I am back from a 10 day trip to the east coast of USA and
what should I say! The trip was fantastic and so much fun... It is always so
much when I go to any trip with H because we tend to get very adventurous and
walk away the whole trip seeing all the beautiful places a city can give us
with the limited time we had .So here I am documenting, even the minute details
of the trip and as much as possible so that I can look back at these notes some
other time and say wow! What an amazing time we had ….
So it all started in June last week and we had about 12 days
in hand. We were thinking about going to Europe but the visa stuffs will take
longer than expected. Then we thought of visiting our native but again 10 days
is too short a time for that … So we decided that we will tour couple of places
in the central and east coast as we have not explored those areas. Initially we
had cities like Minnesota, Vancouver etc. but then due to budget issues we had
to cut them out... So finally after going back and forth with discussions our
itenary went like this 1) Chicago (2 days) 2)Niagara( 2 days) 3)Syracuse (1
day) 4)Washington dc (3 days) 5) new York and jersey (3 days). I think one day
would have gone in travel and the time zone difference
CHICAGO:
So we vacated our apartment on the 28 th of June 2014, and
the same day evening we flew to Chicago o hare international airport. This
airport is said to be the busiest airport in the world and I should say what a
traffic! Flights were waiting in queue to depart and it was a never seen before
sight! We stayed in south loop hotel which was close to the city. Chicago is
well connected by subways and buses. There was a bus taking us to the city, to
the navy pier to be exact, just outside the hotel. So we rented an enterprise car
and then we kept the car along with the bags in a parking area which was around
10 dollars per day or something of that sort. Then we headed out to have a
hearty breakfast at “Meli café and juice bar “.The service was great and the
food was awesome. It’s pricey though. We had already booked the “Go card
Chicago “tour for 2 days. This is like a hop in and hop off and we can get down
anywhere in the attractions and see around 45 places. After having researched
in quora and Google, we had come with a certain set of places which we decided
that it’s a must see. The best part about this card was “skip a line ‘option. So
where ever we went we could just scoop through the crowd and absolutely no waiting.
Whenever we hop in and off the bus we either show the card to the driver or
swipe the card (I don’t remember exactly what we did now). This go card is
activated only after you purchase the card going to their shop. Their shop is
located inside the Hilton hotel. We quickly bought the pass, checked their list
of places and decided to start our trip J
. The first place we stopped was the FIELD MUSEUM. We skipped the line and
quickly toured around the museum. There are lots to see in this place as
mentioned by lots of people in the web, especially if you like history...They portrayed
how people in the olden ages lived, how their house like was, what dress were
they wearing, what were the challenges they faced. Some of the artifacts dated
from the Stone Age. Inside the museum, there were many places where we need to
pay extra and go. I would be honest here. I somehow didn’t find the place
appealing and didn’t want to spend lots of time there. Thankfully H agreed with
me though he was little irritated that I was pushing him around and showing him
the exit path! But we did get an idea on the famous museum. I personally feel
it’s a great place to bring kids to actually show them about the history rather
than studying from papers.
Near to the museum was located the “ALDER PLANETARIUM”. This
place was amazing . It has pictures and superb explanations of how technology
has evolved and how we are able to go to the moon and outer space. We were also
given free passes to see a quick movie which was a 3d one. The room was made dark
(of course!) and that somehow put H and me to sleep. I was trying to be awake
for some time but then the time zone and the jet lag kicked in and we snored
away to glory! Once the lights were up I did notice few people looking at us
and kids gigging at us... he he ... This place is well worth a visit if you
like to know about the outer space and is interested in astronomy and science. We
also had a chance to experience how it was to be floating with zero gravity. We
were made to lie down and push our legs against the wall. I regret doing this
because not only did I not experience any zero gravity I ended up having slight
back pain as well!
The weather was hot and should I say windy!! No wonder
Chicago is called as the windy city!! It annoyed me personally. I had recently
cut my hair short and my hair flew here and there! Also it was beginning to
give me a head ache!!! The Aquarium was next to the planetarium too, but we
decided to pass this as we had seen lots of those in the recent pasts. Our next
destination was Chicago 360 or the John Hancock observatory .This project was
financed by John Hancock mutual insurance company and hence the name. This
tower has 100 floors and over looks Lake Michigan. It’s located in the Michigan
Avenue. We could skip the line here as well due to our go Chicago card which
was great! The view was amazing. It was extremely sunny but my sun glasses saved
the day.
The next place which was on our list was the Willis tower.
It’s also known as the Sears tower. It has 103 floors and like Hancock it is a
place for many offices and restaurants. The idea originated when Sears group,
the largest retailers decided to place all its employees under the same roof.
It is said that he got the idea of this architecture when he was out dining
with a friend and he was playing with his cigarettes! If you see the building
now it’s not a straight tall building but just how a pack of cigarettes in hand
would be; one small, one big etc. A recent attraction which started here was
the deck view .Sears tower is completely closed from all sides by glass and we
wondered what is new here which was different from the John Hancock tower. And
then we got the answer J
They have started something called as “Tilt “ So we can stand on the glass
stand and then the glass will tilt about 45 degrees and you can really see the
entire city from an Ariel view . I instantly said No! I had a big fear of
heights and I knew I could never do this . H was interested to do this and highly
enthusiastic as well but he too backed out as I was not going. I thought it was
time to give my fears a break and at least try. Now did I enjoy it?? Well, I can’t
say that I was not scared. I think I screamed the loudest but still it was fun...it
was something which I had never done in my life before and I had to admit that
I was not so scared any more. Of course in all these observatory decks they do
take the photos and you can buy them if you are interested.
We did not rely on the hop on hop off throughout because
waiting for the buses meant that we can’t see many of these places in the two days’
time frame
Chicago is a land of sky scrapers... There are countless
tall buildings and Chicago River cuts through the city joining many loops, like
south, north. I felt it was planned well and well connected. There were many
tourists mostly because it was summer break for kids and amazing weather.
After seeing this, we decided to go and buy the tickets for
the architecture lake tour which was highly recommended in the web. The tour is
very close to the navy pier. The tour got over by the time we reached there but
we did buy the tickets for the next day. We were told that along with navy pier
our go card gives free tickets to some other rides in the park (some fast
rides, some slow) and to our surprise it was valid till about a week or so. So
we decided to just casually stroll along the MILLENIUM PARK. There was some
live music and I saw lots of people enjoying and having a good time with kids. This
park is amazing and there won’t be any one who would visit Chicago and not take
a photo in the park. The history museum is nearby, but we it was closed by that
time and we were awfully tired as well. We
heard lots about a very famous pizza from our enterprise car driver on our way
from the o hare airport. It’s the GIORDANO’S pizza. We were hungry and tired as
we didn’t have our lunch and headed straight to that place. The place was
filled with people!!!! I couldn’t imagine that a pizza place could be this much
crowded and understood instantly that this has to be the best pizza in the
town. We ordered something vegetarian and some appetizer. Appetizer was out of
the world. I think it was something related to avocado. Pizza was very heavy.
We could not finish it and we had to get that packed for Togo.
After dinner, we went back to the parking lot to collect our
car (which was just walkable) and then headed straight to the hotel to check
in. As we had not heard about this hotel before, I was really hoping that the
place is neat and thankfully it was! The hotel room was larger than we expected
it to be and was well maintained .The TV played some friends episode and I thought
nothing could have been better to end such a happy day. Of course we were dead tired,
but we are used to this kind ofvacations .Our vacations are never too relaxing
and our idea was always to see lots of places in the limited time . I sagree that many people would
think our ways as stupid but hey! Everyone has a different meaning of vacation,
remember??
As we covered most of the places which were there in our list,
we were very relaxed the second day. We got up late and headed out to subway
for some brunch. After that we took a bus to the navy pier from outside our hotel.
It was just a straight ride to navy pier.
We headed to the architecture river tour. It was extremely
sunny and I was feeling so sleepy but the narration was good and you can learn
so much as to why and how they constricted such tall buildings. I personally
would recommend this tour to anyone who plan to visit Chicago. Of course I did
hear tall ship windy was good too, but after having taken a cruise we didn’t
want to spend extra money on another cruise. Our go card covers only one cruise
for free, so I think we opted the best. We were told the story as to how the
whole city got burnt down due to some fire set by a cow kicking a lantern. Within
minutes the whole city was burnt down and was one of the US largest disasters
of the 19th century .It killed around 300 people and rendered many
homeless. It is still known as the “Great Chicago Fire”. At those times most of
the buildings were made of wood. After this the city had to be rebuilt and the
architects thought of constricting them with steel. Few buildings escaped the fire,
one among them is the “Chicago Water Tower “which still stands tall and strong.
I dozed off hearing the story not
because it was boring but as it was too sunny and hot and I was still so much
jet lagged and tired .
After the tour we headed to the navy pier and saw the whole
city from the wheel. There were also few
small and simple rides near by which we did go as it was covered in the go
Chicago pass. We also bought some souveniors from the navy pier .
We headed to walk along lake Michigan and it was a beautiful
walk starting from the navy pier . Navy pier seems to be the heart of the city
with lots of activities , food , drinks, music. There is also a greenhouse
glass there and that was such a huge relief from the scorching heat.
It was starting to get dark and cloudy. We were a little
slow the second day mainly because we were tired and also as we had seen all
the places which we had planned and were feeling happy. We decided to eat in an
Indian restaurant which was serving food like subway. You get chapattis wrapped
in a mix of curry and vegetables. It was nice and as were enjoying the dinner
it started to rain. After a while when rain stopped we headed to the hotel and
again saw Friends episode for a while and slept happily thinking what an
amazing city Chicago is! It’s so well connected,
busy city which was very well designed and built. It had subways and trains,
and our stay was fantastic.
Chicago is also known for its hot dogs, but we forgot to try
that out. Well, now that’s for the next trip then J
Niagara:
So the next day morning (though we saw some flood alert the
previous day in the TV ), we checked out from the south loop hotel and were on
our way to o hare airport to board flight to buffalo Niagara international
airport which is in buffalo, new York . We were getting delayed due to some
flood which stopped all the vehicles and rerouted the cars and busses to
another route. We were stuck in traffic for about 2 hours. We knew that we
would miss the flight, so we quickly called and rebooked the next flight. We
were supposed to reach o hare at around 9 am and now we would be reaching,
there around 11 am or so. As we sat there in the car wondering as to if we were
going to miss the next fight at 11 am as well , we saw lots of people taking their luggage and
walking and lots of people asking for a lift etc . Some how 2 ladies caught my
attention from the crowd .One was an indian and another lady was a Mexican . I
asked them if they wanted lifts to the airport and they thankfully got it .
They both had to travel that day and they were cutting too close with their
flight timings. We dropped them at the airport and the Mexican lady offered us
the money which we didn’t take of course but we felt so glad that we were able
to help them. The Indian lady was so touched and was saying that this looked to
her as it was good karma and that we will also be getting help when we wanted. Those
words made us happy and we were glad that both of them were able to catch their
flights on time as they had no check in baggages.
So we drove to the car drop off place and then were on our
way to the buffalo airport and reached buffalo as planned. We also had a plan
to see Niagara from the Canadian side as well. So our plan was to see Niagara
and spend more time on the Canadian side and then the next day we shall check
out the hotel and go see Niagara from the USA side as well. We booked room for
a day in Ramada plaza. I did not like this hotel so much. It was not that neat
as expected from the standards of Ramada... The bathroom had some dead flies
and I felt the front desk people were not that friendly. Anyways, so after
getting down from the buffalo airport we took a rental car and I think it was
national or hertz. The most funny thing was we took an insurance for any sort of
accidents in USA as well as Canada as we were crossing the border and but we
didn’t take any road side assistance .What happened without the insurance will
soon follow!!! So yes, here we were at the Niagara, Canada and as were driving
towards it we could see the water sprayed in the air from far which was the
impact of the great fall. We went straight to a subway and had a quick lunch. We
didn’t go to the hotel yet to check in and we kept all the things in the car itself.
The weather was hot and sunny and you need a sun glass and a hat to get through
the crowd and for the heat of course. We had checked in the web few days back
as to which tour was the best to see Niagara, There were 2 tours. One was the
discovery tour (on the American side) and the adventure tour (from Ontario
side). We had decided that we will explore the adventure tour as many people
had said good words about it. Before I talk about the adventure pass and Niagara
let me write down few things about Niagara, the place. Lots of restaurants and
lots of tourists through the year, this city makes money due to this water fall
which attracts people from around the world. I saw people of all nationalities there,
and couples, kids and older people. Ontario also has a giant wheel and many
many attractions which kids will definitely enjoy after they are done sightseeing.
We didn’t go to any of those stuffs, because they were fun but they were not unique.
Like say a scary monster home or a giant wheel is something which we can get anywhere
else too. So we decided to spend the whole day just going with adventure pass. In
the night this street of Ontario, near to Niagara was beautifully illuminated
and I felt as if I was a small girl on some fair, this is a beautiful place to send
time with family and kids. Ok now back to the adventure pass. We took the pass
which was valid, I don’t know how many days... But we decided to use it that
day itself as we needed to head back to USA and see Niagara from there the next
day. Our first visit in the package which we opted was the “horn blower Niagara
cruises”. What can I say about this? I was on a world famous cruise and doing
something which people dream about – that is seeing the Niagara!!! It’s about
30 mins ride and this is how close we can get to the Niagara. Once we are
pretty close I could not even open my eyes as my eyes were dripping wet. I even
shuddered at the thought of drowning. Such was the force of the falls that, our
boat was shaky and we felt that we may fall off the boat if we do not hold onto
something. We were given a red sheet of plaster to cover us so that our clothes
won’t get wet. People from the American side also takes this cruise and they will
be given the blue coats. I thought that’s a good and easy way to distinguish between
the boats. You can see USA just right across and felt proud that the 2
countries share such a close border and such good friendship .After that
exciting ride, we decided to venture next onto the “White water walk”. It’s a
walk along the Niagara River where we can see the force of the world’s wildest rapids.
The rapids were too powerful and the whole placed echoed with their sound. We
learnt how Lake Erie travels from USA and falls on the Ontario river. There
were articles alongside the walk which talked about the birds and fishes who
survive in such a high rapid. These rapids are classified as class 6 which
means that it’s too strong that it’s difficult to maneuver any boat in those
waters .You will also notice that the water is green in color , not only here
but in many places in Niagara and that is due to the minerals it carries .Just
standing there and enjoying the rapids felt
amazing and so peaceful , calm
and so close to nature .I understood that day that no matter the type of camera you have , the beauty of nature can
never be completely captured by them . We tried to take pics but were either
dark shots due to sunlight or we felt that its beauty was not justified by it .By
the way we need to get into that hop on bus of the adventure pass which is covered free and then reach this
place called water walks . It’s near to Niagara but not walking distance.
How can I talk about Niagara and not talk about the rainbow
bride. This is the bridge which connects USA and Canada. You can even walk and
enjoy the beauty of the falls across that bridge. We didn’t do that as we
didn’t get enough time but definitely planned to do it next time. This bridge
is rightly named as we were surrounded by rainbows just above the falls almost
all the time. The view was spectacular. I tried to capture some of them in my
camera but it was nothing compared to the real life experience.
Next we went to see the 4D experience of Niagara. Here they
talk little bit about the Niagara origin. It’s more of kids oriented but we
enjoyed them anyways. We had water sprinkled on us and water coming on our
shoes etc. , but you can give this a
miss if you are not on any package. We
also stopped in the shops nearby to buy some souvenirs.
Our next destination was the “journey behind the falls”. So
here we again get to wear coats (this time they gave us yellow color) and we go
under a tunnel and get to read about dams. We also read about how people have
decided to swim and cross Niagara and lost their lives and later government
decided to stop this kind of adventure .There were few success stories too and
I had to give it away to a school teacher who managed to cross the waters
.There were some like her who succeeded, but majority of them lost their lives
.So in this tunnel we pass through all these notes and stories of how dams have
been made and the engineering works etc. . We could constantly hear a
thundering sound which is the sound of Niagara Falls and we can even see water
droplets on the tunnel. The tunnel is pretty cold but as it was summer it’s not
unbearable .At the end of the tunnel we are welcomed by Niagara, but from the
sides! I saw the people in the horn blower below, taking the ride. That area
was windy and full of water mist and spray .It like you feel you walked under
the Niagara Falls and now that you are outside you feel how small you are in
the hands of nature. And before I forget to mention, the buses which takes us
from one place to another is called as “We Go” buses.
So that brought us to the end of the 4 places in the pass
and we were extremely excited and happy. We ate some subway sandwich, some
burgers, and snacks. Of course we won’t get all the variety of food but I still
felt that a vegetarian was justified. Our pass also had some discounts for some
restaurants etc., but by the end of the day we were super tired and by the time
we hit the bed it was around 1 am.
The next day we vacated the hotel and cleared the
immigration to enter the USA. Here we were told that there is one particular
thing which was good in the discovery pass. We opted to take only that one and
paid individually. It is called as “Cave of the winds” and it is a must to do,
for all the Niagara tourists. You actually walk up to the Niagara Falls, and
you get drenched in the water falls above you. It’s little scary though and I
wouldn’t recommend kids to go near because it can get little slippery. But we
were so thankful that we tried out this thing and I really thank all the people
who gave their comments in the web as they were the ones who highly recommended
them. Of course we were given the coats so our clothes were not that wet, but
this is a must must must thing to do if you are going to Niagara. I can’t
stress enough about this.
Another ride which we took individually was the winge ride. I forgot the name of that, but it was not
worth the money. I think it was not that expensive so that’s why we took it. But
I would not recommend it .The winge will take you across a river and back but
there is nothing worth seeing there.
Over all I am very happy that I took the adventure pass,
which is the pass to see Niagara in Canada. So if given a choice I highly
recommend that you see Niagara from the Canadian side. This pass is worth the money.
I also noticed that all the tourists were going towards the Canadian side and
there were not so many on the American side. But you should not miss the “cave
of the winds” which is only from the American side .But I also saw few
construction sites in USA side, so I am sure the government is planning some
good entertaininmet to attract tourists here. I wanted to go see a dam which I
read was used to create electricity but due to lack of time could not make it
(on the USA side)
We felt we thoroughly utilized the time here and felt it was
time to go to the airport. One funny incident which I mentioned in the above
para’s but forgot to say was regarding the road side assistance. So we were in
the Canadian side and the next day we were checking out and about to go to USA
side to see the cave of the winds as planned earlier. H kept all the luggage in
the boot and then closed the boot keeping the keys inside! We didn’t have a
road side assistance either. We called the AAA which was the most popular in
Canada and after few minutes of waiting and feeling stupid, the guy arrived. He
was a friendly person and told us that his son got admission in Texas College
and he was sounding so proud and happy. Anyways, we finally got our car keys
back from the boot J
I have to say that Ramada plaza neither helped us nor were least customer friendly.
We did loose some money on this and that too on another country but glad when
we could get our keys back. After that we went on to see Niagara from the
American side .We also saw Niagara lit up at night , but I think that’s little
over rated as I didn’t feel anything too great about it . Still it’s worth a watch.
Syracuse:
We were now on our way back to the buffalo airport so as to
catch the flight to go to Syracuse. We reached Syracuse Hancock international
airport. It was late in the night we reached there. We rented a car and it was
around 11 pm or so that we reached Syracuse. We took few quick rides along the
street and H was excitedly showing me around though it was past midnight. I
could see that he was happy and excited to be there. We checked in at the
“Comfort suites and Inn”. I was not very sure of how this hotel would be. In
fact I was not even expecting much. I thought it’s just a day and let’s just
crash somewhere. To our surprise it was excellent. They even provided free
breakfast in the morning which I felt was superb. It was late and we were very hungry.
We went to a nearby Dennis which was even walkable and thus ended the day. The
next day we were all set to see Syracuse University and the neighboring areas.
This university is so vast and spread across acres and acres of land. We went
to the ethical department and their computer lab.Syracuse was larger than I
expected. I have heard it’s a big college with rich kids. The rich students stay
very close to the college. The so called hostel buildings where students stayed
looked so colorful and bright unlike our image of the college hostels back in India.
I saw few students partying and having good time. When you enter the college
you are welcomed by a big building. This is the music hall and you have to see
the architecture as it’s amazing. We parked the car in the campus and the
security was kind enough to let us park near to the college when H mentioned
that he was an alumina .There was some construction going on near the gym. We
took few photos of those buildings as it was nostalgic for H to be there after
about 8 years! I went inside the Carnegie library and was amazed by the amount
of books they had .It was beautifully kept. Then we visited the hall of engineering
which is also called as the link hall. This was the main corner of the
electrical electronics lab and we saw few classes going on there. Saw lots of
Indians students too. H showed me the phone booth which was red in color where
he used to make calls to his family. I also saw the famous lab where H and his
friend had done their final year project .There was also library which was
called the Bird library. We took pics from this place as this was where H went
after his college hour’s .There was also a Sheraton hotel next to the college campus.
There was a Starbucks coffee nearby where H admits that in
the initial years he never drank any coffee to save money and after he got his
internship he spent most of the time there! I have heard lots of stories about
a pizza place called “Acropolis “where H and his friends used to hang out for a
long long time . H took me there and I have to admit that pizza was very filling,
huge and heavy. The most surprising thing was when the guy asked H “hey long
time no see “and we dropped our jaw as he still remembered H after such a long time.
We also went to dunkin donuts which was filled with medical and engineering
students who have come not just to have coffee but also just for a chat .We
bought some souvenirs from the university. I still remembered that H had a
Syracuse pant which was so warm and comfortable and I wore that day after day
and was sad when finally I had to throw that away when it tore off L It really did protect
me a lot from the cold, when I first came to USA .The pant was expensive so we
decided not to buy that. H also showed me where he stayed during the 2 years of
his study. His last term home was near to a graveyard and people had asked him
many times if he was scared to live there. He used to walk across the graveyard
as there was a short cut to reach there from college. But rather than feeling
any kind of fear he used to always say how he met people who used to come and
keep flowers early in the morning for their loved ones and he used to feel very
good seeing these flowers. That changed my outlook on the graveyard completely.
After all they were people like us and they are missed by their families. He
also showed me the flower shop next to that where people bought flowers to keep
in the grave. I think this was in the east Colvin Street and he told me his
room was in the second floor and the number was 1112. So that was Syracuse University.
It was great to see all the places and to put a face to all the nice and fun
stories which I heard about the university. We were getting slight late and we
rushed to go to the airport. All that rushing was for nothing as we got stuck
in the airport for about 4 hours due to heavy rains in Syracuse. We ate food
from the airport and even slept for a while there as we were dead tired. We had
planned a moon light dc tour the same night. We post poned that to next day and
later cancelled the whole thing when we felt we have seen enough of DC.
Washington DC
We reached Regan national airport on a late evening .In Dc
we had decided that we will take the hop in and hop off bus tour. We can get
the tickets for that from the Union station which is in DC. We stayed in “Radisson”
and I can’t talk enough about how comfortable our 3 day stay was! Everything
was very well taken care of. This hotel is in Arlington, Virginia. We reached Radisson
at night and after keeping all our bags there we decided to go to union station
and get a feel of the place. The next day was July 4 and we had decided to see
the parade which starts at around 11 30 am or so. With the help of google maps
we roamed around a bit and then got back to the hotel. Dc and Arlington are
well connected with subways. Our station next to the hotel was the crystal city
which was In Arlington. The next day we were all set and ready to see the dc parade.
We went to union station and collected the tickets for the hop in hop off dc. The
bus was very useful but we also felt later that most places were of walking
distance. Anyways so that particular day, that is on the July 4 we headed out
to see the Independence Day parade. The parade starts from Constitution Avenue
and 7 the street. We reached there early so as as to get a good spot. There
were lots of people from various nationalities there and the day was sunny and bright.
There were lots of people selling water, juices, sandwiches, hot dogs on the streets.
We got a place near to the road and we were all set to see the parade. Contrary
to all the hype, I was disappointed with what I saw in the parade. It was just
a casual parade with people or rather let’s say kids and students doing some parade,
gymnastics, and dancing etc. . . . There were no military display as I had expected.
Anyways we were upset and we thought that may be Dc as such is hyped and there
may not be anything worth a watch. There was a museum close by, but we were too
tired and hungry do didn’t venture inside. I forget the name of the museum though.
DC is filled with museums and buildings which has historical importance as you
all may know it. I don’t remember the sequence of our visits but I will try to
put down a list of all the places which we saw. Our first priority was to see
the White house. We decided to take the tour. We walked all the way and then
realized that white house is closed as a part of some restoration work or something
like that but the lady there was nice and explained us everything. I totally
felt low and really thought that our day was going wasted. We took maps from
there which was helpful for navigation. We also got maps from the Washington DC
tour bus and those maps were excellent. There were many lines there like red, yellow.
Blue, green. Most of the places which we wanted to see were of historical
importance and so we decided to choose red line. We have heard a lot about the July
4 fireworks. We have seen them in Seattle as well, but I was sure that the DC
one would be a treat to our eyes. I was not wrong here. The fireworks started
around say 8 pm, so that moon light was just setting in. People swarmed around
the Lincoln memorial to get a good spot so that they could see fireworks
without any hindrance. We got a spot on the very top and we settled down there and
within minutes the big show started. It went on for about say 30 minutes and it
was spectacular. I felt very happy that coming all the way to DC was totally
worth it. I saw lots of people cheering for USA and there was lots of
excitement in the air. After the fireworks display, people were heading back home.
We stayed there for a while in the Lincoln memorial (from where we saw the
fireworks) and then started walking along the crowd. There were lots of people
walking with us and I felt different as if I was in India. You usually don’t
get to see lots of people in Seattle and this experience alone was enriching. We
reached home I think around 12 am or so. There was a Mediterranean place called
kebab which runs 24/7. We decided to walk there and get some Togo food. The
place was swarming with people. We ordered something vegetarian, though I heard
non veg id great there as well. This place had great reviews in yelp too. We
finally got the food and ate the food back in our beds enjoying the Friends episode.
We slept late the next day morning and felt extremely fresh. We caught the
train from crystal city to Union square in DC. We also got a free pass to see
the Madame tussahs which was a part of the deal. Our first trip that day was
for the US capitol. There was a security check as expected before entering the
building and we were not allowed to take any food or even water. After clearing
the security, we were given an audio in our hands, and also the entire group
had a guide. The guide told us about the building and we saw the beauty of the
paintings and architecture from inside. We also bought souvenirs from there. We
were not given permission as expected to venture into all the doors there. There
was tight security. We just got a coffee from inside which we had to finish it
there as foods can’t be taken outside either. Our next plan was to see Madame Tussahs.
We didn’t want to keep that till the last day in case we didn’t get enough time
to see it. We took lots of pics here with various statues and they looked so real!
One incident which I particularly remember here is that we were passing by all
statues and I saw a lady who was kind of blocking our way. I was just standing
there thinking she will give me way. After a while I was shocked to see that it
was indeed a statue and felt amazed and stupid at myself! If you have never
visited Tussahs, I think you should see this place if not here, some other place.
We got free tickets so we felt this was totally worth it. Near to tussahs where
a big line to see ‘house where Lincoln dies’ .There is fees to enter that house
and we decided to skip this .We were
also given a free pass for a lake cruise which I thought was a sweet deal. We
walked to that destination and after waiting for few minutes were in a guided
cruise (recorded). I couldn’t catch much information from the recorded voice
which was playing as there were a bunch of old ladies with kids who were
talking about someone’s ex-lover or something and I really felt irritated.
There were people who have paid for these cruise and they seemed annoyed with
them as well. I almost felt like shouting at them to stop their talk but
controlled my temper. The cruise was not very informative anyways and I felt
this can be easily skipped if you were to pay for this from your pocket. After
taking this cruise, we walked all the way to see the monuments. On our way back
we saw the George Washington University which was one of the oldest colleges
there .We also spotted a Wholefoods nearby and ate some very tasty sandwiches
from there .It was past 5 pm then and the buses don’t shuttle then. Though I
was too tired I felt that I was walking and doing a great deal of exercise and
that kept me motivated. One thing which I can now confidently tell any person
who is visiting DC is that, if you are interested in monuments and history, you
just need to be on the Lincoln memorial or the place nearby. By this what I
mean is that all the monuments are so closely located that if you are healthy
and are able to walk , then it would be better to walk and see DC rather than
waiting for any bus . On our way back from the cruise we decided to go to the
Spy museum. We were given free tickets for this as well which was again a sweet
deal. I loved this place. It had so much information on how pirates, spies
evolved and some of the world famous stories of how they had tricked the cops etc.
. . . I even played a game where one has to open the lock / safe with some
number codes and try to get inside the case. There were lots of people trying
that and they were not able to open it. I read the instructions clearly which
said that we need to turn the knob clockwise and then hear the sound, note down
the number and then turn the knob anticlockwise and hear the number again . I
was easily able to do this and even received applause from people around me and
felt proud of my accomplishment J
.. I could have spent more time there but I also didn’t want to lose out on
other stuffs and also H was little bored. I would say that if you are interested
in knowing about counterfeit notes, spies, police, crime scene etc., this is a
must stop. They also have information of how hacking is done these in internet
, how can you secure a good password etc. which are very important for any
person to know these days .You have to pay more for a guided audio which we didn’t opt . We took the yellow
line (I guess) which takes all the way to Arlington where we crossed a bridge which
connects dc and Arlington. The bride has two gold plated / bronze plated (not
sure here) horses with riders on either side .We were now heading to the Arlington
Cemetery. Potomac River connects DC and Arlington. The cemetery is right across
Lincoln memorial. Here also rests, john f Kennedy who was USA 35th
president and his wife Jaqueline Kennedy. It is said that the late president liked
that place so that that in his last trip he had mentioned that he would want to
be in that place for ever. It is also the burial ground of many who lost lives
in the American Civil wars and many other pre post wars. We were told that we
had to climb up to see the burial ground and as we were too tired to climb a
hill we decided to skip that, and paid our humble respects to the lost lives
from the DC bus itself. We wanted to see the Holocaust memorial museum as well,
but we had to skip that as it got closed as we reached there, just by few minutesL. We sat on the bus and
the bus took us one of the most secured place on the planet - The pentagon. Of
course we could only see this place from far and there was no tour on this. We
were strictly told not to take any photographs and that we would be penalized
as it’s a place of national security. We switched off our cameras and gladly
obeyed the instructions. Then we got down at the park which had all the
monuments and decided to walk from there and explore all the areas. I forget
the name of the park here, but this is like a central park where you can get
down and all the important monuments and in and around that park. This park is
near to the Lincoln memorial and other memorials like Vietnam, Korean etc. . .
. We headed straight to see the DC war memorial. It was a tomb like structure
with many legs. We visited the Martin Luther king Jr memorial. Of course all
the way people were taking the pics and enjoying the beauty of the buildings. Am
sure an architect or a student of that field would find this place like a
library in itself. There was a rock
sculpture of Martin Luther king here. We sat there for a while and this sculpture
looks at a river called the tidal basin which is an extension of the Potomac River
itself and I felt that evening was very beautiful. Then we went to see the Korean
War memorial. Here you can see statues of soldiers standing and I felt as if
they were real. I think all these memorials make you realize that people have
paid a heavy price for the freedom we enjoy today and we should honor all those
who sacrificed their lives for the country. It also makes you think that no
matter which nationality you are, war should be condemned and people should
just live happily. We also saw the Vietnam veteran memorial which had the names
of people who died in the war. I saw that lots of people had kept flowers and notes,
and got emotional seeing all this. The place was silent and I loved that fact
that people behaved well and respected the sanctity of the place. Though we had
seen the “Washington Monument “from far, it looked beautiful under the moon
light and we headed there next. We were told in the DC tour bus that when this
big monument was being constructed they fell lack of materials and it had to be
stopped. Later when they restarted the construction they didn’t get the same color
material and hence there is a difference in the color. If you look closely you
can see difference in the colors. We were very glad that we came at night to
see most of the monuments. It was not sunny and sweaty and we could confidently
look up and see the building. I loved this particular moment as I felt it stood
tall and strong amongst all the clouds! H wanted to see the Iwo Jima, but it
was very late and was getting very dark. We went next to see the World war 11
memorial which was beautifully lit with fountains and also had names of all the
USA states in a pillar like structure. We didn’t take our big camera with us
but I also felt that such beauty of the architecture and the buildings can only
be experienced. DC is well connected and people were humble and hospitable. We
even got lost and police were kind enough to help us. Over all my experience
was amazing and I felt that this place deserves to be the nation’s capital? There
was a lot of dignity among the people and the buildings talk so much about the
country’s history. The city is beautifully constructed and I salute the people
who had lend their mind and body for creating such epic monuments. Next day our
flight to New York was at around 9 pm or so, and we had to be there in the
airport by around 6 pm or so. The one good thing which we did was that we
didn’t leave anything much for the next day. We got up extremely late the next
day as we were tired after all the walking which we did the previous day. After
having a quick meal from a very good Indian restaurant , we wanted to take the
day light and decided to just sit there in the DC bus ,enjoying the audio about
each of the buildings and not getting down at all . We had already taken the
red bus and seen all the places so we decided to see other areas like blue
green etc. By the time we reached the union station it was around 1 pm or so,
and we were enjoying the oranges in the bus. H was doing all the peeling and
stuff and I was enjoying them so much. Our main idea today was to sit in the
bus and listen to all the talks, or the recorded version so that we get an idea
of the history. Also we were very tired and I was really not in the mood for
any more walking. I think this is the day we saw the Kennedy memorial and the pentagon.
After that it was around 4 pm and we decided to wind up and head back to Radisson.
We had free rides to the airport and we didn’t want to be late for that ride. I
have to say that DC trip was most amazing and Radisson hotel stay made it even
more wonderful! We were on time for the Regan airport and we were all set for New
Jersey
Newyork and jersey
We landed on the Newark jersey airport and we were greeted
by H college friend. There were many terminals in that airport and was a busy
place unlike what we had expected. We thought that as it was just jersey it won’t
be that crowded which was totally a misconception. We were planning to stay
with him and his wife at their home and they were the most graceful of guests. We
were given a separate room and a bathroom and I felt that stay was the most
comfortable. We reached their home and had dinner with them. She had made
prawns, fish, rice and it was indeed a treat for us to eat home cooked food
after such a long time. We were also excited to meet H relative who had come
from India. As it was late we sat up, talked for a while and then slept around
1 am or so. The next day we got up very late and then went to meet his relative.
We had lunch with her and she made some amazing food! Her daughter was also
present there and we all had a fun time chatting and laughing. As it was late
around say 3 pm or so, we decided to go to Princeton University which was nearby.
The university was beautiful, just like most of the universities which I had
seen in USA. We walked there for a while
taking pics and then had a coffee. We visited a library nearby. We also saw the
battlefield through which troops had entered use. I think they were British troops.
The battle field is just a plain field with American flag hosted .We decided to
head back home as it was getting late for dinner . The daughter’s husband also
joined us and we went to an excellent restaurant. I heard it’s a chain but the
food was just mouthwatering. Even the thought of that food makes me hungry now
as I write this. There was pasta, and hot dogs and lots of vegetarian stuffs on
the table as we three ladies were veg and the 2 guy’s non veg. After that it
was followed by a dessert. By the time we were done with that food and said
goodbyes for that night it was 12 30 am and our hosts had gone to bed. We felt
little bad having arrived late but we had lost our way in between and that
delayed us a lot. We decided that we shall be back early the next day and spend
some time with them. The next day we got
dressed early. The previous day we had rented a car and kit coasted us around
65 dollars. This day we were offered their car (from host) and so we decided to
pick up H relative. We quickly made it till New York, parked our car there in
some parking lot. We were directed to a place where we can find boats which
takes us to the Elis Island. Yes! The plan that day was to see that island and
of course statue of Liberty. We had come to New York before but saw this statue
only from far. We were so hungry by then having just had some corn flakes in
the morning. I ate pizza while the
others ate something Mexican. Then we had to walk a little bit and then we
noticed that buses showed as” free shuttle within new York “ We quickly got
into that bus and the driver was kind enough to tell us where to get down to
catch the ferry . It was getting very sunny and H and I were wearing hats. Our
relative didn’t get a cap from home and we did some shopping for a cap for about
5 dollars. We had to go through the security clearance to get into the boat. The
boat was crowded and we decided to get to the upper most deck to get a good
view of the island. It was a beautiful
ride to get to the island and I would say that if you have not seen the statute
close, you need to go there once. We can also get inside the crown of the
statue and we were not aware of this. By the time we knew this tickets were
sold off till November! Anyways we reached the Elis Island and we were given
the audio tour device which we didn’t use as we were busy taking photos and chattingJ. We also bought souvenirs from there. The
statue stool tall and it was a beautiful sight. We sat down for a while to talk
and by then it was time for us to get back to the bay. We also saw Staten Island
from there. last time when we had toured this place we had taken a boat trip
from Staten island and saw Elis from far in the ship, It was cold and windy
then and though I was excited, I didn’t enjoy that much though due to the harsh
winters, I was also new to USA and still managing to deal with the winters. That
time we saw the ball drop and it was an exciting experience so see that with
thousands of people around you. After
getting back from the island, we walked a little to see the Peace tower. This
tower was well guarded by police and there was museum inside the tower. We
didn’t see the museum as we got highly emotional seeing the name of people who
lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of 9, 11. We decided to grab some
coffee on the way home and then headed back to have dinner with family. This
time we went to a Chinese / Thai type food. The ambiance was extremely good but
I felt that the food was just average. By the time headed back home it was
around 12 30 am again and we couldn’t meet the hosts that day as well. We felt
terribly guilty too but our hosts were so graceful and understanding. We bid
goodbye to our relatives as we told them that the next day we need to spend
time with the hosts. There was also another of H college friend joining us and
there was going to be a get together party! H was highly excited and I could
sense that he was waiting to meet all his friends J
the next day we decided to see the Empire state building and also stop somewhere
to get some gifts for the hosts. We took
the bus from New Jersey all the way to New York. The bus stop was very near to
their home, just walking distance only. We reached New York and after buying a
metro card, took subway and reached the famous Time Square. We were extremely
hungry and stopped to eat food. We ate some Chinese food which we didn’t quite
enjoy but enjoyed at the thought of having food in time square. We also walked
past a park which was in Time Sq. It’s called as the Bryant Park and people
were having food, talking, even working. It was beautiful to be there! What can
I say about Time Sq.? It’s busy, busy, busy all the time. It’s as if that lane
never sleeps! I totally enjoyed the crowd, the loud music and all the tourists there!
I was reminded of the time we came few years back and I didn’t enjoy the street
then as it was too cold! We reached the E. state building (ESB, for my convenience).
You can buy 2 set of tickets, either 82 and / or the 102 floor. We decided to
see both the floors. The view upstairs was amazing. We got a good view and an
idea of the entire city. We were given the audio to listen but we didn’t pay attention
to it at all. I heard in the audio though that the reason why they made a stop
at the 82 ND floor was that at that time of construction that is around 1931,
that was one of the highest achievable architecture marvel and there was a stop
created on the 82 ND floor to commemorate the marvel of that place. We stopped
and took some pics from the top. Anyone looking down from the ESB, would be
amazed by the number of buildings down below. Each building looked so different
and was an epic by itself. We also saw the Rockefeller center from there. We
were told that people go there to get a good view of the ESB. As we got a good
view of New York we decided that we will skip seeing and going top of the Rockefeller
center. Also we had to be back little early as the next day we were heading
back and had to spend time with friends. We also saw the statue of liberty from
far. We saw the central park which was beautiful sight as it was a large park
in the midst of a big city. We saw
various bridges which connects New Jersey and NY and we also saw the Hudson River
which flows in between them. Over all I felt that trip was well worth it. We
then headed to the 102 ND floor. This is not an exposed floor and it is covered
by glass from all sides. If you ask me, the trip to ESB is just a onetime thing
as it coasted around 100 dollars over all just to get this view. I felt it’s
not something which can do often. We took couple of pics from the 102 ND floor
and we even asked the help lady standing there to tell us what each building meant.
She was ready and willing to help us and with her help we figured out the river
and the name of the buildings which I mentioned above. After getting down the
ESB, we were walking along the Times sq. to find some shopping place to buy
some stuffs. We went to some shops but we didn’t like any. Finally I found a
crystal shop. We went inside and picked up an ague crystal which H found it to
be very beautiful. I also got a crystal for us but it was small in size
compared to the gift crystal, and much cheaper. We were glad that finally we
could get something we can gift to the couple. I also enquired about the
crystal and its importance and the lady there was kind enough to take time and
tell me about everything. We were running short of time as we knew we had to
catch up for the dinner with friends but were extremely glad with our purchase.
We came to know that crystals bring good luck which was totally a new knowledge
for me but am glad that they too liked the gift and were not returning it for
another one. After our shopping, we decided to head back to jersey. We got lost
little bit but finally ended up in the correct bus .I think that was the 114
normal bus and not the 114 express. 114 may only go via the highways but this
bus was going inside all the small lanes as well. The worst part was that my
cell phone battery was running out so before it completely passed away we
decided that we will step down at some place and then they could pick us up
from there and from there we could head to the dinner where another couple was
waiting for all of us. The plan worked perfectly and finally all the 3 guys
were happy to see each other. We went to
a Mexican place with loud music and full of people. We were happily chatting
and laughing, taking pics and finally all of us along with my new friends (and H‘s
old friends) got home to the host‘s home. We were talking late night at around
2 am or something and all of us crashed there. The next day we bid goodbye to
the new couple and their beautiful daughter of about 3 years or so and then bid
goodbye to the hostess. We were again alone at home and after having a quick
breakfast we headed out at around 12 pm to reach New York to catch flight to San
Jose.
We did reach the airport on time but the Delta flight was delayed.
It was a connection flight to Minneapolis and from there to SJC. We reach Minneapolis
late, again due to air traffic and we made a dash to get the next delta flight
to SJC. We missed the flight and had to rebook flight to San Francisco. If the
delta people would have waited at least just 10 minutes we could have made it
for the sic destination . Anyways around 14 people missed their flight and the
next flight to SJC was only the next day. We decided to take the flight to SFO
and then drive from there to Milpitas temporary home. We were supposed to reach
SJC at around 9 pm or so and that would have been picture perfect. But what is
a trip worth remembering without missing a flight, and some adventure! We
reached SFO at around 1 am or so which was technically the 11 th of July early morning.
I remember coming to SFO airport at my first time trip to USA and that time I
didn’t notice how big the airport was. It has so many terminals and there is an
airbus which we need to take to reach the car rentals. By the time we got that
and we reached home it was around 4 am. We were tired but happy that due to God’s
grace our trip went on well. We got up the next day morning which was a Friday
and H had some meeting to attend and then enjoyed the weekend exploring the new
place .Now, let the new adventure begin! J
