Liberty and Ellis Islands: 28th Sept

Liberty Park is where we walked on our first evening, and is so called because it overlooks Liberty Island and the Statue of. Conveniently for us, the boat for Liberty Island leaves from Liberty Park and takes only 15 minutes. Here we are below, nearing landing.

The ticket includes entry into the statue, the base of which is full of exhibits and history of the project. It was a gift from France to the United States, dedicated in 1886. Close-up, the statue is huge and a great feat of design and engineering that involved the skills of Gustav Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame. It is made of copper so needs elaborate support and strengthening. An exact replica of Liberty’s face, next photo, about 10 feet tall, is shown in the exhibition hall.

In every party of tourists who snapped the face, one of the group posed with his/her fingers or hands shoved up Liberty’s nose. It’s a shame that the nose couldn’t be electronically programmed to sneeze just as the photoflash went off. The strong face is supposed to be that of the statue designer Bertholdi’s mother.

It had a major refurb in 1966 due to corrosion and many bits were replaced with more durable modern parts. This is the original torch, obviously replaced by one with longer-life batteries

The boat calls at Ellis Island on the way back. Ellis Island was the check-in point for most immigrants to the US between 1892 and 1924 when the open door policy changed. Steerage passengers only, the poorest but most numerous, were processed here: first and second class were dealt with at other venues in New York. 12 million immigrants were landed on the island between these dates, and each one was vetted for health, financial and political suitability before being permitted to enter. About 2% were rejected and repatriated.

This is the building through which all hopefuls needed to pass, viewed from the landing stage.

The registration hall was on the first floor with the officials’ desks at the far end. The old photo next is of this same hall in working order.

The building is full of memorabilia and photos showing the vast spectrum of prospective settlers from all corners the globe and revealing the desperate poverty many sought to escape from. There was some light relief, however, as in the plaque below:

It is said that 40% of Americans can trace at least one ancestor from their immigration acceptance at Ellis Island, so the facility is an important part of US history, and presumably that is why it has been so well restored. It also houses the immigration records that can be accessed on site or by internet.

Arrival at The Big Apple: 27th Sept

This is us at the campsite in Jersey City, just across the Hudson river from Manhattan. “Looks like a car park”, you might say. In fact, that’s what it is. Ambience is sacrificed in order to stay in the closest campground to New York City. Actually, it was very quiet, with 24-hour security and excellent transport links to all the attractions by train or boat.

We arrived early enough to take a stroll in Liberty Park near the campsite. It’s a large, flat, well-tended greenspace, running back from the waterfront. And what a view of Manhattan! The park itself is similar to nice parks everywhere but what is unique is the New York skyline, so that’s what we’ll feature in the following shots, with a brief description.

Empire State Building, a bit further away in mid-town Manhattan, just as the light’s fading.

Brooklyn Bridge with schooner sailing past.

Nightshot of Manhattan, atmospherically shaky (unintentional).

We also came upon this memorial in the park to 9/11. The two stainless steel columns point across the Hudson river to the precise location of the Twin Towers in the World Trade Center. The twisted girders in front are from the wreckage of the Towers. The name of each person who perished is engraved on the insides of the two steel columns, to which there is full public access. It was powerfully simple and moving.

The National Civil War Museum

The museum is in Harrisburg, the state capital of Pennsylvania. We’d heard of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, but not the capital Harrisburg. Maybe that’s because it’s never featured in a popular song or been a product (Philadelphia cheese). But it was in the news in 1979 when Three Mile Island nuclear power station caused America’s worst radiation contamination leak. Three Mile Island is 3 miles downstream from Harrisburg, hence the name. We drove past it on our way to the museum and it seemed to be fully operational. Nothing to see now, of course, apart from prize luminous vegetables in all the gardens.

Back to the museum. It was built in 2001, a handsome building in parkland overlooking the city. It sets out to explain the origins of the war, the conflict, and the aftermath. It begins with an examination of slavery and how it was fundamental to the southern way of life. The slave auction poster below shows how negros were traded like any other commodity. Difficult for us to imagine how this was a part of everyday life.

War came in 1861 following the declaration of separation from the Union by South Carolina, followed initially by 6 other states, and then others after the war had started. Their reasons for taking this extreme step went beyond the slavery issue and was really to avoid domination by the economically stronger and more industrialised north. In its early stages, the war paralleled the First World War and was seen as something of an adventure, as reflected by the recruitment posters.

Again, as with the First World War, the reality was anything but romantic. The war was fought with increasingly modernised weapons that could, and did, decimate troops charging at one another. An example of this weapon development was the rifle, photo underneath, with a modern copper-cased cartridge and good rate of fire.. The war had started with muzzle-loaders that could have come from Cromwell’s army two hundred years earlier.

To give some idea of scale: more American died in the Civil War, some 700,000 of them, than in all other conflicts added together. More than half fell to disease, but were still deaths equally attributable to the war.

And how did we rate the museum? Well, it could have been better. Sound effects are great in proportion, but these weren’t. Simulated cannon fire from the battle of Gettysburg drowned out the soundtrack of a southern lady describing the slave plantations, all to a further loud background of songs of the day (e.g. John Brown’s body). It sounded like pub kickout time on Saturday night in Huntingdon. Much too distracting when trying to absorb the text alongside each exhibit. No café or fast food either, very un-American, and a lost opportunity for marketing Gettysburgers

Amish Country: 22-26 September

We’re heading north towards New York. Our halfway pause is here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This is an area settled by the Amish religious sect in the early 18th century to escape persecution in Europe. Their belief is broadly Lutheran and they keep modern society at arms length by living a lifestyle of yesteryear, so no motorised equipment or electronic gismos. The majority are farmers and work only with hands and horsepower. They travel around by buggy, as per photo below, even on main roads used by juggernauts (and rv’s!). Scary stuff.

They also use bikes- or is it a bike? Where’s the saddle and the pedals? Can’t get too close to take photos as it’s against their beliefs- photos of people are deemed to be worshipping graven images. Must let them know that my snaps aren’t really of worshipping quality.

Later, I see one of these “bikes” parked up against a fence, and find it’s actually an adult scooter. They seem to travel as fast as bikes.

The Amish also work in and run a few shops, although these are mostly operated by their parallel, but less strict, brethren, the Mennonites. Both of these sects are famous for their beautiful quilting and this is mainly what the shops sell, together with other traditional craft products. The next photo shows such a shop, with literally hundreds of exquisite quilts on offer, every one different. Not cheap, but considering the craftsmanship, they are good value at an average of around £600 each.

Now what could blight these idyllic religious settlements? Are we looking at the evidence below of such a virus- an explosion of houses of ill-repute in the area? So many of them, in fact, that a publication is necessary to keep potential clients abreast of the many and various options available.

Don't panic. It’s actually the newspaper of a nearby small town of that name: a pretty little Amish settlement a few miles from our campsite, and which we visited. It is full of quaint shops, as per example in the next picture, and, of course, also full of tourists snapping the signs.

It’s been called Intercourse since 1814, before which it was known as Cross Keys after the village inn of that name. One theory is that the new name reflected the fact that the village was at a crossroads. All very innocent stuff, but you’ve still got to be careful. You wouldn’t propose a trip there in the same way as you might a trip to, say, Washington, where you might enthusiastically suggest, ”Darling, let’s do Washington tomorrow!”

Washington DC: Monday 19th Feb

All visits to Washington must include a photo of the Capitol and the White House. So that’s the Capitol above, and a very beautiful, large, impressive building it is. The cornerstone was laid in 1793 by George Washington, and the original structure has been modified and extended several times since, also surviving a British attempt to burn it down in 1814 that was foiled by a rainstorm. And here’s the White House:

Our pal Barack wasn’t available, so you’ll have to make do with us in the foreground. Unusually for notable buildings, we didn’t find it that impressive. It looked like a slightly down-market version of Joe Bugner the boxer’s house opposite Hartford Marina. In fact, we couldn’t find it until we spotted a group of Japanese tourists snapping away at something just out of our line of sight.

The Lincoln Memorial above holds a statue of Abraham Lincoln and the text of two of his famous addresses. It is an elegant structure in its own right, but it’s usually remembered as the focal point for anti-Vietnam war protests in the 60’s and as the venue for Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech in 1963. It’s always a moving experience to be at a spot where significant events actually took place.
Now for something a bit more cookie- a message inspired by Yoko…

The buildings so far described, and many others, lay in or on either side of a quarter mile by two-mile parkland: grass, gardens and ornamental lakes. The whole thing is known as the National Mall. It includes memorials, monuments, museums and art galleries, and this is where Yoko comes in. Yoko’s Wish Tree is outside the Hirshhorn Museum, an art gallery. Of course, you’ll want to see the wish tree itself.

The wish tree appears to be gripping the chap on the left in a headlock. No prizes for guessing what his wife put on the wish label! It would be wonderful to think that somewhere these wishes were being processed, evaluated and actioned. However, me being me, I could imagine writing a wish, and then going back some months later and writing another one. This second wish would be wishing that I hadn’t wasted my time making the first wish, because nothing had happened. Anyway, we wish Yoko every success with the project.

Family Visiting

It’s a long time since we’ve seen Claire, Scott, Mathew & Katie. Got to stop yourself from saying what whiskery great aunt Maude used to say, “My, haven’t you grown”. They hate it today as much as you did. So let the photo speak for itself. Left to right: Colin, Jane, Mathew, Katie, Claire & Scott.

Their home is in a pretty wooded area, part of a small community but not far (10 miles) from a town the size of Huntingdon with a full range of shopping. There's much more space everywhere, even in a relatively populated state like Virginia.

Claire’s still got English roots deep down, and the photo of Claire’s car below is the evidence! Scott is able to do anything with cars and even had his own bodyshop/car conversion business at one time. I believed him when he said the roof took him ages.

Bloggin’ USA: September/October 2011

Departure: Wed Sept 14th

Our Virgin Atlantic flight took off from Heathrow for Washington Dulles airport at 11.40am after a slight delay. The 8 hour flight landed on time. Then through immigration, but after that we can’t find the hotel courtesy coach pick-up point. So let’s phone the hotel. No phone signal- but here comes the coach, and we get to the hotel for around 5.30 pm US time (UK 10.30 pm). Check in, meal in restaurant up the road, bed.

What is remarkable for such a long, busy day is how smoothly it all went. So a rather pedestrian start to the blog, with nothing horrendous or unusual to report. Thankfully.

Day 2 is motorhome pickup time. I’ll refer to it by the American name from here on: it’s an rv, short for recreational vehicle. We’ll perhaps call it Harvey (ar-vee). Here it is parked in our first campsite.

As you can see, it comes with lurid graphics, but the hand-over was very efficient and included a 20 minute video on how to maintain its vital functions. Get the husbandry wrong and, like a neglected pet, it becomes sick or even dies. The systems in general are the same as our caravan, but the details are all different, even the terminology. The electric hook-up cable, for example, is a “shore line”. Perhaps the rv’s amphibious? The internal heater is a “furnace”, for that extra power in case you’ve brought the horse along and need to shoe it. It’s a pretty standard layout, as the photo below shows, and comes complete with maid called Jane.

Driving the vehicle also takes some getting used to, not so much the 25 foot length or 8 foot 6 inches width, but the spongy suspension. It’s like steering a motorised space hopper. Take your eye of the road for a second and it’s lumbered into the next lane. The technique appears to be total concentration and continuous steering adjustment. American drivers are fortunately very tolerant and proof of that is the absence so far of bullet holes in the rv bodywork.