Back to reality (part two)

Welcome back to part two of my adventure, we're still at the Yankees game in NYC!

Before the game started some of the players meet n greet the fans. We ran down to see this guy, Mariano Rivera, and got soooo close, spoke to him but didn't get his autograph as he had to go get ready for the game. Remember this guy - he is very important!!

We watched the big screen and saw all the players and instantly fell in love with A-Rod!! I think he and Cameron Diaz have broken up now and he can give me a call anytime!!

The big screen was great when something happened and did lots of crowd scanning - sadly we didn't make it into any of the shots! Those Americans sure know how to celebrate stuff and with all the music it was like being at a giant fair!

Annoyingly I didn't take my zoom lens with me that day!! Doh!!

At half time they came and swept the field for the players, all in time to YMCA which the whole stadium got up and were dancing too - awesome and very very funny!!!

And then history was made!!!

Now I don't really get this part, but the guy we didn't quite meet - remember him? Well he won the game for the Yankees and it was a really BIG deal!!! Had we managed to actually get his autograph on our tickets it would be worth a fortune now!!! 

Never mind the game was fantastic and Sue and I are now avid fans!! (We both wore our souvenir t-shirts at home yesterday, feeling sad and reminiscing about our holiday!!)

After the game we headed back into the city and made our way to Little Italy where the San Genaro festival was on. Obviously we stopped and made friends along the way  :)

We watched the parade and walked round the streets checking out the fair and the stalls.

Then sat down for a meal in one of the many Italian street restaurants and watched the world go by. The food was delicious!!

Every year they have a freak show and this year was - The Headless Woman. Now at $1 to get in we knew it was going to be a scam, but we still couldn't resist checking out how this woman had survived without her head for all this time.

 We paid our money and were told we had to wait while she had her daiper (nappy) changed. Eventually we were allowed up the stairs to view her and just as we got there all the power went out and we were in darkness!! 

Ha Ha - they didn't count on Andrea having a torch in her bag and we burst out laughing as the torch light shone on the headless women and she waved us away in the dark!! "How can you see, you have no head???" we shrieked, and she continued to wave at us!! It was so funny but I guess you had to be there

Without giving too much away, this was pretty much how she looked (although obviously this is me), sat in her wheelchair with a neck brace on! We giggled for about half an hour at this!!

Still laughing we headed off to catch the last ferry home.

Tuesday saw a change in the weather and as Sue and I got up early again to make our way back to NYC, we were gutted to find it grey and rainy!

It is sooooo very hard to balance an umbrella, a camera and dodge all the people in the city, so yet again I didn't take too many pictures - oh well will just have to go back!!

I had a couple of things on my checklist for NYC that day - Central Park and Liberty. As we made our way to the park we took a few more pics as the weather brightened and dried up a bit.

We met a typically grumpy and rude New York cabbie but at least it ticked off 'ride in a NY cab' from my list!!!

 and we made some more friends, 

This was where I wanted to visit - Belvedere castle. Its not really a castle but a nature observatory. It looked so pretty and the views from the top were lovely!

Took some great shots of Sue but sadly the ones taken of me were a bit blurry :(

Then after some more subway travel and lots of walking we headed past the financial district, Empire State building and Rockefeller plaza. Obama was in town too that day and there was lots of security about.

we made our way to the Brooklyn Bridge and walked all the way across

and back. The views of the city were stunning!

We quickly ran out of time and didn't make it as far as the Staten island ferry to visit Liberty this trip - it was time to head back to Andrea's and our last night out! 

On our last day we popped into her work and said goodbye to the guys, did some last minute shopping for a present for Andrea and visited a shooting gallery to try our hands! Not something I'd done before but the cops there are obsessed by the fact that we don't carry guns  - we didn't want to let the side down so very nervously at first Sue and I had a go!! It was an interesting experience but as you will see when I scrap the targets we did really well and no-one could believe we hadn't done it before!!

We ended the trip with a photo shoot of us  - Charlie's Angels!!

It was an amazing action packed trip - yet again the guys were so hospitable and friendly and we are already planning a return visit next year!! Both Sue and I want to move there permanently!!

Now of course it is back to reality, work and British weather. It already seems like a lifetime ago that we  were in the US. Just have to get on with scrapping it all now and the other million things I have to do.

Toodlepip!

xxx

The one where I return to reality!! (part one)

Ok so you may have noticed that I've been absent for awhile, and I did say a few weeks ago that I had another adventure looming, so it's only fair that I share it with you now that I am home!!

This a picture heavy post - you know how many photos I take when I go away, so it will be a post in two parts!! Grab yourself a cuppa and enjoy the ride.......

Since I went for work in Dec '10, I have been saying that I wanted to go back to New Jersey. I kept putting it off co's of the work thing, but eventually after not much persuasion from my NJ friends, I booked a kinda last minute trip and dragged my chum Sue (from the Nice adventure) to come along with me. The day of the trip came came round very quickly and soon we were there - enjoying the Jersey Shore at Belmar!!

After a long flight and a few beers on the back porch at our host Andrea's house, we drove along the coast for the view and a relaxing walk.

The next day was spent shopping for great deals at the Mall and an evening at the bar catching up with old chums from my last trip.

On Friday we made a road trip to Atlantic City!

As we drove down on the freeway we had the top on the jeep down and we sang and laughed as the wind blew through our hair. 

We played our favourite songs which will now relate to great memories forever! Katie Perry's "Last Friday night" has a special place in our hearts!!

Andrea had some great songs on her Ipod and I now am addicted to a group called Finger Eleven - another great trip anthem!

Soon we were there and checked into our hotel. After a walk along the boardwalk and some time getting prettied up we went for a great dinner and then partied the night away! It was an awesome night!!!

The next day after a solemn and hungover drive home, we stopped by to meet ma and pa then loafed at Andrea's, played with her gorgeous kittycats and then had a siesta before heading out to a local bar  with a live band that night!

Sunday we visited Red Bank, the town I stayed in last trip. There was a food fair in town and it was very different to the snow covered visit I made in December.

We met some interesting people

and enjoyed the stalls and food on display at the fair.

Later on we visited another seaside town, Pier Village and after a look round some cute shops stopped by the beach for a cocktail or two?

Monday we were up and out early to head up into New York.

We had tickets for the Yankees game as they were playing at home.

After some fun navigating the subway, 

we headed to the Bronx and the Yankees Stadium. It was HUGE!!

Again there were some strange and interesting people on the way

and inside the stadium we weren't disappointed!

We had great seats and settled down with a hotdog and a beer waiting for the game to start, taking a few pictures while we waited.

Charlie's Angels on tour!!!

Andrea spent a long time explaining the game to me - I kinda picked it up by the end - it only took about four hours!!!  

Right, thats enough for now, pop back and I will post part two soon!

xxx

Apparently I am 'out of date'!!

So day three of my hols and so far I've not done very much!! Although today I have finally managed to unload all the camping equipment from the back of the car and sort it all and squeeze it away into the hall cupboard - yes I know - finally! But judging by the weather we are now having it doesn't look likely that I will get away again in it again anytime soon!!?

Yesterday was COMPLETELY wasted!! I was waiting for the gas man to appear to complete my overdue gas safety check - he was late of course and I managed to shut my fingers in the door which left me swearing and howling for some time and one handed for the rest of the day - ouch!!

My new Iphone arrived so after much one handed bumbling I tried to set it up only to find that my Itunes programme was out of date!!! ( I didn't know it could be??) I promptly downloaded the newer version to find I couldn't install it because my mac software was out of date too - seriously?? You are kidding right?

I spent several hours on the not-particularly-helpful apple help site to try to work out if I was a lion,  a leopard or just a wally, and in the end had to phone up to ask someone and ended up bawling like a baby down the phone at him when he said he would send me some new software but it might take 5 -6 weeks!!

So I sat, the old sim card now disconnected, the new one useless without the new software and without a  mobile phone to text anyone I might fancy texting or even just fancy?  Aaarrrgghhhh!!!!!

Eventually, one handedly and with the aid of some magic tape I managed to fashion the new sim card to fit the old phone so am now contactable again but also have a spangly new phone just sat in its box - uselessly staring at me!

Really, I might not be down with the kids anymore, but I really didn't think I was that 'out of it'?? I have a Mac and an Iphone - surely I am hip and with it??

Later, a charming young knight in armour helped me see that I am not quite so 'out of date' as I had previously thought?

Things are looking up!

:) 

The Art Journal one

Seriously?  How did it get to be September already??

I have absolutely no new LO's to share and am just not sure where all the days have gone???

It's certainly turned very Autumnal here all of a sudden too and the hot days of summer feel like a distant memory!!

So, my new foray into the land of art journals has so far been very enjoyable. I found this fabulous book in TKMAX the other day, its A4 size with a lovely touchy feely leathery cover and I just HAD to buy it! It's meant for music as the pages are all lined ready for notes but some layers of gesso soon hide that and I have been busy filling them up.

Not being the most patient of people I have also made some pages on loose water colour papers whilst waiting for my layers to dry, and I have stuck these in my journal with matching painted backgrounds. So far I am enjoying the experience even if some of the results don't end up how I planned - but then that's the point isn't it? I am enjoying the spraying and inking and using up some old rub-ons and stickers along the way -  its very theraputic!

This page has been altered since I photographed it and stuck it in the journal - I tried to paint the writing but decided it looked too messy. I have since painted over the top and hand written it instead!

Well that's all for now folks, am off to plan some more of my upcoming adventure.

I bet you are dying to know what I'm up to???

:)