Em and Jon’s Wedding

We drove from Buffalo to Niagara which was a relatively short journey. Or rather it should have been. Jon + TomTom + loony drivers = confusion and a certain amount of driving round in circles which also included several journeys through the same toll….

At this point I should mention the appalling driving skills of our American friends. If they are not tailgating you, they undertake, over take, cut you up and cross over four lanes at the last minute to get off at an exit. Many times this is while they are yapping away with their mobile phone clamped to their ear and on one occasion doing the above whilst opening a map across the steering wheel. It’s amazing that there is no consistency in the law regarding seat belts and the wearing of (it probably impinges on an American’s right to die in a car accident - see 69th amendment). I should also say that we Brits are probably no better, it just seems more scary when you’re driving on the ‘wrong side of the road’!

Niagara Falls was beautiful. The day was really sunny (in fact it was boiling hot - 29C) so we saw countless rainbows. Jon thought it was amazing particularly the gorgeous colour of the water - a deep bluey green. I have been to Niagara before and couldn’t believe how much it had changed . Last time it seemed more run down and tacky. Now it’s more modern, with more hotels and a casino. The horseshoe falls belong to the Canadians and are definitely the best. In fact going over the Rainbow Bridge to Canada from America is well worth the $3 toll and the grilling from a stern looking Canadian customs chap, because they definitely have the best view. They also have some fabulous tacky gift shops, but sadly no Origins. Ed - we have a very special gift for you from Niagara…

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The drive from Niagara to Syracuse was uneventful. Bugger all to look at on the way so we tried to spot as many different state licence plates, which was better than I-spy.

The drive from Washington to Buffalo was a long one (about 450 miles), but it was worth it. I really wanted to see Arlington Cemetery and we just did not have the energy yesterday to walk over the Potomac into Virginia to see it. We managed to get there eventually, although I don’t think they mean you to get there via the north car park of the Pentagon…. So we made a detour on our way to Buffalo and it was worth it for the Womens’ Memorial museum and, of course to see the eternal flame on the grave of JFK.

The whole cemetery is very well organised and looks very like the American cemetery in Madingley, but much bigger. We were impressed with one gravestone which stated that Harold Harriman had served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He died in 2005 almost certainly with a chest full of medals. With the memorials of yesterday and today, it really made us wonder about the futility of war - what’s the bloody point!

As we drove away from Arlington, we drove parallel to the Spout Run. This is a small stream in Arlington County, Virginia, which flows on a northeastern course paralleling the Spout Run Parkway through a gorge and empties into the Potomac River opposite the Three Sisters. With the exception of the adjacent parkway, Spout Run is surrounded predominantly by forests. And it is beautiful, but we couldn’t stop because the traffic was going so fast we would never have got out of the turn-out (in other words a lay-by).

After briefly driving through Virginia, we then drove through a big portion of Pennsylvannia and oh what beautiful countryside. Rolling hills interspersed with hedges and clapboard house (usually white) built in the Dutch style are dotted across the landscape. We could live here as well. We didn’t really stop other than for rest breaks, but we wished we’d had time to. In fact we could do with another month, or more here. We got to Buffalo and were dead chuffed as we had a coupon for a deal for the Holiday Inn clipped a room saver magazine. When I picked it up I said that we probably wouldn’t find the hotel as our GPS is not always clear and there are a lot of roadworks which mess it up. We turned off the interstate and blow me there was the Holiday Inn. It was crap, but it was somewhere to have a shower and sleep. And we got it for a cheaper price so we didn’t care.

Favourite bumper sticker: Don’t steal: This Government doesn’t like competition.

Brilliant!

PS: this was my photo of the reflecting pool from yesterday…

Em has mentioned what a good idea it was to stay on the outskirts of Washington: we were just off the beltway, less than half a mile from the Branch St. Metro station. The Washington Metro really impressed me - it was clean, efficient and cheap. Seems like the cars were the same as on the BART in the Bay Area, only newer. The stations were large and airy; the exact opposite of London or New York.

Em’s USA Lonely Planet guide book, which is mostly very good, has crappy maps. Mid-grey on a white background just doesn’t get the job done - so we didn’t take the most direct route from L’Enfant Plaza (the locals pronounce it “lerfont”) to the National Mall. I’m glad we didn’t, because we stumbled across the botanic gardens on our way to the Capitol Building.

Even the regular streets are very pretty round here: beautifully planted and kept, and for botanical numpties like me, the trees have signs on them identifying them. Now I know what a boxwood tree looks like.

The visitor center promised to be finished by 2006 in our 2004 guidebook is still a very expansive building site behind the Capitol building. A local policeman told us the new completion date is 2009 or so. Don’t hold your breath. We’re led to believe you have to hit the lines at 8am or something to have a chance of seeing a House session or getting a tour, so the fact that we did our usual crack of lunchtime start meant there was no chance of that, but then that wasn’t the aim of the trip. We’re here to wander about, pick up the ambiance, and maybe stumble across something cool. The idea is that there’s no schedule, then we can’t be late for anything. We have enough of that kind of thing in our normal lives.

The security around some of the most important sites in the country was conspicuous, but not as obtrusive as it might be. In all, I’d say it was very well done. Tourists can still get a sense of what the place is all about. It wasn’t long before we got treated to a 9-car entourage with sirens wailing heading down Independence Ave.

A few snaps of the Capitol building and then it was down 1st St., again directed by the friendly copper, to Tortilla Coast for lunch. Num num. Now for the serious sight-seeing. Past the Supreme Court, the Taft memorial playing tunes on its bells via the National Archives, DoJ, IRS and so on down Pennsylvania Ave. until we got to the Mayor’s office, the John A. Wilson building no less, where a press conference about the Deonte Rawlings shooting was underway. As if we needed reminding, this is where it all happens.

Onward, to the biggest tourist draw of them all, the White House, which to me was the least impressive. Maybe it was because you can’t get too close (although the railings stuffed with tourists aren’t as far away from the big jerk’s house as I thought they might be) but it just didn’t wow me like some of the other things we saw that day. I was impressed, in a 7-year-old-boy sort of a way, by the figure with the very big gun on the roof silhouetted against the blue sky, I suppose. Then I guess the Capitol is meant to be more impressive in some ways, what with the whole separation of powers thing and all. Anyway, we knocked on the White House door and ran away.

The next monument we saw, though, was incredibly impressive, and it seems that ol’ George W. was responsible for its commissioning. He just went up (a bit) in my estimation. The World War II monument surely was a long time coming, but it’s been worth the wait. My photos don’t do it justice to it, but I really was moved.

Next it was down along the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Memorial. Now there is a pile of stone. They must hold him in high regard, because this place is the most staggering monument I’ve been to in a good while. The way the edifices are aligned on a great east-west line is reminiscent of Paris, and the scale is just as grand. The Lincoln Memorial, to me, takes pride of place at the Potomac River end of the National Mall. The seated statue of Lincoln is very imposing, and on either side lies the text of his two great speeches: the Gettysburg Address and his second inaugural address. It might sound trite, but imagine just how influential you’d have to be to get your words carved 50 feet high in stone in your nation’s capital.

It was getting towards dusk when we left the Lincoln memorial and headed for the Vietnam War memorial: the famous black v-shaped wall emblazoned with all of the dead and missing. It’s guaranteed to make you stop and think.

Then finally we walked across the way to the Korean War memorial. It was too dark by now for effective photos, but it was probably the best time to appreciate the design, since it’s made up of slightly larger than life soldiers in full battle-dress, most of them looking pretty scared. For some Americans, no doubt, it would have been difficult to accept that soldiers got frightened, but to me it’s a bold step forwards.

We packed and got on the road fairly promptly. This was mostly because I wanted to have a go at driving the Chelsea tractor. The drive was uneventful except for the ice cream machine at the Clara Burton service area (see day 15 on the ‘flog’).

Jon carefully planned the next part of our journey to Washington DC so that the hotel was at the end of the metro line and we wouldn’t have to battle with the traffic or pay for parking (the two return tickets were $7.40 - bargain). And as it happened he found a decent hotel at the end of the line in Camp Springs, which was a predominently black area so it was weird to be in the minority. One of the staff at the hotel was of course orginally from the UK (called herself a duck because she was from Aylesbury, Bucks) so ensued another conversation about the Motherland.

Once we got to Camp Spring and chucked our every-growing pile of luggage into the hotel, we went off to the local shops and bought supplies. The girl in the pizza place was very excited to discover we were from England because she ‘loves English accents’ and went into some impression from an advert - it all gets a bit embarrassing after a while.

I hated the Mustang for being too small and way too uncomfortable. My choice of wheels was a Ford explorer, of the type known back home as a Chelsea tractor. I’m in America, a big country that calls for a big vehicle - it’s high up so I don’t feel like my backside is so close to the road. It also has loads of room for luggage, gadgets and all the Origins products….

It proclaimed itself the Capital of Capitals (despite the fact it’s not the capital city; maybe that’s where the problem lies. It’s not even the capital of New York State [Pop quiz - what is the capital of New York State?]). It then went on to claim on various banners that it was also the Financial capital, as well as that of shopping, food, fashion, and most bizarrely, tennis.

The station guard bloke in the subway was very helpful and made sure we got the right ticket to get to South Ferry station. He said he was born in Luton so we chatted for a bit about the motherland and hopped on the train that took us to the Statue of Liberty. We suddenly realised that we needed to be in the first five carriages in order to get off at our station and we got wrong (I am from the Fens) for going through the carriages instead of along the platform. Well they do it in the movies.

The last time I was here (1992) I actually went up the statue of Liberty and have a photo of me in her head. Unfortunately, post 9/11 you can’t do that anymore so we admired the statue from Battery Park. Whilst standing there we also got a mini airshow from what looked to be the National Guard Black Hawks - ooh scary!

A short walk away was the World Trade Center site, which has naturally become another place of interest although with a totally different emphasis. There is a temporary exhibition showing how the site will be developed; looking to the future whilst remembering it’s sad past. People generally move around the area quietly and with respect and stand for a while to look at the heart of the exhibit, which is a commemorative memorial roster of the names of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and the terrorist bombing on February 26, 1993. Of course there was some unsavoury types hawking photographic books of the event and worst still people buying them. This was despite a notice that asks the public to respect the wishes of the families of the dead and refrain from buying anything. We were very moved by it and hope that the development of the site fulfills everyone’s hopes and wishes.

We revived ourselves with yet another coffee and made use of Starbucks wi-fi and bathrooms. Why do they call them bathrooms when there’s no bath?? I spotted an Origins shop, so left Jon to geek in peace and got myself some more miniature freebies - I now have quite a collection, almost to rival Jon’s hotel toiletries collection…

We did just a little more shopping….yes products (but only looking) and palaces of geekery. On the way back to the hotel via the subway I managed to find some public loos, which aren’t a very common sight, particularly in New York. I said thank you to the toilet attendant, who said “Hey are you English?” I said I was and he promptly went on to say how much he loved my English accent and could I talk to him just so he could listen. Initially this sort of reaction is sweet and I thought ‘Bless’. Now it’s becoming annoying because you go through the rigmarole of ‘Yes I’m English’..mm…Cambridge, about an hour away from London…oh really your great-great-grandmother was from Newport Pagnall…no I can’t say I know your cousin in Kent. However, it would be weird if I did know their brother…?

We struck out at the crack of lunchtime, bodies still on California time, but having slept well and ready to take on New York. Although some of the city’s reputation seemed deserved - the traffic really was bad, and the drivers are just as fond of honking and shouting at each other as the countless TV shows and movies portray - but it’s not quite the den of iniquity that I was perhaps fearing. It’s no worse than London; that is, it’s a toilet, but it’s a toilet with lots of interesting things to see in it. Maybe I should just drop that particular form of words…

There are plenty of people trying to scam money from you, but they are, for the most part, easily ignored. The waiters and shop workers were actually more polite than I was expecting.

Anyway, the first call on our whistle-stop tour of NY was the southern tip of Central Park, and this was the first time of many today when I felt like I was on a movie set. Mind you, my reverie was punctured by a sight that gladdened my heart mightily: the sight of Americans playing proper football in their own Central Park! Now, admittedly they were kicking a ball about very clumsily, but nevertheless they weren’t playing American football, or baseball, or ice hockey or basketball, but proper footy, complete with jumpers (OK, sweaters) for goalposts. So, well done you. I knew you’d catch on eventually.

The Chrysler Building is so frequently photographed that it was exactly as I was expecting, but no less beautiful for that. It really is a jewel in the skyline, and still stands out among the rest. Close by, though, Grand Central Station was a surprise to me. It’s gorgeous. I believe it’s recently been restored, and to very great effect.

From there (via some more shops, naturally, including yet another Origins and Sephora, the former inside Grand Central and the latter in the former Charles Scribner building - a Beaux Arts delight) we started the agonising process of queueing to get to the observation deck on the 86th floor of the Empire State. Now, I don’t mind queueing: I’m British, so for me it’s practically a national sport. The problem was that at every turn (literally, the queue was one of those that snaked back and forth between the dreaded Tensabarriers) we were shouted at by earnest young men extolling the virtues of the audio guides which, it would appear, we must ask for once we reached the ticket booths if we were not the kind of people who drown kittens for fun, every second Wednesday.

It has to be said, though, that the queue to get through security, the one to buy tickets, the one to get 80 floors up in the express elevator and lastly for the second elevator to get up the final 6 floors to the observation deck were all worth it in the end. The view is just stupendous, and we were very lucky with the weather and haze: the visibility was very good indeed. Although full-sized tripods were banned, my mini-tripod was overlooked and I was very glad, since despite the fact that it’s not perfect, it allowed me to get some decent shots.

We spotted that you can skip some of the queues on the way down by walking down 6 floors to the express elevator, and that brought home just how hard it would be to go all the way down to street level on the stairs if you had to: by the time we’d descended just six floors, our knees were aching quite a bit. The brickwork and other structural elements were visible in this exit staircase and in the 80th floor area while they re-fit it, and it really doesn’t look like it was thrown together despite the fact that the whole thing was built in 13 months. All of the pointing and so on is really pretty good: seems they had some formidable craftsmen on that job, not just chancers with a head for heights.

Once we were back down at street level, we were absolutely starving, and the meal we had was so lovely that it gets a mention not only in the flog but in the main blog: Heartland brewery in the basement of the Empire State does great microbrewery beer, and stupendous steaks. Mmm..

We got to JFK airport at 10:30, but time seems irrelevant as are body clocks are still all over the place. So we’ve given up worrying about it. We got a cab to midtown Manhattan, ignoring the unlicensed cabs for fear we end up wearing concrete boots in the bottom of the Hudson (yes I’ve got an over-active imagination).

The noise once we hit town was incredible and it was busy, busy, busy. Cars whizzing around (Jon amused by the road signs informing drivers ‘No honking. Penalty $230′ - needless to say everyone ignored it). Shops selling whatever you need/want were still open at 11pm, like a stetson hat or a wig!

The hotel we had booked was a disappointment. The first room they gave us had a sofa bed for which they were going to charge us a lot of money to sleep on. We complained and ended up paying another $30.00 per night for the privilege of sleeping on a proper bed although the receptionist called it an ‘upgrade’. By then we were too tired to argue, but somehow we felt we had been shafted and so cancelled our reservation for Monday night. The room (v small) featured Phillippe Starck furniture and it’s bloody uncomfortable to sit on. I’m amazed that people buy into that ‘life-style’ as for sure it will be promoted as something everyone must have. The safe didn’t work and it took ages for them to send a maintenance bloke to fix it. They also wanted to charge $15.99 for every 24 hours connected to the internet. Every two-bit motel we have stayed in offered it for free. So we signed up to T-mobil so that we could use the internet every time we visited Starbucks. In New York this could be every 20 yards if you so wanted and they sell damn fine blueberry cake.

Oh and the name of the shite hotel - The Paramount on W 46th St.

That’s the end of our west coast adventure. We so enjoyed the laid-back style of California and could happily live there, particularly in San Francisco (although to afford a house we would need to earn more and spend a lot less on gadgets and toiletries).

At SFO airport I had to check out the toiletries, but refrained from purchasing any more as they had already marked two of our three suitcases with big red tags labelled HEAVY. Virgin America is great. We got a friendly welcome at the check-in desk and good service on the plane, which was less than half-full. (Stewardess we are ugly and you are beautiful so please help us. No! Loads of room, loads of room - Lee Evans’ fans will understand). There is power, USB power and internet or at least ethernet at every seat. None of which Jon could take advantage of because he put his cables in the suitcase. However, we now know for next time. The tv screens on the seat backs could also be tuned to Google maps so you can check where you are in the world.

Their whole in-flight entertainment and information system is still in beta, though, and it shows: