We had a really great time, starting with Amtrak to Seattle on June 17 (first time on a real train for the DGC). On the
18th, we had a non-stop flight from SEA to BOS, arriving late afternoon. Our B&B there was funky, to put it kindly, but sufficed. We walked around Boston Commons after dinner the first night. The next day, we took the "Duck Boat Tour", had a wonderful driver so that was great fun, then walked the "Freedom Trail" seeing Old North Church, and Paul Revere's home, then walked to the USS Constitution. That was amazing, and the children were very taken with the rigging, equipment, cannons, and stories of onboard life.Next day (I awoke with a terrible sore threat), we headed to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Following lunch, we took the subway out to see Harvard, and greatly enjoyed the campus, and the student guide, and later walked to Feneuil Hall for shopping and dinner.
Next morning, we picked up a rental van and headed south along Cape Cod Bay, stopping at Plymouth, checked in to our lovely B&B in Dennis Port, MA, let the kids play in the Atlantic for a couple of hours, then drove to Chatham for a delicious seafood dinner. The following morning we headed toward NYC, stopping for lunch and sightseeing at Mystic, CN. Later at New Haven, DD's school friend gave us a personal tour of the campus at Yale. Had a yummy Pizza dinner in New Haven, and arrived in NYC at 10:30PM. Returned the rental van, and fell into bed at a gorgeous apartment at
80th and Lexington, owned by an author acquaintance of DD's. She had very kindly laid in a supply of juices and extra tissues after Susan called her with news of my nasty cold.Saturday morning, we rushed to pick up NYPasses (not worth the expense IMHO) at Times Square, then zoomed back uptown to go to our scheduled tour of "The Top of the Rock" (Rockefeller Center). Amazingly, the day was crystal clear, we could see all the way to the south and north tips of Manhattan isalnd as well as to New Jersey and Long Island. Susan's friend took us to Chinatown for an astonishing lunch and shopping (incredible values, I wished I had more room in my luggage), then later to Little Italy for dinner at an incredible, wonderful, Italian restaurant.
Sunday we went to the Cloisters, later to the Met, and rested before dinner, as we had tickets to Spamalot. What a riot, I loved it. Monday we had tickets to the Mythical Creatures exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, had lunch at the museum, and went home to dress for dinner at the River Cafe. We arranged for a town car and arrived in style, had a fabulous dinner with terrific service, and savored the view of Manhattan as dusk fell. It was a really memorable 24th anniversary for my daughter and son-in-law, thanks Sara! We took another town car back to Manhattan, and went to the observation deck of the Empire State Building. It was getting a bit hazy, but it's still one very exciting place to be!
Tuesday, we hurried down to Battery Park to take the boat out to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. We toured Ellis Island, which I found to be a very intense experience, my DH's maternal grandfather came through there, and I think it gave the DGC a better understanding of the whole immigrant experience. We returned to the city, took the subway to midtown, and window shopped. I treated myself to a bauble at Tiffany's. ;-) We had tickets for Lion King, so we had an early dinner and headed for the theater district. Another amazing show, I was delighted with the costumes and makeup.
Next day, we visited the Met again (and I spent a lot of time in the Poiret exhibit), and in the afternoon, we split up: DD, DGD and I had reservations for tea at the American Girl Cafe, and the fellows went off to do some guy stuff. We all met up in time to go the FAO Schwartz, and I found a Highland Dance costumed doll for the doll house DD's family puts up at Christmas each year. DGD will be so surprised!
Thursday, took two taxis, five people and 12 pieces of luggage to Penn Station to catch Amtrak to Philadelphia. Checked into the Thomas Bond House, a lovely old restored Colonial era home, walked the neighborhood a bit, and following dinner we took the "Lights of Liberty" walking tour in the pouring rain. In spite of the rain it was wonderful, and I think my grandchildren were moved by the peril those courageous men were in.
Next morning, we went to the Franklin Institute for our 9:00 am tickets to the King Tut exhibit. It was well presented, and interesting, but I was a little disappointed that some of the items I had seen in Seattle were missing. We managed to get tickets for the narrated tour of Independence Hall, then walked around the historic area, and later had dinner at the Old Original Bookbinders, after which we had a charming carriage ride around the city, with a delightful guide/driver. Saturday we walked to Elfreth Alley, and poked around all the interesting shops. Walked around the city some more, had dinner, and fell into bed.
Sunday, picked up another rental van, drove to Valley Forge, where we were everyone was suitably impressed with the gorgeous stained glass windows at the George Washington Chapel. I was so glad it was as beautiful as I had remembered from '64, as I had built it up to the family. Continued on west through Amish country, and finally arrived in Bedford, PA. Next morning we drove to Osterburg, north of Bedford, and looked for the Old Union Cemetery, hoping to find the grave of Lt. John Ickes, who served in the Revolutionary war, and who was my husband's, daughter's and grandchildren's direct antecedent. We trouped through a couple of cemeteries before we located the right one. Susan made rubbings of the gravestone, and we took lots of pictures. It gave me chills to know we were standing at the grave of my grandchildren's great-geat-great-great-great-great-grandfather and g-g-g-g-g-g-grandmother. It was especially touching, as someone had put small flags on all the veteran's graves. Their children were also buried there. We lunched in Bedford, met Gary Ickes at the Ickes Drugstore, and visited the Historical Bedford Village.
In the afternoon, we drove to Gettysburg. Next morning we picked up a National Park Service ranger, who joined us in the van to take us on a narrated tour of the battlefields. It's awesome when you start hearing the details of the three-day battle, the number of casualties, and see the actual sites, monuments, cannons, and landmarks. We ended the tour at Little Round Top, in heat close to as sweltering as it must have been for those soldiers. Later we took a carriage ride, Blair got to take the reins, and the driver had me in tears with stories about the affects of the battles on the soldiers as well as the civilians in town.
Tuesday morning we headed to Washington DC, checked into the Hotel Tabard Inn, and immediately went to the National Zoo. We managed to see all three pandas, mama, papa and the baby, who was munching on bamboo. DSIL and DGS were determined to see the Komodo Dragon, and fortunately it was out so they did. Lots of other fascinating animals we don't have at our local zoo. Turned in the rental van, and had dinner. Next morning (the 4th), we went to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, I was astonished to learn that the original capsule which returned the astronauts to earth from the first moon-landing is in the museum. We spent the entire morning at the A&S. In the afternoon, we had the first of three tours arranged by our congressman: The National Archives. Saw the original documents of the founding of this country. Later we took one of the "Tourmobile" busses on a big loop around the mall, stopping at the Lincoln Memorial. Returned to the hotel, and learned that the Mall had been evacuated due to a thunderstorm and TORNADO warning alert, so we ate sandwiches for dinner in the interior parlor of the hotel (the restaurant was closed for the holiday), watching TV to learn if the fireworks show would be held or not. Finally about 7:15, we saw that the all clear had been sounded, so we took the Metro to the Mall, cleared security, and found a nice area to sit and watch the show. We were right in line with the Washington Monument, with the fireworks display in the sky just to the right. It was very exciting, and the ride home afterward on Metro was an experience in crowd dynamics. Must have been a couple hundred thousand people, all trying to get back home at the same time.
Next day the tour of the Library of Congress had been scheduled at 8:30am. It was just too early following the late night, so we went back to the Smithsonian A&S, and then went to the Natural History Museum, where they have placed a lot of the items we had hoped to see at the American Museum of History. Luck was with us, saw Dorothy's ruby slippers, Kermit, the MASH signpost, Lincoln's hat, Washington's uniform and sword, etc., etc., etc. Also saw the Hope Diamond and many of the other gems and minerals. Finally made it to the LOC in the afternoon. My grandson was fascinated by all the murals, and it was wonderful seeing the Guttenberg bible. Took the Tourmobile to the Jefferson Monument which is breathtakingly beautiful and moving.
Friday (the 6th) we had our White House Tour scheduled for
9:30am, so we all hurried breakfast and headed on the Metro for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I'm very happy we managed to arrange the tour, as many people were just showing up and being turned away. The building and furnishings are every bit as beautiful and impressive as you'd expect. I was sad later to learn that you can no longer just walk into the Capitol Building, and we were unable to get tickets. Maybe next time. In the afternoon, we took the Tourmobile to Arlington Cemetery, and watched the changing of the guard. My tears flowed when my 17-year-old grandson saluted the soldiers at the end of the ceremony. Late dinner, then to bed.Following breakfast at the hotel, we picked up another rental van, and Hal stopped at the Vietnam Memorial long enough for Susan, the children and me to walk the length of the wall. Then we headed to Charlottesville via Mount Vernon. We were unable to find a place to park within reasonable walking distance, so we missed seeing the first President's home. I convinced the family that we should take the route toward Charlottesville which would take us to James Madison's home, Montpelier. Although it is in the very early stages of a complete restoration, it was well worth seeing (thanks Sharon AKA seeker). We arrived in Charlottesville, had a nice dinner, the kids used the swimming pool, and we turned in early.
Next morning (the 8th), we drove out to take the shuttle to Monticello. We were a little early so we had time to walk around the grounds, and made our way the 1/4 mile to the Jefferson burial site. The tour of the house is wonderful, and I was so glad to see that it is beautifully re-furbished and has many original furnishings. The house and grounds are very beautiful. We had lunch at the Monticello gift shop, and headed to Colonial Williamsburg. Had a horrible experience checking in at the hotel, the rooms were not ready, the clerk was exceedingly rude, and no alternative arrangement was offered. We had to leave all our stuff in the rental van, and rush to get to the music show DSIL especially wanted to see. We made it with 5 minutes to spare, then discovered our entry passes did not get us into the show. Bought tickets, found seats, the show was great! Back to the hotel, finally got keys, hauled all the luggage into the rooms, and discovered a note slipped under the doors: "Due to work on the electrical system, all power in the hotel will be turned off from 12:00am to 5:00am."! NO AC! Aaaarrggghhh!!!!!
At that point, I was so angry and disappointed, I was ready to find another place to stay, and skip the entire Williamsburg experience. However, a long cool shower, a (drug-induced) good night's sleep, and I was feeling better in the morning. We managed to obtain (extra cost again) tickets to a wonderful recital by a man who owns one of Benjamin Franklin's "Armonicas"
There's more: Wednesday morning, I was anxious to retrieve my dog, Ming Tu, from the sitter, so I hopped in the car, and.... click.... click... ...dead battery. After a couple of hours, AAA came out and gave me a jump start, I picked up my very-happy-to-see-me dog, and we went home and had a nice long nap.
Yes, I love traveling. I also love coming home. There's no place like home, there's no place like home.......
Beverly, sorry this is so long, and it's the *condensed* version!