East coast USA: Washington DC - New York City
19 - 23 October 2017
19 20 October - Washington DC
We now left the scenic west & the musical south and arrived at the serious/cultured east. This is going to be a frenetic pace now till we leave the USA.
First stop is Arlington National cemetry in Virginia, across the river from Washington DC though we started with a drive around the National Mall, past the Lincoln Memorial and reflecting pool, White House, Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, Capitol and the many Smithsonian museums; then through trendy Georgetown.
We eventually parked then walked the full length of the National Mall from The Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial as night fell. It is a very impressive area, as are the edifices.
We spent the night roadside in a poor, black residential suburb then caught the bus in for an early Capitol tour. It was very impressive as the architecture is magnificent as well as the artworks & furnishings. We especially liked the french influence on the architecture near the Capitol. It is thanks to frenchman Major L'Enfant who beside being an officer during the War of Independance, was also an engineer who designed the city.
Onwards to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. Stagger me!!!! It is vast, amazing & totally enthralling. This place seems to have everything noteworthy in that field. The moon lander (made of cellophane & gaffer), every US combat aircraft and US, Russian & German planes & rockets, the earliest planes (Kittyhawk), Mars buggy, copy of Spacelab, modern drones.
Robbie wanted another look at the Lincoln memorial in daylight but we missed out on the new African American museum as it is booked out every day. We returned to the van for the night by bus as we had used public buses to get around town. Both the bus driver and a couple of passengers asked if we were on the right bus as white people were not normally seen there.
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| The Capitol building in DC | View across the Potomac to Washington DC | Arlington cemetry with Robert E Lee's house on the hill |
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| Lincold memorial and Capitol inside & out | More Capitol interior | Moon lander & Russian rocket at the Smithsonian |
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| Rockets & John Glenn's Mercury capsule | Copy of Spacelab | The Smith brothers' Kittyhawk |
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22 - 23 October - New York City
Started early to beat the traffic having a long drive to NYC as we went via Lancaster county in Pennsylvania - Armish country.
We eventually arrived at Statton Island ferry terminal and found a parking space nearby. This would be our overnight stop. We have very limited time in the city.before we fly home so after a flurry of preparation we walked to the ferry and were on Manhattan Island in 45 minutes. Too easy!
Decided to walk from the ferry (Battery Park) so we traversed Wall St on the way to the 911 memorial. The memorial is amazing. It is on a grand scale and centred on what appears to be a bottomless pit where the lake water disappears.
We wanted to go to Times Square so as traffic was light we wrongly decided to catch a bus uptown. It was 45 minutes before one appeared then we got caught in traffic after a few blocks. That cost us an irreplaceable hour so we only used the underground after that. We eventually arrived in Times Square - crowded and magical. However we found that Broadway ticket prices were astronomical even for those few (unattractive) shows with seats available. We settled for Percys Pizza which was highly recommended but wasn't as good as Mimmos.
We finished up at Washington Sq - beautifully lit and chockers wih people getting out of their shoebox apartments. Met a few nice locals but eventually caught the underground homewards but it wasn't straight forward. As Robbie boarded the train, I stepped back to check we were on the right one & 3 seconds later looked back to see the door closing with Robbie inside. What a gut wrenching feeling - separated in a totally alien city within hours of arrival. I wasn't sure whether she knew how to get to the ferry from the station so caught the next train, which wasn't an express like hers. I got to Battery Point and couldn't see her at the station so returned to the station where we separated to find a very relieved wife waiting. What a reunion. It was a cakewalk after that with a fairytale ferry trip to finish.
A month earler we'd been told that the most luxurious broadway theatre was now operating as a church which was founded by David Wilkinson. A benefactor had bought the building & refurbished it for him as thanks for his life change wrought by Wilkinson's leading him to Jesus. So next morning after a ferry and underground ride to Times Sq we attended the church. Great service in a beautiful building. As we left one of the congregation invited us to the show there that night - a recreation of Wilkinson's bestseller 'The Cross & the Switchblade'.
Robbie's dream was to visit the MOMA so we admired the world's best art for a few hours. Robbie wanted to revisit The Plaza Hotel so while she did, I walked part of Central Park. We walked through Grand Central Station on a whim.
After dinner we attended the show at the church. It was great so we got to see a 'broadway show' after all. We had a late night drive once we returned to Statton Island. We had a lot of travel homewards starting next day so, to save time, we had to camp near our first stop for the next day - a sewage farm 50 kms away - where we would empty our 'blackwater' tank.
Next morning we rose early, cleaned the van, dumped our blackwater then returned the campervan without incident. From the Apollo depot we got a lift to the station then train to Manhattan, underground to Jamaica station, JFK airport Airtrain, flight to San Fran to connect to Qantas to Sydney. What could go wrong?
As it turned out - nothing. Everything went like clockwork - a perfect end to an outstanding trip. We'd do the same trip again tomorrow (if it was free).
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| Lancaster county, Pennsylvania | From our ferry. Great way to commute | |
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| The view of Manhattan from our overnight stop on Statton Island | Wall street where they worship the bull (market) | The massive hole in the 911 memorial. Note people in distance |
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| Times Square and Pizza at Percys | Washington Arch and a topical tower | Voyaging back to the van |
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| Church on Sunday morning in Broadway's finest | Series of artworks at MOMA | Dali |
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| Beckmann | Van Gogh | Grand Central station |
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| The NY skyline through a museum window | Central Park | Selecting our last dinner in NY |