Tuesday night - 6/29
We just left Maine today and stopped in Andover, MA to have dinner with Em's roommate Liz's parents. Patrice and Steve made us a great Lobster dinner and we very much enjoyed our visit - we headed out of Boston area about 11:30 and have just made it to Newport, Rhode Island, where we will venture out tomorrow before heading back to NYC tomorrow night. We will catch up on our blog travels tomorrow night in NYC while I'm doing the laundry! One of the most incredible things happened today in Maine that we can't wait to tell. But for tonight, I must go to sleep - it is 2:30 am.
More tomorrow.
Jenny
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Say No to the Poconos......
We really wanted to try to make it over to Niagara Falls on this trip - I've never been, and neither had Emily, but we just had limited time, and that would have taken us to west New York state, so we decided not to try it, but rather go to the "Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania" instead. On our way up the state up Pennsylvania, after leaving Amish Heaven (sadly, I might add, again) we landed in the Pocono Mountains and stayed over a night there, in Tannersville, PA. Em got her on her phone, looked up places to stay and found the "Chateau", overlooking the Poconos - and they had a great rate for the night! $86 - we were thrilled - we've been paying an average of $139 a night along our route, so that was gonna be our first hotel bargain!
Traveling north through Pennsylvania was beautiful - it is very rural countryside, much like most of New England, with the exception of the big cities that most are familiar with: NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, etc... Seems as though these people in this region of the country should kinda "spread out" a little - most are concentrated in those large cities, making for an abundance of charming, small New England towns. As with most small towns in America, work is hard to find, I guess, and there are few "farmers" left in America, so I guess everyone just flocks to where they live on top of each other and fight for space.
Back to the Poconos - we ended up at the "Chateau" about 11 pm - it is very dark in these "Poconos" so we were glad to get off the winding road that lead to what we thought was gonna be our dream stop - we were promised a balcony overlooking the mountains. I won't elaborate, cause it is not important, but it was no mountain view and the place was less than a chateau.....ha - our only bad choice in hotels, but we were tired, went to sleep, and woke up and hit the road out of the Poconos - we didn't leave anything there but wet towels from the shower - not even a good memory! LOL
More later........we are doing and seeing so much its getting hard to keep up! We were out of internet service for a day or two, so we are trying to catch up, but the road is calling us......we must get to Bar Harbor, Me and Acadia National Park today.......gotta start the car......hugs!
Nice People of the last few days....
So we're behind on blogging due to bad internet connections, but we wanted to make sure everyone knew of the nice people we have met in the last few days...
Pat Frazer in Boothbay, Maine: This sweet lady helped us at the Boothbay Harbor visitor's center. She was the cutest little lady - 82 years old and she has facebook and uses the internet all the time! She was so kind to us and got us great accommodations in Boothbay! She was our kinda grandma and if you are reading this Mrs. Frazer, add us to your facebook so we can be friends! Thanks for all you did for us in Boothbay.
Heather and Jessamy in Camden, Maine: They work at one of the cute shops in the harbor area of Camden and we just loved talking to them yesterday! Heather is from Maine and Jessamy is from England. Both super cute girls who told us stories of the local artists (one about a man who has only left his home island three times in his life - once to fight in WWII, once to visit a museum in Europe that was featuring his work, and now to stay in a retirement home). Jenny is mad that he had to leave his island home to go to a retirement home off the island - he didn't want to leave and someone in his family should have taken care of him ON the island which is where he wanted to be! Shame on them. He is 90 years old and still making cute buoys that he sells in this shop.
Kirsten, Tricia, and Suzannah in Boothbay, Maine: Kirsten came up to us while we were shopping in Boothbay Harbor, and told us we were really cute so of course we loved her from the start! She and two of her friends (who have 13 children between the 3 of them!) were here celebrating Kirsten's **th birthday and we had a blast talking to them and getting to know them! They loved our story, and we loved theirs, and hope they had a great time while they were here in Boothbay! These girls were soooo sweet, all Christian women, and not afraid to spread the word of God (we really liked that about them) and were from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Hopefully we'll become facebook friends and meet them along life's way again one day.
Adam Green in Boothbay, Maine: Adam works at both of the inns where we have stayed in Boothbay Harbor, and he has been a tremendous help to us! Not only did he get us into two great rooms when we were looking last minute, he helped carry mom's massive suitcase up stairs and used pliers to get one of those security tags off of one of my new dresses (after we convinced him it was the store's fault for keeping it on and we weren't mom and daughter con-artists!). Adam goes WAYYY beyond the call of duty for a hotel clerk and we just love him. He use to be in the mortgage business, lost his job and moved to the area to begin anew. We think Adam has found what he needs to be doing - he needs to buy his own hotel and stay in the business. He is a very kind man.
We've not met ANY mean people on this trip and we love all the nice people who have crossed our path!
Pat Frazer in Boothbay, Maine: This sweet lady helped us at the Boothbay Harbor visitor's center. She was the cutest little lady - 82 years old and she has facebook and uses the internet all the time! She was so kind to us and got us great accommodations in Boothbay! She was our kinda grandma and if you are reading this Mrs. Frazer, add us to your facebook so we can be friends! Thanks for all you did for us in Boothbay.
Heather and Jessamy in Camden, Maine: They work at one of the cute shops in the harbor area of Camden and we just loved talking to them yesterday! Heather is from Maine and Jessamy is from England. Both super cute girls who told us stories of the local artists (one about a man who has only left his home island three times in his life - once to fight in WWII, once to visit a museum in Europe that was featuring his work, and now to stay in a retirement home). Jenny is mad that he had to leave his island home to go to a retirement home off the island - he didn't want to leave and someone in his family should have taken care of him ON the island which is where he wanted to be! Shame on them. He is 90 years old and still making cute buoys that he sells in this shop.
Kirsten, Tricia, and Suzannah in Boothbay, Maine: Kirsten came up to us while we were shopping in Boothbay Harbor, and told us we were really cute so of course we loved her from the start! She and two of her friends (who have 13 children between the 3 of them!) were here celebrating Kirsten's **th birthday and we had a blast talking to them and getting to know them! They loved our story, and we loved theirs, and hope they had a great time while they were here in Boothbay! These girls were soooo sweet, all Christian women, and not afraid to spread the word of God (we really liked that about them) and were from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Hopefully we'll become facebook friends and meet them along life's way again one day.
Adam Green in Boothbay, Maine: Adam works at both of the inns where we have stayed in Boothbay Harbor, and he has been a tremendous help to us! Not only did he get us into two great rooms when we were looking last minute, he helped carry mom's massive suitcase up stairs and used pliers to get one of those security tags off of one of my new dresses (after we convinced him it was the store's fault for keeping it on and we weren't mom and daughter con-artists!). Adam goes WAYYY beyond the call of duty for a hotel clerk and we just love him. He use to be in the mortgage business, lost his job and moved to the area to begin anew. We think Adam has found what he needs to be doing - he needs to buy his own hotel and stay in the business. He is a very kind man.
We've not met ANY mean people on this trip and we love all the nice people who have crossed our path!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Nice People WInners for Wednesday - New York State Troopers Saved our Butts
I'll have to type the story tomorrow night, cause I'm tired, but yesterday Em and I met two sweet NY State Troopers - the story is hilarious, but wanted to mention that we really appreciate Troopers Riley and McKeever for saving our butts last night in No Mans Land, New York.
You are the nicest people we met yesterday - WHoop WHoop - Thanks, Guys! Stay Safe!
The Amish have it going on.......I want to convert, but they won't let me....I asked.
Jenny:
I guess one never really understands a group of people so different than oneself, but I did do my social experimenting in Lancaster, PA yesterday and I was truly amazed at what I saw and heard on the streets of this most beautiful county in America. You would not believe the sheer beauty of this area. I've never seen anything like it in my 49 years, and it made me wonder if I landed on the part of the earth that I was destined for. I'm thinking I might should have been an Amish girl. I'm not quite as religious as this group of people, but I think they have it right - the whole "Live Simple" idea.
This part of the country, Lancaster County, PA, is spectacular to look at. The county is made up of a few towns, and we stayed in Lancaster, but visited Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse, PA - yes, Intercourse, PA - why it's named that? I don't know. But it must be embarrassing, because this area looks nothing like sex, it is filled with the most beautiful rolling hills and the landscape, as far as you can see, is dotted with huge farms and beautiful crops, land and farm animals. The homes of all of the people who live amongst each other in this area: the Amish, Mennonites and English people are huge.....they are well- kept and their barns, many of them huge dairy barns and farms are immaculate and well tended to. You can tell from what you see that these people take great pride in their land and savor the beauty of this area as well.
I know that there are many, many ways that I'm so different than the Amish, but in my lifetime I've wondered and questioned many of the ideals that they live from day to day. I find this group of Americans to be so interesting and I can't wait to read the 13 books I bought about them in every store I went in. LOL They very much live a different lifestyle than the majority, but their lives aren't what most people think.
There are two groups of "these people" in this area of Lancaster, PA: The Amish and the Mennonites. Most people group them all as "Amish", but they are not. There are many differences in these two groups that we learned about yesterday - but the basic differences that we learned about are:
Both groups came over to America by invitation of William Penn to escape religious persecution in the 1700's. They arrived by ship, many of them from the Dutch areas of the world. They have a distinct "Dutch" dialect, even today - none that we talked to had the traditional Pennsylvania accent - it was very Dutch. The Amish are more strict in their lifestyle - they do not have electricity, however, they do heat and light their homes with propane. The Mennonites do have electricity. They look the same - men with beards are married - no makeup for the women, all the males wear straw hats and the women and girls either where a bonnet or a net like thing on their hair that is long, but pulled up in a sort of bun. Many in both groups were barefoot - and we asked why and we were told that they have skin like leather and prefer to go barefoot in the summertime - even walking on the hot concrete, in the fields, in the stores, etc... Both groups are strictly religious - but the Amish children are taught all together in a one room schoolhouse in their communities and only go to school until the 8th grade - the Mennonites go to what we would call "normal" schools - they look like ours, but they, too, only go to the 8th grade. None of these people have an education about 8th grade, and at the completion of 8th grade, go back to work on the farms and help their parents - girls help with girl things, and boys help with the boy things. Both groups use horse and buggy for their transportation, but the Mennonites will and do have cars, and will ride in them. Amish will not. If they do have a car, the Mennonites, they will paint all the bumpers and chrome black. Neither group will willingly have their pictures taken, and will hide their head or turn their head if they see you taking their picture. I did get some darling kids in a buggy to wave at us and we took their picture from the back of the buggy we were following in the car. They were adorable. There is so much more to tell about these people, and I've been told to use Cliff Notes, and I just can't. So, if you wanna know more, ask me what I learned when I get home, or borrow my books.
My overall general impression of these people is that they are very sweet, humble, hard-working, religious, "of the earth", traditional, simple-life seeking people. They are weird - but weird is really just another word for "different". They seem very happy and content in their world and I was very impressed at how they all live in harmony with each other and the other "non-Amish or non-Mennonite" people in the county. We witnessed a car accident on the highway and the Amish people had stopped in their buggy and off their scooters and were parked alongside the firetrucks and policemen helping assist with the accident. It was a strange picture - but a nice one - yes, I took a picture of the scene and Emily thought it was nutty for me to do that - but, hey, I'm nutty. Bwahahaha.
I interviewed an Amish man on the street named "John" and was 30 years old and on his way home from work. He seemed very uneducated to me and Emily, and it was strange to be talking to a 30 year old with the social skills of an 8th grader, but that is their culture. He was very nice and answered all our questions, and went on his merry way. We asked to take his picture, and he said he couldn't let us, so I asked him if he had any family pictures at his house, and he said very few - I asked him how he would remember his grandparents, or other family and friends or how he keeps his memory bank without pictures, and he said it was all stored in his head and his heart. I asked him if I could convert to Amish for a couple of weeks, or if anyone ever converted, and he said no - you had to be born into it. Damn, it would have been fun for a week or two. LOL
We stopped at an Amish farm that was advertising that they were selling fresh apricots, and we stopped because 4 of the 7 Amish kids from this farm family were selling them and I wanted an Amish kid interview - the kids were so sweet - 2 girls, age 14 and 8, and two darling boys, age 2 and 4 - so dang cute running around in their straw hats, black pants and simple shirts and barefoot -Their dad was in the barn keeping an eye on us all - lol - he, too, was barefoot and working in the barn. The girls talked to us for a long time and the boys just smiled and giggled and kept waving at us - so cute - the 14 year old informed us that she just completed school for the rest of her life, and I was so sad thinking of all the experiences that Emily and Jared have had since 8th grade, and went to bed that night thinking of all the things that little girl will miss out on in life - but she seemed fine with her destiny and told us that she would be home with her mom and dad from now on helping on the farm and with the other 6 of her siblings. She was so sweet, and described the seed inside the apricot as a "stone", which we thought was interesting, as if her vocabulary was as limited as we expected. Her sister looked like a female Josh Starkey - I swear it had to be his kinfolk. The apricots were delicious, we bought a pint for $2.00 but gave them $5.00 and waved goodbye to them. I could have stayed all afternoon. Their farm was beautiful, and they all seemed very content with their simple life.
I could go on and on, but have to close, cause Em wants to make fun of me, I'm sure. LOL She said I give her material on an hourly basis. LOL
We left Lancaster (I didn't want to leave) and headed up to the Pocono Mountains in upstate NY. That was a mistake..........
More later.
Amish Sister in my heart,
Jenny
AKA Social Scientist
I guess one never really understands a group of people so different than oneself, but I did do my social experimenting in Lancaster, PA yesterday and I was truly amazed at what I saw and heard on the streets of this most beautiful county in America. You would not believe the sheer beauty of this area. I've never seen anything like it in my 49 years, and it made me wonder if I landed on the part of the earth that I was destined for. I'm thinking I might should have been an Amish girl. I'm not quite as religious as this group of people, but I think they have it right - the whole "Live Simple" idea.
This part of the country, Lancaster County, PA, is spectacular to look at. The county is made up of a few towns, and we stayed in Lancaster, but visited Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse, PA - yes, Intercourse, PA - why it's named that? I don't know. But it must be embarrassing, because this area looks nothing like sex, it is filled with the most beautiful rolling hills and the landscape, as far as you can see, is dotted with huge farms and beautiful crops, land and farm animals. The homes of all of the people who live amongst each other in this area: the Amish, Mennonites and English people are huge.....they are well- kept and their barns, many of them huge dairy barns and farms are immaculate and well tended to. You can tell from what you see that these people take great pride in their land and savor the beauty of this area as well.
I know that there are many, many ways that I'm so different than the Amish, but in my lifetime I've wondered and questioned many of the ideals that they live from day to day. I find this group of Americans to be so interesting and I can't wait to read the 13 books I bought about them in every store I went in. LOL They very much live a different lifestyle than the majority, but their lives aren't what most people think.
There are two groups of "these people" in this area of Lancaster, PA: The Amish and the Mennonites. Most people group them all as "Amish", but they are not. There are many differences in these two groups that we learned about yesterday - but the basic differences that we learned about are:
Both groups came over to America by invitation of William Penn to escape religious persecution in the 1700's. They arrived by ship, many of them from the Dutch areas of the world. They have a distinct "Dutch" dialect, even today - none that we talked to had the traditional Pennsylvania accent - it was very Dutch. The Amish are more strict in their lifestyle - they do not have electricity, however, they do heat and light their homes with propane. The Mennonites do have electricity. They look the same - men with beards are married - no makeup for the women, all the males wear straw hats and the women and girls either where a bonnet or a net like thing on their hair that is long, but pulled up in a sort of bun. Many in both groups were barefoot - and we asked why and we were told that they have skin like leather and prefer to go barefoot in the summertime - even walking on the hot concrete, in the fields, in the stores, etc... Both groups are strictly religious - but the Amish children are taught all together in a one room schoolhouse in their communities and only go to school until the 8th grade - the Mennonites go to what we would call "normal" schools - they look like ours, but they, too, only go to the 8th grade. None of these people have an education about 8th grade, and at the completion of 8th grade, go back to work on the farms and help their parents - girls help with girl things, and boys help with the boy things. Both groups use horse and buggy for their transportation, but the Mennonites will and do have cars, and will ride in them. Amish will not. If they do have a car, the Mennonites, they will paint all the bumpers and chrome black. Neither group will willingly have their pictures taken, and will hide their head or turn their head if they see you taking their picture. I did get some darling kids in a buggy to wave at us and we took their picture from the back of the buggy we were following in the car. They were adorable. There is so much more to tell about these people, and I've been told to use Cliff Notes, and I just can't. So, if you wanna know more, ask me what I learned when I get home, or borrow my books.
My overall general impression of these people is that they are very sweet, humble, hard-working, religious, "of the earth", traditional, simple-life seeking people. They are weird - but weird is really just another word for "different". They seem very happy and content in their world and I was very impressed at how they all live in harmony with each other and the other "non-Amish or non-Mennonite" people in the county. We witnessed a car accident on the highway and the Amish people had stopped in their buggy and off their scooters and were parked alongside the firetrucks and policemen helping assist with the accident. It was a strange picture - but a nice one - yes, I took a picture of the scene and Emily thought it was nutty for me to do that - but, hey, I'm nutty. Bwahahaha.
I interviewed an Amish man on the street named "John" and was 30 years old and on his way home from work. He seemed very uneducated to me and Emily, and it was strange to be talking to a 30 year old with the social skills of an 8th grader, but that is their culture. He was very nice and answered all our questions, and went on his merry way. We asked to take his picture, and he said he couldn't let us, so I asked him if he had any family pictures at his house, and he said very few - I asked him how he would remember his grandparents, or other family and friends or how he keeps his memory bank without pictures, and he said it was all stored in his head and his heart. I asked him if I could convert to Amish for a couple of weeks, or if anyone ever converted, and he said no - you had to be born into it. Damn, it would have been fun for a week or two. LOL
We stopped at an Amish farm that was advertising that they were selling fresh apricots, and we stopped because 4 of the 7 Amish kids from this farm family were selling them and I wanted an Amish kid interview - the kids were so sweet - 2 girls, age 14 and 8, and two darling boys, age 2 and 4 - so dang cute running around in their straw hats, black pants and simple shirts and barefoot -Their dad was in the barn keeping an eye on us all - lol - he, too, was barefoot and working in the barn. The girls talked to us for a long time and the boys just smiled and giggled and kept waving at us - so cute - the 14 year old informed us that she just completed school for the rest of her life, and I was so sad thinking of all the experiences that Emily and Jared have had since 8th grade, and went to bed that night thinking of all the things that little girl will miss out on in life - but she seemed fine with her destiny and told us that she would be home with her mom and dad from now on helping on the farm and with the other 6 of her siblings. She was so sweet, and described the seed inside the apricot as a "stone", which we thought was interesting, as if her vocabulary was as limited as we expected. Her sister looked like a female Josh Starkey - I swear it had to be his kinfolk. The apricots were delicious, we bought a pint for $2.00 but gave them $5.00 and waved goodbye to them. I could have stayed all afternoon. Their farm was beautiful, and they all seemed very content with their simple life.
I could go on and on, but have to close, cause Em wants to make fun of me, I'm sure. LOL She said I give her material on an hourly basis. LOL
We left Lancaster (I didn't want to leave) and headed up to the Pocono Mountains in upstate NY. That was a mistake..........
More later.
Amish Sister in my heart,
Jenny
AKA Social Scientist
Annoyances: Emily
Paper Maps: When I walk into your visitor’s center to ask you where I should go in your city for lunch, please don’t give me a paper map of your entire state or region that is longer than me. I cannot read them while sitting in my small Nissan Versa because my car is smaller than your map. What I hate the most is how many folds there are. Really? I am an educated individual and I cannot figure out how to get that map back to it’s original size. How do you expect some folks from Pennsylvanian to be able to? Just don’t. Don’t even unfold them in my presence because I do not want it. They just get thrown in my lap when we get in the car and then I’m expected to get out the map of New York to show where everything is then I can’t unfold it and fold it back to normal size. I HATE PAPER MAPS.
People who try to be nice but screw you over: If I ask if the hotel is smelly, don’t say no if it actually is. When I get there and find out it is smelly and you lied, I will hate you and resent you for your “niceness.” If you’re sending me to a place for lunch and describe it as a sandwich and soup joint, please make descriptions that indicate it is not like a McAlisters or Olive Garden. Please state that the restaurants bathrooms will be outside and no one with more than 10 teeth will be eating in our presence. If you have a “mountain view” room, please do not show fake pictures on the internet that look like your “resort” is in Aspen, Colorado. We will believe you and book a night there only to find out the “mountain view” is a hill with trees and a dumpster. Thank you for your niceness but if you’re not telling me the truth, just don’t be nice.
Smoking Hotel Rooms: I do not want to sleep in an astray. Sleeping in an astray is like sleeping on the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor in 1941. You have about the same chance of coming out alive. You know when you fall asleep in your “smoking” hotel room that there’s a chance you might wake up but there’s more of a chance you will not. If you do wake up, everything you own will smell like said ashtray, also your mom will not have to go down the elevator to step outside to smoke. At least you’re risking your life for love.
Smoking in the car: I like my lungs. I don’t take great care of my liver, so I need the lungs to function as best as possible. Therefore, when there is not even 2 feet separating us in a very small rent car, please blow your smoke out of the window. Please make sure you are damaging mother nature’s lungs and not mine.
Smoking breaks: If you must take a smoking break every 20 minutes, please don’t spend 10 minutes preparing for your smoke break. Have your cancer sticks ready. Place them in a specific pocket in your purse where you know they will always be and you can reach your hand in there and in 5 seconds have your cigarettes. Also, keep your lighter with your cigs. It only makes sense. This way, instead of having to stop, bend down, put the purse down in a steady location, unzip the purse, take everything out of your purse, find the cigs, and then find the lighter, put everything back in the purse, take 5 minutes to get off the ground while you breath with your inhaler, grab your phone to check your facebook, then light up, have me give you the diet coke I’ve been holding for you all day, and now you’re balancing a diet coke, cigs, and a cell phone in 2 hands, and finally, after 20 minutes of preparing to cut 1 year off of your life with each cig you smoke, “we can walk now.” I HATE SMOKING BREAKS.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Nice People Report - Philadelphia and Lancaster, PA
Philadelphia, PA - Met a darling couple - Chris and Princess in the park in Philadelphia who so willingly educated us on what was going on and down in the Rittinghouse Park - besides the couple laying on a blanket making out (that was obvious) they also spent time explaining what the 5 or 6 "martial arts dancers" were doing - some crazy dance. They told us the name, we forgot. But it was the freakiest thing we've seen on our trip. Chris and Princess were not married, but they were the sweetest and cutest couple we've met, and I told Chris he should get serious about Princess and he marry her - he then quickly sent me on my way. We loved them! Chris, if you are reading this, you better hold on to Princess, she's a keeper.
Princess, Chris seemed like a catch, too! :)
Lancaster, PA- on the side of the road, with a passing Amish carriage going by, we met Emily, Linnea, and Elysia - 3 darling teenage girls (not Amish) who were walking down the street and we stopped them to ask dumb "Amish people" questions and they were so sweet to sit there and answer us. I'm sure their parents thought we were trying to kidnap them, but they were so cute and explained alot to us and also even took the camera to try to get a picture of a passing Amish family for me. These girls are our winners to day of the nicest people we met today!
Also in Lancaster - the whole staff of the Hampton Inn - they are great and even baked us some warm cookies tonight!
We've not met one yukky person yet.
Thanks to all for helping make our trip memorable! :) Emily and Jenny
Princess, Chris seemed like a catch, too! :)
Lancaster, PA- on the side of the road, with a passing Amish carriage going by, we met Emily, Linnea, and Elysia - 3 darling teenage girls (not Amish) who were walking down the street and we stopped them to ask dumb "Amish people" questions and they were so sweet to sit there and answer us. I'm sure their parents thought we were trying to kidnap them, but they were so cute and explained alot to us and also even took the camera to try to get a picture of a passing Amish family for me. These girls are our winners to day of the nicest people we met today!
Also in Lancaster - the whole staff of the Hampton Inn - they are great and even baked us some warm cookies tonight!
We've not met one yukky person yet.
Thanks to all for helping make our trip memorable! :) Emily and Jenny
From the hustle and bustle to the horse drawn carriage life - I'm in farm heaven!
I can't stop laughing from Emily's blog tonight - she is so dang funny.....My rib cage is killing me from laughter - what fun this has been.....
We spent last night in Philadelphia, and to my surprise, it was a beautiful city as well. There is no way we could see all the things there was to see in such a short time (we have so many places we want to go) so we opted for a "Walking Tour through Philadelphia" and it was great. Our tour guide was dressed up like Ben Franklin and he lead us through all the historical parts of downtown Philly that we wanted to see. It was a great way to learn about the history of this beautiful area. A few things we saw along the way: Independence Hall - The building where the founding fathers of our country signed the Declaration of Independence and where the 2nd Continental Congress met, also where George Washington was inaugurated for his second term as President. We saw Betsy Ross' house (darling), The Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklin's home, printing office, the first post office in the United States which is still operating (we mailed Jared a postcard from there and it has a special postmark - B Free Franklin - the oldest continually occupied neighborhood street in America - Dolly Madison's house, Ben Franklin's gravesite, (I'm in love with Ben - I'll be reading more about this remarkable American when I get home - LOL), and the list goes on and on - it is an incredible city. We also went to the Reading Station Market which is the old train station that is now a market and it was filled with shops, restaurants, grocers, vegetable stands, etc. It was awesome.
We left Philadelphia to head for "Amish Country" - something I've wanted to see for many, many years. There cult(ure) is so interesting to me and I'm just tickled to be here amongst them (my people, as Em says). You would not believe the size of these farms and the beauty of them. They go on for miles and miles and have the most wonderful farm houses on them, beautiful crops (the hotel clerk told us it is because they put all the horse manure back in the dirt each year) and the biggest barns and silos I've ever seen - It is just something to see. We saw horse and buggies on the streets (as Em so eloquently described my reaction to this) and I can't wait till tomorrow - we ran out of daylight tonight and the Amish go to bed early, cause they don't have lights and so they go to bed at dark and get up when the sun comes up to work their farms. Tomorrow will be one of my favorite days of our trip. And you can believe I'll be taking tons of pictures and I can assure you that I will find a cooperating Amish family to photograph. I'll have an Amish pen pal before dark. I'll also have a bag full of Amish crafts and the like and Em will be getting a Amish "surprise" for Christmas, cause she's been talking bad about my people.
It is 2:30 in the morning. I must retire. The Amish farmers will be up in 3 hours and I have a busy day planned.
Can't wait to tell you all about my day in Lancanster County, Pennsylvania - home of the Amish. Whoop Whoop!
Night!
Jenny
I ate the best meal there last night - the mac and cheese had lobster in it - it was divine.
We spent last night in Philadelphia, and to my surprise, it was a beautiful city as well. There is no way we could see all the things there was to see in such a short time (we have so many places we want to go) so we opted for a "Walking Tour through Philadelphia" and it was great. Our tour guide was dressed up like Ben Franklin and he lead us through all the historical parts of downtown Philly that we wanted to see. It was a great way to learn about the history of this beautiful area. A few things we saw along the way: Independence Hall - The building where the founding fathers of our country signed the Declaration of Independence and where the 2nd Continental Congress met, also where George Washington was inaugurated for his second term as President. We saw Betsy Ross' house (darling), The Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklin's home, printing office, the first post office in the United States which is still operating (we mailed Jared a postcard from there and it has a special postmark - B Free Franklin - the oldest continually occupied neighborhood street in America - Dolly Madison's house, Ben Franklin's gravesite, (I'm in love with Ben - I'll be reading more about this remarkable American when I get home - LOL), and the list goes on and on - it is an incredible city. We also went to the Reading Station Market which is the old train station that is now a market and it was filled with shops, restaurants, grocers, vegetable stands, etc. It was awesome.
We left Philadelphia to head for "Amish Country" - something I've wanted to see for many, many years. There cult(ure) is so interesting to me and I'm just tickled to be here amongst them (my people, as Em says). You would not believe the size of these farms and the beauty of them. They go on for miles and miles and have the most wonderful farm houses on them, beautiful crops (the hotel clerk told us it is because they put all the horse manure back in the dirt each year) and the biggest barns and silos I've ever seen - It is just something to see. We saw horse and buggies on the streets (as Em so eloquently described my reaction to this) and I can't wait till tomorrow - we ran out of daylight tonight and the Amish go to bed early, cause they don't have lights and so they go to bed at dark and get up when the sun comes up to work their farms. Tomorrow will be one of my favorite days of our trip. And you can believe I'll be taking tons of pictures and I can assure you that I will find a cooperating Amish family to photograph. I'll have an Amish pen pal before dark. I'll also have a bag full of Amish crafts and the like and Em will be getting a Amish "surprise" for Christmas, cause she's been talking bad about my people.
It is 2:30 in the morning. I must retire. The Amish farmers will be up in 3 hours and I have a busy day planned.
Can't wait to tell you all about my day in Lancanster County, Pennsylvania - home of the Amish. Whoop Whoop!
Night!
Jenny
I ate the best meal there last night - the mac and cheese had lobster in it - it was divine.
Jenny Mourad, Social Scientist.
Philadelphia and Lancaster County: Emily
We are now in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania after spending the night in Philadelphia and the day touring the city. If you don't know what Lancaster County is famous for, I'll give you some hints: horse drawn carriages, long dresses, curly hair due to no straightening irons, and guys who wake up sober before noon on Sundays. All of these things are foreign to me. All of these things describe the Amish. Oh wait, I forgot to mention their #1 fan....Jenny Mourad.
Let me just say that I feel sorry for these people. Mainly because their worst nightmare, my mother, has come to town to stalking their carriages and farms trying to take their picture and discover their reasons for having a simple life and not "progressing with the rest of America." She's become Jenny Mourad, social scientist, immersing herself in their society (except we are staying at a Hampton Inn with electricity and have no plans to give up our little Nissan Versa). I'm not kidding when I say the ONLY time she's let me drive on this trip was so she could roll down her window on the highways of Lancaster County to wave her hands and scream "Excuse me! Can I take your picture?" to an Amish carriage going 50 miles an hour down the highway.
By the way... while I'm writing this she says: "Don't make fun of my people" and "OMG it's 1AM. I have to get up early with the Amish farmers!"
She describes this as Heaven. I guess I have just been in the big city of New York for too long, but really?..... No electricity, no cell phone, no facebook, no internet, no email, no pandora, no boyfriends, no parties, no short dresses, no Gap, no H&M.... not my definition of Heaven. I'd also pay ALOT of money to see Jenny Mourad, social scientist, truly immerse herself in their culture and see if she comes out alive, much less calling it "Heaven." Woman loves her cigs, silver jewelry, L'Oreal Preference, and black and white pjs too much to even think about going Amish.
The land and the farms truly are breathtaking, and, as interesting as their way of life is, it's magnificent to see what God has created and how untouched and organic the land is. Everything closes at 8PM. Let me tell you, when I was looking for a restaurant at 9PM tonight about to eat mom's arm because I was so hungry, there was not a single store open. Obviously very different than NYC where I can get a slice or hop into a deli any time of the night.
I'm very interested and already embarrassed to see how mom handles seeing her subjects in their natural habitat. Apparently, they do not like having their picture taken because they do not worship false idols so when mom goes up to an Amish family pushing them together for a picture and saying "Now smile for the camera!" I'm sure something hilarious will happen. And if you know mom at all, you know that this one rule of theirs will not stop her from taking their picture. Say a prayer for the Amish tonight.... they do not know what's headed their way tomorrow.
Mom's also been giving our blog address to everyone we've met along the way so hi to all our new followers! I'm sure there will be a few conversations tomorrow that mom has with the Amish women that will go like this:
Jenny: "We're mom and daughter and we're on a 20 day trip across the Eastern Seaboard. Isn't that neat?" [This is what she says to everyone. I still haven't quite figured out what the Eastern Seaboard is because I still haven't seen water.]
Amish: "That's very interesting, I wish my daughter and I could do that."
Jenny: "I guess it's impossible for you to do this because...you can't really take a carriage across the Eastern Seaboard can you?"
Amish: "No, no you cannot."
Jenny: "Well, you should live vicariously through us and read our blog! Here's the address..."
Amish: "I do not have a computer or internet access either."
Jenny: "How in the hell can you live like this?"
I'll keep everyone posted on how this goes down tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be able to read her novel Amish: Why? tomorrow night that she will add to her novella collection on the blog.
Off to bed because we have to get up with the Amish farmers......
E
Day 5 - From Maryland to Delaware to Philadelphia.....Chesapeake Bay Country
I've always wanted to see the Maryland and Delaware part of the Eastern Coast, and other than in Annapolis, didn't really get to see much of the water of the Chesapeake Bay. Annapolis was a very charming town that sits on the Chesapeake Bay and is the home of the US Naval Academy. The town is the capitol of Maryland, and in its center is the state capitol building, which has a beautiful governor's mansion next to it right in the center of the town! Annapolis also has a really sweet "Church's Square" in the center of the town which has beautiful churches all together in one area. The town sits sort of on a small hill, and these beautiful streets, which are lined with darling store fronts, lead down to the bay from the town's center. There are a great many US flags flying on the sides of the store fronts and people's homes, which was awesome to see. Maryland is known for it's delicious crab - and there are "crabs" everywhere in the stores - made for some cute little purchases in some of the stores! There are tons of restaurants and taverns all over this little town, which I guess, in part, services the sailors there and the other tourists that come through there. We spent a beautiful day there just walking around the area, did a little shopping, visited the Naval Academy briefly, and headed out of town to make it to Baltimore before dark.
A little Minden side note: Craig Almond, from Minden, graduated from Annapolis Naval Academy! I know his parents must be proud of him. I'm thinking he might have played football there, not sure. I'm assuming he is still in the Navy, because I think they have to stay in for 3-4 years after they graduate - but I'm not sure about that, either.
We've been to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, now the Naval Academy in Annapolis and I'm hoping we get to go to West Point Military Academy (Army) in NY before heading back to Manhattan - that'd be cool to see, too. Reid Butcher, from Minden, just graduated from West Point. Way to go, Reid! I've heard it is just beautiful up there - maybe we'll get by there for a visit.
We've only gotten turned around once since we got the rent car in DC and that was in downtown Baltimore, and I can tell you, I wasn't happy with Greta - the TOMTOM navigator woman. She messed me up - I really think we need an upgraded GPS - she just doesn't give a lot of warning and doesn't give a lot of street names - I think she should say, "In 500 yards, you are to take a right onto Hwy 95". Instead she might say, "In 500 yards, turn right, then turn left." At first I was yelling at her (the GPS, Greta), but now I'm at the point of just rolling my eyes at her. For the most part, she's smart, but sometimes, she just doesn't vocalize enough to help me understand (frankly, I think sometimes ole' Greta isn't so sure herself!) LOL Maybe I'll buy an upgrade for the family for Christmas.
We finally find the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, near Camden Yards, (Home of the Baltimore Orioles) which, incidentally, is a very beautiful ballpark, and we find our hotel - the Marriott, which is where we ran into the nice person of the day, Mary Coyle. We got a good night's rest, ordered room service, and I feel asleep before I even blogged. I was one pooped out, overweight, smoking heffer. I bet I've walked 30 miles durning this little trip, and didn't bring my thyroid pills, which is why, other than the fact that I am fat and it is 92 degrees out, that I'm soooooooo hot. LOL But, I'll say this - I can go naked if I want, not that I'd do that to people, but those poor Indian women and Muslim women who have to wear all those clothes in this heat - whew - all I can say is.....I REALLY feel sorry for them!! Their husbands should be ashamed, or their religions, or whatever it is that makes them have to wear ALL those clothes in the 100 degree heat. Poor things. Sometimes I just want to go up to them and tell them about freedom doesn't just mean of religion, speech, protest, ......etc.... but it also means freedom to wear less clothes in the middle of the hot summer. I love America.
Baltimore was a pretty area near the Harbor, but I didn't see anything else there that would keep me going back - the did have a nice mall there, and you know Emily drug me through there.
The drive to Philadelphia was pretty uneventful and not scenic at all until we arrived into Philadelphia - The city is HUGEEE and spread out! Driving in you can see the skyline of the city, and it's beautiful and big. We got to our hotel with Greta's help (no problem this time) and checked in and then took off to explore. We headed down to the Walnut St. area and had a wonderful dinner - best food I've had since we left. I had the BEST macaroni and cheese with lobster. I couldn't believe they put chunks of lobster in the macaroni and cheese, but it was DIVINE!
More to come...
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Day 4 Quote of the Day, Famous Person Sighting and Nice Person of the Day
After having toted 14 suitcases (not really, 14, lol) and bags into the hotels that we are staying in, we decided to downsize our load since we have our rent car. We decided to put what we wanted for our Philadelphia stay all together in one suitcase, since we'd only be there for one night - seeing the historical parts of the city on a "Walking Tour through Philadelphia" and then we'd be heading into the Amish countryside of Pennsylvania.
Trying to decide what to wear for the walking tour and Amish Farm visits, Emily says to me, "Huh, well mom, let's see.....we don't want to dress too provocatively because one of those Amish boys might want to run away and date me!" LOL
She's a confident girl, that Em.
Our famous person sighting for this day was Patty LaBelle - think I'm spelling that right - she was staying in the Marriott in Baltimore the same night we were.
Nice person of the day - a lady named Mary Coyle, from the Marriott Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. She went way above the call of duty for us as guests of the Marriott - can't give you details, but she is the greatest - hooked us up at the Marriott in Philadelphia, too. We are lucky girls. She is our nicest person of the day winner today!
Signing out of Baltimore, Maryland
Trying to decide what to wear for the walking tour and Amish Farm visits, Emily says to me, "Huh, well mom, let's see.....we don't want to dress too provocatively because one of those Amish boys might want to run away and date me!" LOL
She's a confident girl, that Em.
Our famous person sighting for this day was Patty LaBelle - think I'm spelling that right - she was staying in the Marriott in Baltimore the same night we were.
Nice person of the day - a lady named Mary Coyle, from the Marriott Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. She went way above the call of duty for us as guests of the Marriott - can't give you details, but she is the greatest - hooked us up at the Marriott in Philadelphia, too. We are lucky girls. She is our nicest person of the day winner today!
Signing out of Baltimore, Maryland
Driving Day One
DAY...What day is this?: Emily
Sooooo we both were really tired last night after a long walking day in DC and Annapolis and therefore didn't get around to posting. Instead, I listed to mom snore like I've never heard her snore before at 10PM and I was in bed by 11PM. Haven't gotten in bed that early on a Saturday since high school but it was wonderful! After contemplating watching "When Harry Met Sally" for the first time or starting my new book The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing (thanks, Liz), I decided to relax and see how Harry and Sally connect. Great movie. I am, however, trying to read a lot on this trip and have so far been successful. Tom gave me Breakfast of Champions and I finished that in DC and am now on to Girl's Guide and Life of Pi - both should be very enjoyable so I'm looking forward to reading in the car and on the beach when we arrive in Maine/Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard.
We spent yesterday touring the Capitol - which I have done before, but mom has not - and the Library of Congress - which neither of us have seen - and both were breathtaking. I kept thinking that the intricate details of the architecture and paintings in the Library of Congress depict a time in American history when details mattered. From floor to ceiling, the rooms of the Library were covered in paintings representing different genres of the novel or specific Supreme Courts in our history. It was truly breathtaking.
And now we have come to the portion of our trip which I like to call "Emily is in charge of the directions" meaning I am the one with the maps and I am the one who programs the TomTom because mom will not let me drive and I have to feel needed. And because mom's not the best with directions....
Once we left there, we tackled DC traffic and headed to Annapolis, the capital of Maryland - such a cute town, very colonial. We visited the capitol building - which, after seeing the US Capitol earlier that day, was a little disappointing - and the Naval Academy. We also shopped all along the Chesapeake Bay Harbor, enjoying the beautiful day. Mom was having hot flashes all throughout Annapolis and went in to every store to cool off. The Occidentals would have come in handy, but we forgot them in the rent car. We're also calling smaller sweat napkins that did not come from the Occidental "Juniors" for "Junior Occidentals" - I'm not sure the Juniors will do as good of a job for mom in this heat, but we'll see! I also find it funny that any time she says, "I'm sooo hot" to anyone other than me they say, "Where are you from" and once she answers Louisiana, they immediately smirk and judge her because obviously we should be used to this heat. As if we aren't allowed to be hot because we're from the bayous!
Mom's also picking up a new "collection" with every city we stop in. So for the first days we were collecting coffee cups of every city. Now it's lapel pins (for my collection I had when I was 12) and postcards and Christmas ornaments for her "traveling tree" at Christmas time. Yesterday, we were going to buy a bib in every city for Jamie's baby girl until we realized that few gift shops sell bibs and who really wants a bib with "Annapolis, Maryland" or "Niagra Falls" on it? Let's just say.... gift shops love us and we're coming back with a lot of crap that will end up in a rummage sale 5 years down the road. Sorry daddy.
From Annapolis, we came to Baltimore. I have been to Baltimore for a day in college - only visiting the Inner Harbor and going to an Oriole's game at Camden Yards and I loved the Inner Harbor area. We were so tired when we got in last night that we ordered room service and called it an early night so now we are about to get dressed to venture into the Inner Harbor for lunch and a day of shopping! The Inner Harbor is gorgeous - a very nice lady from the Marriott named Mary got us a room on the 20th floor overlooking the Harbor and goodness was it beautiful at night! Mom's a little skeptical of the safeness of Baltimore, but she'll love the Inner Harbor. If she doesn't, it means this trip to Baltimore was pointless, so let's pray she does.
Tonight, we head to Philly for some more American landmarks and tours. I must admit, I do love America and American history, but I am excited to get to the beaches to relax, read, tan, and catch up on some Netflix movies!
Missing NYC, Minden, and everyone in between....
And Happy Father's Day to the best daddy I could have ever asked for and to my loving Papa. I'm so blessed!
Sooooo we both were really tired last night after a long walking day in DC and Annapolis and therefore didn't get around to posting. Instead, I listed to mom snore like I've never heard her snore before at 10PM and I was in bed by 11PM. Haven't gotten in bed that early on a Saturday since high school but it was wonderful! After contemplating watching "When Harry Met Sally" for the first time or starting my new book The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing (thanks, Liz), I decided to relax and see how Harry and Sally connect. Great movie. I am, however, trying to read a lot on this trip and have so far been successful. Tom gave me Breakfast of Champions and I finished that in DC and am now on to Girl's Guide and Life of Pi - both should be very enjoyable so I'm looking forward to reading in the car and on the beach when we arrive in Maine/Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard.
We spent yesterday touring the Capitol - which I have done before, but mom has not - and the Library of Congress - which neither of us have seen - and both were breathtaking. I kept thinking that the intricate details of the architecture and paintings in the Library of Congress depict a time in American history when details mattered. From floor to ceiling, the rooms of the Library were covered in paintings representing different genres of the novel or specific Supreme Courts in our history. It was truly breathtaking.
And now we have come to the portion of our trip which I like to call "Emily is in charge of the directions" meaning I am the one with the maps and I am the one who programs the TomTom because mom will not let me drive and I have to feel needed. And because mom's not the best with directions....
Once we left there, we tackled DC traffic and headed to Annapolis, the capital of Maryland - such a cute town, very colonial. We visited the capitol building - which, after seeing the US Capitol earlier that day, was a little disappointing - and the Naval Academy. We also shopped all along the Chesapeake Bay Harbor, enjoying the beautiful day. Mom was having hot flashes all throughout Annapolis and went in to every store to cool off. The Occidentals would have come in handy, but we forgot them in the rent car. We're also calling smaller sweat napkins that did not come from the Occidental "Juniors" for "Junior Occidentals" - I'm not sure the Juniors will do as good of a job for mom in this heat, but we'll see! I also find it funny that any time she says, "I'm sooo hot" to anyone other than me they say, "Where are you from" and once she answers Louisiana, they immediately smirk and judge her because obviously we should be used to this heat. As if we aren't allowed to be hot because we're from the bayous!
Mom's also picking up a new "collection" with every city we stop in. So for the first days we were collecting coffee cups of every city. Now it's lapel pins (for my collection I had when I was 12) and postcards and Christmas ornaments for her "traveling tree" at Christmas time. Yesterday, we were going to buy a bib in every city for Jamie's baby girl until we realized that few gift shops sell bibs and who really wants a bib with "Annapolis, Maryland" or "Niagra Falls" on it? Let's just say.... gift shops love us and we're coming back with a lot of crap that will end up in a rummage sale 5 years down the road. Sorry daddy.
From Annapolis, we came to Baltimore. I have been to Baltimore for a day in college - only visiting the Inner Harbor and going to an Oriole's game at Camden Yards and I loved the Inner Harbor area. We were so tired when we got in last night that we ordered room service and called it an early night so now we are about to get dressed to venture into the Inner Harbor for lunch and a day of shopping! The Inner Harbor is gorgeous - a very nice lady from the Marriott named Mary got us a room on the 20th floor overlooking the Harbor and goodness was it beautiful at night! Mom's a little skeptical of the safeness of Baltimore, but she'll love the Inner Harbor. If she doesn't, it means this trip to Baltimore was pointless, so let's pray she does.
Tonight, we head to Philly for some more American landmarks and tours. I must admit, I do love America and American history, but I am excited to get to the beaches to relax, read, tan, and catch up on some Netflix movies!
Missing NYC, Minden, and everyone in between....
And Happy Father's Day to the best daddy I could have ever asked for and to my loving Papa. I'm so blessed!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Just so much to see and do here........
We left the hotel today headed for lunch and then to the Newseum - an interactive, exhibit filled news museum that is located in Washington. This is one of the things Emily really wanted to do on our trip to DC, so we did. This place was awesome - it is dedicated to "news" events, the reporters that report that news, and the profound stories that are sent out to the world's public, via TV, newspaper, radio, cable, internet, etc.... It has some awesome exhibits from the huge concrete pieces of the Berlin Wall, one of the Death Towers from the Berlin Wall American Zone, the actual antenna that fell from one of the towers of the World Trade Center that the firemen used to raise the American flag - there was an exhibit of Tim Russett's actual office at NBC from his days on "Meet the Press" and even an area where you could get on camera and "be a reporter" yourself. Everyday, outside the entrance of the museum are the daily front pages of newspapers from towns and cities all over America - these front pages are changed each day to reflect the day's news. The museum is basically dedicated to the very American ideas of Freedom of Speech, Press, Assembly, Protest and Petition - the 1st Amendment. It had a huge map of the world that showed where these ideas were shared in the world, and where they were not - it was unreal to see the world color coded in terms of Freedom of Speech and Press - it's hard to believe that the majority of the world, or much of it, doesn't share the same rights that we all take for granted. It was awesome, and I'd love to go back through it again one day -
We left there and walked down to the United States Archives but the line to see the original Constitution and the original Declaration of Independence was too long, cause we wanted to visit the US Capitol today and it was getting late in the afternoon, so we skipped the Archives. You just can't not see everything in a few days - it would take weeks. We walked to the Capitol and seeing it in person is just mind boggling - it is massive, and as I've said before, I was here when I was 17, and it seemed so different to me today. There were protestors on the lawn protesting the circumcision of baby boys, and I just took a picture, smiled and moved on as one protestor shoved a poster in my view that had a picture of a baby boy on it and the caption read, "You wanna cut what?" I had to laugh to myself, cause I just never gave that much thought to the idea of circumcision and for a brief moment in time, I thought to myself - "hmmmm, well maybe I should have, cause hell, I bet that hurts! " Anyway, we move on to the back of the capitol to try to catch a glimpse of our "famous person of the day" - but to no avail -the senators were gone for the day, so we took a pic with a capitol police officer and told him he'd be our "Famous person of the day" for our trip. His name is Officer Nunn. So today, he is famous.
We left the capitol to go over to the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress, but there was a "suspicious package" investigation going on in the area of the Capitol visitors center, so we were told to leave the area - we are going back tomorrow for a Capitol tour before we leave DC, compliments of Senator Mary Landrieu's office at the Hart Senate Building -we visited her office and they gave us tickets -the workers in her office were so nice and I felt really sorry for some of them as they were fielding calls from angry, angry people concerning the Oil Spill. We could actually hear a man ranting and raving on the phone to one of the staff members as we sat waiting on our tickets to the Capitol.
We left there and went to Arlington National Cemetery, and yes, this was one of my favorite parts of the day. It is an amazingly heart felt sight to see the thousands and thousands of perfectly lined up white marble headstones - which, incidentally is done to symbolize the soldier's stance in the military. The cemetery is the final resting place for many military related people from Civil War Soldiers to those who lost their lives in the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, and many others in between. We visited the eternal flame gravesite of President and Mrs. Kennedy, and that was a beautiful area of the cemetery - his brothers, Robert and Edward Kennedy are buried very near to President Kennedy. The cemetery is just beautiful and a must see for anyone coming to DC. The "changing of the guards", which occurs every 30 minutes of every day, every month, every hour, every year, was so awesome to see in person. These guards are protecting the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier", and I was amazed.
We went and saw many beautiful embassy headquarters today and then on to Georgetown and the campus of Georgetown University - it is simply gorgeous in the area.
Visiting the Capitol tomorrow, maybe the Archives and then we'll head our of DC, headed to Baltimore, Maryland and then onto Philadelphia tomorrow night. It was another good day with my kid.......We'll post pics soon.
Headed to bed.....so, so tired! Hope all is well in Minden.
Jenny
We left there and walked down to the United States Archives but the line to see the original Constitution and the original Declaration of Independence was too long, cause we wanted to visit the US Capitol today and it was getting late in the afternoon, so we skipped the Archives. You just can't not see everything in a few days - it would take weeks. We walked to the Capitol and seeing it in person is just mind boggling - it is massive, and as I've said before, I was here when I was 17, and it seemed so different to me today. There were protestors on the lawn protesting the circumcision of baby boys, and I just took a picture, smiled and moved on as one protestor shoved a poster in my view that had a picture of a baby boy on it and the caption read, "You wanna cut what?" I had to laugh to myself, cause I just never gave that much thought to the idea of circumcision and for a brief moment in time, I thought to myself - "hmmmm, well maybe I should have, cause hell, I bet that hurts! " Anyway, we move on to the back of the capitol to try to catch a glimpse of our "famous person of the day" - but to no avail -the senators were gone for the day, so we took a pic with a capitol police officer and told him he'd be our "Famous person of the day" for our trip. His name is Officer Nunn. So today, he is famous.
We left the capitol to go over to the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress, but there was a "suspicious package" investigation going on in the area of the Capitol visitors center, so we were told to leave the area - we are going back tomorrow for a Capitol tour before we leave DC, compliments of Senator Mary Landrieu's office at the Hart Senate Building -we visited her office and they gave us tickets -the workers in her office were so nice and I felt really sorry for some of them as they were fielding calls from angry, angry people concerning the Oil Spill. We could actually hear a man ranting and raving on the phone to one of the staff members as we sat waiting on our tickets to the Capitol.
We left there and went to Arlington National Cemetery, and yes, this was one of my favorite parts of the day. It is an amazingly heart felt sight to see the thousands and thousands of perfectly lined up white marble headstones - which, incidentally is done to symbolize the soldier's stance in the military. The cemetery is the final resting place for many military related people from Civil War Soldiers to those who lost their lives in the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, and many others in between. We visited the eternal flame gravesite of President and Mrs. Kennedy, and that was a beautiful area of the cemetery - his brothers, Robert and Edward Kennedy are buried very near to President Kennedy. The cemetery is just beautiful and a must see for anyone coming to DC. The "changing of the guards", which occurs every 30 minutes of every day, every month, every hour, every year, was so awesome to see in person. These guards are protecting the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier", and I was amazed.
We went and saw many beautiful embassy headquarters today and then on to Georgetown and the campus of Georgetown University - it is simply gorgeous in the area.
Visiting the Capitol tomorrow, maybe the Archives and then we'll head our of DC, headed to Baltimore, Maryland and then onto Philadelphia tomorrow night. It was another good day with my kid.......We'll post pics soon.
Headed to bed.....so, so tired! Hope all is well in Minden.
Jenny
I'm an American and I'm entitled
Day Three: Emily
This morning, I was tired. Due to cheap Old Navy sandals and a heavy messenger bag that I have carried all over the district, my body was sore. Sure, all of you over 30 are saying "Oh please, you're young!" but I'm serious when I say I looked at mom when I opened my eyes this morning and said, "Mommmmm I'm hurting!" Walking around so much yesterday hurt both of us so we slept in later than anticipated to rest up for another eventful day in our nation's capital.
One of the things I really wanted to do was visit the Newseum - I think mom is going to tell yall about it, so be sure to look at her post and see what it was all about. It was SO interesting and neat. Right up my alley. I loved it and hope to go back when they have the Hurricane Katrina exhibit in August.
I really wanted mom to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at the National Archives because I can't even explain how breathtaking and extreme the experience is. Our government was created by one document in 1776 (The Declaration) and the Constitution is the foundation of laws that our country grew from beginning in 1787 - after the demise of the Articles of Confederation, of course. These two documents have such an intense meaning in American history, and being able to see, with your own two eyes, the same sheet that Ben Franklin and John Hancock touched is amazing. But....we didn't see it because the line was outrageous. I do suggest seeing it to anyone who comes - as long as you're willing to think back in history about how important the documents are! :)
We went to the Capitol and mom got mad when she couldn't climb up the front stairs which is the basis of my title. I laugh every time she says "I'm an American and I paid for this. I should be able to go in there." She's so funny. We're touring the Capitol tomorrow, which I'm excited for mom to see. It's very neat and interesting. After she talked to Officer Nunn for 30 minutes asking him every time someone would leave the Capitol "Is he/she famous?" and a suspicious package at the visitor's center, we did not get to go in for a tour. We also went to visit Senator Landrieu's office and everyone was so nice there. Poor things have so many complaints about the oil spill and these are college kids answer phone calls from people complaining. As if they can help the spill!
From there, we went back to Arlington Cemetery - by this time, we decided to do the "tourmobile" which was a trolly that took you around the cemetery instead of walking the mile to see the changing of the guard. Mom will tell you all about it - it was probably her favorite part of the day. I will add that during the changing of the guard, which is dead silent with about 100 people watching, an old lady could not control her bodily functions and I thought it was mom at first and was totally embarrassed. When I realized it was someone else's mom and someone else's problem, I couldn't stop laughing - of course, all the while still respecting the soldiers. Pretty funny stuff, though!
We also saw Embassy Row (embassies are represented by different countries) and I quizzed mom on flags and different countries and I have to say one of the funniest things was when I pointed to a flag with red, white, and blue and a white star and said "I'll give you $100 to tell me what countries flag that is" and she answered "Texas." It was amazing and I could not stop laughing - that should prove how tired we are!!
After that, we had a cab driver take us through Georgetown's campus because I really wanted to see it and OMG all I can say is it definitely rivals the beautiful oak trees of Tulane's campus. The buildings were breath-taking and the campus was soooo clean. I was very impressed and am in love with the whole Georgetown area. Georgetown is a town, not just a college FYI. It has such a small town feel to it and the cobblestone streets remind me of the brick roads of Minden and the neighborhoods remind me of New Orleans.
I'm VERY interested to see mom drive in DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia tomorrow. I think she should let me drive, but, that will never happen. I am going to bet that either 1. She will curse my TomTom the entire time or 2. I will be blamed for us getting lost in the ghettofabulous neighborhoods of Baltimore. Either way, we have had some of our funniest moments when we are lost and peeing our pants because we have no idea where to go and mom freaks out driving, so this is going to be a blast!
Until tomorrow....
This morning, I was tired. Due to cheap Old Navy sandals and a heavy messenger bag that I have carried all over the district, my body was sore. Sure, all of you over 30 are saying "Oh please, you're young!" but I'm serious when I say I looked at mom when I opened my eyes this morning and said, "Mommmmm I'm hurting!" Walking around so much yesterday hurt both of us so we slept in later than anticipated to rest up for another eventful day in our nation's capital.
One of the things I really wanted to do was visit the Newseum - I think mom is going to tell yall about it, so be sure to look at her post and see what it was all about. It was SO interesting and neat. Right up my alley. I loved it and hope to go back when they have the Hurricane Katrina exhibit in August.
I really wanted mom to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at the National Archives because I can't even explain how breathtaking and extreme the experience is. Our government was created by one document in 1776 (The Declaration) and the Constitution is the foundation of laws that our country grew from beginning in 1787 - after the demise of the Articles of Confederation, of course. These two documents have such an intense meaning in American history, and being able to see, with your own two eyes, the same sheet that Ben Franklin and John Hancock touched is amazing. But....we didn't see it because the line was outrageous. I do suggest seeing it to anyone who comes - as long as you're willing to think back in history about how important the documents are! :)
We went to the Capitol and mom got mad when she couldn't climb up the front stairs which is the basis of my title. I laugh every time she says "I'm an American and I paid for this. I should be able to go in there." She's so funny. We're touring the Capitol tomorrow, which I'm excited for mom to see. It's very neat and interesting. After she talked to Officer Nunn for 30 minutes asking him every time someone would leave the Capitol "Is he/she famous?" and a suspicious package at the visitor's center, we did not get to go in for a tour. We also went to visit Senator Landrieu's office and everyone was so nice there. Poor things have so many complaints about the oil spill and these are college kids answer phone calls from people complaining. As if they can help the spill!
From there, we went back to Arlington Cemetery - by this time, we decided to do the "tourmobile" which was a trolly that took you around the cemetery instead of walking the mile to see the changing of the guard. Mom will tell you all about it - it was probably her favorite part of the day. I will add that during the changing of the guard, which is dead silent with about 100 people watching, an old lady could not control her bodily functions and I thought it was mom at first and was totally embarrassed. When I realized it was someone else's mom and someone else's problem, I couldn't stop laughing - of course, all the while still respecting the soldiers. Pretty funny stuff, though!
We also saw Embassy Row (embassies are represented by different countries) and I quizzed mom on flags and different countries and I have to say one of the funniest things was when I pointed to a flag with red, white, and blue and a white star and said "I'll give you $100 to tell me what countries flag that is" and she answered "Texas." It was amazing and I could not stop laughing - that should prove how tired we are!!
After that, we had a cab driver take us through Georgetown's campus because I really wanted to see it and OMG all I can say is it definitely rivals the beautiful oak trees of Tulane's campus. The buildings were breath-taking and the campus was soooo clean. I was very impressed and am in love with the whole Georgetown area. Georgetown is a town, not just a college FYI. It has such a small town feel to it and the cobblestone streets remind me of the brick roads of Minden and the neighborhoods remind me of New Orleans.
I'm VERY interested to see mom drive in DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia tomorrow. I think she should let me drive, but, that will never happen. I am going to bet that either 1. She will curse my TomTom the entire time or 2. I will be blamed for us getting lost in the ghettofabulous neighborhoods of Baltimore. Either way, we have had some of our funniest moments when we are lost and peeing our pants because we have no idea where to go and mom freaks out driving, so this is going to be a blast!
Until tomorrow....
Quote of the Day - Day 3
While at the very solemn Arlington National Cemetery today, Emily and I were at the "Amphitheater" that is located on the grounds of the cemetery. This amphitheater is massive, made of white marble, huge columns and has seating for people who are attending funerals at Arlington. You can imagine how quiet and solemn the whole experience is, just being among the thousands and thousands of white marble headstones.....it is a beautiful site, but sad and eye opening at the same time.
Back to the amphitheater - we are standing at this site and a rather large, loud, obnoxious woman says to her friend - "Do they have shows here?"
Emily, in all her disgust with such a stupid question says, "Damn, woman, what do you think this is, Branson?"
I fell out laughing, which caused me to nearly pee on myself - it's hard to find a bathroom in a cemetery - ever tried?
Back to the amphitheater - we are standing at this site and a rather large, loud, obnoxious woman says to her friend - "Do they have shows here?"
Emily, in all her disgust with such a stupid question says, "Damn, woman, what do you think this is, Branson?"
I fell out laughing, which caused me to nearly pee on myself - it's hard to find a bathroom in a cemetery - ever tried?
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Day Two: Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day:
Jenny: "We've been told to go to Dupont Circle for dinner. Can you take us there?"
Cab Driver: Giggling... "Dupont Circle tends to be the gay area of DC."
Jenny: "Really? Are we allowed there?"
Emily: "Mom, they don't have an electric fence to keep the heterosexuals out."
Mom's main goal today was to find a famous person. After "Michelle Obama" turned out to be white and we stalked the White House for 2 hours looking for Hillary, it did not happen. We did, however, meet Secret Service, so they're our famous people today.
Jenny: "We've been told to go to Dupont Circle for dinner. Can you take us there?"
Cab Driver: Giggling... "Dupont Circle tends to be the gay area of DC."
Jenny: "Really? Are we allowed there?"
Emily: "Mom, they don't have an electric fence to keep the heterosexuals out."
Mom's main goal today was to find a famous person. After "Michelle Obama" turned out to be white and we stalked the White House for 2 hours looking for Hillary, it did not happen. We did, however, meet Secret Service, so they're our famous people today.
Day Two: Maps, Monuments, and Misguided Cab Rides
Welllll since mom has told you everything we did today except for when we used the bathroom... oh wait, she covered that too... I don't have much to add but I'll see what I can do.
The city really is beautiful and very different from New York. I have been here once in high school for a week trip and twice for day trips in college. Each time, I figure the city out more and more and love learning new things about it. I, like mom, find it very difficult to figure out my way around the city because it's not laid out on a grid like New York is. We're using our map ALOT and strengthen the Southern accents when asking for directions. We've done our best so far which brings me to the funny cab driver we had today....
After the Jefferson Memorial, mom and I were totally pooped and could not walk anymore so we hailed a cab to take us to Arlington National Cemetery. *Interesting DC fact: my idol, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and my second favorite President, her husband JFK, are buried there.* As soon as we got in the cab and told him to take us to the Cemetery, he reluctantly said "How do I get there?" and of course mom's eyes got big and we busted into immediate laughter. We decided to let him try to figure it out and we literally peed ourselves as he tried to stop every cab driver that passed by to ask how to get us there. No one stopped. So I got out the maps and told him everywhere to go - "You want to go West on Independence Avenue and take the ramp right." Of course the ramp was closed due to construction so I had to guess how to get there via Washington, DC Interstates (thank God for my impeccable sense of direction which I did NOT inherit from my mom). After a few "Are you sure we're going the right way"s from our cab driver and him pulling over three times to ask one construction worker and two joggers where we were supposed to go to validate my directions, we finally made it to Arlington Cemetery....and it was CLOSED for the night! We got a few pictures in after the cabbie agreed to take us back to DC because "We're a team now. We're in this together." As I tried to tell him directions to the Iwo Jima Memorial, he was not willing to take the risk to get us to the Memorial and was only going to take us to Dupont Circle for dinner! We laughed and laughed and had a hefty $23.75 cab ride, but the memory was much worth it (I guess it was, mom paid for it!) I found it very interesting that our cab driver was from Ethiopia and after mom asked "is everyone starving there?" he told us he escaped government corruption and came to DC to go to college and is working on getting his MBA degree. Might be a load of bull but we believed our partner and his stories were very interesting to me.
I was glad to visit my favorite memorial - the FDR memorial (my favorite President) - because it's just absolutely breathtaking. When you're visiting it, you're forced to reflect on a difficult time in our nation's history. I was also happy to visit the Korean Memorial because my Papa Mourad fought in the Korean War - I'm so proud of him and so grateful that he's my grandfather. He truly is a hero, and I was happy to honor him by visiting the beautiful, intricate Korean Memorial.
The only thing I have to complain about so far is my coughing attacks from the cigs (I will have second-hand smoke lung cancer after this trip). But if that's all I have to complain about, I know I'm a lucky gal! So glad to be with my mom - she makes me laugh like none other. When she smokes, I just smack my gum in her ear to annoy her. We're a good pair.
Have a great Friday, all! Until tomorrow.....
The city really is beautiful and very different from New York. I have been here once in high school for a week trip and twice for day trips in college. Each time, I figure the city out more and more and love learning new things about it. I, like mom, find it very difficult to figure out my way around the city because it's not laid out on a grid like New York is. We're using our map ALOT and strengthen the Southern accents when asking for directions. We've done our best so far which brings me to the funny cab driver we had today....
After the Jefferson Memorial, mom and I were totally pooped and could not walk anymore so we hailed a cab to take us to Arlington National Cemetery. *Interesting DC fact: my idol, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and my second favorite President, her husband JFK, are buried there.* As soon as we got in the cab and told him to take us to the Cemetery, he reluctantly said "How do I get there?" and of course mom's eyes got big and we busted into immediate laughter. We decided to let him try to figure it out and we literally peed ourselves as he tried to stop every cab driver that passed by to ask how to get us there. No one stopped. So I got out the maps and told him everywhere to go - "You want to go West on Independence Avenue and take the ramp right." Of course the ramp was closed due to construction so I had to guess how to get there via Washington, DC Interstates (thank God for my impeccable sense of direction which I did NOT inherit from my mom). After a few "Are you sure we're going the right way"s from our cab driver and him pulling over three times to ask one construction worker and two joggers where we were supposed to go to validate my directions, we finally made it to Arlington Cemetery....and it was CLOSED for the night! We got a few pictures in after the cabbie agreed to take us back to DC because "We're a team now. We're in this together." As I tried to tell him directions to the Iwo Jima Memorial, he was not willing to take the risk to get us to the Memorial and was only going to take us to Dupont Circle for dinner! We laughed and laughed and had a hefty $23.75 cab ride, but the memory was much worth it (I guess it was, mom paid for it!) I found it very interesting that our cab driver was from Ethiopia and after mom asked "is everyone starving there?" he told us he escaped government corruption and came to DC to go to college and is working on getting his MBA degree. Might be a load of bull but we believed our partner and his stories were very interesting to me.
I was glad to visit my favorite memorial - the FDR memorial (my favorite President) - because it's just absolutely breathtaking. When you're visiting it, you're forced to reflect on a difficult time in our nation's history. I was also happy to visit the Korean Memorial because my Papa Mourad fought in the Korean War - I'm so proud of him and so grateful that he's my grandfather. He truly is a hero, and I was happy to honor him by visiting the beautiful, intricate Korean Memorial.
The only thing I have to complain about so far is my coughing attacks from the cigs (I will have second-hand smoke lung cancer after this trip). But if that's all I have to complain about, I know I'm a lucky gal! So glad to be with my mom - she makes me laugh like none other. When she smokes, I just smack my gum in her ear to annoy her. We're a good pair.
Have a great Friday, all! Until tomorrow.....
Mine eyes have seen the glory of this city.....
I don't even know where to begin with the descriptions of this day.
I visited this city when I was 17 years old, and don't remember it being anything like what I saw today. My favorite high school teacher brought a small group of us here in 1978 and all I remember was the 6 locks on our hotel door, sirens screaming all through the night and the busy Pennsylvania Avenue where the White House sat off the sidewalk. I remember thinking to myself when I first saw the White House back then, "Wow, it's in the middle of downtown, like the courthouse in downtown Shreveport." At 17, I was disillusioned, and was very disappointed - or maybe I just don't have such a great memory of that trip. I'm not sure any 17 year old can really fully understand what is here
I have wanted to revisit DC for many years. Both of my children were able to visit here during their high school years, and I was very happy about that, but I really always wanted to come back as a more "mature" US citizen. I felt like I might be able to appreciate it more as an adult....and today really proved that theory true. I really hoped that Kip would be able to come with us on this trip - I feel like this city would be one that would really appeal to his love of history - there is so much to see and do and take in - he promised he'd come before Emily leaves NYC.
We left the hotel this morning, on foot patrol, to see and take in the west side of the city - We decided since we'd only be here a few days that it would be important to divide the city in half so that we could take in as much as we could in a short time. We strolled through the beautiful Georgetown, Foggy Bottom area where we are staying and took in, again, all of the beautiful flowers and quaint side streets on our way to the more popular sights. I think one thing that totally intrigues me about this city is how "quiet" it is - The cars even seem quiet - there is little noise anywhere which makes it very pleasant to walk around. The city has an abundance of tree-lined sidewalks and other walking paths, even though the "layout" of the street system is quite confusing. In contrast, NYC is laid out on a perfect grid system, which makes it very easy to find your way around. There are numerous "circles" within the city and the main thoroughfares kinda go "through" the circle - so I did find it somewhat difficult to figure out the street system.....but we did and we walked and covered the entire west side sights today.
The government buildings are just huge - I can't hardly describe how enormous they are and how beautiful the architecture is....if you can image our state capitol building times a thousand - that's how grand and big and interesting so many of these buildings are. Most are built out of beautiful granite, and I even noticed today that some of the street curbs are made from granite. Some of these buildings take up an entire, large city block...Big government, I guess, needs big buildings - it is just mind boggling to think of all the "work" of the government when you see this city.
We headed out of Georgetown with our camera in hand, a diet coke, some cigs and a plan...we passed the State Department where we hoped to get a glimpse of Hillary, cause her office is in that building, but we understand that she had a meeting today with the President, and so she didn't have time to wave at us from her window...we had a tour scheduled at the State Department today, but decided not to take up time doing that, so we skipped it and moved on towards Constitution Avenue so that we could see everything along that beautiful stretch of road - so much to see: The Federal Reserve Buildings were beautiful and had the most gorgeous fountains nearby, we saw the Department of the Interior Buildings, and headed toward the Washington Monument. It is a beautiful, simple sight, surrounded by waving American flags. The granite is actually two different tones of white - which occurred due to a halt in the construction of the monument caused by lack of funding and the beginning of the Civil War. I didn't notice it until Em pointed it out - but it is such a beautiful sight. We left the Washington Monument and went to the South lawn of the White House - what a beautiful sight to see - I had never seen the South side of the WH, so I just couldn't take my eyes off of it - it is just beautiful. The public, of course, is not allowed very close to it, but the view from this side was just breathtaking to me. We left that side of the WH and went and had lunch at the Occidental Grill and Seafood Restaurant next to the WH - a very old and famous place to eat in the city that has hosted hundreds of "statesmen" as they call them. The walls are lined with photographs of all the famous people, both celebrities and political figures, including Presidents who have eaten there - it was, the best hamburger I've ever eaten, and as you all know, I've eaten alot of hamburgers in my day. Delicious food and an interesting place. We asked the waiter if they wanted our autograph pic for the walls, he said no. He obviously didn't know it was us.
I took a pile of Occidental napkins out of the ladies' restroom. They are really thick and made for great sweat rags today - you know me, always hot. Emily said I could go to jail. I said it was important for me to wipe my sweaty brow from time to time, and that I would risk it - after all they are just fancy paper napkin/towels things. I didn't go to jail, but I did keep the sweat off my face all day. I still have some for tomorrow - yes, I took more than my fair share - common in this city. Bwahahahaa.
We headed up to the south side of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to see the other side of the "People's House." On the way, we passed The Department of the Treasury and it was another outstanding building as well. It is in close proximity to the south side of the White House, which is was under heavy guard, of course, and had changed so much since my visit in high school. It is fenced in and of course, they didn't know we were coming, so we couldn't go in to use the bathroom, so we just took pics and watched the few protestors that were around - one of them protesting whatever in going on in the Congo of Africa, and another poor, old, sun-wrinkled woman protesting our relationship with Israel. You gotta love America - you can stand in front of the WH and protest. I love this place. I draped my American flag across my bod and took a picture right next to the protestors. God Bless America.
Next to the WH are the Executive Offices of the WH staff and many other people. This marvel was under exterior renovation, and I just couldn't take my eyes off the expansiveness of this building. A secret service hottie told us that the inside is not near as beautiful as the outside. It was completely covered in scaffolding, but it was breathtakingly beautiful.
We headed down towards the Potomac and the Tidal Basin area and walked into the National Headquarters of the American Red Cross, where we convinced the woman at the front desk to let us use the bathroom there or there would be a National Crisis. Em was doing the pee pee dance all the way up the granite stairs, so we were grateful that she let us in. The American Red Cross is known for doing nice things for America, and they certainly did a nice thing for Em today.
We crossed Constitution Avenue again and headed to the WWII memorial which was just beautiful, then we walked along the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Monument which was just fabulous. Abe was the man in his day, and they have built a really great stone/granite/marble monster to remember him by. It was something to see - we left there and went to the Vietnam Memorial Wall. I met a wonderful, sweet, precious man in Minden not long ago - Mr. Garcia, and learned that he had lost his son in the Vietnam War. I found his son's name on the wall and did a pencil rub for Mr. Garcia that I will take to him when I get home. The park rangers will look up the names of the fallen soldier for you, give you the wall number and line number which makes it so much easier to find. I hope that he already has seen the wall himself, but in case he hadn't, maybe this pencil rub will mean something to him.
We left the Vietnam Memorial and went over to see the Korean War Memorial which was very beautiful, then on to the FDR memorial (my favorite) and then walked to the Jefferson Memorial, which was just unreal. The marble columns were massive. We then took a cab to Arlington Cemetary and I'm gonna let Em describe that hilarious cab ride......oh my...
We ate at Dupont Circle tonight and it was another great meal. And I am pooped and my fingers hurt from typing and Em just threatened that no one would read this anymore because I'm making it a novel, so I have to shut up. But there was soooo much seen today - and tomorrow we'll do the East Side of the city - which includes the US Capitol, US Supreme Court and many other wonders in this beautiful city. I'm proud to be an American, big government or not.
G'nite! By the way, our pictures will be on FB cause I haven't figured out how to post them here, yet.
Hugs to all.
I visited this city when I was 17 years old, and don't remember it being anything like what I saw today. My favorite high school teacher brought a small group of us here in 1978 and all I remember was the 6 locks on our hotel door, sirens screaming all through the night and the busy Pennsylvania Avenue where the White House sat off the sidewalk. I remember thinking to myself when I first saw the White House back then, "Wow, it's in the middle of downtown, like the courthouse in downtown Shreveport." At 17, I was disillusioned, and was very disappointed - or maybe I just don't have such a great memory of that trip. I'm not sure any 17 year old can really fully understand what is here
I have wanted to revisit DC for many years. Both of my children were able to visit here during their high school years, and I was very happy about that, but I really always wanted to come back as a more "mature" US citizen. I felt like I might be able to appreciate it more as an adult....and today really proved that theory true. I really hoped that Kip would be able to come with us on this trip - I feel like this city would be one that would really appeal to his love of history - there is so much to see and do and take in - he promised he'd come before Emily leaves NYC.
We left the hotel this morning, on foot patrol, to see and take in the west side of the city - We decided since we'd only be here a few days that it would be important to divide the city in half so that we could take in as much as we could in a short time. We strolled through the beautiful Georgetown, Foggy Bottom area where we are staying and took in, again, all of the beautiful flowers and quaint side streets on our way to the more popular sights. I think one thing that totally intrigues me about this city is how "quiet" it is - The cars even seem quiet - there is little noise anywhere which makes it very pleasant to walk around. The city has an abundance of tree-lined sidewalks and other walking paths, even though the "layout" of the street system is quite confusing. In contrast, NYC is laid out on a perfect grid system, which makes it very easy to find your way around. There are numerous "circles" within the city and the main thoroughfares kinda go "through" the circle - so I did find it somewhat difficult to figure out the street system.....but we did and we walked and covered the entire west side sights today.
The government buildings are just huge - I can't hardly describe how enormous they are and how beautiful the architecture is....if you can image our state capitol building times a thousand - that's how grand and big and interesting so many of these buildings are. Most are built out of beautiful granite, and I even noticed today that some of the street curbs are made from granite. Some of these buildings take up an entire, large city block...Big government, I guess, needs big buildings - it is just mind boggling to think of all the "work" of the government when you see this city.
We headed out of Georgetown with our camera in hand, a diet coke, some cigs and a plan...we passed the State Department where we hoped to get a glimpse of Hillary, cause her office is in that building, but we understand that she had a meeting today with the President, and so she didn't have time to wave at us from her window...we had a tour scheduled at the State Department today, but decided not to take up time doing that, so we skipped it and moved on towards Constitution Avenue so that we could see everything along that beautiful stretch of road - so much to see: The Federal Reserve Buildings were beautiful and had the most gorgeous fountains nearby, we saw the Department of the Interior Buildings, and headed toward the Washington Monument. It is a beautiful, simple sight, surrounded by waving American flags. The granite is actually two different tones of white - which occurred due to a halt in the construction of the monument caused by lack of funding and the beginning of the Civil War. I didn't notice it until Em pointed it out - but it is such a beautiful sight. We left the Washington Monument and went to the South lawn of the White House - what a beautiful sight to see - I had never seen the South side of the WH, so I just couldn't take my eyes off of it - it is just beautiful. The public, of course, is not allowed very close to it, but the view from this side was just breathtaking to me. We left that side of the WH and went and had lunch at the Occidental Grill and Seafood Restaurant next to the WH - a very old and famous place to eat in the city that has hosted hundreds of "statesmen" as they call them. The walls are lined with photographs of all the famous people, both celebrities and political figures, including Presidents who have eaten there - it was, the best hamburger I've ever eaten, and as you all know, I've eaten alot of hamburgers in my day. Delicious food and an interesting place. We asked the waiter if they wanted our autograph pic for the walls, he said no. He obviously didn't know it was us.
I took a pile of Occidental napkins out of the ladies' restroom. They are really thick and made for great sweat rags today - you know me, always hot. Emily said I could go to jail. I said it was important for me to wipe my sweaty brow from time to time, and that I would risk it - after all they are just fancy paper napkin/towels things. I didn't go to jail, but I did keep the sweat off my face all day. I still have some for tomorrow - yes, I took more than my fair share - common in this city. Bwahahahaa.
We headed up to the south side of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to see the other side of the "People's House." On the way, we passed The Department of the Treasury and it was another outstanding building as well. It is in close proximity to the south side of the White House, which is was under heavy guard, of course, and had changed so much since my visit in high school. It is fenced in and of course, they didn't know we were coming, so we couldn't go in to use the bathroom, so we just took pics and watched the few protestors that were around - one of them protesting whatever in going on in the Congo of Africa, and another poor, old, sun-wrinkled woman protesting our relationship with Israel. You gotta love America - you can stand in front of the WH and protest. I love this place. I draped my American flag across my bod and took a picture right next to the protestors. God Bless America.
Next to the WH are the Executive Offices of the WH staff and many other people. This marvel was under exterior renovation, and I just couldn't take my eyes off the expansiveness of this building. A secret service hottie told us that the inside is not near as beautiful as the outside. It was completely covered in scaffolding, but it was breathtakingly beautiful.
We headed down towards the Potomac and the Tidal Basin area and walked into the National Headquarters of the American Red Cross, where we convinced the woman at the front desk to let us use the bathroom there or there would be a National Crisis. Em was doing the pee pee dance all the way up the granite stairs, so we were grateful that she let us in. The American Red Cross is known for doing nice things for America, and they certainly did a nice thing for Em today.
We crossed Constitution Avenue again and headed to the WWII memorial which was just beautiful, then we walked along the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Monument which was just fabulous. Abe was the man in his day, and they have built a really great stone/granite/marble monster to remember him by. It was something to see - we left there and went to the Vietnam Memorial Wall. I met a wonderful, sweet, precious man in Minden not long ago - Mr. Garcia, and learned that he had lost his son in the Vietnam War. I found his son's name on the wall and did a pencil rub for Mr. Garcia that I will take to him when I get home. The park rangers will look up the names of the fallen soldier for you, give you the wall number and line number which makes it so much easier to find. I hope that he already has seen the wall himself, but in case he hadn't, maybe this pencil rub will mean something to him.
We left the Vietnam Memorial and went over to see the Korean War Memorial which was very beautiful, then on to the FDR memorial (my favorite) and then walked to the Jefferson Memorial, which was just unreal. The marble columns were massive. We then took a cab to Arlington Cemetary and I'm gonna let Em describe that hilarious cab ride......oh my...
We ate at Dupont Circle tonight and it was another great meal. And I am pooped and my fingers hurt from typing and Em just threatened that no one would read this anymore because I'm making it a novel, so I have to shut up. But there was soooo much seen today - and tomorrow we'll do the East Side of the city - which includes the US Capitol, US Supreme Court and many other wonders in this beautiful city. I'm proud to be an American, big government or not.
G'nite! By the way, our pictures will be on FB cause I haven't figured out how to post them here, yet.
Hugs to all.
You heard it here....
Even though it's an absolutely beautiful day today, I just want everyone to know that I have told mom it's too windy to wear a thin dress today. If she does, Barack Obama is going to see her Grannies or her Christmas. We'll see if she listens....
Let's hope she listens.
Let's hope she listens.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Day 1 - Arrival in DC
I got to sit next to former Presidential Candidate and House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt on the plane to DC. Whoop Whoop! He didn't speak the whole plane ride, so I found him not to be very entertaining. LOL He read 3 or 4 newspapers on the ride to DC from Atlanta, then took a nap. I snuck in a picture of his sleeping self with my iphone and caught his mouth wide open. It was an undercover operation - he had no idea I was taking his picture from my phone, which was in my purse on the floor - I just kinda aimed it up and took it - It was pretty funny. After we landed, he hoped in a waiting black car and took off to do whatever it is he does now. I know the guy probably doesn't want everyone to bother him, but he could have at the least spoken - he's really lucky I didn't bend his ear on every issue that I have. I really should have - I don't usually miss out on opportunity like that, but I was sleepy! :)We had no problems traveling to DC today, and met up at the hotel within an hour of each other! It was great to see my Emily - her smile makes my day.... We love our hotel and the area we are in - we are basically on the campus of George Washington University, about 3 blocks from Georgetown. The area is very quiet and the streets are cobblestone, with beautiful flowers and trees lining the streets. We are 2 blocks from Pennsylvania Ave and then about 10 blocks up from the White House. The area reminds me a lot of the campus area of Tulane, in New Orleans, with the exception of the architecture - of course it is very colonial here in contrast to very French in New Orleans. Georgetown is a neighborhood within DC and we went up tonight to that area for dinner. It is very pretty and has, again, cobble streets, lots of brick and stone and lots of stores, bars and restaurants and after a long walk through Georgetown, we ended up at the "Exorcists steps" - famous steps from the exorcist movie that I have not ever seen, but Em was excited to see them and she climbed them to the top - about 60-70 steps that go straight up to another street. Needless to say, I stayed below, took a picture and begged her to come down. LOL It was 11 pm at night! We walked over the Key Bridge that goes over the Potomac to try to find a good night picture of the Washington Monument but the camera didn't take a very good pic. Today was a day to get familiar with the area and we will get up tomorrow and really scout out the area - our plan is to start at the Newseum and walk the city and see all the beautiful landmarks - we have a tour of the State Department tomorrow as well - maybe will run into Hillary, and I'll bend her ear. Happy to be with my girl and looking forward to the days ahead. Till tomorrow................Jenny
Quote of the Day and Famous People Sightings- Day 1
It is usually Emily that provides the quote of the day when she is home, but today......well, maybe it was me.
"I really think they probably named Georgetown after George Washington." Jenny, duh.......
Famous People Sightings:
Dick Gephardt - Jenny
A man who starred on "Save by the Bell" - Emily
"I really think they probably named Georgetown after George Washington." Jenny, duh.......
Famous People Sightings:
Dick Gephardt - Jenny
A man who starred on "Save by the Bell" - Emily
From the city that never sleeps to the city of red, white, and blue...
Just a quick note before you start reading my posts: I am not as funny as my mother. I was not blessed with her quick wit and sincerely appreciate anytime I come up with a joke. If you want the funny side of everything that happens to us on this trip, see her posts. If you want to know what ACTUALLY happens on our trip, read mine! :)
DAY ONE - EMILY:
Today is our first day in DC, and I arrived via MegaBus - a cheap (my ticket was $5.50) bus service that goes all over the Northeast from NYC. I gathered my bags at 9AM, ventured to the subway with one carry bag full of electronics and makeup and one rolling suitcase containing as many sundresses an sandals as I could fit in it. Many of you have probably never considered traveling on the subway with suitcases. Let me tell you... it's not an easy task! Especially when you're hardheaded like me and refuse to take the elevators. I'm sure I gave a few Europeans some laughs and "stupid Americans" thoughts. Finally, I arrived at the bus with a whole wheat bagel in hand, relaxed in my seat, and ready to read my book - Kurt Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions." I counted my eggs before they hatched by thinking I was in the clear and sitting by myself for the entire 5 hour ride. Wrong. A man who didn't quite understand personal space sat by me forcing me to sleep with my head in my lap to avoid awkward shoulder rubs. But it didn't really matter - I was seeing my mom soon and I knew she'd put me in a good mood!
Once I arrived at the hotel, mom and I were going to eat each other if we didn't get food in our bellies ASAP so we went to a local bar and ate a so-so burger. We spent tonight venturing around Georgetown, which I have visited in high school and also have a lot of New York friends who went to school there, and it was just as beautiful as I remember. It has a small-town feel about it with designer stores, restaurants, and Irish pubs lining the main street (M Street). Mom loved the cobblestone side streets - I didn't tell her that I saw a few rats crawling around the cobblestones when she was looking away. You get rats with any big town, especially in the summer. And pigeons. I hate pigeons - they're rats with wings and I hate them. They have no purpose on this earth except to freak me out. EW. This is how mom feels about rats so I did not point them out.
We also ended up seeing the "Exorcist steps" and I climbed them - probably about 60 steeeeeep stairs! Of course Mrs. Cancer Stick Smoker didn't join me on that climb. Instead she retreated to a nearby Exxon Station and what happened there will forever be our secret. Let's just say it involved an outside bathroom with no lock and we're still laughing. We walked across Key Bridge and saw the Washington Monument lit up - very beautiful.
Now we're planning Day Two which will definitely be more eventful than Day One, as it will be our first full day. We'll keep you all posted!!
DAY ONE - EMILY:
Today is our first day in DC, and I arrived via MegaBus - a cheap (my ticket was $5.50) bus service that goes all over the Northeast from NYC. I gathered my bags at 9AM, ventured to the subway with one carry bag full of electronics and makeup and one rolling suitcase containing as many sundresses an sandals as I could fit in it. Many of you have probably never considered traveling on the subway with suitcases. Let me tell you... it's not an easy task! Especially when you're hardheaded like me and refuse to take the elevators. I'm sure I gave a few Europeans some laughs and "stupid Americans" thoughts. Finally, I arrived at the bus with a whole wheat bagel in hand, relaxed in my seat, and ready to read my book - Kurt Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions." I counted my eggs before they hatched by thinking I was in the clear and sitting by myself for the entire 5 hour ride. Wrong. A man who didn't quite understand personal space sat by me forcing me to sleep with my head in my lap to avoid awkward shoulder rubs. But it didn't really matter - I was seeing my mom soon and I knew she'd put me in a good mood!
Once I arrived at the hotel, mom and I were going to eat each other if we didn't get food in our bellies ASAP so we went to a local bar and ate a so-so burger. We spent tonight venturing around Georgetown, which I have visited in high school and also have a lot of New York friends who went to school there, and it was just as beautiful as I remember. It has a small-town feel about it with designer stores, restaurants, and Irish pubs lining the main street (M Street). Mom loved the cobblestone side streets - I didn't tell her that I saw a few rats crawling around the cobblestones when she was looking away. You get rats with any big town, especially in the summer. And pigeons. I hate pigeons - they're rats with wings and I hate them. They have no purpose on this earth except to freak me out. EW. This is how mom feels about rats so I did not point them out.
We also ended up seeing the "Exorcist steps" and I climbed them - probably about 60 steeeeeep stairs! Of course Mrs. Cancer Stick Smoker didn't join me on that climb. Instead she retreated to a nearby Exxon Station and what happened there will forever be our secret. Let's just say it involved an outside bathroom with no lock and we're still laughing. We walked across Key Bridge and saw the Washington Monument lit up - very beautiful.
Now we're planning Day Two which will definitely be more eventful than Day One, as it will be our first full day. We'll keep you all posted!!
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