We got up early and went in search of petrol. Luckily we found some before having to try and get the car back to the rental company on fumes. We got away with a late charge of $12 which was great.
Before heading off we brought our luggage around to Dua to have a couple of pints with Stephen before we headed off…
We got up early with Leona as our guide walked around the town she was staying at Vineyard Haven (but I could be wrong). We got a bus to another town where we had breakfast and took lots of pictures. We got the 1300 ferry off the island as we had to drop the car off at 5pm and being not sure about how long the journey was going to take… We took a wrong turn coming into New York and we were very low on petrol.
As it turned out we were way late for the car rental company and had to hold onto the car for an extra night. Luckily we made it to Dua before Mary and Gabriel left and got to say god bye. The plan was to spend the evening drinking, but very soon the party broke up.
It was a real commune effort to get the house back to the condition it was before the wedding. Not that it was a mess, but because so much stuff had been moved around. At about 1 Mark and I had to leave to drive to Martha’s Vineyard to visit Leona. We were against the clock to get the last ferry onto the island and it was a real case of foot to the floor. We made it to the ferry with about 10 mins to spare. On the journey I had reached a top speed of over 152 km per hour. I was going to push it to 100mph but at 95mph the car handled differently so I decided I should err on the safe side 
The ferry over to the island was fantastic. It was a cool night so we were able to sit on deck and watch the moonlit sea all the way to the Island. When we landed Leona met us and brought us to her house where she had organised a couple of beds for us.
As it happened everybody was up early enough and the preparations for the wedding got underway. Elke and Steve were hoping to have the wedding beside a lake but the weather conditions were unfortunate so the wedding was to be held in the house. Plenty of furniture was moved before it was time to get ready for the wedding. As it turned out the ceremony was fantastic.
Afterwards the party began…
Today we checked out of our hotel and walked a few blocks to pick up the car which was amazing, a Chevrolet Impala with a fuel injected 3.6 litre v6. I drove to Stephen’s apartment to pick up some stuff that was to go in our car and tried out the acceleration which was fantastic. Unfortunately it was like driving a boat on roads with a real wobbly.
We left New York just after 1 with the car packed full of wine, luggage and food and drove to the Adirondacks, a drive which took over 5 hours. We arrived just before nightfall and unloaded the car before starting our third straight night of drinking. Mark and I pitched the tent just in case we needed it, but as it turned out there was enough room in the second house. I have no idea what time it was when I got to bed
The second day in New York is mainly taken up with Mark and I walking about 120 blocks in an effort to try and see more of the city. We visited Time Square and walked north as far as 81st street looking for the MOMA which happened to be on 53rd street. When we found that we decided to get some coffee, but it was 31st street before we found that. We were going to go to Ground Zero but the taxi took us for a bit of a trip so we went to visit Steve instead.
We got lunch in a nearby café and I managed to get my first taste of Brooklyn Lager. That night we started off in Bua (and I forgot my id). Mary and Gabriel had just arrived and we had a lot of fun sitting outside Bua drinking before moving up a few doors to another pub. It was decided that we should go to a burlesque club in honour of Stephen’s last night of freedom. When we got there it turned out the club had closed and it was now a gay bar. A great night all round.
As it turned out New York was wet, very wet and neither myself or Mark were anyway prepared. I think because we left Ireland in the middle of a heat wave we were only thinking about sun.
We landed in Newark and got a Carmel Taxi to the hotel where got a quick sandwich before checking into the hotel. We got a taxi down to meet Stephen in his apartment and then went walkabout with Stephen and his mate Nick for the rest of the evening, and got soaked.
Despite the weather, it was great just hanging out and seeing a bit of the city. We got a subway (which was a first for me) and went to the new apple shop on Fifth Ave which was fantastic. We also called into FAO Schwarz to have a look at the piano that was in ‘Big’ but we got a lot more than we expected. There were life sized teddy bears of an elephant and a pony and mini cars for children that had a top speed of 15mph. There was a mini Ferrari Testarossa there that cost $50k which is a little bit crazy as a real one is probably cheaper.
We ended up in a bar called the White Horse where we stayed for a few hours before heading to another bar called Reservation. On the way we stopped for some cup cakes which were just unbelievable. Stephen told me they are called crack cakes.
We didn’t stay out to late and when we got home just hit the sack. I had a great day despite the weather and it felt great to be back in a city I haven’t seen in 7 years. It has got me thinking about how things have changed between then and now, and in what direction I am going…