Mike and Sandy flew to Boston and rented a car to begin this trip, which eventually covered about 1700 miles
and six states. First stop was Hyannis, out on Cape Cod, where they visited with Len and Ann, some nice folks
they met on a trip to Mexico last year. Sightseeing included the Kennedy compound, a day trip out to
Nantucket Island, and enjoying an afternoon up at Provincetown, on the far tip of Cape Cod. They headed
down to Mystic, Connecticutt, more to be ready for their early ferry the next morning than to sightsee, but
did take in a few sights of the "south coast," as the locals call it.
Mystic is home of a re-created old sailing village, lots of cute shops and
restaurants for tourists, and also of a draw-bridge, right in the middle of town.
The car ferry connects the "mainland" with the far outer tip of Long Island. Going across
Long Island Sound takes less than an hour, and it is amazing how undeveloped the north
arm is, compared to the south arm, where the Hamptons attract not only Long Island
residents but many day-trippers from Manhattan.
After a day of sight-seeing, Mike and Sandy continued driving on into Manhattan,
stopping at the famous Milleridge Inn for a late lunch. Our Sheraton Hotel was near
Times Square, and even nicer since we used "points" to make the stay free -- great
view out our hotel room window.
While in Manhattan, Mike and Sandy saw several museums (including the Tenement Museum on the Lower
East side), saw 4 Broadway plays (Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Boeing Boeing, and August
in Osage County), and had lunch at Katz Delicatessen, made famous for the on-location
table orgasm scene in the movie "When Harry Met Sally." Sandy of course found the
only street fair going on in the whole city, and a highlight was being in the studio
audience for "Regis and Kelly Live." (They interact quite a bit with the audience
while the commercials are running.)
The trip continued heading out of Manhattan over the George Washington Bridge,
crossed through New Jersey, and headed into Pennsylvania at the Delaware Water Gap.
Just off the freeway was a little town where the Crayola factory is located --
"Why Not?" A little further down the road is Hellertown -- Mike had no idea there
was a town named after him!
In Philadelphia, of course the focus was on Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell.
Gettysburg was the next destination, but Hershey, Pennsylvania, was on the way for
a bit of "factory tour" diversion before getting into Civil War history. Sobering
thought: more soldiers died in one day at Gettysburg than have been killed in
Iraq and Afghanistan combined. And near Gettysburg is the "summer White House"
of Dwight Eisenhower.
As Mike and Sandy drove on toward Washington, D.C., the tail end of Hurricane Hanna
crossed their path, with LOTS of rain and wind. A good place to duck in out
of the weather was the new Air And Space Museum Annex, in a big hangar near Dulles Airport. Run by
the Smithsonian, this is the new home of all the things they couldn't find room for
in the original A&S Museum on the mall in Washington. Why they even had an old
high-wing Piper Tri-Pacer, the plane Mike took flying lessons in back in high school
and college days.
Another "side trip" in Virginia was Mt. Vernon, George Washington's plantation home
along the Potomic River.
A hotel in the delightful river town of Alexandria, Virginia, was Mike and Sandy's base
for their visit to Washington, D.C. It's cheaper, a quick Metro ride into Washington,
and filled with nice restaurants and shops. Our first stop was the Capitol Building,
where we had a tour arranged through our Congressman. Of course we also went to
some of the Smithsonian museums, and met some famous people!! And saw the White
House and the Supreme Court. And some of the demonstrators, and photo editing shops,
were very entertaining.
Heading south out of Washington, Mike and Sandy went through the little town of
La Plata, Maryland, where Sandy and her ex-husband lived about 30 years ago -- house
is still there !! A side trip to Montecello, the plantation and retirement home of
Thomas Jefferson, headed us on down to Colonial Williamsburg.
While in the Williamsburg area, Sandy and Mike also visited Yorktown (final
battle of the Revolutionary War), and Jamestown (the first permanent English
settlement in North America), where archeological excavations are still going on.
Continuing in their tradition of being in the way of natural disasters, on the
way back home to California, Mike and Sandy's plane got bounced around a bit
by the high winds as Hurricane Ike made its way past Dallas.
