Washington DC in 3 days

We arrived in Washington DC on our Amtrak train - on time - into Union Station. Wow is it impressive...

Settled into our room and made plans for the next few day. We knew it was going to be hot (very hot) and that there is a lot of walking between and around the sights so we narrowed it down to the top things we wanted to see. As we have often done in the past we relied on the DK Top 10 travel guide to help us plan.

The next day we spent the morning in Alexandria, a suburb of Washington because hubby needed to collect something he'd ordered from a shop there. It was lovely walking around a leafy suburb and was a nice pause before the manic sightseeing ahead. That afternoon we caught the Metro / subway to near the White House and then we walked along to see the WW2 memorial, reflecting pool, Washington Monument and Lincoln memorial. 

Slept like a log after all that walking. 

Day 2

Spent the next day at the Zoo - worthy of it's own blog - watch this space..

Day 3 

We got the Metro to Arlington Cemetery. I had no idea how large this place is. As well as the 1000's of graves for members of the armed forces it has sections for ex-slaves, a monument to Women of War, one for nurses, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the graves of some past US Presidents. There is a hop on - hop off trolley bus tour that goes around the cemetery and I would strongly recommend taking it as it would a) be exhausting to walk around it all b) you'd probably miss some of the major sites.

After Arlington we went to the Air and Space Museum. The one part of the Smithsonian we were very keen to see. There are lots of museums, galleries and archives (and the zoo) that make up the Smithsonian and they are all free to get into. They are only open from 10 - 5.30 which is a bit of a pity as it would be great to visit some of them later in the day when it is cooler, however, knowing the times means you can plan efficiently (are you getting the message - PLAN!!). Although there are loads of wonderful exhibits relating to flight and space it is the early developments of flight and air travel that fascinates me as well as aerial warfare so I was keen to see those particular sections. I was really thrilled to see Amelia Earhart's plane.

The next day we were catching the overnight Amtrak to Atlanta so wanted to take it a little easier. We did a little shopping in the morning and then, partly as there were thunderstorms forecast and partly because it felt fun to, we went the cinema (movie theater) to watch the new Independence Day film. 

And that was our 3 days in Washington. You could pack in a lot more than we did but we really enjoyed what we did and we felt we saw everything we wanted too.

The zoo up next - pandas !!

New York City in a day (and an evening)

Arrived at New York Penn Station on the Amtrak East Regional train - on time at 4.20pm. Checked into our hotel and went out. Photo warning... there are so many iconic images of New York you just can't help taking photos - believe me these are a tiny % of the photos we took.

We have been to NYC before but regretted not doing the Top of The Rock (Rockefeller Centre) so walked up 8th street and did that - the views are amazing. As always people say these views are the best but it's all subjective, We preferred the views from the top of the Empire State Building and I'm sure the views from the 100th floor of the One World Trade Centre are pretty good to. Anyway - tick that box - we've been to the Top of the Rock.

After getting our feet back to ground level we walked along Broadway to check out Times Square. The streets of Manhattan NYC are laid out in a grid formation so it's easy to find your way around (although I do get a bit confused with East and West - New Yorker's are also very helpful folk and we had no problems asking for and getting directions). Even though it was night time it felt like you needed sunglasses for Times Square.

We walked back to our hotel - it was about 9.30pm, there were loads of people still around - this city really never does sleep! We felt quite safe.

Next day we wanted to visit the 9/11 memorial so rode the subway downtown - it is quick, efficient, easy to use.

We had visited the site of the Twin Towers in 2007 when it was still a building site and pile of rubble. It had felt very emotive back then but now there are 2 memorial pools engraved with the names of people lost on the day it was even more so. 

Also near the site is the Oculus, the new transport hub of NYC designed to look like a dove - I liked it.

After visiting these 2 sites we walked down to Battery Park and rode the, free, Staten Island Ferry. This is so worth doing - it costs nothing and sails past the Statue of Liberty plus you get a great view of the NYC shore line. It takes about 25 minutes to cross and you have to get off the Ferry but you get straight back on to the returning ferry if you want to (or stay and explore Staten Island).

After the ferry ride we got the subway back up to 14th street and walked along The High Line to 30th street (not far from our hotel which was on 34th). The High Line is literally a garden in the sky. It has been developed from the remains of the disused overhead railway and winds it's way for a mile and a half through the buildings of NYC. I loved it - it is also free. There are food carts on the line and art installations. It is calmer and cooler than the streets below and you get the feeling that you are walking through the secret back doors of NYC. I am so nosy I loved that about it.

We ended our day in NYC in the best way possible with a Broadway show - Wicked. Our fave!

Rode the subway back to our hotel about 11.15pm - it was busier at that time than it had been earlier on, probably because of all the shows letting out.

And that's it - an evening and a day in New York.

There are so many places you can visit. We'd written a wish list and stuck to that, I'd certainly recommend planning your sightseeing if you ever come to NYC.

Next stop is Washington DC.

Boston in 2 days

After arriving in Boston at midnight, after 16 hours of travelling on an Amtrak train that was 4 hours late we jumped a taxi to our accommodation, got checked in and went to bed.

That gave us 2 full days in Boston - here's what we did....

Day 1

Ambled over to Boston Common

and picked up the start of the Boston Freedom Trail. For those who don't know Boston was the starting place of the American Revolution which led to it's independence from Britain. The city is full of historic buildings and links with people pivotal in the revolution and The Freedom Trail is the way to discover it all.

Here's a link that explains it all better than I can

http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/ 

It's really easy to follow the trail - it is literally set into the pavement as a line of red bricks

On the morning of Day 1 we followed part of the trail and lasted until lunch time. It was very hot and for those of you who know me or have read my blog you will know that I have some problems with my joints so we decided to try one of the Hop on hop off tours. This turned out to be a brilliant idea. First of all we just sat on the trolley for one loop of the tour so we could see all the sights then we got off it and took the included harbour cruise - a really good way of checking out the Boston Harbour and see where all the Irish Immigrants landed during the potato famine - Boston has a huge Irish population. From the boat you also get a great sense of the old and new buildings that make up Boston today.

I would highly recommend the tour people we used. The staff we met were all very knowledgeable, friendly and proud of their city. The tour was really good value too, it included a 45 minute harbour cruise as well as unlimited use of the trolley all day (it ended at 5pm - we were on the last trip of the day and the guy even dropped us off outside where we were staying!) We used http://www.cityviewtrolleys.com/

That night we ate out in the bar that became the inspiration for the TV series "Cheers". They did good cocktails!

Day 2

We hadn't seen the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) the day before so got the Subway over to where she is currently dry docked to check her out. As Wikipedia explains 

"USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy, named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America. She was launched in 1797" 

The evening of Day 2 was spent at a baseball game at Fenway Park - for a number of reasons.

• It is the oldest baseball ground in the US so historically significant
• We'd never been to one before so it was a new experience
• Fenway Park has links to the football (soccer) team hubby supports - Liverpool FC

It was a lot of fun - we saw the Chicago White Sox play (and beat) the home team Boston Red Sox. Friendly, safe atmosphere, very family focused.

Got there via the subway - really easy to do.

And there ended our 2 days in Boston. We felt like we'd seen and experienced everything we wanted to but you could easily spend longer there and it would be great for any history buffs.

Next up New York in one day!

Walking from Canada to USA in 20 minutes

After our 2 weeks on the road we gave back our Jeep and flew from Denver to Toronto, Air Canada. Great flight, no problems. Got a transfer from Toronto airport to Niagara Falls. To save booking a taxi across the border I did my research and identified the Crowne Plaza was the nearest hotel to the Rainbow Bridge on the Canadian side. We were booked in to the Comfort Inn The Pointe - the closest hotel to The Rainbow Bridge on the USA side ...so....
The taxi transfer dropped us off in Canada and we walked across the Rainbow Bridge, suitcases and all. It took about 20 minutes to walk across, clear customs/ border control etc and get to our hotel. Easy peasy. Saved us a lot of money and time as the vehicle queues on the bridge were massive but there were no people in front of us on the bridge.

Niagara Falls is huge and spectacular. People say the Canadian side gives the best view but we saw them from both sides and from the Maid of the Mist boat right up to them and I don't think it matters where you see them from as they are just awesome.

We spent a full day exploring all the different views of the falls and to be honest - that was quite enough for me. There are a lot of touristy things in the area, including casinos but they didn't appeal to me - although they are clearly very popular with others, as evidenced by the volume of people in the area.

Next up Amtrak trains and Boston.

The Rockies National Park - wow

Final full day of road trip ended in The Rockies National Park - what a finale!

It is impossible to take a bad photo in this place - here's a few Hubby took

See...

The next day we said farewell to our Jeep and Mildred (the Sat Nav). Grand total of distance travelled was...2659 miles !!

All the Top Tips I've shared with you came into their own today

• Car returned with a full tank of fuel. Garage less than a mile from car rental return was $2.69 a gallon - Hertz would have charged $9.99 a gallon. Now I'm rubbish at maths but even I can see which one is better value.

• Cleared all the rubbish out of the car so avoided the $50 clean up fee

By the way - I'm not a fan of Sat Navs usually - I pride myself on being quite a good navigator and map reader. Total convert since we got to use Mildred. She would find us the quickest / shortest / cheapest route, tell us where the nearest Subway was and got us everywhere we wanted to go via some very interesting sights. The best thing was - we didn't pay for her - she was in the car anyway - bonus!

Absolutely amazing 2 weeks but now we are on to the next part of the adventure over in East USA.

Black Hills, Iron Mountains and buffalo with attitude

I'm on an Amtrak Train, the Lake Shore Limited - No 48 for the next 6 hours (or more depending on delays which apparently are "inevitable".
It has better wi-fi than most of the hotels we have been staying in so I am going to catch you up the last few days of our road trip.

We left the Mount Rushmore area and drove through the Black Hills National Forest, on the Iron Mountain road, on the recommendation of some people we chatted to at breakfast. It was a very non-direct route to our destination for the evening but very worth it.

We'd seen T-shirts with "I survived the drive" on listing all the bridges and curves and tunnels of the Iron Mountain Dr but didn't understand them until we actually drove the route. You have to remember most people round here are driving pick up truck size vehicles and you don't see many minis or Fiat 500s so narrow roads take on a lot more significance than to us Brits who are used to the twisty lanes of Cornwall or the Lake District (or even West Kirby near where I live!).

I don't have any photos of the drive as there was nowhere to pull in and stop for photos or to admire the view - that in itself tells you how unusual a road it is as there are always seem to be pull ins somewhere along the road. I do have a photo which I took on the one occasion we did stop - a stop that was due to buffalo in the road!

At the overlook below you could see Mount Rushmore in the distance

We then came to Custer State park which was a bit like aa cross between a public park and safari park (so for people who live near me Birkenhead Park and Knowsley) with no enclosures and all the animals just roaming around. It had a wildlife drive where they said you had the best chance of seeing  bison but we didn't.....that is until we asked Mildred (that's what I called our sat-nav) to get us to our final destination via the shortest route. She took us across the centre of Custer Park on a dirt track passing a bison farm on the way which is where we saw the baby buffalo -aaaaah!

We spent the night in Wheatland and set off the next day for The Rockies. You access them via Roosevelt National Forest which, as you can see, is beautiful in it's own right.

and all that before you even get to the Rockies!

Top tips.

Today I have one major top tip - learned the hard way!

When you book in to a hotel and get to the room, check if there is a radio / clock alarm on the bedside table. If there is - check the alarm IS NOT SET - if it is - SWITCH IT OFF!

We didn't do this and on the morning we were going to The Rockies the alarm in our room went off at 06:00 - in our sleepy panic we thought we switched it off but oh no - we'd just hit snooze and had to go through the whole thing again 9 minutes later - aaaargh. We were not happy campers that day :-(

Next up The Rockies - you might want to go grab a Coors Light ;-)

and on to Mt Rushmore...

The thing that is constantly surprising me about this trip is that we planned to see all the main sites - the one's we are all familiar with Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, Rocky Mountains etc etc but we weren't prepared for all the other fabulous stuff there is to see along the way.


We left Yellowstone to drive to Mt Rushmore with a stop over at Buffalo to break up the journey. Along the way we saw Buffalo Bill Dam - built 1909

- http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/buffalo-bill-dam-wyoming

It was pretty impressive and the story of how they built it was incredible - no health and safety rules!

We drove on from here and I realised that we weren't too far from the sight of one of Hubby's fave films - Close Encounters of the Third kind - diversion duly made! On the way - however - we drove through the Bighorn National Forest which looked like this

then we arrived at this..

In the cafe staff told us there was a storm coming - being British we decided the threat of a bit of rain wasn't going to stop us walking round the Tower - #idiots

Mount Rushmore is one of those other places you feel you know so well - it did not disappoint. Hubby took 176 photos - I've just included the two (you're welcome!)

For the next part of our trip we drive through the Black Hills and Custer State Park on our way to The Rocky Mountains National Park.