mybigadventures.com

So a couple of years ago we went on a big summer holiday to America. Having been teachers for a while we thought it was about time we made good use of the holiday before they eventually take it off us, and so we headed off to America for 4 and a half weeks. Unfortunately the website was not up and running at that time, and so we weren't able to document the trip on here. Now that everything is running fairly smoothly and to celebrate a brand new shiny gallery, I've added some more photos. There's quite a few, organised into the different cities that we visited during the trip to please have a browse. Sign up, leave some comments and let us know what you think. 

For those interested in the new gallery - its powered using the FanscyBox 2 JQuery library. It was pretty straight forward to add in, although there was a fair bit of head scratching involved to get the photo comments back up alongside images. I'm pretty happy with the results though. Enjoy the photos

We got up to the alarm, as we had timed tickets for the Capitol Building today. We gave ourselves a bit of a lie-in - having decided last night to get a taxi there. It was quite a long walk otherwise and we were both still suffering a bit with bikes. Upon checking the timed tickets, as we left the room, we realised it said to get there 45 min early, to allow time to get through security. Given that it was 9:15 AM and we were still at the hotel, and the timed tickets were for 10 AM, we realised that this was never going to happen. Nevertheless, we decided to skip breakfast and get going. The bellman got us a taxi for a fixed price of $12, and we arrived about 9:50 AM. It wasn’t very busy and we got straight through security, collecting our passes in time. The tour was led by a person speaking through a microphone, which was picked up by our headsets - although only when you are very close which meant we kept missing what he was saying. The tour lasted just under half an hour and included a 30 minute video on the history of the Capitol building. Although the tour was free, we didn’t find it particularly good as you only really go into two main rooms. The Dome room and another anteroom, containing statues gifted by the individual states. Our guide was from Florida; their statue was of the man who invented air-conditioning. There was also a statue of Rosa Parks and a trick where you could whisper in one part of the room and hear it across the room. (In the Dome room, there is a statue of Reagan and it was mounted on a layer of pieces of the Berlin Wall).

After the tour, we went to the shop and bought a sew-on badge, then headed over to the Library of Congress, which, in comparison, was awesome. We managed to get a free official guided tour, just as we arrived, with a guy called Ray. He was very knowledgeable and took us all around the library, explaining everything. The group whittled down somewhat, until only about five others were left. The tour ended overlooking the reading room - which appears in the National Treasure film. Apparently, the books on the second floor were painted on by the film company.

Feeling hungry, we went back to the cafe in the Capitol building. There was a wide selection to choose from. Dani had a salad (that they weighed) and a chocolate bun, and I had chicken and chips. It cost about $25 and was very filling. After lunch, we headed over to the station, which was nearby, to ask about luggage. Turned out we would be fine with regards to our luggage on our train journeys, and on the way out, we picked up a new map, and an Australian tourist gave as a bus ticket for the bus tour that he no longer needed, which still had time on it.

From here, we headed over to the Capitol area again, to locate the Shakespeare Folger Museum it was easy to find, as we realised it was actually located on our map! We went in and a quite abrupt security person gave us the basic info. Feeling a bit confused, we went down the corridor until we came to a main room, containing some artefacts. After about 1 minute, a different woman came in and told us where we were and what there was. There were various items from Elizabethan England - a letter from Elizabeth I to James I (as he became) about Catholicism in England; some China; and then some texts from the time. But, most impressively, the first Folio edition of the works of Shakespeare’s plays (only 36), published posthumously by two of his friends! Quite exciting! You can actually look through it, with an electronic version that you could interact with. It was prefaced with a poem by Ben Johnson. Unfortunately, the main room of the museum was closed for restoration (this is becoming a running theme!) so they only had a limited collection available. The Folgers were/are avid Shakespeare fans, who were fascinated by the Elizabethan era, and collected as much material as they could.

At the other side of museum, they have the Folger theatre, which has been constructed to resemble an Elizabethan theatre. The woman, seemingly in charge of that side, talked to us about the theatre and the reasons behind it. When she found out we were from the UK, she confused us a bit by talking about the recently discovered theatre in London - we thought she meant the Globe, but we weren’t sure! We left and had a quick look in the reconstructed Elizabethan garden to the side and then headed back down the grassy mall to head back to the hotel.

We were walking quite casually, until we became aware of a helicopter flying back and forth. It appeared to be the presidential helicopter! So we hurried on, at top speed! They kept appearing as if it was flying away, but it kept going in circles and coming back, so we kept going, heading towards the White House. We made it to the grass patch in front of the White House, and were glad that we hadn’t tried to get nearer as it was cordoned off. We watched as the helicopter landed on the White House’s main lawn and squinted to see if anybody got out, but apparently not. It lifted off and flew away, only to repeat the whole thing again several times! Eventually, we decided to head off - we then heard a policeman telling another bloke that they were practising manoeuvres while the President was on holiday. Never mind - it was nearly a spot!

Once back at the hotel, we slothed for a bit and made our way to ‘Matchbox’, (having worked out where it was this time!) up 14th Street. We both had pizza - I had spicy meatball and Ben had chicken - and then we had a vast trio of desserts to share - sorbet, chocolate brownie and pancake balls, with dipping sauce. Despite very itchy bites, a very good day!

Had a slightly more relaxed start to the day, as we didn’t have a timed ticket for anything. So, we were up at around 9 AM, showered and went down for breakfast. We made the most of the free breakfast - Ben had cereal and I had fruit and yoghurt, then we both had a toasted bagel. We got going shortly after that, aiming for the Smithsonian National Zoo, heading out a bit after 11 AM. Unfortunately, whilst getting ready, the hairdryer (the hotel’s - not mine!) blew up, and dented the bathroom sink, shorting the electric! Oops!

We walked to DuPont Circle, taking it quite steady as our bites were very irritated and irritating. We managed the Metro ticket machines better this time, allowing the extra dollar for the paper ticket. We got on the train and went merrily on our way. At the second stop, we realised we’d gone too far! We’ve been expecting a fair journey, but it was only actually one stop and it took less than a minute. So, caught the train back again, feeling surprised.

We followed the signs to the zoo - a 10 minute walk from the station. We were greeted by a man in a cubicle, who told us about the daily events and sold us a map/guide for one dollar - considering the actual zoo is free, this didn’t seem too excessive! The zoo is separated into different sections, so we followed it quite methodically. First, we went to see cheetahs - who were having a nap in the grass, so the view of them was only partial. But there were some huge frogs in the pond, sitting about on lily pads and frogging about. Then we saw a vulture in with some African deers, who are close to extinction in the wild. It was nice to see some of the animals mixed together in the enclosures, similar to how they may be in the wild. We also saw some zebras, although they seem shy, staying at the back of their enclosure.

We then moved on to the Panda Trail and then the Asia Trail. The female panda has been confined, as it were, due to pregnancy, and unfortunately the male panda seems to have gone out, as despite searching, he wasn’t to be seen. A shame, as I’ve never seen a panda. We moved on, wandering around. We saw some short clawed Asian otters - they were little youngling otters too! They were wiggling all over and through an old tree stump, some napping upside down and others simply piling up. At one point, they all wiggled over to the edge of their enclosure, peering over the wall into the passage and squeaking a lot. Then they went back to piling up! While we were watching them, a very vivid red bird was flying around - a little smaller than a blackbird and with tufted feathers on its head. Ben got a couple of photos, although he was very nippy (the bird that is!). We also saw a fishing cat and clouded leopard, which I particularly liked - especially the fishing cat kitten. Had some lunch at the Panda cafe.

We admired the elephants in their huge enclosure, and then followed the American Trail, watching a beaver snuffling about, an Eagle - a bald eagle, no less - and some sea lions. Unfortunately, the bears were having their afternoon nap, so we didn’t get to see them. We also saw lots of turtles, just after the big cat section - some huge and some tiny! So cute! We were really impressed overall by the zoo. The individual enclosures were all big and clearly a lot of thought has gone into the flora and fauna for the animals. It was all very green and was over a vast space.

Feeling very weary, we left about 6 PM, heading back to the subway. When we got back to DuPont Circle, we popped into a CVS pharmacy to get some drinks, as we felt very thirsty, and made our way back to the hotel. After a bit of a sit, we headed out for tea. We decided to go to ‘The Pig’, another hotel recommendation. There was going to be a 45 minute wait for a table, but there was room to sit at the bar, so we decided to do that. The barman recommended ordering a number of different dishes from the different sections of the menu, as they were designed for sharing. We decided upon two of the small appetizer dishes and two of the larger courses. We had mac and cheese with a crumb top, and ‘spoon’ bread which was bacon, courgette and onion, baked with chunks of bread. Both very nice. The larger courses were spicy pork masala and pork Spaghetti Pomodoro. For dessert, Dani had chocolate pudding and I had two scoops of chocolate ice cream (which came in two separate bowls). It was all very nice and altogether cost about $90, including tip. Feeling very full, we tottered back to the hotel and watched some TV before heading to bed.

Didn’t sleep too well, as it seems some bugs had bitten me at some point yesterday. I’ve been bitten either side of my ankles and the itching woke me up! Got showered and had a quick breakfast downstairs in the hotel bar/restaurant. There was a decent selection of pastries, cereal and fruit, so I had a chocolatine and Dani had a bagel. We then headed out at about 9:30 AM hoping we would make it to the National Archive in time for our timed ticket at 10:15 AM. After a bit of a route march, we got there just after 10 AM. There was a big queue outside, but, after checking with security, we went in a different exit - for special events. Feeling a little sweaty, it was good to get into the air-conditioning. The guard ticked our name off his list and we went through security (metal detectors and X-ray) and were in.

When we got through, we went first into an exhibition of photos from the 70s. It was an exhibition echoing a similar exhibition from the 70s, aiming to highlight the impact of industry upon places and people. There were great photos and really interesting subject matters. We also could recognise some of the places in the images, as they were places we had visited. It was quite scary to see the impact of industry - people living virtually on top of industrial sites, and rivers that had been infected by industry, but with children still playing in them.

We spent a long time looking at the photos and the 70s music was also easy listening! From there, we went to see a copy (one of the originals) of the Magna Carta, which was pretty cool. They also have an electronic version that you can play with interactively. From here, we had to queue a little, but only for about 5 minutes, to see the last three documents - original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. It was really interesting to see the actual documents, although due to age, they were hard to decipher. Especially the declaration - it was in a fairly terrible state, due to having been posted in direct sunlight for many years. It was a shame, but you could still see the title! The constitution was also very faded; we could make out the signatures at the bottom - G.Washington and Benjamin Franklin - so quite exciting! We spent a while there, reading the information accompanying each document.

From here, we went into an exhibition on the archives themselves. There were lots of examples of archive documents; from soldiers in the Vietnam War, for example, and documents from the war. We spent some time in there and then headed towards the cafe. We popped into the shop, buying a sew-on badge of the Declaration. In the cafe, we had a brownie each and a Coke to keep us going until lunch a bit later. The brownies were lovely - really gooey and crispy on top. They also raised an interesting question about tax - we seem to pay tax everywhere, in varying amounts. In the shop, the assistant told us that we wouldn’t pay tax, as it was a federal building; however we paid tax in the cafe, in the same building? Tax is becoming quite mysterious!

From there, we headed out; back into the humidity, which was a shock after the cool museum. We sat in the National Sculpture Garden for a bit, admiring the fountain in the middle. The water jets kept getting bigger, eventually spraying us - quite refreshing! We then started to walk towards the Natural History Museum, although turned around to go to the National Air and Space Museum first, as then we could walk back towards 14th Street. Had to go through security again! We went first to the air section. They had exhibitions about the first developments in flight, celebrating the Wright brothers, with several of their early planes - quite awesome! Spent quite a while looking at the further exhibits - flights through the World Wars and beyond, going into a plane from the 50s/60s. We spent a fair bit of time (and money!) in the shop, buying Henry, our flight pilot bear, among other things.

Went to the McDonald’s at the end of Museum, having a meal before heading back into the space side part of the  Museum. We weren’t as impressed by the space side as the exhibition seemed a little random and bitsy, so headed out. We made a brief stop at some steps, so Ben could re-apply some bite stuff, as he was suffering a bit! We walked on, towards the Smithsonian Castle, which, although it’s only visitor centre, is a bit like the leader of all the Smithsonian museums. It looks fantastic - very Gothic - all red-brick and turrets. We went in, having a look at the relief model of the area and in the shop.

Moving on, we went across the mall to the Natural History Museum. Going in, we were confronted by a huge African model elephant. It was awesome! Towering above us, and huge. We wandered around a few of the exhibits - the ocean scene and the dinosaurs, but the exhibitions seemed a little sparse, compared to previous museums we’ve been to. Some interesting specimens, but not quite as good as the museums in London, for example. We went to the shop to get a sew-on patch, but they didn’t have one! Bit of a nightmare! Went into the American Museum and - phew! - got one from there!

Feeling quite tired, we headed back to the hotel. We did a bit of washing in the bathtub and slothed about for a bit. We then decided to head out again, to see some of the sights in the dark. We both had got bitten now, so had earlier bought some new bite cream, as our stuff seemed ineffective. But, the new one didn’t seem much good in the humidity as it seemed to make the itching worse. So we popped into a CVS pharmacy to buy some more.

Then we walked down to the White House. Used the gorilla pod to take some photos surreptitiously from the pavement, until another man got told off by the White House police for using a tripod - no idea why! So we put it away sneakily and walked off!

Headed down towards the Lincoln Memorial. It was further than we thought, but we made it eventually. Like many significant buildings in Washington, part of the statue was clad in scaffolding for some reason - a little annoying. But, otherwise, it looks pretty spectacular with lights casting quite a soft glow inside, among the pillars. Ben took lots of photos and we had a bit of a wander about. We had a wander down to the reflecting pool, which wasn’t lit as you might expect, but it did reflect the Washington Monument very effectively. We began to walk back, but were conscious of lots of midges so we’ll have to wait and see. Decided walking would take us ages - as it was already about 11:15 PM at this point and Ben’s bites were playing up again - so we hailed a taxi. It was only about $12, which we were really surprised by, as it seemed low considering how late it was. Got us back speedily and we shuffled into the hotel, feeling very tired. We ordered a pizza from a local place - a pizza called ‘Golden Supreme’ and two cans of Coke - $25, including a tip. It was really nice and super-speedy. Pretty awesome end to a good day!

Woke up just before we were due to land. It was getting lighter and, for us, it was still about 3:50 AM, although in local time, it was getting on for 6:30 AM. We had been woken up at a couple of points to get a drink, but we haven’t had anything else to eat, so it was a good job we had eaten beforehand. Ben watched a bit of TV and I half-watched and half-dozed. I woke up properly as we started to land. We bombed off the plane at superspeed as we haven’t put anything into the overhead locker; a few people tried to get in front of us, but we weren’t having any of it! We got off the plane, walked down the corridor and walked through a door - which turned out to be a door onto a bus! It was so weird! The door just shut and we drove away from the terminal, towards another terminal. It was like the Indiana Jones film, when they accidentally drive into a lorry which drives off! Wicked!

Made use of the facilities, as we went towards baggage reclaim, and then went to collect our stuff. We didn’t have to wait for long as our bags came off early. From there, came to a bit of a halt, as we weren’t really sure where to go. We hadn’t planned our route from the airport into DC. We had assumed that we could get a bus or something, so followed the signs for the flyer bus into DC. We went past the ticket office, which was empty - it was coming up to 7:30 AM, and the bus was due at about 7:32 AM. So we hovered outside, near other people who seemed to be waiting. A short while later, a coach turned up and the bus driver told us we had to buy tickets inside - apparently, someone should be there now -a bit irritating! So, I loaded our stuff into the coach luggage locker and Ben went into the office to buy tickets. It seemed a bit pricey at $10 each, but we didn’t have many options. After sitting stationary for a while, the woman from the ticket office came on board - to check the ticket we just bought - taking them off as again - how pointless!

Anyway, the coach got underway. It was a fair way, into the city, and we were glad we hadn’t gone for the taxi option, as it would have been expensive. We had expected to be going to one station - Rosalind, I think - but we didn’t get that far and the coach stopped instead at West Church Metro station. Possibly, this is the reduced Sunday service? Made our way into the Metro station and stood in front of the ticket machines. It was a bit like our experience in San Fran - you have to use the list to check the fare, according to your destination, and then reduce the default fee from $20 - a little bizarre! It took a couple of goes to work it out, but we got there. Made our way to the only platform and waited about for 5 minutes, then got onto a virtually empty train. I guess Sundays in DC start later!

An easy journey - only a few stops - and then we made our way out. Got stopped by the exit machines - apparently our fare was lacking! Went to the machine and we were one dollar down each. Apparently, you have to pay one dollar for each paper ticket (obligatory) and we should have added it manually - it doesn’t default. A tad ridiculous! Also, slightly awkward as we only had $20 bills and the machine only gave change up to 4 dollars. So we asked the man in the booth, who, generously, although very half-heartedly, just let us through.

We had used the free Internet at the airport to track our way to our hotel, but we had accidentally turned it off on the train, so we had to use a combination of memory and street maps to make our way to the hotel. Found it, with a bit of luck, and went to see if we could check in early. We couldn’t, unfortunately, so we left our luggage in their storage and got directions to somewhere to eat. Along ‘P’ Street (originally, the names were alphabetized), we found a Starbucks and went in, for a panini and orange juice each (about $20).

We had a few hours to kill before we could check in at about 2 PM-ish, so we thought we’d go for a wander. We went back to the hotel to get some stuff out of our bags, only to discover the shampoo had leaked in Ben’s bag. It hadn’t done too much damage, as it was outside the waterproof bag, but everything was a bit gunky in the toilet bag. Sorted ourselves out and then headed off. Walked down 14th Street towards the main sites, although we were feeling increasingly tired. It was incredibly humid, which didn’t help - hot, but damp and it just made us feel sweaty and tired. Passed in front of the White House, which looked suitably white and imposing and took some pictures, but were too tired to hang about. Decided to head to the National Aquarium, in search of air-conditioning. It cost us $10 each, which seemed a little steep. It turned out to be very steep, given the quantity of things to see. They had various tanks of fish, snakes, a couple of alligators and some turtles, but otherwise, nothing very exciting. We did take advantage of the sitting opportunities however, but, due to the low lighting and increasing levels of exhaustion, Ben nodded off on my shoulder for a few minutes. Although only about 1 PM, feeling absolutely shattered, we headed back to the hotel, squinting against the brightness of the sun, which essentially meant we were walking with our eyes closed. Not ideal. Stopped, for an air-conditioning break and a drink. We went into a CVS pharmacy and I got a gallon bottle of water and Ben got a 2L bottle of Sprite, in an effort to wake up. Sat on a bench for a few minutes and then went on.

Got to the hotel and, fortunately, they had a room available, on the 10th floor. It seemed quite a trendy-looking hotel and we went up, albeit in a slow and rather cranky lift to our room. It was very nice - bathroom to the left and the bedroom part was in an alcove, leaving the main part of the room to be a sort of sitting area. Very spacious and clean. Zonked out on the bed and slept until about 6:30 PM.

Dragged ourselves out of bed, showered and went in search of food. Ben had seen a recommendation for a place called ‘Matchbox’ down 14th Street, so we thought we’d try it. After walking fruitlessly for about 30 minutes, and having seen a few places to eat (only rather expensive hotel restaurants) we turned back.

We stopped at somewhere called Birch/Barley/Churchkey, which was still serving food upstairs in the bar. It turned out to be a place where they specialised in many different beers. Slightly baffled by the choice, we asked the barman to bring a selection of tasters to share, each containing about a third of a pint - some more like blondes, a couple of light lagers and a darker one. Some smelt lovely - like elderflower and ginger, and we both preferred different ones - which was quite handy. We had food too - Ben had a ‘brat’ burger with chips and I had chicken flatbread with fries. The fries were amazing! We were pretty pleased to have found somewhere and we went back to the hotel, still fairly shattered and turned in.