphia, Newport, Boston, Niagara Falls, and Toronto.

We traveled through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusets, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Ontario (Canada), and Michigan.

We drove 2,722 miles in 12 days (11 nights). We averaged 22.3 mpg and regular gas was approximately $3.61/gallon.

Start Here: Click on the Category or Event in the left-hand frame to view the corresponding photos. Note that the photos of Statue Cruises and Niagara Falls (USA) have been split into several pages each.

Here are some helpful hints:

You can also use the navigation links at the top and bottom of each page of photos to step forward or backward through the gallery.
To enlarge a photo or thumbnail, simply click on it.
To determine exactly where a photo was taken, click on the "Where on Earth?" link below the photo. Note: This only applies to photos that contain GPS information.
Each photo is named with the approximate date/time that it was taken (YMD - HMS). Hover over a photo to view this information.

If you are short on time, Click here to view thumbnails of all 1800 photos on a single page.

Scroll down to view videos from the road trip.

Summary: Do you remember the summer of 2023? It was the summer of the uncontrolled Canadian wildfires. It was really close, but we narrowly dodged disaster.

Day one of the Road Trip (Chicago) was washed out by smoke and rain (we decided to go to Shedd instead of the Willis Tower Skydeck), but the weather on the rest of the trip was much better.

Terrified of the traffic and parking in and around New York City and Boston, we decided to leave our cars at home and rent a minivan. Traffic wasn't nearly as bad as we had feared, but it was the right decision.

Needless to say, this trip was much different than our three trips out west and our trip to the Smoky Mountains. Whereas our previous road trips were all about nature, this trip was (mostly) about the birth of America and the what came of our freedom, including many amazing structures built by man.

With that said, one of the last major attractions of this trip was Niagara Falls. From Milwaukee, you can drive to Niagara Falls in one day (via Canada). If you haven't been there before, you must put it at the top of your bucket list.

New York City: Known as the Capitol of the World, New York City is one of the most well-known and busiest cities on Earth. Suffice it to say: Planning a trip to New York City was much more challenging than driving through South Dakota.

After visiting Philadelphia's Independence Hall on July 3, we arrived in Manhattan on the morning of Tuesday, July 4. This worked out perfectly, as there was almost NO traffic during the morning rush-hour.

Day 1: We started by visiting the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, then the World Trade Center complex (9/11 Memorial, One World Observatory, and the 9/11 Museum). We then walked to the East River from our hotel to watch the Independence Day Fireworks.

Day 2: We spent all of day 2 walking in Midtown: Grand Central Terminal, Summit One Vanderbilt, Empire State Building & Herald Square, Times Square, Fifth Avenue, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. We finished the day by watching the sunset from EdgeNYC.

Day 3: Unfortunately, The Phantom of the Opera recently closed up shop on Broadway, after 35 years of non-stop performances, literally weeks before we arrived in New York City. So we spent the morning in Central Park and then drove to Rhode Island.

Obviously, we could have spent 3 months in New York City and only scratched the surface. But we had a great time visiting some of the most-notable attractions and recommend that you do the same!

Favorites: My favorite places were Independence Hall, the 9/11 Museum, and Niagara Falls.

It felt surreal to be in the same building and the same room where the United States Declaration of Independence and Consitution were adopted.
The 9/11 Museum was extremely impressive, incredibly moving, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Niagara Falls was also very impressive, especially because of the ability to see it up close in person (Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, Terrapin Point, etc.)

Rosanne's favorite places were the West Side Market in Cleveland, and the view from the Embassy Suites Hotel in Niagara Falls (Canada).

Elliot's favorites place was the Hersheypark Theme Park. He also liked New York City, thankfully :)

Ephraim's favorite memories (besides Hersheypark) included Summit One Vanderbilt, buying his Korok Stuffed Animal at the Nintendo store, and "spending time with family."

Other Notes: If you ever go to (or through) Cleveland, make a little time to stop at the West Side Market and the USS Cod. These hidden gems are worth your time.

If you visit the Hershey complex in Pennsylvania, skip the "factory tour" and the other expensive gimmicks, and just spend all your time on the roller coasters and waterslides at the adjacent Hersheypark!

It was at Hersheypark, however, where I dropped my phone on the concrete and shattered the screen. This became a problem when I took the damaged phone into Niagara Falls. Water got into the phone and I almost lost every photo from the entire road trip!

The largest pipe organ in the world can be found inside the Macy's department store in downtown Philadelphia! Seriously. Free concerts almost every day.

It was actually really neat to be inside the crown of the Statue of Liberty. Crown Tickets need to be purchased well in advance, but it was fun.

Of the three New York City skydecks that we visited, One World Observatory was the highest (and had the only view from lower Manhattan). Summit One Vanderbilt was the most entertaining (with its mirrored floors and floating balls). EdgeNYC provided a great view of the sunset over the Hudson river (and provided the best outdoor experience).

Newport (Rhode Island) is a very cute little town. We ate dinner at The Mooring, and the food was wonderful.

Don't bother with Plymouth Rock. However, Plymouth was the furthest east we've ever been -- further east than even The Bahamas.

Do not rush your next trip to Niagara Falls. There are lots of things to do, and the lines can be long. You must not skip the Cave of the Winds!

More notes can be found in the photo gallery (inline with the photos).

Cool Rocks: While we were driving, Ephraim had a great time documenting every day's activities in his journal:

Ephraim (60 Pages) - "The Big City Trip"

Daily Videos: Watch home videos from our road trip by clicking on these YouTube links:

June 29	Shedd Aquarium (Chicago)	July 5	Summit One Vanderbilt Times Square (Day) EdgeNYC
June 30	USS Cod (Cleveland) Duquesne Incline (Pittsburgh)	July 6	Silly Photos The Breakers & Cliff Walk (Brief)
July 1	Downtown Pittsburgh Brewers at Pirates (PNC Park)	July 7	Magnetic Coins, Laughing in the Car, Dinner
July 2	Hershey Factory Tour Hersheypark	July 8	Niagara Falls (USA), including: Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds
July 3	Downtown Philadelphia The Wanamaker Organ	July 9	Niagara Falls (CAN), including: Falls Incline, Floral Clock
July 4	Lower Manhattan (Deserted), Statue of Liberty (Crown), 9/11 Memorial, One World Observatory, Fireworks	July 10

Total Running Time: 1 hours, 59 minutes [Playlist]

Destinations Not Filmed: West Side Market, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Independence Hall & Liberty Bell, Ellis Island, Oculus & 9/11 Museum, Grand Central Terminal, Herald Square, Fifth Avenue & St. Patrick's Cathedral, Central Park, Ocean Drive, Plymouth Rock, Boston & Salem, Albany, Toronto

Shedd Aquarium:

USS Cod:

Pittsburgh:

Hersheypark:

Philadelphia:

Wanamaker Organ:

Manhattan:

Summit One Vanderbilt:

EdgeNYC:

Hotel Pools:

Niagara Falls:

Other (Short) Videos: