Whew and Wow! Those were my first reactions upon return from Arc’s trip to Washington and New York. The “whew” was being tired and amazed at how MUCH ground we covered in just 5 days and the “wow” was being awed and amazed at many exciting things we got to see on our whirlwind trip to two of our country’s greatest cities. Forty folks (28 individuals, 9 chaperones and 3 family members) had the experience of a lifetime seeing sites we normally only get to see on the television news.
After a fun filled bus ride with horse racing, bingo, trivia and movies (thanks to Betty, Rick and all who helped), we arrived in Washington Tuesday night. After dinner and a little shopping at Union Station, our bus brought us via the scenic route to our hotel, just over the line into Virginia, for a good nights rest.
Our tour guide, Doug Bennett, brought us to the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, the reflecting pool and Mall, the Korean War Memorial and then for an informative tour of the US Capitol. Seeing that white dome dominate the city was spectacular. Then we enjoyed lunch and time to explore the Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian. After that, it was on to the White House – while we didn’t get to see President Obama, we were thrilled to see this important historic site. After a great buffet dinner, we visited some monuments illuminated at night – the Jefferson Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Marine Statue raising the flag at Iwo Jima. And this was all on Wednesday – whew and wow!
While in Washington, we also got to take a tour mobile ride through Arlington National Summary and a chance to view the grave and eternal flame of President John F. Kennedy and his brothers Robert Kennedy and Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy. We were there for the ceremony of the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We saw rows and rows of graves of military men and women who had died for America’s freedom along with memorials to the Challenger and other space missions – awe inspiring and impressive. We explored the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian and visited the National Zoo.
If I had to pick just one highlight of this special vacation trip, it would have to be Thursday night’s dinner cruise down the Potomac River. The weather was perfect, the boat was gorgeous, and we were all dressed up in our finery for this lovely evening. While we dined on a menu that included choices of items like lobster bisque, duck with cherries and pecan, roast lamb, seafood cannelloni, roast beef, cheesecake, truffle cake and other delicacies, we watched all the sights of Washington DC glide by us – under a full moon no less. We watched many of the attractions we had visited in the past couple of days just seemingly float past as we cruised down the river enjoying time to walk on deck and dance to a three piece band after dinner. This really felt like a magical evening before we headed out from Washington to New York City.
New York City was busy, bustling and exciting as we arrived in Times Square Friday night. I have never seen so many people in such a small space. We enjoyed dinner at Planet Hollywood and time to see the famous New Year’s Eve ball in Times Square. Saturday morning’s breakfast at Ellen’s Stardust Diner was another trip highlight. All the wait staff are Broadway “wanabees” and it’s a noted local spot for talent to be discovered. As the waiters and waitresses serve and clear table, they sing and dance to Broadway songs – sometimes right on top of the tables! Our group was thrilled when the waiters broke into songs from “Grease” to us – Lisa R and Jill B said “having the cute guys on their knees beside us singing” was THE BEST moment of their trip. We also got to tour NBC Studios, tour Rockefeller Center and Plaza, watch the ice skaters, see where the Christmas Tree gets placed and visit St, Patrick’s Cathedral before we drove by Ground Zero on our way to see the Statue of Liberty. After a lunch and shopping stop at the South Street Seaport, we headed for home – tired, but with our heads spinning after all our new experiences.