We woke up within the Applegreen travel stop and realized that the forecast for the entire day would be cold, windy, grey, and rainy, so we took advantage of this by catching up on work and other indoor errands in the RV. It's tough to juggle "adulting" priorities on the road, and even harder to have any semblance of a routine, so we were relieved in a way to have a rainy day focused on catching up on things. We had planned to head to Long Island in the afternoon, but the traffic buildup meant that we shelved this idea, staying an extra night at this motorway stop. Thanks, Applegreen!
Let's Drive Like a Truckie
The next morning, we headed to Long Island, only to find that Google GPS directed us to... Manhattan! Before we knew it, we were in the Bronx, confused as to why we had been routed here, and stressed out by the traffic and narrow turns. There wasn't anywhere to stop either to figure things out. The worst part was that New York City has a lot of parkways, which are basically limited-access roads designed for passenger vehicles, not commercial trucks or buses. Because Google Maps had no idea of our dimensions, we were being directed to parkways, which we couldn't travel down because we were much taller than the height limit, which could even be as low as 7 feet 10 inches (we are about 11 feet tall)!
After some manic research while Michael was driving, Lisette found a truck driving GPS app to download, which would help us avoid the multitude of parkways we kept encountering. On the other hand, it seems we now couldn't avoid toll roads (which we'd been able to do so far on this trip with our Google Maps settings), but we'd rather pay a toll later than get stuck on a parkway!
Eventually, we were able to breathe a sigh (or 3) of relief, as we drove well away from Manhattan, stopping at Denton House, a historic building constructed in 1795 as a farmhouse, that was then converted in the 1860s to a Georgian-style mansion, and is now a McDonald's restaurant! Nicknamed "McMansion," it looks very different from the majority of McDonald's restaurants, with its all-white veneer, 2 large brick chimneys, and bow window room/oval parlor, and with the restaurant sign in simple black lettering without the famous golden arches. Having said that, we have been to several unique McDonald's restaurants on this trip, including in Sedona, Arizona (with its turquoise arches), Roswell, New Mexico (alien-themed), and Freeport, Maine (also in a former mansion).
Apparently for this McDonald's, the restaurant chain had purchased the property with the intent to demolish it and build a normal restaurant, but the local community successfully sought historic designation and won, allowing the building to remain with some minor changes needed to convert it. Lisette wasn't interested in eating McDonald's for lunch, but after she had food in the RV we headed over, so Michael could get a cheeseburger and Happy Meal, using the app to get today's special ((we returned the toy though--sorry K-Pop fans, we returned the BTS figurine to the store). It was cool though to dine in, and see the different decor, including the staircase leading up to the second floor.
A Long Drive and an Odd Day
Our next stop was the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy. Once part of the Guggenheim Estate, it captures the glitz and glamour of Long Island’s early 20th-century era when America’s wealthiest families built grand summer homes along this area, which also inspired the "East Egg" setting in the classic novel, "The Great Gatsby." Today, the 216-acre preserve is run by a nonprofit that hosts mansion tours and events. We wanted to drive in to see the grand mansion...but alas, we hadn't looked at the fine print ahead of getting there, and it was closed the day we arrived (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays).
So we next tried our luck at Oheka Castle, a swanky hotel built on Long Island's Gold Coast in 1919 and surrounded by formal gardens that features rooms decorated with antiques, Italian linens and original artwork. The castle was the country home of investment financier and philanthropist Otto Hermann Kahn (who was sometimes referred to as the "King of New York") and his family. It's also been featured in a bunch of music videos (from J. Lo to Taylor Swift), TV shows (Succession, naturally), and was the partial inspiration for the Gatsby estate in "The Great Gatsby." We drove up to the entrance in our clunky RV, and a woman came out and told us that we couldn't go any further even for a quick peek--we'd have to book a mansion tour. Oops, strike two--we tried!
Our third attempt was a "home" of sorts, but definitely nowhere near the same level of prestige and extravagance...rather, the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center opened in 1931 and was the largest mental health campus of its kind at the time, including a farm, post office, power plant, courtrooms, and even a fire department along with its hospital and cemetery. In the description in Atlas Obscura it looked like it was abandoned, but when we drove up there it was definitely thriving, with a practically full parking lot. It even had a caged, fenced area, which we surmised would be for patients to be able to go outside of the hospital to get some fresh air and exercise, but still remain confined. Michael joked that if anyone asked where we went in Long Island, one of the places we'd have to say was... an operating mental health institution! It's definitely been an odd day today.
Duck, Duck, Park
We thought we'd make it all the way out to the Hamptons today, but it turns out that Long Island is, well, long! As dusk approached, our last stop was The Big Duck, apparently one of Long Island's most famous roadside attractions. It's a a ferrocement-style building (consisting of a thin layer of cement mortar reinforced with multiple layers of fine steel wire mesh) in the shape of a duck, and there's a gift shop inside, and a field around it, with not too much else. Still, it was a good area for Sheila to go for a walk, and for us to stretch our legs. Why the duck? Apparently it was originally built in 1931 by a duck farmer, Martin Maurer, and used as a shop to sell ducks, dairy, and duck eggs.
In contrast to the hustle and bustle we'd experienced in the morning, fortunately in this part of New York we were able to fairly easily find a generous-sized pullout on the side of the road, which could fit a number of cars, RVs or trucks. It wasn't side-by-side to the road, so it was sufficient to get a decent night's sleep without being too bothered by noise or vehicle vibrations!