Weekly Journal- 15th July 2010 ( for the dates 9th to 12th July)
Friday the 9th of July-
We (Vasu/Meena/Shylu n Gayu) set out for Washington,DC in the evening, around 7.30 pm. DC is about 200 miles from NJ and we were hoping to make good time and reach there before midnight. Fortunately, we had packed mixed veg rice and some pasta and did not have to break anywhere for dinner.That saved us some time. Weather and traffic were favourable and with the help of Google maps, we had door-to-door directions from Vasu's place to the hotel in DC.
The drive was pleasant and we reached DC around 10.55pm that night. Gopu had left Ohio earlier that afternoon and had reached DC around half an hour before we did. Gopu had booked us into the Westin Hotel in a room with two twin beds. In retrospect, we should have just booked 2 rooms. Each twin bed is smaller than a regular queen bed. Fitting Gopu, gayathri and me into one was hopeless. I spent the night sleepless and checking to see if I was on the bed or off it!!
Saturday, the 10th of July-
Lakshmi and family had reached DC on Friday morning by train and had asked us to meet them at the Capitol for the tour of the building and the Library of Congress. The time of our tour was 10 am on Saturday, but we had to be there an hour earlier as there were security measures to get through. Much to our dismay, Saturday morning dawned cloudy and rainy. Good thing the hotel concierge suggested we each carry an umbrella, courtesy the hotel. So, all of us got one, including Gayathri. Reaching the Capitol, we had to walk about a km in the rain to reach the huge double doors for security check. And, they made me throw away a brand new water bottle, although it was empty :( Fortunately, they allowed Gayathri's bottle in.
Once inside, the weather was no longer an issue. The interior of the Capitol building was breathtaking and the guided tour of the inner dome and the various rooms was very interesting. Full credit goes to our tour guide, Zoya, who was both well-informed and humorous.
From there we stepped across to the Library of Congress(LOC), via the tunnel connecting the capitol to the LOC. Another lovely building with sculptures, paintings and frescoes. But all this took time and we were out of the Library only by 3pm, a full 6 hours after we had stepped in and my feet were killing me!
But my enthusiastic fellow tourists wanted to keep going and see more of DC's marvels. So, it was off to the Washington Memorial next, also known as Cleopatra's needle.
We did stop briefly at a cafe on the way to munch on some fries and slurp down an icecream. The rains in the morning ensured that the rest of the day was sufficiently cool for us to walk around ,unfortunately for me:( Gayathri, however, was having no such trouble, as she, Megha and Maanas skipped and hopped all the way!
From Cleopatra's needle, we walked another 2 miles to the Lincoln Memorial. But before we reached there, we decided to cool off by dipping our aching soles in the sparkling fountain of the WWII Memorial, where plenty of tourists were taking in the sights. That was one welcome break, in my opinion. The kids loved it too and splashed about quite happily.
After the Lincoln Memorial, I was exhausted and decided that I needed a break from all the walking and sightseeing.
We went off for dinner at an Indian restaurant actually run by a Nepali guy. Food was not bad, but service was pretty bad. By the end of dinner, we were all exhausted and really needed a good night's sleep. Off to bed we went and hit the pillows for some much-needed rest.
Sunday, the 11th of July-
Sunday dawned bright and sunny,but we were so tired from the previous day's walking that we decided to take it easy and woke up late. By the time we were dressed and ready for breakfast, it was close to 11.30 am! Vasu and Meena headed back to Jersey after that and we checked out of this hotel and went on to the National Air and Space Museum for a 'quick' tour, which lasted over 4 hours!! As much as I love aeroplanes, I think I have had my fill of them for the next few weeks ;)
By the time we were done with the Museum, it was time to go to Georgetown for some window shopping and lunch. We picked a pizza place which was also, interestingly enough, screening the World Cup Football finals. So the guys were happy :) Walking around Gerogetown for the rest of the evening and the night made us hungry again (naturally;) and we went to another little restaurant in Georgetown called Bangkok Bistro. Food was rather good here.
The end of another tiring day and we went off to check in to another hotel for Sunday night, the Hilton Inn. Lovely room with 2 twin beds again, which meant this time, we had a comfortable night's sleep!
Monday,the 12th of July-
After a well-rested night, we woke up and packed our bags, as that was the day we were leaving for Seattle. Checking out of the hotel, we walked around town and found a burger place that served a whole-grain sandwich. Made very well, it kept us going pretty much the whole day. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5.30 pm, which meant we had to be at the airport by 3.30 at least. We decided to squeeze in the Jefferson Memorial between 12 pm and 2.30pm. Weather being nice and breezy, it made for good walking. Gopu dropped off Gayathri and me at the airport at 2.45 and by 3.30, Lakshmi and family arrived too, so we could go and check in for our flight.
Friday the 9th of July-
We (Vasu/Meena/Shylu n Gayu) set out for Washington,DC in the evening, around 7.30 pm. DC is about 200 miles from NJ and we were hoping to make good time and reach there before midnight. Fortunately, we had packed mixed veg rice and some pasta and did not have to break anywhere for dinner.That saved us some time. Weather and traffic were favourable and with the help of Google maps, we had door-to-door directions from Vasu's place to the hotel in DC.
The drive was pleasant and we reached DC around 10.55pm that night. Gopu had left Ohio earlier that afternoon and had reached DC around half an hour before we did. Gopu had booked us into the Westin Hotel in a room with two twin beds. In retrospect, we should have just booked 2 rooms. Each twin bed is smaller than a regular queen bed. Fitting Gopu, gayathri and me into one was hopeless. I spent the night sleepless and checking to see if I was on the bed or off it!!
Saturday, the 10th of July-
Lakshmi and family had reached DC on Friday morning by train and had asked us to meet them at the Capitol for the tour of the building and the Library of Congress. The time of our tour was 10 am on Saturday, but we had to be there an hour earlier as there were security measures to get through. Much to our dismay, Saturday morning dawned cloudy and rainy. Good thing the hotel concierge suggested we each carry an umbrella, courtesy the hotel. So, all of us got one, including Gayathri. Reaching the Capitol, we had to walk about a km in the rain to reach the huge double doors for security check. And, they made me throw away a brand new water bottle, although it was empty :( Fortunately, they allowed Gayathri's bottle in.
Once inside, the weather was no longer an issue. The interior of the Capitol building was breathtaking and the guided tour of the inner dome and the various rooms was very interesting. Full credit goes to our tour guide, Zoya, who was both well-informed and humorous.
From there we stepped across to the Library of Congress(LOC), via the tunnel connecting the capitol to the LOC. Another lovely building with sculptures, paintings and frescoes. But all this took time and we were out of the Library only by 3pm, a full 6 hours after we had stepped in and my feet were killing me!
We did stop briefly at a cafe on the way to munch on some fries and slurp down an icecream. The rains in the morning ensured that the rest of the day was sufficiently cool for us to walk around ,unfortunately for me:( Gayathri, however, was having no such trouble, as she, Megha and Maanas skipped and hopped all the way!
From Cleopatra's needle, we walked another 2 miles to the Lincoln Memorial. But before we reached there, we decided to cool off by dipping our aching soles in the sparkling fountain of the WWII Memorial, where plenty of tourists were taking in the sights. That was one welcome break, in my opinion. The kids loved it too and splashed about quite happily.
After the Lincoln Memorial, I was exhausted and decided that I needed a break from all the walking and sightseeing.We went off for dinner at an Indian restaurant actually run by a Nepali guy. Food was not bad, but service was pretty bad. By the end of dinner, we were all exhausted and really needed a good night's sleep. Off to bed we went and hit the pillows for some much-needed rest.
Sunday, the 11th of July-
Sunday dawned bright and sunny,but we were so tired from the previous day's walking that we decided to take it easy and woke up late. By the time we were dressed and ready for breakfast, it was close to 11.30 am! Vasu and Meena headed back to Jersey after that and we checked out of this hotel and went on to the National Air and Space Museum for a 'quick' tour, which lasted over 4 hours!! As much as I love aeroplanes, I think I have had my fill of them for the next few weeks ;)
By the time we were done with the Museum, it was time to go to Georgetown for some window shopping and lunch. We picked a pizza place which was also, interestingly enough, screening the World Cup Football finals. So the guys were happy :) Walking around Gerogetown for the rest of the evening and the night made us hungry again (naturally;) and we went to another little restaurant in Georgetown called Bangkok Bistro. Food was rather good here.
The end of another tiring day and we went off to check in to another hotel for Sunday night, the Hilton Inn. Lovely room with 2 twin beds again, which meant this time, we had a comfortable night's sleep!
Monday,the 12th of July-
After a well-rested night, we woke up and packed our bags, as that was the day we were leaving for Seattle. Checking out of the hotel, we walked around town and found a burger place that served a whole-grain sandwich. Made very well, it kept us going pretty much the whole day. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5.30 pm, which meant we had to be at the airport by 3.30 at least. We decided to squeeze in the Jefferson Memorial between 12 pm and 2.30pm. Weather being nice and breezy, it made for good walking. Gopu dropped off Gayathri and me at the airport at 2.45 and by 3.30, Lakshmi and family arrived too, so we could go and check in for our flight.
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