Its been a long time since I've updated the blog I know, but I was waiting for some happy news rather than all sad.
March/April/May have been a difficult time. We got a phone call one evening to say that Pete's Mum, Pam, had been rushed to hospital. Pete left the next morning and I followed the day after. We were in Hobart for 2 months as we sat with Pam through her last days. It was a horrible experience, yet also very special in many ways.
We are back in New Haven now and trying to get life back on track.
On happier news. Melissa and Luke arrived at the end of June for a holiday. Luke came to stay for a weekend as he was in the US first and Melissa arrived later. We all met up in New York City to have a city adventure for a couple of days including a trip to watch the Yankees play baseball at Yankee stadium. We also took them to a stand up comedy show. We were somewhat shocked to realise how Americanised we had become as Pete and I got many more of the jokes than they did.
We headed back to New Haven on the Sunday. I think Liss and Luke were relieved to not be a hotel anymore and eating home cooked meals (even if they were vegetarian).
On Monday we ventured into the world of American consumerism and spent 5 hours at the malls. Clothes are very cheap here compared to Australia and I've located most of the bargain places so we walked out with heaps. Surprisingly I think Luke ended up with the most clothes. It is quite cheap to buy Billabong/Roxy/Adidas/Under Armour etc over here if you know where to look.
Monday night we ventured down town where they are filming Indiana Jones 4. The shops have all been changed to look like the 1950s and there are old cars in the streets; rather surreal.
Tuesday Liss, Luke and I headed off on a road trip, Pete had to work. The first stop was a B&B on a farm in Ithaca in New York State at the southern end of the Finger Lakes. The farm was organic and run mostly on solar energy. We were fed huge organic vegetarian breakfasts. We spent our time hiking and visiting wineries.
Thursday we drove through NY state to Niagara Falls. We took the back roads passing through farms, particularly Amish farms, stopping to buy fresh fruit from one. Niagara was not what I expected. The falls were magnificent but would've been better if they were still surrounded by nature. Instead they were fenced off and in the middle of a city. They had more of a feel of being some hollywood fake, especially at night with the coloured spot lights on them. We stayed on the Canadian side of the falls so Melissa could get another stamp in her passport. I've heard people say that the Canadian side is different to the US, but I couldn't tell.
Friday we drove east to the northern tip of the Finger Lakes to stay in a B&B at Waterloo. This would have to be the most entertaining B&B run by Mike and Joan and their dog Harley. Mike loved to chat and gave us samples of the local beer. The evening was spent drinking wine in their hot tub. Breakfast was particularly memorable as we were treated to a traditional American experience. It began with a Pineapple and Pecan muffin (after which we were all full). This was followed by strawberries in a sugary sauce, then chocolate waffles with raspberry sauce and extra choc bits accompanied with 4 rashers of bacon (yes all on the same plate). We couldn't finish it all and felt sick for most of the day. Apparently some guests eat it all and ask for more.
For the weekend, we headed north into the Adirondak mountains to a town called Lake George. It was absolutely gorgeous, though full of tourists. Saturday night I think was the most memorable part of the trip when we went to the rodeo. It began with a 'Texas style BBQ'. Luckily we only bought one serve as it was inedible. Not that I normally eat much meat, but one bite of those ribs was enough to put me off for life. Even Liss and Luke struggled to eat them. Instead we people watched, observing the rather large Americans ho-ing in. The start of the rodeo was nothing like we expected. First there was a philisophical discussion of the meaning of freedom and how we were free to choose to come to the rodeo that night, and how the US was the greatest country in the world cos it was free. Clearly that turned into a tribute to the men and women in Iraq who risked their lives so we could freely choose to come to the rodeo. We listened to some songs about the might and power of the US, and the anthem. Then of course we thanked God and said a prayer for the cowboys.
Finally the rodeo was underway. It was rather disturbing watching the cruelty to the animals. I quite liked the bull riding cos it felt like the bulls got some of their own back throwing the cowboys off and trying to kick them. The rodeo finished and we moved to the bar. The music was entertaining with lyrics like "I wanna see the other half of your butterfly tattoo" ..."I wanna take you out in the sticks ... I wanna search you for tics" "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, a red neck girl" and finally "Save a horse, ride a cowboy". Unfortunately none of us knew how to line dance so we couldn't join in. It was a whole other world out there. Interesting to visit but I wouldn't want to be part of it.
The next day we decided to try horse riding ourselves with a one hour guided ride through the forest. We loved it though I am still sore. An American on the ride fell off in the first 10 minutes, but we did fine. Our horseride was followed by rafting which was magnificent. Halfway through the rafting we jumped out and swam for a bit. The water a bit chilly but so clean and fresh! Unfortunately we couldn't take the camera on either of these adventures so no photos to show you. I didn't realise the US had such beautiful scenery, quite a contrast to being in NY city.
We finally made it home, greatful again for Pete's cooking and never wanting to see anything deep fried again, or a hamburger. I'm not sure what we will do today. Liss and Luke are still asleep (it's 9am). I think we will just chill out at home. On Wednesday we go back to NY city for a night, and hopefully go to Mary Poppins on Broadway. Liss and Luke leave early Thursday for LA to stay with Luke's Mum.
OK, enough from me now. I will try to add some photos once Liss and Luke get up.
Jaci xx
March/April/May have been a difficult time. We got a phone call one evening to say that Pete's Mum, Pam, had been rushed to hospital. Pete left the next morning and I followed the day after. We were in Hobart for 2 months as we sat with Pam through her last days. It was a horrible experience, yet also very special in many ways.
We are back in New Haven now and trying to get life back on track.
On happier news. Melissa and Luke arrived at the end of June for a holiday. Luke came to stay for a weekend as he was in the US first and Melissa arrived later. We all met up in New York City to have a city adventure for a couple of days including a trip to watch the Yankees play baseball at Yankee stadium. We also took them to a stand up comedy show. We were somewhat shocked to realise how Americanised we had become as Pete and I got many more of the jokes than they did.
We headed back to New Haven on the Sunday. I think Liss and Luke were relieved to not be a hotel anymore and eating home cooked meals (even if they were vegetarian).
On Monday we ventured into the world of American consumerism and spent 5 hours at the malls. Clothes are very cheap here compared to Australia and I've located most of the bargain places so we walked out with heaps. Surprisingly I think Luke ended up with the most clothes. It is quite cheap to buy Billabong/Roxy/Adidas/Under Armour etc over here if you know where to look.
Monday night we ventured down town where they are filming Indiana Jones 4. The shops have all been changed to look like the 1950s and there are old cars in the streets; rather surreal.
Tuesday Liss, Luke and I headed off on a road trip, Pete had to work. The first stop was a B&B on a farm in Ithaca in New York State at the southern end of the Finger Lakes. The farm was organic and run mostly on solar energy. We were fed huge organic vegetarian breakfasts. We spent our time hiking and visiting wineries.
Thursday we drove through NY state to Niagara Falls. We took the back roads passing through farms, particularly Amish farms, stopping to buy fresh fruit from one. Niagara was not what I expected. The falls were magnificent but would've been better if they were still surrounded by nature. Instead they were fenced off and in the middle of a city. They had more of a feel of being some hollywood fake, especially at night with the coloured spot lights on them. We stayed on the Canadian side of the falls so Melissa could get another stamp in her passport. I've heard people say that the Canadian side is different to the US, but I couldn't tell.
Friday we drove east to the northern tip of the Finger Lakes to stay in a B&B at Waterloo. This would have to be the most entertaining B&B run by Mike and Joan and their dog Harley. Mike loved to chat and gave us samples of the local beer. The evening was spent drinking wine in their hot tub. Breakfast was particularly memorable as we were treated to a traditional American experience. It began with a Pineapple and Pecan muffin (after which we were all full). This was followed by strawberries in a sugary sauce, then chocolate waffles with raspberry sauce and extra choc bits accompanied with 4 rashers of bacon (yes all on the same plate). We couldn't finish it all and felt sick for most of the day. Apparently some guests eat it all and ask for more.
For the weekend, we headed north into the Adirondak mountains to a town called Lake George. It was absolutely gorgeous, though full of tourists. Saturday night I think was the most memorable part of the trip when we went to the rodeo. It began with a 'Texas style BBQ'. Luckily we only bought one serve as it was inedible. Not that I normally eat much meat, but one bite of those ribs was enough to put me off for life. Even Liss and Luke struggled to eat them. Instead we people watched, observing the rather large Americans ho-ing in. The start of the rodeo was nothing like we expected. First there was a philisophical discussion of the meaning of freedom and how we were free to choose to come to the rodeo that night, and how the US was the greatest country in the world cos it was free. Clearly that turned into a tribute to the men and women in Iraq who risked their lives so we could freely choose to come to the rodeo. We listened to some songs about the might and power of the US, and the anthem. Then of course we thanked God and said a prayer for the cowboys.
Finally the rodeo was underway. It was rather disturbing watching the cruelty to the animals. I quite liked the bull riding cos it felt like the bulls got some of their own back throwing the cowboys off and trying to kick them. The rodeo finished and we moved to the bar. The music was entertaining with lyrics like "I wanna see the other half of your butterfly tattoo" ..."I wanna take you out in the sticks ... I wanna search you for tics" "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, a red neck girl" and finally "Save a horse, ride a cowboy". Unfortunately none of us knew how to line dance so we couldn't join in. It was a whole other world out there. Interesting to visit but I wouldn't want to be part of it.
The next day we decided to try horse riding ourselves with a one hour guided ride through the forest. We loved it though I am still sore. An American on the ride fell off in the first 10 minutes, but we did fine. Our horseride was followed by rafting which was magnificent. Halfway through the rafting we jumped out and swam for a bit. The water a bit chilly but so clean and fresh! Unfortunately we couldn't take the camera on either of these adventures so no photos to show you. I didn't realise the US had such beautiful scenery, quite a contrast to being in NY city.
We finally made it home, greatful again for Pete's cooking and never wanting to see anything deep fried again, or a hamburger. I'm not sure what we will do today. Liss and Luke are still asleep (it's 9am). I think we will just chill out at home. On Wednesday we go back to NY city for a night, and hopefully go to Mary Poppins on Broadway. Liss and Luke leave early Thursday for LA to stay with Luke's Mum.
OK, enough from me now. I will try to add some photos once Liss and Luke get up.
Jaci xx
