East Coast 08, part 11: Fawnd farewell

96 degrees, 67% humidity

Once again Susan and I snuck out in the morning while the kids were still sleeping. We wanted to take a look at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, supposedly the largest cathedral in the world (St. Peter’s Basilica is not a cathedral). I first learned about the massive structure decades ago in Madeleine L’Engle’s suspenseful novel, The Young Unicorns. Images of its soaring spaces, passageways, and crypts have remained in my imagination since, so visiting was a minor pilgrimage for me. And on our way to the cathedral we happened to spot the exterior of the diner where Jerry, Elaine, George, Kramer, et al went to eat or have cawfee. Nice.

East Coast 08, part 10: Bee-yoo-tee and cultcha – lawts of it

94 degrees, 64% humidity

First stop, the American Museum of Natural History, “New York City’s Top Family Attraction.” Easy to see how this place suggests itself as the perfect location for a movie like Night at the Museum (Robin Williams, Ben Stiller, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Owen Wilson). Fantastic exhibits on dinosaurs, birds, marine life, space, cultural histories, science, and more.

Our third day in New York was the third day in a row with temperatures above 90 degrees. That’s an official heat wave.

East Coast 08, part 9: Smoke on the water

93 degrees, 64% humidity

We slept in the next morning, got brunch at the local Whole Foods, then rode the subway from the Upper West Side all the way down to Battery Park. What a spot: Manhattan’s skyline behind us, boats and ships crisscrossing the Hudson and Upper New York Bay, the Statue of Liberty, beautiful New Jersey across the river, and the sounds of the city all around us.

We walked up to the site of the World Trade Center but couldn’t see much because of the construction projects taking place there. The Ground Zero Museum didn’t look like our kind of place, but we were very touched and intrigued by what we saw at St. Paul’s Chapel, directly across the street from Ground Zero. For starters, a huge sycamore tree in the churchyard took the brunt of blasts from falling debris, and the chapel remained relatively unscathed – not one broken window. Quite an image of the sacrifice of one for the preservation of many.

East Coast 08, part 8: The Big, Hot Apple

high of 90, humidity 87%

Back at the 7-11 parking lot (aka ‘bus depot’) in Richmond we found the bus. Good, good – no driver, but it’s probably easier to find one of those than to find a bus. A door in the back of a Chinese restaurant opened, revealing a small room with a mattress on the floor. “Mad Max,” the guy who drove flew our bus from Washington, DC, emerged. Alrighty, then – we should be in New York in no time. Hope that the mattress on the floor meant he’d had a good night’s sleep.

We departed Richmond about 0700 and made short work of rush hour traffic. Amazing to watch an efficient driver take full advantage of all available traffic lanes, and eliminate those silly wasted spaces between vehicles.

East Coast 08, part 7: Sic semper tyrannis

For those who may be wondering, the Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia shows Virtue, sword in hand, with her foot on the prostrate form of Tyranny, whose crown lies nearby. Virginia’s motto is “Sic semper tyrannis,” meaning “thus, ever (or always), to tyrants.”

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As I’ve mentioned before, we have more than our share of the world’s Truly Great Friends.

East Coast 08, part 6: Last day in DC

High of 94, humidity 82%

A couple of the things we did right on this trip were 1) make sure we didn’t pack our days too full, and 2) make sure we included fun stuff we knew the kids would enjoy. We remembered the old adage, “All sightseeing and no down time makes Tallulah a dull girl.”

This was our last day in DC, and Susan and I let the kids sleep in while we returned to the Holocaust Museum.

East Coast 08, part 5: Bibles, Bob Hope, and other old stuff

High of 94.5, humidity 72%

Remember the Talking Heads’ 1978 album, “More Songs About Buildings and Food”? Didn’t think so, but it would have been good theme music – at least the buildings part – for our sixth day in DC.

First stop, Supreme Court building. The Supremes weren’t in session and the place was pretty dead, so we ambled across the street to the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. Who’d ‘a thunk we’d find more ornate and elaborate architecture than we’d already seen?

East Coast 08, part 4: On the Capitol and on the bikes

High of 94, humidity 72%

Back to Patty Murray’s office for a staff-led tour of the Capitol building, which we’d heard was much better than the tour offered to the general public. Unexpected bonus: only two others showed up for our group. We descended into the basement of the Russell SOB (no – it’s for Senate Office Building)

East Coast 08, part 3: Let the exhibits begin!

High of 89, humidity 80%.

Susan and I got up early(er than the kids) and snagged free tickets for the Holocaust Museum, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the Washington Monument. Susan headed over to the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art while I went to retrieve the kids. On my way back to the apartment, a tour bus driver hailed me and asked for directions to the Capitol. We’re really fitting in here.

East Coast 08, part 2: Government at work – no, really!

High of 90, humidity 79%

Senator Patty Murray has a weekly coffee scheduled for constituents visiting DC. We joined about 35 other Washingtonians in the Russell Senate Office Building, briefly introduced ourselves to one another, and had pictures taken. After our photo op with her, Senator Murray leaned over to Zack and said, “Now the worst part of your day is over.”