Cruisin' the Potomac

Day 13 - 17 June

This morning it was Isabel's turn to be sick - all over the breakfast table. Liam and I headed over to "Historic George Town". Historic seems to be just another excuse for fancy shopping area, although the back streets were dotted with about ten ex-Kennedy residences and the residential area was very nice.

With time to kill we took a cruise on the Potomac with the high school graduating class from the Russian Embassy, complete with shady looking chaperones. After lunch I went for run through the Mall, over the Arlington Bridge and on to Arlington cemetery where I joined the masses at the Kennedy's final resting place. There were fewer people at the freshly turned soil where the casualties from the latest conflict are!!

In the evening we headed over to Steve O'Hearn's place for dinner. We had a great evening of home cooking and wine whilst the kids spent several hours chasing and collecting fireflies.

Cheetah

Here kitty

Giraffe love

Mr Panda

Day 12 - June 16

Another slow day, this time Liam is out of action. He woke with a bad fever and spent the day in bed trying to recover.

After lunch I took Isabel to the National Zoological Park. We managed to sidestep the crowds and saw a Panda chewing on some bamboo, something they spend 90% of their waking hours doing. The cheetahs, tigers and lions were all in excellent displays and the zoo also had some very good specialty displays. The Amazonian and bird displays were particularly good. Isabel crashed before the train had pulled away from the subway station and slept until carried into the hotel room.

Washinigton Memorial

WW II Memorial

Lincoln Memorial - viewed from the Reflecting Pool

Lincoln Memorial - viewed from the WWII Memorial

George's home at night

Space Shuttle Enterprise

The Enola Gay - carried that bomb to Hiroshima

Planes, planes and more planes

Spirit of St Louis

Wright Brothers 1903 Flyer - the original

Day 11 - June 15

The girls decided they needed a rest day and as Isabel so eloquently put it, "let the boys do boy things". So Liam and myself headed of to the National Air and Space Museum on The Mall. What started out as a small adventure turned into a whole day affair as we also traveled out to Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Centre (essentially a large, modern hangar that holds many more exhibits).

We saw many of the aircraft that have played some important role in history; the original Wright Brothers 1903 Flyer, the Spirit of St Louis, Bell X -1, Apollo 11 command module Columbia, the Enola Gay, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, and a Concorde. The most amazing thing is that technology has progressed from the Wright Borthers in 1903 to modern day, little over a hundred years.

An afternoon run took in the Vietnam Memorial, the World War II Memorial and also the Lincoln Memorial. I returned after sunset to get some night photos of these stunning sights.

Capitol Hill and the sign that Isabel has done enough walking for the day

The Hope Diamond - somehow thought it would be bigger or shinier

Flag that flew over the Pentagon 9/11

Science Class at the Museum of American History - go figure why at this museum?

Washington Memorial - where are the windows?

... and the Tourists

The White House

Day 10 - June 14

After a magnificent breakfast we once again donned the hiking shoes and trekked to the White House. The Secret Service were in force on the roof obviously scanning the crowd as we posed for the obligatory tourist photos in front of the famous building.

Not for the first time this trip we didn’t have a firm plan so headed to the Mall and a day of museums. The American History museum was the first. Liam enjoyed a science lesson, donning the laboratory glasses and playing with dried ice whilst learning about CO2. Before we knew it three hours had passed. We lunched before heading to the Natural History Museum. Dinosaurs, stuffed mammals, live insects and The Hope Diamond were among the great exhibits. Two museums down only 12 to go!!

Mirrors

Isabel and her new puppy

New York squirrel

Our Hotel - looking back over the Hudson

World Financial Centre

Day 9 - June 13

Last day in NY. A very difficult start to the morning after spending the previous evening in Times Square. I ended up catching a late movie and without the trusty guide book managed to navigate most of the Subway system, making it as far as the Bronx before finding my way to the correct station. The subway at that time of the morning is a most interesting place. Ever wonder how they get rid of the garbage from New York each evening?

We had some time to kill so walked around the edge of South Manhattan before finding a small park with views of the Statue of Liberty and had lunch. Isabel promptly returned the lunch all over my legs – someone has to feed the squirrels!

AMTRAK was once again the transport of choice. A kind porter grabbed our luggage and sneaked us onto the platform ahead of the crowd. A very comfortable rail trip and I watched the Wallabies and Samoa which I had downloaded the previous evening.

Washington DC greeted us with an afternoon thunder and lightning display which made taxi the most obvious way of reaching our hotel. A late night wander revealed we were only 10 minutes from the White House.

One ticket to the top of NY

View from the top

Liam and Isabel - water pistol fight.

Central Park picnic

On top of the world

Liam - admiring the view

Another view of the Empire State Building

Day 8 - June 12

An early start this morning to beat the crowds at the Empire State Building. Luckily we were through the lines in about 10 minutes and were heading skywards in a matter of minutes. Stepping out onto the observation desk the enormity of New York is laid before your eyes. The views are breathtaking and it's a wonder the island of Manhattan doesn't sink under the amount of concrete.

Afterwards we took an unintentional detour to Harlem before returning to the Upper West Side. We stocked up at the local deli (and Starbucks for Dad) before spending the remainder of the early afternoon in Central Park. Liam and Isabel spent a couple of hours playing with the local kids, even finding a couple of water pistols to partake in all out water war. I returned to Central Park later in the afternoon to run the six mile perimeter circuit. The first quarter was hard work as it was Puerto Rican parade day and I can't even begin to put the colourful parade of humanity into words. Some was pleasant to look at and well .....

Liam found the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse

Fireworks over Manhattan

St Paul's Church - Ground Zero

The Lady

View of Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry

Rockefeller Centre

Jerry Sienfelds House

Dinosaur Bones - Museum of Natural History

Strawberry Fields - Central Park

Day 7 - June 11

Today was organised tour day - see as much of New York in six hours that is humanly possible. We wandered up to Times Square and joined our tour bus and our guide Tom for what was a pretty comprehensive, information overload and where did the time go type of tour.

"Dakota House (where John Lennon was murdered), Strawberry Fields in Central Park, Museum of Natural History, Rockefeller Centre, St Patricks cathedral, Madison Square Garden, China Town, Little (disappearing) Italy, WTC, South Street Seaport, etc etc etc."

Also did the Staten Island Ferry and achieved Liam's greatest wishwhen we saw the Brooklyn Bridge and Titanic Memorial. An exhausting day, however learnt a lot of history and also much about present day NY. The most tiring day so far

The evening view - makes the beer very enjoyable

The Empire State Building - first sighting

Wall Street and Broadway!!

Ground Zero remembers all those who perished

Ground zero

Nice views from the hotel

AMTRAK comfort