Washington - heat, walking, monuments, museums all for free!

Sunday 2^nd September – New York – Washington D.C.

We got up the earliest we had in almost 10 days at 8am, as we had to catch our bus that was leaving at 10.50am. We could of got up a little later but we have got into a habit of creating an explosive mess with our luggage so always need extra time to repack. We checked out of what had been our base for well over a week and although it was sad to be leaving NYC, we were both looking forward to the next adventure which was Washington DC. On our way to the subway a local advised us that the train line we needed was under repair and it was about a further 5 blocks up to the next stop which may or may not have been running. As it goes she was heading in the same direction as us, so the 3 of us split a cab. She was a local school teacher and we enjoyed a few stories she had to tell about NYC. We arrived into Chinatown in good time and to our surprise our bus was ready to board. We decided to miss the yummy dumplings for breakfast!

The bus departed a little late as it seemed they were trying to get people on even as it pulled away. The bus ride was easy enough and without any problems. It was a similar service from Boston where it ran NYC Chinatown to Washington D.C Chinatown. We both slept a few hours on the bus and arrived into DC a little after 3pm. Again the heat was almost unbearable, so after a brief attempt to locate the relevant bus we decided that it was best for us to just jump in a cab. That took care of the small journey out to our accommodation at the International Guest House where Mum, Dad and Rich stayed 30 years ago.

We were warmly received and were stoked at the level of cleanliness and the warm feel of a home away from home. We decided to stay local in the evening so walked a couple of miles to a supermarket and bought dinner to eat back at the house. The guest house has a few unique traditions. The first is all guests are invited to tea (that is herbal tea as there is no coffee served in the evening, to avoid that naughty caffeine rush)! This takes place at 9pm every night, advised by a very loud bell to let you know it's time! We joined the group and it seemed that we were by far the most interesting guests and probably outspoken guests as we received a lot of questions about NZ and our travels and we were also the youngest, probably with a bit of vibrancy in us! We enjoyed the evening and headed to bed a little earlier than NY that is around 10.30pm, but found it difficult to get to sleep, 1) because it was so early and 2) because it was so hot although the air conditioning helped!

Monday 3^rd September – Washington D.C.

Now the second unique thing about the International Guest House is well, the bell again! Breakfast is served at 8am sharp, so at 7.20am you are woken by the first bell, followed by what seems an extremely short amount of time, the second bell at 7.55am. We must say the bell is ok for the first few days but by the end poor Jo could barely cope with such a noise so early. She even said the she would rather have Rosemary singing “the sun has got its hat on...” to hearing the bell. Well our first breakfast was great except that Jo was late and arrived halfway through grace, oops, that didn't go down well! We enjoyed a few more yarns with fellow guests and hosts and went on our way.

Today we planned a huge day of walking as the open top bus was quite expensive, plus it is a gorgeous city to walk around (except the heat!). We caught a bus downtown (which seemed to stop every 5 minutes) and headed for the Washington Monument. This is the tallest all masonery structure on the planet! It's basically a very tall white pencil shaped monument in honour of George Washington located in the Mall between Capitol Hill and the Lincoln Memorial. We took heaps of photos from here and sat down briefly to rest from the blistering heat.

Next we headed to the World War two memorial that opened in 2004. It is located in front of the reflecting pool and has 2 arcs consisting on 56 stone pillars which represent US states and territories at the time of the war. The arcs are positioned either side of a fountain that we wanted to dive into because of the heat! We then walked along the reflecting pool (where in Forest Gump Jenny runs through the water yelling Forest, Forest...) and bought an Italian iceblock which was so good.

We then headed over to the Vietnam memorial which was the idea of a 21 year old Yale student after winning a competition for the design. It is a very controversial design as it represents more of a personal sacrifice because it has no military design influence. It is a black marble wall in a cheveron shape listing all the casualties of war. As you enter the monument you descend down until it is 10ft high at the peak and begin ascending towards the exit which directly faces the Washington monument. There is a 3 soldier monument erected just by this site to make it more military like. It is like the men are overlooking their comrades as it is positioned not far from the black marble wall.

From here we headed over to the Lincoln memorial, which is one of the most famous and features in lots of movies and also is the place where Martin Luther King made the speech “I have a dream...” There are 36 columns which symbolise the number of states that made up USA at the time of Lincoln's death. We walked up some very large white marble steps and in between some of the gigantic white marble pillars to be greeted with this amazing statue of Lincoln sitting proudly on a very large chair. On either side of the walls are 2 of his most famous and important speeches. You find yourself just staring at him as he looks quite powerful yet humble at the same time.

After a quick snack of bagels and cream cheese as we forgot to get cash out and were down to our last 3 bucks, we decided to walk over the bridge to Arlington Cemetery which is in another state (Virginia). It took ages to cross the Arlington Memorial bridge mainly because of the heat, but also because we were on the look out for the big dog (George W), as the Presidential helicopters kept flying overhead. We eventually stumbled into Arlington Cemetery and took refuge in the air-conditioned foyer. We pulled ourselves together got a map then started walking towards JFK's grave. After walking through beautifully maintained grave sites and up the hill we got to the Kennedy's graves. Side by side laid Jackie O, JFK and their two children - both of whom died at birth. Although the memorial surrounding the graves is spectacular with views over Washington, the plaque rather than the usual headstones are very basic noting only their names and years of living. About 20m away is his brother's grave Bobby. We found it sad that although brothers, they are buried in seperate locations. Bobby's memorial too was lovely.

Our next stop was the massive white memorial amphitheater which is for special remembrance services. Behind this is the tomb of the unknowns, where the changing of the guards takes place every 30 minutes. In true American style this is well dramatised and rehearsed but worth watching as the guards clothing and weapons are in pristine condition. Across from this is the memorials to the Challenger spaceship and other disastrous launches. By this point we were really slowing down due to the heat so sat for 5 mins in the shade before heading back over to the JFK memorial for Leigh to visit one more time, while poor Jo could not walk up the hill and waited at the bottom. We decided not to walk back into Washington but took the metro (good decision!)

Both extremely thirsty we wandered the streets trying to find an open cafe or restaurant, but given it was Labour Day everything was closed! That is except for the Old Ebbitt Grill. Initially only going to have a drink we ended up sitting down in this very plush restaurant and ordering dinner. As we could not afford to eat the expensive seafood, which was very tempting, we opted for the cheapest dish and believe it or not both ordered burgers! Leigh was stoked because he ordered a coke and didn't realise it was a bottomless cup and everytime it was ¼ full it was toped up by the overly polite waiter!

The restaurant is just across the road from the White House, so we headed over and enjoyed the views. As we approached our eyes were drawn to the roof of the building as a heavily armed guard was doing his thing. We are sure he was as well equipped as any solider of war. We took the postcard photos and admired the beautifully kept gardens. We had a bet to see how long it would take before you would get shot if you jumped the fence, but after observing our friend on the roof we decided to call off all bets. We then spent some time talking to a homeless chap who was protesting across the road from the White House. We spent at least 30mins listening to his stories and theories. He was highly intelligent and would put a lot of politicians to shame, but it was interesting the tales he told us about the Clinton and Bush Administrations. I think he liked the fact that we took time out to speak with him and at the end we donated a few bucks to his cause and headed off to catch a bus. To our relief we got home just in time for the evening cup of tea and chat evening before heading to bed!

Tuesday 4^th September – Washington D.C.

Again we were woken to the sound of a metal ball crashing against iron arghh... it's the bell again! Hoping it was the first one and not the second one we glimpsed at the time and found out it was 5 minutes before breakfast started. Quickly getting dressed we raced downstairs to ensure we did not miss grace! We made it and enjoyed the fresh muffins, cereal and toast and then decided to catch the bus on the other block, hoping it would be quicker! We got off near the wharf and wandered down to where they sell fresh crabs and other seafood. We decided to get some food for lunch so Leigh got a crab roll and Jo got an absolutely massive slice of watermelon. A superb little market but with a disgusting stench were we were almost wrenching at times!

Our first stop today was at the Jefferson memorial on the edge of the tidal basing. This is another lovely white marble monument, very grand, with a museum underground. We wandered around this monument and appreciated the views over the lake and back towards the mall. Our next stop was the FDR memorial (Franklin D Roosevelt to those who do not know their American Presidents), which was quite unique to all the other monuments. It is a one level open air memorial spanning 7 acres alongside again the tidal. It is an outdoor gallery with waterfalls, plazas, statues and plaques. The memorial took in his 4 terms as leader through a depression to WW2 and portrayed what a great president he was - many say he was the 3^rd best president behind Washington and Lincoln. There were many statues covering times of his days in power and the one we particularly loved was the statue of FDR himself with his little Scottish Terrier (Fala) sitting right next to him.

We pressed on round the lake, stopping again to have a couple of cream cheese bagels as they are the cheapest thing and not too bad, before going through the Korean War memorial. The memorial is made up of 19 life size bronze solders walking through a battle field - the detail was amazing. The Korean war was actually fought under the banner of the UN so was not actually the USA's war. Along the side of the path entering the sight is a list inscribed in marble detailing the countries that fought with the US. We were made proud by seeing New Zealand there!

In what seemed like an ever increasing heat we headed towards the National museum of Air and Space. It was so cool and Leigh got a great fix on all things aviation! Except he could of used a few tips from our pilot friend David (who we met in Turkey) on flying. He jumped in a fighter plane simulator and seemed to not quiet grasp the controls so ended up not shoting the enemy and did victory roll and flips instead! There was so much to see there and take in. We managed to get around most exhibits, our favourites being the Apollo sections and a temporary exhibition from the American History museum (under repair) which included Dorothy's ruby shoes, R2D2, Ali's boxing gloves among other things.

After a well deserved cold drink from the all you can drink machine at the on site McDonalds we headed off for a look at Capitol Hill. It felt like such an achievement reaching “the hill” after starting the day before at the other end of the Mall. We never thought it would take almost 2 days of walking to see all the sites but it did. The building was just like the movies - sitting proudly above the skyline. If we read correctly, no building in Washington is allowed to be built higher. We captured a few great pics then took refuge under some shade before heading home. We decided to use our left overs from our shopping, so we had a cheap dinner, enjoyed our evening tea (again introducing ourselves to what seemed like the same people) and headed to bed.

Wednesday 5^th September – Washington D.C.

Good morning Leigh and Jo... Good morning bell! Jo was late to grace again but not to worry, she very discreetly slipped into the table. We finished up our morning routine and headed back downtown. With a few long days in the heat we decided to shorten the the days outdoor sightseeing and spend more time in the air conditioned museum's. Our first stop was to post a few things up to Leigh's uncle Brian in Canada. With winter over we decided to send a few things north were we will need them in November. We then headed next door to the old post office building that is a lovely old building, offering great views from the bell tower over Washington and again is free! We took the 2 rather slow elevators up and enjoyed beautiful panoramic views. Our only incident was traveling down the elevator - there was a lady on board that had sever vertigo. Gosh knows how she dealt with the views higher up, but she stood stiff as a solider facing the corner taking deep breaths... sadly we had a little giggle to each other!

Our second stop was at the Air and Space museum again as we wanted to go to an IMAX show. But Jo's watch had somehow got 1 hour out so we were there 1 hour early. No worries we bought the tickets and crossed the road to what is probably our most favourite museum. It is the Hirshhorn Muesum and gardens. It displays late 19^th and 20^th century art, including American art, Pop Art and Abstract Impressionism. As we were only wasting an hour before the film we had enough time to explore the top floor which was awesome and the building itself offered spectacular views across DC. We then headed back to NASM for what was the most awesome movie. We watched “Adrenline Rush” which showed the physics and mind sets between normal people and adrenaline junkies, concentrating on Base jumping. The show was so cool with Leigh spending the rest of the day convincing Jo that 1) he would have no problem jumping from the side of a cliff and 2) that it is perfectly safe. Our little risk asseser came up with a point to every argument and they decided to agree to disagree. If he wants to do it Jo will have to find out afterwards! We headed back to the Hishhorn and explored the rest of the displays. The layout is similar to the Guggenheim, as it is a circular shape and you rotate around the building to view the displays. We finished up and headed through the outdoor sculpture museum on our way to the Museum of Natural History. We only had 30mins before it closed and did not really know what to expect. But it was magnificent with the Hope Diamond being the absolute highlight! Again Jo in a room surrounded with diamonds, a little dangerous! We took in what we could, saw some great displays before being sternly told it was closing time. We then wandered around town and went out for the best Tacos we have had all trip. Unfortunately we got home a little late for tea, but they had got out the photo albums so we spent a good half hour trying to find a photo of Mum, Dad and Rich from their stay around 30 years ago (to no avail).

Thursday 6^th September – Washington D.C – Virginia

Oh that bell! It was our last morning at the guest house and the mornings host seemed to have it in for us, as the ring of the bell seemed to be the longest of the 4 we have woken up to and felt like it was right outside our bedroom door! If only she could have come in to see the look on poor Jo's face maybe she would have been a little more discrete. Sooner enough the second warning bell met our ears and was no less easy to take, we pulled ourselves out of bed and headed downstairs. Although we both look forward to the breakfast every morning as the smell of muffins woft through the air upstairs to our bedroom on the 3^rd floor. We really enjoyed it and chatted to everyone for a while then had to rush upstairs and pack our bags quickly as they had carpet cleaners in. We were about to leave but all the hosts came rushing out with their cameras and took heaps of photos of both of us with our big back packs on to show at their 40^th year anniversary happening in the weekend.

We headed to the bus stop and were standing there for about 10 seconds when a car pulled over driven by a Vietnamese man and lady. They offered us a ride to wherever we wanted so we jumped in the car and had a laugh with them. As we were driving we began to think, we have just got in a car with a stranger, how our Mum's wouldn't be impressed. Anyway the guy was talking to us telling how he has travelled everywhere and always likes to help people out, so he said that he would drop us wherever we wanted and then let us stay at his place for the night and take us to the airport which is 30 miles away for a 6am flight. He also said he would look after our bags and we could take his drivers license. Hmm after the scam in New York we are a bit wiser now and declined the offer and got him to drop us off at the next metro stop. We caught the metro to then catch a bus towards Dulles airport, thinking this is the best way to get to our hotel which is in a suburb right by the airport. We arrived 40mins later as we managed to get on the express bus and checked in for our flight tomorrow. We decided on this as there was no room at the Guest House and a cab costs around $70 at 4am.

The American Air lady was very helpful and explained that we would have extra security because we are checking in a day early as that is what the 9/11 people did. She pointed out where on the tickets this is noted which is helpful as we seem to get it everytime! We then decided to catch a bus to a shopping mall as the bus was only 50 cents hoping it would take us closer to our hotel, unfortunately it went in the other direction. Never mind as Jo wanted to get her parents birthday presents and we also wanted to experience what it was like to be in a big American shopping mall. We passed the afternoon away then caught the same bus back to the airport and jumped in a cab to our hotel. We were fortunate enough to have a very nice hotel which even had a kitchenette. So we headed over to the grocery store and bought dinner and cooked up a storm. It was strange as we felt like we had been doing normal everyday things. We chilled out in the evening, popping back and forward to reception which had free coffee and biscuits then headed to sleep around 11.30pm.