Flying into the Sunset

I can’t quite believe that my trip to the US is over, the last three weeks have been amazing ~ relaxing, exciting, terrifying at times (wedding speech), but overall just brilliant.

Spending so much time with my brother and his new wife, Melissa, was great – I haven’t spent this much time with my brother since we were teenagers I think, god I miss him. But it’s time to head home, back to reality and thankfully I’m back to health.

I *might* have upgraded to Business Class on the way back, after the free upgrade on the way over, I’d tasted all the joy of a flat-bed seat, how could I go back?

 

The Long Slow Snowy Drive to Boston

I can’t believe that the last nine days have gone by so fast and I’m already on my way home again, it seems ludicrous ~ I demand a recount! But yet there we are, it’s a true fact, it’s the end of my holiday. I woke this morning to a message from my brother in the other room to say it was snowing. A more accurate statement would have been, “it’s been snowing all night”.

Crazy Christmas [House] Lights

On the way back to take the kids home we took a detour to see the lights on this house ~ they’re utterly bonkers

The Gingerbread House that Andy Built

So “in theory” the kids got a gingerbread house each. I’m sure you can tell that this house had not been assembled by a 10yr old, no no siree it wasn’t. *Someone* namely my brother, took control of building the house, while the 10yr old sat patiently waiting to be allowed to biscuits and sweets “neatly” … “Neeeeatly!” on the house.

Botanical Garden Light Show

The kids are down for a couple of days, it’s great to see them again. Evan got a camera for Christmas ~ we’re off to the botanical gardens near Bath, to see the light show, so it’s a great time to test out his camera … and ours. It turns out that Evan’s Coolpix is nearly as good, if not better than both of the fully fledged Nikon’s at taking nighttime shots.

I Love You More Than Bacon

My brother bought this for his now fiance on their first anniversary ~ I can never imagine saying this, but it would be nice to and it’s possibly one of the cutest things you could say, so here’s to everyone who loves someone more than bacon.

Ground Zero

The final stop in New York is Ground Zero. We brave the tube to get there heading for the World Trade Centre stop. I ponder the retention of the name for a while, wondering if it’s odd or not ~ never forget, it’s perfect it’s right.

Rockefeller Centre by Day and Night

After breakfast we head to the Rockefeller Centre and mooch around a bit before going in to go to the top, only to be told that the next time we can go up will be in an hour.  In a lightbulb moment we thought, rather than killing time hanging around, it might be nicer to actually go up at night, so we booked our trip to the Top of the Rock (as it’s called) for 10.45pm after seeing the Blue Man Group.

Light Ale, Dark Ale, Those Are Your Choices

Before going to see the Blue Man Group, and courtesy of a mandatory trip advisor search, we find our way to McSorley’s, the oldest tavern in the U.S.

It’s relatively dark, there’s sawdust on the floor and old old pictures and news clippings on the wall. Trip advisor tells us that nothing has been removed from the walls since 1910 and its only since the 1970s that women have been allowed in. This is an old old pub.

Sacks 5th Avenue ~ Light Show

We’re killing time before going up the Rockefeller Building, looking at all of the lights around the Rockefeller Centre, when Sacks which is just a stone’s throw away on 5th Avenue starts to light up and dance to music – we happen to be in the right place at the right time.

… excuse the twisting and turning of the camera, I was desperately trying to get it all into shot.