Friday 21 December - Midlothian VA to Charlotte NC

Short entry today - it could be titled "Another Day Another State". Philip thought it was apt after his recent Facebook post about a certain Evita song that he should include the picture below in today's blog entry.

Another suitcase in another hall!

The only reason that the suitcase is actually appearing is that there are warnings (including ones from the Charlotte Police) about leaving valuables in cars here in the Hilton carpark. We had planned to just carry up our cabin bags and leave the rest in the car which Philip, Alison and Jenny had done elsewhere without any problems. With all the signs we didn't feel confident so up cam the suitcases to our room. Alison and Jessica did it in one trip as Philip is felling miserable with his cough and after driving all day with Alison saying when will be there because the cough is driving me mad.!!!!

Stopped at a Denny's for lunch along the way and we think that our stomachs are definitely shrinking as we have trouble finishing meals - Denny's is very obliging with take out boz=xes to pack the left overs. Won't breakfast at the Hilton in the morning as there is no complimentary breakfast so we will eat on the way. The hotel room (suite) is great so we should have a comfortable night. Hopefully the sofa bed will prove to be okay for Jessica when we unfold it.

Thursday 20 December - Colonial Williamsburg

Early start this morning to meet Kai, Fen, Moli and Nai Nai (Kai's mother) for our drive to Colonial Williamsburg. Alison's turn to drive and we tailed Fen as she drove and all safely arrived at the visitor centre in good time. A long day of walking and touring old homes and other important buildings. Philip and Alison had visited this site on their last trip and Jessica was keen to see the history on display. It was great to have the Chen family along with us for the day and Alison did get some turns at nursing Moli who is absolutely beautiful.

It was Kai's mother's birthday today so after we left Williamsburg we headed into a spectacular Chinese buffet restaurant to celebrate the event. Then out to the car and the rain had arrived for our drive home in the dark. Once again Fen led us on our way and with one detour at a Pharmacy we are now home at the Sleep Inn. Philip has a cough and wooly head and ended up with the shivers and shakes at the end of the day in Williamsburg. He has dosed up with some honey based cough mixture so hopefully will get a decent night's sleep.

The other downer for the day was that Philip discovered that the polarising filter on his camera lens has been cracked and the whole family has been unable to unscrew the filter so there will be no more photos with his Nikon for the time being.

Wednesday 19 December - Alexandria to Richmond

We let the morning peak traffic clear from Van Dorn Street before setting out this morning. Had to head to a "gas" station (Philip has learnt to not ask where he can find a petrol station!) and ended up filling the tank with Premium Unleaded which still only cost $45 for 3/4 of a tank. Then on to our old favourite I-95 and south we went. Jessica nodded off as we have discovered she is prone to do so that leaves Alison and Philip able to talk about her without her hearing!!! She awoke in time for our detour into Fredricksburg. Philip and Alison had visited the Sunken Road battlefield on their last visit and Jessica was keen to see it and experience the history. It was a beautiful day for the walk through the battlefield and associated cemetery.

Wall along sunken road with red and white carnations placed for the 150 year anniversary memorial  last week

Back onto the road and a stop at Subway for lunch - love the $5 footlongs! Easy drive then into Midlothian where we are staying in the Sleep Inn and Suites for the next two nights. Yummy gooey chewy cookies in the lobby.

Over the car park is an Arby's Restaurant so Jessica and Philip investigated the menu and we all headed there for dinner. Whole chicken and four sides with muffins for $14.99 was a pretty good bargain.

We had phoned our friends here in Midlothian before dinner and organised to rendezvous at their home in the morning before we all head off to spend the day at Colonial Williamsburg. After dinner Alison and Philip decided that they would head off in the car and pay a surprise visit on Kai, Fen, daughter Moli and Kai's mum. Easy drive to their home and they were thrilled to have us call in. Kai's mum had cooked some special sticky rice balls for us so those were enjoyed with a cup of tea whilst chatting. Alison and Philip had met Kai in Shanghai on their second visit to China and then were honoured to be invited to attend Kai and Fen's wedding on Chongming Island in the Yangtze River. They also had been able to visit them in Richmond on their last USA trip.

Tuesday 18 December - Alexandria

Decided to take a slow start to the day this morning to allow the peak traffic to be out of our way before heading off. After our use of the Metro and hotel shuttle yesterday, we decided that we would head to Old Town Alexandria today and use the car. It is fairly direct using the on ramp near the Comfort Inn on to the I-95 and off at Alexandria in about 10 minutes maximum. Parked in a parking station just off King Street (the main street of the Old Town) at $10 for the day. It was lovely to walk non-crowded streets with lovely colonial buildings along the way.

Looked out on the Potomac River at the bottom of King Street and it was high tide so the river was actually flooding the road and park on the bank of the river.

Started with a little bit of shopping with a visit to a souvenir shop specialising in things relating to the presidency and the forthcoming inauguration. Purchased a 2004 commemorative White House Christmas decoration to add to our collection of decorations from various parts of the world. Philip almost purchased a mug for Mike Maclean (a Yank) whom he worked with at OneSchool - the wording on the mug "Don't blame me I voted for Romney."

We started the colonial history lesson with a visit to the archaeology museum in the old torpedo factory which also is a space for artists working in various media. Philip couldn't resist getting a photo of a panda constructed out of recycled plastic - mostly motel size shampoo bottles.

On from the Torpedo Factory for a visit to Carlyle House which was built 1752/3 for a merchant. We enjoyed an informative private tour conducted by a retired biology teacher and also managed to pick up another Christmas decoration for our tree at home from the shop in the basement. Alison also purchased two little holly decorated ceramic dishes which I am sure will be used next Christmas in the Prouten home.

Alison and Jessica at the entrance to Carlyle House

Alison and Philip had not seen this home on their last visit. By now it was lunchtime (actually close to the real lunch time for a change) and so we dined at Gadsby's Tavern. Again somewhere that the founding fathers may have graced with their presence. Then headed back up through the town to Christ Church episcopal church where George Washington and Robert E Lee both worshipped. On the walk again to another historic home which Jessica had found in the guide book - the Lee Home.

Lee Home - Alexandria Old Town

Restored cobblestone street on the way to the Lee Home

Unfortunately, it only open for tours from Wednesday. Headed back to the car and then on the road as traffic started to pick up. Tried to locate a gas station to fill up for tomorrow's departure but had no success in the direction we headed so came back to the motel and all enjoyed an obviously much needed nanna nap. Have dined on "appetising" food from the motel cafe this evening and will be on the road after the traffic eases in the morning. At least the forecast is for a clear day tomorrow which is good for driving on unfamiliar roads with an erratic Navman.

Monday 17 December - Washington DC

Breakfast at our new abode this morning. Jenny would be happy if she was still here - 3 waffle machines to use! Television news channel on with continuing coverage of the Conneticut school shooting. Unfortunately US news reporting seems to reply on continued repetition with no real changes in the angle. It will be interesting to see what comes of the renewed talk of gun control.

Took the free shuttle to the Van Dorn St Metro station and purchased our day passes. Then in to the shopping area near Chinatown so Jessica could return an item and try to find some comfortable shoes. Alison ended up with a pair of bright pink sheepskin slippers and two Godiva chocolate bars from Macy's. She was served by the nicest assistant named Sterling who was a real card as was his lady offsider and their chatter brought a real joy to our morning. Jessica also purchase a pair of sparkly shoes!!!! What's new?

Then back on the Metro and to the Smithsonian stop which exits at the Mall. Forecast rain had not arrived and so we encouraged Jessica to visit the Lincoln Memorial which had not been to on her last visit. While Jessica took a cab to do this Alison and Philip started investigating the Museum of American History.

Museum of American History (behind the trees)

Once again Philip was not impressed with the subdued lighting that they insist on using. Lunched in the museum cafe. Philip and Alison enjoyed sharing two side dishes of macaroni cheese and beans and bacon whilst Jessica built herself a salad including what she thought was fetta but turned out to be tofu!!! After our light lunch we finished ambling through all the exhibits.

Across the Mall to the Metro station with time for a few photos on the way - fog had started to settle on the area and it was hard to clearly make out the Capitol building of the Lincoln Memorial and even the top of the Washington Monument kept disappearing.

Alison and Jessica - Washington Monument in the background

Headed to Pentagon City Fashion Plaza to enable Jessica to continue her hunt for new shoes - by this stage the matter was urgent - her shoes were falling apart as she walked through the mall.

Selfie - Philip in the Macy's Ladies shoe dept

Success in Macy's and then to the food court for dinner followed by Philip heading out of the mall to a nearby supermarket for new water supplies and a special on glazed huge donuts - 6 for $2.99. We eat healthy while we travel! Back on the metro and a call to the hotel to send the shuttle and then a wait and more of a wait and then another call - "The traffic is bad the shuttle will be there soon." Shortly after the shuttle arrived and the girl who was driving responded to Alison that there was no problem with the traffic. We think that the guy on the front desk who took the first call didn't dispatch the shuttle. Anyhow we are safely home and have completed our chore for the night of a load of washing and drying.

Sunday 16 December - NYC to Alexandria (Washington DC)

The morning started off looking unfavourable for our plan to walk our luggage to the subway for our trip to the National Car Rental depot at JFK - overcast sky and the forecast of 80% chance of rain. But after farewelling the Aitken family we headed off from the hotel to the subway station some two long blocks away without any rain falling. Made it to the station and down the stairs to the platform where we were to catch a train to 7th Ave to change for Sutphin Blvd at Jamaica. Oops! There was only a C train and you guessed it it doesn't stop at 7th Ave and to compound the issue we weren't carrying any subway maps. De-trained at 50th Street and Philip approached the ticket lady at the platform entrance who recognised that he was from Australia when he repeated her instructions regarding taking an "A" train! Had to go one station further and cross the platform to catch a Howard Beach train which also connects with the JFK Air Train. Journey was longer than it would have been to get to the Sutphin Blvd station but we did it. Crossed over to the Air Train station to find that the escalators and elevators were out of service and so it was cart all the luggage up the dead escalator. A nice MTA employee assisted Alison as she tried to woman-handle two large suitcases up.

Onto the Air Tain and off at Federal Circle Station and straight down to the National Car Rental depot. Philip suggested that we might need a larger vehicle than the Chevrolet Impala that we had booked to fit our luggage. The man on the desk asked if we would like to upsize to an SUV and Alison mentioned that we had a Ford Edge last time we had used National so we ended up with a bells and whistles Ford Explorer for $15 extra per day as return customers. It is a "little" bigger and wider than the Ford Escape we drove to Chicago but Philip has coped today in wet conditions and with some narrow lanes - lots of roadwork along the main road to Washington.

Drive was fast with only showers and no slowing down until close to Washington - ended up missing a correct exit so did some detours which took us into the central part of Washington and along the Potomac behind the Jefferson Memorial. Safely reached our destination and renogiated the rate we had been originally quoted and then had time to drop of our luggage and phone friends here in Alexandria who had invited us for Sunday night dinner. Out to the car in rain, entered our destination into the Navman and headed off. Finally found their street but could not work out where their house was - the navigator would not accept that there was a 200 in the street. Phoned Patrick who gave us easy to follow instructions and lo and behold we were parked behind their car in a very narrow one way street within minutes.

Enjoyed a lovely dinner and great conversation with Patrick and Hester and also time with their daughter Hattie (Alison felt really special when Hattie agreed that Alison could read her bedtime story). Alison did a great job of kookaburra impersonations as part of one of the stories that she read! We were listening on the nursery monitor at the dining room table. We also enjoyed patting Patrick and Hester's dog Leo and Maddi a pug whom they are minding at the moment. Had great conversation around the table about the political and education systems in our two countries.

Set "Chuck" the navigator for our return journey and fortunately the rain was not too heavy so we made it safely back to our abode at the Comfort Inn where we are now settled for the night.

Saturday 15 December - NYC

Started the day with breakfast at a local cafe with the Aitken family and then headed off to visit the New York Historical Society museum near the AMNH. Enjoyed a well made multi-media film presentation about the history of New York city and the special exhibit on New York during WWII. Then off to the downtown area to visit the Merchant's House Museum. This house was home to the one family from the mid-1800's and on the death of the last daughter in the 1930s the home was turned into a museum preserving much of the original layout and furnishing.

The next plan was to visit a display at the museum at Central Station but there was quite a queue so we decided to give that a miss and head on foot to Fifth Avenue and up to Tiffany & Co to pick up a previous purchase that Jessica was having engraved.

Alison picks up a younger man at Tiffany & Co. Note how her jacket and scarf match the Tiffany colours.

Fancy Christmas snake decoration at Bulgari across the road from Tiffany

 The shopping crowds in Fifth Avenue were horrendous and Alison and Philip both came to the conclusion that their time in NewYork was ready to end. Thankfully we are scheduled to pick up our car and head to Washington tomorrow.

Late "dunch" or early "linner" of salads from the same cafe where we had breakfasted and then a nanna nap for Jessica and Philip while Alison re-packed for tomorrow. Tonight Alison and Jessica have headed off to Broadway to attend a play starring with Katie Holmes while Philip watches television.