This is the second part of an ongoing report of our trip to the US.
The first part of my trip report thread
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-nyc-az-ca.cfm become to large to load easily so I'm starting a new one to cover the last 3 weeks of our journey.

Day 30 Washington DC - Boston

A late flight to Boston tonight left us with a morning to spend hunting down another museum in DC. We left the hotel late because it took us awhile to squish our Washington purchases into our already over flowing suitcases and had a late breakfast across the road at Billy Goat's diner. Two eggs sunnyside up, hash browns, bacon and toast , all for $5.

Taine wanted to check out the Air & Space museum so I hoisted my aching backside back on to the bike one more time. Who knew that Taine's multiple viewing of 'Night in the Museum' would lead to such an interest in history!
Washington on a week day is a very different place than it is on the weekend. Mobile food trucks line some of the streets enabling the busy, government employees the option to eat on the run. Crossing pedestrian walkways becomes quite difficult because the drivers in important looking vehicles don't like to heed the 'give way to pedestrian' signs. We got quite a few toots as we wheeled our bikes across.

To be honest I was a bit museumed out and not really in the mood for roaming the exhibits but Taine & Geoff enjoyed it and learnt lots of interesting stuff about flight. I was a disappointed we didn't get to the American Indian museum but we've left a few things to do next time we visit.

Transportation to Dulles was a bit of an issue considering our luggage load. After weighing up the cost of the shuttle, the inconvenience of train then bus and the unknown price of a taxi, we went with a van organised by the hotel for $80. Added to the costly bike oversight from yesterday, this leg is becoming an expensive one but I'm glad we didn't have a car here. Parking at our hotel would have been $48 a day and I wouldn't have had nearly as much exercise!

Despite the distance to Dulles (almost 50k from the city), it didn't take long to get there and so we were left with a few hours to chill at the airport. The Jet Blue flight was bumpy and Boston is foggy, wet and cold. We caught a taxi to our hotel in the Back Bay area. It's called the Mid Town and I think it's seen better days but the room is big enough to lay all our suitcases on the floor for a re pack. I think we were a bit spoilt at the Affinia Liaison with its deliciously soft mattresses but I'm sure we can cope with a couple of less luxurious days before we get to another Affinia in NYC.

Given that we had a late lunch at the airport and no dinner, we ventured out into the rain looking for supper. Our first revelation was that you can't buy liquor in the drug store/ supermarket/pharmacy 7/11 places like you can in the South. I hadn't realised how convenient this was until it was so unexpectedly taken away from me! We found a Whole Foods just as it was closing and ended up eating apples and potato chips.

Thanks for starting a new thread Kwaussie, love reading your reports. We had nice weather in Boston, hope it improves for you.

Way to be the trooper for your son. While the Air and Space is my favorite museum in DC - I know what you mean about getting to the stage of being "museumed out".

For future reference - if you didn't get to the Museum of Natural history in DC (I haven't finished your DC report(s) yet) - they have the biggest bull elephant I have ever seen greeting you just inside the entrance. Think Teddy Roosevelt provided it from his African Safaris? http://dc.about.com/od/photosofmuseu...NH/rotunda.htm

Now in NYC - they have huge dinosaurs at their American Natural History Museum (West side of the Park) - and also a great IMAX for a trip through the universe, journey to the stars, etc. http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/spac...y-to-the-stars

Here's the page for the NYC Natural History Museum permanent exhibits - which again - has some big dinasours, etc. http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions

This was of course featured in the first movie - Night at the Museum: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477347/

More nice TR! FYI, gh American Indian Museum in D.C. has a nice, albeit exensive, restaurant.

that 'gh' was supposed to be 'the'

Thanks for the new post Kwaussie. Those of us who have been following your trip really appreciate the faster load.

In Boston, do hit the north end for some really good Italian food.

If you can stand another museum, the Museum of Science is great, be sure to see the static electricity show there.

t

Thanks for starting a new thread, really enjoying your reports.

Taine and Geoff would enjoy the Adams houses and the Adams Mansion in my hometown, Quincy. You would likely need a car. Of course further south, Plimouth Plantation in Pymouth is an old standby and the replica of The Mayflower is close by. These places were favorites for my kids whenever we'd go back to Boston and Quincy for a visit. Of course, they're 52, 56 and 58 now! Boston is a great place to visit..full of history, great New England food, etc. Sorry to say, they've taken my name of of the Welcome to Quincy billboard, for some reason or other.

stu
Have fun.

Boston is the oldest place of civilisation that I have every visited and I love how you can 'feel' the history here. Because of the persistent rain we shelved the walking tour idea and bought tickets on the trolley. They have a winter special that gives us access to the trolley for all 3 days of our visit for the price of one so it turned out to be a good choice. Unlike the conch train in Key West, this one really does have lots of stops at different locations where you can hop off and explore for awhile and then jump back on. The driver's narration was excellent and we learnt a great deal about the city as we drove around.

Our first stop was the Quincy Market where we got a chance to sample the famous clam chowder. Eaten in a bread bowl it most definitely lived up to expectations. In fact all the food at the market looked so delicious it was hard to choose what to have. The market area is beautifully decorated for the holidays and it includes a shop with the biggest range of Christmas ornaments you can imagine. I've been buying a distinctive ornament in each city to take home for our tree next year but like the food court the choices here were so vast that I couldn't decide what to have. In the end I bought a fairly boring red sox baseball bauble because it was light!

Because we spent so long at the market we didn't have a lot of time to explore Boston Common but we'll try to fit this in again tomorrow. Geoff's fascination with squirrels was rekindled in Washington where we saw squirrels of many colours including a black one and a snowy white one and continued today with the colony in Boston Common who are clearly hand fed because they were very playful.

Having grown up with the TV show where 'everybody knows your name', a visit to 'Cheers' was a must do. We sat at the bar and had a handle of John Adams before jumping back on the trolley right outside the door.

We had our first real travel hiccup today. I had booked tickets on the Amtrak to NYC for Sophie tomorrow and us on Thursday. Luckily it occurred to me today to check the baggage policy because we discovered that there is NO checked baggage on this train and no way of getting our cases to NY. Yikes! Thankfully Amtrak were happy to fully refund me and we've rebooked tickets (including a spare one for the extra luggage) on a bus instead.

Tonight we met up with a Bostonian friend of Soph's for dinner. We went to the Cheesecake shop at Copley Square and had delicious salady, vegetably things.... and a wee bit of cheesecake.

Bookmarking

Still enjoying your journey . . .

The Amtrak train doesn't have "checked" baggage, but you ARE allowed to bring baggage--large suitcases even--as carry-on. Unless you are traveling with streamer trunks, I don't think you would have had a problem. How many suitcases do you have?

We took two big bags and a couple of carryon's on Amtrak on our last trip. You have to store it yourself in the baggage racks at the end of the carriage.

We may have been able to get away with our big bags but we're carrying two each now (plus carry on) so I wasn't game to risk it. Hopefully we'll be right on the bus with our extra seat. Once we get to New York we have 2 bags allowance on our other legs so we won't have to worry.

tower, I wish we'd had time to get down to Quincy but we were flat out just seeing the city itself. I would have liked to get to Salem too. Just more reasons to have to return one day

The rain abated today so we had a beautifully clear (albeit cold) view of the city today. The whole place reminds me so much of Dunedin, right down to its own, distinct accent. Our trolley driver this morning spent some time encouraging us to speak 'Baahhstonian' but I'm afraid I just can't get my tongue around those drawn out vaahhls. I could listen to it all day though. I asked a man for directions and was so entranced by his accent that I had no idea what he'd said!

We got off at Boston Common this morning to play with the squirrels again and check out some of the historic monuments in the park. On the spur of the moment (and to get out of the cold) we decided to visit the State House, home of the Massachusetts' parliament. I'm so glad we did. What a beautiful building with very friendly and approachable staff. The murals and stained glass windows throughout the great halls reflect the history of Boston, Massachusetts and indeed the United States through the American Revolution, the birth of Independence and the Civil War. We climbed the stairs right up to the golden dome and checked out both the Senate & the House of Reps.

A walk around the corner took us to the Granary Cemetery where the likes of Paul Revere, Mother Goose and Sam Adams are buried. So many old souls, right there in the middle of the city and residential buildings.

Taine was keen to visit the Tea Party Museum so that was our other stop for the day. We took part in a quaint re enactment and role play of the Tea Party, complete with a pretend tipping of tea into the harbour. The young man playing Sam Adams whipped us into a frenzy of rebellion complete with lots of 'hazars' and 'fies' and some foot stamping. We pretended to disguise ourselves with indian feathers and then boarded the ship to tip the tea. It was all informative and good fun and ended with a free sample of tea!

For dinner tonight we visited Whole Foods on our way home and bought ourselves a picnic of hot veggies & salad. This store is nowhere near as extensive as the one we visited in Austin but it's still big enough to provide lots of variety. Taine even scored some gingerbread corn chips for the bus tomorrow. I love the way even savoury foods become sweet treats in the U.S!

Boston is lovely but I'm not sure how people manage the Winter here. It was so cold today that even Geoff wore long sleeves and it was fully dark by 4.30pm. I can only imagine what it might be like in January and February.

Love your spirit - and did you take some pics wearing the raiding feathers?

Hope you have a scenic bus ride tomorrow.

Brava! Although I was born in Bahston, I've never been there as an adult. Great to read about it through your eyes.

TD...born in Quincy, but left for California in 1957, been here since. Two of my kids were born in Bahston...I lapse into the old Yankee accent anytime I'm around old friends or family...then it's "pahk the cah in the Hahvid yahd!" I'm an Emerson College and BU grad, my California grandaughter fell in love with Boston and with a student from Vermont. They both graduated from Emerson,too, and now live in Ventura, CA.

Go visit..it's a wonderful place to see through your adult eyes.

Kwaussie..I'm happy that you've had an enjoyable visit. Your "strian" accent mixed with the Bostonese must be hard to decipher!

Stu Tower

Kwaussie...in "strian", do you know what "Aye-tin" is? How about "egg-shna"..? From my days in "Stria"...

Hmmm, maybe a few more phonic clues Stu ??

My feet hurt!
We've been in Manhattan for just over 24 hours and in that time I think we've walked about 20 km.
When we think of downtown New York we think of it like the middle of any city but in fact this is a place of cities within cities. Manhattan is spread over 185 streets east to west and every one of those streets is a main street with some major, must see attraction! And that's just one of the boroughs of New York.

We left Washington yesterday at 11am for what was supposed to be a 4 hr bus trip. This actually turned out to be a very uncomfortable 6 hour torture but for $25 we weren't complaining. I was surprised how much open space there was between the two cities. In my mind the Eastern Seaboard has always been one long metropolis but in fact there are lots of woods and trees, right up to the edge of the city.
Our first real glimpse of New York city was the Yankee Stadium and then we crossed the bridge into Harlem. Whoah, just like the movies. And again, just like the movies, the neighborhood changed at the edge of Central Park to expensive apartments and coiffured dogs and their leash holders.

Our hotel ( the Affinia Dumont) is on 34th and Lexington, just a few streets away from The Empire State Building. We have a great view of the skyline of uptown Manhattan. Sophie met us at the bus station and thanks to her previous experience, we were able to master the subway fairly quickly. What an excellent method of moving people around the city. We bought a $29 weekly pass and we've already taken 10 subway rides! Our first stop last night was Times Square, the mecca of tourists and entrepreneurs looking to make money from the tourists. It's not so much a square as a street, full of lights and shops and buskers and more lights.We watched ourselves on the big screen for a bit and then went in search of food.Because the Affinia has kitchen facilities in each room we were able to grab some supplies from a local deli and make our own chicken salad.

This morning we ventured to the bottom of the island. Earlier this year our Drama class used the events of September 11 as the stimulus for their ensemble performance and as a result we had done a lot of research into the tragedy.Visiting the memorial was an important mecca for us. It is a truly somber and overwhelming experience to stand where those mighty towers once stood and fell. It was freezing and the water spray from the reflecting pools was cold but I felt obliged to read each and every one of the names on the edges of the pools.

I had booked tickets to climb the crown of the Statue of Liberty but both Liberty & Ellis Islands are closed due to storm damage from Sandy. Determined not to miss seeing Lady Liberty altogether and despite the biting wind and heavy swell we boarded the ferry from Battery Park. Risking hypothermia we managed to get some wind blown 'selfies' and a few decent photos of the statue and the Manhattan skyline before tottering off the gang plank and hurrying back to the warmth (and the weirdos) of the subway.

Tonight we ventured down to the Rockefeller Centre to look at the Christmas decorations and then to the biggest department store ever, Macys. Walking the streets of New York it's hard to believe there are so many people in the world, let alone in one city. Remarkably, a lot of them are Australians, particularly in our hotel. Amongst the accents of New York the Aussie drawl is instantly recognizable!