The way home

We landed at LAX and had to transfer to Tom Bradley terminal.  We waited for the bus.  It took us to the terminal.

We got lost trying to find One world lounge but we eventually found it.

We have been here since about 6 pm and the plane starts boarding at 9.15pm.

Then we face a fifteen hour flight home.  We arrive at about 7.30 am Monday morning.

The flight was delayed by about an hour as we had to wait for people from the cancelled flight to Brisbane to join our flight.

Eventually we took off.

During the night most people slept.  I watched two movies but fell asleep during them so I did get some sleep.

Now we are only three hours from home.

We are finally home after our travels.

S and W picked us up at the airport. It did not take too long to get through customs and collect our luggage. We had a simple exit through quarantine to see S and W waiting for us.

We drove home and finally the trip had ended.

Now all that is left is the sorting, washing and tidying.

Where will our next journey take us?

New York City

October 16,17,18

Our journey would take us to New York City and then home.

We set out at a reasonable hour and drove to High Falls.  One shop, a restaurant and not a lot else!

We then headed south through New Paltz to 87S towards Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow.

We used our new GPS which got us there without too much trouble.

The place was decorated for Halloween which is big here.

This is the place of the headless horseman.

We found a place for lunch, a waffle and yoghurt place, owned by a former member of Alice Cooper's band (we never did find out his name) then moved on.  Our GPS failed here and took us down some strange places.  We did get to see, however, how some of the wealthy live with huge schools and houses here.

Finally our GPS was on the right track and was indispensable for getting us to JFK .

We put three bags in storage and then headed to car return.  That was reasonably quick and we went to the Skytrain to get to New York City.

Although we had luggage getting from the Skytrain to the subway was not a problem.  The E train was express and took us to 53rd street.  I had rung the owner at Jamaica station so knew how to get into the place.

53 st station proved to be a bit of a problem as the elevator did not seem to take us to the street level so we still had steps to negotiate.

We finally made it with some difficulty and started the walk uptown.

It did not take long and then we were at our b n b.

There were steep stairs to negotiate but we managed. The room was very good with its own terrace, small kitchen and view to 58th street.

We decided to stay in for dinner so I raided the fridge for muffins, butter and tomato.

We also had tea, like home.

The next day, Thursday 17th, we slept in and pottered around a bit after breakfast till we started our day's journey.  We walked to 59th street subway and caught the 6 train to Grand Central. We looked around and then went up to the Apple store.

Then it was time to catch the shuttle to Times Square.

I did a bit of shopping and we went to the Visitors Centre but it did not have much information.

We then started our walk to get a Circle Line tour organised.  We stopped for lunch on the way.

We got to the cash booth and got our tickets.

We walked to the queue but this one did not take long.  

When on the boat, we walked upstairs and found seats.  Then it was time to wait till the cruise began.

We sailed towards the Statue of Liberty, past the New York skyline on one side and New Jersey, Hoboken, on the other.

We reached the Statue in good time.

Then we sailed on around the island of Manhattan, past midtown, uptown, Harlem, Bronx and other places.

Roosevelt Island tram which we had intentions of riding but shopping got in the way.

We moved into more rural type country near where the Hudson River Valley begins.  

We had to sail to the other side of this bridge which is shared with Metro North trains.  We had to wait our turn for the bridge to open.

It took about three hours to cruise and we met a young Aussie girl who helped us catch a bus to Grand Central.  She had been touring with a friend but was now on her own in N Y for a few days.

We went back to the Apple Store to FaceTime the family and that is when we found out more about the bush fires up in the Blue Mountains.

Then we grabbed some Chinese for dinner.

After that we caught the subway home.

Friday 18th 

Today was our final day in N Y.  We hoped to get tickets to see Wicked as our parting event.

After breakfast, I went out shopping.  I went to Fao Schwatz, Macy's, Victoria's Secret, M and M store and Hershey's among other stores.

By the time I got back, it was too late to go on the Roosevelt Tram.  But we had tickets to Wicked although they had cost a fortune.

We decided to walk to the Food Emporium to get something light for dinner. We ended up with prawns and salad.  The prawns were not as good as home but the salad was good as we could make our own and there was beetroot.

After dinner, we walked to the Subway and caught the train to the theatre.  We were in premium seats, about 6 rows back on the right side.

Excellent seats.

The performance was good but the queue for the loos, both men and women, was outrageous.  I made it back in time though.

After the show, we walked back home-w 51st and 7th to e 58th between 2 and 3rd. It was our last chance to see N Y at night.

We packed a bit but not all.

I thought I would stay awake so I would sleep on the way home but it was not to be.

I slept soundly till the alarm went at 6.30am.

Last day, Saturday 19th 

I woke up with the alarm and did not spend much time in bed.  We got up and prepared for departure shortly after breakfast.

We had breakfast and packed up.  It is difficult when leaving as you think you will leave something behind.  We got our luggage downstairs and the started to walk to the Subway.  The streets were quiet.

In the end, we decided to catch a cab to the airport.  We hailed one and in no time really we were back at JFK for the last time.

We went to baggage collection and got our stored bags.  We then repacked the bags but still had quite a few.

We went to check in.  We had a bit of difficulty because we were catching an AA plane, not Qantas and they did not think we were entitled to check 5 bags.  T has one extra as a Qantas Club member.

Eventually they let us through without charge.

We then found the Admiral's Club where we waited until flight time.

We went to boarding  and we were one of the last on board. 

We are currently flying to LAX.

New York State

After breakfast we set out for a long drive to our rental in New York at High Falls.  It was still cloudy and on the Kanc.... Highway it was misty which was unfortunate as the views would have been great.

We kept going until we reached Keene New Hampshire where we stopped for lunch at Dunkin' Donuts.

After that we kept driving and driving until we reached Kingston New York.  We got some provisions and then rang Sterrett, the owner of the rental to let her know where we were.  This was to be the first of several phone calls as it was dark by now.

We had great difficulty finding the Carriage House in the dark.  Finally, Sterrett drove to meet us even though we told her the wrong road.  I cannot figure out how to read the road signs here.

She led us to the house and we settled in.

It was sunny in the morning and we could get our bearings. The BBQ looks easy but we did not use 

These are some of the woods around the house.

After a simple breakfast, for a change, we drove around to see the way we should have come.

Then we set out for Woodbury Commons outlet centre.

It was easy to find, after we got through New Paltz which we had accessed via the Mohonk Preserve.

We took the 87S freeway which goes to NYC and got off at the right spot.

We were there on Columbus Day and it was so crowded as there were sales on.

We ended up having dinner there at Applebee's before driving home in the dark.

We played it safe and went to the Kingston exit and onto the 209 which led to country road 6,where our place is.

What an exhausting day.

Today, we slept in again and, after breakfast, set out to find the Hudson River.

We drove towards Poughkeepsie and Hyde Park.  I wanted to see the Culinary Institute of America which is where those in hospitality are trained.  It is quite a large campus.

We decided to eat there and got on the queue for the apple Pie Cafe.  The queue was so long that girls kept bringing out chocolate buttons and water. T had the quiche which he really enjoyed.  I also enjoyed my pain du chocolat.

After our visit, we decided to look at the Vanderbuilt and Roosevelt mansions, but, guess what?  The government shutdown meant that they were closed!!!

We drove instead to Marist University, right on the Hudson River.

The river from the boathouse area of the Marist University.

We drove back via Kingston which apparently was the first capital of NY.

Tonight, was time for packing. T got it all organised for our journey to NYC tomorrow. 

New Hampshire

Friday October 11th

After breakfast we checked out, packed the car and drove around the small town of Bethel.

There was not a lot to see so we started on our journey to North Conway.  On the way, we discovered this spot.

We continued on the short journey.  We saw some pretty trees as we went although some areas seemed to have passed their peak.

We reached North Conway and met a traffic jam.  It did not take long to move along and we found a parking spot almost opposite the information hut.

We talked to the people on duty and chatted briefly to an Australian couple from the Gold Coast.

We then walked along the town streets and to the Met cafe for a bite to eat.

After that it was time for some serious shopping at the Settlers Green Mall.

We spent quite a few hours there.

Time to check in to the Wyatt House Inn.

Elaine checked us in and took us for a tour.  She even volunteered to do our washing.

Sunset from our room.

It was R's birthday so we wished him Happy Birthday via FaceTime.  Here it will be his birthday tomorrow.

We went to dinner just near the b n b called May Kelly's.  Boy, was it busy.  There was a duo performing traditional music this evening so there was a big crowd.  We had to wait about half an hour for our table. In the meantime we had a drink.

This was the place that stopped T. He ordered turkey dinner and the two slices were about 1 cm thick each and the stuffing was almost as big.  Add gravy, mashed potatoes and carrots and that is the dinner that he could not finish.

After dinner we just relaxed till bedtime.

Saturday October 12th

Today it is cloudy and cool.  We are taking a cruise on the MS Mount Washington on Lake Winsupsukee, the largest lake in New Hampshire.  The views are muted because of the weather but it is quite restful.  

We got on board at Wolfborough and as we are on a return trip, we are going back to have lunch there.

We had English muffins and coffee at a small shop on the way to the car parking.

From the car park, autumn trees were visible.

We drove back to North Conway doing some shopping on the way.

We bought simple bread rolls for dinner with soft drink.

I made some tea and then it was time to relax before the night ended.

Fredericton New Brunswick

Wednesday 9th October

Today we left PEI and drove across the Confederation Bridge again (This time we had to pay about $45 toll) on the way to Fredericton, capital of New Brunswick.

We had stopped a few times on PEI to take photos of their unusual churches. 

We stopped at Moncton for lunch and had simple fare.

We arrived in Fredericton about 4pm and were greeted by Debra Quartermain who owns Quartermain House b n b on Waterloo Row next to the river.

She showed us our room which was lovely.  The house was in the gothic style and apparently has a resident ghost whom we did not see.

Our bathroom was huge although the bedroom was not.

After a cup of tea and a cookie we decided to go downtown to see the sights.

We walked around the historic district which is very small and took photos.

As it was near sunset, we went to the old railway bridge and joined the walkers, joggers and bike riders to see the sunset.   I took a photo of a maple tree in fall colour.

As the day was bright and sunny, the sunset was good.

After that, we went to dinner in another pub, The Snooty Fox.

Home to TV (Criminal Minds) and bed.

Charlottetown Prince Edward Island

Our journey from Halifax was uneventful except for crossing the 11km bridge to PEI.

We arrived art a reasonable time and were met by John and Maureen, an English couple who migrated to Canada from Newcastle on Tyne about 30 years ago.  They have owned the b n b about 10 years but their family is in Toronto so they hope to retire there when they sell the business.

We went to our room, at the front, the Confereration Room which is blue and white.

The stairs were a bit of a problem with luggage but we managed with a bit of help from John.

We settled in and walked to a recommended restaurant, Claddagh, for dinner.  I had fish and it came with vegetables! Yay!

It was most enjoyable. We walked home through town and even managed to shop even though it was late.

After a great breakfast, cooked by Maureen, we set out on the journey to Green Gables house.

It was very wet as we drove down to the waterfront and to the Tourist centre for info.

We only had one day, however, so we had together out and do things.

When we arrived at Cavendish, where Green Gables is, it had stopped raining.

After we viewed the introductory film and wandered through the barn, the sun was coming out, so our photos have sun and blue sky in the background.

We went into the house which was the home of relatives of L M Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables.  She lived within walking distance withe her grandparents and often visited the farm.

She used a lot of it in her books.

The house itself is decorated in the style of a late Victorian home.

After that, we walked the surrounds.

Lovers Lane was a particular favourite of hers apparently.

I went into the Haunted Wood for a short way and then back to Green Gables.

We had a sandwich and drink and then went to gift shop for purchases.

On the way back to Charlottetown, we drove to Cavendish beach which was cold and windy but I still walked onto the sand.

Now to town for another look around and a bit of shopping before heading back to the b n b for afternoon tea.  Maureen makes yummy food, particularly ginger biscuits.

At sunset we drove to the boardwalk for photos before going to dinner.

Dinner was at a pub which was near the polytechnic so filled with students who left about 8pm for classes?

As usual, ice hockey was playing on the tv.

Home to pack for the next day's travel to Fredericton.

It was a beautiful breakfast as usual and we were sad to leave but looking forward to our journey towards home.