Day 6
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| Pool Time in Jersey |
Day 6 dawns
with New Jersey on the itinerary. We pull into our reserved, newly built, Super
8 (a smashing good deal at $58 a night) only to discover the entire hotel has
been booked with a rowing team. I know, that’s a whole lot rowers. God’s hand
shows up again however as we’re upgraded to the Aloft next door, with a pool,
gym, squishy elevator floors, soft beds, and an excessive amount of TV
channels. We find a Boston’s Market, which are extinct back home, so after a
great family sized meal, stuffed to satisfaction, we drive down into
Philadelphia (only 20 min away) for a first look. Sights include signs for Miss
Saigon, a favorite musical of mine that made me want to leap out of the car and
dump any amount of money to snag a ticket. Alas, Claude-Michel
Schönberg will remain
a fantasy, and after an enlightening first look at the “city of brotherly
love,” we circle back to the hotel for some much needed down-time.
Day 7.
A week has passed, but our sense
of exploration could still rival that of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark,
thus we decide to rise at dawn, well 7:30. Ish. This proves to be a fabulous
decision as we encounter little traffic on the way into the heart of Philadelphia.
Once parking is located, which we’ve since discovered is no easy task in these
bustling metropolises, we immediately start to check off a substantial number
of historic sights: Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross house, an
impressive Masonic lodge, the United States Mint, the Franklin Institute, and
of course some classic Philly cheese steaks from none other than famed eatery
Geno’s Steaks. It’s worth noting that, although the plethora of patriotic and
historic sites does much to enthrall and compel the mind, nothing could detract
from the sweltering east coast heat and stifling humidity. Every second waiting
in line was an acute form of torture for a family of Pacific Northwest origins.
In regards to aforementioned origins, we also discovered that it’s apparently
very hard to understand where exactly we come from. A tour guide politely
inquired to our hometown location, and when we explained the Vancouver NOT in
Canada, he still can’t get it into his head that we’re not Stanley Cup fans.
Was like talking to a wall.  |
| Baltimore, MD |
We wrap up
the visit snagging a few souvenirs and then head out for Maryland. On the way
to New Carrolton, we stop in Baltimore and drive over to Charm City Cakes where
Ben sees Ben in the window. Sort of a twilight zone, inception-type moment I’m
sure. And since we couldn’t actually eat any cakes at Duff’s place of business
we settle for pies at another famous location: Dangerously Delicious Pies.
Three slices later, including a special mini one just for me they’re not supposed
to sell to anyone, and we’re feeling high on the hog as we make out way into New
Carrolton to our hotel. Dinner time has arrived at this point, so we settle for
a less luxurious stop at Wendy’s, where we are most definitely of ethnic
minority. In fact, one kid so kindly pointed out that he was only letting Ben
in because he was white. Whatever that means…Anyway we plan on driving into DC
for our now modus operandi of driving the city the night before we plan to
explore it. However, severe thunderstorm warnings and lightening scare the
living daylights out of Kate, prompting hysterical screaming and crying, have
us back at the hotel for the rest of the night.
Day 8.
Day 8 brings
Washington D.C, and the day bodes well as we miraculously find parking near the
Capitol. Free parking no less. By this time, the sun has decided it’s going to
come out swinging, and we all unintentionally reduce our walking speed by a
significant amount due to an overwhelming melting sensation. First on the
agenda: Library of Congress. I am beyond excited to glimpse Gershwin’s piano,
and can just imagine him sitting there busting out Rhapsody in Blue in the
early 20th century. Where’s a time machine when you need one? Other notable
sights: the Gutenberg bible, Jefferson’s library, and endless maps, photos,
tributes, books, and stories. A guided tour of the Capitol Building follows,
where we all get our own headphones in order to hear our charmingly witty tour
guide who shares details about the dozens of statues in and around the area.
One is surprisingly of a woman from Vancouver, WA, who started one of the first
hospitals. A little slice of home represented in the Nation’s capital. We
finish the tour and walk (or drag ourselves) over to the botanical gardens
where Nathan is in heaven. The national mall walk keeps up occupied for a
majority of the day; the Air and Space museum, the National Gallery of Art, Museum of Natural History and the National Archives, where Ben beeps going through security, again. He’s a menace
to society that kid. While there we glimpse the original Declaration of
Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. A rest by the fountain
in the garden of sculptures while Dad and Ben graciously walk back to the car
to come pick us up marks the end of the walking portion of the day.
Once we procured our wheels and air conditioned interior, we head over to the Lincoln Memorial and Georgetown Cupcakes. Unfortunately, the cupcake line is massive so we plug in chick-fil-a into my iPhone for a less sweet treat. However, Steve Job’s generally genius creation fails to tell us this is a campus location so when we arrive our mutual lack of student status bars the way. But that’s okay, let’s just search for another one. Lo and behold there’s one 10-15 min away! We finally arrive after battling traffic and WTF it’s also a campus location. Entirely fed up at this point, we decide to drive out of D.C and go to the one by our hotel. Driving out and the chick-fil-a pops up on my iPhone that is supposedly the one by our hotel. We’re driving, following the directions, getting closer and closer only to realize: IT’S ALSO A COLLEGE CAMPUS LOCATION. *%&!$^@! Turn around again. I give up and basically chuck the stupid iphone, having lost complete faith in its navigational abilities. Luckily, once we do find a chick-fil-a, it is an amazing chicken experience - mostly worth the trauma. Dad tries to pay with his room card. Really just indicative of the whole
situation...
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| Library of Congress |
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| The Museum of Natural History proves Evolution true... |
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