2008 Kemp Summer Vacation

Here it is, Saturday morning in Washington DC and we will be going home today. I haven't written a word about our adventures in Washington DC, but I still plan to do that, because we saw and did some pretty cool stuff.

Six days is NOT enough time to 'do it all' here, so I guess we just need to come back. May I just say that the Metro ROCKS! We used the subway in DC a LOT and after schooling the kids in proper subway etiquette (e.g., stay to the right on escalators if you are riding and not walking), they consider themselves to be subway 'experts' now.
We did heat, we did rain, and we discovered that we really love our temperate Bay Area climate (though we are pretty bummed to see that we are going home to a heat wave). We met nice people, we met cranky people, we met scary people, and we met funny people. But overall, we felt welcome and safe, so if any of you decide to make this triip someday to NYC or DC, I'd tell you not to worry.

Overall impressions:

New York is a wonderful, vibrant city filled with genuinely nice people. People like the anonymous woman who stopped and offered her assistance when it appeared we might be lost will stay in my memory. New York is also a very grimy city, but that's kind of to be expected. The only 'negative' I really have in my mind about NYC was the expense of it all. I really feel for the people who have to make it in NYC - how do they do it?

Overall impression of Philadelphia is based only on the tiny part we visited - the historic section - so it's probably not so accurate, but it IS our experience. We found it to be lovely and peaceful. We saw plenty of signs of urban degradation, but we also saw lots of signs that a renewal of the area is under way. We would have liked to have a few more days to explore there.

Overall impression of DC is grandeur, at least at the heart of the city, where we spent the bulk of our time. Everything is grand, and it is clean, safe, and easy to get around. Georgetown seems like a VERY cool area and I'd love to explore it more. But I have to say, we were surprised to find so many surly and downright rude people here. I've been stepped on, shoved, and ignored. We have met some nice people here - the friendly young man in the Au Bon Pain bakery in Union Station, the former Episcopalian priest who now works for a tour company, the chef at our hotel and his wife, the National Park police officer near the Archives, who talked my ear off about things to do and see - these people gave me hope that that you CAN find friendly people in DC. You have to dig a little, but it is possible.

I will be updating this blog with more entries so I can tell you all about our stay in DC. Please check back!

Sunday was destined to be a weird day. First, you need to know that during our entire time in Philadelphia, I had a really bad internet connection, so I was unable to post. I was also unable to go online to get maps or directions for our drive to Washington. OK. We went down to breakfast. They only had Sunday brunch. OK. Pay the extra $ - they ran out of propane so the omelette bar was closed! There were NO other eggs to be had. They ran out of batter for the waffles. They ran out of potatoes. So we were getting next to nothing for a premium price. Our waitress was very embarrassed, and convinced the cook to make us some eggs – she brought us out a platter of several eggs cooked over easy. That earned her a nice tip, but I was still feeling a little grumpy about not getting what I paid for.

I went to the front desk to get maps. They only had City maps. OK. How about directions to a book store so I can BUY a map? They gave me directions to two bookstores. We never found either one as we toured the newer parts of downtown Philadelphia. There was no place to pull over and assess what to do. I had no idea where to go, how to get out of Philadelphia, or where to go once we got out. But we didn’t panic, and we joked about our lovely Philadelphia tour. As we drove around, I accidentally found an on-ramp for Interstate 95 South. It was going the right direction, so we took it. That was a good decision.

We arrive in Wilmington, Delaware, sometime later and decided to pull off to get directions or at least see some historical sites. We found downtown but was EMPTY. We decided to find our way back to the freeway or to find a bookstore or any kind of store that might have a map. We found ourselves wandering into some very interesting neighborhoods, where there were row houses everywhere we looked. The same old 2 story brick house with a porch on front, no space between houses. It looked very… interesting. We eventually found an on-ramp and got back onto I-95.

A few miles down the road, we pulled off into one of the East Coast’s VERY interesting rest stops. These rest stops are full service – they have a building filled with several fast food providers, bathrooms, information, a gift shop, and a sundries shop. There, I found a map, and from the information desk, I got GREAT directions for a ‘better’ way to Washington than I-95. This little building was VERY crowded, and all I really wanted to do was get out. We popped over to the gas station in the rest stop and filled up, then hit the road. The directions provided by the Information desk were EXCELLENT – I never would have figured out this route using the map!

Essentially, we took another road from Baltimore to DC – this road turned into New York Avenue once we hit DC, and New York Ave took us directly to Union Station, where we needed to drop off our rental car.

But FIRST, we wanted to drop off our luggage! We found our hotel 2 blocks from Union Station and we checked in and unloaded. The lobby is GORGEOUS – very modern! Our room? Beautiful as well! But small. Did I tell you about the FEATHER BEDS with goosedown comforters and triple sheeting with 600 threadcount sheets?? The best beds EVER!!! I’m buying a feather bed for Christmas!

Anyway, we returned our rental car over at Union Station and actually got a discount for returning the car with more gas than when I got it. Cool. Union Station is HUGE and beautiful as well. It is a major transportation hub – busses, taxis, Amtrak, car rentals, the subway, etc., are all accessible from this location. And to service all the travelers, there are dozens of places to shop and eat inside.

Union Station

Union Station inside

We walked over to our hotel, then decided to get out. We walked to downtown DC a few blocks away. It was Sunday night, and the streets were quiet. We encountered some homeless people, then more and more. We were feeling a bit uncomfortable. But then we came upon a building that resolved the question – it was a shelter that provided beds and food for the homeless. So DUH. Just beyond that, foot traffic started picking up until it became positively bustling. We found Ruby Tuesday (restaurant), and went in to eat. We all LOVED what we ordered and vowed to go back! Full, we headed back to our hotel, put on our swimsuits and headed to the roof for a swim! It felt WONDERFUL! The roof area really is lovely. I need to get pics of that.

And I don’t have to tell you that going to bed was HEAVEN. The beds here the the most comfortable of the whole trip! We need a good night of sleep – tomorrow we have an 8:30 appt at the Capitol for a tour!

We were SO happy to get to our hotel in Philadelphia! We took our luggage up to our room, which was quite nicely furnished. But the nice furnishings were counter balanced by the paper thin walls!

Our view was of a giant concrete building with no windows or distinctive features – we later discovered that it is the US Mint! They make coins there. OK, now I understand the ‘no windows’ thing. Duh. We ordered a pizza to our room and it was delicious but too small! We were still hungry! But we were tired too, so we turned in.

We woke up early Saturday morning – LOTS to do, lots to see, and only one day to do it! The biggest plus to the hotel we stayed at was the location. We were right in the heart of historic Philadelphia and it was easy walking wherever we wanted to go. An historic Quaker meeting house was right across the street, and behind our hotel was the cemetery for Christ Church, famous for being the final resting place of many Philadelphia families, including their most famous native son, Ben Franklin. More on that later.
We went downstairs to eat – Holiday Inn is running a ‘kids eat free’ special, so I wasn’t complaining! We got the buffet, since it was easy. Michael made himself a liberty bell waffle and Meri chowed down on a variety of things.

We were on the street by 9 am and were immediately struck by how quiet and peaceful old Philadelphia is! Such a dramatic change from the 24 hour bustle of NYC!

We walked one block down to Market and turned right. One block further and we arrived at the Visitor Center. If you want to tour Independence Hall, you have to come here to get timed tickets. They are free, but they run out quickly. This visitor center is WONDERFUL – it provides you with all the information you could possibly need for every conceivable thing you might want to do in Philadelphia. I really, really appreciated that!

We went from there to see the Liberty Bell, but first we stopped at a display that talked about the house that used to stand at the corner by the Liberty Bell Center. It belonged to Geo. Washington and the display talked about the Washington household and life. It was a bit disconcerting to discover that Washington had some things that weren’t exactly likeable about him – one unpleasant fact is that he was a slave owner. The display discussed in detail the slaves he owned and what they did. One, a woman named Ona, ran away and he tried for years to recapture her to no avail. He found out she was in New Hampshire and asked the governor to return her, but the governor refused. He never got her back. He did his slaves when he died, but it would have meant more if he had freed them while he was still alive. And in any case, his wife didn’t free HER slaves, so that hangs over his legacy like a cloud in my eyes.

We moved on to the Liberty Bell Center. Once inside, we moved through a series of displays that taught us all about the history and meaning of the Liberty Bell.

We learned that it was cast in England, and ordered by Pennsylvania in the mid 1700s to be the bell for the State Assembly building. It cracked very shortly after it was received and 2 Americans, Pass and Stowe, were hired to recast the bell. It never sounded the same, but the new bell they ordered didn’t sound better, so they kept it. For decades, it was rung both to call assembly members to meetings, and for special events. Contrary to stories, it wasn’t rung on July 4, 1776, nor did it crack then. It cracked a hundred years later. The bell received the name “Liberty Bell” when abolitionists of the 18th century noticed the inscription “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” – they pointed out that liberty is the right of ALL the inhabitants, including slaves, and they made the bell the symbol of their anti-slavery movement. They are the ones who named it the “Liberty Bell.” Women’s suffrage also used the bell as an important symbol, as have several other peace loving groups and activists.

We left the Bell center and walked down a peaceful street to Washington Square. In the time of the Revolutionary War, this wasn’t the beautiful park it is today. In fact, it was used to bury slaves. When the British took over Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War, they took American prisoners of war, many of whom died. The British took their bodies and dumped them in a mass unmarked grave in Washington Square. Today, this square is the home of the tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier. A statue of General Washington stands eternal vigil over his soldiers.

Inscription on the wall: “Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness.”

From there, we walked back over to Independence Square, a short distance away. There, we discovered something wonderful – in fact, the kids’ favorite thing about Philadelphia. They have a series of Storyteller stations throughout Old Philadelphia. They give kids a 13 star flag to take as they visit the different stations, and the kids get a star at each station after they hear a story. We didn’t get all 13 stars, but we got most of them! We heard some wonderful stories from some very talented storytellers!

In between Storyteller stations, we visited many of the buildings that are part of the National Park property, and we saw some wonderful things. Several times, we encountered people in full costume and full character, playing the parts of Philadelphians from the 18th century. It was really cool!

The streets are quiet and a lot of horse drawn carriages are clip clopping down the streets, giving an extra sense of how it must have been. When we finally got to go into Independence Hall, we were lucky to get a wonderful guide! He knew so much and did a great job presenting. Seeing the meeting room in Independence Hall was AMAZING. Jefferson sat there, and that is his walking stick. Ben Franklin sat over there. There is the desk where they each stepped up to sign their names to the bottom of the newly wrought Constitution. This is where it all started. I will admit to some goosebumps. It was a very special experience!

Jefferson's desk is in the lower right corner. That's his walking stick laying there.

We visited many other places, all within easy walking distance: Christ Church, where there have been uninterrupted services for over 300 years, and where many famous Founding Fathers worshipped. I sat in the bench where Ben Franklin sat.

We visited Betsy Ross’ house and grave, and Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest continuously inhabited city street in the US. It is BEAUTIFUL!

We also visited a Quaker meeting house (there are several and they are still in use) and Christ Church graveyard, where Benjamin Franklin, among others, is buried. It is a tradition to toss a penny on his grave for luck (Remember that Franklin said “A penny saved is a penny earned.”).

We headed back to the hotel about 6pm. We felt satisfied, relaxed, and HOT! After eating dinner, we hit the pool and it was wonderful! I washed some clothes and repacked our bags and finally hit the hay about midnight.

Friday was an ‘away from computer day’ so I got a little behind on my blog, but I will do my best to catch up! We woke up early and got our bags packed, then went down for our last breakfast at the Salisbury Hotel. That was so convenient to have that available and not have to go looking for a place to eat. Afterwards, we retrieved all our bags and went down the check out. Just as we were ready to leave, a CRISIS! Chuckanukka was missing! (insert rolling eyes smilie here). Michael and Meri went back up to the room – not there. They checked the breakfast room and there was the poor creature. Once retrieved, the doorman hailed us a taxi and we headed out to E. 42nd street to the car rental place.

Traffic was horrid and had me very nervous about driving on Manhattan. When I told the driver where we were headed (Hyde Park), he perked right up and said he made the trip to Poughkeepsie every month to visit his sister and he proceeded to tell me the best way to get there. Getting our car was easy. We got a tiny little Hyundai that was very easy to drive and got excellent gas mileage. As I was doing the paperwork, the kids were kicking around a half dead cockroach. Sorry, but EW. They thought it was fun. EW.

It took us 10 minutes to get onto the road because of roadwork, but once we got going, it was a breeze to get onto the FDR parkway, which runs around the edge of Manhattan. We sailed right out of NYC, and the directions I got from Google worked great for us. Once over the George Washington bridge, we took the Palisades Parkway north and we were instantly treated to an abundance of GREEN and the fresh smell of cut grass.

It was lovely! We drove up through some beautiful country and crossed the Hudson River, which is HUGE. I had no idea it was that big! It helps put into perspective why explorers would have sailed up the river – they must have thought it would go on forever.

The views were phenomenal and we were very happy about our decision to get out of the big cities and see the countryside.

We stopped in beautiful Fishkill, NY for lunch.

It felt very comfortable. Small town folks in casual clothes and flip flops crowded into this Wendy’s restaurant – neighbors greeted new arrivals as they walked in, and it was refreshing! We got back on the road and continued our drive north through Poughkeepsie and on to Hyde Park. This is positively BEAUTIFUL country! I’d love to return and explore the countryside more! We found the Roosevelt Presidential Library with no problem, and pulled into the driveway.

Michael is a HUGE fan of FDR, so he really soaked it all up. We wandered through the visitor’s center, then got to go on a tour of Roosevelt’s home.

Front door of the family home

library wing

Roosevelt's room is on the 2nd floor, left. Middle window was a small room Eleanor took as her own when her husband got ill (polio). Room to the right was Roosevelt's mother's room.

The tour guide was GREAT and we learned a LOT about Franklin D. Roosevelt, his wife Eleanor, and his mother, Sara. In the house, we saw the library where Roosevelt spent so much time – his wheelchair was sitting right there, as were books and pens and paper, looking as if they were left right where FDR had laid them. We saw his room as a boy, which was later used by his sons – all the furniture was the original furniture. We saw the guest bedrooms where such notable figures as Winston Churchill, King George of England, and later, Queen Elizabeth stayed. It was amusing to note that Queen Elizabeth was put up in a room with twin beds – not sure why! LOL! It must have been a step down for royalty when they visited the Roosevelt estate, but I’m sure they had a lovely time in this lovely house surrounded by rolling green meadows, towering sycamores, and a view of the Hudson River to die for! It was just so peaceful there!

When we were done, we decided to hit the road and head down to Philadelphia. Again, I was relying on directions I got from Google. They helped up until the point where we needed to get onto I-80 E from the Garden St. Parkway. The signs confused me and I ended up on I-80 W! We took the next exit, but driving on the East Coast isn’t as easy as it is on the East Coast, and I had to stop and ask directions to get on 80 East. And following those directions, I STILL messed up and had to stop again for directions! We finally got onto the correct path and the directions were fine up until they seemed to run out. And I was still in New Jersey! And it was getting dark! And it was raining! I just kept going and eventually came to a bridge that took us to Philadelphia. The very nice toll taker gave me good directions to the hotel, and we were there in no time. It was really fun to encounter cobblestone streets right away! But I’ll tell you all about Philadelphia in the next entry!

Day 5 of our trip was our last full day in NYC. We had a fairly light schedule set for the day, since the day prior had been so demanding. It was my dearest desire go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I told the kids that this was for ME and they were NOT going to ruin it for me by acting like wild things – yes, I was feeling a little tired and cranky, but this is something I have always wanted to see, and I wanted to savor it (and yes, I was feeling a tad bit cranky and tired!). We got ready and ate breakfast early, so we could get an early start. We didn’t have access to the tour bus anymore, so we had to find another way to get to the museum. Our feet seemed adequate to the job! The weather was warm, but there were some rain showers that had Meri popping up her umbrella. We walked down 57th until we got to 5th Ave, then turned and headed up a short block, then turned again to get to FAO Schwarz, which we mutually decided was the coolest toy store EVER! Michael got stuck almost immediately at a booth where an employee was demonstrating bedlam puzzles. You have 13 geometric pieces that you need to fit perfectly inside a cube and there are over 20,000 solutions – you just need to find one! He stood there for over 45 minutes before he decided he needed to buy it so he could continue to work on it!

As he worked his puzzle, Meri and I explored. They have some of the most stunning stuffed animals I’ve ever seen! There was the Harry Potter series of stuffed animals, with a 3 foot Falkes (a phoenix), a great Dane sized stuffed “Fluffy” (the 3 headed dog from the first book), and a 10 foot tall stuffed horn tailed Hungarian dragon. WOW. Then there was the life-sized unicorn and stuffed everything of every size and color imaginable, both realistic and stylized. Wonderful! Meri fell in love with a… well… a… a creature that is part of the Ugly Doll series. Her name is Chuckanukka. She truly is hideous – so much so, that you can’t help but think she’s cute! We bought Chuckanukka too.

The doll section is amazing! There is a whole section for Barbie fashion – this is nothing like the Barbie section at Toys R Us – here, it is very elegant and upscale, as you buy designer fashions for your designer Barbie dolls. Ooh la la! Then we got into the FANCY dolls – there was the line of baby dolls that were true to size, very lifelike, and weighted to feel even more so. They had them displayed in a nursery, with 2 nurses looking after them. As we came along, the nurses offered to let us hold a baby. They DO feel like the real thing (except squirmy and they don’t that new baby smell). They wear newborn sized clothing. Wonderful! $90? Let’s move along. They had a huge display of Madame Alexander dolls, also very lovely and very expensive. We saw the Mme. Alexander Doll factory during the Uptown tour up near/in Harlem. Frankly, I don’t get the attraction. They are kind of ugly. Next was a wonderful line of designer dolls that were probably the most beautiful I’ve ever seen! They were about 14 inches tall – a little like Barbie dolls – except that the faces, hair, and costumes were stunning!

They even had a couple of line of well-known figures, like the Harry Potter characters, the Wizard of Oz characters, and the Pirates of the Caribbean characters. Were I to buy a ridiculously expensive doll, it would be one of these, but I didn’t have a spare $200 on me that morning, so I passed. LOL!

We found a wonderful section on puzzles and magic tricks – there was a 10 foot diameter 3-D earth globe puzzle that was very cool. Then we found the Lionel train section, where they had several trains set up for play, and Meri was instantly attracted. In fact, when we lost her and had to go hunting, guess where she was?? Yep. The trains. But right around the corner was something even more cool… remember the movie Big with Tom Hanks? Now recall the scene with Tom Hanks character playing chopsticks on a giant floor piano with the toystore owner. Yes! It is at FAO Schwarz! Meri and I stood in line for our turn to play on the piano and it was fun! We played a bit of some songs we knew, but it was more fun to run and SLIDE! If you want to know what to get me for Christmas, this floor piano would be a good choice… and you can get it at FAO Schwarz for only 240,000 dollars. A bargain!

The kids and I left the store agreeing that this was the coolest toystore ever! The selection of toys is unique – nothing like the rows of boxes you find at Target or Toys R Us.

We left the story through the front door (the doorman is dressed like a toy soldier!) and walked past the Apple store – it’s just a big glass cube in the middle of a plaza. You enter the cube and take stairs or an elevator to the Apple store BELOW. It’s pretty cool! But we didn’t stop. We continued on over to 5th Ave and proceeded to walk to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on foot. It was a LONG walk, but it was lovely, with Central park on the left and gorgeous buildings to the right. This is Millionaires row. Barbara Walters and Woody Allen live here, along with a lot of other very rich people. The Guggenheim museum is here, as is the US’ largest synagogue. We never thought we’d make it, but we finally arrived at the museum and entered.

They are renovating the front staircase so we entered via a side entrance. Interesting fees – it’s $20 or what you feel you want to pay. I FELT like paying nothing, since NYC was proving to be way more expensive than I was anticipating, but I paid the $20. But I didn’t pay for the kids. “Well, they won’t get a button the guy said. I assured him they would survive! We purchased audio tour headphones, since they proved to be popular with the kids, and we entered a room with a lovely courtyard FILLED with Grecian art! Beautiful! It was almost too much. You can only look at so many marble statues before they all start to look similar.

Greek Coffin

We wandered through several rooms and several eras of Greek, then Roman history then we were ready to move on. We checked out the Native American exhibits, which were cool. In one room, there is case after case of Inca treasures. WOW.

Inca men apparently wore these scary looking earrings as a symbol of power/status – the bigger and scarier, the more power. Thing is, it was all hollow! It was supposed to look like you had several pounds of gold hanging from your ear, when in fact, the jewelry was mostly hollow!

We moved on to the French display. It was just beautiful! They had entire rooms from French palaces right there in the museum, decorated and filled with priceless French antiques from the era of Louis XIV and XV. I can’t get over the incredibly beautiful displays they have in this museum or how HUGE it is to house all of this! We headed towards the Armory and the “treasures” room and entered this giant chamber filled with medieval art and looking like a medieval castle or cathedral, complete with the giant choir gates from the cathedral in Valladolid, Spain!

I was looking up and turning in a circle. When I looked down, I had no children. Rather than try to look for them, I stayed where I was. In a few minutes, Michael wandered in. I had him go in each of the four directions to try to find her while I stayed in place. No luck! This museum is seriously HUGE and a virtual maze to the unitiated! I had him go back and retrace our steps while I stayed in the same room. After a few minutes, I approached a security guard and asked if there was protocol for lost children. He said yes, and asked if I had lost a little girl with a pink shirt and pony tails. WHEW!! She had approached this same security guard when she noticed she was lost, and he took her to the security office. THEN, as he was returning to his station, Michael asked him about Meri, and he sent Michael to the security office! And then I found him. What are the chances that all 3 of us would approach the exact same guard?? LOL! I entered the hallway to head to the security office when I saw Michael enter from the other direction with his arm around his sister’s shoulders. She ran to me and started crying. Getting lost gave her quite a fright and she stuck close to me the rest of the day.

We moved on to the Armory, filled with lots of ornamental armor and swords, then we decided to head to the Egyptian exhibit, since time was getting short. WOW is all I can say. Looking at wall paintings and carvings that are literally thousands of years old really makes you feel the weight of history. They have entire walls and even an entire tomb in the museum! You can go into the tomb and see the wall frescos and layout.

Hieroglyphs on a tomb

Queen Hatshepsut

We saw treasures from tombs and even a display of linens neatly folded for storage in a person’s tomb – and THOUSANDS of years old! Then we entered a huge room and saw… a TEMPLE!!

Temple of Dendur

An entire Egyptian temple, transported stone by stone to this museum and re-assembled! WOW! We were surprised to find the tomb covered not only with Egyptian painting, but with GRAFFITI – but not graffiti of museum visitors… it was graffiti from the 1800s – travelers from 200 years ago who chose to carve their names (and the date) into the temple walls. It seemed wrong somehow.
graffiti

We spent some time there, then moved on to the American exhibit. Michael wanted to see the famous portrait of George Washington. Since they are remodeling the American exhibit, all of the American items are temporarily housed in glass cases, so we had to search row after row of dozens of paintings and thousands of pieces of brick a brac and such before we found the painting. We weren’t interested in more than that, so we left again! Though I really, really wanted to go up to the 2nd floor to see the paintings (many of them by the masters), the museum was about to close and we were tired, so we left. We grabbed some drinks and hot dogs from a vendor cart outside and after eating, we headed back to our hotel. We couldn’t figure out which bus to catch and the subway wasn’t anywhere near, so we walked. We got back to the hotel about 6pm and I proceeded to pack and get ready to leave.

We left about 8pm to go out for dinner. We ate at the Stage Deli near Times Square. Apparently it is famous. Food was OK. Nothing amazing in my opinion. Atmosphere was fun, however. After that, we popped into a souvenir shop to pick up a few things, hit the M&M store a last time to restock our supply of the new peanut butter M&Ms, and we headed back to the hotel. And we slept WELL.

NOTE - we had a LOT more pictures from the museum, but I don't know where they went. They were not on my camera when I downloaded. Weird. Guess we'll have to go back!