Friday 7 December - NYC

Overcast and drizzling rain greeted us this morning so we headed off with Beacon Hotel umbrellas to walk to and through the southern section of Central Park. Visited the "Doggy Day Care" centre on 72nd Street and Alison and Jenny went in to have a chat and also have a look at the video feed of the puppies in the play room downstairs. Owners can view the video feed on their computers or smart phones during the day to keep a check on how their puppies are fairing.

Along 72nd Street then to the Dakota Building and across into Central Park and Strawberry Fields. Then a leisurely amble through the park looking at the various statues, horse drawn carriages and squirrels. Ended up at the southern end of the park at the ice skating rink before exiting the park near the Plaza Hotel.

The "Three Musketeers" at the Central Park Skating Rink

Bridge and autumn leaves in Central Park

Even the horses are getting into the Christmas spirit!

After this short detour out of the park which allowed Philip to duck across the road and check out the delicacies on offer in the Plaza Hotel Food Hall, we headed back in to Central Park and strolled back up towards 72nd Street where we exited and then continued north to the American Museum of Natural History.

Jenny at entrance to AMNH

We visited the Hall of African Mammals and then went down to rest our weary feet and get some sustenance in the basement food court. Not the cheapest place to eat and some of the hot food is actually sold by the pound (lb). They weigh your plate at the checkout!

Back up into the exhibition halls and a visit to the Hall of North American Mammals where Jenny got to finally be close to a bear!

Through the display relating to coastal Indians and then the development of humankind, past the meteorites and into minerals and gems where we got to see the Star of India Sapphire which was donated to the museum in 1906 and stolen by "Murph the Surf" in 1964 but found later in a luggage locker and returned to the museum.

Star of India Sapphire

Finished with a visit to the dinosaurs on the fourth floor and the Asian Mammals near the exit. Philip was not really impressed with the layout of the museum or the methods of display. There was no real way to work your way through various exhibits without backtracking to get to the next thing. Also the lighting is so subdued that one gets the feeling that they are trying to save on electricity or don't want you to be able to clearly read the descriptions or see the detail of the displays.

Home to the hotel as schools came out and Alison got to use her teacher voice to pull some boys into line on a footpath that we were walking along on the way home. Alison and Philip had to head out again to visit the Barnes and Noble bookstore further up Broadway to see if a book that Alison had ordered in Chicago was waiting for pick-up. They decided to take the Subway but ended up on an express service and so instead of getting off at 79th Street as planned they went to 96th Street and then had to back track. Picked up the book and then strolled back and called into Fairway Market for dinner supplies - tomato and basil soup and bread. We have now eaten that course and Philip and Alison made Jenny put on her shoes and go back across the road to buy something for dessert. She warned them that if Richard Gere pulled up outside she would be gone. She wasn't long out the hotel room door when she burst back in almost doubled after laughing. She had been met in the hall way - no not by Richard Gere but an old bent over unshaved man in shorts who asked if she was going down.

Well she has now safely returned and we are going to enjoy some Juniors New York Baked cheese cake for dessert.

Thursday 6 December - NYC

We have woken up to a glorious morning in NYC. The photos below show the view from our windows at 7.30am. We think to day that we may head off to Empire State and then down to World Trade Centre and then the ferry out to Ellis Island while the weather is clear.

The day is drawing to a close - it is now 9.37pm here in NYC and we have had a magic day. Bought our 7 day Metrocards first up and then headed Downtown and to Herald Square where we exited to visit the Empire State Building. Queues were not bad and we were soon on the first observation level with the sun shining and sky clear for magnificent views in all directions. Rather crowded on the first level as most people don't pay the extra $17 to go to Level 102. Up at that level it was far less crowded even though it is fully enclosed so glass reflection can cause some problems. 

Jenny went on a souvenir shopping spree and so we then headed back to the hotel for cheese sandwiches for lunch and to drop off the shopping. Philip and Alison then hurried Jenny back to the subway and we took Line 1 all the way downtown to Rector Street. Visited the World Trade Centre site and the 9/11 Memorial which currently is comprised of a park of trees including one which survived the collapse of the buildings and the two pools where water cascades down into a black square in the centre and on the wall around each  are inscribed the names of those who died in each of the towers. It is a very moving tribute to those who lost their lives that day.

A visit then to Trinity Church on Wall Street and the purchase of some souvenir prints followed by a photo opportunity with the Wall Street Bull. Not so crowded this time so Philip now has his photo with the correct end of the bull while you will see below that the two girls in the party wanted to get up close and personal with other parts of his anatomy!

On to Battery Park which is largely fenced off as a result of Hurricane Sandy and a view out to the Statue of Liberty as the sun was setting. 

Jenny got very close to a squirrel and also once again did some souvenir shopping from a footpath vendor.

Tonight it was dinner from Fairway across the road again and then Alison and Philip headed back Downtown to Times Square for a reconnoitre regarding shows and the location of theatres.

Wednesday 5 December - Chicago to New York City

No photos in today's post so for those who need visual stimulation please accept our heartfelt apologies!   Left our hotel in Chicago at about 10.15am today and headed to O'Hare Airport. Self checkin which ended up being performed by an American Airlines staff member or two was fun. Jenny went a shade of grey when she saw the weight of her suitcase on the scale. Poor thing she has only one suitcase allowed for her return from the USA on Air New Zealand.

Then through security - boarding pass plus photo id just to get to the scanning lines. Oops Alison had made a special trip this morning to a super-market near our hotel to buy new bottles of water for each of us. No that wasn't going to get through so they had to be binned! Jenny tried to drink a third of hers before throwing it away and that came back to haunt her as we were approaching JFK airport - circling and then taxiing for quite some time. Our plane was a 737 and was packed - Alison and Philip thought that they had seen some Asian tourists in their travels pushing the boundaries of what was okay as cabin baggage. American travellers are obviously past masters at getting as much on board for free as possible. Bight the time our group (Group 4) was called to board there was very little space left in overhead lockers. Jenny ended up travelling with her backpack between her feet. At least they served a complimentary soft drink during the flight and Philip now knows not to have one in future - needed to visit the lavatory but by the time he made the decision, descent into JFK was starting and he had to return to his seat. Thank heavens for a relatively short walk from air bridge to terminal concourse!!!!

Up and down escalators in the terminal until we reached baggage claim and our luggage cam through on cue. Had paid and booked for a Supper Shuttle transfer so checked in with the operator and we had a 15-20 wait before loading with 6 other brave souls and taking what amounted to a roller coaster ride into Manhattan. Fortunately, we were the first group to be dropped off at the Beacon Hotel.

Our room here is on the 20th floor and looks down on Boradway and straight across to the Fairway Market which is a dream for shopping. We shopped and have just finished a real home cooked dinner of minute steak, mushrooms, baby potatoes, green beans and butternut pumpkin thanks to the facilities in our kitchenette. Only hassle was the smoke detector which went off as Philip cooked the mushrooms.

It is quite cool and breezy outside this evening. Tomorrow's forecast is for fine but ending to rain for the weekend. Alison and Philip have just returned from a walk to check out the distance to the closest subway station (72nd Street) and then continued a large block walking to Central Park and around the Dakota Building before coming back to the Beacon along 75th Street which is primarily a residential area of brownstone walk-ups. Poor photograph of the Beacon entry below. Time is now 10.16pm and the walk required jackets, scarves, beanies and gloves for Alison.

Tuesday 4 December - Chicago

Slower start this morning - only got to breakfast at around 8.50am. Fortified ourselves for what we planned to be a fairly lengthy morning/day and headed off in warm conditions walking down Grand Avenue to the Old Navy Pier. Alison and Jenny had to pose before we left with the Chicago Bears mascot which has been relaxing in the lobby since the weekend.

Entered the main building and visited the large indoor palm garden with dancing fountains.

While Philip rested, Alison (at Philip's request went down on to the pier to investigate the possibility of a Chicago River boat cruise. Best thing that could have happened as shortly after we were boarding a boat for a one hour architecture sightseeing cruise up and down the river. The guide's commentary was really informative and engaging and we learnt so much about the city and its buildings as we cruised.

Y Junction in the Chicago River

Old Rail Bridge

Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower)

Building in centre with Gold Top - designed to look like a champagne bottle

We would highly recommend this to anyone visiting Chicago. Must say however that we were very lucky as normally the cruises would have stopped by this time of year!

On our return to the Pier we enjoyed an ice-cream from the Ben & Jerry's Ice-cream Parlour - we had heard about how good these ice-creams were on a Foxtel show before we left home. Then investigated some more of the enclosed area of the Pier which contained a museum of stained glass windows and looked at the outdoor sculptures including the one below made of old canoes.

Our walk to and from the pier had taken us past a large wave shaped apartment building which we discovered on our cruise is a very exclusive address as it is the only residential building in the city that is built on the lake side of Lakeside Boulevard. It has been home  to such glitterati as Oprah, Tom Cruise, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.

 Headed back to our hotel for a late lunch of yesterday's leftovers and then Philip and Alison left Jenny to rest and read while they headed quite a few blocks up State St to the nearest Barnes & Noble store chasing a children's book from a series that Alison has been collecting since her first visit to the USA. Unfortunately, they didn't have a copy in stock but organised for one to be ordered and available for us to pick up at the Broadway store when we are in New York.

At this stage the sun was sinking and as they were "relatively" close to the John Hancock Building, Alison and Philip headed there and took the fastest elevator in the USA to the observation deck. The sky was perfectly clear and the night lights of the city were coming on for a fairytale view of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Unfortunately, as Alison and Philip had originally been on a shopping expedition, they did not have one camera or smart phone between them so the photographic memories are only those maintained in the brains!

Dinner tonight consisted of a starter of hot popcorn from the popcorn trolley in the hotel foyer, followed by some bbq chicken wings and delicious garden vegetable soup bought hot from a little supermarket one block away. We are now busy repacking in preparation for our flight to NYC at 1pm Wednesday.

Monday 3 December - Chicago City

Well we have learned one thing in Chicago and that is that 31 October is a very important date! Basically after that date anything of interest to tourists that has some outdoor aspect to it, closes until April! So today we have undertaken our own walking tours - we had hoped to take the free trolley bus to Navy Pier after lunch but discovered that it only runs on weekends until it resumes daily runs for the week prior to Christmas.

Good sleep in our hotel last night without being disturbed by the fire engines and other emergency vehicles. Breakfasted at 8am and then headed off to look at the shops nearby. Visited Nordstrom Department store and the only handbag that Alison looked at was reduced to $777. Left after that shock and walked past Burberry, Cartier, etc. Went into Holy Name Catholic Cathedral for a look but were disappointed that they seem to have replaced all their stained glass windows with rather boring ones which do not tell a story. Saw a beautiful old house which reflects the residences of the area from the late 1800s

and then visited the Episcopal Cathedral but had to make do with peering through glass panels in the locked doors.

Visited a supermarket and purchased our lunch supplies - last of the big spenders, $1.30 loaf of bread, 1/2 lb of thinly sliced Black Angus roast beef and a squirty bottle of honey mustard. Enjoyed our home made lunch in our hotel room and then all had a quick nanna nap before heading off for a long walk along the southern bank of the Chicago River all the way to Lake Michigan.

Taking many photos of the beautiful and ornate buildings along the way and being entertained by a little grey squirrel.

Jenny and her hips made it there and back and Alison and Philip then headed further down the main shopping street to Macys and the Palmer House Hotel for a look at the beautiful foyer of this historic building.

Now back at the hotel settled in for the evening and we have enjoyed our second dinner of Giordanos pizza. Microwaves in suites are a god send.

Sunday 2 December - La Crosse WI to Chicago IL

The drive today took us along the I-90 including toll roads directly into the centre of Chicago and the Magic Mile. Once again the weather started off foggy but gradually lifted during the day until we had blue skies, sunshine and heatwave conditions i.e. temperatures in the mid-50s fahrenheit! We passed a number of location signs below which made us think that we were in other parts of the world and these are the only scenery shots that we have to share today.

Were we in Greece?

Were we in Wales?

Or were we home on the Gold Coast?

Well our trusty Navman navigator (affectionately referred to as Chuck) brought us in to central Chicago but at that point he lost the plot. Maybe road works had something to do with it. Philip who was driving almost got to the point where he wanted to abandon the car in any street where he could pull over. Chuck would announce instructions like - in 200 metres turn right - Philip would carefully move to the right lane and then Chuck would announce - Turn Left! After this happening a number of times as we drove along the Chicago River in the middle of the city, Alison told Philip to pull over and hopped out to see if she could actually see our hotel at street level. She sought the help of a local who used her smart phone to locate the hotel and surprise surprise Chuck finally had the right directions up on the screen. Alison jogged down the street pointing madly at the hotel facade while Philip and Jenny followed in the car. 

But oh no we still had to find the car rental depot some blocks away to return the car in time. Unpacked into our beautiful suite at Hampton Inn and then grasped the steering wheel and headed off without Chuck's help. Within 5 minutes we were driving into a basement parking garage which was the Alamo depot - yippee no more driving until 16 December.

Below is a shot from our hotel room.

To relieve our nerves we Googled the nearest Giordanos Pizza Restaurant and headed off there to buy one of their speciality pizzas fro dinner. Philip only consumed one small piece!

We chose the medium size which cost about $28 and it was yummy and we have more than half in the refrigerator for dinner tomorrow night. Now we are all relaxing on the internet and listening to the sirens of emergency vehicles heading off on calls from the fires station just around the corner.

Saturday 1 December - Canistota SD to La Crosse Wisconsin

After dinner at the local cafe in Canistota last night, Philip came back to the computer and good old Google Maps to rethink our next two days' driving. We had planned to stop tonight in Albert Lea, Minnesota but thought it better to drive a little further east so that our drive to Chicago tomorrow (Sunday) would be shorter. Researched on TripAdvisor and found good reviews for Settle Inn La Crosse so cancelled Albert Lea and here we are. Pleased that we made the decision as we reached Albert Lea by midday! Now we are 200 km closer to Chicago. Nice big rooms here but we are super impressed with Jenny's - Alison's comment was that it looked just like a nursing home room!!! Has a recliner arm chair beside the bed and an extra roomy bathroom with room to swing four cats.

When we refuelled at the only service station in Canistota, the lady on the counter said that a girl who had just been in said that we were the people from New Zealand!!!! Philip quickly straightened out that situation. Whilst the refuelling was happening Jenny popped out of the car to try to catch a photo of an Amish family walking down the street and Philip and Alison warned her to be very circumspect. A car pulled in beside ours and a woman rolled down her window and said directly to Jenny - "What are you taking a picture of?" Jenny was very quick on her feet and pointed out how she was taking pictures of the main street of the town because it was such a beautiful little town and went into a long spiel about how she was capturing pictures of the buildings and streets of the little towns we had visited as they were so different from ours back home.

No fabulous scenery to report today as the drive has been foggy all the way along the interstate with the temperature in the mid-40s fahrenheit. We managed to drive across the whole state of Minnesota with one stop for fuel and McDs - Alison lunched on two hot apple pies for a bargain lunch of $1!

Remembering some particular gruesome if funny scenes from a movie, we did not venture to the town on the following sign.

The only excitement was the appearance of a large river on our right as we approached the Wisconsin state border and then as the highway turned right to cross the river we spotted a sign - Mississippi River. So even though Jenny will not be with us in New Orleans she has seen the mighty Mississippi.