[Contd. from ‘Boston and Holyoak’]

It it is not a long drive from Holyoak to Brooklyn and I made good time.  The New York Skyline always takes my breath away a little.  Even though I have spent so much time there over the years it is still a sight I enjoy.

So much happened in the 3 days I was in New York that I am not going to bore anyone by writing it all down.  I stayed with my friends Mark and Ania and stuck to the plan by sharing a bottle of Pipeworks beer with my friend Mark.  This time it the Smoked Porter.  Very Tasty

I also managed to see my friend Charlie in the studio recording one of her songs.  I took some rather nice photos if I do say so my self!

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I left NYC and headed out to Petersburg, IL to spend the 4th July with my friends there.  Little did I know that during the 2 day, 17 hour drive from New York to Central Illinois was to pick up a bug that would pretty much ruin the end of the trip for me and clear out my bank account!

I was feeling unwell when I arrived at the Galassis’ house on the 3rd July but by the 5th I could barely go 30 minutes without having to run to the toilet!  It turns out I had picked up a bacterial infection which knocked me sideways.  After 36 hours of not keeping any fluids at all in me I had become very ill and dehydrated.  Thank goodness Adam and Tom Galassi’s mum, Deb, is so lovely.  She took such great care of me and insisted I go to hospital.  It is a good job that I did as ended up sucking in 2 bags of saline through an IV drip.

What with the extra days I had to spend at the Galassi home along with the extension on the car hire it cost me the best part of $1200.  I guess I should not have forgotten to take out that travel insurance.

Anyway, despite the anticlimax to the end of my trip the rest of it was amazing.  It was so lovely to see all my old friends, some of whom I had not seen in years, and it was great to be able to share the Pipeworks beer, the product of my other friends’ hard work, with people.