East Coast Vacation

The family vacation this summer began with only a couple of objectives but ended accomplishing much more. We began by wanting to see fireworks on the Mall in Washington, DC and we wanted the boys to get a taste of East Coast colleges. Throw in some site seeing, lots of East Coast family and some 100 plus degree weather and the result was a near perfect vacation.

In DC the highlight for the boys was getting to know three year-old cousin Jack and younger brother Teddy, but the fireworks had to be a close second. The security force that encircled the Mall was stunning and the fireworks were thrilling. We sat at Lincoln’s feet with bombs bursting in air just 100 yards away. We all agreed that this was the best fireworks we’d ever seen. Not one smiley face or heart firework like we see on the West Coast....these were serious fireworks! Most of the 20 minute show was as good as the many of the finales we were used to, but the finale felt more like World War III. The added effects of patriotic music, the Washington Monument as a backdrop and the double boom as the sound bounced off the memorial to our backs made it all the more thrilling.

It’s impossible to run out of museums in DC and we took our first trip to two we hadn’t been to before: the Holocaust Museum and the News Museum or “Newseum.” There were certainly some striking moments and stirring of emotions at the Holocaust Museum, but we agreed that the Newseum was the highlight and was quite simply one of the best designed museums we’ve seen (See Kevin's Newseum Video). Later it would be challenged by Philadelphia’s Constitution Center where after an hour studying the exhibit, Dad was first to utter those famous words, “Can we go now?” instead of the kids who were fascinated and moving at a much slower pace.

For some time now the family has enjoyed an activity called Geo-Caching. This involves using a GPS and a website with posted coordinates to find hidden “treasures” literally scattered around the world. One of the codes of conduct for this treasure hunting is that you are supposed to disguise your efforts from non-geo-cachers so to protect the integrity of the treasures. The boys saw a nearby cache and wanted to hunt for it while the adults went home one night. They followed the trail and decided to take a short cut over a small hill. As they descended into a parking lot on the other side they were quickly approached by a phalanx of golf carts and people with walkie talkies. A very serious guard observed them studying their cell phone (which is also a GPS) and asked, “What are you doing” to which the boys, as good geo-cachers, answered “Nothing.” Well the short-cut was through the Department of Homeland Security’s parking lot and they were promptly escorted off the property. Unfortunately they didn’t find their cache, but fortunately their evasive behavior must have been offset by their age.

After three busy days in DC we hit the road for Pennsylvania to see both Gettysburg and Amish Country with the goal of making it Philadelphia in time for dinner. From the moment we mapped it out we knew it would be a busy day. Once we realized we were running late we considered skipping Amish Country but then decided we would stick with the plan but our goal was to get in and out of quickly. Our goal was to see real Amish, a horse drawn buggie and a covered bridge. Little did we know that this would prove harder tofind than our typical tourist destinations. The guidebook had us headed for Intercourse. (That’s Intercourse, PA which I’ve deemed the double entendre capital of the world.) But, when we arrived, we saw no Amish. Then we spotted a sign: “This way to see Amish.” Like idiots we followed the sign only to end up at a souvenir stand that if it had been upgraded would have been considered tacky. Unperturbed, however, we double backed and the car only to scream with excitement moments later when saw a horse pulling a cart. We raced ahead of the cart, double-parked so we could get a picture as the horse trotted by, only to realize that the cart was a faux Amish-for-hire cart. Merely tourist fodder. We disappointed again. I declared we needed to go “deeper into Intercourse.” Our luck quickly changed and we soon found ourselves approaching the Amish’s annual charity event. Unbeknownst to us, this was the day when they opened their doors to outsiders and before long we were mingling among hundreds of Amish, sampling their food and snapping pictures. We didn’t last long in Intercourse. We left fully sated in all respects with an unusual craving to wear straw hats.

Philadelphia included a Phillies game, a lot of living history and more cousin time with Parker. Oh yeah and 102 degrees of humid human melting heat. We realized that last summer it was 100+ degree when we were in Seattle and even hotter when we were in Rome. Thus, we concluded that we are weather cursed.

In Boston we spent three days walking the two and a half mile Freedom trail. Kevin would have loved to see a Red Sox game, but had to settle for a walk around the stadium and lunch at a neighboring bar. The team was not in town but on this sunny day the Red Sox’s minor leaguers were playing a game at Fenway. There were lots of tickets available and Kevin looked longingly at us, but ultimately he lost and we settled on a self-guided tour of the Harvard Campus.

Within minutes of arriving at Harvard it started to sprinkle. After the heat we had experienced on this vacation it was welcome relief. But then it got stronger and we decided to take cover in an archway. Soon thereafter the skies opened up and we saw sheets of water pour down joined by thunder and lightning. After about 15 minutes of imprisonment the storm subsided and we opted to continue our tour. Eve said, “that’s an interesting looking building, I wonder what’s in there?” at which point the skies opened up again making the previous downpour look like a mild sprinkle. We sprinted to the building Eve saw and managed to retain some dryness. The good news was that it was Harvard’s library with plenty to keep anyone entertained while we wait out the storm. The bad news is that Harvard is one of the few schools we visited that doesn’t let outsiders into their library. We huddled in doorways, made some new friends and ultimately made a run for the subway station. We lost. The storm created flash floods and would ultimately close Fenway (see Fenway flood) and flood the subway.

We survived the floods, the heat and three airlines and had a great time. We are experts in all three city’s subway systems and logged time at ten campuses over ten days. We enjoyed both family and site seeing and the trip was as near perfect as we could have hoped for. That said, we’re happy to be home and enjoying mid-seventies weather.

See the photos

July 15, 2010