East Coast Shenanigans

 

Washington

 

 

Washington was a real eye opener for me. A vibrant, professional and powerful city. Our day here involved walking from the hotel to the White House - Einstein monument - Lincoln monument - along the reflecting pool - Korean War memorial - WW1 memorial - WW2 memorial - Martin Luther King Jr. monument - Roosevelt monument - Jefferson monument - Holocaust museum - Washington monument - Smithsonian - Air & Space museum. Haven't walked that much in a city since I was in Paris 6 years ago. The day did not finish there however as we then had the privilege of visiting the Washington Emergency 911 centre in Arlington. For anyone that isn't aware Roger and myself both work at 000 Police Dispatch in Melbourne so this was of particular interest to us. It was quite interesting speaking to the staff there, including many who were working when the plane hit the Pentagon on Sept 11. This tour made the visit to the Pentagon memorial site straight after all the better.



 

Korean war memorial

 

WWII memorial

 

Jefferson monument

 

Pentagon memorial

 

 

New York, New York

 

After Washington we travelled by bus to Philadelphia for 2 nights but its not exactly the most exciting city. In fact it was quite the polar opposite to Washington which came as a bit of a shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM. Roger actually ended up in the ER at the nearby hospital as his hands bloated up (too much beer). 2 days later we found ourselves in New York and boy did this city live up to its expectations. Almost did as much walking here as we did in Washington. Words can't really describe New York and I'm sure you don't want to hear my day by day itinerary so I'll let the photos do the talking.

 

 





 

Twin Towers memorial

 

The departure of Rog

 

 

Whilst in New York we were lucky enough to be able to drop into the HQ for the FDNY and the NYPD including their communications centre. Their operation was absolutely huge with 100 call takers and 75 dispatchers working on average at any one time just for Police. I can't begin to thank the people there that showed us around and gave up their time enough, especially Gerry Neville. New York was also where Roger and I parted ways, Rog to stay a couple more days in New York before flying home and me to travel throughout the US a bit longer.



 

 

Toms restaurant from Seinfeld

 

 

 

 

 

Times Square

 

 

Said my farewell to Rog and met up with my G-Adventures group with whom I shall be travelling with for the next 45 days. We have travelled west through Niagara Falls, visited Cedar Point Amusement Park and made our way to Chicago amongst many other things. This trip is predominantly camping and for the 1st week of the journey the weather has been pretty lousy. Moderate to heavy rain when in a tent makes everything a lot more difficult but I love the feeling of being outdoors 24/7. Setting up and packing up camp each morning and evening has become 2nd nature and cooking is shared throughout the whole group. Great preparation for my time in Africa.

 

Camping in Newburgh

 

My new tour leader

 

Niagara Falls

 

 

 

 

 

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