Visiting another capital city - Washington DC

The Capitol Building

We wandered our way to Washington DC, after exploring a tiny bit of the south. Washington DC is often compared to Canberra and we can see the similarities. Driving along some of the roads feels just like driving some of the main roads in Canberra - wide roads, green spaces between the opposite lanes of traffic and lots of loops and roundabouts. We got lost!






Once in the city, the area known as the Mall, with the Capitol Building at one end and the Lincoln Memorial at the opposite end, is similar to ANZAC Parade in Canberra. The Capitol Building is the central point in DC and everything from the city permeates from there. That mirrors the initial plan that Walter Burley-Griffin had for Canberra, with Parliament House being the focal point. These two photos show the Mall, with each photo taken at opposite ends.

Capitol Building at one end ....

Looking down the Mall, to Washington
Monument .... with Lincoln Memorial beyond

.... and a closer view of Lincoln Memorial, right at the end of the Mall. 

Abraham Lincoln

Halfway down the Mall is the Washington Memorial

Aside from some influencing Canberra's physical layout, Washington DC is all about the museums. The most famous is the Smithsonian Institution, which consists of 19 museums of which all are free. They are primarily in the Mall area but a few are a little further afield. We managed to visit just five. As they are free, it is easy to go in and out for a short time.

Some shots of the things we've been exploring and learning about .....

We did a tour of the Capitol Building, which is the US equivalent of Parliament House. Although we felt rushed, the building is stunning and Americans do grandeur very well! The busts, statues, frescos,  and tiles used throughout the building are stunning.

Very close to the Capitol Building (actually linked by underground path) is the Library of Congress. LC is similar to our National Library and while I wasn't so interested in the books, we've been told about the grandeur of the building. We weren't disappointed. It is a stunning building, again with beautiful frescos, stunning colours, amazing amount and use of marble and intricate design work.

Finally, the Washington Monument, which is halfway along the Mall, reopened in May this year. It was damaged in a hurricane in 2011 and had to be repaired. Tickets were sold out until late August, but by queueing in the morning (only for a an hour, which managed to coincide with a run for me) we managed to get some tickets. The Monument is dedicated to the first president of the US, George Washington, who is held in high regard by all Americans we met.

This monument gives the most amazing 360 degree views of the city. Just a few ....

This view reminds me of Canberra .... 

Obama's house ...

Looking towards Lincoln Memorial.

Lach's 9th birthday

While in Washington DC, we celebrated Lach's 9th birthday!

Its tough having a birthday when everything you have with you is limited to a weight restriction! Lach certainly hasn't missed out though and while he was distracted at the Smithsonian Air and Space  Museum, I snuck a few extra souvenirs into our backpack. He was very surprised on his birthday! 

Birthday dinner out ....

We couldn't manage cake but we did find
frozen yogurt with lots of candy on top!

Road-tripping USA to Durham NC

Southern hospitality and a parkrun

So one of the crazier things we've done during this trip is a big road trip. Most people know that I'm a keen runner and a keen supporter of parkrun in Australia - a free, weekly, timed 5km run in many local communities. We've loved getting involved in Ginninderra parkrun in Canberra and feel very much part of that community. We are keen to do some international parkruns but there isn't a lot of choice in the US> There are only three parkruns: Florida, North Carolina or Michigan.

North Carolina was the one that we chose, as it was about 4 1/2 hour drive south of Washington DC. We had one night at an airport hotel then made our way down to Durham, NC. As well as parkrun, we were keen to experience some of rural USA. We were keen to get away from the cities on the tourist track and see other sides.

Unfortunately I didn't take photos, so this will have to just be read!

Our first stop was in Richmond, which is the capital of Virginia and the site of the Civil War back in the 1860s. Strong political history and a large black population. We got off the freeway to try and find a cafe for lunch and well, we had trouble! We ended up at a place ... certainly not a cafe, more a bar but not somewhere we'd usually take the kids. It was empty and two ladies insisted we come in then welcomed us instantly. Menus were handed out and it had promise, but not quite ... well, the two ladies went out of their way. The just asked what we wanted and then delivered! It was a great example of southern hospitality and certainly a reminder not to judge by looks ... whether it be a book, a cafe/bar or a person! One lady had disappeared out the back as we went to leave, but she ran out onto the street and chased us down to say goodbye. Such a positive experience!

We arrived in Durham, North Carolina, late afternoon. We were looking for some variation in food as we are finding it hard to avoid chains and processed food. The hotel gave us a list and we headed for Asian. A great little find: the green chicken curry was one of the best we've had since being away; and the kids loved the pork dumplings. And cheap ... that was an added bonus. Not a special meal in any way, but certainly a great meal.

Saturday morning saw us all dressed in our parkrun t-shirts and full of energy. Unfortunately the fog, the 28 degree temps and the 95% humidity quickly drained some of that! But, with a very warm (emotionally warm as well as temperature warm) welcome from DurhamNC parkrun team, we were ready to run. Tony and I both ran, in a field of 11 runners! Only two volunteers are needed to make DurhamNC parkrun happen, but these lovely people welcomed our kids and gave them jobs. The course was a two lap course which meant we got to run past the kids at the halfway point: they were doing their jobs of cheering loudly and waving our Aussie flag! The course is beautiful and during autumn the colours of the leaves would be stunning. The group was small so there was lots of chatting afterwards and we loved getting some local tips, especially for Washington DC.

BTW: Tony did a cracker of a time (PB or PR as they say here); Gemma did a rather slow time!

We stayed around and had breakfast with some of these lovely people. I don't understand why parkrun hasn't taken off in the US. The model is exactly the same as in Australia and the people are so friendly. They didn't have much signage, such as an A-frame outlining the course and flags for the finish line; we wonder if that impacts. We wonder if the general public running around the area might not realise what is going on and do not realise that it is open to the general public. The only thing advertising it to the world was chalk markings that they do each week.

We had a great morning and Julie and Martin facilitate a great run. We wish them every success in the future and hope that it grows. Olivia and Lach were credited as being volunteers which was not expected at all but gave them a great thrill. Thanks to them, and to Tom, who joined us for breakfast, for being such great company.

While there was plenty to see in the Durham area, as well as the Richmond & Williamsburg area, the site of the Civil War, we decided to head directly back to Washington DC. There was too much to do in DC and our theory is to do one area and do it well, rather than briefly touch several areas.

We did decide to avoid some of the large Interstate roads leading back to DC, especially as we had hit bad traffic the previous day. We stopped at Richmond again for a late lunch and had more success with a cafe for lunch, then headed towards DC on a smaller road. Tony was sick of driving freeways and really wanted to see some countryside... he wanted to know what was on the other side of the thick tree-lined freeways.

Also, the whole time we've been away, we've noticed a lack of animals. Tony wanted to see some countryside to hunt down some animals. While we didn't see many apart from a few horses and a few cows (nothing that could be called a herd), we did find churches: heaps of them! At one stage, we had counted about 6 Baptist churches within a 5 minute drive. Bible belt country! We also noticed large houses on large blocks of land, with extremely well kept lawns. The grass was mown right up to the road. Only a few fences, generally where there were animals, but no fences when there were crops. Funny little businesses: a funeral directors; a mechanic; a general store; seemingly in the middle of nowhere. All very green and lush, so a pretty drive. We found Lake Anna - a very large lake that had so many inlets, we crossed it about 4 times. A haven for water sports and stunning scenery.

We needed a break so headed towards Culpeper which was just a name on the map. We knew nothing about it and just wanted toilets, grass and a playground ... in that order! We only found one, which thankfully was the toilet! We did however, meet more lovely ladies in the Tourist office and discovered what a cute little town Culpeper is! We were so sorry that it wasn't meal time as the cafes and restaurants in Culpeper looked very impressive. A short wander, as it was very hot, then back to the car - but Culpeper made us smile.

From Culpeper it was only just over an hour back to our hotel near Dulles airport in DC, but unfortunately we were back to main highways.

Our extremely short stint south certainly showed us:
- southern hospitality: it is alive and well and people are so kind.
- the manners in the US: everyone is extremely polite. They use 'thank you' so much; they address you by Madame and Sir. "Youw'll have a great day", in southern drawl, was fun to hear so often. We could all copy some of this!
- the countryside was gorgeous. Green, lush and rollings hills.

To finish all this off ... we were just awake on Sunday morning at our hotel in DC and the fire alarm went off. First time we've had to evacuate from a hotel. Tony and the children were ready to get out quick smart but I was more worried about our passports, the iPad and the laptop, which has all our lives, our personal details and our photos! Thankfully for the hotel, it was a false alarm but it did add some excitement to our morning.

Now to hit Washington DC and explore another capital city!

By the Bay in San Fran

San Francisco

Tony and I visited San Fran about 12 years ago, just after we were married. We were keen to take the children, as well as see it for ourselves again. It didn't disappoint: we had lovely weather, cooler than the last few weeks, blue skies (doesn't always happen in San Fran, due to the constant fog) and a great feel. San Fran has lots of street art, which I liked, as it livened up the city and transformed drab corners. We saw a few drab corners as we were staying in a rather undesirable part of town, unfortunately!

We arrived late afternoon and immediately caught up with Tony’s niece, Sophia di Marco, for dinner. Sophia was in San Fran for work. It was great fun seeing a familiar face again and we had fun sharing our stories with her.

We filled our days by doing the touristy things that you do. 

We caught the cable car, which only involved a moderate wait - about 15 mins. 

Always fun and the children got to hang off the side. 

We walked up Lombard St, which claims to be the crookedest street in San Fran; however two other sources told us it is the second crookedest! We didn’t get to the “other crooked” street to check it out though! 

I love how the street is so steep - it has 8 switchbacks in a short space, but then the rest of the street, seen in the distance in this photo (tree-lined street) is so long and straight. There were several houses and apartments on the street - imagine conquering those driveways and reversing out! Not to mention the constant flow of tourists sticky-braking!

We introduced the children to the local delicacy, clam chowder. Only Sophie was game enough to taste it and she loved it - I think she had some every meal! Its ironically called Boston Clam Chowder, but San Fran is renowned for it … we wondered why it didn’t have a west coast name!

The children were given some choices about our activities in San Fran. They chose this activity/ ride where we went on a “Duck” - a tour on a boat that takes you on the road and then straight into the water. The children just loved this and we even enjoyed it more than we expected! Everyone got a turn at driving the boat. Tony felt right at home, after so much RV driving!

We visited the Exploratarium, which is the interactive science museum in San Fran. The children really loved this and could have spent many more hours than we did.

We caught up with a friend of a friend …. our good friends in Sweden, the Zetterbergs, hosted an American by the name of Paul, many years ago. Tony did meet Paul about 20 years ago and every time we visit the Zetterbergs, we hear about Paul. As soon as Paul heard we were coming to San Fran, he was keen to catch up. We met him late afternoon and had a chat while the children played at a park, then he took us out to dinner. We were at Golden Gate Park, which runs right through to the Pacific Ocean. 

On our previous visit to San Fran, we had spent all our time around the Bay, so it was good to get out to the ocean. There were a few brave souls paddling in the water, and a couple of surfers, but they all had wet suits on. The water is pretty cold!

Paul’s sister, Jane, and her 11 year old daughter Vivian joined us. We had a very fun night with them. Vivian entertained our children and they loved being with her. We enjoyed the local wines and a yummy meal, despite being a little chaotic as the children ran around. This dinner was the night of our massive bike ride, so the children were actually ridiculously tired!

Then we did a bike ride. This was a off the tourist trail! This little bike ride around San Francisco Bay turned into a mammoth effort, about 25 kms and crazy hills. How the children kept going, we don’t know (well, the option of turning around and going back wasn’t much better!). 

We started by riding over the Golden Gate Bridge, along with the other thousand odd tourists who walked and rode it also. It wasn’t actually much fun as it was so crowded. We decided to ride to the west, towards the Pacific Ocean, and follow a track to Golden Gate Park. We knew it was quite a distance but thought over the course of a day, we would be fine and we would get some different views of San Fran. Well …. it was a long way but the hills were much more challenging that we expected! The bike hire place didn’t quite mention that the hills went on, and on, and on! We climbed a long way and each time we hoped it would be the last, but it wasn’t. It was hot, so there were lots of stops, but the children managed so well. Off a few times to walk the bikes, but generally they rode as much as they could. We eventually ended up at Golden Gate Park, then had to ride the length of it. 

View from the western side of the bridge.

Sophie rode a tag-a-long behind Tony, which turned out to be a blessing. The hills would have been too much for her. It was rather funny riding behind her and Tony ... her arms flapped around and she wriggled and waved ... don't quite know how much assistance she was in pedalling!

Golden Gate Park is a little like Central Park, but just a little smaller. It has lots of different fields and sporting grounds, great picnicking areas, a great children’s playground and an old carousel. A few roads run through the park and cyclists get priority on all the roads. A lovely place to spend some time.

We were able to return our bikes to a depot at the park … no-one wanted to ride them back to the wharf area to return them! It took the children two days to recover from this ride so we had a few quieter days following. 

Yosemite National Park

Having left Canada, we flew to San Francisco, to meet up with my brother Andy and his wife Helen. They had been in Canada for a wedding; were having a few days with us, then driving from San Fran down to Los Angeles on their own. We were all very excited about seeing them after nearly 7 months!

Plans started going wonky when we (Gemma) nearly stuffed up our flight time. The flight had been moved earlier but I don’t recall receiving the email. Luckily, we had arrived at the airport earlier than necessary; however instead of cruising through the system we were in a mild state of panic. We arrived at our gate 5 mins prior to boarding - having run from the immigration gates. From Canada, entry into the US and the associated Customs procedures happens on Canadian soil, so that once you land in the US, you simply go to collect luggage - usually handy, but a time-consumer when you are rushed!

Then we hear from Andy and Helen that they can’t board; then that there is a delay …. then their flight is cancelled. They are in a hotel in Calgary for the night. We had a room booked for them in San Fran that they couldn’t use. Such disappointment. Instead of driving to Yosemite together (two cars, but together) we went on our own and they followed much, much later in the day, after they finally arrived at San Fran around 4pm. About 20 hours late!

So Yosemite … it is stunning. It is a long way from San Fran; about 4 hours. Driving west through California reminded us of Australia. It was so dry, paddocks were filled with yellow grass. As well as eucalyptus trees, there were rolling hills, just like the Riverina, then it flattened out and we drove through a huge fruit growing area - oranges, grapes, strawberries, olives, peaches, almonds … so many fruits. The land was flat and dry, with canals running through them. It reminded us of the Griffith area of NSW. We then started to climb, right up to 6000 feet above sea level. The roads were narrow and windy and we were so glad we were in a car and not an RV this time!

Yosemite National Park is rather unassuming until you turn a corner and you are instantly staring at massive granite rock faces that tower halfway to heaven. The road descends to the floor of the valley, which only makes the rock faces seem even higher! We are here in peak time, so there are people everywhere, and it is hot. Yosemite is full of towering cliffs, which are perfect for rock climbing and hiking; then there is the valley floor, where much of the accommodation and buildings are. The valley floor is large and the road works on a one-way system. There is some accommodation on the valley floor, from hotel lodging to camping, but this books out very quickly - it was full back in February. We did manage to find some accommodation up in Yosemite West, which meant driving into Yosemite, then 30 mins down to the valley floor, then part of the one-way loop, then 30 mins back up the western side of the valley. Thankfully, the accommodation was beautiful with a stunning view over the woods. We were on constant bear watch, but no luck unfortunately. We were grateful we weren’t in the RV as the roads are twisty and narrow. I would have been a little nervous driving around. 

The sensible team photo ....

our favourite team photo!

We got to the top of these falls!

The main attraction in Yosemite is Half Dome, which we didn’t climb. Half Dome is a 10 hour hike, for which you need a permit. Only 300 per day are issued and there is a ballot to ensure it is fair. It is also a challenging walk, so perhaps not suitable for us. Instead we went out to Glacier Point, which gives an overview of 1/4 of the park: which gives an inkling as to how big the park is! In the afternoon, we walked to the top of Vernal Falls (the waterfall in the photo here), which was probably a little steeper than we expected! We read it was 5km round trip and thought we could manage that …. it was just the 1000 ft elevation that was a little tough! Three quarters of the way up, you are covered with mist from the waterfall, which was a blessing as it was so hot! We all enjoyed getting wet. We made it up, with hundreds of steps at the end and enjoyed some chilling at the top. Down was a breeze and much, much quicker. 

The following day, Andy and Helen took off back to San Francisco (unfortunately). We did a short walk to Bridalveil Falls, which was rather insignificant as it had hardly any water flowing over. We also enjoyed a swim in the afternoon. 

The view from top of Vernal Falls was
pretty impressive.

Official Junior Ranger

Our final day had many plans but none seemed to come to fruition. It was a Saturday and the park was just packed, as well as being so hot, no-one was interested in big long hikes. The kids participated in a Junior Ranger led hike (free), which they loved. We then went along to an art and craft activity (because we knew the room would be air conditioned) but it was a flop. We then ended up watching a children’s theatre show on the history of Yosemite (again - free), which was probably the highlight for the kids. While we watched this, a storm moved over the park; temps dropped dramatically and everyone scurried for cars. Tony took the opportunity to get some photos of the storm moving in. That one-way road system around the Valley floor was in grid-lock … so we stayed where we were. Next activity was a free drawing lesson for children, so we stayed and did that too!

Plans for bike riding and a couple more hikes didn’t quite occur!

The root system of one tree

On our way out of the park, we stopped in to see the Giant Sequoias. Yosemite is known for these enormous pine trees, which date to about 3 300 years old. Their diameter is enormous and the tower into the sky. For such tall trees, they have extremely shallow root systems, so you can’t actually approach the trees. As we were walking up the path, we stumbled along a ranger hike, so we joined that. We love hearing the stories from the rangers and we learn so much more about what we were looking at. So many free things in these national parks - they are so accessible and interested in educating the public. 

Halfway to heaven!

Back into the car and we headed to San Francisco. Don’t let anyone tell you Yosemite is 3-4 hours from San Fran … it is much closer to 5-6 hours! A long afternoon of driving and very heavy traffic coming into the city. 

The tree known as Grizzly Giant

A tree so large, it has a tunnel through it.

Vancouver

We think we may have found our favourite Canadian city.

Vancouver: it has my essential criteria for a great city of the world - it embraces the waterfront. It is just so inviting to get out and enjoy the city; soak up the atmosphere; and enjoy the views.

The water front has fantastic paths all the way along, from False Creek at the end of the harbour right down to Stanley Park. Often it is duplicated so there is a specific walking path and riding path. It has great food, fun markets (Granville Island Markets - lots of the great food there) and just for us, we had picture perfect blue skies and a summer heat wave.  As Canada does great snow fields, it also caters for summer activities well: there are free water parks for kids dotted around the place, so its easy to get wet and cool down. There are tennis and basketball courts that are free to use.

Ice-cream at the water park = happiness

The city is close to the ski fields and Whistler and Big White are world renowned; it gets some snow but not too much (not enough to warrant winter and summer tyres, as is the case in Eastern provinces). The city is going through a process of gentrification and there are some fun areas with lots of restaurants and arty things happening. I'm sure the Winter Olympics in 2010 helped this along. The Olympic Stadium and Athletes Village for the Games are so central, so it would have been a fun time to be here. It would be easy to live here!

Now to any great city, there is a downside. And in Vancouver, it is the rain. According to Wikipedia, it rains about 160 days a year. It also has about 5 weeks during summer when it doesn't rain at all .... so for the rest of the year, that means it rains nearly every second day! I couldn't handle that! So, we aren't moving here just yet!

We have spent most of our time around the waterfront and Stanley Park. Stanley Park has recently been voted by TripAdvisor as the best park in the world and we agree! There are picnic areas, play grounds, pools, water parks, greenery, walking and cycling tracks galore. It is so busy that the cycling track is one way around the park - about 8.8 kms. There are also other paths which criss-cross the park, being a mixture of road, walking and cycling tracks. 



We were lucky enough to get amazing weather and the park was very well patronised. We hired bikes, including a tag-a-long for Sophie to ride behind Tony; a tandem in which I was lead rider; then a single, which Olivia and Lachlan shared - the other was on the tandem with me. We covered some big kilometres each day, with lots of food and water park stops. Simple, great days. 

Tony, Lach and Sophie visited the Aquarium which they loved. Liv and I explored some shops, which we loved! For both of these, we used bikes to get around the city, which was easy and safe. The landscaping is beautiful, the many flower beds contain amazing plants and in particular, huge hydrangea flowers. We loved being in this city!

Departing Vancouver also means departing Canada. We have been in the country for exactly 6 months and have had the most amazing time. We've been so lucky to experience life in Quebec and have loved getting to know Montreal as a city and a community. Our travels have shown us diverse but amazing parts of Canada. This is not au revoir, but only a bientot ... we will definitely be back to Canada.