New York City (by Tom)

The Big Apple was busy and buzzing! We took a train from Larchmont (Kieran’s house) to Grand Central Station. The taxi took us to the site of the 9/11 disaster. It was very sad. I was only three when it happened but it is still sad today. The Statue of Liberty was pretty big. By that time of the day we were hot so Rob and I went in a water fountain! We also went to the United Nations Building. I saw all the flags of the member countries. It was very colourful. My favourite part of the day was seeing the T-Rex at the Natural History Museum, and eating a hot dog in Central Park. A great way to end the day was a sail on Kieran’s boat in the Long Island Sound.

Washington (by Rob)

We went to Washington and saw the guards at Arlinton sematry. We saw the graveyards where the soldiers died. The guards look smart. They have big guns. We went to the Lincoln Memoril. It was big and well made. We saw the White house where the President lives. We went to the [Smithsonian] Space Museum and saw things about Buzz Aldrin. He went to the moon. We also went in a rocket. I loved the Lincoln statue and the solders, but my legs were a bit tired from walking.

...and now for something completely different...

It only seems fitting, after the world cup has kicked off in our former homeland (and Aus and RSA continue to excel!), to talk (yet again!) about soccer. We’ve hit another jackpot here. The boys are playing at another great club (http://www.dougmillersoccer.com/). Doug was a very successful professional player in his own right (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Miller) and is a lovely guy with a great attitude. The amazing thing about the US is just how very easy everything is (particularly when compared with Italy). The coaches, parents and kids are all super-friendly and see us as something of a (pleasant) novelty. After only one week we are already car-pooling, borrowing shirts and being invited for plays (the boys that is). Tom played in a tournament last weekend and Robbie has played two matches. As with AC Santa Lucia in Italy, we will be very sad to bid farewell to all at Doug Miller soccer!

Boys’ toys

Kieran and Barbara are great hosts and the boys are in their element. The property has everything a boy (of any age) could desire: a big backyard (perfect for soccer and MX), motorbikes galore (5 at last count), bicycles, scooters, a basketball hoop and a pellet gun!

Adding to the excitement are a yacht on Lake Canandaigua, a canal boat (see pic), Playstation 2, a big screen TV and an outdoor spa round off the excitement. So, we don’t need to go to Disneyland – but continuing with the dirt bike theme, we are going to the 5th round of the AMA motocross championship at Budds Creek (Maryland), just south of DC this weekend.

We are also going to spend a day in DC and two days in New York city. Both boys have lists of what they want to see in both cities and Mike has a few meetings in NY.

On an unrelated note, yesterday we took a drive to two of the fingerlakes (Canandaigua and Penn Yan) and admired the Amish and Menninite quilting work (we thought of you Jan and Bron). We also popped in to visit Cassidy's grandparents (Jake and Anne) and the beautiful lakeside cottage where we spent our first sabbatical in 1999.

Extended family

Kieran and Mike have been friends for going on 40 years (i.e. from first-year kindergarten). Best men at each other’s weddings, god fathers to each other’s first born (see pics). So, there has been plenty to reminisce about, a lot of stories beginning with “let me tell you about your father...” and much fun and frivolity all round.

The boys get on very well with Cassidy (they even told her she was ‘like a sister’). They went to school with her for a day and enjoyed it so much they wanted to go back the next day. Highlights included playing ‘American Football’ in gym (with ‘Coach Williams’), class question time (they were in the hot seat!), having jello in the school cafeteria and riding home on a (classic American) yellow school bus.

Positively Pittsford

The little village of Pittsford in upstate NY (near Rochester) is our ‘home’ for the final month of our “big adventure”. First settled in 1789, on the banks of the famous Erie Canal, it really is picture perfect. Nestled amongst huge walnut trees (crawling with squirrels and chipmunks!), surrounded by lush green lawns, is Kierans’ 140 year-old ‘cottage’ . The streetscape is very, very American: white wooden houses, big front porches (with rocking chairs/adirondacks/ swinging benches), dark grey roofs/shutters and, of course, the stars and stripes flying proudly. It’s great to be back in the gentle rhythms and routines of home life (i.e. not living out of a suitcase and rushing to catch a plane). Mike is working hard to meet a few deadlines and the boys and I are filling our mornings with schoolwork, cycling along the canal (see pic) and shopping at Wegmans. Yip - food features yet again! Wegman’s is like no other grocery retailer we’ve ever seen – we go there every day (I never thought I would say that!). Kathleen (Cassidy’s mum) has also very generously lent us a car. What a wonderful place to spend our last month!

Portland and Seattle (by Tom )

When we were in Portland we visited the Nike World HQ. When we arrived we went to a talk by the head of Running for Nike. Then we went on a tour around the Nike campus. All the buildings were named after famous Nike athletes. We got to go inside the Michael Jordon building and the Tiger Woods building. We saw their shoes and t-shirts and even their old school photos! There was a soccer tournament on so we got to watch a bit. There was a golf hole where Tiger Woods hit the golf ball into the hole from 300 yards away! In one of the buildings we saw from outside where they designed the gear (but we weren’t allowed in!). We then took a train to Seattle. We went there on Memorial day. It was the Folklife Festival. We looked around, went on rides , drank homemade lemonade and ate cotton candy. It was right under the Seattle Space Needle. After that Dad and I went to the experience music museum (www.empsfm.org). We got to play the guitar, keyboard and drums. We got to experience what it is like on stage. We sang ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’ and we sounded terrible! It was a fun day. Next we are off to Rochester.