This entry has been written retrospectively. It's a quick summary of the holiday.

• Journey out - relaxing - I watched Hairspray and giggled like a giddy schoolgirl
• Hire car - very convenient
• Hotel - a stressful check-in, not helpful and the facilities were not as expected - turned out to be just comfortable enough - we were in Queens not Manhattan
• Transport links to Manhattan - lovely - the subway was easy and the LIRR was an alternative on one day - the car was used for travels to New Jersey
• Broadway shows - saw and loved The Drowsy Chaperone - then the stagehands went on strike, somewhat wrecking the chance to see any more Broadway shows - D'oh
• Other shows - saw some stand-up comedy, which I laughed at and was intrigued by. Also went to the Blue Note Jazz Club and saw The Count Basie Orchestra - legendary. Also saw Forbidden Broadway an off-Broadway revue, which wasn't affected by the Broadway stagehands
• Tour buses - did a day on the buses and got pissed on on the night tour - didn't seem to matter in the end
• Central Park - did a day wandering around the park and wore the feet out - got a bit pensive with all the time to contemplate my navel in
• Empire state building - check - at night - moderate visibility
• Liberty Island/Ellis Island - a day on there missing boats, but went up onto the plinth and didn't get to go any higher, something to do with terrorists and 2001
• Shopping - went into many shops, too many shoe-shops and a few malls
• Friends - managed to meet my friend's 2 year old daughter, which was nice - she spoke articulately for one so young and likes vegetables. Also managed to see my friend a second time because we were "in the neighbourhood", something that's very rare - even though "neighbourhood" really meant "state" in this instance.
• Clothing - I came back with the wherewithall not to be naked
• Family - saw my parents and had lunch in uptown - all in a day's fun in NYC - even though they live in Leeds
• Eating - committed more sins than I care to remember, even including some Golden Arches, though the original plan was not to buy food, using the toilet instead - sometimes one thing leads to another

That summary enough. It was a fun-filled week and I drove a few hundred miles on American roads with a vaguely helpful sat nav and a very very helpful low cost of fuel. I should offset it by planting something. Perhaps the seeds of doubt in my own self-esteem. Nope. Already managed that.