Piscataway, New Jersey to New York City, New York

THE final leg of our fantastic journey was just 43 miles, north to the Lincoln Tunnel which swallowed us up in New Jersey and spat us out in the heart of Manhattan, just a few blocks from the Chelsea apartment that is ours for the next four days.

I returned the Ford Edge to Alamo and went through that stupid sentimentality people sometimes get for vehicles that have taken them to special places. Since picking up the car more than three weeks ago at Los Angeles airport I have driven it 3940 miles. The average fuel consumption for the whole trip was 21.7 miles per gallon, so we've used 181 US gallons of fuel. That's cost us about $680 (fuel prices dropped as we came east due to the falling market for crude oil), which is about £340 at the rate we got at the start of our holiday. The cost of renting it for 23 days was $1418. Our average speed over the whole trip has been 42 miles per hour and the car has been perfect for our needs. I pencilled a short note in the front of the owner's manual telling any future renter/owner about our trip and this website.

The New York apartment (left) is excellent. It's very different from the house on the beach in California. We have swapped open, bright, minimalist functionality for cool and stylish urban sophistication. There is carefully-chosen antique furniture, tasteful art, mood lighting and a bath that ought to make bubbles if we can figure out how to make it work.

We have a doorman and a typical New York shared lobby, with polished mailboxes, that leads out to a very pleasant neighbourhood with great restaurants and the best supermarket I've ever been in (right).

The next four days will be spent doing touristy things in New York: a cruise around the island, perhaps, and another trip up the Empire State Building. I tried to buy tickets for this week's Yankees v Boston Red Sox baseball game at Yankee Stadium but it's sold out.

We have got tickets to a rock concert in Central Park featuring Paramore, Phantom Planet, Paper Route and Jack's Mannequin.

Another very personal thrill for me was going into a Waterstones book shop on the corner of Wall Street and Broadway and seeing my book, The Photographer's Guide to Setting Up a Website, on sale in America.

I even asked an assistant to take my photo with it (left)!

This is the last written entry. Over dinner last night (Chinese take-away in iconic American cardboard cartons) Charlotte started a list of all the things we remember from our trip and she will eventually post that on her blog (click here).

I will probably add more photos. Please add comments to this blog. Several people have emailed me after reading it during our trip, which was really great, thanks, but comments on the blog itself will help to keep it alive.

Piscataway to New York City = 43 miles.

New Castle, Delaware to Piscataway, New Jersey via Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

POOR old Philadelphia suffered as a result of our 'too many cities, not enough time' syndrome.

I'm sure it's got just as much to offer as Baltimore, Charlotte or Oklahoma, but I think we're getting weary.

We spent a couple of hours walking to and around the historic district and it was perfectly pleasant, but I think we're starting to feel the pull of our New York loft apartment at the end of the road. We were heading north again just after lunch, aiming for a final night stop close enough to New York for an easy run in on Monday morning.

After dinner at the bar/restaurant next to our Piscataway motel, Laura suggested I stayed in the bar with Bill and enjoy a few more drinks – Jack Daniels on ice as we watched the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

These beautiful Motel 6 quilt covers have brightened up many drab rooms since California. This was the last of them.

New Castle to Piscataway = 120 miles (including motel search).