Wednesday 21 December 1983 – New
York
(Details of our last day on the ship and our first day in the USA are a
little thin on the ground as I didn’t have a chance to write up my journal for
a couple of days – how quickly we forget those details!)
We woke up
to a very different ship this morning – calm seas, no wind but still freezing
cold. To Matt’s delight it was Space Day on the ship with, amongst other
delights, all three parts of Star Wars being shown. I watched a couple of very
interesting videos in the morning and then we went down to start packing before
lunch as we had to have our bags ready by 18.00.
We had a
very good lunch and then back down to the cabin to finish off the packing. How
we managed to fit everything in, I just don’t know. Back upstairs for Bingo
which attracted a very large crowd indeed. The snowball finally went at $1,103
– and Rab had only two numbers to go.
Up on deck
at about 19.00, the lights of Manhattan
were starting to appear. It was a crystal clear night but bitterly cold and we
could see the lights clearly. What an amazing sight. We watched for about ten
minutes and then went below to get ready for dinner. By the time back on deck
it was after 20.00 and we had passed through the Narrows Bridge
and were approaching the Statue of Liberty. I had my binoculars and we could
see the details clearly. Rab says the approach was the highlight of the trip so
far and it was certainly very beautiful.
There was
quite a crowd on deck including some of the ‘posh’ people just wearing light
clothes and suits – how they stood the cold I don’t know. American John, who
claimed to be a frequent Atlantic crosser, said that never, on any of his
previous voyages had he been privileged to sail in after dark and see the sights we saw.
We finally
docked at about 21.00 while we were having dinner. After eating we went through
to the Double Down Room, now quite warm for the first time on the voyage, and
watched the beginning of the cabaret. Matt was very tired as was I so we went
to bed quite early at about 22.30. strange to sleep on a stable platform!
Thursday 22 December 1983 – Arrival New York
We slept
solidly until 07.00 when the alarm woke us up. It was a drizzly, cold day with
not much to see so we went through for our early breakfast. Our two stewards
had been out on the town, only getting back to the ship at 04.45, so they said,
but they managed to cope pretty well.
We had a
substantial breakfast and then went through to complete the landing formalities
with some trepidation because when we checked before breakfast there was an
enormous line. By the time we got there, though, there was hardly anyone. We
found ourselves behind the two entertainers whose performances we had enjoyed –
Samantha Jones and Paul, the comedian. So we had some interesting company while
we waited.
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| QEII docked at New York - difficult to envisage white water crashing over the bows. |
We were in
no particular hurry because we had received a telex from Uli on Tuesday saying
that he would meet us after 10.30. we got through Customs and Immigration with
no problems and nipped down to our cabin to pick up our hand baggage. Getting
ashore presented no difficulty and with the system used in New York finding our baggage was dead
simple.
Again we
went through Customs with no issues and we were through by about 10.10. Nora
and Uli turned up about ten minutes later, stopping right outside the main
doors, so we loaded up the station wagon and were off through the waterlogged
streets of New York
with Nora and Rab talking nineteen to the dozen.
There had
been quite a heavy snowfall overnight and the countryside was very pretty as we
drove through to Ringwood, NJ. We got to the Schafers at about 11.30,
much earlier than expected.
After a cup
of coffee and some basic unpacking we set off for lunch. We thought we were
going to the local pizzeria but instead drove for about forty minutes to
another one called Chuck E Cheese. (We
didn’t realise this was a franchise operation and in fact thought the name a
little odd at Chuck & Cheese.
What did you chuck? The cheese?) Matt was in his element when he found that
there were hundreds of arcade games so a good time was had by all. I had a very
nice pizza and Matt had a Giant Hotdog – with a ¼ lb frank – which we washed
down with root beer. All very satisfactory and very American.
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| Vicki, Rab and Matt in the woods |
Since we
only finally ate lunch at about 15.30 we decided to give Nora a break from
cooking and just had cheese and cold cuts for supper. We had popped in to the
local supermarket to pick up some beers and snacks and had a very pleasant
evening, chatting and drinking while Matt and Vicki (Nora and Uli’s daughter) watched TV and played computer games.
We were all
in bed by about 22.00. Rab and Matt were very happy to be in beds that weren’t
moving – I had the impression that mine was still swaying.
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| Tranquility looking across the lake from the Schafers |
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