Bye dog

Austinmer’s Statue of Liberty. As with it’s NY namesake, beautiful yet completely immobile.

Unacceptable. Take me to 5th Avenue

Honolulu to Kauai

It’s called the Coconut Coast for unknown reasons

Exhibit A - well behaved offspring

Waipouli Beach Resort

Waipouli Beach Resort

Manawaiopuna Falls

Waimea Canyon

Na Pali coast

Waimea Canyon

Poipu Beach

Fish frenzy- snorkeling at Poipu

Sophie - shortly before getting finger nipped!

Wailu Falls

Our next stop was the mountain of the Sleeping Giant. You need to squint a bit but you can sort of make him out in the above (like an Easter Island statue lying down). The story goes is that he protects Kauai and in days gone by when the island was under attack they’d set fire to the mountain to illuminate the sleeping giant as a deterrent.

Surprisingly our girls were undeterred from taking on the steep hike to the giant’s head (that’s his nose in the above pic) and the view at the top rewarded our very sweaty effort.

Fabulous scenery on the walk also - including an impressive stand of Norfolk Island pines. Although over here they’re called Cook Pines after the Captain who brought them here. They obviously thought naming a tree after the guy would alleviate guilty consciences for what they did to poor Jim.

This being our last day on Kauai I had another crack at renting bucks, er bikes with somewhat more success.

There’s a terrific bike trail running along the east coast - almost all flat. Which was great as one of my daughters (won’t say which but her name starts with L) has a habit of throwing bikes into the undergrowth on hills.

We were told to look out for Monk Seals. Not sure however what this strange creature was..

J

A quiet travel day gives me a chance for a natural history interlude (sorry if boring - feel free to skip!). In geological terms, Hawaii is a new born. The oldest island Kauai is just 5 million years old, (Australia is 3800 million). So in terms of weathering, erosion, and evolution it’s got some catching up to do. So soils are still super rich - full of iron which really has just recently spewed out of the earth - which oxidises to a bright red when exposed to the air.

Similarly the fauna is still just getting started. Hawaii has just 2 native mammals - the Hawaiian Bat and the Monk Seal. Lots of introduced stuff also of course - pigs, deer, cows and chickens - which as mentioned earlier are ubiquitous in Kauai. On the streets, parks, shopping centre car parks, everywhere. Apparently pre 1992 this wasn’t the case but Hurricane Iniki changed all that causing mass coup outbreaks all over the island - and that chicken genie just won’t go back in the bottle.

Our Kauai guidebook states that “Kauai roosters are particularly stupid” which sounds kind of harsh. This view seemed to be based on their predilection for crowing round the clock, but given they’ve been on the run for 26 \240years now in spite of crowing 24x7, you’ve got to wonder who the stupid ones really are.

30 minute flight back to Honolulu and then into Waikiki. Gorgeous hotel right on the beach but this place feels crazy busy after Kauai. Still - sitting here drinking a cold beer by the pool with a very chilled guy on guitar singing covers - life’s pretty good.

J

Hotel Alohani pool

Fig tree - Waikiki Beach

Unphased by the heat and buoyed by recent family trek successes we commenced the hike at the most challenging possible time - midday, thereby notching up the sweat dial to 11. Team morale however was short-lived - J: “How you doing Soph?” S: “Hot. And I hate you for making me do this”. Ok then.

I’ve got to confess that the hike to the top peak (Leahi) was pretty tough in the conditions - we all sweated buckets, and not all members of the party agreed that the view justified the exertion. But - it was pretty awesome.

Also apparent from the peak looking back down is what a perfect crater it really is. My phone camera couldn’t do it justice but the below steal from Google shows it well

Tempted as I was to suggest moving on to the even more challenging Koko Head, the body language of the team suggested that this may be unwise - and so we retired to the hotel for a leisurely afternoon of relaxing and swimming. Even M took a dip in the surf - a blue moon event in blue Hawaii.

Duke Kahanamoku is a famous son of Hawaii - Olympic gold medallist, the guy who introduced surfing to the wider world, movie star, hero (once single handedly rescuing 8 people from a sinking boat), and then sheriff of Honolulu for 25 years.

For all that you get a massive statue on Waikiki Beach, and closer to our stomachs, a famous and most delicious restaurant named after you - thank you Duke!

J.

Diamond Head Beach lookout (morning run)

Resort pool

Ala Moana Cente

Returning on the trolley bus from AMC

Feisty child

Henderson’s Wharf, Baltimore

Reflection Pool - Washington DC

Lincoln Memorial

Martin Luther King Jnr Memorial

Capitol Hill

Girls on a scooter - White House

Baltimore crab fest

Annapolis

Maryland State House - Annapolis

Annapolis

Baltimore Orioles v Houston Astros

Today was a return to Washington DC to visit a few of her fantastic museums. We’ve seriously underestimated the time required to properly visit DC - 2 half days is about 5 full days short.

James Smithson was a 19th century British scientist who despite never having visited the US bequeathed his entire estate of $500,000 (1835 money) to the establishment in Washington of an institution for the “increase and diffusion of knowledge amongst men”. And so the Smithsonian Institute was founded which now maintains 19 museums and galleries containing 156 million items - “the nation’s attic” as it is fondly known.

Time was our enemy today so we kicked off with a way too hasty visit to the National Air and Space Museum. Highlights being the Spirit of St Louis, loads of space rockets and the Wright Brothers exhibit.

Charles Lindberg’s Spirit of St Louis

Laura and our return flight plane from NY

The other great find in DC has been the rentable electric scooters. Same concept as the Sydney share bikes except they don’t all get thrown in the harbour. A big hit with the kids

Next stop was the confronting but superbly presented Holocaust Museum. No photos of this one, but it is remarkable and made a deep emotional impression on all of us.

Last stop (the day just disappeared from us) was the National Gallery of Art. Laura was most underwhelmed by the only Da Vinci in North America (so was I tbh) but the French Impressionists always a hit. Kind of satisfying \240for the girls to recognise in a Monet the Japanese bridge at Giverny and say “hey - I’ve been there!”

Less satisfying was to be reminded by Manet of the King Charles Cavalier they’re dearly missing.

And so back to Baltimore on the MARC train for our last night with Michael & Trish. Wish we had more time here but Philly and NYC are calling.

J

All dressed up and no-one to fight. Except Laura.

Monocacy field of battle

Abe delivers Civil War 101

From Monocacy we made a very quick stop at Gettysburg - a more famous battlefield of course (and about 1000 times as many tourists) and scene of Lincoln’s momentous address. At just 271 words it’s proof that a great speech doesn’t need to be a long one.

From there we turned north east passing through beautful rural country - countless cornfields and barns, and thenthe Amish towns of Bird in Hand and Intercourse (it really is hard to say that one without sniggering - let alone asking a stranger where to find it!!).

And yes - the Amish really do exist - not just in a Harrison Ford movie. And they really do have long beards and ride around in horse drawn buggies singing “tonight I’m going to party like it’s 1699”. Well maybe not that last bit.

And for a quarter you can feed their goats.

Another couple of hours and we found ourselves in Philadelphia - birthplace of American independence - and really big chairs.

J

Dicing with Danger on the Delaware

Ben Franklin bridge at sunrise

Philly is seriously rich in history - particularly for its role in America’s independence so it was another crash history lesson on a 2 hour guided tour of the old city.

Elfreth‘s Alley - oldest residential street in the US

It was in Philly that representatives of the original colonies came together for a little independence scheming in the wake of the Boston Tea Party and the poms generally behaving like prats. Getting all the colonies on board for revolution was critical - hence the below flag.

Almost everything ever done in Philly seems to get accredited to Benjamin Franklin. Founder of hospitals, libraries, universities, prolific inventor, and one of signatories to the Independence Declaration. An impressive CV.

George Washington also did some pretty impressive stuff. Including sitting in a chair later to be sat in by Sophie Stanfield.

Having worked up a good appetite we headed to Reading Terminal Market - the oldest Farmers Market in the US (this place has a lot of claims along these lines!).

A Philly culinary specialty we’ve been continually reminded since arriving in the US are “cheese steaks”. I’ve sort of been too scared to ask - is it a steak with cheese, or a slab of cheese so big it’s like steak? Turns out to be more like shredded meat inside a bread roll with melted cheese. And rather tasty too.

Whilst M and L investigated whether Philly shops are different to shops anywhere else, Soph and I visited the very good Museum of the American Revolution.

Sophie Stanfield with boat (above).

George Washington with boat (below). On his way across the Delaware to battle the German mercenary Hessians at Trenton in 1776. Almost everything in this picture (based on a famous painting of course) has been shown to be incorrect but so it goes...

And that was about as much history we could absorb in one day.

J

Except the Bell was inscribed with words from Leviticus 25:10 “proclaim Liberty throughout all the lands and the inhabitants thereof”. And so with 4 million(!) US inhabitants still enslaved, the Liberty Bell became a symbol for all of those for whom liberty did not exist. Even after the abolition of slavery, the bell continued to hold great significance for the women’s suffrage movement and civil rights activists.

Just across the road from the Bell is Independence Hall - where parliament sat until Washington DC was selected as the national capitol, but more significantly the room in which both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed.

The same Declaration by the way that said in 1776 that “all men are created equal...with certain unalieable rights...including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Slavery continued for another 89 years.

Travelling from Philly to NY by train (2 hours) costs about $US108 pp. The bus is $9. And so:

Exiting Philly on the Ben Franklin bridge.

So a few hours later (including Uber ride at the other end) we were entrenched in our new digs in Jersey City. NJ wasn’t our first choice accommodation but we’re very happy with the apartment and location. Short walk to the station and a vibrant local culture. And cool street art - if a little bleak given the Statue of Liberty is just down the street a little..

And some excellent vistas across the river to Manhattan

Everyone looking forward to exploring NYC tomorrow

J

Completed in 1931 the ESB was the tallest building in the world up until 1970 - which is pretty remarkable. It also once again (briefly) became the tallest building in NY following the fall of the twin towers in 2001. Records aside it’s about as majestic as a skyscraper can be - maybe not quite so asthetic as the nearby Chrysler building, but a NY icon.

When in New York, do as the New Yorkers do. Hot dog and pretzel time.

Unsurprisingly a walk across the also iconic Brooklyn Bridge was no remedy for escaping the masses but at least no queues involved. A wonder of engineering then (1883) and now - with each of the many thousands of metal cables made up of 19 strands, each of which is composed of 276 wires. To dispel doubts over the bridge’s stability, PT Barnum / Hugh Jackman led a procession of 21 elephants across the bridge in 1884.

Our final destination today was the World Trade Centre 9/11 memorial and exhibition. I had been reticent about going to this but it’s been done fantastically well. No shortage of patriotic red white and blue, but the full chain of events are explained in detail, and hearing the back stories of some of the 3,000 victims is heart-breaking.

9/11 Reflection Pool

It would appear every NY tourist visits Times Square and so the place is plagued by spruikers. A hot dog costs double what it does 10 streets away, and queues come ang go in all directions for discounted show tickets or whatever else is going on. “ComCon” (Comic Convention) is in town this week so there are also countless costumed fanatics everywhere.

Soph at Times Square

Significantly greater pleasures were to be found in nearby streets - Bryant Park being a quaint almost Parisian park, the NY public library with its wondrous marble lobby and vaulted ceilings, and the most stunning of all and (according to some) the favourite building of NY locals - Grand Central Terminal.

Bryant Park

Grand Central Terminal

Today being overcast with a little rain it was a good day to catch a Broadway matinee so after successfully negotiating the queue bedlam of Times Square we had a great afternoon enjoying Kinky Boots.

Manhattan is flat but after the show it was all downhill. I persuaded the family to walk from 45th st to 23rd st to check out the Highline (elevated railway converted to garden) only to discover it was closed today. Oops - sorry team. Another day.

J

The antidote for all this restlessness was clearly some exercise - cue a most enjoyable bike ride around Central Park.

Central Park is huge - 843 acres and is a welcome respite in this concrete and glass jungle. No shortage of people in the Park either of course, but the greenery and water are a much needed chill-pill for both residents and tourists.

The remainder of the day we devoted to the remarkable Natural History Museum. I thought London’s NHM was fantastic, but this possibly tops it. We spent 3 hours here - hopelessly lost for about 2.5hrs of that - but with so much to see everywhere it didn’t really matter.

It did irk slightly though when for about the 7th time we asked for directions to a particular exhibit and ended up somewhere completely different. Museum folk have either a distorted sense of humour or direction. Possibly both.

Natural History Museum

I lied (or was lied to) when I said that the remainder of the day was devoted to the museum. There is apparently always time to go shopping, which somehow found a way into our lives whilst changing trains at the World Trade Centre. The silver lining was another chance to ogle the stunning station architecture.

J

The Met

So how do I change the channel?

Not having really properly explored the interior of Central Park yesterday we enjoyed a walk through the park on our way to the zoo.

Central Park Zoo is small - however is beautifully presented and sensibly focusses on showing a small number of animals well rather than a mish mash of lots. And certainly no dancing lion called Alex per the movie Madagascar. But the penguins, grizzly bears, red pandas and sea lions were hits with us.

J.

Harlem Community Garden

$3m for a Harlem Brownstone?

Back to midtown, and while the girls squeezed in a little more shopping I finally made it down to the Highline - a 1.5 mile stretch of elevated freight railway saved from demolition in the 90s and converted into a garden / walkway.

I had seen and heard so much about this and I wasn’t disappointed - what they’ve done is remarkable.

Meeting up again in Broadway we still had time for another show (Mean Girls) - I wasn’t quite the target demographic for this one either but still very very good

And then a night view of NY from the top of the Rockefeller building.

A very late one by our standards - after midnight by the time we got home. But this being NY it never stops - subways still crowded, sirens wailing, music blasting....

J

Almost throwing a spanner into the works was the most accommodating Tiffany’s waiter offering to make it a table for 4 when seeing Sophie and I, but a dagger look from L made it clear we weren’t invited (“you weren’t dressed appropriately” she later informed us).

So banished to Central Park were Soph and I - discrimination is alive and well in NYC.

Having supped with high society M and L did us the favour of their company for the afternoon- heading downtown to the lower tip of Manhattan at Battery Park. Best laid plans of men & mice - we had intended to ferry across to the Statue of Liberty but had left our run too late - last ferry was already full.

So to the delight of our children who have grown to just love walking (“oh please Daddy - can’t we just walk instead of Uber?” - yeah right) it was an adorable stroll around the waterfront to the ferry and then back across the Hudson to Jersey.

Freedom Tower (One World Trade Centre) from the waterfront

Are we there yet? Rest break at Wagner Park

Manhattan from the Hudson

Manhattan from the Hudson - with head alignment

And that was our last full day in NY. For some a couple too many, for one another, not enough. Time to pack...

J

Catching a ferry from the Liberty Park (on the Jersey side - one benefit of staying in NJ!) we first visited Ellis Island - the immigration processing centre through which over 12 million people passed between 1892 and 1954. By all accounts the polar opposite of our Nauru strategy - not only were people welcomed but the lobby made deliberately grand to create a favourable first impression on the new arrivals.

And then to the Statue herself. A gift from the French, it came uninstalled causing all sorts of IKEA type construction issues upon arrival. Including a pedestal - for which a public appeal was successfully completed with 120,000 people contributing - most less than a dollar.

The girls were a little surprised that the statue isn’t taller (it is 93 metres from ground to torch) but even on a grey day it’s an impressive sight with the torch in her right hand, the Declaration of Independence in her left and broken chains at her feet.

And so aside from the bedlam of traffic and airports, Lady Liberty was our final view of NY and the US. Until next time.

A fun and interesting trip - although the girls would have preferred more of the former and less of the latter. There’s only so many museums and galleries that teenagers can stomach. But the whole world can’t be Disneyland and theme parks.

J