We decided to leave New York for an overnight trip to Washington, packing all we needed into a tiny backpack. The four hour bus ride from New York became five hours after the bus spent an hour exiting Manhattan. Twenty minutes of that the bus was stuck in the middle of a busy intersection blocking traffic in nearly all directions. Ah – New York.
Perhaps there is still a little of Derby in us because we both appreciated leaving the busy city for a few days to visit a much smaller town of Washington with only 500,000 people. We slept fitfully on the bus trip, sprawled across our chairs and interrupted only by the rantings of an African American who spent the entire bus trip yelling into his phone and his girlfriend who repetitively popped her gum.
The weather in Washington was entirely balmy – mid 20s and sunny. We walked past a bike hire stall and I decided on a whim that we should hire bikes to tour the monuments. Cassy did not look too impressed at the late notice and the lack of ability to change into cycle friendly attire. Soon enough we were pedalling between monuments and stripping off layers of clothing as the warm weather began to bite.
Perhaps there is still a little of Derby in us because we both appreciated leaving the busy city for a few days to visit a much smaller town of Washington with only 500,000 people. We slept fitfully on the bus trip, sprawled across our chairs and interrupted only by the rantings of an African American who spent the entire bus trip yelling into his phone and his girlfriend who repetitively popped her gum.
The weather in Washington was entirely balmy – mid 20s and sunny. We walked past a bike hire stall and I decided on a whim that we should hire bikes to tour the monuments. Cassy did not look too impressed at the late notice and the lack of ability to change into cycle friendly attire. Soon enough we were pedalling between monuments and stripping off layers of clothing as the warm weather began to bite.
The National Mall is impressive; so many familiar buildings and monuments frame this 4 kilometre long public space. Within minutes of hiring bikes we had seen Washington Monument and the White House. Unfortunately there was no invitation from Obama for a cup of tea.
We were disappointed to find that the reflecting pool was under repair, the entire length of the pool was shrouded in fencing and cloth. The empty concrete pool was reflecting nothing, except maybe the pallid state of American politics!
We passed the World War II Monument and paused momentarily to remember my grandma who passed away during the week. Her funeral was later that evening, our time, and the memorial seemed a fitting place to remember her and my late grandfather who served with the air force during the Second World War. Unfortunately we could not lay flowers – undoubtedly due to the huge numbers of people who visit the memorial district each day.
We were disappointed to find that the reflecting pool was under repair, the entire length of the pool was shrouded in fencing and cloth. The empty concrete pool was reflecting nothing, except maybe the pallid state of American politics!
We passed the World War II Monument and paused momentarily to remember my grandma who passed away during the week. Her funeral was later that evening, our time, and the memorial seemed a fitting place to remember her and my late grandfather who served with the air force during the Second World War. Unfortunately we could not lay flowers – undoubtedly due to the huge numbers of people who visit the memorial district each day.
I was amazed by the “busyness” of the National Mall. There were crowds everywhere. High School cheerleading squads and dance teams practiced on the grass. Tour buses lined the streets. Swarms of Segways on guided tours weaved in and out of the crowds of pedestrians. I wonder whether the surge of nationalism since 2001 has meant more US tourists visit their nation’s capital. Certainly, the Americans seemed to vastly outnumber the international tourists.
We visited the Lincoln Memorial and then headed back down the mall to the Congress at the other end. It was then time to dump our bikes , check into our hotel and research a dinner venue. Cassy did well finding Legal Seafood Restaurant and we had an awesome meal and lots of great wine. We walked out of the restaurant to find the air was still warm and that Friday night had filled the streets with a crowd of families, revellers and people of all ages enjoying downtown DC.
We visited the Lincoln Memorial and then headed back down the mall to the Congress at the other end. It was then time to dump our bikes , check into our hotel and research a dinner venue. Cassy did well finding Legal Seafood Restaurant and we had an awesome meal and lots of great wine. We walked out of the restaurant to find the air was still warm and that Friday night had filled the streets with a crowd of families, revellers and people of all ages enjoying downtown DC.
There are so many museums on offer in Washington, but we decided against another gallery filled day. Too many museums in New York made us tired of history and art. Instead, the lawyers in us decided we should wander up to the Supreme Court by way of the Sculpture Garden. By then it was lunch time and we smashed down some Asian salads before finishing our time in Washington drinking coffees at a lunch bar.
On the bus trip back we saw close up the megalopolis that is north eastern USA. I had seen at night the carpet of lights on the ground for the last hour of our flight into New York. The bus drove past mile upon mile of suburbs, usually colour coordinated housing, interspersed with malls, towns and cities and criss-crossed by massive concrete highways. Here the car is king and massive tracts of land have been devastated to create auto dependant suburban environments.
On the bus trip back we saw close up the megalopolis that is north eastern USA. I had seen at night the carpet of lights on the ground for the last hour of our flight into New York. The bus drove past mile upon mile of suburbs, usually colour coordinated housing, interspersed with malls, towns and cities and criss-crossed by massive concrete highways. Here the car is king and massive tracts of land have been devastated to create auto dependant suburban environments.
