A Monuments Kind of Day, Day 3, July 2020

July 30, 2020

Today we ate a granola bar for breakfast and set out.  Very hot and humid.  We went to the Foggy Bottom/GWU metro (subway) station and bought tickets.  We took the metro to Arlington Cemetary, but the subway didn't stop and went on to the Pentagon.  When we asked, we were told that Arlington is closed, so the metro, obviously, doesn't stop there.  Then we went to see the Pentagon.  Joshua took a few photos, then I raised my camera to take a photo of the non-90 degree corner and a security guard started yelling at me and came over.  Evidently, it is a national security risk.  He made Joshua delete his photos and looked at his screen to be sure he didn't have any more.  I said that I didn't take any.  So we looked, and we left (nothing much to see).  They have tours, but you have to apply months ahead of time to get security clearance.  Back in the subway to near the capitol.  There, we walked and saw the Library of Congress:

The Supreme Court (go RBG!):

Very disappointing fountains

 


And the Capitol:

The summerhouse, built for visitors to enjoy views of the capitol
and the sounds of water (though the fountain wasn't working!).  Behind the capitol.

The back of the Capitol building

Looking out down the Mall

We then took the subway one more time to near the White House.  We found a place for lunch across the street from the Treasury, called Old Nebbitt's Bistro.  Very cool.  A place you would expect the hard-working West Wing workers to come to for lunch or a drink.  It has all dark wood, beamed and painted ceiling, gas powered lamps, green plants, and padded tables with tablecloths,  Kind of classy and really good food!  After lunch, we walked to the white house which is surrounded by barricades.  We crossed the ellipses and could see most of it above the barricades. 

Cool building along the way--I think it's a bank

The White House

Then we walked to Washington Monument, which is Covid-closed, then toward the Jefferson Memorial.  By then, I was feeling kind of sick from the weather.  We looked at the Jefferson Memorial across the water, but it was all covered in scaffolds, even the base, so we knew we couldn't get close.  After sitting and resting, we called an Uber and went back to the hotel, thinking we'd rest, then walk around GWU.  Well, we all fell asleep.  So when we woke up, Randy elected to go to a small pizza place in the neighborhood and bring it back (with extra for Anneliese who is joining us tonight).  Interesting pizza--goat feta and honey, spicy meat, fresh greens, and something large and green (we're not sure what it was).  Tomorrow and Saturday we do college self tours. 

Washington Monument--once the tallest building in the world!

In the distance, the Vietnam war memorial

Jefferson Memorial

A, B, . . .DC! Day 2, July 2020

July 29, 2020

Today we had a chintzy hotel breakfast (generic pre-packaged Danish and banana nut muffins and apples).   Then back on the road.  We stopped for lunch at an Olive Garden.  They were seating every other booth.   After yesterday's fast food eaten in the car, we decided no french fries and no eating in the car today.  So we solved those problems and got the bonus of the Olive Garden salad.  We drove through the Appalachian mountains in Maryland and they were beautiful!  Row after row of green covered ridges.  Some were fir and some were deciduous.  We drove along the narrow panhandle of Maryland, then down to DC.  We arrived around 6:30.  We were using Google Maps, but it kept changing it's mind--first telling me to turn right, then turn left (2 lanes in heavy traffic), then it told me to turn a block early.  We got turned around twice, then found our way.  The GPS was getting so mixed up because of all of the streets in the area, some layered.  Pretty nerve-wracking, though, when you don't know where you're going!

Appalachian Mountains

We parked in a garage, then carried our stuff about 4 blocks to the hotel (being in DC, the hotel doesn't have its own parking).  Still pretty warm at that time at night and humid.  We cooled off in our hotel room, then walked to the Mall.  It was sunset and we walked around and in the Lincoln Memorial, then took pictures of it and the Washington Monument in the fading light and in darkness.  There were some people around, but not too many.  We've been to the Lincoln Memorial before, so it wasn't new, but it still makes you feel good about being an American. 

First glimpse of a monument!

World Health Organization building

Where Joshua dreams of working someday!

Lincoln Memoria

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

Gettysburg Address

From the North portico of the Lincoln Memorial, with the Washington Monument
and the Capitol in the background

selfie

reflecting pool

See Abe inside?

nighttime photo

If you've watched West Wing (one of our favorites), in one episode Josh arrives back in DC
from being left behind by the motorcade in Indiana and sees the capitol, gets out and
walks across a bridge with Toby and CJ.  This is that bridge.  Because it is behind the
Lincoln Memorial, I'm pretty sure that you can't see the capitol from there, so one thing the TV
show had to fudge for cinematic effect.

We then walked to Foggy Bottom which is near our hotel and found a bistro, CIRCA at Foggy Bottom, where we sat on the patio with distanced tables.  The area seems like the living room or downtown for GW (George Washington) University, which is one of Joshua's faves.  Joshua and Randy got interesting salads for dinner, I broke down and got the burger and fries--what a great burger and tasty fries, so it was worth it! 

(Obligatory pandemic selfie)

Joshua

And the weather was nice--warm and humid but bearable.  Annie will be arriving here late tomorrow night, so we're making plans of what we want to see tomorrow.  She wants to do the university tours with us, so tomorrow will be tourist sightseeing.  The GW campus is not in a defined campus space, but is not "of the city" like NYU.  It is in a general area with some outlying buildings.  Our hotel is in the area of the campus, so Joshua is getting a sense of it while we are walking around.  Looking forward to a good sleep, because we will be walking around tomorrow in temps in the mid-90s with dewpoints in the 70s (in other words, very hot and humid) so I need my sleep!  

On the Road Again! Day 1, July 2020

July 28, 2020

Skyline of Chicago

Our intent for our travels this summer was to incorporate my son's college visits.  We did a similar thing with our oldest--she had a bunch of schools along the Eastern Seaboard, so we visited them all as part of our vacation (the two younger sibs did not think it was fun).  Now the youngest is a junior, so it's his turn.  One school is in Scotland (St. Andrews, founded in 1410--nope, that's not a typo) and the others are in Washington, DC.  So we booked a flight to Scotland with the plan to visit the school (we scheduled a tour and a meeting with admissions), then a few days on the Isle of Skye, and a few days hiking in the Lakes District of England, then a flight to DC to visit my son't three faves there:  Georgetown, George Washington, and American University.  Well, Americans are not allowed in the UK, so the airline cancelled our flight.  We cancelled the domestic flight and decided to drive to DC.  They are not doing tours or meetings, so we will use their self-guided tours.  We figure no one else is going to be on campus, so we're not spreading or catching many germs.  We're masking and social distancing. 

We left early this morning.  Joshua had signed up for a Zoom call with Georgetown for a presentation and Q&A that they scheduled for 4:00.  So he did that in the car--thank goodness we were fighting our way through Chicago for  the majority of the hour and a half  of the call so he heard it all (using his phone as a hot spot and watching it on his iPad). 

With the exception of some super rude employees at a Wendy's outside of Gary, IN and the entirety of the interstate through Indiana being down to one or two lanes, the rest of the trip was uneventful.  Everyone we came across was wearing masks and social distancing.  We are now in our hotel in Springfield, OH, planning to fall asleep soon!

Days 32-34: Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today

Traveling, New York City

(June 24-26)

June 24:  We work up, ate the hotel breakfast, then carried our bags to the bus stop.  It had rained during breakfast, but stopped when we had to walk to the bus stop.  Then it started in earnest on the hour-long bus ride there.  Luckily, the bus stops under the main awning at the airport, so we stayed dry.  We went through the security at the main door,  then went through immigration and security again, then got our boarding passes.  Next we went to our gate where we went through a thorough security check once more--one to check our boarding passes, one to check our passports, one to hand search and swab our carry-ons, and then a pat-down search.  We didn't have to wait long before boarding.  We were split up--Randy was up near the front with some weird people and Joshua and I were near the back.  Watched movies and had a few meals.  They gave us this cute little case with slippers, socks, eye mask, lip balm, and toothbrush/paste.

We arrived in New York around 5:30.  We took the air train from JFK, then the A train to Brooklyn to Anneliese's apartment.  She had just gotten home from a film job to meet us (her roommate was backup to let us in in case she got back late).  We talked for a bit, then Joshua stayed with her (they had plans for an evening of video games and getting Chinese delivered).  Randy and I took our bags to the Jane Hotel, then walked to a restaurant I knew of in the neighborhood, The Corner Bistro, and had burgers and fries.  The burgers were huge--the patties were easily an inch and a half thick, then add the cheese, bacon, fixings, and bun.  We then went back to the hotel.  Our internet connection was weak, so we weren't up late.

June 25:  The next morning, the plan was to meet Anneliese and Joshua at the Vessel in Hudson Yards (between Hells Kitchen and Chelsea).  We walked the High Line there and they took the subway in from Brooklyn.  We stopped on the way to the High Line at a cafe I knew and picked up bagels.   I ate mine, but Randy saved his for Anneliese and Joshua in case they didn't have time to eat.  They had overslept and were a few minutes late (also having stopped for coffee/hot chocolate on the way). 

Artwork we saw as we walked the High Line

An interesting building along the High Line

I missed my own coneflowers!

The Vessel is a landmark structure that is an interactive art installation.  It is a series of interconnecting staircases that are in the shape of a vessel.  There is no entrance fee, but you have to sign up for tickets ahead of time online.  We had signed up last night, so they just had to scan the confirmation on my phone. 

Randy waiting for Anneliese and Joshua

The Vessel

Anneliese

me!

Anneliese

Me at another art installation behind theVessel.

After climbing around on the Vessel for awhile, we walked to the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.  The Intrepid had been an aircraft carrier and it now housed a museum.  We went into an actual submarine, into the workings of the aircraft carrier, and  saw planes,helicopters and the space shuttle.  We also did an interactive experience about women in space. You put on a headset which displays a holographic guide who talks about women in the development of space exploration and their contributions.  That was pretty interesting.  The others enjoyed the rest of the museum, but I didn't have a lot of interest in it.  It was a good museum with a lot to see. It had an interactive area for children that was a lot of fun, even a stage with a "show" of a woman talking about being a little girl and learning to fly an airplane long ago, even meeting Charles Lindbergh. 

Joshua on the way to the Intrepid

the Itrepid was an aircraft carrier

Family photo (minus Shelby)

A submarine control room

Where the officers slept

Where  the non-officers slept

The Concorde

Chains for the ship

displays inside the hangar

Part of the space display

Joshua and Anneliese heading into the sky!

On the deck

Anneliese in front of the space shuttle

The Intrepid

After that, we took the bus to an Italian restaurant that Anneliese knew of in the Village.  You get a card and go to the counter to order your meal.  A chef is on the other side of the counter and cooks it for you while you watch.  They ask about spices you want, etc.  And all of it is fresh, even the herbs.  Then they punch in your order and you swipe your card to put the price on the card.  Then you go to the bar to get a drink or a cup for the soft drink machine and swipe again.  At the table are pots of fresh basil and rosemary that you can pick off and add to your meal if you wish.  Then after your meal, you take your card to the cashier at the door to pay.  Really good food! 

Then, we were divided as to getting last minute tickets for a show or going to a movie, but the movie won out.  We took the subway and saw Midsommar at a movie theater with super comfy recliner seats, each with its own little table for snacks--pretty cushy!  The movie was kind of uncomfortable and grisly, but thought-provoking.  Afterward, Joshua and Anneliese went back to Brooklyn (discussing the movie), and Randy and I walked to the Jane (also discussing the movie).           

June 26:  The next morning, Anneliese and Joshua met us at the subway station near the hotel.  We were flying out of Newark, so our choices were to go to Penn Station and take a train from there or call an Uber.  There was about a $20 difference in price.  We decided to go with the Uber because it was easier with our bags and everything.  Got a meal at the airport (we knew that Sun Country would not feed us), then boarded the plane.  After we arrived, we took the light rail and walked home (Shelby was still at work).  Good to be home.  Tomorrow I tackle my jungle of a garden.  Now my 2 weeks of summer begin before heading back to school.  We saw a lot, learned a lot, and experienced new things.  Good trip, but not one to experience in summer again!

Anneliese seeing us off