New York to Orlando

Flight from UK delayed 2 hours due to the entertainment system not working - god forgive we couldn't entertain ourselves for 7.5hrs! Arrived evening in NY with the boys' not having slept on the plane so they were shattered. Hotel just off Time Square so after hitting a deli we hit the sack at 7pm local time. Oscar then woke at 3am! So he and I went for a stroll around Time Square to see the last (or the first) of the revellers. NYPD took an interest in us - not a sight you see in NY at that time of day. Offered us the opportunity to ride in the car with the siren on but Oscar was less than impressed with going off with New Yorks' finest.
Once Seba and Marie awoke we headed off and found an all night deli for breakfast and then headed down to Battery Square to see the Statue of Liberty in the mist. The tourist map suggested you could then get to the Empire State in a few blocks but as we headed up past Wall Street in the middle of rush hour we figured that wasn't going to happen - especially as both boys' refused to walk - another sight for the City workers!
The Empire State was truly awesome at 9.30 on a clear morning - the full splendor of NY was taken in and even Sebastian was suitably impressed. Oscar tried to climb over the 6ft tall railings and then disappeared around the Observatory tour - but the 20mins trip was uneventful!
Ground Zero - having seen the Twin towers pre 9/11 the area left seemed somewhat under-whelming. New Yorkers are visibly more security conscious but there was none of the "we shall not be moved" flag waving sites we were expecting. If you hear an alarm you can see the nearby pedastrians all instinctively turn to see what's happening - a consequence of that fateful day. Work has started on the foundations but there is nothing to suggest they're moving quickly - local v national politics.

Later that day, caught the flight from Newark to Orlando - sat next to an ex-Forces Sandhurst graduate who was on his way to Florida to complete his final commercial flight exams. Asked me if I'd ever been in the Forces! I replied, "Ireland actually, a shot at the mick and all that". Marie sat next to a guy who just been on a syndicated / crappier version of Judge Judy - he had an Old Testament bible on his lap - you get the picture.