The trip started off hazy with an appointment at the eye doctor where I got my first part of eye surgery done where they poke a hole in my iris using lasers. To do this they put drops in that did the opposite of dilation, which rendered me blind even with my glasses. They recommended getting someone to drive me but I didn't want to bother anyone and rolled the dice. It was a little sketchy but I made it home. My vision began to get better as I drove downtown to the train station. I had lunch at Taste of West Africa which was delicious and I figured I better start getting used to that type of cuisine
Boarding my train at the Fayetteville Station
There was a little drama about whether or not I could carry on my folding bicycle but they ended up letting me. Next to me was a Filipino lady named Lisa who talked to me for awhile about travel, her goddaughters in the Philippines, and her recent divorce after 28 years of marriage.
These are pictures Lisa gave me of her goddaughters so that we could be pen pals. I was scared to accept them because I immediately felt like a pedophile. She assured me they were old enough...maybe for the Philippines. Anyways I did write them an email telling them how sweet their godmother was because I promised Lisa I'd at least contact them.
Upon arrival at Union Station, it took me some time to figure out my bearings. Once I discovered that it's basically letters (East-West) and numbers (North-South) I found the hostel pretty easily. There are a lot of bicycles out and plenty of bike lanes as well. I dropped my things off at the hostel and searched for dinner. We had sat on the tracks for an hour waiting on some dispatcher to figure out the traffic and I had become very hungry. I rode to DuPont Circle and settled on a small hole in the wall place called DC Cafe and spoke some Arabic with the guy behind the counter. It was probably the fanciest joint on the block...
The hobos here may sleep on the streets, but they have cell phones which I thought was interesting. I stopped by the White House on the way back to tell my boss goodnight.
01 July 2014 - Washington D.C.
The hostel had a free breakfast which was great and the uber-friendly kitchen staff member encouraged this Korean girl to introduce herself to me. She was studying in San Diego but very shy so I didn't force her to continue a conversation she didn't want to begin. I followed the tour route (more or less) recommended by the hostel of how to see the monuments.
Arlington Bridge Equestrian Statues that remind me of nearly every major bridge in Europe
It began at Arlington National Cemetery and I saw the JFK flame which I vaguely remember seeing as a child.
I also managed to stop by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the top of the hour and watched the changing of the guard. I'm really glad I don't meet the requirements to be in that unit (I think you must be 6'1").
Memorial Amphitheater
On the walk back (no bicycles allowed in the cemetery which I thought was weird since cars and tour trolleys are) I looked over and saw SFC Smith's grave who was the first Medal of Honor winner from the war in Iraq and also was an engineer.
I took a trail along the Potomac across to the Jefferson Memorial.
The water was really high and some parts around the Tidal Basin were flooded.
I rode through the FDR and MLK memorials which I don't remember seeing as a kid. If I ever got a statue, I certainly would want Hilo right there with me.
I can't decide whether it's ironic or not that they immortalized the greatest civil rights leader in this country with a white statue...
Another new monument for me was the WWII Memorial which I thought was really well done.
They even put Virginia and North Carolina together which I thought was great.
Korean Memorial
Because of the fireworks in a couple of days, large portions of the National Mall were gated off, including the Reflecting Pool.
The Lincoln Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Washington Monument
The Smithsonian
As I rode around The Capitol, I remembered how I got lost there on an eighth grade field trip.
At the steps of the Supreme Court I got dealt some justice about how I was locking my bike up on the wrong side of the street. So I brought it over to where I wanted to take the picture but the cop said I could not leave my bike unattended. I left it less than five feet away from me and clearly implied that he should watch it for me while I took a picture, which he wasn't having any part of. So I wheeled it behind the abortion protesters or whoever they were and awkwardly took my pictures in a way that apparently was not against the law.
The south end of the White House is viewed from far away in the middle of the ellipse which at this point was a muddy grassy area. I only brought my phone on this trip which doesn't have the zoom to take pictures like this.
I saw what may be the origin of rock, paper, scissors on the northern side of the White House which is much more photogenic and where I took the night pictures the previous evening. The is a statue for Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, which is not only a long name, but funny that the name of a game about deciding what to do is across the street from the White House. He actually was an important French general during the American Revolution.
I later went by Freedom Park for an outdoor viewing of the World Cup but there was no alcohol so I popped into a nearby bar (Del Frisco's Grille) to watch it instead. Everyone wears suits in D.C....maybe that was because it was a Tuesday afternoon. I ended up drinking and watching the game with the former Ambassador to Uruguay and I asked him for advice. Afterwards I headed southeast to watch a Nationals game vs. the Rockies. I was definitely drunk because I don't remember most of it, especially the first couple of innings.
After the game I rode to Etete, an Ethiopian restaurant near Howard University. It was an interesting dish with flour tortillas and lamb. A side note is that Emily had convinced me to come to Baltimore earlier than scheduled. The bike was awesome today and allowed me to see the National Mall in it's entirety in a few hours, watch the World Cup, and make it to a Nats game.
02 July 2014 - Washington D.C. to Baltimore
After breakfast I rode to the East side of the National Mall where the museums are. The Smithsonian ones didn't open until 1000 so I went to the Newseum instead. I ended up spending a couple of hours in there as it was bigger than I had imagined. It is a well done museum that took you through history as it was told by the media. Because of the excessive time I spent there I didn't have time to get to another museum because I wanted to get to Baltimore that afternoon.
View from the top of the Newseum along Pennsylvania Avenue
An antennae mast from the World Trade Center with the headlines from that day from all over the world
I returned to the hostel, grabbed my bag out of a locker, and rode back to Union Station. The ride to Baltimore's Penn Station was a breeze and short enough to make it a daily commute which many people do. I wish I was more willing to stick to a plan because that saves a lot of money when you reserve early. Baltimore had bike "trails" that were often on the sidewalks as opposed to the bike lanes in the streets of D.C. It was maybe a 20-30 minute ride to Federal Hill on the far side of the Inner Harbor. I waited for Emily on her back porch for awhile and it was terribly hot and I was running out of water. As usual, I showed up earlier than expected so she was still out running errands. I'm a little jealous of where she lives and think living in a city like that is pretty cool.
03 July 2014 - Baltimore
In the morning Emily somehow convinced me to go for a "little" six mile run around the harbor. It was brutally hot, even in the morning and I thought about stopping many times, but there's no way I'd let Emily know that. After the run we drank and watched the World Cup. I was hanging out with Ryan who is Leslie's boyfriend (Leslie is one of Emily's roommates). Emily's mother and grandmother came to visit and we all went to an Orioles game. It rained all afternoon but luckily it stopped around game time so we were able to go. It was my second game in three days and I loved it. We got to sit in club level seats because Leslie's company Schindler has season tickets. They were along the third baseline and beautiful. Best part was that the O's beat the Rangers.
They even had two of their World Series trophies on display in the club level right next to the bar where I would I was wetting my whistle
04 July 2014 - Baltimore
We all planned to go to Sparrow's Point where Emily's boss who's also named Eric has a family house on the Chesapeake Bay. It was really windy which kept the heat down thankfully. They had a small steel cannon which they filled with ~6 oz. of black powder and packed with a tennis ball and fired off at the top of every hour.
They also had a 300 lbs block of ice which they carved into a liquor luge which caught up with me throughout the day.
Me giving Leslie a shot on the luge
There was also tons of great food and the people seemed like what you'd you imagine a Maryland redneck would look and act like (also really friendly). Most of the people I was with went out on an inflatable island but it was rough out and didn't look that fun to me.
I talked with a couple who did track and field at UNC-Chapel Hill where they met. I ended up missing the fireworks after having too many Pepsi-Colas from the luge.
05 July 2014 - Baltimore
We took the water taxi across the harbor to Fell's Point for brunch at Kooper's Tavern followed by a daytime bar crawl. Kooper's had bottomless mimosas which we took full advantage of.
View of the Inner Harbor from the water taxi
One of the bars had bear pong which is apparently a larger version of beer pong. Ryan and Leslie dominated everyone there including Emily and I.
There were lots of people dressed in patriotic attire and I wish I had worn mine...maybe then I would've felt more like dancing with the girls to Lil Jon.
I almost forgot that while looking for the bathroom at one of the bars I managed to climb on the roof but the view wasn't as good as Federal Hill.
It's a good thing them coppers didn't see me goofing around up there.
06 July 2014 - Baltimore
I had a productive morning as I cleaned Emily's car, fixed her bicycle, and talked with a member of the Downtown Sailing Center about rentals. After that, we rode our bikes to the Visionary Art Museum down the street. It was pretty weird and had more sculptures than paintings.
Robot Man that had mechanical insides that reminded me of a bar I went to in Prague
Eiffel Tower made of wine corks
I have no idea what this is but it looks like some kind of contraption that can be pedaled in a parade
Bus out front covered in broken glass
Emily had to ride my bike because she was too short to ride hers. Then we rode around Fort McHenry where the inspiration for the Star Spangled Banner came from. We got there at the top of the hour and just in time for the firing of a giant cannon. That afternoon we drove to NOVA to have dinner with some of her Stafford friends she hadn't seen in awhile. They were nice people and had a lot of funny childhood stories to share.
Emily enjoying riding MY bike
The cannon at Fort McHenry
07 July 2014 - Baltimore to Philadelphia
After finishing up my much needed laundry in the morning, I drove us up to Philly in Emily's car instead of taking the train. I definitely prefer the train and it was funny listening to Emily complain about all the tolls. I can't complain about tolls anymore after paying over 50 euros for one stint along the Autostrade in Italy. The drivers were really aggressive and kept me on my toes. It was about a two hour drive and I was glad when it was over. We parked the car in a lot that was half as much as the hotel's garage. We got out the bikes and rode about ten miles along both sides of the Schuylkill River in the Fairmount Park.
Philadelphia Museum of Art (of Rocky fame)
Boathouse Row
Fairmount Water Works
It was another hot day and we put the bikes up after we got back and showered because we were drenched in sweat. We decided to walk to the Old City instead of riding to try and cope with the heat.
City Hall with William Penn on top
We stopped in City Tavern for lunch, which is a replica of the tavern frequented by our founding fathers. We each had a flight of beers using recipes from George Washington (Porter), Thomas Jefferson (1774 Ale), Benjamin Franklin (Spruce Ale), and Alexander Hamilton (Federalist Ale).
The interior appeared much like it would have in the days of the revolution and even the staff dressed in the attire of the era. After that we grabbed a beer at Sassafras while deciding where to eat dinner. We only snacked on bread at City Tavern and Emily ate almost all of TJ's delicious potato rolls. Two locals recommended Amadas, a tapas bar. it was a really nice place with excellent tapas. We had about four or five of the tapas plates and it was the fanciest place I'd been in awhile and a lot more expensive than the tapas tour I did in Madrid (only 2.70 euro a piece). After dinner we went on the Grim Philly Tour but I think we were on the wrong tour because ours was supposed to include a bar crawl. Our tour guide was a quirky older lady named Wendy who was pretty entertaining and we learned a lot about the local history and what life was like during the 18th century.
Liberty Bell
Washington Square Park and a monument to the thousands of Soldiers (and slaves) who were buried here in unmarked graves during the American Revolution
Robert Morris was an unsung hero of the Revolutionary Period and known as the "Financier of the Revolution." He also one of only two people who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution. He isn't as well known due to his land speculation later in life that ultimately led to his bankruptcy and imprisonment.
On another recommendation from a guy at Sassafras, we went to Spruce Street Harbor Park which is a beautiful new area right on the Delaware River. It was basically a park with an adjacent pier that had sandy lounge areas with beach chairs and even hammocks over the water. There was even a monument to Christopher Columbus (the tower in center) which I thought was a little out of place since he never came here.
08 July 2014 - Philadelphia
In the morning we walked over to JFK Plaza where the "Love" sign is.
Emily and I with the sign...though I think this is referring to the City of Brotherly Love more than how she felt about me.
Afterwards we continued to the Independence area but got a late start and decided to hang out at the hotel's rooftop pool instead of doing tours. On the way back we caught a cab into South Philly to get a Philly cheese steak at Geno's
Pool during the day...
...and at night
We wanted to watch the World Cup match between Germany and Brazil at a German bar and decided on the one on South Street because it was closer. We waited patiently for a spot at the bar to open so we could order drinks. Finally two guys turned around and offered some room. They were surprised that we had been so polite and told us we could sneak in as needed to get more drinks. They turned out to be Philly cops named Brandon and Josh. They were really cool and on a short list of cops I've ever liked.
They even let us take a picture with their badges
Nothing says German bar than having the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516 mounted on the wall
After Germany embarrassed Brazil (7-1), we went to find a hookah bar. We eventually found one ran by a Palestinian named Muhammad. He boasted of having the best hookah and chai in town. The hookah was dreadfully weak inside a fruit instead of a normal coal but the chai was very different and I liked it.
The only other person in there was a girl who was studying online but living in Philly which I thought was strange because of the unnecessary high cost of living. I can't remember which country she was from but it was in the Middle East. I tried speaking Arabic with her and Muhammad but didn't get very far. Muhammad loved showing us the Palestinian singer who was really popular in the Middle East and was on their version of Idol. We ordered room service that evening for dinner at the hotel which was a rare pleasure for me.
09 July 2014 - Philadelphia to New York City
We ran into some people with November Project shirts our first night in Philly and Emily got excited because she's a member of the Baltimore chapter. It's basically a free workout group of mostly young people with positive energy who exercise together a few times a week. So we joined the Philly chapter on the steps of the Museum of Art (Rocky steps) at 0630...that's in the morning. It was basically 45 minutes of running up and down the stairs with pushups and leg throws every couple of minutes. There are lots of hugs, high fives, and encouragement. Other than that, it's basically the same as Army physical training.
Later that morning we finally did a tour of Independence Hall which I remembered doing as a kid with Mama G and Granddad.
Supreme Court
Assembly Room where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were created
I had to shuffle a bit to get the car out of the parking garage and everything sorted out but once I did Emily dropped me off at 30th Street Train Station and I hopped on the next one to NYC. About an hour and a half later I was in Manhattan and boarded my first of many subways to Queens and the hostel. I wanted to find a good bar to watch the World Cup but there are so many choices it was a bit overwhelming. I chose Jack Dempsey's under the Empire State Building and watched most of the game with a French consultant named Ramon. He was good company and it was nice to have someone save my seat since it was crowded and I inevitably had to use the bathroom because the game went all the way to a shootout. I should have used it one more time for good measure before leaving because it was a long subway ride out to Citi Field and there aren't any public restrooms in subway stations for good reason. I had to hop off halfway and relieve myself in a Subway (restaurant) because I didn't want to be one of the bums who does that in the subway (which I only witnessed once). The new Mets stadium is nice but just like every contemporary stadium. I got a free ticket in the seventh row of the first baseline because I am in the Army which is a great perk. I even caught a shirt that was shot from a cannon by Mr. Met but gave it to a chubby kid next to me. The Mets beat the Braves and it was another great baseball experience.
10 July 2014 - New York City
I dove into the heart of the beast and went to Times Square in the morning. Even then, it's as busy as everyone says. They were shooting some movie which made it even more frustrating. Just around the corner is Radio City Music Hall and the Rockefeller Center. I really like the view from the Top of the Rock and was tempted to go again at night.
Central Park and Uptown
Empire State Building and Downtown
Some weird creation made of flowers at the Rockefeller Center where the ice skating rink and Christmas Tree are during the holidays
The only impressive thing about Times Square is the amount of advertising that covers every building on 7th Ave and Broadway
Photo Sphere I took in Times Square (upper right hand corner makes it full screen). Pretty neat thing for a little camera phone to do. Also neat was Spiderman being right there with me...he would get arrested a few weeks later for assaulting a police officer.
Armed Forces Recruiting Center...that's some expensive real estate
Not sure what this is supposed to be
I went via Grand Central Station to meet up with my old Army buddy from Germany who got out and just finished his MBA at NYU.
Grand Central
We grabbed lunch before Mike showed me his 476 square foot apartment in the Upper East Side that is $2,200 per month in rent which made my RV look roomy. After checking out his 3D TV which I'd never seen before we went down to East and Greenwich Villages to Washington Square.
He had to meet up with someone for dinner so I went to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The two waterfall footprints are good memorials and the museum is enormous but has very little substance until you get to the bottom floor where the artifacts are. The crowds had grown quite a bit by the time I got there and I grew impatient so I moved quickly through this part. I wish someone would review museums and tell you how much time to spend at each exhibit floor so you could manage your time better. If I'd known that all the good stuff was at the end I would've walked right past everything else and spent the bulk of my time there. I also wasted 30 minutes waiting for and watching some movie called Rebirth which was basically about the construction of the museum and not worth 30 seconds of time.
The memorial for World Trace Center North and the new World Trade One behind it
The "Last Column" which was the final piece of debris removed from ground zero and the original wall which protected the foundations of the WTCs from the Hudson River
A fire truck from the the first responders
The Cross at Ground Zero
I went back to Times Square to eat at Hard Rock Cafe. The place was empty at first but was soon crawling with teenagers on a summer field trip. Then I went back downtown and walked along the East River before heading to Fraunces Tavern to grab a beer at the oldest bar in the city.
East River with the Pier 15 Watermark bar in the foreground with Brooklyn and it's Bridge in the background.
View of Manhattan and the Queensboro bridge from the rooftop of my hostel
11 July 2014 - New York City
I finally tried to do some planning instead of "winging it" but it backfired. Thankfully I am only out $20. There were long delays in the subway so I had to take a cab the rest of the way to Wall Street. I signed up for a tour with the Wall Street Experience which was interesting but 80% of it was quoting the documentary Too Big to Fail and the other 20% was the history of the area.
A monument to where George Washington was inaugurated on 30 April, 1789 as the first President on the balcony of Federal Hall where the first Congress met. The original building was demolished in 1812 and served as the first Capitol of the United States.
One of the oldest and deadliest terrorist attacks on the U.S. occurred on Wall Street between Federal Hall and J.P. Morgan Bank on 16 September 1920. A horse-drawn carriage carrying 100 lbs of dynamite and 500 lbs of cast iron blew up and killed 38 and seriously wounded 143. Who was behind the bombing is still a mystery to this day and remnants from the damage still mark the walls of this building.
Trinity Church which was founded in 1697 (current version built in 1846) and was the tallest building in NYC for almost 50 years.
Our guide wasn't timely so I had to leave at this point in the tour to catch my day sail of the NY Harbor out of Tribeca. The boat was a Hinckley from the '60s and looked like it would be a great boat for the area. There wasn't enough wind to sail (at least within our two hour timeline) and see Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Governor's Island, Lower Manhattan, and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Battery Park and Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge and Captain Dave
Afterwards, I tried to go downtown to see the "Bull" but the crowds had grown to where you couldn't even get a glimpse. I grabbed some slices of NY pizza and saw this really cool street (Stone Street) with biergarten tables and bars and restaurants on either side that would have been fun to go to with friends.
A little later Nick called and asked if I was still interested in going to the Phish concert on Randall's Island. It was a neat island at the junction of the East and Harlem Rivers and the Bronx, Astoria, and East Harlem neighborhoods. Also on the island are the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, dozens of baseball fields, and the Waste Water Treatment Plant. I was lucky to meet him at just the right time as he got off the ferry while I took subways and walked across the bridge from East Harlem. I actually saved $15 dollars off my ticket by buying it at the door. However, we waited 45 minutes for our first round of beers because they were IDing everyone, uncorking individual wine bottles (instead of twist offs), and their credit card machines were awfully slow. The actual concert was about what you'd expect from a jam band. There was some great hippie dancing which is mostly twirling around in circles. Some of the guys Nick works with at ESPN were there and seemed alright enough.
After the concert we took the ferry back down the East River to 34th Street. We walked across Manhattan to a bar for a quick drink before retiring to Nick's apartment. It's also pretty small but he had a rooftop deck that we drank from before ordering wings and quesadillas and going to bed. We were up until 0300 talking sports, work, life, and whatever else. He's a big part of ESPN's college football marketing team and an interesting guy to catch up with.
12 July 2014 - New York City
Because we were up so late I slept in later than usual before heading back to the hostel. Nick was going out to the Hamptons where a bunch of people put in together on a house for the weekend. This is another example of how great it would be to live somewhere like that with people who weren't lazy. After I got myself together I went back across Manhattan to the USS Intrepid. I went on the WWII tour which was very interesting, although I wish I knew more about when my Granddad served on the ship. It was hit by a torpedo and multiple kamikazes. They had to limp back to San Francisco after the torpedo distorted their rudder and were unable to steer. To keep from turning left constantly they kept the port engines on full and moved all the aircraft to the front of the ship to increase the head sail. The ship now is more museum than warship and is covered with all kinds of aircraft and random things...even a space shuttle.
One of Intrepid's propellers
WWII Avenger torpedo bomber
Each flag represents a Japanese aircraft that was shot down and the ships sunk are on the right
The Island
The one cool thing is they still have one of the elevators in service that used to take planes from the hanger to the flight deck which we were able to ride. They slowed this one down a lot for safety reasons but it was still cool.
Names of Sailors and Marines who lost their lives aboard the Intrepid
Lego model of the USS Intrepid built by a bored British guy
After the tour I went to Brooklyn to catch the last of the World Cup third place match while having dinner. Then I spent a couple of hours sitting along the East River watching the sunset over Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. There was a "Super Moon" that evening but it was to the southeast and we were facing west from the Brooklyn Bridge Park. I say "we" because there were dozens of people around me with fancy camera equipment for what I assumed was something to do with the moon.
13 July 2014 - Brooklyn
In the morning I met up with a guy I knew from kiteboarding in Costa Rica named Igor who is of Ukranian descent. We rock climbed at Brooklyn Boulder and he had a few Russian-speaking friends with him. We climbed for about three hours and I was spent and am definitely out of shape...one of these days I'll get around to it. We also did a little slack line which I'm also terrible at. It was fun though and made me think I should climb more often at the place in downtown Fayetteville.
We tried to go to a German beer hall to watch the World Cup Finals but the line was down the block one hour for the game even started. We found another bar which I liked because it was open air and we were able to sit at the bar and watch what was an uneventful match. Afterwards we drove out to the Brooklyn Marine Park near Coney Island to watch Igor kiteboard. The winds were strong and it was a good spot to do it but he only had an 11m when most people were flying a 7 or 8m. I didn't even know we were going to do that otherwise I wouldn't have drank as much during the game. Either way I thought it was weird he hadn't mentioned it earlier or offered if I wanted to go.
14 July 2014 - New York City to Boston
The train ride to Boston was farther than I had expected. Getting on the train at Penn Station was a bit hectic and my last taste of the chaos of NYC (which I kind of enjoyed...at least for a short visit). The Connecticut coastline was beautiful but I didn't see the any lighthouses. I think sailing there in the Long Island Sound would be a lot of fun. Boston seems sleepy after the hustle and bustle of NYC. I dropped my things off at the hostel and grabbed lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. I also walked around the Fanqueil Market which is a nice outdoor mall area.
For a second I thought Brian had jumped off the yacht in Vanuatu and ridden the KLR up to meet me
I rode my bike through Boston Commons, the oldest public park in the U.S. before heading back to the waterfront to where I sat by the harbor and just relaxed (well, for at least a little while). I'd seen a bike shop before around the corner and went there to get the bike serviced. Something was wrong with the crankshaft and they took apart the bottom bracket, saw nothing wrong, and put it back together. Maybe it was a little loose because whatever they did fixed it. After two weeks of perfect (but hot) weather, when I got to Boston it started raining. I crawled back to the hostel seeking cover occasionally while I waited out the heaviest downpours.
I took the poor weather opportunity to do some research for the remainder of the trip. I tried to do laundry but there were only two working washers for a rather large hostel and everyone had the same idea I did. I ended up sharing a washer and dryer with a Polish girl named Agatha who was doing a summer internship with bio-medical research at some company. Because of the laundry debacle I had late night sushi instead of my preferred hibachi because most of the grills in China Town (which was adjacent to the hostel) were closed.
15 July 2014 - Boston
The hostel had a free breakfast similar to DC which I appreciated because it takes the hassle out of starting your day finding a place to eat. In the morning I began the "Freedom Trail" which is a 2.5 mile tour through Boston's historic sites. It started at the Boston Common where I had visited the previous day, but I also walked through the adjacent Public Garden which has small little swan boats and I think is more beautiful than the Common. The only downside was that the Garden didn't allow bicycles for some reason. Of course, it was overcast so that made the pictures come out ho-hum.
Parkman Bandstand
Soldiers and Sailors Monument
The Public Garden has dozens of statues, some of which are interesting including this one which is a monument to the use of ether
George Washington Equestrian Statue
Pond with the swan boats
Triton Babies Fountain
A wall that depicts the founding of Boston in 1630
Across the street is the Massachusetts State House whose dome has some interesting history. Originally it was wood (1798), covered with copper by Paul Revere's company after wood leaked (1802), gilded with gold leaf (1874), painted dark grey during WWII for fear of bombing attacks, then 23K gold again (1997).
I rode the bike down to Granary Burying Ground where Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere are buried as well as the victims from the Boston Massacre
Down the street to King's Chapel (built in 1749)
I also briefly stopped by the site where Boston Latin, America's first public school was. Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Benjamin Franklin all were students there and although Franklin never graduated a statue was built in his honor there
The Old South Meeting House is where the citizens of Boston met prior to the Tea Party
The Old State House is where Sam Adams first coined the phrase "No taxation without representation"
The Boston Massacre occurred out in front of the Old State House. Interestingly, Sam Adams conducted all five funerals for the victims while his second cousin John (2nd President) defended the Soldiers in court which all but two were acquitted.
Faneuil Hall is a marketplace once used to house the protests of the Sugar, Stamp, and Townshend Acts.
Paul Revere's house is the oldest building in downtown Boston. He lived there with his mother, wife, and their 16 children
Old North Church is the oldest church in Boston (1723) and where two lanterns were hung to warn of British arrival by sea
The North End Neighborhood is really nice and has a heavy Italian influence. I crossed the Charles River via the Washington Bridge and rode uphill through the beautiful Charlestown neighborhood to Bunker Hill. There are 294 steps to the top which were surprisingly difficult. The battle itself is a great story and an information board out front seems just as relevant regarding warfare today.
View from the top of downtown...
...and the harbor (one of the times it would have been nice to have an actual camera)
Random street in Charlestown
The USS Constitution is a great place to visit for kids, particularly the museum. I like that the Navy still has this ship in their fleet and can't think of anything the Army has like it.
Can't remember what these are for...
Enviable history and lineage
The officers' quarters
Beam of the ship which gave it the famous nickname Old Ironsides
Oddly enough, the USS Constitution once looked like this to house Sailors and Marines earlier in the 20th century before being refurbished to it's original configuration
Cool little boat at the same dock
I came back to the hostel to get ready for the Sam Adams Brewery tour but the hostel was doing one to the Harpoon Brewery so I tagged along. There aren't any subways downtown, only buses, which we used to take to the brewery. That place had the most incredible pretzels I've ever had in my life, and significantly better than the ones you get at Oktoberfest. The tour itself is informal which is also different than the ones at Budweiser and Heineken. They pretty much let your drink as much as you want for twenty minutes or so from their dozen or so varieties.
For some reason, I was tuckered out and came back to the hostel to nap. Afterwards, I rode back towards the Boston Public Garden which has the original Cheers across the street and had good timing as I got to sit at Norm's stool.
Back downtown I drank at the historical Green Dragon which was referred to as the "Headquarters of the Revolution" and where John Hancock and Paul Revere used to wet their whistles. Across the alley (pre-automobiles so not big enough to be called a street) is the oldest bar in the U.S., the Bell in Hand Tavern. There I met Joe, a dairy cow specialist with the USDA. He loved talking shop and clearly enjoyed what he does.
The pedestrian street with so much drunk history
We tried to go to this ice bar but it was closed and instead went to a Cheers bar set replica in Quincy Market. We began talking with some older couples and I grew tired again so I went to Chinatown for dinner before finally going to bed.
One of my favorite beers is the "Black and Blue" which I enjoyed as a night cap at the Cheers replica bar
16 July 2014 - Boston
I slept in a little which was probably for the best after a late night. It was beginning to rain but I rode down to the Long Wharf and hopped on a whale watching cruise. It was really coming down as we boarded and I was glad to get inside. I wish I had downloaded a book for the 1.5 hour trip to Stellwagen Bank during which many people got seasick due to the rough seas (even for me, although I didn't get sick). I had one of the best spots on the bow to see the whales. There was a group of five that we followed which included two calves. They were no more than 100 feet away and this is another time where an actual camera would have been appropriate.
The ride in wasn't nearly as bad and produced some great views of the city from the harbor...there was even smoke (fog) on the water
Cool looking pirate ship...at least it has the flag of the port it's in
I had lunch at the oldest restaurant in the country (a recurring theme) known as the Union Oyster House but I didn't have oysters because I had heard the good ones weren't in season and I'm honestly not a huge fan.
I went back to the hostel to seek refuge from the rain. They were hosting a tour of the Museum of Fine Arts which a lot of people were going on because of the bad weather. We were only there 1.5 hours and you probably needed two to three times that as I practically ran through the place and only saw half of it. The exhibits were divided geographically and by era. The ancient Egypt exhibit was impressive, especially since you could actually take pictures unlike the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
I bet this left painful tanlines
This was an actual Greek soldier's shield which I'm glad I don't have to carry around all day
Bust of Augustus
I should have stood next to this to illustrate how big it is (roughly 20' x 10'). This was originally commissioned for the North Carolina Senate Hall of the State House in 1817, but turned out to be too big and was instead sold to a Bostonian.
Depiction of the death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill
The very first "Jaws" on Shark Week
One of four surviving copies of the Magna Carta, written in 1215 and an inspiration for the U.S. Constitution
A glass tree which cost over $1 million
Eruption of Vesuvius
I wonder if people like Donald Trump or the king of some oil-producing country still make things like this in their likeness...
The Seventh Plague of Egypt reminds me of the night in Sorrento that Brian and I took pictures of the lightning storm
Monet's Water Lillies
Upon returning to the hostel, I went to Boston's second oldest restaurant which is an old German beer hall named Jacob Wirth's. I never ended up eating dinner and instead spent the night drinking with a Delta Airlines pilot named Roger who was my parent's age. He made that line of work and lifestyle sound really appealing. We hopped from bar to bar because for some reason the bars in Boston close unusually early...maybe it's the curse of the Puritans.
17 July 2014 - Boston to Baltimore
I slept in late and missed my original train but was able to change my reservation to the next available one at very little extra charge. In the Northeast, there are trains leaving every 30 minutes to an hour much like Germany so it is convenient if your schedule changes. The original train I was going to be on broke down anyways so all of those passengers joined us in Providence for the remainder of their trip. It was a pretty long ride back south and I was unable to make a quick trip to Maine happen because of time constraints and the fact that some of the trains were out of service for whatever reason. Nonetheless, I'm glad I didn't try to make if from Boston all the way to NC in one day. I met Emily at her office and we rode our bikes back to her place. She just bought a pink little girls bike at Wal-Mart and didn't have to use mine anymore. We just hung around and drank on the rooftop deck watching the sun set over Baltimore.
18 July 2014 - Baltimore
I had hoped to go sailing but it was very expensive and the winds were light. Instead we rode our bikes to Heavy Seas Ale House and Gordon Biersch and had a flight at each.
Since we rode around the Inner Harbor, I'm going to insert some pictures I took walking around there back in June on a separate trip because I feel Baltimore was underrepresented here with photos since I already had some that were only weeks old...I'll start it off with meeting Mark Gottfried in the airport in Raleigh!
I took the train into town from the airport and went into a Maryland sports museum next to Camden Yards while I waited for Emily to get off of work. It was a cute little museum and would have been more relevant if I was actually from Maryland. However, they did have one of the Oriole's World Series trophies...
...and a Colts Lombardi Trophy
The Baltimore Aquarium which I'm pretty sure I went to as a kid
I went up in the World Trade Center (not that one) for only $4 and got to see nearly all of Baltimore. Across the harbor is Federal Hill where Emily lives.
In the full size image (right click) you can see the warehouse in the outfield of Camden Yards
A couple of piers full of bars, restaurants, and concert venues
Seven Foot Knoll Light built in 1855
A neat creation outside one of the bars in Fell's Point
The row of your touristy restaurants including Hard Rock Cafe and Dick's
USS Constellation (1854)
View from Federal Hill
Daytime view from Emily's rooftop deck
...back to 18 July...Emily isn't an experienced enough bike rider to drink and ride. This was evident in how she hit a little girl with her handlebar in the Inner Harbor. That evening we went to Chazz in Little Italy which may be one of the worst restaurants I've ate at and I usually don't complain about those things. It was one of Ryan's friends birthdays and they went to watch Gladiator at an outdoor theater while we went to Zeeba's for hookah. It's strange that it's BYOB yet still has $8 corking fees and charges $1 per beer. I don't know how that is legal or justified when they don't provide you any product or service related to the beverages. We made friends with Indian girls that sat next to us from NYC and now live in Baltimore. Emily and them really hit it off and I was just kind of there.
19 July 2014 - Baltimore
We woke up to go to this "invitation only" sale at the Under Armor headquarters which I dreaded. It turned out to be as awful as I had expected and after 45 minutes of line waiting, no one ended up buying anything. My worst nightmare...
I finally got to go to the Tiki Barge which I think every city near the water should have. The winds were really good and I wish I had been out sailing but the Tiki Barge was an acceptable alternative.
For dinner we went to Nick's Fish House and I finally ate some Chesapeake crabs which were actually overwhelming with all of the Old Bay they used. I'm not as good of a crab eater as Emily and the place reminded me a lot of the Rusty Rudder or Eddies (formerly Vinnies).
20 July 2014 - Baltimore to Fayetteville
I rode to the train station in a slight drizzle instead of Emily driving me because it was rather early in the morning. I'm glad I made the train because there was only one other train that headed as far south as Fayetteville that day and would have arrived there at 0130 Monday morning. The same conductor who harassed me about my bike three weeks ago did it again. This time I told him he was wrong and to review Amtrak's policies which he did and returned to let me know "I'd won this round." It was obvious he was annoyed but he had a friendly facade. The train stopped for another long period in the middle of Virginia just like it had on my way north before. The type of thing rarely happens in the Northeast for whatever reason.
Overall I'm really glad I chose to do this trip and see so much history of this country. Train and bike travel was really the way to do it and I guess one thing I'd change is maybe staying with couch surfers instead of hostels since I'm getting a little old for that crowd. I'm glad that I learned my lesson in Central America and took as many pictures as I did. Also, using only my camera phone made it very convenient and they auto uploaded which also helped.
