3rd Oct - Empire State Building and NBA

Today we visited the Empire State Building.  We paid the extra to go to the 102nd floor and it was fabulous. A beautiful, clear day so we could see everything like a postcard.

In the evening we went to the Barclay Centre to watch the New York Knicks play a game of basketball against the Brooklyn Nets. It was a great show. Very close game, cheerleaders, kids dance routines etc etc. We had a great time.

2nd Oct - TV sites, Washington Park,

Today we visited a number of famous TV sites.

We started with the fire station from ‘Ghostbusters’.

Then the family home of the Huxtables from ‘The Cosby Show’.


Followed by the appartment from ‘Friends’

On our travels we also saw the building that the kids have dubbed the ‘Jenga Building’. See if you can tell why.

After that we had a ‘Big Gay’ icecream (because I couldn’t resist the photo!) and went for anplay at Washington Park.

1st Oct - Bryant Park, Public Library, Trump Tower, Tiffany’s

We went to Bryant Park for lunch today. We visited ‘Whole Foods’  then sat in the sun and ate. It was lovely.

Following lunch we visited the enormous public New York Library. In the Children’s library, there were the original toys of Christopher Robin.   I’ve seen Pooh Bear!!

After that we went for a walk and saw Trump Tower (much to Lachlan’s disgust - he refused to go in, and made me delete every photo of him), but Jack, Cooper and I went in to have a look.

And near there was Tiffany’s. So we had a quick look in there too.

Then we caught a lift with two Becaks through Central Park. It was great fun!  On the way we saw where Thor sends Loki away with the Teseract.

30th Sept - Flatiron, Grand Central, Broadway

We had a but of a rest day today. After a late start we headed to the Flatiron Building - an iconic New York location.


We had a look at the lego store  near there which was impressive.


Then we headed to Grand Central Terminal which was even bigger than I thought it would be.

Then the kids and Mark went home and I headed out for a night on Broadway.  I watched ‘The Book of Mormon’ which was absolutely hilarious.

29th - High Line, Chelsea Markets, Intrepid

We had a walking day today. We started by having a look at the Chelsea Markets. I’m sure if we were just a couple of adults we could have spent quite a bit of time there but we had a quick walk through.


We then headed to a restaurant for lunch - a beautiful place.

Then we walked north up the High Line -  an old above ground rail line which has been converted into a walkway. It was a hot day and the line was quite busy but it was a lovely walk.

At the end we headed up toward the Intrepid Air and Space Museum. On the way we walked past RuPaul’s ‘Dragcon’ - I’ve never seen so many drag queens in one place before!  It was very entertaining!

We then met up with the Reids and visited the Intrepid Museum. It had a space shuttle, war planes and was held on an aircraft carrier. An impressive array of stuff to see.

It was exhausting!!

28th - Natural History Museum, Laundry!

Today we had to do some housekeeping so it was off to the laundromat. Here they charge by weight, and we had four large plastic bags full of laundry. To have them washed, dried and returned is only $28!  Sensational!

Once we had done that, we headed to the Natural History Museum to see dinosaurs, dinosaurs and more dinosaurs - oh and some mammals and stuff too, but mainly dinosaurs.

After returning home for our regular aftenoon rest, we met up with the Reids again for dinner at a pizza restaurant in Times Square.

I had heard that I could get half price tickets at the TKS booth at Times
Square, so Mark took the kids home while I tried to get tickets. Turns out you can’t get any ‘good’ tickets from there, so I tried my luck for a cancellation ticket at the theatre playing Hamilton. I lined up for half an hour with some lovely locals - had a great chat, and then was offered ‘Standing Room Only’ tickets for $40 - for a 3 hour show!  Didn’t sound like my kind of thing so I went home instead (via Bloomingdales to have a lookat clothing - nothing there).

Tomorrow I look for better tickets....

27th - Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Roof top Bar

27th - today we divided and conquered. The kids and I went to the Statue of Liberty and climbed into the crown. It was sensational!!  It was one of those perfect days - warm, sunny, slight breeze, just perfect. We could see for miles and we climbed all the stairs from the base right to the crown. Just the four of us were in there. It is quite a small space and they are very organised with controlling the crowds. I was very impressed.

We could put our hand outside the crown and touch the statue itself, and from the staircase on the way down we could see the inside of the face.

Once we were down, we had an icecream and the. Walked around the base of the statue, looking at the views of Manhattan and up at the statue. Then it was back on the ferry to come home.

We then met up with Adam and Kate and family to walk around Central Park. We had lunch at the Loeb Boathouse, then walked up and around the park.

We came home for a quick rest, and then off to Times Square for dinner with the Reids.

James agreed to look after our kids while Mark and I went out for a night on the town. We went to a rooftop bar which overlooked the Times Square Ball.

A great day.

26th - Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, Ice Hockey

We had an action packed day today. First we headed down to Brooklyn Bridge. On the way, Mark was roped into being a part of a street performance and had a big black guy do a somersault over his back. It was a great show.

We then walked over Brooklyn Bridge. It was a very hot day so we were quite wilted by the time we reached the other side so we were ready for a sit down and a cool drink at Grimaldis, an iconic pizzeria. We then headed to the fireshore of Brooklyn, overlooking Manhattan and had icecreams, then wandered theough the park along the waters edge. We then headed back to the subway which required us to walk through suburban Brooklyn. It was beautiful. Both Mark and I could easily imagine living there.

After that we returned home, then headed to Madison Square Garden to watch the New York Rangers play the New York Islanders in an Ice hockey game. It was great.  The kids loved it, they really know how to put on a show over here.

25th - Macy’s

Today was a difficult one. It was pouring with rain so we had a late start, went out for breakfast, and then we headed out to Macy’s - one of the biggest department stores in the world. For some reason I forgot that my kids hate shopping so it was a bit of an uphill battle.  The kids all got new clothes - shoes, T-shirt, jackets etc. but the adults missed out today.  The kids enjoyed the ‘Hamds of Fury’ game at the Under Armour section of Macey’s though.

We also went to Madison Square Garden to book tickets to the ice hockey on Wednesday night.

Mark and I were a bit over it tonight so we made sure the kids were set up and then headed out for an evening out at the Beacon Bar - next door to our hotel. It was great!  They do make the drinks very strong over here though - I’m feeling a little light headed.

24th Sept - Lowe Manhattan and Financial District

Today we did Lower Manhattan and the Financial District.   

We had a bit of a sleep in and headed to Chambers Street Station and then headed up through an old area of New York with all the old external fire escapes and brown stone buildings.

Then we met up with Adam and Kate and visited the World Trade Centre memorial for the victims of 9/11.

Then we headed to the Staten Island Ferry and went there and back, enjoying the views of the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan, Jersey and the connecting bridges.   The ferry was also protected by the Coast Guard which had a machine gunnon the front. 

Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

After the ferry we headed to the financial district and saw the bronze ‘Charging Bull’ statue.

And the bronze girl statue who is defiantly staring down the bull.

Then off to Wall Street. We saw the New York Stock Exchange.

And Federal Hall, where George Washington was declared President.

Wall Street was fairly impressive.

Then we gradually walked back towards Soho, and did some shopping. The kids bought Fortnite t-shirts, Jack and Cooper bought hoodies and Lachlan bought an new pair of shoes. On the way we walked through City Hall Park which unsurprisingly has City Hall at one end. In a strange decision, they have decorated the historical fountain with four similar sculptures made of collanders and fake fruit!  Odd choice. 

The kids loved the squirrels though.

23rd Sept 2018 - NY - Times Square

We got out and about this morning. Kids woke up at between 5.30 and 6.30 so we all went across the road to the supermarket to buy cereal & milk. Kids demanded to have Cheerios because they were ‘American’. 

Then we headed off. This is the building across the road.

We bought our weekly subway passes and worked out how to ride the train ‘downtown’ to Times Square.

After a mid morning snack of hot dogs, souvlaki, waffle and crepe from the Times Square street vendors, we headed off to 50th Street and saw St Patrick’s Cathedral.

And then we walked around the Rockefeller Centre.

Then we stumbled upon NBC Studios where they do the Jimmy Fallon show and Saturday Night Live. We decided to go on the behind the scenes tour (Led by a guy who looked and sounded like Steve Erkle!). It was a great tour, really interesting. We saw the studios, and the background editing and control rooms etc. The tour finished with all if us acting out a talk show and taking various roles. Jack volunteered to be the anchor of the show Lachlan and I were in the band, and Cooper and Mark were camera men. They have emailed us the final product so We can see our final product.

Then at about 1pm we caught up with Adam and Kate. We went to their apartment and went to the roof space.

We were starving and getting tired by this point so while they headed off to Central Park, we went to lunch and the Hard Rock Cafe at Times Square. Lachlan and Cooper were VERY tired by the time we finished there. 

After that we headed back to the hotel for a nap, and our baggage arrived. Hurrah!!

22nd Sept 2018 - Flew to New York

Flew to New York. Left home at 6am to be at the airport at 7am. Flights were very close so we had to run between connections. 

We flew from:

 - Melbourne to Sydney

 - Sydney to Dallas

 - Dallas to New York La Guardia

Unfortunately because they didn’t expect us to catch our last flight, our bags were put on a later one so we have arrived in New York with only our carry on!  Luckily I had packed a spare set of clothes. 

We have travelled for 31.5 hours, door to door. We are very tired!

We arrived, Mark and I had showers, and then Mark and I went for a walk to purchase takeaway pizza for tea. It was good to get out and get a bit of a feel for the neighbourhood. Strange to order pizza by the slice though!

We are staying at The Beacon Hotel - 2130 Broadway at 75th. I’m very happy with the place. 2 double beds and a roll out single. Cooper is sleeping in the single.

The Birds are Hungry!

We discovered the joys of feeding the birds today.  The rainbow lorikeets were particularly hungry!

Visitors to Umina

We have had a wonderful flow of visitors since we arrived in Umina.

Drew and Soph came down for the day:

Morgan and Hiraina drove all the way from Canberra to Umina to see us:

And Bushy came up and even stayed the night at the park to stay an extra day. 

This allowed him to share his specialist bush skills in Boomerang craft...

And jumping pillow entertainment...

Catch up in Sydney

We took a day on Sunday to drive to Sydney for a catch up with Justin's aunty Robbie, and his cousin Matt and Shirin, and their two boys.  It was lovely to see them all again.  The last time I had seen Matt and Shirin was at my wedding so we are going back a way now!

Drew, Soph and the kids came down too so we all went for a walk to the local park via the local lagoon..

Boys + Water + Sticks + Mud = Lifelong friendship...

Justin's other cousin Angus and his girlfriend Wendy also came in the afternoon but I forgot to take a photo.  DARN!!

A Tough Life at Umina

Well, Julia told us this was a great park and SHE WAS RIGHT!!  The kids have declared this as the best park ever!!!!

To be honest, it was always going to be a winner when we are camping with friends:

But the actual park is amazing.  We are between the splash park (yes that is Justin about to get drowned):

And one of the two jumping pillows:

It even has games room:

 Complete with Sega Rally!

And the beach is just on the other side of the jumping pillow..

And if the caravan park gets boring, we can always take our kids on their bikes 200m down the road:

To the mulitple parks, skate park, BMX track and footy oval down the road:

And if we want to take it easy, there are a huge number of ducks wandering around the park which provide endless entertainment (when they aren't having a time out under our clothesline!).

Wangi Wangi

We had a great catch up with the Wangi Wangi branch of the family, and fortunately Drew was still in town when we arrived.  To make it even better, Bushy came to visit while we were there as well.

As always happens at family gatherings, the older members of the family chat...

While the younger members discover (or demonstrate) the true joy that is XBox...

We were also lucky enough to have a ride in 'Blue', a local icon!

Nabiac

On the way south we passed via Nabiac where Noel and Dorothy (Nana and Pop) ran the Post Office and the switchboard for a few years.  So we found it and had a photo!

Matt & Gill

We went to visit Matt and Gill in South West Rocks. 

We rocked up on a Monday and they took the afternoon off and entertained us instead!  Matt and Patrick went out on the boat on a fishing trip with Justin and Jack.

Gill took Cooper, Lachlan and I on a tour of South West Rocks, and we spent the afternoon on the beach and climbing the rocks.

Then a BBQ for dinner.

Then it was time for a good, old-fashioned selfie!

Iluka

We went to visit Mark, Judy and Gabs at Iluka for a few nights.  It was lovely to catch up, and such a welcoming household.  It was great.

Unfortunately I didn't manage to take a photo of us and them.  So annoying!!  But I do have photos of the kids at the beach.  We had a lovely time watching the sea bird, making sandcastles and tunnels, and fossiking in the rockpools.