Steve and Mandy

Home Awaits We awake to rain, have some breakfast and start our packing, we are sure our luggage is overweight, we look around the room, this is it, time for the long haul home. We have arranged a car to pick us up and take as to the airport, we don't want to go home yet, there is still so much more to see! On the way to J.F.K the taxi we’re riding in gets shunted in the rear, the driver hops out, checks the damage, shakes his head at the other driver and off we continue…this seems the norm ??? .We arrive at the airport and wait for our flight to LA then from LA to Sydney then on to Melbourne, and it’s a loooooong flight home We would like to thank the American's for ... read more

Manhattan Awaits Another great day in Manhattan awaits us as we travel by subway into Times Square and head to the Rockefeller centre, the view from the top is amazing, we are loving this city! We then head down to the 9/11 memorial, there is a queue at the entrance and because we have our NYC card (definitely worth the money we paid for them) we fast track to the VIP entrance. We book into see the Reflection Pools and visit the 9/11 Museum first, the Museum is heart breaking, we can still remember the day the attacks took place and to see the memorials, letters children have written to there parents, parents to thier children, wives to husbands, husbands to wives, friends and work colleagues, it's heart breaking and one such account stood out and ... read more

We have a little sleep in today, then head off to NYC. This is the last day of our road trip. The weather is kinder to us today, overcast but no rain. As we head down the highway towards NYC the traffic starts to get busier, no longer the lovely country highways we have enjoyed, this is it, we have hit the city, traffic everywhere, cars weaving in and out of traffic, horns honking, welcome to NYC, we return the hire car, we have mixed emotions, excited to be in NYC, but sad that our trip will soon be over, we have been so lucky to see and experience some fantastic sights of this diverse country, the sights, the beauty, the people, the wilderness, its been truly amazing! Steve spent many hours a week planning this ... read more

We wake up to sunny skies with just a little cloud, we have organised a bus tour today, we off to numerous historical sites to look at Niagara Falls, the parks are just beautiful, well maintained with green lawns, lovely flower beds, we stop into the Butterflies enclosure, what a magnificent place to be, as you walk through the enclosure, hundreds of butterflies flutter around, some even land on you, the colours & patterns on there wings are majestic. We now head towards the last part of our tour which is a boat ride to Niagara Falls, we now board the Maid of The Mist and head towards the bottom of Niagara falls, to appreciate the beauty and the enormity of the Falls you need to see it for yourself. The tour now ends, what a ... read more

Another glorious day at Watkins Glen, we go for a walk and get some supplies to go for a small hike up to the falls at Watkins Glen State Park , some of the homes we see along the way are magnificent, white weather boards with columns on the verandahs, with glorious planter pots with wonderful colours of white, yellow & lilacs! The beautiful oak trees are loosing there leaves and are on front lawns and footpaths, to feel these leaves crunching under our shoes reminds us of the Autumns in Melbourne when we were kids. We arrive at Watkins Glen State Park ready to catch the shuttle bus to take us up to the top so we can walk down to the bottom,but. "what's this, no shuttle bus today"! We have to walk up the ... read more