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We have spent some time reflecting on our trip but we have seen & done so much that it will take a while to digest everything.  We have had a wonderful holiday and had some wonderful experiences.  Theo jr has been a wee gem.  We often forget how young he is but he has sat in the car, train or bus for hours on end, often without much sleep and hasn’t complained once. 

One thing for sure, America is not what I expected it to be.  It is much better and the people are nothing like what I expected.  Our overall experience has been positive, everyone has been really friendly.  America is a child friendly country and another advantage is almost everyone speaks English.  Believe it or not but when you only ever go on holiday within Europe it takes a bit of getting used to, seeing all the street signs in English.  Obviously there are places where we would return to and places we won’t but that is just because we have now seen them and there is no point doing it again.

In fact we have enjoyed ourselves that much we have already started planning our next trip!!  Thanks for reading.

We left the hotel just after 10:00 and with the help of Tom Tom we found one of the locations.  Unfortunately the building had been bulldozed and it was now a vacant plot of land!  Well, we couldn’t be bothered after that and decided to look for “Bada Bing” so again with TT’s help we found it.  Luckily, this building is still standing and Theo took some photos so he is happy!  
Then on to Jersey Gardens Shopping Outlet which is 5 minutes from the airport.  This mall is two tiers, is fully air-conditioned and has loads of designer stores.  Unfortunately they also own some of the most disgusting toilets I have seen and believe me I am not that fussy.  We have about 3,5 hours to spend, a credit card that is virtually unused and  the sales are on.  Oh joy.  So after having lunch at a food court, Theo & I had Chinese and Theo jr had ….  guess  …. a burger!!!!   Then we went shopping and we got some great bargains.  No matter how I hard I tried everything was so cheap that I didn’t spend very much at all and yet I can’t get my suitcase closed. 

About 4:00 pm we were finished and headed back to the airport to drop off the car.  Then took the airtrain to terminal B.  The counter wasn’t yet open so we couldn’t check in but it was possible to weigh our bags.  Of course, mine was too heavy so I redistributed some clothing into the other bags.  It came in at just under the 23 kilos.  Yippee, I managed it and I didn’t have to sit on top of it to get it closed.  Before long check in was possible and then we went for something to eat.  Then on through the security checks where I was beeped.  I forgot to take my belt off, stupid.  Then on to the gate.  Newark is quite a small airport with only 3 terminals.  We were lucky,  the last few days there has been a 3,5 hour delay but today everything is running on time and the weather is good.  So we just sat and read until it was time to board.  We boarded just after 20:10.  It was a 747 again but this time we sat on the left side of the plane, just behind the wing.  The flight was almost full but we had 3 seats next to each other.  With Theo jr next to the window we settled down for the flight.  It is only 6 hours flying so we were hoping to get a few hours sleep.  We should arrive in London at about 9 o’clock local time but that is 3:00 o’clock New York time so every minute counts!!!!  After waiting on the runway we finally took off at 21:30.  Within an hour we had been given a meal.  We could choose what we wanted.  Both Theo & i had chicken, broccoli & pasta, salad with ranch dressing, bread roll & butter.  And a chocolate brownie with cream for pudding.  It was lovely.  We had ordered a kid’s meal for Theo but this was distinctly lacking in imagination.  It was chicken with cooked, dry pasta, carrots & peas but the rest was the same as us.  We have thoroughly enjoyed flying with Virgin and would definitely use them again.   Theo jr loves the v:pod – the seat back entertainment system.  You can choose from music, loads of recent films, games, sky news and the interactive map so you can always see where you are.  There is plenty to keep you occupied and to help the time pass quickly. 

Unfortunately our plans of getting some shut eye were not to be.  There was a child on board who decided that he would keep us entertained by screeching – literally the whole flight.  This wasn’t just crying, it was a high pitched frustrated scream, that pierced right into you.  Every time you just about dropped off it started again.  Well I give him 10 out of 10 for endurance.  No-one got any sleep that night. We arrived at Heathrow and were through customs, collected our bags and waiting outside on the bus by 9:20 am.  The bus to the parking came a few minutes later and we had collected the car and were driving away before 10:00 am. 

Although it was busy there were no traffic jams and we reached the boat by 13:10.  Although we were booked on the ferry at 16:00 we were moved to the earlier boat.  The crossing was really smooth and we arrived and disembarked on time.  Thankfully Theo managed to sleep for 10 minutes or so which meant that he felt fit enough to drive home.    Once on the motorway, everything again went smoothly.  Theo had heard that there were traffic jams at the Belgian/Dutch border so we took another route.  I am glad that Theo was driving as I was struggling to keep my eyes open.  Theo jr dropped off for a while but soon woke up when we stopped for Belgian frites (chips).  Suddenly the road we were on was closed for repairs and we were taken on a detour through the Belgian countryside but we finally found the road we needed and continued home. Everything went smoothly from here on and we arrived home about 21:15.  Then it was a case of dumping the bags in the living room, sticking the food in the fridge and going to bed.  We had now been awake for about 36 hours and were starting to struggle but we were finally home.

It was now 3:00 pm so we headed back across the road to collect our suitcases.  We decided to walk the 6 blocks to the bus stop. We had checked it out in the morning and it was easy to find.  We only had to wait 5 minutes on the bus, bags in and off we went to the Newark airport to collect our hire car.  We reached the airport within 45 minutes and took the Airtrain to the car rentals.  It wasn’t busy but it took the girl a while to sort out our reservation.  Finally we were ready to go.  We had rented a mid sized SUV and got a 3.8 liter Toyota Rav4.  It is quite a nice jeep with 7 seats, 2 fold down to create more luggage space.  And it was very nippy.  It took Theo a wee bit of getting used to after the last car.  This thing took off that quickly that we almost hit the car in front.  Especially at traffic lights!  We had booked the Holiday Inn, about 5 minutes from the airport.  Thanks to Tom Tom it was easy enough to find.  Check in went quickly.  The room was on the 2 floor and was ok.  Big enough but still a lesser quality that the other hotels we have had but clean enough and it is only for 1 night.  Dumped the bags and went for dinner in the hotel.  We chose Freddies” the sports bar.  Good American food, not too expensive and a good waiter. Theo had shrimps, I had tortillas and Theo jr had a burger.  Nice experience.  Then we went to bed and watched some tv.

We walked up to Times Square and then to 8th street to catch the bus for the uptown loop.  This takes us, amongst other places to the north side of Central park, along the Hudson, Harlem  (which is a bit like the Gorbals) and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.  The temperature was already 84 degrees Fahrenheit and rising.  There was a bit of a queue but it was moving and we didn’t have to wait long.  I saw our guide from yesterday, Gail, arrive and she went on to our bus.  We took a seat upstairs and off we went.  Gail is really entertaining and regaled us with stories about which famous people live where and like yesterday, she asked some children to help her.  She asked Theo to become assistant tour guide and his job was to announce what the next stop would be.  I thought that he wouldn’t do it but he didn’t bat an eyelid.  He took the microphone and stood up in front of all those people.  Sometimes he is just like his father.  He had a ball.   We were planning on doing the Brooklyn Loop in the afternoon but after talking to Gail, we decided not to bother.  Instead we went for lunch at the world famous Carnegie’s Deli.  Theo jr had the biggest beef burger sandwich you can imagine, it was about an inch thick.  I had a corned beef sandwich and Theo had a pastrami sandwich.  There must have been about half a pound of meat in these things.  They were huge.  It was too much for 1 person so we asked for a bag and took the rest with us.  As we were giving Brooklyn a miss we thought we would do the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island so we jumped on the downtown loop bus and headed towards Battery Park where the ferry was.  By now the temperature was 91 degrees Fahrenheit but there was still a bit of a wind.   We already had the tickets so thankfully we didn’t have to wait in the queue at the ticket office and headed through to the boarding queue.  They also have airport style security where you go through metal detectors and have your bags scanned.   We expected there to be a long queue but it was fine. We boarded and left within 15 minutes.  The ferry only takes 15 minutes to reach the Statue of Liberty and we could make some lovely photos.  Once we arrived disembarkation went quickly.  There was a huge queue of people waiting to get on board but as we didn’t have tickets to go into the statue we stayed on board.  Then we headed to Ellis Island where we were able to take more photos and then we headed back to Battery Park but not before we took more photos of the Manhattan skyline.  The round tri[p took about 1 hour and once we were back on dry land we hurried to the bus stop.  Luckily there was a bus waiting so we jumped on and headed back to Times Square.  Just enough time for dinner and then on to the Night Tour.  We still had our sandwiches so decided to get Theo jr a Mega meal (that is one step up from a Happy Meal) and we would get drinks and sit out on the benches and have a picnic.  Well that was the plan but by the time I got back from the bathroom Theo informed me that there were only down and outs hanging about at the benches so I should eat indoors.  Well as you can imagine I was not happy about this.  So with my sandwich wrapped in a bag I tried to eat it by pulling out bits of meat and, as soon as no-one was looking, sticking them in my mouth.  I felt so guilty and conspicuous, I was really uncomfortable sitting there sneaking my sandwich when there was a big sign on the door about only food bought here could be consumed on the premises!!!  Theo of course found it all incredibly funny, more so when I ended up with indigestion.

So after dinner and a rennies we went round to the bus on 8th street for the night tour.  It was about 7:00 pm and was still light when we started off.  Our tour guide was Andrew who looked a lot like Neil Sedaka with glasses.  The route took us around some of the points we had already been to but also took in a number of new places and Brooklyn so we managed to see it after all.  It was just turning dark and the moon had a beautiful red glow as we headed past ground zero and by the time we were over the bridge and in Brooklyn it was dark, the perfect time to take a skyline photo of Manhattan with all the lights on.  It was spellbinding.  You could just see the Statue of Liberty, lit up in the night sky.  Andrew was very entertaining and put a lot of effort into the tour.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  He even had a motto “Click Click” and “we got it from the Netherlands”!  Every time we came to something that was worth a photo he said” and we will be seeing it in 3, 2, 1 click click. It was quite funny or then again maybe you just had to be there.

We arrived back at Times Square about 9:45 pm, bought some drinks for in our room and headed back to the hotel.  What a day.

As I said check in at the hotel went smoothly.  We stayed at the Hampton Inn on 35th street.  We weren’t all too sure about locations and distances but this is in a perfect spot, I would definitely stay here again.  It is the baby of the Hilton family.  The hotel has only been open since about November.  It is nicely decorated in a contemporary style.  Our room wasn’t massive but there was enough room and all the expected facilities were present such as a (flatscreen) tv, coffee machine, internet, airco. It is next to Macy’s department store, about 4 minutes to the Empire State building and about 15 minutes from Times Square, walking that is.  The staff were really friendly.

After resting for an hour or so we decided that as the bus pass had already gone in we would take advantage straight away.  We got on the bus at the nearest stop to the hotel which is 34th street just passed Macy’s and next to the Empire State Building. We were doing the downtown loop and the idea was to stay on it to the end at Times Square.  That is where the Night Tour starts so it meant no walking.  It was really warm but luckily to start with Theo jr and I were downstairs in the airco.  Then after about 15 minutes we could move upstairs which was a good bit warmer but thanks to the open top and the wind blowing it was bearable.  Our tour guide today was a New Yorker called Gail.  She was really good, easy to understand, got the children involved and told us loads.  The route took us down passed Little Italy and China Town, passed Ground Zero, Battery Park, Staten Island Ferry round to the United Nations passed The Rockefeller Center, St Patricks Cathedral and onto Times Square.  It was tea time by now and we were starving (we had had no lunch).  So we decided to look for Mars 2112.  This was the restaurant that the family at the Grand Canyon had told us about.  We knew it was on Times Square but Times Square is much bigger than you expect and it is not completely square.  We eventually asked one of the many security guards and he pointed it out, tucked away in a corner. 

When you enter the restaurant you are greeted by someone who looks like a nutty professor.  You then pay $2 per person for the privilege of entering the restaurant.  you are guided to a spaceship and are taken on a 3d ride to the planet Mars when upon landing you leave the spaceship and enter the restaurant.  It is decorated as if you are on Mars with lots of stars, big screens and aliens walking about.  Our waiter looked like a Trekkie and surprisingly it seems that the food on Mars has a very American influence!  After a seriously overpriced dinner and a photo with an Alien we returned from Mars and landed at Times Square. 

We were really tired and it was still really warm so we decided not to do the night tour.  We all thought that an early start in the morning would be better so we walked back to the hotel via Times Square & then Broadway.  The atmosphere on Times Square was amazing.  The mayor has decided to pedestrianise certain parts of Manhatten and there were so many people, mainly tourists, just hanging or sitting around.  Everyone talking and taking photos but mainly just being there because this is New York.  There is a obvious police presence and it adds to the feeling of being really relaxed, you feel right at home.  Just as it was getting dark we sauntered back to the hotel viewing Times Square & Broadway in all her florescent glory.  It was like being in a film.  We arrived back at the hotel within 15 minutes, it is closer than we thought.  Then thankfully straight to bed.

After breakfast we took the bus to Sears/Willis Tower to the Sky Deck.  The weather was beautiful and when we arrived it was just after 10:00.  What we weren’t expecting was the queues of people inside.  It was so busy and this was made worse by the airport like security to get into the building.  We then had to queue to go through metal detectors and our bags were x-rayed.  Then we had to queue to have a very unrealistic photograph made then back in the queue to buy our tickets.  Then there was a queue to go in to see the film about the history of the tower.  We then made a mad dash and jumped the queue for the lifts.    The elevator goes up to the 103rd floor in just under 60 seconds. It goes so fast your ears pop.  Once we got up the view was amazing.  It is a 360 degree panoramic view over Chicago and surrounding area.  On a clear day you can see for up to 50 miles.  Luckily it was quite clear and we had uninterrupted views over into the next state.  They also have these glass bottomed walkways which extend out about 1,5 meters from the building.  The idea is that you go on to them and take a photo with nothing between you and the ground but 1 inch of glass and 103 floors of fresh air.  Well guess who didn’t go onto it.  There was absolutely no way, no way what so ever that I was standing on that.  Theo jr thought the same.  Theo crawled on to it and sat on the floor.  I think he was really brave.

After waiting in the queue for the lift down we went for coffee, did some shopping at Walgreens and slowly headed back to the hotel.  We still had a bit of time so sat across from the hotel in the park for a while then we went for something to drink in the hotel.  Just after 3 we collected our bags and took a taxi to the Greyhound station.  It was a good bit busier today but we checked in without too much bother and got something to eat.  With the priority seats we have a separate queue which is meant to go faster.  There were only two other people waiting.  Well we waited and waited and there was no bus.  Finally after 5 o’clock one appeared and the driver started letting people on board.  I went and asked someone if that was our bus and sure enough they didn’t know there was a priority queue.  Typical.  Anyway we managed to get on board and choose our seats so that Theo has enough room for his legs.  Some other people are not so lucky. They are really cramped.  I have seen better buses go to Kirkcaldy and this is a 17 hour journey. It is actually more a bus we are in and it couldn’t be called a coach no matter how nice you want to be.  It can’t be compared to National Express or Eurolines, the quality of the bus is far inferior. The seats recline but that is about it.  There are no curtains, the overhead lights aren’t working.  There are 55 seats.  The boy in front of Theo can’t even get his legs into the space and he isn’t even that tall.  He tried to recline his seat but when he sat up the seat shot back into an upright position and he almost broke his nose on the seat in front!!   We eventually left 40 minutes late but should make up the time according to the driver.  We’ll see!!!  But never mind as long as we get to New York.

It is 10:20 am and we have crossed the border from Pennyslvania into New Jersey State.  We don’t have that long to go.  It has been quite an eventful night.  We stopped a couple of times before we reached Cleveland.  Then at Cleveland we were asked to leave the bus as they wanted to clean and refuel it.  Nothing strange in that you may think but it was 2 o’clock in the morning!.  We had to stand in yet another queue in the station for re-boarding as we should get priority.  There were people already waiting in another queue for New York.  They were not happy about what they thought was queue jumping.  They were shouting and it was all getting very messy.  Then someone came out and told us that our bus had developed mechanical problems and couldn’t complete the journey.  We were being moved onto another bus and had to collect our hand-baggage.  Well this bus is a little bit newer but there is still almost no leg room.  And we now have the driver from hell.  We have a grumpy jobsworth who reels of demands and rules as if we are school children.  Theo went to collect our bags while I went on board the new bus to get good seats and she wouldn’t let me on because I had no ticket and only a boarding card.  When I said that they had only nasked for boarding cards and if I had know that the tickets were needed I would have had them ready I was told

“ah don’t wanna be hearin no attitude or u can just wait for the bus tomorrow.  no attitude de ya hear”

I thought these people only existed on tv programmes.

“y-awl don’t go puttin on those cell phones coz ah don’t wanna hear u talkin, u know what am sayin’”

“y-awl don’t go steppin over this here line coz ah need ma space”

“will da person who’s sprayin cologne please stop coz y-awl don’t smell it back there but here it is stinkin’ and ah’ll become sick and then u need a new driver coz ah can’t drive anymore”

It is quite an experience and not a pleasant one at three in the morning.  Well luckily since then the journey has passed uneventfully and we are almost there.

So that done we headed to Navy Pier feeling much better about travelling with the Greyhound.  Navy Pier is where all the tourists go.  It a pier (obviously) with shops, amusements, cafes, restaurants you know what I mean.  We had a wee look about, Theo bought a T-shirt then we walked back to the Magnificent Mile heading towards The Hard Rock Cafe (we had promised Theo jr for the last 2 years that we would go).  On the way there we nipped into Bloomingdales and I mean nipped.  I was in and out in 5 minutes flat.  I don’t get the chance to look at anything when I am with these two.  Then again I can’t really take much home with me but that is beside the point.  We got to the Hard Rock Cafe about 16:45 which was before the rush.  There was just enough time to have a look in the shop before our table was ready.  After an overrated and overly expensive dinner we went to McDonalds across the street for dessert.  That was because at Hard Rock they were trying to take our dessert order before we had even finished our main course.  That annoyed me so it was McSundaes for dessert.  Then we walked back through the city along the Magnificent Mile and on to Michigan Avenue.  We stopped at a 7 eleven for some drinks for in the room and then took the bus back to the hotel, arriving at 19:00.  We were going to watch the fireworks at Navy Pier this evening but we will see how we are feeling.

This is such a lovely city, it is really very beautiful.  the architecture is breathtaking and the people are lovely and friendly.  San Francisco is still my favourite but Chicago is a very close second.