Boxing Day 2022

Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated the day after Christmas Day.

Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday, sort of our Black Friday. 

Many people wait until then to buy their Christmas presents***.

It originated in Great Britain and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously formed part of the British Empire.

But there is more to the day than shopping.
There is Boxing Day Test match which is a cricket match held in Melbourne, Victoria, involving the Australian cricket team and an opposing national team that is touring Australia during the southern summer, this year, the South African Proteas*.

It is an annual event and is played at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG).
It’s a must watch on TV for all cricket fans who are unable to make it in person.

And there is the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales, down the east coast and across the notorious Bass Strait and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles (1,170 km).
It is widely considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world.

This event has grown over the decades, since the inaugural race in 1945, to become one of the top three offshore yacht races in the world, and it now attracts maxi yachts from all around the globe.

The prize is The George Adams Tattersall Cup, awarded to the ultimate winner of the handicap competition based on the length, shape, weight and sail dimensions of the yacht. Much public attention however, focuses on the race for "line honours" – the first boat across the finishing line, typically the newest and largest Maxi yacht in the fleet.
The start in Sydney Harbour and the initial part race through Sydney Heads and the turn south is very spectacular and covered by multiple TV cameras on shore, on spectator craft, on the boats themselves and from the air.
Even for non sailing fans it’s worth an hour or so viewing**.

It’s also the day a lot of city folk escape suburbia and head for, usually, their favourite coastal destination to start their summer holidays.

The population in our area increases fourfold until the end of January.

Traffic jams on major highways are the name of the game and journey times can be double the normal.

As a result of the influx of tourists our roads are clogged and beaches crowded.

Not our favourite time of the year.

But they bring their money with them which is good for local businesses. And after 2 years of covid disruption, they need it.

UPDATE: 30/12/22

*Australia beat South Africa by an innings and 182 runs with a day to spare and take a 2-0 lead the 3 match series.

** Andoo Comanche has won line honours in the 77th edition of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

The 100-foot yacht crossed the River Derwent finish line just before 1am on Wednesday 28/12 (AEDT) with a time of one day, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds.

 Celestial has been crowned the overall winner of the 2022 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, winning in an adjusted time of 2 days, 16 hours, 35 minutes and 26 seconds just a year after being stripped of top spot following a time penalty. The TP52 yacht from Sydney was the 14th to arrive in Hobart just before 11.30am on Wednesday.

***AAP is reporting Australians have spent a record $75bn in the lead-up to Christmas but the spending frenzy didn’t stop there.
The Australian Retailers Association also recorded unprecedented growth on Boxing Day with the $1.2bn spend equating to 15% more than last year.

2022 was the biggest festive season spending on record.

Christmas Day 2022

Christmas Day dawned overcast but it soon burnt off to a sunny cloudless day.

Summer finally seems to be here.

We had our traditional pancake breakfast and began to prepare our lunchtime feast.

It was much simpler than previous years.

Smoked salmon with capers as entree (starter).

BBQ Filet Mignon with steamed asparagus and Parmesan for main,

Cheesecake and berries for the co driver; plum pudding and custard for me.

We had selected three bottles of wine.

A cheapish champagne which was surprisingly good, a French rosé from Provence which was pretty awful (tipped out) and a wonderful ten year old Sangiovese from Pikes.

Another successful day.

Christmas Greetings 2022

Christmas Crackers

Christmas crackers have always been part of my celebrations on the day, mainly during the lunch.
The co driver wasn’t aware of these when she arrived in Australia. They are apparently unknown in the USA.
But she embraced their use from the start so every year we buy them early because they disappear quickly off the supermarket shelves.
They come in various ‘grades’ and prices depending on the contents.
This year we went for the luxury ones, not that that means much as you’ll find out reading on.
There is a traditional way of using them.
First off, each of the two participants grab each end of the cracker.
Then they pull.
A small ‘explosion’ results.

One of the participants then ends up with the bulky end of the cracker.
Inside there is a ‘gift’, a coloured paper hat and a crap dad joke question on a piece of paper.
Everyone usually oooohs and ahhhhs over the ‘gift’ which are normally pretty useless no matter what you paid and are eventually thrown away. The paper hat must then be worn and the CDJ read out.
Depending on the amount of alcohol previously consumed, these can be uproariously funny.
All very hokey but very good fun.
According to an article in our local paper (which is very amusing) origins of cracker-pulling came in 1847, invented by a guy, Tom Smith, who made bon-bon sweets. When sales started to slump, he decided to create bon-bon shaped gifts instead - with the classic “crack” element and placing trinkets inside. History says adding the party popper strip was inspired by the crackle of a log on fire. It’s also possible he was a bored small business owner and decided to play with explosives.
Either way, nice one Mr.Smith.

Another Trip to the USA / The Trip Home

It was a slow 90 minute drive from Jersey City to JFK in the late afternoon.

The peak hour traffic was horrendous. I am glad we allowed ample time.

Check in with Air New Zealand was also slow but security reasonably quick albeit a little chaotic.

Lots of yelling and barking of orders. But that's the TSA for you. Water off a duck’s back.

After all that we needed a pre boarding drink.

Two 330mL bottles of beer and a packet of chips at an airport bar…..$US25! 

100% ripoff!

Our flight had arrived into JFK from Auckland an hour late so our departure was similarly delayed.

But as with the trip over, service and food were good once we were underway and I again scored 2 vacant seats beside me so was able to stretch out catch up on some sleep.

We had only 1.5 hours transit time in Auckland to get our flight back to Sydney so, with the delayed departure, was sure we would miss that.

But the purser came around about 2 hours out and said there were many Sydney bound passengers on our trans Pacific flight so they would be holding the Auckland-Sydney flight for us.

As it was, we made up time and landed only a few minutes late.

After a painfully slow moving line through international security at AKL (unprepared paxs’ fault, not the system) we arrived at the departure gate just as they started boarding.

Incident free trip across the Tasman, quick (fully automated) immigration procedure into Australia, slight delay with baggage for USA originating pax, unhindered passage through customs and into our car.

The 3 hour drive home was not too bad, considering the time we’d already been travelling, and we stopped for a BLAT sandwich and coffee at our usual haunt in Berry for lunch to break up the journey.

Jet lag clicked in that evening and stayed with us for around 5 or 6 days which is a little longer than normal.

But it was all well worth it.

Catching up with family and friends after such a long period apart was great.

And we’ll probably do it all again next year.

Another Trip to the USA / The Jersey City (New York) Family Part 4

Sunday saw us back in Manhattan for a deli lunch pastrami sandwich, a bucket list item, at Pastrami Queen.

The touristy Katz’s of When Harry Met Sally fame was deliberately given a miss due to the chronic long lines. I thought the sandwich at PQ was just as good as at the other place where we had eaten before plus it wasn’t so manic.

Then, after a short walk through Central Park for more autumn colour and a subway ride, it was up to the Top of the Rock, 70 floors up on the Rockefeller building.

We had got a bit of a handle on subway navigation again this trip but the larger stations can be a little confusing, especially at weekends, when line maintenance can totally upend timetables.

Always good to have a subway expert with us ie. the daughter.

Top of the Rock’s three levels of indoor and outdoor observation decks deliver spectacular, unobstructed 360 degree views of the city skyline. The terraces face east, west, north, and south, making it one the best observation decks in NYC.

Having an Express Pass for immediate entry at any time on the day plus priority elevator access, was a worthwhile bonus.

Dinner was in Jersey City at Hamilton Pork

Great BBQ and margaritas (and tequila shots for some).

Monday was our last day in the USA.

There was a final walk around the waterfront of Jersey City after breakfast and a relaxed afternoon waiting for our car and the trip to the airport.

Five weeks away from home and it had passed so quickly. 

Thankfully I had made a mistake with airline booking dates, adding an extra week!

We had done and seen so much so the added time turned out not to be such a mistake after all.

Thanks to both families for their hospitality and time taken out of their busy lives to look after us.

Another Trip to the USA / The Jersey City (New York) Family Part 3

Friday was a full on day!

An early ferry across the river from Jersey City to Manhattan to catch a boat for a cruise up the Hudson River to Cold Spring with beautiful autumn foliage on both banks on the way.

We’d been to Cold Spring before and liked it a lot.

We had lunch (with a bottle of Pinot Noir) at Hudson Hil’s Cafe  which, again, didn’t disappoint and did some shopping at some of the many stores along the main street.

Then, after a sit at the waterfront, it was on the train back to New York City where we stopped for a few oysters and a glass of wine at the iconic Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station, then supper at the best taco place in NYC, Los Tacos #1.

Phew!

A really great day.

Saturday we were on our traditional NYC excursion, the Staten Island ferry, one of the best free rides in the world. There was not much of a crowd, the weather was good for pics, the Statue of Liberty shone and boarding the return journey went without problems. But you have to be quick to avoid having to wait for the next one. All part of the fun.

After that, we walked around the Financial District taking in the iconic buildings eg. The NewYork Stock Exchange and the not so iconic.

The co driver dropped into Tiffany & Co, came out empty handed, thought about things, went back in and returned with a purchase.

Then it was onto one of our faves, Luke’s, for a delicious lunch. I had the trio: lobster, crab and shrimp rolls. Lobster wins over the crab but only just. The shrimp was a distant last.

Saturday night the SIL, Nick, and I headed for a hockey game in Long Island, the daughter and the co driver to dinner and a piano concert in Williamsburg.

It was a long slow drive to the new stadium, UBS Arena, but 100% worth it.

First ice hockey game I’d been to and I was hooked.

Hotdogs and beer were a bonus!

Apart from the usual razzmatazz you’d expect at an American sporting event, the game itself was very exciting. The skill of the players is exceptional.

‘Our’ team, the Islanders, came from behind to win. The noise when they won in this most amazing stadium surely tested the integrity of the roofing structure.

Thanks to Nick for putting up with my dumb questions about the game and calmly helping resolve a lost property problem I had on arrival at the facility.

Our exposure to NHL hockey at home is limited. We get one or two live games a week on a streaming service and Islanders games are very limited.

But I’ll keep up with the news on their website and hopefully see them in the Stanley Cup finals.

Another Trip to the USA / The Jersey City (New York) Family Part 2

The walk from the apartment building along the Jersey City waterfront to the PATH station for the train trip into Manhattan has pretty spectacular views of the New York City skyline

The destination station is under the Oculus which never fails to impress.

This day’s activity was a visit to Central Park.

It was good to have a guide who knows the park well.

The autumn colours were fantastic.

Dinner was at the Wuerstbar in Jersey City.
Great food and a nice equivalent of the Koeln (Cologne) beer Koelsch.

Next day was a quieter one.

We did the walk from Jersey City to Hoboken along the Hudson River waterfront where the beautiful railway station interior was a highlight.

Another Trip to the USA / The Jersey City (New York) Family Part 1

With my time over in South Dakota, I moved on to Jersey City, NJ, to catch up with the daughter, her husband and puppy after almost a three year absence due to Covid.

One last prairie sunrise after a great meal at Morries the night before on our traditional date night there with the co driver and onto United flights to Newark via Denver, one and half hours the ‘wrong’ way but, hey, you go with the flow.

And did you know if you are 75+ you don’t have to take your shoes or jacket off at TSA check points.  

All flights were on time, no hassles with the connection or lost/delayed baggage. Even time for brekky in DEN at Shake Shack which was just ok.

The daughter’s apartment is in a very tall prominent 52 storey building quite close to the Hudson River. There is a glimpse of the New York skyline from their living room window. The building has everything that opens and shuts for good living, just like a resort hotel, including a ground floor cafe with excellent coffee.

Our New York adventure began with a visit to the American Museum of Natural History. Huge lines to get in at the opening time but 30 minutes later we were in the North West Coast Hall.

It was virtually empty.

It is organised into a series of alcoves focused on the material culture of 10 Native Nations of the Pacific Northwest. The gallery presents more than 1,000 restored cultural treasures enlivened with new interpretation developed with Consulting Curators from the Coast Salish, Gitxsan, Haida, Haíltzaqv, Kwakwakaw'akw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Nuxalk, Tlingit, and Tsimshian communities.

Wonderful!

We looked through some other halls and ended up with ‘the whale’.

Most, particularly the Hall of Biodiversity, were very interesting.

Sensory overload took over at the museum after a few hours so it was time for lunch.

We made a selection of healthy goodies from the vast range at Zabars before heading home.

This is a biggest deli I have been to. A festival of culinary delights.

A very good day.