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<\/a>So \u2013 before I logoff for the move \u2013 I thought it might be nice to remember a few of the highlights of the last two years.Our first weeks in the USA were marked by a storm that dumped 20 inches of snow on New York on Boxing Day 2010.<\/p>\n I come from Queensland, Australia. There was not a lot of snow in my childhood. And although London gets the occasional dusting, this was the first time I had to live for weeks with inches of snow. It was beautiful. It was cold and wet\u2026 and after a while it was ditty and mushy. But \u2013 in those first days of snowfall, NYC was as beautiful as it ever could be.<\/p>\n The USA is a huge place, and while it seems I have travelled a lot in the past couple of years, I have seen only a fraction of the country. But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed what I saw. The diversity of the country is quite amazing.<\/p>\n I am really impressed by the number of Americans who travel through their county’s fabulous national parks \u2013 and the deep connection they have with these places. So many people came to talk to us and offer suggestions of places to go and things to see and do. Over and over again, I heard the pride in their voices.<\/p>\n New York City itself is a remarkable place. I found myself loving and hating it \u2013 occasionally both at the same time. Even after two years, the architecture still blows me away. A subtle change in light can throw a familiar street into a totally different perspective\u2026 and I see things I have walked past a dozen times without noticing.<\/p>\n OK \u2013 I love the shopping \u2013 the number of boxes and suitcases I am bringing back to the UK is testimony to that.<\/p>\n Webmaster John and I are both big music fans \u2013 and the live music we saw remains one of the highlights of the trip. There was Roger Waters doing The Wall at Madison Square Garden. And equally exciting was seeing the legendary Pete Seeger playing with a group of kids on the banks of the Hudson River. And it wasn’t just about the big names. We joined and became the sound desk operators for The Peoples’ Voice… a small folk music club that plays in a church basement in the shadow of the Empire State Building. Places like this are the beating heart of music \u2013 where people sing and play for the love of what they do.<\/p>\n \nNew York City has so much \u2013 but personally, I fell in love with upstate New York \u2013 from the fabulous Hudson River to Niagara Falls. We went to vineyards and fibre festivals. We went apple picking and leaf watching. Upstate New York was the place we went to slow down and little and breathe,<\/p>\n Our two years in the Big Apple (except nobody here calls it that) ended as it began. With a storm. Superstorm Sandy pounded New York and New Jersey a couple of weeks ago, causing shocking damage.<\/p>\n We were among the lucky ones and escaped unscathed. The days after the storm will remain one of my most enduring memories of the city. The resilience of the city and its people was beyond words. Despite the loss of power and gas and transport \u2013 people kept on with their lives. With the subways flooded, they queued for hours for buses. Restaurants opened their doors, even if they didn’t have much food to offer. Other places lit candles and provided warmth and makeshift entertainment for people without power in their homes. Supermarkets stayed open \u2013 even when there was very little left on the shelves. The flooded subways were pumped free of water \u2013 and some were running within a couple of days. Businesses reopened. The worst hit areas are still being cleaned up \u2013 but the taxis horns are loud outside my window, the construction crews are working and the sidewalks are full of people planning their holiday season.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>\n
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