Day 31 - 16 Oct: New York, NY, to Trumansburg, NY

After deciding that the New York Pass was good value and booking a three-day one last night, I walked from Tan & Dan's place on West 72nd Street down to 48th to pick up the passes, then back to 52nd to pick up our hire car for the next four days. Waited for half an hour to get seen - Dollar service really rubbish - but finally drove away in my red Nissan and managed to negotiate NYC traffic back to the apartment. Rather pleased with myself, especially getting round Columbus Circle.

Back at the apartment we threw our stuff into the car and set off for Trumansburg, up state in the Finger Lakes region. About four hours' drive, we arrived at exactly the same time as Alex & Jim, who we hadn't seen for eight years. The AirBNB house on Cayuga Lake Tan had organised was just gorgeous when we got there, the lake like glass.

This picture doesn't really do it justice - the lake is very long and relatively thin, about 2 miles across, so this pano has totally distorted the view. I took this from the end of the jetty, so unfortunately you can't see the gorgeous boat house, either. The whole place comprises three buildings - main house, little beach house and the boat house.

The water was so clear and inviting that the boys couldn't resist going in, even though they hadn't brought their swimming stuff and we warned them how cold it would be. They didn't last long, but good on them for doing it.

Spent a fantastic evening with marvellous old friends, playing this very silly game...

..and went to bed far too late and far too drunk.

Day 30 - 15 Oct: Washington, DC, to New York, NY

Finished packing up our stuff this morning then took a quick trip on the Metro back into Virginia to have a look at the Pentagon and The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.

Pretty amazing place – the biggest office building in the world, with 17 miles of corridors, five sides, five stories, five ‘rings’. We’d had a good view of it from 500-foot up the Washington Monument yesterday but it was good to get up close.

The Memorial is rather beautiful, in an elegant, simple way – 184 ‘benches’, set out in rows according to the birth year of the victim, orientated to either face the Pentagon if they were on the Flight 77, or away from it if they were in the building; 59 of the former, 125 of the latter.

Perhaps most moving is the presence of the five first benches, separated from the rest by quite a gap, representing the five children who were on the plane – sisters of 3 and 9 years old, and three 11-year-olds.

Having listened to the audio tour and had our moments of reflection, we went back to the hotel and picked up our stuff, got back on the Metro and went to Union Station to catch the train to New York City.

Got there a bit early and so spent an hour reading the news and stuff, then went out to get on the train to find it absolutely pouring with rain. We’ve been really lucky with the weather so far – very little rain apart from when driving, and managed to avoid the tornado affecting large parts of the country not far from us. Checking the weather once the train got going we found that an inch of rain had fallen in DC in 30 minutes while we were happily sitting in the station, and that there was a major weather warning for the area between Washington and Baltimore – exactly where the train was going! Didn’t affect us, but it was pretty wild out there.

Arrived safely at Penn Station in NYC and managed to negotiate the subway during rush hour with all our luggage – not fun, but we did it – and found our way to Tan & Dan’s awesome apartment on 72nd Street. Spent a lovely evening catching up and planning the next week, half of which will be spent up state and the other half cramming as much as we can into three days in NYC.

Day 29 - 14 Oct: Washington DC

Pretty busy day making the most of our time in DC.

Jumped on the Metro and went to the main Smithsonian building in The Mall, known as the Smithsonian Castle.

This has mostly information and a gift shop, but also had a fascinatingly bizarre collection of exhibits, including such things as a piece of the Berlin Wall, a piece of the Bastille, a piece of George Washington’s coffin and a piece of Joan of Arc’s dungeon prison.

We decided the National Air & Space Museum would be our first port of call, so headed there and got on a brief tour of the space part, which was excellent. They’ve got three actual command modules from the space program – the one that was used for the first US orbit by John Glenn, the one that was used for the first spacewalk, and the one that went to the Moon. There are also life-size models of Mars rovers and stuff, rockets…and an actual piece of Moon rock which you can touch! A really good morning.

Also saw the actual, genuine, original, Wright Flyer.

From there we went outside to eat our packed lunch, and go on an historic carousel...

..and sort of stumbled across a sculpture garden. I’m no art expert but I do like a nice sculpture, especially Henry Moore. This garden had heaps of his works…

..and a whole bunch of Rodins, too.

Plus a couple of other works that I really liked.

We then wandered to the National Museum of American History, where Finley and I had briefly stopped yesterday. This time we had a good look through the ‘America at War’ section, learning about the War of Independence and the Civil War especially. Didn’t get any further than that as it was so detailed, we were in there for quite a while and had had enough by then. Very good though, and very, very interesting.

Finley wanted to go up the Washington Monument, so we headed there next, only to find all the (free) tickets for the day long gone. But as we sat there lamenting the situation, someone came by giving away spares, so we grabbed four. They were for the 2:30 slot and it was 3:00pm, but we managed to get up what was the tallest building in the world when it was completed in 1885. Special view from the top, obvs, and a really great perspective on the amazing scale of Washington and its buildings.

Time was getting on by now and we were pretty knackered, so we strolled down to the Tidal Basin and visited the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial.

Having visited so many other places which were significant in his life, it was moving to see this great monument to him, and read the many inspirational quotes engraved there.

They certainly know how to do a monument here – this one is to Jefferson and is on the other side of the Tidal Basin from the King one.

Walked back to the hotel then with the intention of having a quick swim, but unfortunately the outdoor pool is closed at this time of year. So after a freshen up we jumped back on the Metro and dropped in at the National Portrait Gallery and Museum of American Art. We only had half an hour before it closed, so grabbed a quick look at the contemporary section, which was cool.

Then got some dinner in Chinatown and headed home, via Ford’s Theatre, where Lincoln was assassinated. After today’s history lesson it had much more meaning for us, and the tragedy of his untimely death was brought home.

Packing tonight as we leave for NYC tomorrow.

Day 28 - 13 Oct: Washington, DC

Ruth took Dylan off to the medical centre this morning to see if some alternative antibiotics were needed to sort out his throat. Diagnosis not clear but different drugs obtained, cost not excessive and not the whole day wasted.

While they were out doing that, Finley and I walked through town to one of the many (19?!) Smithsonian buildings to get some information and have a quick look. Went to the American History Museum and had a look at the transport through the ages exhibition, among other things, then headed back to the hotel to meet the others.

They were back, so we went out together then and jumped on the Metro to Capitol Hill. Found the dome encased in scaffolding, but it was all nonetheless very impressive.

No food or liquids were allowed through security, so that made our decision for us as to whether to have a look inside. Wandered around then down to the US Botanic Gardens, which were stunning.

Carried on through The Mall to the National Museum of the American Indian. The building itself stands out amongst all the neoclassical grandeur, designed by a team of American Indian architects and striking in its difference. Forgot to take a photo of the outside...

We could have spent hours in the museum, but with Dylan still not well and the day getting on we took in the introductory film and had a look at some of the exhibits, then jumped back on the Metro to go home.

After a quick dinner from our 'kitchen' we walked the other way from the hotel into Georgetown for a look and to try to find some dessert. Some great shopping, a cool area, but everywhere was either full or no good, so ended up dropping in at Trader Joe's for ice cream and beer, and made our way back to the hotel.

Hoping for better weather tomorrow - it was grey all day today and raining for some of it. Ruth and Dylan got very wet coming back to the hotel, Finley and I managed to miss the worst of it. Tomorrow's our last full day in DC so lots to do. Disappointed tonight to find out that the bike share scheme here doesn't cater for kids - not surprising but still, a shame.

Day 27 - 12 Oct: Max Meadows, VA, to Washington, DC

Another mammoth driving day in pretty awful conditions.

The first half of the ~300 miles was more pouring rain, fog, crazy drivers...but we got off the interstate as soon as possible and took more minor roads with fewer trucks (but more traffic lights). Actually made reasonable time, especially once the rain eased up, and got into DC by 3:30pm.

We're staying three nights at One Washington Circle, a not flash but really fine hotel in the Foggy Bottom area, very close to all the 'attractions'.

After settling in I dropped off the hire car at the airport and made my way back to the hotel on the Metro, while Ruth and the boys went shopping for groceries. We have a rudimentary kitchen in our 'suite', so intend to eat in and save some dosh.

So after dinner, which Dylan again couldn't eat due to the pain of his throat, we went for a walk. Thankfully his tonsillitis isn't dampening his spirits too much - he's being a real trooper, and only gets down when the painkillers wear off and/or he has to try to eat.

We walked down Pennsylvania Avenue and around The White House...

..then down to the Washington Monument, and through Constitution Gardens to the Lincoln Memorial.

It was all suitably impressive in the dark (although not very good for photos, sorry), and the last particularly powerful, with such famous words etched into the stone, the scale of it all so grand, and the view back up over the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument so famous and evocative of great events, particularly Dr King's most famous speech.

Taking Dylan to the medical centre first thing in the morning.

Day 26 - 11 Oct: Atlanta, GA, to Max Meadows, VA

Today was all about pancakes, shopping and driving.

We basically had to get from Atlanta to Washington, which is a bloody long way, so had booked a hotel halfway between the two at a salubrious spot called Max Meadows in Virginia. It was going to take at least five hours to drive there, and we were heading north-east from our digs in Buckhead.

We'd been looking for an opportunity to do some shopping - the boys were desperate for a pair of Converse baseball boots each, which we were hoping would be a bit cheaper here than in Aus - and we had found out there was a massive mall sort of on the way to MM. And sort of on the way to the mall there was an IHOP, another thing we had been trying to fit in.

So pancakes first up, and delicious they were, despite the surly service.

Then shopping. The mall was huge with loads of great shops having serious sales, so we spent something like three hours there, basically getting footwear and jeans. The boys got their Converse (bargains were had), Ruth & I got two pairs of shoes each - she some extremely cool Converse boots and lovely Timberland sandals, and me some very nice Timberland boots and some Adidas Superstar II shell-toes (for $23!!!) - and we all got Levi's jeans (one of us several pairs).

All in all, a very successful trip, albeit somewhat longer than we'd intended.

So we weren't on our way to MM until nearly 2:30pm, and as we got into North Carolina the skies started to darken. I had checked the weather forecast the previous day and noted a weather warning for Tennessee, but as we were only skimming by the very easternmost part we didn't worry. However, as we climbed into the hills on the 23 and crossed the border of NC and TN, it looked like we were driving into Mordor, the sky was so black and ominous. The 70 or so miles we did in Tennessee were horrendous - pouring rain, huge trucks, idiots in massive 4WDs or pick-ups tail-gating despite the conditions - not fun at all.

It eased up almost as soon as we got into Virginia, but returned later so that by the time we got to the charming hotel, I was exhausted. It was a particular shame that the conditions were so bad all day, because the landscape we travelled through was beautiful, especially so because of the stunning autumn colours. We tried to take a few photos but they just came out grey.

It was dark and late, but we had to go out again to find food... Went to a very dubious-looking Italian where we were the only diners, the hostess was even more surly than our IHOP waitress this morning, and the decor was rough, to put it mildly. But the food was actually OK.

Dylan's tonsillitis is not good. He's been on antibiotics (which we brought with us) and painkillers for a few days now but isn't showing much sign of improvement. Poor thing, he can't really eat anything as his throat is so sore, and to make matters worse he has a mouth full of ulcers - due to a lack of vitamin V(egemite)?! Definitely thinking we'll need to make a trip to a medical centre when we get to DC...

Day 25 - 10 Oct: Atlanta, GA

With Atlanta being the home of Coca-Cola and it being on our route, we thought we'd best drop in to The World of Coca-Cola. I have to say that it was more interesting than I expected, and with it being such a globally significant brand with a very long history, there is actually quite a lot to say about it. So we spent a good couple of hours watching old ads, learning about Coke's creation and how the business progressed (which is, in itself, quite interesting), hearing about the various competitors, claimants and fraudsters, watching cheesey promotional videos and tasting numerous products from around the world.

'Beverly' from Italy was definitely our least favourite. I certainly didn't expect to taste anything in there that made me go, "Oh my glob...YUK!", but it did. I don't even know what it was meant to be, but it was gross.

The boys had fun mixing different things together and seeing if it was still drinkable. Only partial success there.

After riding SkyView Atlanta, the obligatory big ferris wheel, we walked to the Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site, around the house in which he was born and the lived for the first 12 years of his life.

The area includes a very informative and moving Visitors Center, and the Kings' tomb.

Walking back to Downtown I got played on two occasions by guys who obviously know the kind of tourists who come to see this slice of history, but never mind.

Returned to Buckhead to take the opportunity of the first well-appointed kitchen Ruth's had at her disposal for several weeks, and had a marvellous home-cooked meal, something we've definitely been missing.