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Arizona – Sedona

by steve, on August 14th, 2008 (Arizona)

We were off by 4:30 this morning. The roads around New Brunswick don’t agree with my old GPS map so we made a few wrong turns eating up some of our contingency. This and the fact we took the bus to the wrong terminal were the only remarkable items during flight to Arizona. Having picked up our car from the airport we decided to drive to Flagstaff via Sedona. We stopped off at a few sights to take pics as well as taking a short hike to “Devil’s Bridge”. Further along the way we took a look at “Slide Rock State Park” in case we want to visit on the way back from the Grand Canyon.

The hotel we’re staying in, Drury Inn, is superb. For $110 all four of share a room. We get free internet, breakfast and those of us over 21 get three free drinks between 5:30 and 7pm. It’s just gone 5:30 so we’re heading down. Here’s some pics to keep you amused.



Category: Arizona | Here is my comment

Bear Mountain

by steve, on August 10th, 2008 (New York)

This morning Helen and I took a hike up Bear Mountain in NY state – a warm up for our Grand Hiking later this month.  I’m glad we did this as my feet have not worn hiking boots enough recently and my heels are now blistered.  Hopefully they will stiffen up over the next two weeks.  While we’re in Flagstaff we’ll put in a few extra walks to build us up for the big one.

Helen & Steve on the crest of Bear Mountain

Click on the picture for slide show.

Category: New York | Here is my comment

First Day Out – Seventeen Too

by steve, on August 9th, 2008 (New York)

Today we were invited out by a friend of Anne’s to spend a little time on their powerboat “Seventeen Too”.  Anne, John, Helen and I met up with Amy and Bob Katz at Liberty Marina just before noon.  Already with them were their friends Britt and Steve.  Shortly we were joined by Rowena and Rico.  The boat, a Carver 570, was awesome – far more splendid than we imagined.

We thought we might be taken out into the Hudson, round a bit and then back to the marina.  What we were treated to was a trip up the East river round the top of Manhattan, up the Hudson to a couple of miles north of the Tapanzee Bridge (close to Sing Sing) and then back down the Hudson to the Statue of Liberty and then back into the marina.  This all took a bit over four hours.  Along the way we had rolls and fruit to eat with a little beer and wine to wash it down.

At the beginning of the trip we got to see the recently constructed water sculptors around the south end of Manhattan.  You can see a few photos of these in the clips below.  The view of Manhattan is quite different from the water.  Helen and I have never been up the East River further than Hellgate.  I was quite surprised how green the north end of Manhattan Island is.  The trip up the Hudson to the Tapanzee Bridge took us alongside the Palasaides – rocky cliffs along the west shore.  Again, I was quite surprised how green they were and the total lack of any man made objects.  Just looking we wouldn’t know we were just a few miles from one of the busiest cities on the planet.

Our very big thanks to Amy and Bob for inviting us out on the river.  An excellent start to this next phase of our lives.  Our “First Day Out.”

Category: New York | Here is my comment

Moving in

by steve, on August 2nd, 2008 (New Jersey)

Today was Sam’s moving in day. We filled the van with furniture and his electric piano and set off for New Brunswick. He was supposed to have emailed us his address and meet us at 11:30am but we received no message nor answer on his phone when we called. We decided to go to where Ben was staying and found them both fast asleep having been out the night (morning) before. Sam’s place is only a mile away from Ben’s which is great as this will allow Ben to keep and eye on Sam. Ben fled the nest 3 years ago so is somewhat independent – at least as far as a 20 year old male can be.

When we saw the place Sam chose we were quite surprised. His room is a converted attic. Not too many places you can stand up in but the floor area is huge. We put the van load of furniture plus another van load of stuff from Ben’s basement and the place still looked big. Even with all that in there and his bed laid out he has more space than Ben has in his entire room. I suspect Ben will be spending a lot of time round Sam’s.

This has worked out very well. Sam has a great place where he can hopefully settle into his studies. He has his brother nearby for support and (again hopefully) positive influence. He’s been given an old computer onto which we’ve set up Skype with a camera. That way we can stay in touch when we’re apart. Need to do the same with Ben. We’re quite relieved he has a place that suits him so well.

Category: New Jersey | Here is my comment

Another detail to attend to

by steve, on July 30th, 2008 (New Jersey)

I got a phone call from Sam this afternoon.  He had been rear ended while waiting for a gap in traffic at a junction.  The main news was that he and his passengers are ok.  The rear of his car is all smashed in and he can’t open the boot/trunk.  Fortunately all the lights work so he can still drive the car.  So now we’ve got another track to follow.  Timing is a bit tight as we need to wait five days for the police report before we can engage our insurance company to open up a claim with the other drivers insurance company.  We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the other driver, who appeared not to speak a word of English, was in fact insured.

In the meantime, to keep our readers as entertained as we are, here are a few pics I took with my phone when I saw the car a little later.

Category: New Jersey | Here is my comment
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