New York

So it looks like we've got some competition on the blog front! (http://alderman-valentineusa.blogspot.com/) I'm sure theirs will also include some depravity and a whole lot of mischief :-)

Niagara Falls was breathtaking. We decided against going on the Maid of the Mist Boats and instead opted for going behind the waterfall. Everyone was given a waterproof poncho (Yes, I did look like Clint Eastwood) as it was going to get wet!



Anyhow, from Niagara Falls, we coasted down to New York State. We crossed the border with consummate ease ( I'm sure our visas helped). We stayed just south of Buffalo, the RV park was nice enough, if a little basic - We're budgeting at the moment so gone are the days where we can spend 40 dollars a night on a park. After that, we drove east towards Saratoga, however before we got there, we stopped over in Utica.

Utica was tolerable, definitely not nicest city we've been to. The main reason we stopped here was to get the van serviced - we've been looking forward to this for ages... (That was sarcasm for those who don't own a sarcasm detector) We spent 400 dollars on getting 2 new tyres or "tires" as they say over here and the actual service. Weirdly, whilst we were chatting to one of the mechanics, we discovered he actually knew where the Isle of Man was! It turns out he was watching a TT Special on American TV not 2 days before we met him! This has been a rare occurrence on our trip (We usually just say "The UK" when someone asks us where we're from) as the IOM isn't that well known outside fans of Motor-sports.

The reason for us visiting Saratoga is we have a gig to get to! Coldplay are playing at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, otherwise known as "The SPAC"... seriously :-D They're playing tomorrow night (Mon 27th) which means today we've got a day off from driving, so we're going to plan our visit to NYC.

As both of us have never been there, we want to hit all the tourist traps - The Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty etc. Unfortunately, the only RV park in the city costs 60 dollars a night... We've looked into it and there's no way around it so we have to stay there. On the plus side, it is in a prime location (Just across the river from Manhattan) so we've got superb access to the city. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to seeing New York!