Sunday 13th October 2024

​Hello friends and family
Dan and I had an epic ornithological odyssey to the USA. The sun shone every day, and I even got a suntan in New York.

​We took a 12-hour flight to LA and then an Uber to Anaheim where we stayed on the 8th floor of a flash hotel, overlooking the swimming pool, (we did have a swim,) and palm trees.

​We went to Disneyland for 2 days. My goal was to ride on a roller coaster and the one at Disneyland is the 6th biggest in the world – no point in starting off small! We had a great time there, went back on the second night to watch the fireworks – probably not a good plan as I got quite crook.

The roller coaster we went on

​The next day we were on the train to San Diego. Dan was a bit sceptical but that dissipated on arrival. By this time, he would get up in the morning, go out for a run and bring me back a coffee. How kind!  (a survival strategy!) I found drugs for my cold and was fine very quickly.

A happy African penguin at San Diego Zoo.

​On the first day, we went to the famous San Diego Zoo. There we were looked after by Grace, a true penguin person, who showed us around, including her current work, which is bird propagation. What skill, incubating and raising birds from all families.

6 species of penguins live in this freezer, Emperors, Adelies, Chin strapped, Gentoos, Macaronis and Kings

​For the next 2 days we went to SeaWorld where we got to hang out with 8 different species of penguins and enjoy the marine mammal shows. Dan is now a convert to the wonders of San Diego, not including the Festival of the Dead which is happening now.

Orca center stage

Our flight to New York was cancelled. We were transferred to a flight the next morning and got to fly over about 12 states of the USA and get an appreciation of the geography of the country. I have now seen the Mississippi river!

The Statue of Liberty

​By the time we arrived in New York, we were up for the subway and did not use Uber at all. On the first morning we went up the World Trade Centre, the 9th tallest building in the world, and took in the panoramic views. We spent the afternoon discovering Manhattan and, in the evening, went to Times Square because we could!

The Polish community parade. There were parades both days we were in Manhattan

​The next day we walked the Skyline, then explored Central Park (including having a hotdog from a street vendor.). By now we were taking the subway to save our feet. We walked over 100km on this holiday. In the evening, we went to a Broadway show – The Book of Mormon.

We went to the top of the World Trade Centre - the one with the tower on top.

​Next morning, we caught the bus to Ithaca. Ithaca is the home of Cornell University, ranked 20th in the world, it is a centre of excellence for bird knowledge. It is also home to Jill, who looked after us with great empathy. We met with professors and vets, seeking ideas about how we can best manage bird ‘flu.

There were Squirrels throughout New York state

​After a few days there, we caught an early morning flight to JFK airport in New York. That gave us a day to explore the neighbourhood and dip our toes into the Atlantic Ocean. At 10pm we departed JFK for Auckland, a 17-hour flight. It was easier than I expected so was very comfortable flying on to Dunedin and then driving home.

Upstate New York was cloaked in autumn

​I learned a lot about modern travel. Practically everything can be managed with a smart phone, which Dan did for us, so I had a cruisy time. PayWave in the USA is a thing, everywhere. I decided to be cheap and not get an eSim card for my phone. I will not do that again.

We saw Chipmunks in Ithaca

In the meantime, the team withstood a one in 100-year storm event and cared for our penguins with great skill. The penguins are now incubating eggs.
Have a great week!
Rosalie