The Last Night of the Road Trip

It was hard to find a place for dinner other than the ones affiliated with the hotel because this is a business district and most of the restaurants around here are open only for lunch. We finally saw some people sitting under umbrellas outside of Elephant and Castle so we ate there. My choice, shepherd's pie with sides of salad and crisp green beans, was delicious.

Tomorrow morning we will check out of this interesting old hotel and head back to South Carolina. I pray we will have a safe and uneventful journey from Washington, DC to Greenville. At least going south we won't have to stop at any toll booths and pay to drive on congested highways. I did not keep track of the amount spent for tolls but would guess it to be about $70 to $80. We have driven on bridges, through tunnels, in blinding rain, and under sunny skies. We have come in contact with people from all over the world. We have stayed with friends, relatives, and in different types of hotels and have had enough adventure. Now it is time to get back to life's usual things, work, laundry, grocery shopping, taking care of my cats and my dog. I like traveling but I like home, too.

Saturday in DC

After the trolley took us sightseeing this morning, Jacob and I got off at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. He seems to understand engines and science things and probably enjoyed it more than anything we have done here. Then we hopped back on the trolley and rode it to the Museum of Natural History where we saw interesting things such as totem poles, a stuffed elephant, and the Hope diamond. Then we caught up with Poppy, had lunch at Ollie's, which adjoins our hotel, and got on the trolley at the stop behind Ford's Theatre. We took a long hot ride around the city seeing Georgetown, Embassy Row, the National Cathedral, one big stone government building after another, Chinatown, the Potomac River, various parks and monuments and pretty trees, statues of men on horses, hotels where famous people have stayed, and homes where they live and have lived. When we got off, we got the best cold cokes we've ever had.

The Hope Diamond


In the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History


Segway users near the museum. Are they riding or driving on the sidewalks?

Around the Capital City

Today was warm with a beautiful sky.


A familiar structure


The Old Post Office


Jacob at the White House



Later: I am in bed and from my fourth floor room can hear the sensual sounds of the saxophone being played by a street musician on the opposite corner. That is something I love about a city - street music - and how the night air adds depth to the acoustics. During the day, we were walking around the White House and heard the sound of a classical guitar. It was from a guy who was about twenty feet from where an Asian woman was warning of nuclear destruction. We talked to the guitarist a bit, and here he is.

It's Friday and Washington

We got to the Harrington Hotel about one. It was built in 1914 and is in a great location between the White House and the Capitol. I was met with an unusual sight when I came into the lobby, men in black tights and fluffy mini-skirts. Were they medieval traveling troubadours? I finally had to ask. The six were engineering students at a college in Madrid and are traveling around the world wearing these getups, singing and playing stringed instruments. Next they are going to Philadelphia, one told me. I think they are called tuna or tuno. They were checking out as I was checking in and soon started to serenade the desk staff good bye. I took a few seconds of their lobby performance.

Baltimore

The third big city of the day.

Baltimore has always been a special place for me because it is the setting for my first memory. I was three and my parents and I came by train here to visit my Aunt Margaret and Uncle Marty and see my new little cousin Pat for the first time. I felt so proud as I pushed his baby carriage. I see that since that time, Baltimore has turned into a big city! In my couple of hours here, my impression is that there is a big emphasis on sports, baseball more specifically. duh... We passed the baseball and football stadiums, a chair in the lobby of the hotel is like a big baseball glove, and I am looking at a photograph of Babe Ruth here in my room.

We are in a Hampton Inn near the inner harbor of the Chesapeake Bay and across from the Orioles stadium. Besides the breakfasts and reliability of Hampton Inns, I also like the way they are decorated with photographs of the area. I pointed this out to Jacob who apparently thinks I am taking too many!

Here is an almost night time shot of the harbor.

Passing through Philly

Jacob took an early morning swim in the pool, and after his shower, we walked down 42nd Street in search of breakfast. We found some at a less than unique Starbucks, but it was what we needed. We saw how the street had changed since last night's deluge washed some of the dirt away, but still, it was packed with people from the world's four corners, all seeming in some sort of a hurry.

About noon, we left for Philadelphia. We were slowed by a bad wreck on the New Jersey turnpike, and saw the helicopter landing to pick up the injured or... But the lanes are fairly narrow and people drive too fast. About two o'clock I called Joan and said, "Guess where I am!" when I arrived in her home town. She had a few suggestions for us tourists that Jacob and I tried to get in while Raymond was at the job site, a stately and ornate old downtown bank that is being converted to an upscale restaurant.

I would say that energy distinguishes New York. Maybe architecture defines Philadelphia. City Hall is magnificent structure and there are other tall, exquisite buildings, young and old. And it seems to be a city that is quite proud of its history and famous inhabitants such as Benjamin Franklin, here with Jacob.


Raymond wanted a real Philly cheese steak sandwich from the city itself, and we followed a recommendation and went to Jim's Steaks. When we got there, we actually remembered it from a Food TV show. It was small and busy with a long line. When it was our turn, the workers seemed so pleased of their product and were happy to let me take a picture of them. Jim's was on South Street, a long revitalized, eclectic area full of interesting, colorful and odd little shops and of course restaurants.




CIty Pix




South Street

New York City

Through lots of rain, we got to the pretty decent Travel Inn on W. 42nd St about 2 pm. Its perk is free parking. Then we hoofed it up to Broadway and around. Here is a scene from Top of the Roc on this damp day.

The fire trucks seemed to stay busy today and added to the noise and excitement.

Jacob was here.
Tonight we went to see the really good revival of Gypsy at the St. James Theatre. I tried to get tickets to Mamma Mia and Wicked but I suppose we were lucky to get tickets to anything so late. I could hear thunder during the play and the heavy rainstorn was still in force when we left. We were soaked to the skin by the time we got "home."

Still here

Vivian has six adorable grandsons, the youngest being one year old identical twins with happy round faces and the cutest smiles I have ever seen. Her oldest daughter Christine - special to me - now has four great sons ages twelve to two. All the little fellows and their moms were here tonight for dinner and to see their relatives from South Carolina. What fun!

Earlier we drove out to Shrewsbury to do some shopping. The towns just sort of run into each other, Rockdale, Uxbridge. They live in Whitinsville, which I thought was a town unto itself, but here is a sign saying it is a village. I find that interesting because it is different from the way things are set up in the south, but this is New England and I suppose it may be more of an English way to organize the land and local government.

Vivian is a passionate quilter. I told her she is a folk artist and a fabric artist. She said she hadn't looked at herself that way until now. Here is one of her smaller quilts that is hanging on a wall.

At Vivian's

Relaxing in the backyard pool.

It is all about Dunkin Donuts in New England. It seems as if there is one on every corner.

July 21: Boston

Entering on the Zakim Bunker Hill bridge, the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world.

Boston Harbor.

Downtown and the clock tower.

Boston traffic.

Photographing a photographer.

In Faneuil Hall Marketplace Square.

Jacob and Paul Revere

Street musician today

Monday so far

Dennis and Cathy have lived here for over twenty years and in my infrequent visits during that time, I have always loved this white birch that is in their front yard. Now it is very tall, slender and lovely. I imagine American Indians carving canoes of these paper skinned trees, and rowing through still waters in them.

We are planning on heading to Boston Harbor, the Haymarket and around shortly after the brothers get back from their outing, which I am sure will include food. Tonight we will spend with his sister Vivian in Whitinsville. Cathy is at work. I am doing some laundry and watching Emeril.

Sunday July 20

This morning we went with Dennis and Cathy to their church, Bethany, in Greenland, NH, the first Congregational church I have ever attended. Afterward we drove to York, Maine and enjoyed a delicious brunch buffet at the appropriately named Cliff House. The biggest cliff was clearly visible out of the window, but it was hard to see the line that separated land and sea. Dennis said the warm air hitting the cold water caused a mist. Next we drove through scenic York, passing classic clapboard homes painted mostly in neutral shades with white trim, and yards edged with white picket fences, day lilies, bee balm, daisies, lupine and other tall colorful flowers. We cruised York Beach, laughed a lot in the car, and then went on to Kittery where we stopped for a little outlet shopping.

I always enjoy being with Cathy and Dennis and now apparently Jacob does, too. He said, "Do we have to leave tomorrow? I like them."

July 19. New Hampshire and Maine.

It was bumper to bumper along much of I 95 yesterday but we finally made it to Dennis and Cathy's comfy salt box house in Fremont, NH a little after midnight. We had a good night's sleep and then a hearty breakfast. Jacob who is a keen observer of human nature said Dennis and Poppy are funny together, and he decided to go off with them rather than take a trip to the Maine shore, the pretty resort town of Ogunquit, with Cathy and me.

Cathy and I found a parking space and walked down to the ocean and around before the thunderstorm forced us to head back. Here are some pix of the afternoon in Ogunquit. I hope they look like typical New England.
About six pm we all met for a seafood dinner at Newick's Lobster House in Dover, NH. Very good.

Traveling

On the road.
Then driving around the Big Apple via the Holland Tunnel and George Washington Bridge.