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.