USA - Buildings of New York

New York is full of buildings - the skyline is unique and poses a majestic outline. We have done a little walking down the streets and I have taken the odd snap of some of the lovely old buildings and facades that we saw.

USA - Ellis Island, New York

Wednesday 13 October

Heaps more photos and lots of history. Coming, coming, coming .....

USA - Statue of Liberty, New York

Wednesday 13 October

This will take a little while - wonderful day, lots of photos.

USA - New York

Tuesday 12 October - Monday 18 October

On it's way! A veritable work in progress .....

USA - Boston

Saturday 9 October - Monday 11 October

We're home! It sure feels like home as Paula and Ben have made us very welcome and Tessa enjoys having a big four year old around. Tessa and Meg are getting on very well (for the most part - I won't lie here!) and are having fun. Meg is enjoying having different toys to play with and Tessa is enjoying having a "big" friend.

Our dinner after arriving home from Niagara Falls. See, it's true - we do eat from this table!!

Paula's wonderful home made American apple pie which was seriously delicious. I now have the recipe!!

We all went on a terrific walk in the Middlesex Fells which are very close to Paula and Ben's home. The woods are wonderful and the walking track wide and easy for the little ones to navigate. At the top of the hill there is Wright's Tower from which you can view the Boston skyline.

Paula, Tessa and Ben in Wright's Tower.

Paula and Ben are keen climbers and the gene seems to have rubbed off on Tessa.

Meg in the woods.


We spent an afternoon in Boston Common which is a large public park in downtown Boston. What a beautiful park! There were squirrels galore which amused us no end, a playground that was a delight, acres of grass that was so green it looked unreal and lots of historic statues. All in all a very relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. I now know why the Americans call this season Fall - the changing of the leaves is beautiful.

I didn't believe I would ever see it but apparently Quidditch is alive and well and taking off in Boston. Two teams, six hoops, quaffles, bludgers and brooms. Didn't spot a snitch though - don't know how they would manage that one!

More squirrel watching. They are certainly very entertaining and highly amusing.

Even in Meg's excitement she managed to find a squirrel brave enough to take a piece of chocolate chip cookie from her hand. Not sure about the ethics of this but the kids enjoyed giving them a small treat.

Jack managed to entice four squirrels to his hand. His ability to stay still and not shout out in excitement, I think, gave him the edge.

g found a pair of blue star glasses (eat your heart out Dame Edna!) and Jack a circus nose which they enjoyed immensely.


I have always wanted to see the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial in Boston. Robert Gould Shaw was the colonel in command of the all-black 54th Regiment which entered the American Civil War in 1863. The movie Glory focussed on Shaw and the regiment he recruited. So, this was the one thing on my wish list for Boston whilst we were here. This is how it looked. Unfortunately, at present, a restoration project.

This is how it should look (except much better).


This is actually how much we saw. Very disappointing although it means another trip to Boston one day ..... I am determined to see it fully restored.

USA - Niagara Falls

Tuesday 5 October - Friday 8 October

It's coming!

USA - Boston

Sunday 3 October - Monday 4 October

We arrived in Boston early, picked up the car and headed over to Paula, Ben and Tessa's. Great to see Paula and Ben again and meet Tessa and over waffles with maple syrup, we caught up the last six years since we last saw each other.

Jack loves climbing trees and no tree is safe!


We do everything in this room. It may look like a kitchen but at this end there is a table where we read books, play games, answer emails, do computer work, update the blog, write a journal (Jack), etc. Of course, we do eat here too!

The road is currently being ripped up (literally!!) right outside the front door and so the boys were very taken with the machinery.

USA - Disneyland

Friday 1 October

Well, the day for Disneyland finally arrived!! We were THAT excited! It was an absolutely beautiful, sunny day and we had a full-on day of fun.

Whoo hoo! Meg on the tram from the car park to Disneyland.

America is gearing up for Halloween (31 October). Everywhere you go there are pumpkins, skeletons, witches, bats, more pumpkins, black cats, ghosts, ghouls and more pumpkins. Disneyland is getting into the swing of things with their welcoming ghosts along the tram tracks.

Disneyland has it's own marching band led by the wonderfully enduring Mickey Mouse.

The Disneyland Marching Band in Main Street.

Jack about to enter Tomorrowland.

In Tomorrowland they have a Jedi Training School and recruit a large number of would-be Jedi's from the audience.

The Padawan (Jedi Apprentices) learn the tricks of the trade from the Jedi Master and older Padawan.

Of course, Darth Vader always wants to gather young Padawans to the dark side.

Darth's own apprentice, Darth Maul, is never far from his side.

Meg and Jack practicing to be the next generation of rock musicians. We hope that Meg will move onto something a little more mellow than the drums .....

Tomorrowland showcased a number of innovations that will one day be part of our everyday life such as cars which are completely eco friendly and ASIMO. ASIMO is a robot that has been twenty years in development but is now virtually at the release stage. He can walk, talk, run and climb up and down stairs - a great feat for a robot. He or his future prototypes will be assistants in our homes as naturally as a microwave.

Twice a day there is a Street Party down Main Street. People start to line up at least half an hour beforehand and there is often no shade to shelter under. Meg is cooling off here as Jack was spraying her with his new fan/water bottle.

The joy and fun of the Street Party is infectious!

The energy of the dancers who go through every type of dance there is, is wonderful. They are great and add a real party atmosphere to the street.

Meg went out to dance although she was a little unsure despite the best efforts of her partner.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was a film producer, director, screenwriter, voice, actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, philanthropist and great visionary. Disneyland opened in 1955 and in his dedication speech Walt Disney said:

To all who come to this happy place; welcome.
Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past .... and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America ... with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.

Jack and Meg outside Fantasyland.

Meg on Dumbo the Elephant in Toonworld.

Meg on Dumbo the Elephant.

Meg and Jack in a Teacup.

Meg met Micky Mouse in his home in Toonworld.

We took a river trip in Adventureland and came across a lot of African wildlife. In the early years they used real animals but being unpredictable and not showing themselves on cue (what were they thinking!!), it was decided to use animatronics instead (much more reliable).

Deepest, darkest Africa in Adventureland.

And there ends our day in Disneyland with a walk to the tram along the boulevard with fairy lights in the trees ..... all year round. A magical day .....

USA - Universal Studios

Thursday 30 September

It's coming!

USA - Santa Monica and Los Angeles

Wednesday 29 September - Saturday 2 October

It's been a long time coming but I am finally adding to our Blog as we are currently on our long-awaited trip to the US. Our trip has been changed so many times, been redone and reorganised that at times I wondered if we were actually ever going to get on the plane! At last we are here and having a wonderful time. We started off with a few days in Los Angeles and stayed at the Santa Monica Youth Hostel. Santa Monica seems to be a great community - very laid back with an easy living lifestyle. It has a beachfront with a great pier and is the end of the famous Route 66 across America highway.

At the end of Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles.

Jack finding his fortune with Zoltar (memories from the movie Big).

The Route 66 sign on the Santa Monica Pier.

Meg and Jack with a Santa Monica policeman in the Santa Monica markets. Santa Monica has two fresh produce markets a week - Wednesdays and Saturdays and we were lucky enough to catch the Saturday market.

Dragon Fruit were stunning with their pink and yellow skins and their bright pink flesh.

Honeystix were a big hit with the kids. Flavoured honey sold in straw-like lengths - 5 for a $1.

The dinosaurs down the mall were great. Jack and Meg threw coins into the pond through the water spout.

Buskers were abundant down the mall at Santa Monica - at any time during the day and night. Many played instruments, sang or entertained with acrobatics, dancing, etc. Meg was particularly taken with Josh Ricketts playing the sax and later did a solo dance to one of his songs. She was a great hit with the crowd.