Homeward bound

When you have a Simon and Garfunkel song going through your head for a few days, you know it's time to head home.

Our final day in Manhattan took us downtown and we though we would see how much Ground Zero had changed. We bypassed all the hoarding and made our way to the church near the site. St John's Chapel was not open when Chris and I visited the site in 2002, so we were able to read the work which the Chapel did for those people working at the pit and the memorials left.

Some of the patches from the various emergency services personnel from across the globe

From there we headed to the Strand bookstore - 18 miles of books in the one shop and I could have stayed there all day, but the clock was ticking and we were running late for our train / subway to JFK!

The many books in the Strand Bookstore

With 1 hour to spare, we were checked in and ready for the journey home. The bags were re-weighed and just made their 20kg allowance! I was shocked to say the least.

Some lovely sculptures in the subway

The past year has been a such an adventure and an absolute ball.

We were asked what we have achieved and what our purpose for the career break was, and to be honest, we didn't have a purpose at the beginning  - apart from having the opportunity to travel and have a break from our life at home. But now the year has drawn to an end, I know what the purpose has been for me... through our travels we have met old friends and family and have met so many lovely new people who we will remain in contact with for many years to come. Strangers have touched our lives and for that I am grateful.

I have discovered that there is so much more to life than worrying about the people next door and realised that we don't have to remain indoors even if the rain is falling!

Cheers!

Another year wed!

The Hudson River

Knowing we were going to be in the Big Apple for our 5th Wedding anniversary. The weekend began with our now good friends Matt and Barbara (who we were staying with again) when they treated us to an Anniversary / Bon Voyage brunch! The food was fantastic - which was not uncommon at their home, but we'd a chance to also spend the final few hours on the beach before we left their home and went into the 'Big City'.

Our hotel and had a fantastic view of the Hudson River and we were close enough for the subway and some of the local sights to catch the last of the sunshine.

Chris with the blue whale

On our anniversary, we needed to try to do as much as possible, especially as it was the last full day we would spend in the city. Chris wanted to see the Natural History museum, so we took a number of hours to see around all the exhibits and we certainly enjoyed seeing those exhibits from the countries which we'd visited. It was also my turn to arrange something and I'm sure that Chris did not imagine that we would be going to a baseball match to let me sit and join the local knitters! 

Chris and I at the Baseball

Stitch 'n' Pitch is something which is supposed to incorporate needle crafts and baseball... and a match at the Mets stadium should have been something of a finale for us... but the match wasn't fantastic and there was more atmosphere at the stadium in Vancouver rather than here. But I'd a ball watching all the other knitters nearby and people spinning on drop spindles.

I will not bore you any more about that... needless to say, the Mets got slaughtered by the Altanta Braves 11 - 3.

We rounded the evening off having drinks in the middle of Times square, watching people walking past and realising that in the morning we would be beginning our journey home.

Marching bands

Katie, Christopher, Mama C and us!

Despite being brought up in Northern Ireland, Chris and I haven't acquired the wider knowledge of 'Marching Bands' apart from those annual events during our summer months back home!

So when we met up with an old friend - Mama C (from my Camp Connri days) we not only enjoyed spending time with the family and friends in their home, but also were entertained for part of an evening at a Marching Band competition.

Christopher and some of the marching band (he's above the sparkly girl!)

Christopher (Mama C's son) is at Edinboro University and is part of the University's marching band. They were the guest band at this High School contest and this enabled us to see what the whole thing was about... wow!

If you take the comical value out of seeing people walking sideways with their instruments and walking at high speed to a specific destination on an American Football field, the entire choreography and precision of memorising the moves and music is certainly something to take your hat off to.

Chris and I stayed with Mama C for a few days and we got to see what good work she was doing at a place called TREC. No matter where she is, there is always 101 things to be done, so Chris and I were pleased to be be able to assist in any way possible - even if it was taxi for Christopher or taking Mama C out to lunch! We also took a drive around the peninsula and saw the Niagara sailing across the lake - what a lovely site

The Niagara

From Erie, Chris and I completed the mammoth car journey from Pennsylvania to New Hampshire. It was a journey of over 10 hours and despite driving through 5 states, stopping three times - once for a State Trouper!!! and getting lost once, we arrived at our final destination (before returning the rental car) just before 10pm.

Our road trip has been fun. We covered an approx total of 3450 miles and have enjoyed every moment of it. The only difference we would make would be that we'd probably decide the next time we do a road trip, we'll remember to bring an up-to-date GPS rather then relying on maps! Just so we don't end up on the wrong freeway for over 41 miles!

The only thing we didn't spot was a Moose, but one town in Vermont (Bennington) certainly made up for that - they had quite a number jotted around the main street. It added a little something to the journey!

Just one of the painted moose

Break for the Border

Jude's family had been on the list of free accommodation for a while so leaving Toronto central and heading for Guelph we met up with Jude's Uncle David and Auntie Brenda.

David and Brenda

Another set of family stories from years gone by accompanied the great hospitality we received. It is nice not only to learn a bit more from Jude's side of the family but also for them to learn a bit about me. We had a great couple of days and when the new deck is finished, we might even return..... unless the measurements for the deck supports I help put up were not quite right....

Jamie, Meredyth, Cole and Finn - this will be the new Fashion

Our last Canadian days where spent in Niagara on the Lake. Such a quaint little town near to the home to Jude's Cousin who we actually met nearly ten years ago when they visited Northern Ireland. Jamie, Meredyth and their two Children, Cole and Finnegan were fantastic company. It was really nice to be able to drop by....We actually stayed with their neighbours next door who had a huge basement for guests. To say it was a little strange is true but we did have such a nice time in both homes. Being in Niagara it was understandable that we headed for the Falls. We'll not mention the problem with getting back home again.

Niagara Falls, Class 10 Waterfall

All in all Canada is a wonderful country full of very nice people. It's size is hard to comprehend and the ability to loose yourself in the wild is very real. It's somewhere we both will definitely go back to, not just to visit family but also to experience a bit more of the outdoors.

In search of family, friends and Anne!

Toronto is a big place. It's not like Belfast where you can get from one end to the other in 20 minutes, Toronto has a 4 lane express way with 4 lane connectors... each direction.... even the GPS got confused. Our Africa trip (not that we ended up driving to Africa!) yielded a few new friends from Canada and it was lovely to be able to meet up with one of them. Anne spent an extra month in Kenya and hearing her stories, not to mention reminiscing about our own trip was great fun. Sorry to those guys who didn't get to meet up with us cause they live a couple of thousand miles somewhere else in Canada... or haven't come home yet.

Catching up with Anne

For various reasons, some of both of our families ended up emigrating to Canada. First stop, Uncle Raymond, Auntie Doreen, Alan and Anne. It has been over 11 years since I spoke to this side of the family so to be welcomed back was a great pleasure. We all sat chatting about family, our trip and everything else under the sun and a couple of hours turned into 6 or 7.

Uncle Raymond, Auntie Doreen, Anne and Alan

As Jude's parents know a few people in the Toronto area, they asked us to stop by. Visiting a couple of 80 year olds is a bit like volunteering for care in the community but it turned out to be a really lovely day with Gert and Annie. Gert moved from Holland many years ago and we where surprised to learn that Annie wrote a poem that hangs in loads of Government buildings in Canada. It was written as a thank you for Canada saving the Netherlands during WW2.

With Annie and Gert

Another Annie was on our list for Toronto. Although Anne of Green Cables was set in PEI, most of the filming was carried out in Ontario, especially Toronto. Good husband that I am and armed with various maps, google directions and Tim Horton's coffee we hit the trail. One of us was thoroughly excited to see all the different landscapes, houses, bridges and such like used in the film...... one of us had to drive.

The Green Gables used in the TV dramatisation

My cousin John and his son Shayne met us at Canada's Wonderland. What better way to catch up with your cousin than upside down on a roller coaster. Another great catch up and I got to meet Dora the Explorer. Bonus. Jude and I spent nearly 12 hours in the park. Absolutely shattered by the end of the day it was all fun. Unfortunately we didn't get to meet up with John's wife Kelly and youngest son, Ryan. It's just an excuse to go back.

With Chris' other cousin John and son Shayne in Canada's wonderland

We did like Toronto but it is a big city with huge highways. Well worth another visit though.

Moose hunting and friends

PEI was a nice place and we could have stayed longer but with things to do and people to see we left the island for a little drive towards Toronto. (about 1000 miles) Moose are supposed to be on the highways and after the winter they can be seen licking the salt rich puddles in the ditches along the highways (salt from the salt spreaders) We took the back roads towards Quebec in the hope of seeing one out of season. Long bumpy roads, some crystal clear lakes, lots of trees but alas no moose.

It was a nice day for a drive

Around Quebec we decided to stop for the night. It was very surprising to see only French signs on the roads, it was even more surprising that the hotel we booked into not only had a french name but everyone spoke French (some people spoke ONLY French). For an English speaking country to have such a large part of their country speak a different language was a bit weird until you looked at the relative size.

Northern Ireland -5463 square miles
Quebec - 595391 square miles
Canada - 4500 000 Square miles

A Gap in the trees made for some great views

A bit more driving past a few more trees got us down to Montreal to stop over with some family friends of Jude's. Liz and Billy Baxter moved out to Montreal in the 80's and we stopped off to see them. Most Northern Irish people never loose their accents even after many years abroad. Liz and Billy where very kind to allow us to stay and they even fed us a fantastic meal. It was a lovely way to share information and stories about friends and family back home despite being so far away.

The Baxters - a wealth of Norn Iron knowledge

Another five hours of our epic road trip got us to Toronto and my friends Karen and Cory. Karen had agreed to let us stay with her last time she was home. We had been drinking at the time but I held her to her word. Chatting about old times, old friends and old haunts over several home cooked meals has been great. We've rocked out on the Wii, seen a busker festival downtown and had a fantastic base for exploring various parts of Toronto. With several more days left, at Chez Karen and Cory's it is this sort of generosity once again that has helped this trip become so interesting and pleasurable.

Free beer at Steam Whistle Brewery - Toronto

Finally a Moose - they are this big in real life !