21st October – 3rd Dec 09 - USA

21^st Oct 09 – NYC

Up early this morning due to the time difference, although we did settle in a little easier the night before due to the later flight! We dropped Wendy off at the station at 7am in the new Rav4 which they kindly said we could use. Jmel as ever proved to be the kindest host. We spent the afternoon digging holes and planting Hydrangeas, much to the delight of Jmel.

22^nd Oct 09 – NYC

Mal headed off to Newark airport today to collect the Wilsons as they were arriving from the UK. The Wilsons arrived to much excitement; Neil had been stopped at the airport and taken into a separate room! He just had to sit there and sit there without any communication, when he asked what was going on he was told to wait, as people came and went Neil started to prepare for a trip straight back to the UK. Outside Helen was preparing the boys for a trip back to the UK, although Christopher (the youngest) declared it’s ok Mum I’ll stay with Uncle Mal!! Guess the excitement of being at Aunty Wendy’s and NYC was too much for him. We all settled down to a nice relaxed evening.

23^rd Oct 09 - NYC  

The day was spent relaxing and settling in. Mal & Neil completed some work in the garden which consisted of breaking up a concrete base. I carved some pumpkins (or I should say Jackerlanterns), Sam and Chris were supposed to help me, but they didn’t like the seeds inside or the smell!! Kids hey! We all enjoyed a family dinner together.

24^th Oct 09 - 26^th Oct - NYC

Today saw the Wilson party depart for Washington DC. Mal and I didn’t go as we visited the capital last year, so we stayed home with Jmel and enjoyed some quality time together, we also spent time working on the garden project. On the Sunday we were invited on a boat trip on the Hudson by Betsy and Jane – without hesitation we agreed and with our packed lunch set off to meet our Captain! We had a brilliant time everyone getting a turn at Captaining the boat clearly under Betsy’s expert tuition, we sailed right down to the bottom of Manhattan and around Lady Liberty, it was a trip most people would pay a lot of money to go on and we are blessed with such wonderful friends that they took us out for the day just to ensure we had an enjoyable vacation. The scenery was a sight to behold as the trees were resplendent in all their ‘fall’ glory.

27^th Oct 09 – 31^st Oct 09 – NYC

The next few days were spent shopping with Helen. We also went into the city for the day, took a tour around Wendy’s offices which gave us a birds eye view of the city! We had the most beautiful weather so took a stroll along the Brooklyn Bridge, spotting a cruise ship just off the Statue of Liberty which my Aunt and Uncle were going on to cruise the Caribbean. We paid our regular homage to south street seaport were we indulged in beer and hotdogs! We had no trick or treaters, despite buying our won body weight in chocolate bars! The Wilsons left us on the 30^th Oct to return to the UK.

1^st Nov 09 – 23rd Nov 09 – NYC

Well this month commenced with some exciting things, namely a visit to the New York Metropolitan Opera www.metopera.org to see Tourandot a surprise from Wendy and Jmel – Wow what a wonderful present, it was absolutely breathtaking; I am sold on opera and can’t wait to go again! We ate dinner in the city prior to the opera at artepasta www.artepastanyc.com a super little Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village a great find courtesy of Father Joey! We also met up with my Aunt y Janet and Uncle  Colin on their return from the cruise. We collected them from their hotel and gave them a whistle stop tour of NYC which they thoroughly enjoyed. We took them to dinner at Bond 45 www.bond45.com another fabulous restaurant introduced to us by Wendy and Jmel, they were completely bowled over with the meal and the whole experience – we dropped a pooped Aunt 
and Uncle back at their hotel at around midnight. We continued with our gardening project with gusto and a very happy customer (Jmel) boy was she happy. As a reward for my work in the garden Wendy and Jmel spoiled me with a full body massage at the local salon, it was awesome, positively ‘the’ best massage I have ever had! We took the cars for their service and spent a little time checking out Maple Moor golf course in preparation for the visit from Paula and Chris. We also went for dinner at some friends Dusty and Melany, they were the perfect hosts and we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Although the evening did kick off with Wendy taking a tumble on the drive of our hosts and cutting her knuckles open – what an icebreaker!! Mal and Wendy spent some time researching and sourcing a new T.V. complete with surround sound. We started to prepare for Paula and Chris’s visit. Jmel and Wendy left for Texas on the 21^st; we dropped them at Le Guardia airport. We moved into Wendy and Jmel’s bedroom leaving ours vacant for P & C who were due at lunchtime on the 23^rd.

23^rd Nov 09 – NYC

Early morning on the 23^rd I received a text from P to say their flight from Manchester to Heathrow had been delayed and there was a chance they wouldn’t get their connection. Later I received another txt to say they had missed their flight!! The rest of the day was spent waiting around and working out which flight they could now get. They eventually arrived into JFK rather than Newark at about 6pm. We immediately went to the supermarket to buy steak for Chris’s dinner, as he wanted to choose it. We cooked a lovely dinner for us, P had a little salad as the delays etc. had messed up her body clock.

24^th Nov 09 – NYC

The next day after consultation with the vacationers we decided to go into the city. We gave them a guided tour of Times sq, St Patrick’s Cathedral, The Rockerfella Centre (top of the rock) www.topoftherocknyc.com made extra special by a guy proposing to his girlfriend at the top, Saks on 5^th Ave, Chris spotted Nick Faldo and Kate Moss on 5^th Ave, Mal spotted Kate Moss’s legs! We ate lunch at Carnegie Deli www.carnegiedeli.com, be warned do NOT order a lot of food if you visit here as the portions are huge! Luckily we have been before and take much pleasure in watching people ordering lots of food but then the look on their faces when it all arrives is something to behold. Needless to say we took leftovers home. We had a relaxing evening in; everyone was pretty tired after a full day in the city.

25^th Nov 09 – NYC

We decided on a trip to Woodbury common today www.premiumoutlets.com/woodburycommon/  a shopping outlet mall. Boy was PP happy shopping her favourite pastime. We spent the day at Woodbury; think everyone made a purchase of some kind. Upon our return to Scarsdale we dropped off our bags and decided on dinner at the City Limits Diner www.livanosrestaurantgroup.com. After dinner we retired home as once again everyone as pretty pooped.

26^th Nov 09 – NYC Thanksgiving

Today it was Macys Day parade, we were all feeling a little tired and due to our pending trip to Niagara decided not to go into the city to watch the parade, but thought we could watch it on T.V. After breakfast we headed off to Maple Moor Golf course for a walk. Chris was very impressed by the set up and after a chat with the guy in the shop he was booked in for a round on his return from Canada. In the meantime the guy gave him some clubs and balls to have a play on the putting area – Chris was very impressed and clearly in his element. The afternoon was spent quaffing sparkling wine and cooking a good ole fashioned Christmas dinner (or thanksgiving dinner), we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and evening. We packed most of our luggage ready for our early start in the morning.

27^th Nov 09 – Niagara Falls Canada

An early start today as we had a long drive ahead of us. Mal and Chris shared the driving, we stopped off en-route for a late breakfast in a quirky little town, P was convinced it was like a setting from a horror movie and we would get chopped up and put into the freezer. We arrived in Niagara late afternoon to very cold weather but no snow! We checked in to the Hilton Hotel www.niagarafallshilton.com  which we had booked as a present for P’s 40^th Birthday, upon booking I had explained to them it was my Sisters 40^th prezzie and I had booked a premium view. We were allocated a room on the 51^st floor, Mal asked the receptionist if we had a good view her reply was ‘the best as it is on the top floor of the hotel’ boy she was not joking it made you dizzy in the lift. After a short stint up and down in the wrong lift we finally found our room – it was stunning, two bedrooms a double Jacuzzi bath, flat screen TVs in both rooms, kitchen area and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the falls! We checked out the restaurant we wanted to eat at that night and after a trek to find the 7 eleven shop for P to get some antacid tabs we arrived back to the hotel dripping wet and freezing. We warmed ourselves by eating crisps, drinking wine and getting all excited watching the falls from our panoramic view! We eventually got ready albeit we had to prize Chris off the window as he had been exported back to childlike ways and could not tear himself away from the view – how cute! We made our way to the keg steakhouse www.kegsteakhouse.com a little early as we had a 7.30pm booking, but we thought if we got there early we may be able to secure a window seat, unfortunately they will not let you book a window seat when you make your booking it is a first come first served basis which we were a little disappointed about. However, Mal had a word with the Maitre to see if there was anything she could do, she said they had no window seats and gave us a buzzer and told us when the red light went off we should go back and they would show us to our table. In the interim P and I scurried off into the huge restaurant to check out possible seats which may have a reasonable view. As we arrived back our buzzer went off and we were escorted to our table by the waitress – wow we got the best seats in the house, right in the centre of the floor to ceiling windows, so a great view of the illuminated falls and the proceeding fireworks! We commenced dinner with a cocktail, our meal was first class and I would highly recommend this restaurant. After dinner we decided to go to the casino which was right across the street from our hotel. Being novices to such a thing Mal and I did not spend a penny; Chris had a couple of bets to no avail. Seeing as it wasn’t our lucky night we headed off to bed.

28^th Nov 09 – Canada

The day began with as much as you can eat buffet breakfast. We spent the day checking out the sights of the Niagara Falls area. We went on the tour behind the falls, after being told with much fervor all about the tour by a gentleman who had done it many times before we began our descent with excitement, although I must admit I think P and I were a little scared! But we donned our waterproof ponchos with delight and proceeded to the elevator. We crammed into the rickety old elevator and continued out descent, the doors opened to a deafening crescendo of water, so loud you could feel it in your body! We walk out onto the viewing platform to see the water smashing over the rocks down into the pool below – awesome! We took a walk behind the falls which was a little hairaising more so because the site was not very well maintained so looked like it may all collapse at any moment, to say P was a little hesitant at having her picture taken out on the ledge is perhaps an understatement. P and I made a dash back toward the lift having had enough of our underground cavern for one day; we patiently queued at the elevator with a large group hoping it would arrive soon. We jumped into the next available elevator saying our farewells to Chris and Mal incase they couldn’t fit in – nothing was going to stop us ascending from this watery hole. Upon reaching the top we both breathed a sigh of relief and discarded our waterproof friends. We took a gentle stroll down to the Clifton Hill area which was a cheesy tourist area not dissimilar to Blackpool, unimpressed we headed to the IMAX theatre to give our visitors another ‘new’ experience. We decided to head back to the hotel to check out the pool. Immediately upon reaching the pool Mal had to go on the 30ft 3 storey waterslide, amazing he said it was a ‘must’ for all, I reassured him he would never get P to go on it as she did not do slides, fairgrounds or the like – I told him to just be happy she was in the pool. But much to my astonishment P said ok then lets go on it! We climbed the stairs to our launch pad, Mal went down first, me second (I must admit after going down I thought it was way to fast for P, but couldn’t tell her it was too late). Anyway what ensued next was one of the funniest moments of my life! Mal waited near the area in the pool where everyone pops out from the slide. Chris gave us the nod she was on her way….. next P pops out of the bottom like a bullet from a gun and proceeds to flap around on the top of the water on her back with her eyes shut, by which point I was sure she was having a fit of some kind. Mal scooted over to her at a fast pace but in the meantime the lifeguard had jumped into the pool (fully clothed) to practise her lifesaving technique. Once P was reassured she was on terrafirma and no-one was trying to drown her (lifeguard included) she eagerly swam over to the centre of the pool to get out of the way to be greeted by me doubled over with laughter. At which point Chris shoots out from the bottom of the slide eager to ensure she was ok (from his view at the top of the slide with no communication it looked like she was having a fit too). Basically she had got all disorientated and thought Mal was trying to drag her under the water and then she proceeded to shout ‘get off me, get off me’ to the lifeguard, it wasn’t until she heard the lifeguard’s dulcet tones she realised all was not as it seemed! After profuse apologise to the lifeguard for wrecking her clothes she decided to stick to swimming, despite Mal’s renewed attempts to get he back on the slide. Chris explained that when P was at the top of the slide she asked what she needed to do and Chris explained she must lie down with her arms folded. So, P sat in the foot well of the slide at the top and led down bottom half in the foot well top half on the floor – Chris in fits for giggles explained to her she need to lie down on the slide as she would not get anywhere the way she was! What a brilliant day! We decided to go to a bar/grill Shoeless Joes www.shoelessjoes.ca for an informal dinner tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it. Dinner was followed by another trip to the casino for Chris to cash his chips in, before which we talked him into going on a bandit. I chose the bandit because it had paws on it after their pooches and from a 5 cent bet he won $100 woohoo get in! The evening ended on a very happy note.

 

29^th Nov 09 – Canada & NYC

We departed Niagara Falls early as we had a long drive back to New York; we decided to eat en-route, Mal and Chris once again shared the driving. Seeing as we would pass by Woodbury Common shopping outlets again we thought it would be silly not to stop, especially as they had even bigger sales on! After our fun filled day we headed to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner www.cpk.com it was knockout!

30^th Nov 09 – NYC

Chris went off to play golf this morning and thoroughly enjoyed himself, the guys at the club were so impressed by his hole in one they invited him back again. We did a little bit of mall shopping prior to the guys going to pick up Wendy and Jmel from the airport. I cooked dinner for everyone and we introduced P and C to Wendy and Jmel. We had a relaxing evening with a lovely log fire.

1^st Dec 09 – NYC

Today we headed off into the city to see some more sights. We took another tour of Times Sq, walking south and stopping off for Chris to purchase some new golf shoes. We took them to see Brooklyn Bridge then headed off to ground zero which as always was a very humbling experience. We took a trip on the Staten Island Ferry by which time we were all pretty hungry, P and C concluded they would like to eat in China town. I consulted the NYC guide and we came up a few ideas of where to eat. We ordered far too much food as always but enjoyed it, albeit the surroundings were a little ethnic!

2^nd Dec 09 – NYC

I woke up feeling very unwell with a severe sore throat. Once again P and C wanted to visit the city as it was their last full day. I stayed in bed for a while and took a hot bath to try to get warm. Chris went off to play gold early this morning, so we agreed I would see how I felt upon his return. Still feeling unwell we decided it was best I stay at home. However, P and C wanted to get the train into the city, so we dropped them off at the station. The Rockefeller Tree lights were being switched on tonight along with an open air concert, unfortunately the weather forecast was not great. P and C did some more shopping in the city and had dinner at a restaurant which they highly recommended John’s pizza. They decided not to stay for the tree lighting ceremony because the weather was not great and it was absolutely packed with people. We collected them from the station and had a lovely evening together.

3^rd Dec 2009 – NYC

We spent the day completing P and C’s last minute packing. Took a trip to the shops chef central www.chefcentral.com to buy knives, old navy to buy presents, stopping off for lunch at the Fountain Diner. After lunch we had a mad dash back to collect the cases and headed off to Newark airport. P was very very sad at having to leave us and I must say I was feeling rather glum too. But I can say we all had ‘the’ most fabulous time and would love to do it again. I can safely say I think P and C are completely ‘sold’ on the USA!