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Posted by Seeker on July 17, 2007, 11:35 am
On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 01:04:44 -0700, "BEI Design"
Have been putting off reading your saga until I had time to savor it.
Got my morning cuppa and now . . . .
>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.
Ummm, maybe Washington slept there?
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.
Hmm, wonder if my grandson was still at the submarine base at Groton
at the time, or if his sub had left at the time. Mystic is really a
neat place, as is that entire CN shore. Sometime I want to get up
there and tour to view paintings by our American impressionists. I
love the quality of light they captured there, particularly Childe
Hassam.
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.
At this point you were 40 minutes southeast of me. Awesome place,
isn't it? Has always impressed this Wyoming native. Makes one really
appreciate the suffering and sacrifice of men, forerunners of our
current heroes, who've won our liberty. Wish I could say I had some
ancestors there, but by that time mine had left the Phila area and
gone to N. Carolina.
Should you come this way again, next trip may I recommend a tour of
Longwood Gardens south of VF toward Wilmington DE, a huge layout on
the scale of Versaillies Palace, France, only lovelier, more expansive
in style, and more romantic, IMHO. It was built by another DuPont -
Pierre. The home there is more toward a cottage in comparison to other
DuPont homes, but I prefer the gardens even to anything I've seen by
Disney.
>Continued on west through Amish country,
By turnpike, or by PA 23? If you took PA23 (the Amish highway), you
probably saw many Amish with their carriages tied up while they sat
under trees around their meeting houses and socialized after worship
service. Their young people bicycle about the roads visiting and
entertaining themselves on Sundays. This is some of the world's
richest farming land.
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.
Historic villiage? Must go there for a visit. That's real
Pennsylvania mountain country there.
>
>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. <sigh> 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.
>
Glad you got to visit it. They must be always under restoration as
it's been at least 10 years since we visited and work was then in
progress. Dolly would have been a lovely person to know. The Madisons
fell on hard times. One thing that always amazes me is what hard times
our forefathers and their descendents often went through. We think of
the rich as having no bounds, but that's usually not the case. I
remember reading that Rose Kennedy used sewing pins rather than paper
clips to keep her paperwork together because it was cheaper.
>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. <sigh> 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!!!!!
>
Geez, bad management! I wonder what they think God put February and
March on the calendar for, if not to do repairs and upgrades.
Williamsburg is a really big attraction November through early
January.
>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"
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armonica
>and he played a piece composed especially for that
>instrument by Mozart. Hal was thrilled, and I was glad for
>him, as he had been disappointed that the Armonica at the
>Smithsonian was not on exhibit. We spent the rest of the
>day enjoying the wonderful craftspeople, and exhibits, and
>had an early dinner at the Kings Arms Tavern. Wandered
>around the site for several more hours and finally went back
>to the hotel, The kids swam, we all packed everything up
>and made sure we would clear airport security in the
>morning.
>
>Arrived at Norfolk airport to discover our flight home had
>been re-arranged. They were using a different plane, and we
>had our seat assignments changed to the very back of the
>plane. In addition, we were routed through Atlanta instead
>of Cincinnati, with a longer layover. Yuck! But no one lost
>any luggage, we arrived in Portland, to a nice cool (98° -
>35% humidity, which felt really comfortable) evening, and my
>younger DD took time off work to pick me up at the airport.
>She drove me home, where I discovered she had shopped for
>groceries, turned down the AC, watered all my plants, fed
>the wild birds, and I felt very loved. Took a long cool
>shower and crawled into my very own bed. Aaaaaaaaa....!
>
Eastern heat and humidity - what we tollerate to enjoy this vast lush
garden that is eastern USA. (Not to mention that we are experiencing
a drought this summer.) Today, though, it is lovely in Reading PA. The
lack of humidity and heat makes it seem like the Wyoming summer days
of my youth. I lived in the savannah area of Nigeria, West Africa, for
three years, and eastern forests can be every bit as dense a jungle
when you fly over both and look down.
>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!
>
Love reading your adventure! What a grand time you've had! And what
grand memories for your DGC to reflect on all their lives. Have so
enjoyed your recount. Thanks for giving me ideas of some things to do
when DH retires in 2 months. (Just now I'm too busy trying to figure
out budgets and schemes to do planning myself. Must also find some
time to get my stashes put away before he is home bugging me about it.
;-) )
Speaking of DH, here he is now. Thanks again for posting you
adventure.
Sharon
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