2nd – 15th June 2019
After a few hours sleep, it was in the car and back off out to Dulles to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum – Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center.
Day 3, still in Washington DC.
Yeah I know – where’s days 1 & 2…… photos from those days are going to take a while to get through!
Today we ventured out to the Pentagon and then to an outlet mall at National Harbor, followed by a slow drive back into town via the National Mall, where I was able to take a shot of the Capitol Building.
Also out at National Harbor was “Air Force One“, kinda. It is a real 747, but it is only a replica of the real AF1, created for educational purposes.
Day 4, our last full day in Washington DC.
After coffee in Starbucks across the road from the hotel, we headed towards the Lincoln Memorial. Well traffic and lack of parking meant that we couldn’t park close, so we ended up parking right by the World War 2 Memorial at the other end of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
As was our luck with the Washington Monument being closed, our timing has also been bad with the Reflecting Pool, as it was as good as empty, so not so much a reflecting pool but more a concrete slab.
On a positive note, I saw my first squirrel – so cute!!
Tomorrow we say goodbye to Washington and drive north through Baltimore, MD to Philadelphia, PA.
Day 5.
We departed Washington, DC and headed north towards Philadelphia. So we started the day in the District of Columbia, passed through Virginia into Maryland to Baltimore for brunch and then through Delaware before entering Pennsylvania and arriving at Philadelphia.
Daylight savings has been great. After checking in we went for a wander around central Philly and went to the Liberty Bell. Checked out a few places before grabbing some dinner and watching the Stanley Cup.
Day 6, Philadelphia.
Not much photographed today, but plenty experienced! Started off driving by the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the “Rocky Steps” before heading to the Reading Terminal Markets for a cheese steak and have a look at the wide & varied types of food that are available, right down to the Amish sellers. Then down to the Delaware River to see the USS New Jersey which is berthed on the other side of the river from Philly – in New Jersey. Over the Benjamin Franklin bridge to New Jersey and then back to Independence Hall Visitors Center for a couple of souvenirs.
The traffic tonight was mad! Not sure how much of that was that it was Friday night, and how much of it was that the Reds were playing the Phillies.
Day 7, Transfer from Philadelphia to New York.
Still to come……
Day 8, New York.
Still to come…….
Day 9, New York.
Today was our first tour and, due to the shitty weather, we went around Manhattan. Saw plenty, but didn’t experience much except for some great pizza and shit traffic. Learnt a lot about the history of New York!
Day 10, New York.
911 Memorial, Brooklyn, & skyline shots from New Jersey.
To come……
Day 11, New York.
The third of our day tours, today we took in the Bronx, Queens, Central Park and Katz’s Deli. Three highlights today; Katz’s Deli for lunch, sitting in the table next to Meg Ryan’s from “When Harry Met Sally”. Seeing Louis Armstrong’s house and garden in Queens, where he was inspired to write “What a Wonderful World”, and thirdly Michelle managed to see her first squirrel, spotted in Central Park. OK, there was a forth highlight. A 1:1200 scale model of New York including the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island. Every building has been reproduced, and when a building is remodeled, the model is also updated. At present they have not updated the World Trade Center site, but will do once the building has finished.
Day 12, New York.
Today was a quiet day! After 3 days of non stop touring about, we needed some down time, so caught up with one of Michelle’s friends who lives on the Upper West Side. Nice lunch and then we went to see Jersey Boys.
Day 13, New York.
Top of the Rock and Madame Tussaud’s. Perfect weather and some good sightseeing from the best viewing area in the city.
Day 14, New York
A very early wake up call at 5am by the hotel security knocking on our neighbours door gave us the best incentive to get up and moving. After coffee at Angelina Bakery next door, it was in a cab & down to the southern tip of Manhattan to take the FREE ferry to Staten Island – yeah, free! Couldn’t believe it! Here was a ferry taking us 25 minutes across the river to Staten Island, past the Statue of Liberty and Anthem of the Seas which was berthed in New Jersey. Once there we went back onboard for the return trip. Mission accomplished – get a closer view of the Statue of Liberty.
From there we hopped into another cab that took us to CV-11 USS Intrepid. This aircraft carrier has been a museum in New York harbour since August 1982, and hosts a Lockheed A-12 (60-6925) as well as the NASA Space Shuttle Prototype “Enterprise” and Concorde G-BOAD.
