More scenes from the Five Boros Ride

the start, Battery Park

Freedom Tower (WTC) now the tallest building in Manhattan

Held up in Harlem (one of many hold ups, NYPD just couldn't control so many bikers)

Sunday morning entertainment in Harlem

On the BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway)

The trip home on the Staten Island Ferry

What's our "nabe" coming to?

An apparent domestic dispute inside an Upper East Side apartment ended in a police-involved shooting this afternoon, police said. The shooting erupted after a NYPD officer arrived on the scene on East 65th Street, near 1st Avenue, just before 3 p.m. A young man was holding his mother at knifepoint, which prompted his sister to call police. Police said they tried to subdue the man with a Taser, but shot him after authorities said he wouldn’t drop the knife. Police hit the man three times and the mother was accidentally hit in the buttocks by at least one bullet while trying to get away from her son. The man was taken to the hospital, reportedly in stable condition. Both are expected to survive and charges are pending.

Five Boros Bike Ride

Today was the 35th Five Boros Bike Ride. It is very popular and has a lottery to enter and Paul scored a spot this year. The course is 40 miles and basically the Marathon in reverse, plus a bit more. About 12 deg C and overcast when ehr departed from Battery Park near Ground Zero at 9.15 am. Then heads north through Central Park into Harlem, over into the Bronx then back down the east River, and past our front door before heading over the Queensboro Bridge into ... yes, Queens... then over the Pulaski Bridge into Brooklyn then all the way down to South Brooklyn and over the Verrazano Bridge to Staten Island. Very places because of so many bikes in the Sunday traffic. It was sunny and 20 deg by the finish at 3 pm. Then a long wait for the ferry as 30,000 cyclists had to be transported back to Manhattan. A long, fun day but definitely something to cross off the bucket list.

Only In America!

This was the picture on the front page of the NY Times today. A fun change from Romney/Obama or dead bodies in Afghanistan/Syria. Seems the family that runs the Trinity Broadcasting Network TV ministry are having domestic problems. One of the spin offs of TBN is the Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando Florida. if you did want to read the article, this is the link. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/tbn-fight-offers-glimpse-inside-lavish-tv-ministry.html?_r=1&hp if you want to see more of the attractions at the theme park, this is the website: www.holylandexperience.com

Xavi is 10 months today

He is going really well and getting more active. Crawling everywhere and climbs the stairs and obviously wants to start walking. At last Pediatrician visit, weighed 8.5 kg and is on 90th percentile for height/HC but only 15 percentile for weight. so he is a bit of string bean at present but very healthy. Eats a whole Weetbix plus some Vegemite toast for breakfast, and a main + yogurt for lunch and dinner. Going down at 7.30pm and we are actively weaning him off night time feeds and trying to get him to sleep through.

Jenny & Stephen back in NYC

Great to have Jenny & Stephen back in NYC (see blog #1 in Jan 2009. Anyone who enjoys following the blog should thank Jenny for motivating us to get it going). Weather much kinder this time: sunny every day and 15-20 deg C. Did the obligatory "friends in town" trip to the High Line, including the view of Pier 54 (picture number 2 below), where the Titanic was supposed to berth 100 years ago this Sunday. Thoughts of the Titanic fresh in our minds, we still took the East River Ferry on Sunday (Stephen looking like an Underbelly extra). While doing the High Line tour on Saturday, we also to called in to Washington Square. Not only were there bluegrass buskers that Xavi enjoyed, but it was also the NYC venue for World Pillow Fight Day (?) which apparently also occurred in Sydney