So we've been to:
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Thursday, 30 December 2010
State Map Updated
At the end of our first year in the US, we've managed to visit 15 states. I'm starting to plan next years trips already so hopefully they'll be a lot more red on the map by this time next year!
So we've been to:
So we've been to:
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Christmas in DC
We spent Christmas Day at home in DC with a couple of friends from the Embassy. We were lucky to get lots of presents sent over from the UK which all arrived on time . We were hoping for a white Christmas and got a few flakes in the morning but they stopped after a couple of hours and didn't really settle.
I cooked the Christmas dinner which turned out ok, the turkey was a bit dry but I think that's almost expected from a Christmas turkey isn't it?!
Chris got excited about setting fire to the Christmas pudding!
In the evening we were joined by a couple more friends and spent most of the time playing with Move on the Playstation, it's a bit like a Wii but even better. We were all expert volleyball players by the end of the evening!
On Boxing Day it was our friend Dave's 30th birthday so a big group of us went out for Champagne Brunch. For $45 you get a buffet brunch and as much champagne and champagne cocktails as you can handle, it was great way to spend Boxing Day.
I cooked the Christmas dinner which turned out ok, the turkey was a bit dry but I think that's almost expected from a Christmas turkey isn't it?!
Chris got excited about setting fire to the Christmas pudding!
In the evening we were joined by a couple more friends and spent most of the time playing with Move on the Playstation, it's a bit like a Wii but even better. We were all expert volleyball players by the end of the evening!
On Boxing Day it was our friend Dave's 30th birthday so a big group of us went out for Champagne Brunch. For $45 you get a buffet brunch and as much champagne and champagne cocktails as you can handle, it was great way to spend Boxing Day.
Tuesday, 28 December 2010
Mount Vernon on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is my birthday so we decided to have a day out and visited Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, the first president. It was really beautiful, he picked a good spot in Virginia to build the house right on the banks of the Potomac River.
We weren't allowed to take photos inside the house but here are a few from outside:
We weren't allowed to take photos inside the house but here are a few from outside:
Monday, 27 December 2010
Visiting the White House
Last week we got to visit the White House. It was a perfect time of year to visit as all the Christmas decorations were up, every single room seemed to have at least one Christmas tree in it. Unfortunately we didn't get to see Barack and Michelle, maybe next time...
Nice view out the window!
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
New York at Christmas
Last weekend we went up to New York to meet up with our friends Jim and Ange who were visiting from the UK. They'd been staying at our house the weekend before, then spent the week traveling around before heading to the Big Apple.
Jim booked us into a Sopranos tour around New Jersey on Saturday afternoon. I've never seen the tv show so it was all a bit lost on me but still it was interesting finding out about behind the scenes on a tv series. Jim failed to mention to me until we were on the tour that the last stop was to the Bada Bing strip club so that was an interesting experience at 5pm on a Saturday afternoon!
When we got back to Manhattan we went out for dinner then had a walk around the city looking at the Christmas decorations. The tree at the Rockefeller Centre was impressive but so busy, it was impossible to get very close to it. We walked up to Central Park to look at the ice skating rink but we were too cold to go skating so found our way to a starbucks instead for some hot drinks.
On Sunday we had a wonder around the shops then went for holiday cupcake afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton at Central Park. I love cupcakes but these were so sweet, I only managed a bite out of each of them! After our cupcake tea we walked around the shops a bit more before we said our sad goodbyes to Jim and Ange and got the bus back to DC.
Jim booked us into a Sopranos tour around New Jersey on Saturday afternoon. I've never seen the tv show so it was all a bit lost on me but still it was interesting finding out about behind the scenes on a tv series. Jim failed to mention to me until we were on the tour that the last stop was to the Bada Bing strip club so that was an interesting experience at 5pm on a Saturday afternoon!
When we got back to Manhattan we went out for dinner then had a walk around the city looking at the Christmas decorations. The tree at the Rockefeller Centre was impressive but so busy, it was impossible to get very close to it. We walked up to Central Park to look at the ice skating rink but we were too cold to go skating so found our way to a starbucks instead for some hot drinks.
On Sunday we had a wonder around the shops then went for holiday cupcake afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton at Central Park. I love cupcakes but these were so sweet, I only managed a bite out of each of them! After our cupcake tea we walked around the shops a bit more before we said our sad goodbyes to Jim and Ange and got the bus back to DC.
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Meeting the Caps
Last Friday, the Embassy invited some Washington Capitals players to the bar to celebrate the end of Movember. Quite a few men took part in Movember which involved them growing moustaches for the whole of November for charity. Chris didn't take part this year after my reaction when he did it a couple of years ago but he was so excited about getting to meet the Caps.
We got down to the bar early but it was pretty empty, there was only our little group and some guys with 'taches dressed up as policemen. We were all laughing about them saying who told them that it was fancy dress! Later the bar filled up and we couldn't see the Caps players anywhere so we assumed they hadn't turned up. The Deputy Ambassador did a little speech and introduced the Caps players who we suddenly realised were the guys dressed up! We'd been in the bar with them on our own for about half an hour before anyone else had been there, we could have become best friends with them and instead we'd completely ignored them!!
Here's Chris meeting some of his heros...
And then this link will show you why we didn't recognise them...
Caps in disguise
We got down to the bar early but it was pretty empty, there was only our little group and some guys with 'taches dressed up as policemen. We were all laughing about them saying who told them that it was fancy dress! Later the bar filled up and we couldn't see the Caps players anywhere so we assumed they hadn't turned up. The Deputy Ambassador did a little speech and introduced the Caps players who we suddenly realised were the guys dressed up! We'd been in the bar with them on our own for about half an hour before anyone else had been there, we could have become best friends with them and instead we'd completely ignored them!!
Here's Chris meeting some of his heros...
And then this link will show you why we didn't recognise them...
Caps in disguise
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Decorating the Tree
Now that it's officially the 'holiday' season here, we decided it was time to get a Christmas tree. There are so many places at the side of the road selling trees, there was plenty of choice. As we were driving to get our tree, about every other car seemed to have one strapped to the roof. This is apparently the weekend when most Americans put their decorations up. When you buy the tree, they tie it to your car roof for you, we were a bit worried, it was the first time we'd driven with anything on the roof but we made it home with our tree!
We spent Sunday afternoon decorating our tree but I was a bit disappointed with how it was looking when we finished so Chris went out to buy some more boubles and it's looking much better now!
We spent Sunday afternoon decorating our tree but I was a bit disappointed with how it was looking when we finished so Chris went out to buy some more boubles and it's looking much better now!
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Thanksgiving in Memphis and Nashville
We decided to make the most of the long Thanksgiving weekend and drove to Memphis and Nashville. We left after work on Wednesday and had been expecting really bad traffic but it actually wasn't too bad. We drove 7 hours that evening then found a motel to stay in for the night. On Thursday we drove another 7 hours and eventually arrived in Memphis.
The weather was really bad when we arrived, it was pouring with rain. We walked through the deserted downtown to the famous Peabody hotel. The lobby was amazing. There was a huge Christmas tree and it felt very festive.
We had arrived to watch the famous Peabody ducks who spend their days in the fountain in the lobby and their nights in their penthouse apartment! Twice a day the ducks are escorted up and down in the elevator and the crowds come to watch. We got a prime spot in front of the elevator but as soon as it started it all happened so quickly, my photos weren't very good.
Here's the Duckmaster getting ready to escort the ducks to the elevator...
This one didn't come out very well but you get the idea...
Then before we knew it, they were on their way up to their suite...
Ok, it's not a real hotel room. It's a more of a conservatory on the roof of the hotel with a little pond it in but they're very lucky ducks. They live at the hotel for 3 months before they retire to a farm in the countryside. We went up to have a look at the Duck Palace and there are great views from the roof all around the city.
For our Thanksgiving meal we went to the restaurant at the Madison Hotel. We had turkey with all the trimmings and pecan pie for me and poached pear for Chris. It was delicious! We went back to the Peabody Hotel afterwards for a few drinks in the bar before going back to our hotel.
On Friday we got up early and headed to Graceland, Elvis' home.
The house is actually very small but the decoration is crazy. Just like a lot of the visitors, it was great for people watching! We did an audio tour of the house and some of the buildings in the grounds. Then we also went to see his cars and planes. It was really well organised and even though I'm not an Elvis fan at all, I was really impressed with it.
When we'd finished at Graceland we decided to drive across the state border to Arkansas as it was really close. To count it as another state visited, our friends say you have to have a meal there so we had lunch at a Crackerbarrel restaurant. We usually like to try to see something touristy in the state to feel like we've really visited but with no offence to Arkansas, I think even if we drove right across it I don't think we'd have seen much more so we're counting it as visited!
Later that afternoon we drove back to Memphis to have a bit more of a walk around the city now that it had stopped raining. I think downtown Memphis has seen better days, most of the shops had closed down but there were still plenty of blues bars.
Our next stop was Nashville. It took about 3 hours to drive there. Chris had booked us into the Union Station Hotel which was an old railway station. It was lovely. We had a tiny room but it was still very nice.
We loved Nashville, it was so much fun. Downtown consists of shops selling cowboy gear and honky tonk bars. As you walk down the street, you hear so much brilliant music playing in the bars, it wasn't just country music. We had a good look around the city, saw the parthenon (random replica of the one in Athens!) and did some shopping at the lovely shops in Hillsboro.
I bought myself some cowboy boots and Chris tried on some shirts and stetsons! I know I keep saying it, but I think Nashville was one of the best places that we've visited so far and I really hope we have time to come back.
We left Nashville early on Sunday morning and drove up to Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky is famous for the derby and as we drove along, you could see fields of horses everywhere. We stopped off for breakfast en route at a Dennys as we hadn't been to one yet. It was very interesting experience, Chris had to tell me to shut my mouth as I was just gawping, watching the people walking in. It felt a long way from DC!
Lexington was a strange place. It looked like it could be really nice but it was just so quiet and there wasn't really anything there. We randomly ended up in the Pharmacy Museum, which I'm sure you would have been interesting if you were a pharmacist. Unfortunately as the only visitors, the guide wanted to give us a personal tour and we had to act interested for about half an hour while she showed us lots of old bottles of medicine!
When we finally escaped the museum we continued our journey home. It was a long drive but we stopped off for a Wendys for dinner in West Virginia (that's another new state!). After travelling through 4 states in 1 day, we arrived home at about midnight exhausted!
The weather was really bad when we arrived, it was pouring with rain. We walked through the deserted downtown to the famous Peabody hotel. The lobby was amazing. There was a huge Christmas tree and it felt very festive.
We had arrived to watch the famous Peabody ducks who spend their days in the fountain in the lobby and their nights in their penthouse apartment! Twice a day the ducks are escorted up and down in the elevator and the crowds come to watch. We got a prime spot in front of the elevator but as soon as it started it all happened so quickly, my photos weren't very good.
Here's the Duckmaster getting ready to escort the ducks to the elevator...
This one didn't come out very well but you get the idea...
Then before we knew it, they were on their way up to their suite...
Ok, it's not a real hotel room. It's a more of a conservatory on the roof of the hotel with a little pond it in but they're very lucky ducks. They live at the hotel for 3 months before they retire to a farm in the countryside. We went up to have a look at the Duck Palace and there are great views from the roof all around the city.
For our Thanksgiving meal we went to the restaurant at the Madison Hotel. We had turkey with all the trimmings and pecan pie for me and poached pear for Chris. It was delicious! We went back to the Peabody Hotel afterwards for a few drinks in the bar before going back to our hotel.
On Friday we got up early and headed to Graceland, Elvis' home.
The house is actually very small but the decoration is crazy. Just like a lot of the visitors, it was great for people watching! We did an audio tour of the house and some of the buildings in the grounds. Then we also went to see his cars and planes. It was really well organised and even though I'm not an Elvis fan at all, I was really impressed with it.
When we'd finished at Graceland we decided to drive across the state border to Arkansas as it was really close. To count it as another state visited, our friends say you have to have a meal there so we had lunch at a Crackerbarrel restaurant. We usually like to try to see something touristy in the state to feel like we've really visited but with no offence to Arkansas, I think even if we drove right across it I don't think we'd have seen much more so we're counting it as visited!
Later that afternoon we drove back to Memphis to have a bit more of a walk around the city now that it had stopped raining. I think downtown Memphis has seen better days, most of the shops had closed down but there were still plenty of blues bars.
Our next stop was Nashville. It took about 3 hours to drive there. Chris had booked us into the Union Station Hotel which was an old railway station. It was lovely. We had a tiny room but it was still very nice.
We loved Nashville, it was so much fun. Downtown consists of shops selling cowboy gear and honky tonk bars. As you walk down the street, you hear so much brilliant music playing in the bars, it wasn't just country music. We had a good look around the city, saw the parthenon (random replica of the one in Athens!) and did some shopping at the lovely shops in Hillsboro.
I bought myself some cowboy boots and Chris tried on some shirts and stetsons! I know I keep saying it, but I think Nashville was one of the best places that we've visited so far and I really hope we have time to come back.
We left Nashville early on Sunday morning and drove up to Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky is famous for the derby and as we drove along, you could see fields of horses everywhere. We stopped off for breakfast en route at a Dennys as we hadn't been to one yet. It was very interesting experience, Chris had to tell me to shut my mouth as I was just gawping, watching the people walking in. It felt a long way from DC!
Lexington was a strange place. It looked like it could be really nice but it was just so quiet and there wasn't really anything there. We randomly ended up in the Pharmacy Museum, which I'm sure you would have been interesting if you were a pharmacist. Unfortunately as the only visitors, the guide wanted to give us a personal tour and we had to act interested for about half an hour while she showed us lots of old bottles of medicine!
When we finally escaped the museum we continued our journey home. It was a long drive but we stopped off for a Wendys for dinner in West Virginia (that's another new state!). After travelling through 4 states in 1 day, we arrived home at about midnight exhausted!
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Las Vegas
I wasn't sure if I was going to like Vegas or not but I LOVED it! It is just the craziest place and is so much fun.
We arrived on Friday evening into the weekend rush hour traffic so drove straight to the hire car place to drop the car off and got a taxi to the hotel. We stayed at the Trump Hotel which we were really pleased with. It's just off the main strip and doesn't have a casino so is not smokey like the others and you can still walk around all the others and visit the restaurants.
After dropping our bags at our hotel we walked along the strip to the Bellagio hotel. We ate noodles for dinner in one of the restaurants and Chris had a quick go on one of the fruit machines in the casino. He put in a $1 and won $2.50! Then I made him walk away with his $1.50 profit and that was the extent of our Vegas gambling.
Outside the Bellagio hotel are the famous fountains. Every 15 minutes they do a show to music which I actually really enjoyed!
On Saturday we went into the Wynn hotel for breakfast. I had the best pancakes that I have ever had, they were so fluffy.
We spent the day walking up and down the strip going into the hotels and doing some shopping. It's actually a good place to shop, the shopping malls are huge. We had a late lunch at Caesars Palace then in the evening we went to see the show Jersey Boys which was brilliant.
On Sunday we had a buffet breakfast at the Mirage hotel. We both ate far too much and had to waddle back to our hotel afterwards to get our taxi to the airport. We caught our flight at 1pm on Sunday and eventually got home at midnight!
We arrived on Friday evening into the weekend rush hour traffic so drove straight to the hire car place to drop the car off and got a taxi to the hotel. We stayed at the Trump Hotel which we were really pleased with. It's just off the main strip and doesn't have a casino so is not smokey like the others and you can still walk around all the others and visit the restaurants.
After dropping our bags at our hotel we walked along the strip to the Bellagio hotel. We ate noodles for dinner in one of the restaurants and Chris had a quick go on one of the fruit machines in the casino. He put in a $1 and won $2.50! Then I made him walk away with his $1.50 profit and that was the extent of our Vegas gambling.
Outside the Bellagio hotel are the famous fountains. Every 15 minutes they do a show to music which I actually really enjoyed!
On Saturday we went into the Wynn hotel for breakfast. I had the best pancakes that I have ever had, they were so fluffy.
We spent the day walking up and down the strip going into the hotels and doing some shopping. It's actually a good place to shop, the shopping malls are huge. We had a late lunch at Caesars Palace then in the evening we went to see the show Jersey Boys which was brilliant.
On Sunday we had a buffet breakfast at the Mirage hotel. We both ate far too much and had to waddle back to our hotel afterwards to get our taxi to the airport. We caught our flight at 1pm on Sunday and eventually got home at midnight!
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Grand Canyon
On Friday we drove from Sedona up to Grand Canyon. We left early because we knew we had a long day of driving ahead of us. It took us about 2 hours to arrive at the South Rim and we headed straight for the visitor's center first to decide what to do.
We hadn't really thought sensibly about what clothes to bring with us on this trip and had just been thinking about the hot weather we were going to have in Tucson and Scottsdale. When we got to the Grand Canyon there was snow on the ground and all we had to wear was sweatshirts. Everyone else was wrapped up in their coats, hats and gloves! We braved the temperatures and took so many photos. We drove east from the visitor center and stopped at various view points along the way to take more photos. We thought the best views were from Lipan Point where you could see the Colorado River. We're planning to come back to the Canyon again at some point and I'd like to do one of the rafting trips down the river.
After leaving the Canyon we drove for about 4 hours to get to our next stop the Hoover Dam. As you cross the dam you pass from Arizona to Nevada and from Mountain time to Pacific time so that means losing an hour. We arrived too late to do any of the tours into the dam but we walked across it and took more photos.
Next we drove on to the last stop on our road trip - Las Vegas.
We hadn't really thought sensibly about what clothes to bring with us on this trip and had just been thinking about the hot weather we were going to have in Tucson and Scottsdale. When we got to the Grand Canyon there was snow on the ground and all we had to wear was sweatshirts. Everyone else was wrapped up in their coats, hats and gloves! We braved the temperatures and took so many photos. We drove east from the visitor center and stopped at various view points along the way to take more photos. We thought the best views were from Lipan Point where you could see the Colorado River. We're planning to come back to the Canyon again at some point and I'd like to do one of the rafting trips down the river.
After leaving the Canyon we drove for about 4 hours to get to our next stop the Hoover Dam. As you cross the dam you pass from Arizona to Nevada and from Mountain time to Pacific time so that means losing an hour. We arrived too late to do any of the tours into the dam but we walked across it and took more photos.
Next we drove on to the last stop on our road trip - Las Vegas.
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