New York, New York!!

Day One

Today was so much fun. We hired bikes and rode to Central Park and had a picnic for lunch. To get to the Park we had to ride down Broadway...something I never thought I'd do. George sat on the back of Mikes bike on a child seat and we all rode around for about three hours. Our hotel is two blocks from Times Square so we went out at about 6.00 to see the lights and also visit the M&M store. Tonight the boys had hotdogs and chips. Mike and I had yoghurt and cereal, fruit and Budweiser. (A good balanced diet of fibre, fruit, dairy and alcohol!) Of course we all had M&Ms for dessert.

Day Two

This morning we took the boys for a walk around the city to see the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and St Patricks Cathedral. It seemed irreverent going into the church while mass was on but St Patricks is well prepared for it...there were bag checkers, staff in the shop and security in force while mass was on. Lucky for us all of these places were within walking distance of our hotel....its hard walking in the heat even early in the morninng. The Yankees game had been postoned until 8.00pm instead of 1.00pm - this was so it could be televised. So we jumped on the Subway and went to the game late in the afternoon. The subway was an experience for the boys and so was the Game. The Yankees won and we got home at 12.00. George coped very well with the late night and catching the subway when it was so busy. At the game we seemed to be sitting in the red zone - lots of people were removed!

Day Three

Today we all slept in and only just managed to get our complimentary breakfast which stops at 10.00. We're all really tired and we need to slow the pace down, plus keep out of the heat. We went to the Statue of Liberty today. We took the tube and made total idiots of ourselves. I still can't believe what happened. If anyone else told me they did what we did, I'd think they were fools. Ben, George and I jumped on the train not realising that the doors were closing. I turned and saw Jack holding the train doors open. He would just get them open, then they'd just start shutting again...poor boy! I think the adrenalin kicked in and he became very strong. Mike was behind him not looking very worried at all. Ben reckons I was squeaking "Mike, just get in" In the meantime, we were providing some entertainment for the New Yorkers on the carriage. We all got in and everyone was laughing at the pathetic tourists. I'm still laughing now when I think of what we did. The automatic message on the tube changed from "Please stand clear of the doors" to "Please do not hold the doors open." That message repeated until the next stop - I was so embarrassed and was laughing so hard my mascara was stinging my eyes. We also saw a big fat cockroach about 1 1/2 inches long...Ben couldn't understand why I got agitated when George got down on the floor to watch it as it went under the rubbish bin. Yuck!!
We finally got to our destination and yes, another queue in the sun for 2 1/2 hours. We were tired before we started. The security was as tight as customs and we couldn't get access to the crown..this was booked out until November. Mike and the boys were disappointed though I think it would have been hard work for George in the heat! Anyway, the boys have seen the Statue of Liberty and of course had a ride on the ferry. We found some fresh salad on the way home and have finally eaten a sandwich which resembles something like an NZ sandwich...healthy!

Day Four

Managed to navigate our way out of New York city. Dodging the yellow cabs that don't indicate and weave through the traffic as they need to. We stopped at a Mall in Maryland and 'yah' I finally got to shop. Mike took the boys to the movies while I spent a couple of hours in Macys and JC Pennys. Only did the two shops...too much for a Kiwi. Didn't overspend, just bought clothes that were a little different to what I'd get at home. We're now safe and sound in Washington, just around the corner from the Capitol. Today the temperature got up to 100 degs - very hot!!