14 OCT: I did not complete the happenings on Monday : After the ball games I took the Truck into the Ford dealer to tell me why the lack of power and more important , could I possible drive it back to Canada. The manager said they would check it this afternoon and call me with the diagnoses. About an hour later the garage called to say it was not a pretty picture. Six of the injectors had to be replaced and the other two were very weak and they could do all that for $3000.00 . I had no choice even thought I wanted to dump this Truck as soon as I got home so I said go ahead and replace the injectors. However , I need a vehicle to drive so they sent a shuttle to the camp site to pick me up. The arrived in a brand new Lincoln and I said this is some shuttle vehicle; and she said it is not a shuttle vehicle because it is yours to drive while we fix your Truck. I was shocked and I said I need 101 on all these buttons because i don't even know how to start it. She started to explain all the buttons and when she got to the seat buttons she explain how it would move backward when I turned the key off but when I got in the car it would revert to my setting. Finally I said OK I only want to drive it not fly it.
15 OCT:
So on Tues I drove to the ball Park and as I am driving into the parking space ,there were several players standing around . As i was getting out of the car one of the players remarked as to what a beautiful car and then said you guys are from Med Hat and we played you last year " yak yak yak " etc. So I got my equipment and walked about a block to the ball field, started to warm up and our pitchers comes up and said some idiot left his car running. However, he must have lots of money because it is a brand new Lincoln and then I thought "oh shit " it must be my car as I don't remember shutting it off and it was so quiet no one else notice it either. So now I had to walk back to the parking lot to shut the car off.
this was our third game in the Seeding round so now we had to wait until about 4 PM to find out who and where we on Wed. To kill the afternoon the Games puts on a "Hamburger meal" complete with music in a Park . Then by 4 PM the Medal round schedule is posted on the computer which is great because the coach doesn't have to contact every player because most people have either a computer, iPad or and iPhone. Tomorrow we play for real and hopefully for Gold.
Saturday, 28 December 2013
Friday, 27 December 2013
13 OCT: On Sunday morning around 0700 hours we left Albuquerque , said goodbye to our friends and headed for St. Geo to partake in the World Senior Games. I am a member of the 70 Plus team from Medicine Hat Slo Pitch Team. Our first game was at 1100 hours on Monday and we had to cover some 550 miles on Sunday if I were to arrive on time to play Monday. As I mentioned earlier, our truck was losing power on the hills and to make matters worst we were facing a fierce head wind. As we motored along we realized that we could not make St. Geo by night fall so we changed our target to Mesquite, NV which is only 50 miles from St. Geo. Since my game was not scheduled until 11:00 hours I could still make the game if we got an early start on Moday, so that is what we did. We arrived in Mesquite at about 6 PM and parked at the Virgin River casino overnight which we have done many times on our trips going South and/or North. We had supper and carroll donated another 20.00 at the Casino and I, as usually watched a hockey game at the sports bar and checked the email.
14 OCT: We got up early, as there is a 1 hour time difference between NV and UT, grabbed a quick (cheap) breakfast at the casino and headed for St. Geo.
The first thing to do once we arrived in St. Geo was to check in at the registration centre because you can not participate unless you are wearing a wrist band that says that you have paid the entry fee and that you are in fact "Tom Esler". The umpires checks you wrist band before every game. This is by far the best organized organization I have ever encountered. There are 10,000 participates in a variety of sports and they can check you thru in less than 2 minutes. These people are simple amazing.
Then we had to go to our campsite and check in as we had called ahead on Sunday to say we would be late. You have to reserve the campsite a year in advance as every site is taken due to the number of people, at the games who are looking for a site.
We quickly parked the trailer and grabbed my equipment and drove another 20 minutes to the ball park arriving in lots of time to warm up. We play 2 games on Monday and one on Tuesday for " Seeding " purchase. Medicine Hat Teams have been coming to the World Senior Games for 20 years so they already know our level of play so we normally are "seeded " in the same level. Sometimes we draw a really good team in the first three games and they usually "Mercy " us in 5 innings. The ball diamonds in St. Geo are the best I have ever seen and the fences are 300 ft. That is a hellva long way to chase a ball that get passed you. I speak from experience because I am an outfielder. You always play back to back games the first day so after the 2 games we went back to organize our trailer . The ladies were then busy phoning to get tickets to the Tuacaun Theater which is a fabulous outdoor setting in the Mountains. The play was a musical of Mary Poppins. If you are ever in St. Geo you must visit this Theatre .
14 OCT: We got up early, as there is a 1 hour time difference between NV and UT, grabbed a quick (cheap) breakfast at the casino and headed for St. Geo.
The first thing to do once we arrived in St. Geo was to check in at the registration centre because you can not participate unless you are wearing a wrist band that says that you have paid the entry fee and that you are in fact "Tom Esler". The umpires checks you wrist band before every game. This is by far the best organized organization I have ever encountered. There are 10,000 participates in a variety of sports and they can check you thru in less than 2 minutes. These people are simple amazing.
Then we had to go to our campsite and check in as we had called ahead on Sunday to say we would be late. You have to reserve the campsite a year in advance as every site is taken due to the number of people, at the games who are looking for a site.
We quickly parked the trailer and grabbed my equipment and drove another 20 minutes to the ball park arriving in lots of time to warm up. We play 2 games on Monday and one on Tuesday for " Seeding " purchase. Medicine Hat Teams have been coming to the World Senior Games for 20 years so they already know our level of play so we normally are "seeded " in the same level. Sometimes we draw a really good team in the first three games and they usually "Mercy " us in 5 innings. The ball diamonds in St. Geo are the best I have ever seen and the fences are 300 ft. That is a hellva long way to chase a ball that get passed you. I speak from experience because I am an outfielder. You always play back to back games the first day so after the 2 games we went back to organize our trailer . The ladies were then busy phoning to get tickets to the Tuacaun Theater which is a fabulous outdoor setting in the Mountains. The play was a musical of Mary Poppins. If you are ever in St. Geo you must visit this Theatre .
Thursday, 26 December 2013
Esler's Travel in 2013/14
Our winter vacation actually started on 7 Oct when we left Med Hat for a trip to Albuquerque, NM to experience the 3 day Air Balloon Fiesta which we had planned to do for years but the World Senior Games in St. Geo, UT , which I have participated in for the passed 12 years, was always held on the same week. Now since I have now turned 70 the World Senior Games schedule was now a week later which allowed us to go to the Balloon Fiesta.
We normally leave home at first light but our son Clark was visiting and he left for Calgary at 6 AM so we left at 6:30 and it was still dark. We headed down hwy 41 to Havre , MT which goes thru Elk Water Park and is crawling with Deer, Elk, Moose and other such animals. We were about 20 miles down the road when Carroll suggested that I slow down and watch for deer when out of nowhere two deer flashed in from of me. I slammed on the brakes just in time to save the deer but I can assure you that I was close enough to wipes its' ass. Finally daylight arrived , as i knew it would, and we carried on thru the Border check at Wild Horse on on to Sheridan, WY were we spent the night with many other campers at a Wal-Mart camping area.
8 Oct was fairly uneventful except I noticed the truck was losing power. Our Truck is a F-350 with 200,000KM so I have been thinking about getting rid of it but now i had hoped it would get us to Albuquerque , then to St.Geo and then back homes so i could "Dump " it as it has not been all that kind to me. We made it to a city south of Denver with another convenience Wal-Mart where we spent the night.
9 Oct ; Our intention was to meet up with our friends , Tom and Maureen Mathison, at a Casino on the outskirts of Albuquerque, so we could both go to the camping area on the site of the Balloon Fiesta on Thursday and hopefully park beside each other. When we arrived at the Casino, it was a brand new beautiful casino with acres of parking and the Security met us and helped us to find a convenience parking spot. Then he said he had to signed me in and ask the proverbial question. When he said how long are you staying my answer was April 2014 and I think his heart skipped a beat. Then I said one night so his heart revert to normal. We then had a happy Hour with our friends, checked out the Casino so Carroll could donate 20.00 had supper and called it a day.
10 Oct ; At 10:00 AM we left the Casino and move a few blocks to what would be our scheduled Camping area for the next three days. This camping area was well organized and when we entered the gate we were handed over to a parking attendant who showed us to our site and was willing to park our trailer if we felt uncomfortable backing in. I refused his offer as I have been doing this for 12 years so I think I can handle the parking part. This area did not have any facilities like power and water but we already knew that. However the area was large enough to hold 2000 campers so you can picture the size of the place. Incidentally I ask how they could have possibly have so much unused land in the middle of a city this large and answer was that this area was once a land fill for the city and gives off so much Methane gas that it can not be developed. In fact I was should many ventilating pipes to vent the gas. Also the gas is captured and piped to a collection area and utilized by the city to produce gas for their Heating Plant.
As part of our Camping fee, a bus or should I say many, many Buses picked us up and took us to the Air Balloon area which was about a block away. This Bus services was great and the entire Fiesta was well organized. As the saying goes " This was not their first Rodeo ". I guessing the area where the balloons inflated and launched, probably cover a city block and again was well organized and there was either 400 or 500 Air Balloons of all shapes and sizes. The cost to enter the " Balloon Field " was 8.00 per person and they lauch at 6 AM ( yes 6 AM ) and then at night the Air balloons are Tethered so once it gets dark they " Fire " the jets and the scenery is out of this world. I don't know how to add pictures but once I find out I will include the pics. At 8:30 PM each evening they had a Fireworks display that was fantastic and we could see the entire show from our Campsite rather then stay at the Balloon field.
We stayed at the Fiesta for Thursday, Friday and Saturday and attended the launch every morning and the night show in the evening. This show was well worth the trip and we strongly recommend it. the camping is 30.00 per day and the entry fee is 16.00 per day. You will never get a show like this for that price anywhere on the planet. On Sunday we will head to St. Geo, UT
We normally leave home at first light but our son Clark was visiting and he left for Calgary at 6 AM so we left at 6:30 and it was still dark. We headed down hwy 41 to Havre , MT which goes thru Elk Water Park and is crawling with Deer, Elk, Moose and other such animals. We were about 20 miles down the road when Carroll suggested that I slow down and watch for deer when out of nowhere two deer flashed in from of me. I slammed on the brakes just in time to save the deer but I can assure you that I was close enough to wipes its' ass. Finally daylight arrived , as i knew it would, and we carried on thru the Border check at Wild Horse on on to Sheridan, WY were we spent the night with many other campers at a Wal-Mart camping area.
8 Oct was fairly uneventful except I noticed the truck was losing power. Our Truck is a F-350 with 200,000KM so I have been thinking about getting rid of it but now i had hoped it would get us to Albuquerque , then to St.Geo and then back homes so i could "Dump " it as it has not been all that kind to me. We made it to a city south of Denver with another convenience Wal-Mart where we spent the night.
9 Oct ; Our intention was to meet up with our friends , Tom and Maureen Mathison, at a Casino on the outskirts of Albuquerque, so we could both go to the camping area on the site of the Balloon Fiesta on Thursday and hopefully park beside each other. When we arrived at the Casino, it was a brand new beautiful casino with acres of parking and the Security met us and helped us to find a convenience parking spot. Then he said he had to signed me in and ask the proverbial question. When he said how long are you staying my answer was April 2014 and I think his heart skipped a beat. Then I said one night so his heart revert to normal. We then had a happy Hour with our friends, checked out the Casino so Carroll could donate 20.00 had supper and called it a day.
10 Oct ; At 10:00 AM we left the Casino and move a few blocks to what would be our scheduled Camping area for the next three days. This camping area was well organized and when we entered the gate we were handed over to a parking attendant who showed us to our site and was willing to park our trailer if we felt uncomfortable backing in. I refused his offer as I have been doing this for 12 years so I think I can handle the parking part. This area did not have any facilities like power and water but we already knew that. However the area was large enough to hold 2000 campers so you can picture the size of the place. Incidentally I ask how they could have possibly have so much unused land in the middle of a city this large and answer was that this area was once a land fill for the city and gives off so much Methane gas that it can not be developed. In fact I was should many ventilating pipes to vent the gas. Also the gas is captured and piped to a collection area and utilized by the city to produce gas for their Heating Plant.
As part of our Camping fee, a bus or should I say many, many Buses picked us up and took us to the Air Balloon area which was about a block away. This Bus services was great and the entire Fiesta was well organized. As the saying goes " This was not their first Rodeo ". I guessing the area where the balloons inflated and launched, probably cover a city block and again was well organized and there was either 400 or 500 Air Balloons of all shapes and sizes. The cost to enter the " Balloon Field " was 8.00 per person and they lauch at 6 AM ( yes 6 AM ) and then at night the Air balloons are Tethered so once it gets dark they " Fire " the jets and the scenery is out of this world. I don't know how to add pictures but once I find out I will include the pics. At 8:30 PM each evening they had a Fireworks display that was fantastic and we could see the entire show from our Campsite rather then stay at the Balloon field.
We stayed at the Fiesta for Thursday, Friday and Saturday and attended the launch every morning and the night show in the evening. This show was well worth the trip and we strongly recommend it. the camping is 30.00 per day and the entry fee is 16.00 per day. You will never get a show like this for that price anywhere on the planet. On Sunday we will head to St. Geo, UT
Sunday, 17 November 2013
Saturday, 11 May 2013
Saturday in NYC 27 April 2013
I know you are wondering why you got Sunday and Mondays blog before Saturdays so here goes. . Well, I did the Saturday blog on my iPad while I was waiting on the Broadway show " Wicket " to start. I could only do it on Notes and then I had hoped to transfer it to my Blog and then publish it. However, I found out I was not smart enough so I had to wait until I got home where I could get help. So I got a 30 minute lesson from Staples and gave it a try after taking notes from Jeremy my instructor. Somehow , during my transfer of the "Notes" to the "Blog" I deleted the Saturday notes. However, on my attempt I was able to do the transfer. I'm not a hundred percent sure I can do it again but you now have our entire NYC Blog. cheers
Today is our Anniversary, however in NYC is just another day for us to do some more touring. After grabbing another breakfast at the Café across from the hotel and after checking my email on their Free WiFi we plan to visit the "Ground Zero Memorial" as it is a Must See according to the tour guides. The Subway will take us very close to the "Ground Zero " gate so we decided to venture to Grand Central Station and take the Subway, however, we were basically lost when we got to the wicket so had to ask a few questions about directions but " Miss Congeniality" was in no mood to be bother with novice riders. Also, what made us a little nervice was that two people ahead us could not get the gate "reader" to accept their card. Anyhow we got thru to the loading dock and we ask a rider for advice and they told us which stop to get off at, although we were not too concerned.
When we arrived at/near Ground Zero the first stop was at the Museum and this was very touching as it had many pictures of the people who lost their lives, and artifacts from the Trade Centre, as it was hit and as it collapsed. There were many tourist walking thru the Museum with tears and many others who just sat and seemed to be looking into the distance.
From here we moved into what I will call the " corral " where everyone gathers to enter the Memorial. From here you must get into one of two lines: those with tickets, which was us, as we had what is called a" New York City Pass" and those who did not have tickets and I would guess that line was 500 deep. We move quickly to the front of the group and was then channeled into the security area and this was much like the airport security. Then we joined another line which moved slowly towards the Memorial Area. This scenario probably took about 20 minutes but I would guess those who had to pay probably took an hour to get thru the lineup.
The "Ground Zero Memorial " park was somewhat disappointing but I'm really not sure what I expected. I'm now guessing that the area covers about 5 acres and the basement ( my definition ) of the two collapsed building are like a two large swimming pools with a water falls on all 4 sides. There is a continuous Plague around the entire "Pool " and all the names of those who lost their life is engraved . The security pers made sure you did not lean on the plague to look into the pool or to take pictures. One of the tour guides said that the park would have 400 trees and there would be many more flower gardens once it was completed. I'm sure it will be a beautiful place to visit once that is completed.
We then returned to the Subway, ( we purchase a $10.00 pass good for 4 rides ) and took it to 51st ave so we could visit the Rockerfeller centre . Again our NYC Pass got us into the Tower free and moved us to the front of the line. ( I hate line ups). We watch a movie of the Rockerfellers boasting about what they did for the country which was interesting. Then we took the elevator up to the top which was ( I think ) the 70 th floor. I can assure you it was high enough to make my stomach weasy. However, the view of NYC was amazing and certainly provide an unbelievable view.
By this time the day was wandering away and we had a 6 PM Supper reservation at the Azaleas, strongly recommended by the concierge at the hotel and also mention by Todd. Therefore we walked back to our hotel for a shower and a "Power Nap" before Supper. We decided to take a Taxi, ( our first ) to the Azaleas restaurant as suggested by our feet. ha ha. The food was a good as we were told it would be as I had Red Snapper and Carroll had a version of Stuffed Chicken . The bill was only 70.00 and that include my 7.00 beer ( I guess the charge Hockey Arena prices ) and the compulsory 18 % gratuity. Apparently the 18 % gratuity is charged after 6 PM. Welcome to New York.
After supper went to see the Broadway Show " Wicket " and our boys , Clark and Todd purchased the tickets for our anniversary. I should also mention that they had a Limo pick us up at the airport on our arrival and they had flowers at the Hotel. They are great boys. The theatre was probably the best of the 4 we went too in NYC and of course there were no "bad " seat so to speak. The show lasted about 3 hours which is at least 1 hour too long for me. After 2 hours I was ready for a snooze.
After the show , which was around 10 PM we moseyed back to Time Square to see what the rest of the world was doing and they were doing what they do every night; Sitting around listening to music and waiting on New York to shut down. It never does and never will.
We walked back the hotel and called it a day.
Today is our Anniversary, however in NYC is just another day for us to do some more touring. After grabbing another breakfast at the Café across from the hotel and after checking my email on their Free WiFi we plan to visit the "Ground Zero Memorial" as it is a Must See according to the tour guides. The Subway will take us very close to the "Ground Zero " gate so we decided to venture to Grand Central Station and take the Subway, however, we were basically lost when we got to the wicket so had to ask a few questions about directions but " Miss Congeniality" was in no mood to be bother with novice riders. Also, what made us a little nervice was that two people ahead us could not get the gate "reader" to accept their card. Anyhow we got thru to the loading dock and we ask a rider for advice and they told us which stop to get off at, although we were not too concerned.
When we arrived at/near Ground Zero the first stop was at the Museum and this was very touching as it had many pictures of the people who lost their lives, and artifacts from the Trade Centre, as it was hit and as it collapsed. There were many tourist walking thru the Museum with tears and many others who just sat and seemed to be looking into the distance.
From here we moved into what I will call the " corral " where everyone gathers to enter the Memorial. From here you must get into one of two lines: those with tickets, which was us, as we had what is called a" New York City Pass" and those who did not have tickets and I would guess that line was 500 deep. We move quickly to the front of the group and was then channeled into the security area and this was much like the airport security. Then we joined another line which moved slowly towards the Memorial Area. This scenario probably took about 20 minutes but I would guess those who had to pay probably took an hour to get thru the lineup.
The "Ground Zero Memorial " park was somewhat disappointing but I'm really not sure what I expected. I'm now guessing that the area covers about 5 acres and the basement ( my definition ) of the two collapsed building are like a two large swimming pools with a water falls on all 4 sides. There is a continuous Plague around the entire "Pool " and all the names of those who lost their life is engraved . The security pers made sure you did not lean on the plague to look into the pool or to take pictures. One of the tour guides said that the park would have 400 trees and there would be many more flower gardens once it was completed. I'm sure it will be a beautiful place to visit once that is completed.
We then returned to the Subway, ( we purchase a $10.00 pass good for 4 rides ) and took it to 51st ave so we could visit the Rockerfeller centre . Again our NYC Pass got us into the Tower free and moved us to the front of the line. ( I hate line ups). We watch a movie of the Rockerfellers boasting about what they did for the country which was interesting. Then we took the elevator up to the top which was ( I think ) the 70 th floor. I can assure you it was high enough to make my stomach weasy. However, the view of NYC was amazing and certainly provide an unbelievable view.
By this time the day was wandering away and we had a 6 PM Supper reservation at the Azaleas, strongly recommended by the concierge at the hotel and also mention by Todd. Therefore we walked back to our hotel for a shower and a "Power Nap" before Supper. We decided to take a Taxi, ( our first ) to the Azaleas restaurant as suggested by our feet. ha ha. The food was a good as we were told it would be as I had Red Snapper and Carroll had a version of Stuffed Chicken . The bill was only 70.00 and that include my 7.00 beer ( I guess the charge Hockey Arena prices ) and the compulsory 18 % gratuity. Apparently the 18 % gratuity is charged after 6 PM. Welcome to New York.
After supper went to see the Broadway Show " Wicket " and our boys , Clark and Todd purchased the tickets for our anniversary. I should also mention that they had a Limo pick us up at the airport on our arrival and they had flowers at the Hotel. They are great boys. The theatre was probably the best of the 4 we went too in NYC and of course there were no "bad " seat so to speak. The show lasted about 3 hours which is at least 1 hour too long for me. After 2 hours I was ready for a snooze.
After the show , which was around 10 PM we moseyed back to Time Square to see what the rest of the world was doing and they were doing what they do every night; Sitting around listening to music and waiting on New York to shut down. It never does and never will.
We walked back the hotel and called it a day.
Sunday and Monday
Sunday....
We had breakfast at cosines across from the hotel, mainly because they have wifi and we can check our mail. It is a fairly long order bar with no rhyme or reason and if you are on the ball people will cut in. Two young ladies were too Timited to say anything to people who cut in so I played the bad boy and told the order clerk they were next. He could not give a dam but I assume that is a NY attitude. Incidentally there is a 8 percent food tax and a 8 percent sales tax on all other goods.
we then walked to Time square so Carroll could line up for 1/2 hour to get some " overpriced" tickets to The Assembled Parties . Price was 100.00 each ( discount price ) and the show is 2 1/2 hours. we hope to get tickets to Chicago tonight. After that we mossied around until we found a Pandora's store so Carroll could get a charm. then we asat around Time Square doing some people watching. A young lady from " Chicago " convinced us to get a discount ticket at the box office in lieu of lining up at the Discount Place. Another lady of relegation background walked around preaching but she chose my ear to utilized. apparently if I didn't pay attention and pray with her I would go to hell. She probably didn't realize that I already have a reservation .
We seen the show " The Assembled Parties " . It was a Jewish show about living the Corpartre Apatments complex and the setting was in the 80's. it had many Jewish inendos so I don't recommend for the price of 100.00 per ticket . We then go tickets for Chicago for tonight at 75.00
We are now at the Chicago theatre and we spoke to some students from kentucky and the only paid 42.00 for mezzanie seats. We met some ladies from Slavanie and a couple from brazil. Now on with the show.
The show Chicago was a good musical but as good as Wickwt or The Jersey Boys. this the end of NYC trip as we are returning home tomorrow, Monday. It was great holiday and a definite " eye opener" for us. so many people, so many bildings, so many Yellow Cabs. Jay walking is not ont a Sport it is encouraged , I think
Monday : my hotel reciept was under the door when we got up at 6 am. The only charge was a call I made to the limo company to check if I left the iPad case in the limo. I can only imagine what it would have cost to call home. The instructions said it was 3.23 for the 1 st min and .50 cents a min after that and then another 65 percent of the total bill. You do the Math for a 10 min call.
We got a hotel Limo in lieu of a cab which was 40.00 and it took 45 mins. The driver said it was about 17 miles. We thought the traffic was heavy but he said it was nothing compared to other times. We check thru and the rule at security is; if you are 75 or over you do not have to remove your shoes. Imassumemthe logic is that if you are 74 and 364 days old you just might be a shoe bomber. They also Xrayed my hat just to be sure that it did not have explosives.... I guess. In TO they did a swap test on my hands.
Saturday, 4 May 2013
NEW YORK 24 to 29 APRIL
26 April Friday
Our iPad was not functioning properly as I could rec email but could not send. Therefore after breakfast we headed for Grand Central Station , located under the MET Bldg, which was located about a block from our hotel and it had a large Apple store in the lower level. Much to our surprise, there is 3 floors below street level in GCS. These lower level of GCS are a small city with cafes, many boutiques and of course the Apple store. Actually, we were surprised at the size of the area under the Station. The Tech in the Apple store corrected the problem which made me happy as I was beginning to think it was operator problem. He said it was a Spam Filter problem which is problem that is certainly above my ability to understand it. Also, I had to purchase a charger for my iPad because I left my iPad case complete with the chargers in the Toronto airport and of course I can kiss that goodbye. It will cost me at least a 100.00 to replace the Chargers, the the cords and the case.
After getting the iPad fixed we hiked up to the Time Square area to grab another Bus tour. This tour hit some specific areas such as Central Park , Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and we went by Music City Radio Hall where they were setting up for the NBA draft so all the TV companies were there. The tour guide suggest we see if we could find any sports celebrities and oddly enough I spotted Daryl Strawberry, retired ball player for the NY Mets and others.
The tour guide pointed out that , while in NYC the main thing is that "you do not hesitate " whether you are driving or walking and I can readily understand that statement. I did note that Jay Walking is a Sport and there is no law against it but the driver, mostly the Taxis, are very patience with the Jay Walkers.
One of the stops by the Hop On; Hop OFF bus was at Wall Street so we got off as I just had to see the BULL in front of the JP Morgan- Chase Bldg. I was not the only one interested in the Bull as there were hundreds of people ahead of us getting the picture taking. I also had visions of getting into the New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE ) but when I got to the Bldg they had a security fence so that was as close as one can get without a security pass and a reason to be there.
Some of the areas we drove by on our tour was an area where the Irish settled, little Italy, Little Korea and of course China Town which is the largest area .In fact China Town is actual moving in ( or taking over ) the Irish and Italian area.
In one residential area there are 120 high rise apartments built exactly the same ( Red Brick structure )and of course this is were many of the new immigrants , including a large Jewish Population, that settled on there arrival. The original Apartments were built by a Dutchman ( I can't recall his name ) in 1947.
Another building we passed was the New York Times bldg and surprising it has No Tenants but it takes in 50 million dollars a year on outdoor advertising . As the tour guide says, why bother with tenants when you can get that kind of money without them.
By this time it was late afternoon and we were getting weary and needed a break so we went to Mac Donald's, of course, and grabbed a burger and checked our email since they have free WiFi. We were also waiting for the night to fall so we could take the night Bus Tour and see the City lights. We went back to Time Square to people watch ( which is interesting ) and kill time until 7:30 at which time we caught the Bus. The tour did not stop anywhere , it was just a tour of the main core and then crossed the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn. Only cars are allowed on the Brooklyn Bridge , No trucks or Buses. This two hour night trip sure gives you a much different perspective of the city.
We got back from the trip at about 9:30 so we called it a day and walked back to our hotel. It was the only night that we got in before 11:00PM.
Our iPad was not functioning properly as I could rec email but could not send. Therefore after breakfast we headed for Grand Central Station , located under the MET Bldg, which was located about a block from our hotel and it had a large Apple store in the lower level. Much to our surprise, there is 3 floors below street level in GCS. These lower level of GCS are a small city with cafes, many boutiques and of course the Apple store. Actually, we were surprised at the size of the area under the Station. The Tech in the Apple store corrected the problem which made me happy as I was beginning to think it was operator problem. He said it was a Spam Filter problem which is problem that is certainly above my ability to understand it. Also, I had to purchase a charger for my iPad because I left my iPad case complete with the chargers in the Toronto airport and of course I can kiss that goodbye. It will cost me at least a 100.00 to replace the Chargers, the the cords and the case.
After getting the iPad fixed we hiked up to the Time Square area to grab another Bus tour. This tour hit some specific areas such as Central Park , Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and we went by Music City Radio Hall where they were setting up for the NBA draft so all the TV companies were there. The tour guide suggest we see if we could find any sports celebrities and oddly enough I spotted Daryl Strawberry, retired ball player for the NY Mets and others.
The tour guide pointed out that , while in NYC the main thing is that "you do not hesitate " whether you are driving or walking and I can readily understand that statement. I did note that Jay Walking is a Sport and there is no law against it but the driver, mostly the Taxis, are very patience with the Jay Walkers.
One of the stops by the Hop On; Hop OFF bus was at Wall Street so we got off as I just had to see the BULL in front of the JP Morgan- Chase Bldg. I was not the only one interested in the Bull as there were hundreds of people ahead of us getting the picture taking. I also had visions of getting into the New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE ) but when I got to the Bldg they had a security fence so that was as close as one can get without a security pass and a reason to be there.
Some of the areas we drove by on our tour was an area where the Irish settled, little Italy, Little Korea and of course China Town which is the largest area .In fact China Town is actual moving in ( or taking over ) the Irish and Italian area.
In one residential area there are 120 high rise apartments built exactly the same ( Red Brick structure )and of course this is were many of the new immigrants , including a large Jewish Population, that settled on there arrival. The original Apartments were built by a Dutchman ( I can't recall his name ) in 1947.
Another building we passed was the New York Times bldg and surprising it has No Tenants but it takes in 50 million dollars a year on outdoor advertising . As the tour guide says, why bother with tenants when you can get that kind of money without them.
By this time it was late afternoon and we were getting weary and needed a break so we went to Mac Donald's, of course, and grabbed a burger and checked our email since they have free WiFi. We were also waiting for the night to fall so we could take the night Bus Tour and see the City lights. We went back to Time Square to people watch ( which is interesting ) and kill time until 7:30 at which time we caught the Bus. The tour did not stop anywhere , it was just a tour of the main core and then crossed the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn. Only cars are allowed on the Brooklyn Bridge , No trucks or Buses. This two hour night trip sure gives you a much different perspective of the city.
We got back from the trip at about 9:30 so we called it a day and walked back to our hotel. It was the only night that we got in before 11:00PM.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
New York New York 24 to the 29 th April 2013
25 April 2013
Our first Day in NY, so we had breakfast at the Pizza place since they served a type of Egg McMuffin for lack of a better description and their coffee was drinkable. Our first plan of attack was to check out the " Hop-ON HOP-OFF " Bus tours and go to their main office which was near Time Square as we had a 2 day (48 hour ) pass. But it had to be activated at the main office. The pass is good up until the last minute of the 48 th hours but if you are on a tour when it runs out you can complete the tour.
However, we walked from our Hotel for about 200 feet to the corner of 45 St and 5 th Ave and Low and Behold , there was a Tour Bus Rep ( how lucky for us ) but of course he wanted to sell us a Tour Ticket. Once we showed him our Tour Pass he was very helpful in directing us to the main office. We later found out that there was a Tour Bus rep on every corner within 5 blocks of Time Square and I think there was 4 different Tour Operations.
After lining up for about 20 minutes we finally got our Tour Passes activated and the clerk was most helpful. We decide to grab a Tour right away and it just happen to be the Downtown tour which lasted 2 hours if you stayed on to complete the trip. When this tour reached the Boat Tour Pier we got off and decided to take the 1 hour Harbor Cruise which got very close the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island , ( which was the holding area for Immigrates in the early 1900's), and then we cruise down to the Famous Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. The tour was conducted with a "Canned " description of the area but also most informative.
After the Boat Cruise we boarded the Downtown Bus Tour and completed the rest of the that tour. Then we grabbed the Uptown Tour ( also 2 hours in duration ). These tour have some " Canned " descriptions but two of the tours where conducted by a person and I must say they seemed knowledgeable; not that I know much about the history on New York. The guide gave us information on all the important bldg. and sites but what really caught my attend was the NYC has 5 Boroughs and that 2.5 Million people come into the main city core every day to work. Also all Power line and utilities are underground hence no unsightly wires etc. However, many of the utilities were affected when the hurricane "Sandie " filled the underground with water.
By this time we needed a "Pit Stop" so we checked into MacDonald's because Mac's always welcome anyone who needs their facilities. However, I was amazed when I had to line up because they only had a "one holer" for Men and the same for the Ladies. But they had about 20 counter Servers which seemed odd for a place with one bathroom ( Rest Room ) . Yes , we bought a coffee !!!
We then walk over to Time Square to check out the Discount Tickets for a Broadway show. Several shows have tickets on sale for 30 to 50% at 3 PM for the 7 PM show. They have people available to brief you on the show so we decided on the Jersey Boys and there was only 5 people ahead of me so I got two tickets for 90.00 . Since it was now about 6 PM and we were about 1 1/2 blocks from the Theatre we decided to walk over and find the theatre. It was not as far we thought but we did some window shopping along the way. When we got to the Theatre they were letting people in so we went and finished our coffee. Our tickets were in the Balcony but the seats were good and I'm sure there was not a bad seat in the theatre. The show was great and I personally like it as the best of the 4 shows we seen.
After the Show we returned to Mac's to grab a snack because had not eaten all day ( except for a hot dog from a street Vendor ) . Also Mac's has free WiFi and we thought we should advise our Kids that we were safe and enjoying the " Big Apple " . Our Hotel " The Roosevelt" was a short 10 minute walk so we walk home and were glad to get off our feet as it was somewhere around 11:30 so it was a long day. Incidentally, I would not recommend the Roosevelt Hotel. There has to be a better Hotel closer to the " Maddening Crowd ".
.
Our first Day in NY, so we had breakfast at the Pizza place since they served a type of Egg McMuffin for lack of a better description and their coffee was drinkable. Our first plan of attack was to check out the " Hop-ON HOP-OFF " Bus tours and go to their main office which was near Time Square as we had a 2 day (48 hour ) pass. But it had to be activated at the main office. The pass is good up until the last minute of the 48 th hours but if you are on a tour when it runs out you can complete the tour.
However, we walked from our Hotel for about 200 feet to the corner of 45 St and 5 th Ave and Low and Behold , there was a Tour Bus Rep ( how lucky for us ) but of course he wanted to sell us a Tour Ticket. Once we showed him our Tour Pass he was very helpful in directing us to the main office. We later found out that there was a Tour Bus rep on every corner within 5 blocks of Time Square and I think there was 4 different Tour Operations.
After lining up for about 20 minutes we finally got our Tour Passes activated and the clerk was most helpful. We decide to grab a Tour right away and it just happen to be the Downtown tour which lasted 2 hours if you stayed on to complete the trip. When this tour reached the Boat Tour Pier we got off and decided to take the 1 hour Harbor Cruise which got very close the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island , ( which was the holding area for Immigrates in the early 1900's), and then we cruise down to the Famous Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. The tour was conducted with a "Canned " description of the area but also most informative.
After the Boat Cruise we boarded the Downtown Bus Tour and completed the rest of the that tour. Then we grabbed the Uptown Tour ( also 2 hours in duration ). These tour have some " Canned " descriptions but two of the tours where conducted by a person and I must say they seemed knowledgeable; not that I know much about the history on New York. The guide gave us information on all the important bldg. and sites but what really caught my attend was the NYC has 5 Boroughs and that 2.5 Million people come into the main city core every day to work. Also all Power line and utilities are underground hence no unsightly wires etc. However, many of the utilities were affected when the hurricane "Sandie " filled the underground with water.
By this time we needed a "Pit Stop" so we checked into MacDonald's because Mac's always welcome anyone who needs their facilities. However, I was amazed when I had to line up because they only had a "one holer" for Men and the same for the Ladies. But they had about 20 counter Servers which seemed odd for a place with one bathroom ( Rest Room ) . Yes , we bought a coffee !!!
We then walk over to Time Square to check out the Discount Tickets for a Broadway show. Several shows have tickets on sale for 30 to 50% at 3 PM for the 7 PM show. They have people available to brief you on the show so we decided on the Jersey Boys and there was only 5 people ahead of me so I got two tickets for 90.00 . Since it was now about 6 PM and we were about 1 1/2 blocks from the Theatre we decided to walk over and find the theatre. It was not as far we thought but we did some window shopping along the way. When we got to the Theatre they were letting people in so we went and finished our coffee. Our tickets were in the Balcony but the seats were good and I'm sure there was not a bad seat in the theatre. The show was great and I personally like it as the best of the 4 shows we seen.
After the Show we returned to Mac's to grab a snack because had not eaten all day ( except for a hot dog from a street Vendor ) . Also Mac's has free WiFi and we thought we should advise our Kids that we were safe and enjoying the " Big Apple " . Our Hotel " The Roosevelt" was a short 10 minute walk so we walk home and were glad to get off our feet as it was somewhere around 11:30 so it was a long day. Incidentally, I would not recommend the Roosevelt Hotel. There has to be a better Hotel closer to the " Maddening Crowd ".
.
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
NEW YORK NEW YORK 24 to 29 April 2013
24 April 2013
We stayed at Todd's ( in Okotoks ) last night so we could catch our 8:30 AM WestJet flight to Toronto with connections to La Guarda which we had to get up at % AM as it takes about an hour to get the Calgary Airport from Todd's. All went well with the check-in and the Flight until we were about 10 minutes out of Toronto, at which time we get an announcement " All passengers connecting with Flight 1210 going La Guarda please check-in with the first WestJet Kosik inside the terminal ". We knew right away that this was not good news and we were right.
Inside the terminal we met Ms. "Congeniality" who advised us that our connecting flight was cancelled ( no explanation) , ask us for our old boarding pass and replaced it with another one, and handed us a 10.00 voucher toward the price of a meal and told us to get our luggage , go thru customs and report to Gate 10 A.
The boarding pass said we would be leaving on another flight at 3:30 but by 3:00 there was no body at the loading gate so we all started asking question. Finally , we were advise there would be a slight delay due to weather in toronto and in La Guarda but we all knew it was a result of the USA gov't forcing the Air Traffic controller to reduce manpower ( it is called Furlough ) due to reduced Gov't funding. After waiting an hour another announcement advised us it would be loading around 5:30. Finally around 7:00 PM we loaded.
The bad part was that Todd and Clark had ordered a Limo to meet and surprise us at La Guarda at 5:30 so they had to pay all the waiting time until we arrive at 10:30.
However, back to the flight. The flight from Toronto to New York takes one hour but about 25 mintues out of Toronto the Captain advised us that we were in a holding pattern for the next 45 minutes due to weather in La Guarrda which was B.S. and that we might notice him flying in a circle. "No Shit". Finally we got clearance to procede but once we got to the La Guarda air space we were again put into a holding pattern for another 1/2 hour or so. Finally we got clearance to land about 10:00 PM.
The Limo company had a Greeter met us with a sign the read " Eslers... 50 th Anniversay ". We had a 20 minute ride in this brand new Limo to our hotel and it was great. The driver gave a few tips about Taxi in New York, which ones to avoid and other tid bits about New York.
After we checked in the clerk said, just a minute and handed Carroll a plant which the had purchased for us. By this time it was after 11:00 so we dumped our luggage and went to a Pizza Joint around the corner from the hotel because we had not eaten since about 2:30 in Toronto. Finally we called it a day; albeit quite hectic
We stayed at Todd's ( in Okotoks ) last night so we could catch our 8:30 AM WestJet flight to Toronto with connections to La Guarda which we had to get up at % AM as it takes about an hour to get the Calgary Airport from Todd's. All went well with the check-in and the Flight until we were about 10 minutes out of Toronto, at which time we get an announcement " All passengers connecting with Flight 1210 going La Guarda please check-in with the first WestJet Kosik inside the terminal ". We knew right away that this was not good news and we were right.
Inside the terminal we met Ms. "Congeniality" who advised us that our connecting flight was cancelled ( no explanation) , ask us for our old boarding pass and replaced it with another one, and handed us a 10.00 voucher toward the price of a meal and told us to get our luggage , go thru customs and report to Gate 10 A.
The boarding pass said we would be leaving on another flight at 3:30 but by 3:00 there was no body at the loading gate so we all started asking question. Finally , we were advise there would be a slight delay due to weather in toronto and in La Guarda but we all knew it was a result of the USA gov't forcing the Air Traffic controller to reduce manpower ( it is called Furlough ) due to reduced Gov't funding. After waiting an hour another announcement advised us it would be loading around 5:30. Finally around 7:00 PM we loaded.
The bad part was that Todd and Clark had ordered a Limo to meet and surprise us at La Guarda at 5:30 so they had to pay all the waiting time until we arrive at 10:30.
However, back to the flight. The flight from Toronto to New York takes one hour but about 25 mintues out of Toronto the Captain advised us that we were in a holding pattern for the next 45 minutes due to weather in La Guarrda which was B.S. and that we might notice him flying in a circle. "No Shit". Finally we got clearance to procede but once we got to the La Guarda air space we were again put into a holding pattern for another 1/2 hour or so. Finally we got clearance to land about 10:00 PM.
The Limo company had a Greeter met us with a sign the read " Eslers... 50 th Anniversay ". We had a 20 minute ride in this brand new Limo to our hotel and it was great. The driver gave a few tips about Taxi in New York, which ones to avoid and other tid bits about New York.
After we checked in the clerk said, just a minute and handed Carroll a plant which the had purchased for us. By this time it was after 11:00 so we dumped our luggage and went to a Pizza Joint around the corner from the hotel because we had not eaten since about 2:30 in Toronto. Finally we called it a day; albeit quite hectic
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Eslers in NYC
Sorry about the Blog but I can't get enough WiFi to complete a proper blog as there is so much to cover. I will do a daily blog once I return home on 30 Apr. suffice to say NYC city is unbelievable and expensive
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