I think it is time for my first real complaint. Even though I anticipated this problem, it still bothers me. There is no kettle at my hotel room. Now before you drop your tea cup and morning papers, they do have hot water available in the lobby.

But in an extension of this, I presume, of all the teas they have on offer, they suspiciously lack a good black tea. There is no English Breakfast or even Earl Grey. It is only an array of fancy fruity and green teas. And who wants that early in the morning? You want good black tea.

Initially, I thought it was just the hotel being loopy, but it turns out to be systemic problem around here. Any café, that might offer tea, always offer teas of which whose names I have never heard.

Still, I plan to see if I can find a proper tea shop today, and possibly obtain some good black tea in tea bags.

The boardwalk along the beach in Asbury Park.

Beyond not having tea for breakfast (or tea at all yesterday), I also did not spend much time in New York, because I went to New Jersey. More precisely, we went to the seafront town of Asbury Park. Which apparently is a pretty popular.

This town, like much of the New Jersey coastline, had been hit hard by Hurricane Irene, with several buildings still in decay and practical ruins.

One of the buildings one gets to walk through, as it is part of the boardwalk. The boardwalk used to continue far further down, but the same hurricane also ruined that.

Indeed, much of this country feels like a country in decay. Almost as if it has already given up.

The scenery was quite different than that of New York City, although, we did also get to spend a few hours in car on what Americans do not call - but should - motorways. Although, not quite at the speeds one might be used to for Europeans.

One of the buildings that did survive along the boardwalk.

I will get to visit New Jersey again on either Tuesday or Wednesday, when I pick up my car. But that time I will be in Newark.