Auburn, Alabama to Washington DC
Auburn, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia are in different time zones. When it is 10 am in Auburn it is 11 am in Atlanta. Had I been aware of this I may not have missed my 1 pm Delta flight from Atlanta to Orlando. Of course my $310 ticket was non-refundable, and non-changeable. When I told my sorry story to the lady behind the Delta check-in desk she was able to sell me a ticket on the next flight for only $25, bargain.
The heavy rain (a magnificent sight) delayed my later flight so that I left Atlanta, Georgia after 6 pm. At the airport I met a gentleman who organises technical equipment for conferences for chiropractors, now that is specialisation! The conversation started when we both yawned at the same time. I turned and said, “What are the chances of that?” I also met a lady, who was involved in Christian ministry to prisoners, after a discussion of what ‘zone’ we were in on the plane.
Being driven to my Orlando, Florida accommodation in a Mears Airport Shuttle, I witnessed the sunset across the landscape of lakes, grassed areas and trees1. To the other side of the road was a rainbow. My first meal was at Denny’s, where I tried my first root beer, and probably my last.
Disney World is huge, and is made up of multiple theme parks. I visited the Magic Kingdom, the main theme park in the middle of all the others. I enjoyed the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but the most fun ride was Space Mountain. This is a roller-coaster entirely indoors and in the dark. All you can see is the ‘stars in the sky’.
The Hall of the Presidents was a tribute to the Presidents of the USA, and included a short film followed by moving and speaking life-size models of every president, with Abraham Lincoln as the main attraction. For me, this demonstrated how much Americans seemingly worship their Presidents. This was the Hall of the Gods. A similar attraction in Australia would quickly be demolished through lack of patronage.
There are many other theme parks in Orlando, including Universal Studios and the Holy Land Experience.
St Augustine, Florida is an historic place, first sighted by explorer Don Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513. So there is a Spanish feel to the place. Henry Flagler (cofounder of Standard Oil) investments in St Augustine included the Hotel Ponce de Leon (now Flagler College) and the Florida East Coast Railway.
I enjoyed a horse and cart ride around the historic district of beautiful Savannah, Georgia. The streets, organised in a grid pattern, incorporate a series of around 20 squares (parks). Oak trees with hanging Spanish moss, line the cobblestone streets complimenting the many historic southern homes. I would spend more time in Savannah. Take a look at the Savannah City Guide.
Horse drawn tour of the Savannah Historic District
In design, Washington DC is like Canberra, except it would never be as hot in Canberra. The heat and humidity seemed extreme. Don’t go to sleep without air conditioning, or you’ll wake up surrounded by a sweaty t-shirt … so I’m told. As soon as you walk out the door (day or night) you are sweating. It was so hot, I had to devise an entirely new ‘cool walk’.
There were many places to see, and I saw them. On the Friday afternoon when we arrived, there was Arlington National Cemetary, and the Iwo Jima Statue. Later that night, the United States Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. The words above the Lincoln statue in his memorial are, “In this temple as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the union the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.” That’s a bit much for me. Reading the many quotes of FDR in his memorial, I was constantly amazed at what an economic illiterate he was.
On Saturday I visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, but only snapped a photo of the outside of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) building as it was closed, very unfortunate. Oh well, I already know enough about how money is made.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
While waiting for a bus outside the BEP, an American man pulled over and asked if I knew the way to Arlington National Cemetery. Being a knowledgeable tourist and wanting to help an American find his way around his own country, I showed him where it was on my map and handed it to him. He took the map, and after inspecting it proceeded to drive away with my map. Slightly confused, I followed the car and was able to ask for it back. The man said, “oh, you need that map do you?” gave me the map and drove off when the traffic was clear. Need has nothing to do with it, the map is my property. Does this guy think random Australian tourists are strategically placed around Washington to provide him with directions and a free map?
After lunch another daytime visit to the Lincoln Memorial, a gentle stroll along the reflecting pool and up the Washington Monument for the best view in town. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum provided terrific air conditioning, so I spent the rest of the day there and travelled home via Union Station.
The pace quickened on Sunday. I hopped off the Metro (train) at Metro Center, and instead of going to church, I visited the White House. (I know, call me a backslider.) A friendly American helped me with the photo, I was wearing my Mises Institute t-shirt of course, as I was everyday in Washington. Before the White House (as I was walking from Metro Center to the White House Visitors Center) on the corner of 14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, I saw a tour group, each person riding a machine called a Segway. You stand on a platform between the left and right wheels and hold onto the handlebars at waist height. It looked like fun. This could be how people travel around town in the future. The tour was operated by City Segway Tours.
City Segway Tourists
After the White House, the Federal Reserve Building, around to the back of the White House, through Lafayette Square and then a walk up 16th street (passing hotels, churches, and lobby groups). I stumbled across the Australian Embassy at Scott Circle, then turned right to walk down Massachusetts Avenue NW. A long walk, but I found The Cato Institute on the corner of 10th street. Then it was down 9th street, into Starbucks for an orange juice, more walking, and into Subway for a foot long with a side order of air conditioning. Are they trying to hide the FBI building, I would have missed it if I wasn’t looking at the map. Is the poor signage part of some sort of undercover operation?
Federal Reserve Building
Safely housed in the Rotunda of the National Archives building are original historical documents including the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and the Bill of Rights and others. This was the highlight of the afternoon. Although the documents are faded and hardly readable, many people are keen to see them. Their presentation was excellent. While in the queue, I heard many parents quizzing their children on American history, and spoke with one gentleman who takes his children to see the documents every time they visit Washington. Smithsonian Castle was closed by the time I got there.
I so much enjoyed the entire Sunday, by myself, walking the streets, exploring the sites of the capital of the world. Washington is indeed a magnificent place, well designed with many things to see. It’s like Canberra in that there doesn’t seem to be many real people living there, just public servants and lobbyists. In some ways, it’s a bit like a giant taxpayer funded theme park giving glory to government and the American presidents.
Leaving Washington DC, we spent a short few hours in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia on Monday afternoon. Before visiting, I was not aware of the significance of this place. After enjoying a cheese steak, I was exploring around the corner of 5th and Chestnut streets and walked towards and old building that looked to be of historic value, many were queuing to get in. I took a photo, just in case the building turned out to be important. The place was Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were debated and signed. Further over to the right was the Liberty Bell. But the the queue was too long for my time, so I only visited the Independence Visitor Center. Perhaps next time.
Independence Hall, Pennsylvania
Having enjoyed my short time in Pennsylvania, we headed north towards New York City, to enter Manhattan via the Lincoln tunnel.
1 The author does not claim to be able to write beautiful prose about sunsets, and this description is the best that could be manufactured given the time available.
© Danny Haynes
David G, 29 September 2005, 08:40:
Danny, you have a way with words.Tim Haynes, 5 October 2005, 09:35:
I think it’s a very American thing to think that everything is theirs. So whats a measly little map to a tourist from Australia. Just goes to show why they have no idea about Australia, they don’t know what’s going on in their own country. I would have been tempted to send him in the wrong direction, but of course I’m just too honest.