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USA 2018

October - December 2018
Beast of the east and the best of the west Read more
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  • TravelerUSA 2018
    Day 1

    Exploring Brooklyn

    October 19, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Our host had already left for work by the time we got up, but we did meet her dog. Him and Schnitzel had a brief set-to before sorting themselves out.

    We spent today wandering around Brooklyn, one of the five boroughs of New York City. Most important was the morning vet visit, where the long process for getting Schnitzel back to Australia started. She suggested the lump on his side was probably an inflammation from his vaccine the other day, and not to worry too much about it unless it didn't go down over the next week. So that was a load off our minds.

    Checked out our immediate neighbourhood of Williamsburg which is a hipster central place, then headed down to DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) on the waterfront for lunch. Great view of the Manhattan skyline from here. Checked out a few shops and took things easy, before walking across Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan in the late afternoon. Didn't go far into Manhattan, just got the train back home. Went to Brooklyn Brewery for a quick drink (they didn't do tasting paddles which I was surprised at!), then had a huge pizza slice on the way home.

    Met our host finally in the evening, a late 20s professional woman. She's quite nice and chatty, though Americans generally are chatty.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA 2018
    Day 2

    Tourist Stops of Manhattan

    October 20, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Did the typical tourist stuff in Manhattan today. First stop was Times Square, then walking south along Broadway. Stopped in at Macy's and then Madison Square Park. Had an early lunch at Shake Shack in the park which was good, because it's bloody cold and restaurants are only allowed to have dogs on the terrace.

    Caught the subway south to Chelsea district where we chilled out for a little while in the Apple Store, then walked along the High Line. We then got escorted out of the High Line because dogs aren't permitted! We knew, but we carried him past the signs until the jig was up.

    Next stop was the southern tip of Manhattan, where we checked out the base of One World Trade Centre, the new tower built on the site of the twin towers. Had a look at the memorial as well, though we had to alternate since dogs aren't allowed there either.

    Walked a few blocks back up to Wall Street for a quick look (there's not much to see!), before a long journey northwards to the East Village for our dog halloween party. Not sure how Shandos discovered this but it was pretty busy, filled with lots of dressed up dogs. I had to take Schnitzel outside during the costume competition though, since the noise and excitement was too much for him.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA 2018
    2
    Day 3

    Central Park

    October 21, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Caught the subway over to Manhattan again, and spent a few hours in the morning wandering around Central Park. It's absolutely colossal, and it was nice to explore though the weather was absolutely freezing - about 8 degrees and windy. Hard to believe a week ago we were on the beach.

    By lunchtime we'd both had enough, so we grabbed a hot dog and separated for a bit. Shandos went to Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), while I took Schnitzel and just wandered the streets. I visited the Microsoft store, the Nintendo store, Rockefeller Plaza and a few other spots before heading back home to Brooklyn and a bit of downtime.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA 2018
    Day 4

    Intrepid Museum

    October 22, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Since I took Schnitzel yesterday, today was Shandos's turn. I headed out early in the morning to the Intrepid Sea Air & Space Museum. This museum is located on the USS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier that fought in the Pacific during WW2 and was in active service until after the Vietnam war. It had taken several hits from kamikaze planes during a battle, and there was an interesting cinema display about that.

    Lots of cool planes on the deck, including a Concorde, an SR-71 (one of my favourite planes, the fastest and highest air-breathing aircraft ever built), and the Space Shuttle Enterprise. Also next door was the USS Growler, an early cruise missile submarine that was interesting to look over.

    Headed back into Manhattan where I had a Five Guys burger for lunch, which I definitely preferred to Shake Shack although SS are more famous. Home in the late afternoon to relax and do some laundry.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA 2018
    Day 5

    Statue of Liberty

    October 23, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    The only World Heritage site in New York! We'd pre-booked tickets which was a good idea, because while we were waiting for the security screening at 11am, someone was announcing that the current wait for tickets was two hours!! No thanks.

    The ferry ride out takes about 20 minutes, and you then spend about 45 minutes walking around the island taking in the sculpture. Lots of cool details to note like the way she's actually walking forward and so on. We had pedestal tickets too, which allowed us to climb up to the top of the stone pedestal, right at the base of where the sculpture begins.

    Was a slightly challenging video because of the crowds and the wind, but we managed. Back on the ferry we headed to Ellis Island, which is where migrants to America traditionally arrived, prior to the jet age anyway. It must've been an incredible sight after six weeks at sea in awful conditions, to see the Statue of Liberty and then the skyline of Manhattan - even back then it would've been impressive. The immigration museum there was impressive, though we had to skim through as we had another appointment!

    Ferry back to Battery Park and then a subway up to Mid-town, where we had 4pm tickets for the Top of the Rock, the observation deck at the top of the Rockefeller Centre. It's not the highest point in the city, but it's close, and most people say it's better than the Empire State view points (because the Empire State Building is much more interesting visually, and you obviously can't see it while you're atop it!). Great views in every direction although it had clouded over a bit sadly. Also a few sprinkles of rain while we were up there!

    Tired, we headed home where we were greeted by two very happy dogs.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA 2018
    Day 6

    Flying Visit to Philadelphia

    October 24, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Up early heading for Penn Station where we caught an Amtrak train heading for Philadelphia. Arrived at midday and caught an Uber to our Airbnb where we were able to check in early. The main reason for visiting here was the World Heritage site of Independence Hall, which is one of the key spots in early American history.

    Philadelphia was once the largest city in north America with around 30,000 people, and it was basically at the centre of the colonies which stretched along the coast from Maine to South Carolina. So it's not surprising that it was here the First and Second Continental Congresses were held; at the end of which came the Declaration of Independence. After the war, it was also an important spot, as the Constitutional Convention met here and hammered out the Constitution as well.

    The hall itself is fairly small, though the tour was quite interesting and well run, so we both enjoyed it. Once again we took turns as dogs weren't permitted inside naturally. Schnitzel amused himself by barking and getting extremely agitated at squirrels, which were in abundance.

    By the time we'd finished our tours it was around 5:30pm so we wrapped up filming and walked a few blocks to the main city area. Had a philly cheesesteak sandwich each for dinner (a famous local dish which is just a long roll, filled with strips of marinated beef, onions, capsicum and bright orange cheese). Very tasty.

    Headed back to our room and chilled out - moving on again tomorrow!    Read more

  • TravelerUSA 2018
    1
    Day 7

    Exploring Washington

    October 25, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Back to the station by 9am where we caught another Amtrak train, heading south for Washington DC. Arrived at the station around midday and we'd hoped to be able to check in to drop our stuff off, but unfortunately the host had issues with the previous guests and had a lot of cleaning to do. So we sat around the station for an hour or so, before she messaged again and said the dryer had broken and it was going to take longer! We negotiated that she'd come and pick up our luggage and store it at her (separate) place, and that we'd just check ourselves in late afternoon.

    So we set off walking away from the 30th Street Station which was absolutely colossal and grand. First stop was the Capitol building which we wandered around and enjoyed. Then walked down the National Mall, which stretches for a couple of miles to the Washington Monument. That's currently closed for visitors, so we turned northwards along the lawns and headed for the White House. Not much to see from this side, but we walked around the block where you can get fairly close to it (a couple of hundred metres). According to his schedule the orange dementia grandpa was at home, but he was probably busy watching TV and being a racist so we headed away.

    By now it was about 5pm (it was a seriously long walk!) and we got the bus to our apartment. Everything was ready, and it was nice to have the space to ourselves rather than sharing someone's apartment.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA 2018
    2
    Day 8

    Visiting the Smithsonian

    October 26, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Alternate exploration day today. I went out and visited the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, which had lots of cool plans and space vehicles. Some parts felt quite dated, while others were brand new - depending heavily on how much corporate sponsorship they get I guess.

    Also visited the Natural History museum next door which had good and bad parts. The section about mammals was underwhelming since it was just taxidermy versions of animals I've seen in real life, like elephants, lions, giraffes and so on. The minerals section was surprisingly interesting, including a several kilogram gold nugget, and the Hope Diamond as well. Also a few dinosaur skeletons.

    I planned a day off tomorrow, so figured my last stop would be the Lincoln Memorial as we hadn't visited the day before. It was a bloody long walk and my feet were quite sore by the end, but I was glad to have made it. Interesting to read the text of the Gettysburg address written on the wall in stone.

    Made a mess of getting home - I walked 20 minutes to the nearest subway stop, got the train then changed, but then got off a stop early by mistake! Since it's a point-to-point payment system and not a timed ticket, getting another train would cost me a couple of dollars, so I decided to walk. Unfortunately my phone compass sometimes points the complete opposite direction, so when I checked google maps to figure out which way I needed to go .. yeah. I should've checked again, because after 25 minutes I got to the previous station, not the station I needed to be at! I got the train back.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA 2018
    Day 9

    Day Off

    October 27, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    I had a day off, so I spent it inside working on various things and playing a few games too. Shandos went out to the National Gallery which she quite enjoyed.

    Went to a nearby smokehouse restaurant for dinner which was really good - smoked BBQ chicken and smoked ribs too. Realised near the end of our meal that we were the only white faces in the restaurant! DC has the highest percentage of African-American residents of any major US city - somewhere around 60% I think. Nothing alarming about it, but interesting to see how others must feel a lot of the time.Read more

  • TravelerUSA 2018
    Day 10

    Monticello

    October 28, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Third and final World Heritage site here in the north-east. Packed up and headed off, but had a disaster getting out of Washington. The airport where we were picking up our rental car is miles out of town and not very well connected, so we got a train into the city and waited for a bus. And waited. And waited. Eventually someone else waiting called up and was told that the airport bus was leaving from a totally different place on the other end of the city, because there was a marathon event happening (it was a Sunday morning, after all).

    So we traipsed over there, eventually managed to find the bus stop and waited again. Still no bus. Eventually we got a Lyft (similar to Uber) out to the airport, which again took ages because of traffic from the marathon. Shared our ride with a Korean guy who was trying to get to the airport as well, so thankfully the cost wasn't too bad. And the driver was a lot of fun too - very chatty guy.

    Made it to the airport with one minute to spare - original plan had us arriving at 9:30 for a 10am car pickup. We made it at 10:59! Usually if you don't arrive within an hour (and you're not on a delayed flight), they call it a no-show and you have to rebook at the day rate which would be way more expensive.

    Finally with our car, we drove south west into Virginia towards Monticello, the plantation home of Thomas Jefferson. He was probably the most important or second-most important of the founding fathers, as he wrote the Declaration of Independence, and while President he organised the Louisiana Purchase which essentially doubled the US's territory. Was interesting to see his home which he'd designed personally, though again we were a bit rushed for time because we were so late getting out there.

    We also stopped by the University of Virginia which Jefferson had also founded, believing that education was the key to a democratic society. He was probably right, given what we see these days!

    Drove back to Washington DC where we had a Motel 6 booked about 20 minutes from the airport. Early flight tomorrow so it'll be an early start!    Read more

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