Annapolis

Finally did the 45ish minute drive up to Maryland's capital of Annapolis on Saturday 29 December 2007.

It is a pleasant old small town with a population under 40 000. Being winter, it wasn't overly busy but most businesses etc still seemed to be open. We had a nice sunny day which was perfect to walk around the shops, small lane ways and historic house rows just off the City Dock area. Much of the tourism info for Annapolis highlights the cruises and the Naval Academy there but given it was only a day trip, we didn't do either of these.

We went through the Maryland State House which is still the seat of government in Maryland and has a number of historic claims to fame. Interesting building without being mind blowing!

Overall just a pleasant day in a smaller town.

Malcolm

(Not so) White Christmas

Thanks for all the wishes for a White Christmas but it was actually relatively warm, maximum temperatures around 10 - 15 degrees Celcius.

The Washington Post kindly summed up our (pretty poor) odds on Christmas Day with the following article under the heading of 'Dream On'!:

It has been five years since snow fell in Washington on Christmas Day and 45 years since the city's record snowfall for Dec. 25 (an unimpressive 5.4 inches).
Indeed, Bing Crosby would have given up a long time ago on the nation's capital. Only nine times since 1872 have dreams of a white Christmas come true here.
Today won't be No. 10. The prediction is partly sunny with highs in the 50s.

After our snowfall back on 5 December, don't really mind as the iced sidewalks for the next couple of days left a lot to be desired!

Malcolm

White House Tour

We finally managed to get onto a tour of the White House on Saturday 15 December 2007. This was organised by an Australian living here who is married to an American. He normally arranges a tour once or twice a year for 60 - 70 Australians. Since 9/11, White House tours have to be arranged through your Member of Congress which makes it difficult otherwise for us 'non-resident aliens'. (Although I did just find that there is an online tour.)

Part of the tour arrangements are that you can't take virtually anything in with you. 'Prohibited items include, but are not limited to, the following: handbags, book bags, backpacks, purses, food and beverages of any kind, strollers, cameras, video recorders or any type of recording device, tobacco products, personal grooming items (make-up, hair brush or comb, lip or hand lotions, etc.), any pointed objects (pens, knitting needles, etc.), aerosol containers, guns, ammunition, fireworks, electric stun guns, mace, martial arts weapons/devices, or knives of any size. The U.S. Secret Service reserves the right to prohibit any other personal items. Umbrellas, wallets, cell phones and car keys are permitted.'

We headed off with just some food and drink for the kids which we could dispose of any left overs before heading in. In hindsight, we were deficient in hats, scarves and warm footwear etc! I picked up a hat at Macy's on the way over, having realised how cold the day actually was. We were still a bit early for the 10.15 meeting time, ready for our 11am tour. We didn't get into the warm security area until 11.30 by which time my hands weren't working from holding the (quite good) brochures we were given while Donna's feet were frozen through the thin soles of her shoes. The kids didn't feel a thing ...

The tour was self guided and involved following the crowds along the marked path through the various rooms. There was more to see than usual as the White House was decked up with Christmas decorations. Each year, the First Lady chooses a theme. This year the theme was 'holiday in the national parks'. The press release summarises the theme as:

This Christmas season we give thanks for our nation’s abundant blessings.
In the spirit of gratitude for our natural and historic treasures found from sea to shining sea, this year’s theme highlights America’s national parks. From breathtaking landscapes to important historical sites, generations have marveled at God’s magnificent creation and cherished memories of visits to these special places.
Our deep appreciation goes to the White House Executive Residence staff, artists from across the country, and many volunteers. Their creativity and tireless efforts have made possible this year’s holiday decorations representing our beloved parks.
We send our warm wishes for a happy holiday season full of the love of your family and friends.
George W. Bush Laura Bush

The tour book we were handed is also online and this outlines each room we visited and the Christmas decorations in each room. The paintings give a fair idea of each room. There's also some photos of the 2006 decorations available online.

The Christmas tree in the Blue Room was a highlight: 'The ornaments represent the 391 national parks, memorials, seashores, historic sites, and monuments across our country and were decorated by artists selected by the sites. Each ornament reflects the diversity of our national landscapes and the many wonderful and unique treasures found from sea to shining sea!' Although filing past meant that it wasn't possible to recognise any of the ornaments as they related to their sites.

The major highlight was the gingerbread house: 'The gingerbread house brings smiles to children’s faces every holiday season. Months of work, pounds of chocolate, countless sheets of gingerbread, and mountains of sugar went into the creation of this enchanting and edible masterpiece. This year, the south view of the White House is depicted with historical and architectural accuracy by White House Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses and White House Assistant Pastry Chef Chris Phillips. The Bush family pets - Barney, Miss Beazley, and Willie - celebrate the beauty of creation with moose, elk, raccoons and other friends from parks across the nation.'

As ardent West Wing fans, it was great to finally see inside the White House. Albeit through the East Wing rather than the bit we are more familiar with through the tv series! Probably because of this, the tour was a bit less than we were hoping for. Think that a guided tour may add some extra value. While the tour book did explain a bit about each room, I couldn't help wondering what some of the other paintings etc in the room etc were. They do recommend visiting the White House Visitors Centre first but I've always avoided it due to having the pain of security checks to go in. We did visit it later and found it a fairly depressing place. Basically a large barn-like space with what look like temporary exhibit screens put up as a quick response post 9/11 but which haven't been improved on since. But another one ticked off the 'must visit' list!

Malcolm

Snow!

We had our first snow fall in Washington on Wednesday 5 December 2007. There was just the odd flake falling when I went out to get the paper at 6am. This steadily increased until we had fairly constant snow falling through out the day. It was probably 10pm by the time it stopped.

Not much settled in the city, other than on trees, garden beds, etc. We had about 4 inches settle at home. It was very dry, powdery and soft. Although the kids and I managed a snow fight, it wasn't even possible to get it to stick together in a snowball. Liv did manage a little snowman.

Thursday and Friday saw ice on the sidewalks which made walking around a bit difficult. We also found that the kids were supposed to wear snow boots to school when snow was on the ground. Kieren had to stand with some of the other boys who didn't have snow boots on Friday morning instead of playing. He seems to have had just as much fun and wasn't too traumatised! Saturday morning saw us out Rockville getting everyone equipped for snow if we see it again. We were all set for keeping everyone dry and warm but hadn't allowed for snow. No wonder we're spending so much money here!

Photos of the snow around home are online here.

Malcolm

Thanksgiving

Bit late but a quick post about Thanksgiving back on Thursday 29 November 2007.

Thanksgiving here is a bit like Christmas lunch in Australia. Everyone gets back home if they possibly can and has a big turkey dinner. Donna was concerned about how many millions of turkeys were being consumed on the day, not counting 'May' and 'Flower' who were pardoned by Bush and spend the rest of their life at Disney World in Florida. So we Australianised the meal a bit with chicken and lamb.

Was also a good four day holiday. We did a few small trips around the Washington area. On Friday, we went into the city where I went to the Corcoran Gallery to see the Ansel Adams and Annie Liebovitz photo exhibitions. Adams exhibition had some earlier and later stuff which I didn't think were examples of great work but did show his full career. Overall though the exhibition I saw up in Rochester was superior. Also had the benefit there of only a few people being in the gallery compared to having a big line up to wait through before I could get into the crowded gallery this time.

Donna took the kids into the National Geographic Museum. The main exhibition there has changed to one on critter cam which seems aimed more at 10 - 13 year olds. The kids renamed it the 'museum which used to be the fun museum' and looks like we won't have to take them back there again!

Another thing that we noticed as different was the numerous requests we received for donations of various kinds. We made 3 or 4 food donations, as well as a couple of shoe boxes of toys to end up as Christmas gifts for kids. There's a lot more emphasis on personal donations here, partly reflecting the hole left by the government in this area. But it doesn't have the positive of making you realise how well off we are compared to others living in the same area and that you can help out.

Malcolm

What do Americans think of Bush?

I think that has to be the only question that I've been asked more by Australians than 'do you like living in America?' since we've moved here. It has usually been accompanied by something along the lines of 'do they realise what a ... he is' (insert your own derogatory term here).

I've generally avoided answering, while noting that I'm yet to meet anyone with a positive word to say for their President and his record. I can now just point to a recent Washington Post / ABC poll. You can read the full Washington Post article 'Poll Finds Americans Pessimistic, Want Change War, Economy, Politics Sour Views of Nation's Direction' or just skip straight to the poll results 'Washington Post-ABC News Poll: One Year Out, a Desire for Change'.

To summarise, Bush must be envious of Johnnie's worst approval ratings ...

Malcolm

PS The answer to the other question is yes, we are enjoying living here!

Halloween

We haven't been able to move lately for the piles of Halloween catalogues coming in the door's post slot; the pumpkins on all the front porches (including ours); the goblins and witches in front yards; the decorations in the shops; and the kids' invites to Halloween events.

Yes, unlike Australia, Halloween is a major major event in the States. Of course Olivia and Kieren are excited just at the thought of that much sugar ...

The first event was on the afternoon of Sunday 28 October 2007. This was an event run by the Australians in Washington Association at the Australian Embassy. Have never seen so many 3+ foot tall Spidermen running around! Olivia dressed up as a black cat and Kieren wore his vampire outfit. All the kids had a great time making goodies bags, decorating plates and biscuits, making bead bracelets, playing, colouring in and having pumpkin and spoon races. Not to mention the heaps of food and the candies that filled their goodies bags at the end of the afternoon.

On Wednesday, both kids had Halloween events at their schools. Olivia went as a witch for her parade and then a party. They made bat clothes pins, a Jack-o-Lantern (Olivia's orange was decorated as a cat), cookie decorating and candy bag decorating. Somehow the cookie never made it home! Kieren made his own clown dress up for their parade and then had a party with Halloween food and goodie bags. He tells me they also did more stuff but details are obviously classified ...

On Wednesday night, Olivia dressed up as a witch and Kieren as Batman and they headed off with Donna around 6pm to a neighbour's house where the kids ganged up to go trick or treating. I stayed home to answer the constant demands. Doorbell didn't stop from about 6.15 to 7.30 with marauding but well behaved kids having a wonderful time, some of them sugar assisted. Kieren stayed in a group with Donna and had enough by the time they got back here and was quite happy to stay with me and move into dispensing candy mode. Olivia's group took a bit longer but she had enough by the time they got to our home as well. Between them, they had about one and a half of their Halloween pumpkin candy buckets full of candy. Most of the other kids seemed to end up with their containers full. Have to wonder what happened to all that candy afterwards!

Houses around here and everywhere we've been for the past few weeks have been decorated up with skeletons, witches, goblins, ghouls, spiders, webs, pumpkins, graveyards, etc. Nearly as big as Christmas house decorations back home.

Malcolm

Cox Farm

Both Olivia and Kieren had school trips to Cox Farm on the morning of Thursday 25 October 2007. Coincidence that both ended up going on the same morning and they don't seem to have seen each other there. We weren't sure that the trips were going to be on as it was the wettest and coldest morning that we have had for some time. The rain didn't end until lunchtime Saturday by when 4 inches had fallen, breaking around 35 prior rain free days.

Donna to tell us what happened ...

Fallingwater and Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania

As Olivia had a day off school, we decided to head up to Pennsylvania on Friday 19 October 2007 to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater as a prelude to a weekend of seeing the fall leaves.

Fallingwater is often written up as Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece and the most famous house in the States, if not the world. So when we learned (1) about it and (2) that we were living only 3 1/2 hours drive away, it was something we had to do while in the States. Visiting was problematic for us as kids under 6 aren't allowed on the tours. We also didn't book months in advance so couldn't do the longer tour (less people, can take photos) so booked the regular tour. Intention was that one of us would look after Olivia and Kieren (Fallingwater has a family room even if they no longer offer childcare as they did up to five years or so ago) while the other did the tour and then swap.

Was a reasonably pleasant drive up. We stopped just short of Fallingwater at the Ohiopyle State Park visitor centre. The lady there gave us some good tips on areas to visit around there. Unfortunately was raining then and when we came back through the park later so didn't see much though looked like a place where could spend some time enjoying the scenery and hiking etc.

Fallingwater is one of the best laid out tourist sites I've seen. Someone actually followed the theory and placed the visitor centre away from the attraction. You then get a greater sense of the house as you walk towards it. Guess it to be about a 800m walk through some rainforest and gardens. Visitor centre is also quite open with the tour info in the centre. Food (real food rather than the fries, hot dogs and sodas usually sold in the States as well!), 'museum shop', restrooms and the family room extend off that central platform.

Olivia read the sign on the way in (who decided to teach 6 year olds to read!) and worked out that she was old enough to go through. So we bought her a ticket and she came through with me on the first tour. Although we had pre-booked time slots, they were good in just grouping people up as they arrived so we didn't waste time waiting.

Still struggling to work out what I think of the house itself. Wikipedia summarises some of the structural problems with the house with the two articles from Structure magazine they provide worth a read.

House is obviously unique. Lot of the furniture etc struck me as more sixties (good sixties, not bad sixties!) rather than coming from the 1936 - 1939 construction years. Wright was a genius to come up with the concept but I have to take marks off for the poor execution of many of his ideas. The water leaks in areas of the house were still obvious, despite big improvements in recent years. Things like the giant round kettle for mulled wine over the main fire that was too big to heat anything were repeated through the house as good ideas badly executed. The lack of flyscreens which the Kaufmanns fixed after a year of having everything that flies being inside the house. The carports provided instead of the requested garages which Wright refused to include as they only collect clutter. True but you have to live in a place as well!

But those things don't take away from the brilliance of the location and design. The incorporation of the sound of the stream through the house and the general feeling of openness, especially in the main living area were fantastic. Tend to forget how radical the lack of walls and defined spaces were at the time. The incorporation of the rocks in the fireplace and the screened steps down to the stream point towards the genius end of the scale. Even the low ceilings in the bedrooms did work to keep me walking, wanting to get out onto the terraces.

This extract gets to some of the conflicting feelings I have about the building:

'Fallingwater has suffered from an extraordinarily minimalist attitude towards detailing on Wright's part that affected everything from the reinforcing of the main structural members to the provision of adequate flashing at doors and windows. In some cases this can be understood in terms of a desire to have interior and exterior space appear to be continuous and completely uninterrupted by any obvious mechanical intervention. But in others, as with the skimpy application of reinforcing rods, one can only deduce that this was a building where Wright was not only pushing the envelope but also relishing the risk-taking involved. ... Taking into account Wright's own description of it as "an extension of the cliff" shaped to "the music of the stream," Fallingwater, as his name for it implies, becomes an abstraction of the natural environment represented in architectural terms, a phenomenon having a temporal as well as a spatial dimension.' (Ezra Stoller, Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, 1999, p8)

While a bit harsh, if counterbalancing the converts' articles, I couldn't help enjoying and agreeing with this Frank Lloyd Wright Isn't God article!

In summary, wouldn't have missed it and am still fascinated by its contrasts. Olivia tells us that it was her favourite part of the weekend. After our tour and some lunch while Donna toured inside the building, we did the kids' tour around the grounds and the outside of the building. This was well set out to highlight the aspects of the natural landscape which Wright brought into his design. Started raining more heavily while we were doing this which just added to the fall colour and spectacular setting that the property offers.

Leaving Fallingwater, we drove back into Ohiopyle State Park to take a back road to Somerset where we were booked into a Holiday Inn for the next two nights. Went through some beautiful forest areas along Sugarloaf Road with lots of colour, although obviously not yet at their peak. View from Baughman Rock was impressive even in the rain. Even if not as colourful as the photo we saw earlier at the visitors' centre of the view at its peak colour. Apparently Columbus Day long weekend is normally the best time in that area but peak this year is likely to be at least a week further away, reflecting the hot dry period we are experiencing.

Also visited the first three of many covered bridges on the way - Lower Humbert Bridge, King's Bridge and Barronvale Bridge. While they tend to be more utilitarian in design in this part of the country, found that their location low down over streams tended to get us onto the smaller back roads and darker areas where the leaves had more colour. So was a good way to get off the beaten track. We were guided by a covered bridge tour brochure that we picked up at the visitors' centre. What it didn't tell us was that the covered bridges were built to extend the effective life from the 9 years of a normal wooden bridge to more than 80. Many that we saw had either recently been renovated, were in need of renovation or were under renovation. After the debacle of not being able to find lighthouses in NY State, The Most Scenic Tours in America book also redeemed itself on this trip, with the covered bridges being where they were supposed to be and even signposted in most cases.

A top day was capped off with a good chardonnay and a surprisingly good meal at Ruby Tuesday's just across from our hotel.

Somerset is close to the United Airlines Flight 93 impact site on 9/11. So after keeping the kids happy with a McDonalds Breakfast, we headed out to the Flight 93 Memorial Chapel on Saturday morning. As their mission statement states: 'Flight 93 Memorial Chapel is a spiritual memorial and perpetual tribute in honor of the Heroes of Flight 93, and all others who perished September 11, 2001. The founder and Director-Curator is Reverend Alphonse T. Mascherino, an ordained Catholic priest for twenty-six years.' The monuments to the crew and passengers outside the chapel are moving, as is the Reverend's Thunder on the Mountain essay. He made the kids' day by allowing them to 'play' the chapel's organ and ring the Thunder Bell. Although this is now out the front of the chapel, not inside as the website seems to imply.

With a detour to Glessner Bridge, we then drove to the Flight 93 impact site. There's currently a temporary memorial site overlooking the impact site. Surprised at the number of visitors while we were there. The site is in the middle of some fairly open hills, with cold winds blowing across it when we visited. It is hard to imagine the events of that day. There's an American flag on a distant fence line marking the protected area around the impact zone. The emotions of those visiting this site were fairly raw all these years after.

We then headed to Ligonier for lunch, via Trostletown Bridge. Ligonier is set out around a beautify central diamond, complete with a central bandstand and a lot of colour in the trees. The entries in their Scarecrow Contest were in the streets all around the diamond which added to the town's character. We had lunch at the Ligonier Tavern after an extended wait of around an hour for a table, made the food taste extra good by the time we finally got to eat!

Took a scenic route back to Somerset and another, not quite as good, meal at Ruby Tuesday's. Bed was looking good by the end of our second long day.

Kieren's weekend was completed with the amazement of a second McDonald's breakfast. Despite taking a scenic route east and back down into Maryland, there wasn't as much colour today. We were driving more through agricultural country than the forested parks etc of the previous days. As we came down into Maryland we noticed the impact of the drought. Trees here appear to have their leaves turning brown and falling rather than producing the colourful displays we had seen in Pennsylvania.

Still quite beautiful in the Catoctin Mountains were we had lunch in Catoctin Mountain Park, allowing Kieren to find little quartz rocks in the sandy beach, and found our last winding backroads for the trip. Apparently Camp David (the Presidential retreat) is in this area. Was much warmer than the previous days as well.

Way home involved a stop in Frederick for Donna to check out a quilting shop. This was also a good excuse for a coffee before facing the traffic that always develops around DC at the end of every weekend.

Photos here.

Malcolm

Taste of Bethesda

Many of the local communities around Maryland and DC have 'Taste of' days. Saturday 6 October 2007 was Bethesda's turn. We met some friends from Canberra at Bethesda metro and headed down.

They had streets in the Bethesda triangle closed off with heaps of food stands from the local restaurants. Arrangement was to buy 4 tickets for $5 with snacks mostly 2 tickets and up to 4 tickets for more meal sized portions.

Kids also had a tattoo painted on which made their day.

Was yet another hot day so a cold beer in a local tavern was a good break from the Taste in mid afternoon!

Malcolm

New York City

Having done the State, it was time to do New York City!

We left home with Jim and Gwen at 6am on Friday 21 September to catch the bus from opposite our house and the Metro train through the city to Union Station where we were booked on the 7.30am AMTRAK train to NYC. This was a 3.20 hour trip to Penn Station where we hailed a mini van cab to take the six of us to the Park Central hotel on 7th Avenue, just down from Central Park.

Friday: Walked down 7th Avenue to Times Square via several shops including the massive Toys 'R' Us in Times square, lunch at TGI Fridays, up the Empire State Building, wandered back to our hotel via Bryant Park, the Rockefeller Centre and dinner at Applebees.

Saturday: 7th Avenue has turned into a long street market so our walk downtown was very slow. Shopping attractions of Time Square area again proved too strong to resist including the Hard Rock Cafe, until we got caught in a 2 - 3 hour downpour, partially saved by the purchase of some $3 umbrellas from an opportunistic street vendor who suddenly appeared. Highlight for Olivia and Kieren was a visit to the world's biggest Build A Bear Workshop where they eventually left with a NYC police bear and a white rabbit wearing a I [red heart] NYC t-shirt. Dinner at the Times Square Planet Hollywood, complete with souvenir purchases on the way out of Planet Hollywood and the Virgin Megastore next door concluded a long day.

Sunday: If we thought Saturday was long ... Caught a taxi after our usual breakfast at Fluffy's down to catch the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty. More souvenirs, circumnavigating the Statue and too many photos later, we caught the ferry back past Ellis Island to subway back up towards Times Square to catch the 1pm matinee of The Lion King. Rushed there, grabbed some food in the foyer and all of us enjoyed the fantastic production. We then tried to get the subway down to Ground Zero Eventually got there and walked around the reconstruction site. We should have done some research on this first as we were too late to visit the Ground Zero Museum Workshop which looked very worthwhile from what we could see in their window. After more subway dramas, we got back to our hotel and changed for a late dinner at [insert name of restaurant in theatre district].

Monday: Intended catching subway up Central Park West to 72nd Street but ticket machine was out of order and rather than walking two Avenues to buy tickets, we decided time was better spent walking up Central Park. Found the Dakota Building where John Lennon was living / shot, and visited the Imagine tribute in the Strawberry Fields part of Central Park. Walked back through the Park and the kids had a good play on one of the playgrounds in the Park. Then rushed over to FAO Schwartz toy store for a quick ten minute visit (kids played a $250 000 'walk on' piano and two more stuffed toys were added to the luggage to get home) before rushing back to the hotel, getting a limo to get all six of us back to Penn Station and the AMTRAK train back home. That trip seems to be the only time we stopped and relaxed in the whole four days. Walking into home around 7.30pm was nearly as much of a relief as was dropping the 25 kilograms of luggage that I was carrying.

Photos here.

Malcolm

Lancaster, Intercourse and Gettysburg

Donna's mad tour continued on Saturday 15 September as we visited markets and museums in Lancaster in the morning and spent the afternoon in the shops, mainly Amish related, in Intercourse.

After spending the night in Lancaster, we drove down to Gettysburg on Sunday 16 September and spent most of the day visiting and touring the Civil War attractions of Gettysburg.

Malcolm

Baltimore and Air & Space Museum (Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center)

Donna's parents, Jim and Gwen arrived in Washington late on Thursday 6 September 2007 after the usual joys of the trans-Pacific flight. Everything has been hectic and crazy since then as Donna has had the six of us on an agenda that ensures they see as much as possible and never have time to stop and enjoy themselves, or so it has seemed!

So here goes a series of short posts to start getting the blog back up to date, with good intentions of fleshing out a bit more later on ...

Saturday 8 September was planned to be a day in Baltimore. However we first had to pick up the mini van (people mover in Aust terms) from Budget that we had booked for the period over the next two weekends. With the usual efficiency of rental firms here, there wasn't a car waiting for us. We ended up being taken up to an Avis depot who matched the rate we had but it meant our morning was gone.

We still headed up to Baltimore which is around 45 minutes north of our home. Eventually found an expensive park (don't go to the Harbour late on a Saturday lunchtime!) and somewhere to eat. Wandered around the Harbour and the shops on an oppressively hot / humid day when we were all glad to get back home.

On Sunday 9 September, we headed out towards Dulles Airport to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum. Collection was impressive with the first large hangar having three levels of aircraft and suspended walkways to see them. There's also a large collection of aircraft engines. Collection includes an Air France Concorde and a 'Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest jet in the world'. (Yeah right, a 40 year old design hasn't been improved since - I don't think so!) The second hangar has a space theme, with the space shuttle Enterprise taking centre stage. This one was used to test atmospheric flights and landings and was never taken into space.

Sunday ended with a street party in Underwood Street, complete with a DJ, BBQ dinner and kids' entertainment.

Malcolm

Build A Bear Workshop

Monday 3 September is Labor Day public holiday here in the States. To keep the kids happy at the start of the long weekend, we took them out to Montgomery Westfield on Saturday afternoon to Build a Bear Workshop.

This is a shop designed to extract maximum bucks from parents. ;-) Basically the kids select a bear 'skin', take it to get it filled (including a heart and a 'voicebox' which the kids can record); name it on the shop's computer (which records your contact details of course); dress it; accessorise it; and let the parents pay for it while the kids enjoy reading their bear's birth certificate.

We managed to get out fairly lightly with just a dressed bear each and some vague promises to return in the future. Olivia has of course picked out extra accessories for Laura Bear while Kieren thinks Liam Triceratops needs a skateboard to make his life complete.

Photos are here - nothing like buying a kid's smile!!

Malcolm

Olivia' (Second) First Day in First Grade

Monday 27 August 2007 was back to school day in Maryland.

Olivia had a visit to the school the prior Friday to take her books out, meet her teacher and find her new room. She is in a class with no one from her kindergarten class which was daunting for the 5 minutes it took her to make a new best friend. There were a range of activities set up around the room, like seeing how many times you can find your name, to get the kids familiar with the setup.

Monday went fine with Olivia disappearing on the big yellow school bus with the other local kids to Rosemary Hills Elementary School. The route has been changed with additional of stops before the bus gets to her stop (still the last stop) so she's getting picked up a bit late and getting home a bit late but that's ok.

While I was home for a work hookup on Thursday night, Donna took Olivia and Kieren back to the school for a pizza and ice cream picnic night which Miss 'Social Queen' Olivia just had to go to!

Donna has also found a swim school for Olivia and Kieren so they will start swimming lessons again on Tuesdays after school. Kieren doesn't start pre-school until Tuesday 11 September.

Some photos of Olivia's first day are here.

Malcolm

New York State Road Trip: Photos

Have finally managed to get a selection of photos from the trip up.

Malcolm

New York State Road Trip - Part 5: Wrap Up

Despite Thursday 16 August being my birthday, decided I would rather drive the 8 hours straight home rather than stopping halfway in Pittsburgh. Write ups of Pittsburgh (eg Lonely Planet) make it sound like a great town but couldn't see anything there that was uniquely different enough to warrant losing a quiet three days at home before heading back to work.

First half of the drive went to plan but afternoon included a 54 minute road block for a truck accident in a work zone, Olivia throwing up three times and Kieren having a massive nose bleed. Each of the latter stops saw all the trucks I had just passed go past us again which didn't help the sense of getting home. But we finally got home at 7pm after 10 hours on the road.

So, overall impressions of the trip:

• Lake George was ok but perhaps wasn't the best choice to stay to experience the Adirondacks as too much of the land was inaccessible to us and the town was a generic tourist town rather than a more authentic Adirondack town. Although the lack of public spaces was a recurrent theme on the trip.
• Alexandria Bay was great with the pirate days (where else do you get a chance to dress up as a pirate in public!) and the ferry tour of the two castles. If could find better accommodation, would be happy to spend some more time there.
• Loved catching the Ansel Adams exhibition in Rochester.
• Seaway Trail needs much more work to develop products that allow you to find the 'attractions' along the route. Our failure to find the lighthouses was disappointing for us but atrocious for a tourist route. Wonder what they would pay me to redesign their materials for them??!!
• Niagara Falls was more enjoyable this time, being more prepared for what the Falls are about and trying to overlook the over-development.
• Driving was ok, thanks to having a GPS - would be very difficult without one.
• We would have averaged about 28 mpg (US gallons) which is around 33.5 mpg. Petrol seems to have come down in price while we were away. Was $3.05 when we left but tended to pay more around $2.95 away and then had one fill at $2.63 yesterday. Under 70 US cents per litre or 90 Aus cents even given the latest fall in exchange rate. We probably tend to travel a bit slower here as state speed limits are 55 mph and freeways are 65 mph. Usually sat on 75 on the freeways which is about 120 kmh and still had most cars go past me. Although last stint in Maryland was more like 85 mph to keep up with the other traffic in the 55 mph zones!
• The Subaru was a bit small for all of us and our gear. Wished we had brought our roof boot (or roof box as they are called here) over so we could take a bit more (eg boogie boards) and in a bit more comfort. Kids would still be able to reach each other so a divider in the back seat would also have helped at times!

Now just have around 620 photos to sort through!

Malcolm

New York State Road Trip - Part 4: Niagara Falls

We left Rochester after lunch on Tuesday 14 August and headed to Niagara Falls. While Donna was keen to follow the Seaway Trail again, I had enough of looking for invisible lighthouses so we just took the shortest route up the freeway. State troopers were everywhere on the last part to the border policing the speed limit which is the only place I've really seen it enforced in the States. The border crossing went fine so we were finally in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada which offers better views of the Falls that available from the American side.

We stayed in the Oakes Overlooking the Falls and our room had a fantastic view over all three falls. We walked down the kilometre or so to the Maid of the Mist booking offer on Tuesday afternoon. There is an upper and a lower walking track in Niagara Falls, both including many lookout spots along the way. Kodak must have noticed the falls in film revenue just from the photos they were no longer processing from Niagara Falls. Heaps of people and everyone was taking photos.

There are heaps of facts and figures available about the falls. I was surprised on my first visit in 2000 by the fact the falls weren't as tall as I expected and by the amount of development all around the Falls. There isn't a clear area around the Falls, especially on the Canadian side where development has resulted in a range of high hotels etc offering views over the Falls and a sideshow alley feeling on Clifton Hill and surrounding streets. As to the height of the Falls, the Canadian Horseshoe Falls drops an average of 57 m (188 ft) into the Lower Niagara River and is approximately 670 m (2,200 ft) wide, with a 35m (100ft) deep plunge pool beneath the Falls. Found this summary of what the attraction of the Falls is (other than it being on the US / Canadian border of course): 'About 500 other waterfalls in the world are "taller" than Niagara. The Angel Falls in Venezuela is tallest at 979 m (3,212 ft). However, some of the tallest falls in the world have very little water flowing over them. It’s the combination of height and volume that makes Niagara Falls so beautiful.' They are great but I still wasn't blown away as I was by Victoria Falls. By one reckoning, Victoria Falls is the second best waterfall in the world with Niagara Falls ranked fifth. It is impressive!

We lined up for the Maid of the Mist tour, including the lovely blue ponchos that you are issued with: 'For more than 150 years, the Niagara Falls Maid of the Mist has taken visitors through the foaming waters beneath the falls. The journey begins at the bottom of the Observation Tower, where you’ll be provided with a souvenir rain poncho. The Maid of the Mist will then take you to the base of the American Falls and then to the basin of Horseshoe Falls, through the crashing waters and massive rock formations. This half-hour Niagara Falls tour allows you to experience firsthand the power and intensity of the falls.' We stayed on the lower deck of the Maid as Kieren was a bit dubious about the trip. Olivia really enjoyed it. Kieren did until towards the end when he became unhappy at being wet, despite the water only being on his poncho. The Maid gives a good sense of the power of the water flow, with the engines working hard to just stay in place under the Falls with the roar and spray from the Falls all around you.

Tuesday was also momentous in food terms. After our Italian dinner we managed the first (and only) day on this road trip where at least one of us didn't eat fries. That is a major accomplishment here, especially in the smaller towns where the range of restaurants is much more limited than it would be in a similar Australian town. Niagara Falls didn't have any Asian (other than one Indian), Mexican or European style restaurants. Preference seems to be for huge quantities of bland (often fried) food in return for certainty in what you are getting, hence the success of the various chain restaurants. Fortunately the DC area does offer a much better range of options!

More photos and Falls viewing filled our evening as we walked back via the lower trail, paid $2 each for the Falls Incline Railway (expensive solution to get people up 100 feet but no stairs or alternative in the area so can wait up to half an hour to get up to the next street!) up to our hotel where we watched the evening light show on the Falls.

We had planned to catch up with Tom Kerr on Monday evening but his work intervened. However we followed his tip on Wednesday and drove out to the small tourist town of Niagara on the Lake with a stop at the Floral Clock on the way. Checked out Lake Ontario (again) and spent quite some time finding a car park, something the town is notorious for. Spent a couple of pleasant hours wandering the shops before caving in to the incessant demands for ice cream.

Found the Niagara Whirlpool on the way back. Signposting is all for the Spanish Aerocar so you can go over the Whirlpool so this wasn't as easy as it should have been.

Had an early dinner at the Table Rock Centre overlooking the Falls while waiting to do the Journey Behind the Falls. This involves taking an elevator down to tunnels which come out about 2/3 of the way down the Canadian Falls. There's an observatory platform(very wet!) and two direct tunnel outlets where you can just see the water from the Falls rushing down past you. Offers a great perspective on the Falls, even if Kieren didn't appreciate it as it was all too wet for him again. Was also too wet for the Sony DSLR which stopped working as wasn't as water tolerant as I hoped it was. Some drying overnight had it working again the next day, much to my relief, so I could take some more photos of the Falls from our room again. Each day we were there the mist from the Falls was greater / higher so the perspective differed.

The extra night we had to take in Alexandria Bay also benefited us in being at Niagara Falls for the Wednesday night fireworks. The Falls are lit up at 9pm each night and the fireworks this night were at 10pm. Again made the extra we paid for the room worthwhile. Although we were disappointed that our fourth phone call to room service over 50 minutes was to cancel our wine order that they had still failed to deliver. While used to taxes etc inflating costs over here, we thought the hotels' achievement in inflating the nightly charge from C$199 to C$235 with state and provincial taxes plus regional promotional fees was worthy of a special commendation!

Malcolm

New York State Road Trip - Part 3: Rochester

On Monday 13 August, we left Alexandria Bay (yay for surviving Ledges' worst room!) to head to Rochester along the Seaway Trail again.

This involved a number of smaller towns and the obligatory searches for the invisible lighthouses. Like other days, there were also a range of battlefields which we passed, many from the War of 1812 which was signposted along the Seaway Trail. However like many, they are basically fields today, some with a few explanatory materials around them. However as they didn't mean much to us, we tended to avoid them. This included a number of forts including the one at Lake George and at Oswega today.

We did manage to see some lighthouses today! Main one was the Sodus Bay Lighthouse which was accompanied by views across Lake Ontario. Our visit was curtailed by Olivia suddenly screaming and hopping around. A bee had managed to get inside her croc and bit her twice on the foot trying to escape. Some pain relief and an ice pack settled the pain and her down enough for us to continue. We are thinking of renaming the first aid kit as Olivia's pain relief kit as that seems to be what it is used for! So in our first four months in the States, both kids have now managed to get bitten by bees!

Stayed at the Clarion Hotel Riverside in Rochester. A multi storey corporate style hotel where everything worked and the beds were ok again! Like most US hotels, the room was lacking a kettle (only had a coffeemaker) and for the first time on this trip, we didn't even have a fridge in the room. Don't understand the latter when they must cost around $50 max here.

Downtown Rochester seemed to be mostly under renovation (like our hotel) or deserted (like the Midcity Plaza). Had dinner at Dinosaur Bar B Que which is a 'genuine honky tonk rib joint'! More protein than you can poke a stick at, good range of sauces from mild to very hot and good music as well. Waitress had trouble opening our bottle of wine and commented that somehow she seemed to sell a bottle of wine every Monday night. Taking the hint that we were in a beer consumption area, I had one of their 4 beer trays which is a wooden ladle with four small beers of your choice, equivalent to a pint for the same price. Excellent idea that the Brickskeller could learn from.

Tuesday morning was a split operation. I dropped Donna and the kids off at the Strong National Museum of Play which claims that it is: "(r)ecognized as one of the nation’s top museums for families and children, Strong National Museum of Play® is home to the National Toy Hall of Fame® and the world’s largest collection of toys, dolls, games and other items that celebrate play. It’s unlike anything you’ve experienced anywhere!" Not sure about the latter but the kids had a great morning.

I used my escape time to visit George Eastman House. This is the Eastman of Kodak fame and their summary of what the House is about is: "George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film combines the world’s leading collections of photography and film with the stately pleasures of the landmark Colonial Revival mansion and gardens that George Eastman called home from 1905 to 1932. The Museum is a National Historic Landmark. Mr. Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak Company, is heralded as the father of modern photography and the inventor of motion picture film."

I didn't have time to tour the place as I wanted to see the 'Ansel Adams: Celebration of Genius' exhibition: 'George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film presents the largest Ansel Adams exhibition in its six-decade history, featuring many photographs Adams gave personally to the museum. Inspired by the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ansel Adams (1902-1984), George Eastman House revisited its extensive collection of Adams’s work and created an exhibition of 150 photographs that reflects his full career. Ansel Adams: Celebration of Genius opened in Spain and has been touring the United States, breaking attendance records at each venue. Prior to its final destination in 2008 in Scotland, the exhibition comes home to George Eastman House this spring and summer, May 12 through Sept. 3. ... Ansel Adams: Celebration of Genius presents work from the 1920s through the 1960s. Featured are many of Adams’s most famous images of the American West — Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941, Mount Williamson from Manzanar, California, ca. 1944, and Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, 1927. But prepare to discover equally impressive (if lesser-known) images such as Mud Hills, Arizona or Water and Foam, or the wonderful abstract titled simply, Stained Wallpaper Near Alturas, Calif.'

I missed seeing his photos both times I've been in San Francisco (gallery closed on Sundays in 2000 and then permanently closed in 2002!) so was great to see the prints finally. Biggest impression was the difference between a direct copy of the negative of Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico and a print of that photo. The amount of burning (darkening) on the sky and the dodging (lightening) of the area around the crosses was much more than I expected. Adams always referred to his negatives as the 'score' and the print as the 'performance' but I didn't realise how much difference he made in the darkroom. Had to buy 'printed in Hong Kong' copies of Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico and Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California even though seeing originals makes the difference in these more obvious - even if they are authorised editions! Also picked up a copy of PBS's Ansel Adams DVD which was playing in the exhibition and looked quite good. A very enjoyable morning and will have to sit down with my copy of Examples: The making of 40 photographs to see if I understand it a bit more now before I see another Ansel Adams exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery in DC in a month or so ...

Malcolm

New York State Road Trip - Part 2: Alexandria Bay

With a chipmunk running through the Resort's playground remaining the only living non-bird life we saw around Lake George, we left on Friday to head up to The Seaway Trail, running along the US side of the St Laurence River down to Lake Ontario. (Given we have squirrels, a fair few birds and the odd secretive chipmunk in our Chevy Chase backyard, this was a disappointing part of our Lake George adventures.)

We drove up through the Adirondacks through Lake Placid. Looked a more 'authentic' town than the tourist shop filled Lake George township, but shared the lack of parking. Didn't see any Lake but did see the lifts for the ski jumps. Still the base for the US winter teams, no doubt with better facilities since the 1980 winter Olympics. Lots of small lakes (tarns!) on the side of the road driving north and scenery was generally much more picturesque and enjoyable than the over development around Lake George.

We commenced the Seaway Trail at its beginning in Rooseveltown. Kinda missed the town (assume it is there somewhere) and headed down to the Eisenhower Lock. Supposed to be impressive when the large ships go overhead as you drive through the tunnel under the lock. Next sailing was two hours away and was just like any other loch. Enjoyed a picnic lunch in Robert Moses State Park, after u-turning away from the $7 parking at the Park's beach.

One of the attractions of the Seaway Trail for us was the large number of lighthouses along the Trail given how much Kieren was taken by the lighthouse on Chincoteague Island. But in what was to become a theme of the trip, we couldn't find the two lighthouses down the Trail to our hotel in Alexandria Bay. This is due (we think) to a combination of the directions we have to the lighthouses being a bit general; some of the lighthouses being private so are 'disguised' from land based traffic; and the lack of access to water frontage land here for the general public. This has been another theme for us. All the land down to the water, and often over it, is privately owned with vast stretches lacking in general reserves or other public access. This is something we take so much for granted in Australia it has come as a bit of a shock to be kept off the foreshore here.

We wanted to stay for only two nights in Alexandria Bay but after around a dozen fully booked hotels, Donna finally agreed to three nights at what must have been the last room in town. We'll give Ledges the benefit of the doubt as it was the last room we would have chosen to stay in, let alone be there for three nights. Hard to imagine a more worn out room which, together with the awful musty smell, was enticement to keep us out and going for a couple of very full days. (They have some great new floating villas as well - our room was the middle one of three with the floating part sinking below the non-floating part with associated sag etc and seemed to be the only room yet to be renovated.) Having a yapping lapdog in the rooms each side of us didn't help either. Don't understand why US and Canadian hotels allow dogs in their rooms but seems to be a widely accepted practice.

We found out that the reason for the three night stipulation wasn't the room quality but the fact that this weekend was Bill Johnston's Pirate Days:

"Bill Johnston was a renegade after the patriots war, who blew up the British steamer, Sir Robert Peel, hid among the 1000 Islands, and was hunted by both U.S. and Canadian authorities. The annual Bill Johnston's Pirates Days celebration commemorates some of his exploits. Fill your senses with the sound and spectacle when pirate ships attack the village from the St. Lawrence River, as the brave villagers try to stave them off. The air is filled with smoke and the sound of musket fire and cannon, and eventually the villagers succumb as the pirates invade the town. After the mayor turns over the key to the village to the invading marauders, everyone becomes a pirate."

We headed into town for dinner on Friday night to find a packed little village with everyone wearing pirate t-shirts, bandannas and packing plastic pistols and swords. Of course some went much further in the dress stakes which just added to the atmosphere. After dinner we kitted our little pirates out in gear so they were ready for the pirate invasion on Saturday. Dinner was at Captains Landing with views across the river to Boldt Castle and the passing parade of high performance boats.

After breakfast on a picnic table overlooking Ledges' marina (out of our room!) we headed into town for the kids to join the craft session. When it was time to leave for the kids' parade into town, lead by the British soldiers and with a fair sprinkling of full on pirates as well as all the parent and little pirates, our kids were the two that didn't want to leave making their pirate ships! Eventually dragged them away but they were straight back into it when the parade arrived back at Scenic View Park. The promise of lunch and the fact that everything was being packed up around them finally got them away. They got involved in a number of street skirmishes on the way back into town, mainly with grandparently type pirates who were having as much fun as the kids with their toy swords. After lunch we watched the pirate invasion and fighting with the guards leading to their capture of the key to the city. Cannon and musket firing added to the spectacle which concluded with the pirates throwing their captured booty (bead necklaces) into the crowd. Was a good fun day enjoyed by all and the lack of pirates on Saturday evening resulted in a noticeable deflation in the spirit of the town. Though hopefully the tills of the local shopkeepers who support the events kept ringing. Sales of pirate gear on Friday night were crazy!

On Saturday afternoon, we drove a bit further down the Seaway Trail to explore the smaller towns of Fishers Landing and Clayton. We again searched in vain for the promised lighthouses as well. In Clayton we even had a street name which Lizzie directed us to but no lighthouse was to be seen. Shopping in touristy shops and an icecream had to suffice before returning to Alexandria Bay and dinner at Captains Landing again.

On Sunday we went on Uncle Sam's Cruises' Singer Castle Tour, which was the primary reason for choosing to stay in Alexandria Bay. This was a three and a half hour tour down the St Laurence River, through many of the Thousand Islands (actually close to 1800 islands but was too hard to rename the dressing when they finally did a complete count) to Singer Castle. Frederick Gilbert Bourne made his fortune selling Singer sewing machines on the first time payment plan of $1 per week for 42 weeks. Impressive castle and grounds which were bought by a German investment group a couple of years back for $1.7m and with $2m spent on them since. Now up for sale for $25m with an offer of $17.5m having been received. Lot of original furniture from Bourne and his youngest daughter who inherited the property still in the castle which added a lot to the understanding of how they lived. American beaux-arts architect Ernest Flagg (1857 - 1947) designed the Castle after inspiration from Sir Walter Scott's novel about Woodstock Castle (1832) in Scotland. The design follows the descriptions, right down to the secret passages and portraits with eyes cut out to allow spying into the room!

The tour then took us back up the River to what is the central focus point of tourist operations in this area of the river – Boldt Castle. George C. Boldt made his fortune as proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. He bought Hart Island, renamed it Heart Island and had the shape changed to resemble a heart. Boldt Castle was designed as a token of his love for his wife. However she died before the Castle was finished. The story is that he then sent a telegram instructing all work to cease and he never set foot on the Island again. The Castle was allowed to run down until the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the property in 1977. All revenues since then have been used to gradually restore the Castle. The ground level has been largely taken up to the marble etc standards that were intended with much of the other floors still suffering from weather and vandal damage. The externals of the Castle are now weatherproof and the three main outbuildings are back in pretty good condition. There is also a massive boathouse on the shore opposite the Island which took much of his fleet including a tall masted steam yacht and a range of wooden speedboats which he chased speed records with.

The range of private boats on the River are also worth noting. Twin 454s in large speedboats were fairly common although outdone by the numbers of jet skis. The tour guide on our ferry ride was telling us about one guy who has twin helicopter engines in his catamaran! The money involved was amazing, as no doubt is their 'gas' bill. The filling station at the marina opposite where we breakfasted each morning was flat out on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Day concluded with the kids getting their swim in the hotel's pool before dinner in town. It was a great stay in Alexandria Bay, spoilt only by our hotel room and the aching backs given to us both from the awful mattress and pillows.

Malcolm

New York State Road Trip - Part 1

We drove out of our driveway at 8.50am on Sunday 5 August 2007 for a planned road trip up through the Adirondacks, along the Seaway Trail to Niagara Falls and then back home again.

Sunday was our major driving day of the trip. Close to 7.5 hours up to Lake George. Drive wasn't too bad with only a couple of delays due to traffic. Route took us through the outskirts of New York City (could see the city centre skyline to the east of us) which we thought may have been a problem but was fine. We did note some differences between the route from our TomTom GPS (Lizzie) and the printed directions from Google Maps. We tend to think that Google is a bit more up to date given one spot where we could just have used an exit to get straight onto a major highway rather than the multiple turns that Lizzie presented us with.

Rather than traffic, it was the tolls which surprised us. In the 424 miles, we went through 4 tolls for total charges of $16.85.

We were booked into the Colonel Williams Resort from Sunday to Friday. We were a bit dubious as the place has a range of reviews online from excellent to atrocious. We now are in the excellent category as the place is spotlessly clean, quiet and has a great playground, games room and pools (although inside pool is a bit cold, made up by a crystal clear warm outside pool). The bad reviews are due to run ins with the owner who has imposed more than the usual range of rules around the place eg quiet time from 10pm to 9am and no juice boxes (as they stain the carpets when kids inevitably spill them). While a bit over the top and we have been aware of the 'watching' happening around the resort, the end result has been a very pleasant stay.

As part of recovering from Sunday's drive and the cooler weather (ie couldn't wear shorts and t-shirts!), Monday was a quieter day. Drove around the Lake a bit and tried to get our bearings. Blown away by some of the houses around Lake George, down to the covered boat houses complete with a big modern speedboat and a historic wooden speedboat.

On Tuesday we took the kids to The Magic Forest which is a kiddie fun park. Place was a bit tired and some more maintenance would have helped. But the kids didn't notice any of that and had a wonderful day running around from ride to ride. Wasn't crowded so virtually no waits added to the fun. Also had animal enclosures, including deer and reindeer, complete with namings as each of Santa's reindeer. Some of the other attractions there were of historic significance, including Snow White from the 1934 World Fair in NYC and the world's biggest Uncle Sam from a 1981 show somewhere. We also watched 'The Magic of Jimmy Brown' magic show and then walked down to watch the US's only diving horse. You had to be there for that one ... Some of the design of the places was a bit dated, like the 'safari tour' on a train behind a covered old tractor past a heap of plastic animals etc around the bitumen trail. Dinner was at Caldwell House just a short walk up from our resort. I had scallops stuffed with clams etc. Beautiful and the fact that they were stuffed should indicate that they were a size above Tas scallops. It only took three to make a meal. Understand they were from Boston.

Wednesday was supposed to be fine but the overnight rain continued a bit later than it has to date so we had fog around the mountains. Decided to keep going on our planned cruise around Lake George on the Mohican. This was the only trip that goes around the full Lake, just under 5 hours to cover the navigable part of the 32 miles of the Lake and back. Got to see a lot more of the Lake and the development around it. Most of the Lake edge has been sold off over the years so it is hard to access the Lake edge from the land unless you own or are staying at a place with water frontage. Apparently water frontage is currently going for at least $10000 per linear foot. Most of the old mansions have had most of their associated land holdings sold off due to the value. Many of the islands on the Lake are either privately owned with homes etc on them or owned by NY state. Most of the latter are designated either day picnic areas or camping usage - about $18 per night. Money and popularity of place has had an impact. They are now building up on the slopes around the Lake so even the natural areas around the Lake don't have unspoilt vistas. There is one island on the Lake owned by the Nature Conservancy(?) which is kept totally natural and no usage is allowed. Natural areas here are densely packed forests of a fairly uniform dark green. Found it makes a sameness so not great for photography. That sameness made the length of the tour a bit long, although going back through the original millionaires row shows that this has been a resort area of choice for over a century now. Lake was also busy with their boats today. An area where those with money come to enjoy and relax! We saw a flock of Canadian geese during the tour. This is only noteworthy as there has been a near total absence of wildlife, other than a few flies, seen in this area. Presumably a factor of human development but even the lack of bird life is strange. There is also a large climate variation which may have some impact. In winter, the Lake is under around 3 foot of ice which is also why most of the businesses and homes here are only open over the summer months.

Thursday saw us heading up the mountain just behind the township, Prospect Mountain. Was $6 per car which gave us access to the road, 3 overlooks on the way up, the parking area just below the summit and then a shuttle bus (complete with video commentary) for the final part of the trip to the summit. Reward was views down over Lake George, albeit obscured by trees in many parts. The afternoon was spent back at the Resort where the kids had a great time playing on the playground and in the pool.

Malcolm

Summer Camps

Donna needs to tell us about Olivia and Kieren's experiences at summer camp over the holidays ...

Nothing much ...

Pretty well sums up what we've been doing the past couple of weeks. Just living in America and doing what you do when working etc.

Can report that an American 'cookout' is pretty much identical to an Aussie BBQ. Went to both two weekends ago. Aussie one on the Friday night was at home of some friends from the Embassy, mainly AFP and Defence related families. American one was at a neighbour's who invited those from a couple of houses in all directions around him in the street. Apparently he does this a few times a year. Was very appreciative of being invited and we all had a good night. Met a few neighbours we hadn't met before including one who has that wonderful invention of the teenage daughter who babysits! Their Hawaiian holiday overlaps with our upcoming holiday but hoping to provide her with some employment when we return.

Other than that it has been work, summer camps, playgroups etc while Donna has been busy planning our trip away which we'll post details of as we do it, assuming we have Internet access on the road. Getting accommodation was problematic as most of the US and Canada are on holiday at the moment, being the middle of summer and school holidays. Their equivalent of our Christmas to Australia Day period.

Malcolm

Chincoteague Photos

I've just uploaded the highlights of our photos from our Chincoteague Island trip.
Malcolm

Ocean City and Chincoteague Island

We took a short break down to Chincoteague Island from Friday 13 to Monday 16 July 2007. After the hassles of the past four months in moving and settling, it was well needed and deserved!

Drove down via what started as a nice coffee break at a kids play area near the bridge in Cambridge. This went downhill after Olivia got a major splinter in her big toe and I had to operate to extract it. Found some limitations in our first aid kit's operating tools which we will have to fix asap. Visitor Centre there was quite good and picked up all the Maryland brochures we should need for the next year.

This was on our way down to Ocean City, Maryland. Think sideshow alley permanently based around the boardwalk on the side of the beach. If your imagination fails, check out the webcam. We didn't have time to do the full sideshow ride thing but just walking up the boardwalk and checking out the shops was educational enough. Kids were in child heaven!

Lunch was followed by Olivia finally getting us to cave in and buy her a webkinz - the latest toy designed to be irresistible to kids and extract $ from parents. This one is sneaky enough that the website log in only lasts 12 months so you then have to buy another one ...

Kieren strongly wanted to play some games along the way back instead. That ended in tears as he obviously expected to win something in everyone he played. Of course the opposite happened. May have been educational, memory may not last long enough ...

That all took longer than we expected so arrived at Chincoteague later on Friday night than planned. Checked into our room at the Best Western which was the best place we could get three nights at with short notice. Room was ok, albeit with limitation of the four of us in two beds in one room. But the included breakfast was worth it, esp the Belgium waffles that you made yourself - pour in the batter, close the lid, flip the pan, wait for the alarm in two minutes, peel it out and cover in syrup. For those without super sized appetites, one was enough.

Dinner Friday night was at what used to be the Island Family Restaurant and was now Mr Baldys. Our short trips book recommended this one as an inexpensive family restaurant. Food was ok but Donna was less than impressed by the basic decor and the non-existent wine list.

After breakfast on Saturday morning, we headed into the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. After our $10 weekly entry fee, we walked over to the Assateague lighthouse. Climbing the 172 steps was made more difficult by children who were worried they were going to fall between the steps but some pacification got them to the top, albeit with Kieren tucked under my arm for a few flights. Good views from the top including our first view of the ponies.

We visited the visitor info centre on the way in which was set out quite well. The kids didn't want to leave. Had lots of interactive displays, videos etc plus we watched a deer fawn outside the centre for some time that was happily grazing through the shrubbery.

The ponies are what attracts visitors to Chincoteague. Marguerite Henry's 1947 children's book 'Misty of Chincoteague' was written around the ponies living on the Island and the annual pony penning when they are herded up and brought into town. Foals are sold to benefit the local fire brigade who own the grazing permit and 150 are returned to the Island. One of the best examples of destination marketing I've seen where people go out of their way to see a herd of slightly small feral horses at a distance.

We didn't see any ponies on the way in. This included attempting the woodlands' walk which includes a viewing area. Despite being drenched in repellent, the ferociousness of the mosquitoes drove us (and many others) back before getting that far. We drove into the beach at Tom's Cove but were driven back from there by the hordes of cars, beach umbrellas and people packing the beach area. Not our idea of going to the beach. We were saved on the way back by a herd of ponies coming in close to the roadside viewing area so we got our token view of the ponies.

Lunch was at the Famous Pizza and Sub Shop Family Restaurant, another recommendation of our short trips book and again a bit lacking in ambiance. Seeing a pattern yet?

Back into the Refuge after 3pm when you are allowed to drive around a small loop. Saw some birds that were new to us although common to locals. Also saw a herd of deer which we watched for a while. Kids were more excited by going for a swim in the hotel pool afterwards!

Spent a lot of time looking for the Landmark Crab House for dinner. Address in our short trips book was wrong and after trying another couple of restaurants that were booked out, managed to get a table after a 20 minute wait at Don's Seafood Restaurant. Bit better restaurant and at least had a wine list. Crab cakes weren't as good as those from last night, which weren't as good as those I had for lunch in Ocean City.

Sunday was intended to start with a visit to the Chincoteague Pony Centre. After being hit by the 'closed Sunday' sign, we ended up playing a round of mini golf followed by bumper boats where the kids managed to get us as wet as they could manage. Kieren was particularly expert in deliberately driving his boat under the centre fountain to get Donna drenched. I didn't give Olivia that much control of our boat ...

After a bit of tourist shopping, waited for ages for lunch at the Sea Star Cafe, which was a sandwich place recommended by our short visits book. Again, underwhelmed by the place. There must be a good eating place on the Island but not sure we're going to be here long enough to find it ...

A quiet afternoon around the pool was followed by dinner at the restaurant across from the hotel which the kids had wanted to go to ever since we arrived. After the fare of the past few days, I quite enjoyed my McDonalds' Asian salad. Suspect some of my criticisms of the other eating establishments are related to the seasonal nature of the Island's tourism. They are massively overcrowded in summer, including the 40 - 50 000 who watch the pony penning next week. Population in winter must be down to the 3 - 5000 permanent residents. Even the salt water bays freeze over, with the ice thick enough for boats not to be able to get around for a few days at a time.

The early dinner was to facilitate our booking on the sunset cruise on the Assateague Explorer. This was basically a blast down past the lighthouse to where we could watch a herd of ponies grazing at the treeline some 100 metres or so from the boat. Rather than looking for other things to show us, the anchor was thrown in and we sat there for about half an hour. The ponies did get closer and I did get the best photos I have of them from the trip. We did see some egrets and a black skimmer while there. But rest of the 90 minute trip was the blast down and back, with the hint that they did see a pod of dolphins on the previous trip. A bit more variety and less pony time would have made it a much better tour.

Monday was our last day of enjoying the Belgium waffle breakfast. Went back up to the Pony Centre for the kids to have a ride. Rather than the lush grass in their website photos, it was more the parched earth of post drought Canberra. Three rounds of a small enclosure for $6 each which kept them happy and the Centre rich. Was somewhat less than the 5 minutes for $5 that the stupid short short visits book sold the place as offering.

Four hours including lunch got us back home, not including a local shopping trip to pick up some super glue after Kieren's lighthouse fell out of the car door and the light broke off, but at least it was still working and salvagable. The driving made it a tiring weekend despite being only around 220 miles each way which traffic made around 3 1/2 hours, and about an hour longer to go down via Ocean City. Didn't help that there isn't much to see from the car, with the major exception of the 4.3 miles of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Malcolm

July 4th in DC!

To celebrate the USA's 231st birthday, we headed a block down Connecticut Avenue to Williams Lane for the local parade. They thought it was the 35th or 36th consecutive year that this event has been held in Section 5 of Chevy Chase. Kids had their US t-shirts on and bike / scooter decorated up in the red, white and blue, while we were more circumspect!

Event commenced with us all singing The Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful and God Bless America. Fortunately they handed out song sheets before hand so we weren't left looking too stupid! Three trucks from the local fire station then led us down Williams Lane to Brookville Rd, into Thornapple Street and Thornapple Lane, before ending in Underwood St. Parade seems to be a loose term for 'let's all walk together and have a good time looking after our kids'.

Jumping castles, baseball throwing speed competitions, pony rides, star red, white and blue cookies, popcorn and drinks awaited us. Was a great local event, all free, and very relaxed. Lots of the local kids are around the age of ours so a good time was had by all. Got some tips from a couple of local bike riders and found one worked in the same building as me! Olivia tells me she rode Hershey, Oreo and Shorty - completing the trifecta of ponies.

Had tornado alerts (one hit DC a few years back) and severe thunderstorms warnings tonight. Reports of large hailstones around and everyone was evacuated off The Mall where they had been camped out all day for DC's fireworks show tonight. Had nothing more than a few drops of rain here though some discussions about whether the new car would fit in the garage if we cleared it out did happen.

Besides not having to brave the crowds, we have been treated to fireworks around our house the last two nights. On Monday night, Donna and I watched the Connecticut Country Club's 20 minute firework show out the deck doors from our bedroom. On Tuesday night, the four of us walked up Connecticut Avenue a couple of blocks to watch the Chevy Chase Country Club's 20 minute show. TV tonight is showing fireworks from around the country including DC and New York so we'll settle for those.

Photos from the parade are here.

Malcolm

Finally - a car!

After a month living in DC and a month of renters, we finally bought a car on Sunday. Delay was related to need to have a local licence to get insurance and you can't drive a car off the lot without insurance.

It is an one owner white 2000 Subaru Outback with 54000 miles on the clock. Looked at newer ones but this one was best buy and had lowest mileage. Has ABS, airbags, air con, winter pack (heated seats, heated external mirrors and heated wipers) etc. Only thing that shows its age is the radio cassette. Did look at a 2002 Limited with 71000 miles, which I liked, for not much more but was going to take a couple of weeks and a lot of running around to transfer rego from Virginia to Maryland - worth a lot to have the dealer do that for us, esp when we don't understand the system here.

Arranged insurance yesterday (can't drive it off the lot without insurance!!) Only 6 month contracts here and quotes from $450 to $1400. Many companies are not prepared to cover us while Donna doesn't have a US licence, while others won't provide cover until we both have 3 years of US driving experience. The cheap one we signed up for gives us 30 days for Donna to get a local licence and we'll probably do that on Friday.

Picked it up at lunchtime yesterday. They detailed it and resprayed the rear bumper which had the odd mark from 7 years of parking and putting things in and out of the back

Then went to talk to some guys about a towbar (I mean a 'hitch receiver'!) to fit the bike rack. Can only get 1 1/4" hitches for Subarus while my bike rack needs a 2" hitch. Still thinking about whether to just install the towbar and buy an adaptor or buy some racks to carry the bikes on the roof. Both aren't ideal options.

Best Buy have a free same day install on CD players as long as spend $99 this week so went up to update the radio cassette. Bought a new deck but installation guy was so rude I took it back. Now thinking we might just buy a $20 cassette adaptor for my iPod to get us through the longer trips this year.

Suspect will be up for a new battery soon (it is 4 years old) but that's all that I can see wrong with it. Hopefully it won't break down and prove me wrong! Only has a 30 day 1000 mile warranty from dealer. Many seem to be fitted with new brake rotors around 70000 miles so hoping this one lasts out our ownership. Has had new pads fitted all round.

Didn't get a mechanical check as that is pretty well already covered in the Maryland rego transfer process which is basically a multipoint checklist that the car has to pass. Also has to pass an annual emission test which it did in May which again shows the engine should be pretty well ok.

Photos are here.


Malcolm [who is hoping he doesn't come to regret those positive words about the car ;-)]