United? Eastern States of America

New York NY

Christine and I have been to New York a few times over the years, but it never gets old. It is just so big and there is so much to do. This time we made our way to Brooklyn to stay with our great friends the Leighton’s. David, Alicia, Eddie, and Alfie welcomed us into their homes, again, and Eddie and Alfie very graciously gave up their rooms (though they exercised the right of free entry on occasion!)

On our first day David and Alicia took us into the city, and we explored the Frick Museum. Frick was a 19^th century Industrialist, famous for his art collection, who donated his entire collection, and his mansion on Central Park containing it, to the public. It is a magnificent building with many examples of Degas, Turner and Renoir. There is also an incredible porcelain flower collection that looks so real people keep breaking off the leaves!

After the Museum David and Alicia headed back to pick up the kids, and Christine and I took a long walk through central park. We have seen the south side before, but never the north. The Jackie Onassis reservoir was beautiful.

We then met our friends Nick and Skye and their son, Dylan, for dinner at their apartment. Brad knew them from Uni and they have made their home in New York. And what a home! It looks back over Central Park, and it was a great evening catching up with a wonderful home-cooked meal, something always appreciated when travelling.

The following day we and the Leighton’s walked the streets of Brooklyn, had a great brunch, and lost to Eddie at Monopoly under a dubious interpretation of the rules. Brooklyn is getting ready for Halloween, and the gorgeous brownstones are beginning to get their decorations up.

We ended the day with dinner at a traditional Japanese restaurant. The food was lovely but unfortunately Christine was sick and had to go home early (thankfully recovered by the next day). We stayed on to finish the banquet, and Christine is still suspicious that we did not bring home a doggy bag – you know what these uptown restaurants are like – they won’t let you 😉

Sunday was about the kids, and it was great fun. There were tennis lessons down the road and then we made our way via ferry to Governor’s Island where there is a place called the Yard in which kids can run around with saws and hammers and build  and break things to their hearts content with minimal adult supervision – you know, pretty much our entire childhood! It is good to see that this idea is getting some traction again. We walked around the entire island and took in the views of Manhattan before heading to Red Hook for crab rolls at sunset. A great weekend with great friends.

Harrisburg VA

The next day we said our goodbyes to the Leighton’s and began our driving holiday south. Christine got us out of New York like a boss, and we made our way to Harrisburg, Virginia. No trip to the south would be complete without at least one Civil War point of interest. I spared Christine a trip to a paddock in Gettysburg and instead we took in the National Civil War Museum. It was very well done and looked at the lead-up to the war and the social impacts as much as the battles themselves. Still, depressing as hell.    

A little cheerier was a visit to downtown and the State Capitol building where we got to see a little bit of American democracy in action. The senate was in session, but we got to sit in on the lower house as they got themselves sorted for a vote. On what? Difficult to know.

Protesters

state capital

Charlottesville VA

Today was about memory lane as the Rolfe’s lived here in 1982 when Bill was posted to the Judge Advocate General’s school. We stopped by Brad’s old school, and then by their old house, none of which had changed much. Brad reminisced about digging snow off the footpaths and chasing squirrels in the backyard whilst Christine listened politely.

We stayed at a lovely old B&B in the city centre. It was built in 1785 and had the creaky floorboards and bed to prove it, Christine almost needed a ladder to get onto the bed. There is a large French influence here for reasons we couldn’t quite discern and had a delicious Coq a Vin at a local restaurant.

From Charlottesville it is a short drive into the Appalachian Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Brad had been dreaming about coming back here since he was a kid and convinced Christine to come this way so she could see it. Totally worth it. It was the perfect time of year as the leaves were changing colour, and we managed to dodge the weather and the crowds as we were nearly the only ones on the road. A magical drive and worth putting on everyone’s bucket list.

Floyd VA

We spent the night up in the mountains near a small town called Floyd. It had a breathtaking view across the valley, and we even managed to spot a deer from the porch!

 

Carthage NC

The owner of the café in Floyd told us to visit Carthage. We typically always follow local opinions, so we changed plans and headed that way. We are extremely glad we did. It was Halloween and the town had put on quite the show. Our magnificent old B&B was in the middle of the main street, and it seemed like the whole town was walking up and down the road to trick and treat. Everyone had dressed up, not just the kids but the parents as well. We joined in, chatted to many of the locals, got invited into a house, and generally had a wonderful time. The pictures speak for themselves!

 

Charleston NC

The following day we made our way back to the coast and the major port city of Charleston. From the beginning it gave off that southern ‘Gone with the Wind’ vibe. We spent a day just walking around the streets looking at the glorious old houses. We found out from a local that the houses were mostly built sideways, with their porches along the side to improve the airflow in pre-air conditioning days. It was also to reduce tax, because that was paid based on the size of the frontage. We also watched the Veterans Day parade, which is the US equivalent of Anzac Day.  We stayed at a funky arts hotel which was fun.

That night over dinner we got chatting to a lovely couple, Gene and Mary, who gave us some great tips on where to go on our travels. Before we left the next day, we checked out the local Huguenot Church and the Dock Street Theatre, still running, and which first opened in 1736.

 

Savannah SC

Driving in to Savannah we crossed a bridge so tall that it was disconcerting. This is to allow the container ships further upriver. We then passed row upon row of boarded up houses, which gives you some idea of the wealth inequality in the states, and the economic turmoil a substantial portion of the population has experienced.

Our hotel was on the riverfront, and from there we walked back into the old part of Savannah. This had been laid out on a grid, with parks on each corner, and avenues of classic southern homes framed by glorious trees. We took a walking tour with a local whose favourite line was “if you can’t say something nice about a person, come sit with me.” He gave us all the gossip about the old homes and Savannah not so polite society. Tourism has picked up immensely since the publication of the novel “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” and we walked by the house where the chief protagonist lived (played by Kevin Spacey in the movie – ironic, no?)

Most memorable were the oak trees. They are now centuries old and are covered with Spanish moss – which is neither Spanish nor moss – but is an airborne plant that drapes over the branches and gives Savannah its unique ancient look.

Fun fact 1: The cobblestones in the street were brought by British merchant ships who used them as ballast and the just dumped them so they could take back the cotton and spices.

Fun Fact 2: Oysters were so plentiful in Savannah that they mixed it into their concrete for their pavements.  

Fun Fact 3: The girl guides (scouts) was established right here.  Girls would get a merit badge for visiting.

St Augustine FL

We couldn’t stay at the hotel Gene and Mary recommended but we got into a lovely B&B next door. It surprised us to learn that St Augustine is oldest continuously inhabited European town in the United States. You normally think of Plymouth and the original pilgrims from the Mayflower in 1620, but St Augustine was founded by the Spanish in 1565. It was the seat of Spanish power for centuries until Florida was ceded to the United States in 1819.

The architecture was wonderful, with even newer buildings constructed in the red brick Spanish style. Brad checked out on the old Spanish fort on his early morning walk (but couldn’t go in because of the government shutdown). We also spent time in the courtyard of Ragler College, the local university, which had been converted from an old hotel that had been famous for its celebrity guests.

Orlando FL

When people learn you visited Orlando they always ask if you went to Disney, or any of the other dozens of theme parks. No, we did not. We are just not theme park people. Instead, we set ourselves up in a very nice apartment in a resort on the outskirts and used it as a base to explore the best parts of Orlando.

First, we went to Florida Wild Zoo and took an airboat ride through the everglades. We spotted dozens of species of birds and a couple of alligators – this is not the place to swim! We then wandered through the rest of the zoo, saw the alligators being fed, and took in all the exotic species they had their including bobcats, otters and, wait for it, kangaroos! Yes, they are exotic here.

Our main reason for visiting Orlando though, was to go to the Kennedy Space Centre. Brad had visited with his family in 1983 and was desperate to go back. We arrived an hour before opening time (seriously) and were first into the carpark. We toured the launch pad for the early Apollo missions, saw the Saturn IV rocket that sent them into space, the Gemini capsule, the Space Shuttle Atlantis, and a ton of other awesome stuff. On our way to the launch pad our bus even got stuck behind one of the SpaceX rockets that was being hauled there for a launch that night. Brilliant! The whole setup was fantastic and made us think of a talk we went to in Brisbane by Australia’s own Gilmour Space Technologies and their efforts to setup Australia’s first commercial satellite launch facility. It is great to see people dreaming big!