New York, New York

Well, plenty has happened since our last update.

Last Wednesday & Thursday were cold, overcast & drizzly days. Quite unusual for San Antonio this time of year. So apart from a little bit of shopping & Tim picking up his new baseball gear, it was time to relax at home with Amy & Caitlin.

On Friday morning it was time for Tim & Deb to head to the airport for their flight up to New York (via Atlanta). Amy was quite upset until she found out that Uncle Tim & Aunty Deb were only going for the weekend & would be back on Monday night. The flight out of San Antonio was delayed by 2.5 hours due to the bad snow storms in the northeast, but we finally got underway.

After a brief stop in Atlanta (I think that's obligatory for all Delta flights) we arrived into NY's LaGuardia airport about 8:00pm Friday evening. It was an amazing sight making our approach into LaGuardia seeing all the houses, yards & apartments in Queens covered in snow. From the airport, we got a genuine NY yellow taxi into the hotel just one block from Times Square. After meeting Bonnie & Rob at the hotel, we then went to Maxie's Deli for a late dinner. I think Bonnie was just as excited to see us as Deb was to be in NY. I thought the saying went "everything's bigger in Texas". Apparently everything except the meal portions at Maxie's Deli. They were huge. So huge in fact that Bonnie & Deb shared a meal & still couldn't finish it. Amazingly though, the girls still had room for genuine NY cheesecake for dessert. Rocky Road & Banana Caramel Frost I believe.

New York truly is the city that never sleeps. After finishing dinner we walked up to Rockelfeller Centre to see the giant Xmas tree. On the way up there it started snowing. So Deb got her wish, snow in NY for Xmas. After seeing the giant Xmas tree in the snow, we walked back to Times Square & watched the nightlife go by. I still can't believe that the US Armed Forces has a recruiting station right in the middle of Times Square. Considering it was well after midnight & everything was still well & truly open, we had to take a look in Toys R Us. The place is so big it even has it's own indoor Ferris Wheel & the biggest Barbie House ever. We finally got back to the hotel about 2:00am with Times Square still very much alive about one block away.

The snow continued overnight & by Saturday morning there was about 6-8 inches of snow on the ground all over NY City. We walked down to Times Square, across Broadway, over to 5th Avenue & up to Central Park. Along the way we stopped at the Cartier store for Deb & Bonnie. We even stopped in at Trump Towers to visit The Donald, but he wasn't home. We spent the rest of the morning walking through Central Park & taking plenty of pictures in the snow (as can be seen at the top of this post). After a Nanna nap back at the hotel, we headed to the top of the Empire State Building on Saturday night. It was snowing quite hard & Deb was catching snowflakes with her tongue. At one point the wind gusts were actually blowing the snow upwards. We then headed down to Heartland Brewery for dinner. The walk back to the hotel took us through Herald Square & up to Bryant Park where we all tried to convince Deb to go ice skating with us. Being somewhat balance challenged, Deb decided snowball fights would be much more fun. It was then time for coffee in Times Square & back to the hotel.

On Sunday morning we walked up to Times Square subway station & caught the red line down to South Ferry stop & walked through Battery Park seeing the 9/11 memorial & the Statue of Liberty out in the harbour. We then walked up through Wall Street to Trinity Church & then up to Ground Zero. We found lunch at a genuine little NY pizza place. We then had a look through the complete bedlam of Century 21 with all the last minute Xmas shoppers. On Sunday evening we headed up to ESPNzone in Times Square to watch the Giants game on the massive big screen while having dinner in the restaurant. After dinner we did some some shopping in Times Square & headed back to the hotel. By the time we got back to the hotel there was quite a crowd gathered round the TV in the hotel lounge watching the last quarter & overtime of the Ginats game. So we pulled up a comfy lounge & watched the end of the game. For a Giants fan who had watched them lose in Dallas last week, it was great to sit in the middle of NY & watch them clinch the division title & home field for the playoffs.

After a sleep-in & a hearty breakfast at the hotel on Monday morning, Tim & Deb bid Bonnie & Rob farewell & headed off to the airport for the flight home. Despite our cab driver looking like Ahmed the dead terrorist he was a nice guy & very helpful. Luckily our flight was not affected by any of the delays at LaGuardia that morning & we even arrived in Atlanta early. After some dinner at the airport we left Atlanta on time & got back home to San Antonio about 9:30pm Monday evening.

Back home in San Antonio, Jerad's dad has been able to pay a visit for a few days over Xmas on his way to North Carolina with a delivery. We've spent the last few days doing last minute Xmas shopping & wrapping presents. It's now time for dinner on Xmas Eve. Only one more sleep till Santa comes.

Tim & Deb's Trip to San Antonio

On Saturday morning Uncle Tim & Auntie Deb went to Little Gym with Amy so she could show us what a clever girl she was on the balance beam, the parallel bars & doing her forward rolls. We may have a future cheerleader or gymnast on our hands.

We had an early start on Sunday morning, making the five hour drive up I-35 to Dallas for the big game, driving through San Marcos, Austin & Waco. We made pretty good time & also managed to navigate our way through Dallas successfully. We drove past Texas Stadium on the way to our hotel & fans were already arriving 5 hours before kick-off.

We found our hotel in Irving & checked in just after 2pm & discovered that our room had one of the comfiest beds ever. To get out to the game our hotel had a shuttle which dropped us off at the local Hooters which ran a bus out to the game & back. It wasn't hard to spot our bus - bright orange with Hooters girl decals right down both sides. Much to the disappointment of some fans, the driver was not one of the Hooters waitresses.

We arrived at the stadium & found our seats in the top deck right behind the goal post & luckily surrounded by several other Giants fans. After being a Giants fan for over 20 years, Tim was happy he finally got to see the G-Men play. An NFL game is such a big event & fans had travelled from Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota, all over Texas & even Canada, just to go to the game. Unfortunately the Cowboys won the game. But Tony Romo is still a nancy boy, TO is still a big girl, Dallas fans are still obnoxious, Eli Manning is still a complete champion & the Giants have still clinched the NFC East division title for 2008.

The weather had been lovely all day Sunday, but by full time the temperature was below Zero as we all stood in the car park waiting for our bus. I've never been so happy to see a big bright orange bus before. My god it was cold. After arriving back at the hotel well after midnight we got a good night's sleep in that previously mentioned very comfy bed.

On Monday morning we checked out of our hotel & ventured next door to Denny's for some good old fashioned Texas diner breakfast. Then we headed out to Fort Worth to catch up with Tim's old friend Mark & his family. Tim hasn't seen Mark in about six years, so it was great to catch up. Luckily for Tim & Deb, Mark lived very close to I-35, so it was easy to get back on the correct interstate to head home to San Antonio. With Deb's expert navigating skills, Tim managed to negotiate the car through Monday afternoon peak hour Dallas-Fort Worth traffic & then get them back home to San Antonio. Unfortunately the temperature did not go above Zero all day & it wasn't much warmer home in San Antonio.

With Amy & Caitlin still recovering from a cold we all decided to have a relaxing Tuesday at home. Although we did make a trip down to the post office to post some Xmas gifts & postcards. Amy was very helpful posting the parcels & cards. Once Jerad got back from doing some deliveries down to Laredo, we all went to Bobby Js for dinner. You just can't visit SA & not go to Bobby Js for a burger.

(The photo at the top is of Tim & Deb outside Texas Stadium before the game).

Hello from San Antonio

Hi everyone,

Well Deb & Tim have been in San Antonio for 5 days now. After flying from Sydney, with layovers in LA & Dallas, we finally made it to SA on Sunday night. The funny thing is, our luggage arrived in SA before we did. Now there's a first.

It's been great catching up with Jane & Jerad, seeing how much Amy has grown & meeting the youngest of the Clay clan, Caitlin, for the first time. We've just spent the last few days doing some shopping, taking the dogs for walks to the park & generally relaxing. As you do on holidays. Last night, we all went out to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. I think our waiter & Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger were seperated at birth.

On Sunday Tim & Deb are headed up to Dallas for the big Giants vs Cowboys game. Tim is praying for a Giants win. We'll do some sightseeing around Dallas on Monday before heading back to San Antonio on Monday evening. Deb is praying for snow so she can have a white Xmas in New York next weekend. Well her wish almost came true a week early. It actually snowed in south Texas one night earlier this week...!

Sunday Night

Well,

The weekend is once again almost over. Work is still keeping Tim & Deb both pretty. Especially since Deb is doing her favourite thing & attempting to write a paper at the moment (insert sarcasm here).

Amazingly this week Tim decided to do something about his expanding waistline & start training with Deb & Heather on Wednesday mornings. At least Tim achieved his goal for the first session - complete the session without passing out or throwing up. Softball season kicked off this weekend & Tim's team had a fairly easy win against the bye this week :)

While Deb & Heather went to the beach this morning, Tim had the house to himself to watch the big Texas vs Mizzou football game. There may have even been some beer consumed. After all, it's important to stay hydrated in this warm weather.

Seven week's today & we'll be on a plane to Texas to visit Jane, Jerad, Amy & our newest niece Caitlyn.

The Long Weekend

Hi Again,

Well it's been almost a fortnight since we started our blog & we've been pretty busy. Summer is definitely on the way & the last couple of weekends Tim & Deb have made the most of the great weather by going for walks along the foreshore & breakwall on a Sunday afternoon. For Tim, baseball season is over & softball season is just about to start. For Deb, getting some papers submitted for publication before the end of the academic year is keeping her busy. Deb is getting back into the swing of her training again since returning from Europe & seems to have roped Heather into waking up at un-godly hours in the morning to go training & swimming.

Deb is spending the Saturday of the long weekend shopping with Kate, Julia & Lindsay for Julia's wedding in December. Tim is happily & wisely staying well away from all aforementioned activities. Tomorrow Tim & Deb are venturing down to Sydney with Dave & Jen to the NRL grand final. It's such a pity that it's Melbourne & Manly. Cheering for Manly will be the lesser of two evils & losing a grand final will be the best way to rub salt into the wounds of those whinging babies south of the border.

We'd like to wish our mate Ant in Manchester a very happy birthday for earlier this week. Tim's Mum flies out for Texas today to be with Tim's sister Jane while she has her new baby, a little brother or sister for Amy. Well, no sense in wasting any more of this gorgeous long weekend in front of the laptop.

Talk to you all soon.

Welcome Aboard

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to our new blog. This is the easiest way for us to keep in touch with our friends & family both in Newcastle & around the world. The blog my sister & her family set up has been a great way to keep in touch with them in San Antonio, so I thought this would be a great way for Deb & I to do the same. We'll try & keep it updated regularly. Since it's now 11:00pm Thursday night, I can't think of anything else to type, but just to make sure I've got the hang of it, here's a pic of Deb & I at our wedding in Rarotonga last year.