New York, New York

Since Daeng wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and I wanted to give her a good taste of New York City, I called the New York Marriott Marquis right at Time Square and made arrangements for a nice room facing Time Square.

The trip to the city was easy using the new GPS we had purchased in California. I was even starting to trust it's directions.

Well, through the Lincoln Tunnel and we were right there at the Hertz car return. Returned the car, complained about a three dollar a day extra insurance charge and got a $30 credit slip on next rental.

Taxi to hotel with bags and hot shower to relax. If we had not had the bags we would have just walked the couple of blocks to hotel.

The hotel is right on Time Square and Daeng could look out the window an see it.

We walked around and eat, took some pictures and called it a night. Statue of liberty in the morning.

Saturday morning, breakfast on Broadway, sub-way to South Ferry, walk to Statue of Liberty boat.

It was well worth the trip. I had seen the Statue from the Staten Island Ferry but it is worth visiting.

Back to the city, visit the largest toy store in the world, more pictures and just having fun.

More food and turn in for the night.

Sunday morning, St. Patrick Cathedral and breakfast at

Radio City.

It started to clear up and Deang said that even though she is afraid of heights she would go to the Empire State Building. I was very surprised but said okay, let's go.

Dinner at Yum Yum's Thai Restaurant on 46th Street and 9th Avenue.

It was a busy day!

Monday morning, pack, breakfast at a little restaurant on 9th Avenue, check out of hotel and shuttle to JTK for the trip back to California.

We had a wonderful trip to the East Coast of the good old USA.

Wednesday it's onward to Thailand.

Stuffed at PS Resturant

We left Niagara Falls around 9:00 AM and headed to sister and brother Sylvana and Rick's home in Endicott, New York.

On the way we stopped at this huge stove showroom. They had every kind of stove you can think of, stoves that burn corn or coal. I told them I was looking for a stove to burn elephant dung. They laughed but it is a pretty good idea here in Thailand.

We got to Sylvana and Rick's home around 2:30 PM. Rick had gone to the restaurant already but Sylvana was still home.

The restaurant is named P. S. RESTAURANT. CLICK HERE for website.

Now, as you can see in the menu, click here for menu, they serve Thai food. Rick invited us to come try out his Thai cooking.

We rested for a few hours and then went to P. S. Restaurant for dinner. Well, Rick started us out with a little special treat to cleanse our taste buds, then scallops in a sweet chili sauce. After that it was Tom Ka Gai, a coconut soup, then spicy green salad, Phad Thai and two types of fish, Pla Laad Prig and Pla Jien.

All the food was delicious but we had to have some of it packed to go as we just could not eat anymore. Rick and Sylvana stuffed us. We did manage to eat one Creme Brulee as it is one of Rick's specialities.

Now, we had to drive back to the house and try to sleep without rolling over.

We got up late, around 9:00 PM, ate with Sylvana and went to visit folks on our bucket list. (Bucket List is a list of things that you want to do before you die.) We had a nice day visiting our family and friends. We took it pretty easy as we were still recovering from all the food Rick fixed for us the night before.

It is Thursday and we spent most of the day with Rick and Sylvana. We had lunch at a little place named WHEELS in Apalachin, NY. Apalachin was the place the "Apalachin Gangland Convention" took place. I knew the Barbara's and they were a very nice family. Myself, I think they were just a bunch of old friends getting together for a barbecue.

It was a nice estate up on the hill in Apalachin and I have been in the home many times.

We ate dinner at P. S. Restaurant again but this time we ate wisely without getting stuffed.

Friday morning we started our trip to New York as Daeng wants to visit the Statue of Liberty. Sylvana, Daeng and I stopped at Joel, my Step-Father's grave site. Joel was very good to me over the years and was very formulating in my life.

The engraving on the his headstone says it very clearly.

North to Brother's Home & Niagara Falls

We left our sister's home outside Norwich, NY and drove to our brother Steve and Karen's home in Auburn, NY. Their home is in the country but on a main road.

Brother Steve is a collector of old radios and radio repair parts. He sells old vacuum tubes and old antique radios on the Internet for a hobby. As you can see in the picture of his "Man Cave" as Karen, his wife, states.

I think my brother is an electrical genius and has been since he was a kid.

We walked around his property and Daeng liked the swing in the old Walnut tree.

We visited with for a while at heir home and then took a little ride to Skaneateles and Skaneateles Lake.

We ate at the Sherwood Inn and took a little walk around the north end of the lake. It was a beautiful day.

Great food and it was nice to have Steve and Karen meet Daeng.

Well, Daeng wanted to do two things on this trip. The first was to see Niagara Falls so we said good-bye and drove to the falls. It took about three hours and was dark when we arrived. We checked into the DAYS INN at the falls and called it a night.

We got up around 8:30 AM and walked over to the falls. It is a National Park soyou can walk right up to the falls. We did buy a special set of tickets to go on "Maid of the Mist", boat that go right up to the falls.

That ride is pretty spectacular. You get wet and the roar is so loud that you can't hear each other talking.

We did not bring our passports so we had to stay on the America side of the falls but the boat did go right up to the Canada Horseshoe Falls.

I had seen the falls many times crossing over the bridge but to be that close this mighty power was awesome.

We spent six hours at the falls and agreed to go back to the hotel and dry out.

Tomorrow it is onward to our sister and brother, Sylvana and Rick's home.

Trip to Hershey & Top of Mountain

We had a nice breakfast with our friends, the Kanes in Pennsylvania, and headed up route 81 through central Pennsylvania. We decided to stop at Hershey, PA to see the world famous chocolate factory.

Unfortunately we could not go through "Chocolate World" as it was closed for the day because they were working on the electricity.

We did spend a few hours visiting the chocolate museum learning all about this famous chocolate.

After eating all the chocolate we could we putting the rest in the car we headed north to our sister Suzanne and Scott's home on top of the mountain near Norwich, New York.

We decided we were having to much fun so we spent the night in a little motel near Binghamton, NY. For dinner we made a little trip to 'Sharkey's" and eat steamed clams and speedies. A speedie is made with marinated meat, of any kind, broiled on a stick and served on a piece of Italian bread.

We slept in until 10:00 PM and headed the rest of the way to Norwich, NY. If you look over Daeng's right shoulder you can see their home up the hill.

The sun was shining and the temperature was around 74 degrees during the day on this Saturday. We arrived as their home around 2:00 PM and had fun playing with the dwarfed donkeys,

riding the 4 wheeler and just being together.

We watched deer run down the hill beside their home to the pond that Scott had built just below their home.

We had a great dinner together and slept like babies.

In the morning is was cold, 31 degrees F, with frost on the ground.

We had breakfast looking over the hills and packed up to visit my brother on the way to Niagara Falls.

It was great to see our sister and family, again!

Trip to East Coast, Amish Friends & Pigs

The Red Eye to New York, renting a car at JFK and the drive to our friends, Don and Lorrie Kane in Pennsylvania, was good.

My mind still thinks I am a youngster of maybe 25 but my body say "No, no, no, you are older and must rest more!"

So, Lorrie suggested nap time until Don got back home from a trade show that he was working in Maryland.

We had a great dinner and turned in early as we had made a date to visit Susann, Sam and Nancy Kinsinger in Gordenville, PA the next morning. It is about a 45 minute drive to Susann's home from the Kane's home.

We slept well, got up around 7:00 PM and had a nice breakfast with Don and Lorrie, then off to Amish country.

We feel privileged to visit the Kinsingers as they always welcome us into their home even though we're not Amish. The reason we're welcomed is my Mother provided transportation for Andrew Kinsinger, their Father, for about nine years.

Before he passed, Andrew was the spokesman for the Old Order of the Amish to the rest of the world.

We met Susann at the print shop. This print shop prints many of the books that are used in the Amish schools. The printing presses run without electricity. They are power by hydraulics.

We spent some time at Susann's home bringing each other up to date as we had not seen each other in several years.

We then went over to Sam and Nancy's home to pick them up. We took a little tour of the deer raising property and finally found the peacock that we had sent them last winter.

Sending them a peacock was a fun event last winter. After reading Susann's Christmas News letter, that came in her hand made Christmas card, telling us that Sam's peacock was run over in the road I got an idea.

I went on the Internet and found a peacock breeder in Pennsylvania that had a male India Peacock. We shipped it by mail and they were very surprised.

Sam's hog farm has about 4,000 pigs. That is a lot of bacon! When I ask him how many pigs does he have he always jokes by saying he has 400 sows and pigs. When it is spoken it sounds like four hundred thousand pigs. We always laugh together about it.

We had lunch at a local restaurant and talked about the price of pork and what the swine flu, along with the economy, had done to the pork farmers and the price of pork.

We also talked about the new law in California regarding how the pigs are penned. They must be able to stand up and turn around. Sam said that is a good thing as the pigs do better that way except right before and after they give birth. During that time they need to be held stationary so the piglets are not crushed by the sow.

The swine flu did not come from pigs but a few people that worked at hog farms came down with this flu. Then a few more of the workers got sick and everyone started talking about how the pigs caused it.

If you would like more information regarding the swine flu just CLICK HERE.

We said good-bye and hoped to see them again soon.

Every time I visit the Amish I realize the the simpler way is the best way.

We drove back to our friends and had nice evening together.

Tomorrow we are on our way to visit my sister and family on top of the mountain in upstate New York.

Bob Frady to Produce Comedy Show

Bob Frady is now the producer of the "thrift store" aka "Good news, Bad News" and "Comedy in Recovery" comedy show.

Bob has been in and around the comedy making for many years and has himself performed at many of the large venues like the COMEDY STORE, IMPROV & LAUGH FACTORY.

For more information about this ongoing show just visit www.FunnyPlumber.com and click on "thrift store" page.

You can also contact Bob at ChangesComedy@yahoo.com.

Another Funny Friday Night

Being exhausted from working for the last 13 days without a day off due to the high temperatures here in Sunny Southern California, I dragged myself to the old "thrift store" comedy show.

I had gotten an email earlier in the day that the scheduled emcee was not going to make it. What the hell, I'll just emcee the show as it's ALL GIRLS NIGHT with some really funny ladies.

At show time, 9:30 PM, none of the comediennes were at the show yet. We waited until about 9:40 PM and said to myself: "Start the show by yourself. You can do 30 minutes just talking about your life."

I opened the show telling everyone what funny ladies were on their way, just stuck in LA traffic. I then started talking about my life beginning with conception. Yes, I remember it well. March 27th, 1941 in the Syracuse Hotel in Syracuse, New York.
It was a warm, dark, wet day. My Mother says it was chilly but the sun was shining. It was pretty dark, hot and moist where I was.

In the next 20 minutes I got up to my age eight when Debbie Lockhart, Janine Hayes and Jan Davidson came in.

Debbie took over the mic and got the audience really laughing with her hand shadow puppets and her kick ass way of talking with the audience.

Jan Davidson took the place over with her funny wit.

Then, my friend, Janine Hayes, kept the place in laughter until Grace Fraga took over and added even more laughter.

I am really lucky to have funny friends that so freely give of themselves to make other people laugh.

Thank you to everyone that makes this show such a great place to unwind and laugh.

Check out our show web page "Thrift Store" at http://www.funnyplumber.com/.