Reset search
US, Canada AdventuresUS, Canada Adventures
SatelliteEdit route

US, Canada Adventures

May - June 2023
I'm flying to LA meeting up with J&J and H&A and spending 2 weeks in the US and then flying to Toronto Canada to spend 10 days with the Hodge's. Read more
  • 26footprints
  • 3countries
  • 28days
  • 239photos
  • 9videos
  • 17.5kkilometers
  • 16.0kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • TravelerUS, Canada Adventures
    2
    Day 1

    Sydney Airport

    May 20, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    I was so thankful when Joe offered to drive me down to the airport this morning on this glorious May day. I received a cute video from 2 excited boys who can't wait for Nana to come! So thankful for this opportunity to travel again. First time on my own on a long haul flight :)Read more

  • TravelerUS, Canada Adventures
    2
    Day 1

    Arrival in LA

    May 20, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    I arrived safely in LA, flying Fijian airlines. The first leg to Fiji was good except a gentleman in Business class had a cardiac arrest and upon arrival, I waited 45 minutes before I could get off the plane.. bit stressful as my next flight was an hour later. Anyway boarded the flight to LA and ended up in the middle row, middle seat between two large Fijian men, child crying in front and man snoring behind. The joys of travel 😩.. 9 hours later I finally got out and waited in the crazy LA customs line for an hour before getting my bag. J&J picked me up in the RV and what a welcome I had!! We drove to Manhattan beach for a walk on the pier, and then ended up at an authentic Mexican restaurant for dinner, and a chilli mango margarita. Relaxing at the motel this evening and ready for a big sleep!Read more

  • TravelerUS, Canada Adventures
    Day 3

    New York

    May 22, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Sunday morning we packed up from our overnight motel stay (and a brilliant nights sleep) and packed back into the RV and drove an hour across LA to drop it off. LA is just a massive city. The highways are huge and look like a giant roller coaster up, down and crisscrossing over each other. It is surrounded by a mountainous range which is quite impressive. We then caught an Uber back to the airport and caught our flight to NY. There is a 3 hour time difference so we arrived at 12.30 after midnight and didn’t get into bed till 3 am NY time! Luckily organised Jess had a motel booked near the airport. We slept in this morning and then packed up and headed to the subway to get to our Airbnb in Manhattan. It was epic traveling with kids and bags and trying to navigate our way there but once again Jess was amazing with directions and James and I handled the kids (who were so good considering the travel they have done over the last few days). We dropped off our bags at our cozy Airbnb and then headed back out to catch the subway again to Central Park so that the kids could have a play. It was a lovely warm day and people were out and about picnicking and enjoying the weather. We then walked to Times Square and had a quick look around, and decided the kids had had enough and we were all tired.. so headed back for a lovely homemade bolognaise and early night.Read more

  • TravelerUS, Canada Adventures
    2
    Day 4

    Met, Grand Central, NY Library

    May 23, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    This morning after a very good nights sleep and a sleep in, we caught the bus into central park and walked to the Met. It is such a grand building and we took the traditional pics on the steps. J&J decided to spend time in the park and I bought a ticket and wandered around the Met for 3 hours. It was just amazing! There was a special Van Gogh exhibition - the real deal paintings! It was awesome along with Monet, Rembrandt and many other amazing artists. I absolutely loved all the interesting artefacts and walked the length of the museum in my element. I was starving by this time and bought a lamb gyro from the famous street carts which are everywhere. It was delicious! I met up with J&J and we caught the train to the Grand Central station.. and Grand it is!! We then walked to the library which is another amazing building. We came across the “Chrysler building” .. and started singing NYC!! We walked passed Bryant park and there were people everywhere enjoying the live music and afternoon sun. Another fabulous day in NYC!Read more

  • TravelerUS, Canada Adventures
    Day 5

    Natural History Museum, The Edge

    May 24, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    This morning we got going a bit earlier and caught the subway to the Natural History Museum. It’s next level!! 4 floors of amazing exhibits. I got a bit emotional as I was blown away by Gods creation small and great. What an awesome God we serve. We spent a few hours there and then went in search of some lunch. James found a bagel shop and Jess and I had a Falafel wrap. The boys enjoyed a huge slice of pizza. Jess and I spotted a thrift shop and enjoyed a quick look around. After lunch in the beautiful park of the grounds of the museum we decided to catch the subway to the ‘Edge’ - a huge building with an elevator that takes 52 seconds to reach the 100th floor. The views are simply breathtaking. NY is absolutely huge. We saw where the twin towers had stood and it made sense how it could have happened. We could see all the icons that make up this incredible city. By this time the boys were getting tired and hungry so we left, bought an ice-cream from the street vendor and then Jess navigated her way back home on the subway with us all following in tow. J&J are having a date night tonight, watching the broadway show Aladdin, and I am on kid watch and enjoying a cozy night in.Read more

  • TravelerUS, Canada Adventures
    Day 6

    Statue of L, W T Centre, Little Italy

    May 25, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Today we woke to another glorious sunny day. We have been so fortunate with the weather. We caught the subway all the way to the other end of NY where the government free ferry took us for a ride to Staten Island which passed the Statue of Liberty and gave us a good photo opportunity. We only stayed on the Island for an hour as we wanted to get back and explore elsewhere. We arrived back and then headed to the world trade centre where the memorial to the twin towers had been established. It was very sobering and the memorial was extremely well done. 3000 names were inscribed in the stone around the edge. It was quite surreal. There were cute squirrels running around and the boys enjoyed feeding them. We then caught the subway to ‘little Italy’ and thoroughly enjoyed wandering around and soaking up the sights and sounds. We ended up at an authentic Italian restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal. The owner took a liking to Hudsy after he thanked him for the meal and promptly got one of the waiters to get T-shirts as gifts for the boys! We left there and could hear the sound of drums playing, so of course had to go see what all the noise was about. A huge group of women drummers were playing in the street.. it was fabulous. We then FaceTimed Jakey and sang “Happy Birthday” for his 30th. Washington Arch was not too far from where we were so we walked up there and enjoyed the ambience of the evening with a jazz band playing in the distance and people sitting around and just enjoying themselves. This is NYC.. eclectic, vibrant, busy.Read more

  • TravelerUS, Canada Adventures
    Day 7

    Jewish Museum, and NY wanderings.

    May 26, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    This morning I woke up with a back spasm, so decided to stay home and let the pain killers kick in. About 12.30 I was feeling better and caught the bus into the city. I got off at the Jewish Museum, but when I got there I was a bit disappointed as it was more of an art gallery with modern art, rather than their history which is what I was hoping to see. Still there was a few things of interest, and I was glad I made the effort. Afterwards I took to the streets and wandered around just enjoying window shopping. I eventually caught another bus to Central park where J&J were letting the kids enjoy one of the many playgrounds that fill this beautiful park. We then walked down to the famous Plaza hotel and went inside and took a few pics. It was just stunning!! I also walked down the road and went into the new Tiffany’s.. it was just incredible. I thought the scarves looked nice (the rings were out of the question) and the cheapest one was $300, so I left it there. On my way back to J&J there was a man directing traffic who had a Trump wig on, making all the Trump moves. It was quite comical and clever! We then bought street food and sat in the beautiful Central Park overlooking the lake for dinner and watched the sunset. A beautiful end to another lovely sunny day in NYC.Read more

  • TravelerUS, Canada Adventures
    Day 8

    Biking through Brooklyn

    May 27, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We woke early today (the sun is out at 5.30 and it’s daylight savings here too). We caught the subway into Brooklyn and went straight to the bike shop to hire a bike and cart for the boys for James to ‘cart’ them around. Jess and I hired the city bikes. We made our way slowly to the Brooklyn Bridge and cycled across. It is massive and has an awesome view. We got safely to the other side huffing and puffing wishing we had hired e-bikes! We made our way to the vintage Brooklyn markets in the suburb of Dumbo which were under the bridge. We stopped at a cute grocery store where a little Italian man made us fresh ‘New Yorker’ rolls (pastrami, cheese lettuce tomato and mustard). They were the best I have had since Paris. We then wandered around the markets and I found the vintage ring that I have been looking for, and been wanting for a while. James talked me into buying it! We then jumped on our bikes and rode for 3 k to get to the vintage op shop that is famous in Brooklyn. I bought a pair of shorts to change into as it was so hot riding around. There are bike lanes everywhere so we felt safe riding around the streets. I love Brooklyn. It has a vintage feel about it with quaint little shops everywhere and the streets are tree lined and old world. Families were out everywhere enjoying their Saturday. We made our way back to the bridge, lined up for an ice-cream and then made the long trek back across the bridge to drop our bikes off. We then walked to China town and finished the evening off with a delicious dinner. Our week in NYC has come to an end. I have really enjoyed it and the weather has helped to make it very memorable.Read more

  • TravelerUS, Canada Adventures
    1
    Day 9

    Road trip begins!

    May 28, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We got up bright and early this morning excited for our next adventure! J&J went and collected our mini van and then we piled in and made our way out of NY and headed to Saratoga Springs. James navigated the left hand drive in fine form! We stopped at a cute little town called “Hudson on Cornwall” and bought some lunch. There are American memorial flags everywhere as it’s a long weekend to honour those who have lost their lives. I had my first American 🌭 with the best iced coffee in over a week. (Aussies really do have the best coffee)..
    Back on the road again to find a Walmart so we could buy a car seat for Austy. It was my first Walmart experience.. basically coles, big W and bunnings all in one!
    We finally arrived at our destination - a gorgeous air bnb which has everything that opens and shuts and all you have to say is ‘hey google’ and it turns everything on including the fireplace .. which the boys were quite taken with! We are feeling very relaxed today and are glad to be out of the bustling city. I got out my pencils and the boys and I spent an hour colouring while James made Burgers for dinner. We finished off the evening with the readings of Titus sitting on the balcony enjoying the daylight saving.    Read more

  • TravelerUS, Canada Adventures
    1
    Day 10

    Saratoga Springs

    May 29, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We woke to another glorious day! We decided to visit the small village of Saratoga and get our morning coffee. It was a delightful town packed with tourists as it’s the Monday of the long weekend. So many cute shops to browse. We left there and went to the Saratoga Springs park. It was absolutely stunning. The leafy green trees lined the roads and there were families have their Memorial Day bbq alongside a running stream with natural springs everywhere. The boys loved playing in the water and making mud pies. It’s a truly stunning place! We left there and drove around the massive lake that is just outside the town. It reminded me of Lake Macquarie. We decided to have an anti pasta plate at home and enjoy the beautiful house we are staying in for dinner, followed by an evening stroll at the nearby lake, which resulted in Hudsy slipping on the Algie and into the lake. Luckily it was very shallow and he very bravely extracted himself..😅Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English