We were really looking forward to a true North American Christmas and obvioulsy this meant that it had to be a white Christmas. The blizzard ensured that we had a White Christmas and as we drove over the top of the Catskill Mountains we saw some of the most beautiful scenery, with a light dusting of snow on the branches of the trees (now devoid of leaves). It was just like a Christmas card picture.
We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Oneonta, which was very nice. When we arrived there were messages from Val and Chris welcoming us and after we settled in we set off to Stamford for dinner. Chris’s house was beautifully decorated, Fritz had done a great job with the lights and Chris had obviously spent days decorating the interior. It was everything we had hoped for. That night we all went off to the Christmas church service and Liam and Rosie sang their hearts out to all the carols that punctuated the service. It was a lovely experience. Back to the house for coffee and then back to our hotel to prepare for Christmas Day.
Liam was concerned that Santa wouldn’t find us, but the next morning Santa had been and even left a small Christmas tree. All was right in the world, Christmas was as it should be in Liam’s eyes.
We drove in to Stamford for the opening of the presents and were greated by some very festive people. We had Ross and Val and Luke and Fiona (5 months pregnant) visiting, as well as Val’s brother John.
The opening of the Christmas stockings was followed by the rest of the presents. This process was all very structured and followed a tradition that had gone on for many years. We all found the Fritz’s present was the most interesting and well and truly symbolised that we were having a North American experience.
After the giving of the presents we sat down to a great breakfast with lots of interesting foods that we don’t normally have. The sausage and fruit bowl was very different. The quiches were great. We opened our bon bons for breakfast (a carry over from Australia)
Rosie, Bruce and Liam then had to complete our snowmen for Chris to put on her wall. These are put up each Christmas to remind everyone of the different guests who had spent a Christmas in Stamford.
The boys all then went out to burn off a bit of energy by sledding in a big inner tube down a few of the nearby hills. Liam naturally loved being included with the big boys and had a great time. As you can see Rosie and Bruce joined in for a short time, but we left it up to the boys to have their fun.
They attached a rope to a fence and then swung around from the top to the end of the rope. This had the effect of keeping the tube away from obstacles while at the same time making it very easy to pull the tube back up to the top for the next person.
We sat down to a huge evening meal and then played a couple of games to round off the evening. It was a huge day which ended abruptly when we started to have icy freezing rain which meant that we had to get back to the hotel quickly while we still could. As it turned out, we followed a snow plough all the way back to Oneonta, which meant that we were quite safe.
On Boxing Day we had a nice relaxing swim in the pool and relaxed in the nice warm spa. Lunch was at Brook’s Smoke House, which is an institution that Val cannot resist.
Another swim in the afternoon before going into Stamford for a final meal and our farewells. We had a great Christmas and one that Liam will remember for the rest of his life. Snow, sledding and great friends, what more could you want.
The drive back to Mississauga was uneventful, and we arrived safely home mid afternoon and are now getting a few things organised so that we will be ready for the trip home in a month.
