Time in Philadelphia and Washington DC....................
Hello!
As Nessie was taking about 9 days to cross the pond and reach us here in the USA – we had a bit of extra time to go and explore some more – so we rented another car and we were off! We even had a few extra days as Nessie was due to land just the day after Thanksgiving and everybody would be away from their work on their holidays for the next few days after that - so Nessie would be stranded in the docks, until we could get her released from customs!!
We drove over to New Jersey.....following Phil’s first driving experience in the US for a number of years. Somehow we found ourselves driving right through Downtown Manhattan in the middle of the Friday rush hour, for a first drive! Not quite sure how this happened but it seems to be our luck! After a very nerve-racking journey Phil now believes he can tackle whatever is thrown at him in any city! So next he decided to see what it was like to drive through Manhattan on a Saturday! Equally as nail biting for his passengers! Again everyone else seems to know where they are going and many seem to use their horns for communication (we were even told that the horn played an important part in stress therapy!!) Phil’s motto was ‘if you can’t beat ‘em – join ‘em!!’
When we arrived in New Jersey we had many forms to complete for the US Customs. We had a great company helping us and that was a God send! (thank -you to Brandi at Transglobal Auto Logistics. Inc).We also bought a US GPS System (as our US maps did not wish to work here!) and that has already been worth its weight in GOLD!!
We continued to stay in hotels along our way which was all very good but a world away from the independence that we are accustomed to living in our Nessie – and we all know which one we prefer!!
We took a trip to Philadelphia and visited the city on Thanksgiving Day. This is a celebration of the harvest and is a general display of gratitude which is celebrated Primarily in Canada and the USA. The celebration occurs on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the USA. From our point of view this was great timing to visit this city as it was very quiet from lunch time onwards. Many people were enjoying a thanksgiving dinner, as a gathering of family and friends at this time – very similar to that of a Christmas Day meal.
We enjoyed the walk along the Mall (once again a mass of flags for Ben to enjoy!). Phil was delighted to find the infamous Museum of Arts at the end of this Mall – and the memories of all the Rocky films he still continues to enjoy! It was even better to discover that the statue that was used in the films was actually there! The children ran a few miles up and down these famous steps – many times- and were kindly given some pom poms for a Happy Thanksgiving Day.
We had a fascinating look around some of the other city buildings – with many glass -sided skyscrapers in very unusual designs. We were put well into the Christmas Spirit (no not by whisky!) but through a visit to the Comcast centre. Thanksgiving Day saw the unveiling of their holiday spectacular which runs through to News Years Day. It is made up of a light show that is displayed on enormous screens and the dream- like magic of Christmas comes alive all around you!
In the evening it was very difficult to find any place that was open for food -however we found an Authentic Vietnamese Restaurant and tried some of their soup for the first time (which was served with a variety of meat, noodles and bean shoots). It was actually very tasty – we all tucked in and it added to our list of tried and tasted foods! The children enjoyed using the chopsticks too!
A happy ending to our Philadelphia experience!
Next we moved to the Capital City of the USA – Washington DC. We were amazed by the number of old and important buildings that this city has! We walked along the Pennsylvania Avenue to see the US Capitol Building - which was just being prepared for Christmas and the inauguration ceremony for the President Elect, which will take place early in the New Year.
We saw the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court and the Senate Office Buildings – all very famous buildings.
It was a very long but extremely worthwhile walk along the National Mall and through the Constitution Gardens to see – firstly - The Washington Monument. This was built in honour of George Washington, who led the country to independence and then became its first President. It is shaped like an Egyptian obelisk and stands 555 ‘, 5 and 1/8” tall. It offers a view in excess of 30 miles. Work was begun in 1848 and took place in two major building phases – being 1848-56 and 1876-84. The pause in works can be seen by the difference in the colour of the stone at the 152’ mark.
Next we visited the World War Two Memorial which honours the 16 million who served in the US Armed Forces, the 400,000 who died and also all who supported the efforts from home. This memorial is relatively new as it was only opened to the public in 2004.
Next there is a Reflecting Pool that is rectangular in shape and 618 metres long by 51 metres wide. It is spectacular as it reflects both the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
At the end of the National Mall stands the powerful memorial to the 16th President of the United States- Abraham Lincoln. He was successful in leading the country through the American Civil War, saving the union and putting an end to slavery. The building is constructed in the form of a Greek Doric Temple and has, in the centre a large seated sculpture of Lincoln, made of Georgian Marble. Inside there are inscriptions of two well known speeches made by Lincoln and above his sculpture are the words “In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.” This president remains a symbol of freedom and the memorial promotes inspiration and hope for the USA and its people.
In this area there were also memorials for the Vietnam Veterans and the Korean War Veterans.
We joined the many hundreds of others in visiting these memorials on that day and as the sun was setting - the stunning views were revealed across the reflecting pool. We took a cab and the metro back to the hotel and then found ourselves reflecting back on the historic moments that have become ever more significant to us since our visit to Washington DC.
Next we made our way back to New Jersey and on Wednesday 3rd December we collected Nessie as she was released from the US Customs! We had a lovely re-union and only wish we could hear the tales she has to tell about her trip over the ocean!! We stocked back up with gas cylinders, water and diesel and we felt ‘at home again!!’ We were very pleasantly surprised by the cost of fuel here! Our best price to date is £1.53 per gallon (or 2.38 US Dollars!) Nessie’s journey continues!!
FACT-OIDS-
· Upon completion in 1884, The Washington Monument became the world’s tallest structure (taking the title from the Cologne Cathedral in Germany). The monument held its title until 1889 when the Eiffel Tower was completed in France.
· The Washington Monument is made of marble, granite and sandstone and remains the world’s tallest stone structure.
· In 1963 the ‘March on Washington for jobs and freedom’ used the Constitution Gardens (Lincoln Memorial area) for its Civil Rights Rally and it was here that Martin Luther King made his famous “I have a dream” speech. The speech was delivered to a quarter of a million people standing all around (and also in) the Reflecting Pool.
· The Statue of Lincoln (inside the Memorial) is 19 feet high and weighs 175 tons.
· Abraham Lincoln was assassinated just as the Civil War was virtually over (in 1865) and his was the first presidential assassination in US history.
Friday, 19 December 2008 05:25:46 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00) 
USA