Back in NYC

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After having a fantastic time in Boston, it was back to the Big Apple for the final couple of days of our trip. The first priority was to fulfill on of Hayley's dreams of a Horse and Carriage ride through Central Park. It didn't start particularly well with Hayley dropping her ice cream before boarding. However it was a lovely evening, with our friendly Irish driver. He pointed out many of the historical points within and around the park, but it was the sound of the horse clip clopping along, with us snuggled up in the back, that made for a relaxing night.

The next day, we set off on foot to further explore Central Park. We were joined by thousands of other people that day, as central park is the finishing point for the NYC Marathon. By the time we arrived at the park the winners had already crossed and after 3.5 hours many of the amateur running enthusiasts were making their way to the finish line. There was a great diversity of ages participating all looking a little buggered, as you would, by the time the race finished. As we walked around more, we found the Carousel and could not resist. We went up and down, round and round, laughing all the way like little kids.

Near the fountain of friendship we found a place to hire a row boat for an hour. it was extremely relaxing paddling as Hayley thoroughly enjoyed teasing me with strawberries. The people on the bridge overhead, thought it was funny as well.

Our final night was spent in Brooklyn, after a dinner and quick tour from our hosts, we soon got the impression that we should have spent more than one night in New York's Boroughs. Our impressions were confirmed the next day when we walked to downtown brooklyn for breakfast. That day also happened to be election day and there was an exciting atmosphere all around, America had been waiting for this day for a while now and the words of hope and spirit, so frequently used in Obama's campaign showed on the faces of most people you saw in the streets. History was in the making.

Getting to the airport was not as easy as it seemed. Our train journey was delayed for about an hour as a train had broken down on our line. All ended well, although we would generally like to make it to the airport more the 50 minutes before our international departure flight.

By the time we landed in LA for a quick stopover, the results of the Election were in. Everyone was glued to the nearest TV screen to tune into Obama's acceptance speech. Finally it was time to board the plane and head back home to Oz. With all the exciting things we had done on this trip, we were ridiculously excited to simply be heading home.

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