Day Five: Rest, Playtime, and Packing

This may be one of the shortest blog posts I type since I didn't get up to much at all. As Adrianna and Jon went to work, I spent a lot of time trying to catch up on sleep. When I wasn't sleeping I spent a good deal of time singing, dancing, hide and seeking, and generally playing games with my two cousins. Fortunately I didn't feel I was missing out on much as it was a pretty miserable weather compared to the previous days. I spent the evening packing my bag (which seemed more difficult even though I'm not carrying anything extra?!) and playing sporcle with the adults (I got them hooked). Tomorrow is the real start of roughing it as I wake up at 6.00am to catch a bus into New York and then get the Greyhound to DC.

Day Four: The Park, Family BBQ, and Paint Estimation

In comparison  to the last few days, day four of my trip was relatively quiet. After another solid sleep in the biggest double bed in which I had ever laid my head, we headed to the local park with Jon, Adrianna, Natalie and Allison. For a local park I was very impressed- several good sized playgrounds and a large lake in the middle.

From there we went to the local supermarket (selection galore) to pick up the meat for the BBQ.  After adding to the overall culinary experience with my apple, cranberry, and mixed leaf salad, I sat down with a few beers to talk to the various family members who had arrived. We were joined by Adrianna's mum and dad, Amelia and Eduardo, her brother, Eddie, her niece, Stephanie, and Steph's friend Alyssa Ray. I got along very well with the family although since a several of them only spoke Spanish (and my Spanish is disgraceful at best) I often had to nod and smile politely without the slightest clue with what was being discussed.  I had great fun talking to Stephanie and Alyssa Ray, my contemporaries, who seemed to have matched up well to my ideas of the American Teenager (most of the conversation was about Prom!) I had even more fun watching Stephanie go door to door in the neighbourhood trying to convince people to repaint their houses. I was suitably impressed however when this cold-calling technique managed to result in eight leads in only one hour of attempts.

The evening involved a little more business as I managed to find and book my next stage of the journey- the bus journey to Washington DC. After the days of pampering I had received, I was fairly reluctant at the idea of leaving although I guess I needed to start roughing it sometime soon.

Day Three: Liberty Park, Lower Manhattan and Authentic Italian American

The weather could not be more perfect for our trip to Liberty State Park- hot in the sun but with a lovely breeze coming off the Atlantic.  The park is situated near Jersey City, just across the Hudson from Lower Manhattan...

Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty...

With such a beautiful location, and the best view there is to get of Manhattan, it's no wonder the park was very busy. I spent a great time with my cousins, Allison and Natalie, teaching them football (soccer!), and enjoying a tasty picnic.

Another feature of the park was the 9/11 'Empty Sky' memorial, a simple yet striking monument.

From there, we headed to an Italian restaurant where Stephanie, my aunt's niece, was a waitress. I ordered the meat lover's pizza (what else) and enjoyed the friendly atmosphere where every customer seemed to be personal friends with the manager. Another good day.

Day Two: Sleep, the Zoo, and Yankee Stadium

The length of the previous days events were evidenced by the fact I slept until 10.30am East Coast time, 3.30pm GMT! Fortunately I didn't delay the schedule by too much and we managed to head off to the local zoo with my uncle and two cousins. After a mere 10 minute drive we arrived at a very impressive local entertainment complex including an ice rink, a multi sports leisure centre and a very sizeable zoo.

The zoo was a wonderful place, full of entertainment for children (and adults!) of all ages. The animals were placed into areas from where in the world they came from, and there was hardly an area not represented. Personal favourites included the stingray petting pool, the sea-lions, the alligator, the black bears, the leopards and the noble bison. Not only were were opportunities to see a variety of exotic animals but there was a great 'Farm' area where children were allowed to feed chickens, sheep, pigs and alpacas.

After a few rides on the carousel...

We headed home so Allison (and I) could nap. The excitement of the day was not over however as my aunt and uncle had managed to procure some tickets to watch the New York Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays in an American League MLB clash.

We drove into Manhattan with my aunt, Adrianna, my Uncle, Jon, and their friend Ann, a lifelong Yankees fan.  After a drink in a packed local sports bar we headed into the stadium and found our terrific seats very close to the action. Yankee stadium is only a few years old after they demolished the previous historical stadium which was situated just across the road.  The game was not completely sold out but the crowd was very impressive for a sport with 160+ games a season.  Although I had never seen a live game, I was fortunately not a complete novice to the rules and when my knowledge fell short, I had no hesitation in annoying everyone in our group by asking many questions.

After a scoreless first innings I perfectly timed a trip to the toilet so I missed a pretty huge home run, although fortunately for the Blue Jays. The game was very exciting live and it hard to exaggerate just how fast the pitchers throw (high 90s mph) and how little time there is to hit the ball.  I was also apparently very lucky to see a number of rare baseball events including a triple hit, injured pitchers galore, and two home base steals! And to top it off, all four of us managed to feature very prominently on the Jumbotron, something that Adrianna and Ann had never managed to achieve despite going to games since their early childhood. Due to all this excitement I was dubbed a 'good luck charm'. The only slight disappointment was that I was not able to catch a ball, although one did land a few rows back.

All in all, a very good day.

Day One: The Flight, The Sopranos, And The NFL Draft

Waking up at 5.45am didn't give me the rest I thought I needed for this long day, but it was lucky I did as on the drive in to Heathrow, I encountered a 2 hour long traffic jam. I managed to get to my departing gate without too many problems but I had very little time to spare.  

The flight itself was a fairly uneventful 7 hour journey (although I did experience the worst turbulence and landing of any flight to this date). The food was actually pretty good and a nice selection of films. In the end I watched 'Seven Psychopaths' (good film but no 'In Bruges'), 'The Master' (brilliantly acted film which I am keen to watch again), and 'Ted' (a funny film without being anything special).

I landed at 13.20 New York time at Newark airport and received the famed hospitality of the US Border control.  My uncle Jon picked me up from the airport and drove me about 40 minutes back towards his house in North Caldwell, New Jersey. The car journey was a lot more eventful than I believed it would be as I got to see some very well known locations from 'The Sopranos'...

I managed to settle in very well and had a quick shower and nap before going out to dinner  (great Bourbon burger) with my Uncle Jon, my Aunt Adriana, and my two cousins Natalie and Alison. Although the East Coast is -5 hours GMT, and it being 9pm American time, I would not allow myself to fall asleep. I had arrived in America just in time for the first round of the NFL Draft and as many of you know, for me, this is a rather big deal. After staying up for a further 4 hours, I eventually retired to my considerably large double bed. A long day indeed but a great start to my adventures.

The Revival of an Old Blog

 After months of working, and a few weeks holiday, I am finally about to undertake the main reason for my Gap Year.  On Thursday morning, April 25th, I fly from Heathrow to Newark, NJ to begin my 3 month trek through, over, around and across America.  To commemorate this journey I have decided to revive my blog.  Although this is mainly for my own enjoyment, I will be regularly posting on social media sites for anyone who is interested in what I am up to or where I am going.  Since I am only taking my Ipad on my trip, the posts will probably lacking editorial oversight so forgive me in advance.