Sandy Hook/Highlands, NJ

we caught the ferry across NY Harbor to Sandy Hook, which is kind of like North Head in Sydney, with an old military base on the tip with guns etc guarding the entry to NY Harbor from the British (It has America's oldest continually operating lighthouse, since 1764) then the Confederates, then the Germans and finally the Russians (with surface-to-air missiles still on their racks). It was also our first trip on the East River and there were some great views of Manhattan. The beaches over there were quite nice and it was easy flat cycling (only did 25 km)