Yankee Stadium 

View of Manhatten from Ellis Island 

The Beach Boys! 

Santa 

So Glad I Made It!

Oh gosh what an amazing 5 days I have had. It still truly baffles me how time goes by so quickly when you are doing exactly what you want to do. My third time in New York City was brilliant although very chilly!
I was a little under prepared and under financed for this sojourn but I ended up with an unexpected pay bonus the day before I flew out which meant that a few more options were available ie. Catching taxis, eating, um and actually paying entrance fees to anything that I wanted to go and see. I was up at 3am on Wednesday morning to drive up to the airport. I flew into La Guardia and caught a shuttle to the Big Apple Youth Hostel. Of course I was the last one to get dropped off but no worries as I had an unexpected one hour tour of this amazing city. The hostel is on 45th street... Just one block from Times Square, a couple from Grand Central Station and a 15 minute walk from Central Park. So clean, warm and quiet too. Only $35 a night which was by far one of the best deals around!
Wednesday
Seeing The Lion King on Broadway (just around the corner from the hostel) - the sets and costumes were so realistic that is was almost impossible to recognize the animals as actually being performers. I got to have real fish 'n chips at an Irish Pub.
Thursday
Watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade from Times Square then catching a taxi downtown to pay respects at Ground Zero (World Trade Center), followed by a Thanksgiving Day curry lunch in Greenwich Village. That afternoon we walked through Central Park and saw the iceskaters and walked back to the hostel past Trump Towers and down Broadway. That night we saw Phantom of the Opera before having dinner at Planet Hollywood.
Friday
Went walkabout in Harlem one morning when we got dropped off at the famous Apollo Theatre and then walked back to Central Park. We then saw the sketches of Vincent Van Goph at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We even got to see his paintings Wheat Field with Cyprus Trees and Self Portrait in a Straw Hat. Next stop was Battery Park and a ferry ride out past the Statue of Liberty and then a wee tour of Ellis Island where millions of Americans had to pass through when they immigrated to the USA. We spent the evening at a bar under the shadow of the Empire State Building and then dinner again in Greenwich Village.
Saturday
To top off my stay in New York I caught the subway from Grand Central Station up to the Bronx to tour Yankee Stadium. I sat in the umpires chair in the press box, I went in the dressing room, I sat in the dug out, walked the warning lane and even got to go through Monument Park! Very cool even for a Red Soxs fan like myself!
Sunday
I flew back in North Carolina last night but the thing that makes today so friggin awesome is that the All Blacks just beat Scotland to win the Grand Slam for only the 2nd time in 100 years (other was 1978). I am so proud!

A view of life through a pair of wine glasses!

4 more sleeps until Thanksgiving!

Well this is my first wee entry in my blog. I do wonder if anyone out there in cyberspace will one day stumble upon my writing and wonder if they put something different in the water over here in the USA! I am suffering from a slight case of delirium after downloading the All Blacks vs England game. I've spent the past 2 hours shouting at my computer screen with excitement. No doubt the neighbors above and below my apartment think I am a little odd with my occasional exclamations of "heave", "shove it" or "nice try!" The bloody annoying thing is though that no one here even understands the immense pride taken in having whipped the poms. Really I'm just complaining because I have no one here to brag to.
It is getting very close to Thanksgiving now. I am heading up to New York City to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I have my own balloons and clearly plenty of hot air so was wondering if there is already a designated streaker! Shall I put my hand up for the job?