New York and DC

Thursday and Friday, September 20 & 21, 2012:

Judy stayed up to midnight last night so she could try and get a free first class upgrade on Hawaiian (Hawn offers each Platinum customer (40 K + mi/yr.) coupons for two first class upgrades to the mainland). We tried getting it 7 days before (the maximum) and 1 day before. Both times, we were told that seats were not available going to NY but there were seats coming back. However, they would not let us redeem the coupons until 7 days prior to the return flight. It was then that I found out that they are a 24/7operation.

When JJ called after midnight, she got the two first class upgrades coming home and was told that they had 1 seat available going to NY and to check with the ticketing agent when we get to the gate to see if I could also get an upgrade. We thought they meant the Honolulu agent but when we checked in at Hilo, the premier/first class line was busy so another agent, who was our classmate, waved us over to the regular line. He told us that he was moving JJ from row 1 to row 3 so we could seat together. How lucky!

After experiencing first class on Hawn., my opinion is that if I had to pay, it is not worth it. Here’s why:

• The seats are much bigger but we are not big people.
• The seats are softer but we have our air cushions.
• The leg rests are not that helpful. They don’t go high enough and they are too small to fully support my feet. I ended up not using the leg rests and just placing my feet on the floor.
• The food was ok but not exceptional. We had a choice of two hot items, braised short ribs, salmon or pasta. I selected the short ribs and pasta. The short ribs was enjoyable but the pasta was really bad. For breakfast, we had a Kalua omelette, muffin, a hash patty and assorted fresh fruits. They were all ok but my hash patty tasted sour.
• We still had a hard time sleeping, although traveling eastward was probably the main cause.

We caught a cab from JFK to Manhattan. The fare is a flat rate of $52.00 plus tip. It took about an hour as traffic was pretty bad. The driver was pretty polite. Even when he rolled down the window to tell another driver to move his car, he did it without yelling or swearing.

New York is very depressing. Especially in town, where the streets are narrow and the buildings tall, creating a very dark atmosphere. It is also very dirty.

The bus to DC was about 30 minutes late. The line and waiting area was very chaotic. We even had to load our own baggage. The good thing is that it gave us all a chance to sleep. By the time we got to our hotel, about 4 hours later, it was perfect as we could check in.

The hotel is very old and elegant. It has a lot of history behind it. The rooms are also large. We ate an early dinner at the hotel and the food was ok, but not great. I had a steak cooked French style with a Bearnaise sauce which I would describe as “pedestrian”. Service was also pretty bad. We asked if we could get separate checks and he said ok but then didn’t follow through. After we got the tab, I got tired of waiting to pay so I went to pay for it myself. This was one of the few times that I left only a 10% tip.

The sales tax here is really high. 8.8%. Hawaii’s 4% is really a bargain.

After dinner, we took a walk around the area. There is a lot of beautiful architecture but when I see it, it feels visually overwhelming. While there is a lot of merit in masonry buildings, as shown by the many old structures seen in the area, the European style of architecture does not really appeal to me as it is just too “busy”. Don’t get me wrong, it is elegant looking. But I find the simple line and form style of Japanese style much more visually pleasing. Think Shoji screens or roof tops in Japan. But to be fair, even in Japan, many of the municipal buildings are gaudy, European looking buildings.

The girls found a food court and they all ended up getting their desserts of either Gelatos or smoothies.

Interesting side note: I could have worn shorts and my “fish” t-shirts and not feel out of place. A lot of people dress casually.

Saturday, September 22, 2012:

JJ and I overslept. I guess we are getting acclimated to the eastern time zone really fast.

We ate breakfast at the Marriott next door. The highlight was a compote that had green mango on Greek Yogurt and a dash of sweet syrup (compliments of the chef). Very creative and tasty. The bacon was a bit too sweet without the traditional smoky, salty flavor. The hash browns were very tasty, not even needing ketchup to flavor it. JJ’s bagel was well, just another bagel. They did feature Starbuck’s coffee which was a big plus.

Thanks to Senator Inouye, we got passes to visit the White House today. They don’t allow you to take anything inside except for a phone, keys and wallet. No camera, purse or even water. No public bathrooms either.

The White House tour was basically boring, being comprised of furnished but otherwise empty rooms. They looked really faded and sterile. They reminded me of Japan castles where the grounds are much more fascinating.

The most interesting thing that I saw was a fully armed policeman outside, walking on the grounds. He was armed with a very formidable looking assault rifle.

We then went to the Smithsonian American History Museum. The most interesting thing I saw was a sugarcane knife used by Japanese immigrants in Hawaii. It wasn’t as broad as the ones I remember using or seeing when I was little.

In general, I found most of the exhibits to be boring. I have a great fondness for electrical and mechanical devices. There were many, but all they did was sit there. With today’s technical availability, it would have been much better if they used computer simulations (or any other media) so show how the different devices worked. It’s funny as I don’t have the same expectations with airplanes because they are so sleek and beautiful looking, like mechanical art.

We ate lunch at the cafeteria, which seemed themed. I had southern BBQ chicken. It was tasteless and almost completely devoid of flavor. It had a nice heat to it but boy was it bland. Even the skin! JJ had a pulled pork sandwich with baked beans on the side. It ended up being a $31.00 lunch with our drinks (not beer either).

We then went to the museum of Natural History, which featured the Hope Diamond. The display didn’t do the diamond justice as the diamond’s size was not really apparent. It was also very difficult to photograph.

It was there that I had my senior moment. I either lost my strobe or someone stole it. My bag is so deep that even unzippered, it is almost impossible for anything to fall out. And I could specifically remember the last shot I took, which was the Hope Diamond. I even remembered asking JJ to hold my camera while I put the strobe back into my bag because I remembered putting it in upside down. So we checked with security, retraced our steps but NOTHING. I told JJ that if it’s returned, then I messed up. But if it’s not, then someone stole it. But who would steal a Nikon strobe?

So we’re back at the room and I asked her what were her mom’s magic words whenever she misplaces something? She said to say “chu chu lei” three times. Well, what is there to lose (I mean besides my dignity)?. So, I say it, three times, TWICE. I decide to put off calling lost and found to give the magic a chance to work.

So, we get ready to go to the night time tour. As we are walking to the meeting place, I open the main section of my camera bag and lo and behold, my strobe is there! Chu chu lei works…..or I’m delusional and not remembering things right. Growing old is tough.

Speaking of growing old, less than a year ago, I could walk around with minimal pain. The bottom of my feet would hurt, but I attributed that to my wearing shoes at home, all the time, making me a tenderfoot. So I vowed to start walking with a back pack and barefoot to build up stamina and toughen up my feet. Well, no sense in doing it now. My right ankle hurts. Not enough to stop me from walking, but just enough to make my walking uncomfortable. My doctor thinks it’s gout that is aggravated by my drinking beer, but he can be wrong sometimes.

You know, my old doctor was much better. He would ask me, “do you drink?” I would say, “yes, about 6 beers a day”. He would say, “not bad”.

Then he would ask, “do you smoke?” I’d respond, “about a pack a day”. He would say, “not bad”. I miss that guy.

We went on a tour that was free, where the guide only works for tips. We had to pay for the bus, which was $19.00 each. A regular nighttime tour is about $50.00/person. JJ and I enjoyed the tour. The guide was knowledgeable but some of her speech mannerisms was starting to drive me crazy. She would always say “umm”. She also got her degree from HPU on Oahu. I got a lot of great shots of the monuments. Although the savings were minimal, the tour was still enjoyable and convenient as the meeting place was close to our hotel.

After the tour, we asked her if she knew a place that we could get a meal. She suggested a pub across the street. The food was passable, food and beer reasonably priced and the service outstanding. Great place to go.

It’s 12:34 a.m. here, making it 6:34 p.m. in Hawaii. I feel a bit tired but not quite ready to sleep. Hope the beer works to put me to sleep.

The doors are thin here. Just heard a bunch of people talking as they passed by our room.

Sunday, September 23, 2012:

We decided to sleep in. We ate breakfast at the “Corner Bakery”, a place that our friends found yesterday. The food and coffee was good and was a good bargain.

By the time we were ready to start our adventure for the day, it was about 12:00 noon.

Our plan was to use the hop on and off bus to get to Arlington, Iwo Jima, Viet Nam and the Lincoln Memorials. But as we saw most of the memorials at night, it didn’t make sense to me to catch the trolley as it would cost us about $160.00 to $200.00 for the four of us. That’s a lot of cab fare. Turns out, the total cab fare was less than the trolley fare would be for one of us.

When we first got into a cab, we told the driver that we wanted to go to the visitor center in Arlington. He said he didn’t know where that was so to catch a cab that was across the street. When we got into the second cab, the driver told us that the reason the first guy didn’t understand was that Arlington is a big place and we should have said Arlington Cemetery. So I told him the people in Hawaii only know of Arlington, as a cemetery and we didn’t realize that it was other things.

We spent most of our time there. The history behind it was really interesting and the son in law of the original owner, Robert E. Lee, was really a man of honor. It is that honor that made him resign his commission as an officer of the North and join the Confederate Army.

The Kennedy family graves were all very small and humble. It must be embarrassing for the families of others in the cemetery that have relatively ostentatious headstones as compared to JFK and his brothers.

The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier was really impressive. I can still hear the clicking of the heels and the cadence of the guards’ footsteps.

Thanks to the suggestion from the Concierge at the hotel, we caught another cab to Iwo Jima, and asked him to wait for us. Good thing as I didn’t see any empty cabs waiting for passengers. We then continued on to the Lincoln Memorial. The things that we wanted to see again were the Washington Monument reflected in the pool and the Korean War Memorial. Both looked different during the day.

We then walked over to the Viet Nam War Memorial. Such a senseless war that caused senseless deaths to many of our generation. I can’t help but wonder what greatness to our society could some of those men have contributed?

After we got back to the hotel, we went to a Latin festival across the street. The music was LOUD and the street was busy but the crowd was quite subdued and just enjoyed the music and atmosphere.

The food vendors were really busy, with very long lines. We ended up eating at the same place as last night, Elephant and Castle. I had a Crabcake dinner and JJ had a NY steak. We shared the dinner and the combination was quite good.

This trip is not even close to what I had anticipated. I expected BIG CITY, CONCRETE, RUDE PEOPLE. So far, only NY was a big city with concrete. DC has a lot of open spaces and we have not met any rude people yet, although I did come across a couple of sour pusses (guests) at the hotel this morning.

Monday, September 24, 2012:

I awoke at about 12:30 last night and my usual trick of listening to audio books did not work. Some noises from the floor above, that sounded like footsteps on a wooden floor, awakened me. After that, I could hear doors closing, taps on the wall, etc. I think that this hotel may have spooks. Noise kept on going until about 3:00 A.M. BTW, our room, and I assume all rooms in this hotel, are carpeted.

We caught a cab to the Capitol for our tour. Our guide really made the whole tour super enjoyable. She was a tiny and charismatic black girl. She seemed to have a phenomenal memory and refers to herself as a nerd. She could make a lot of money being a guide on the outside. So sad to see her talent wasted on a government job.

Before the tour started, we saw a movie about how congress works (or should work). They talked about many people with many different needs and ideas finding common ground for the betterment of the country. Maybe they should show this movie every morning to the congress before they meet.

After that, we split with our friends and went to the Air and Space Museum. I was very disappointed. The Boeing Museum in Washington and the Chino Museum in California were much more enjoyable. The Boeing Museum even featured the Wright Brother's plane much better with a clear explanation as to why it was so important to aviation. And Chino had so many more interesting exhibits and we even got to hear an old F-86 Sabre start up.

We bought lunch from a lunch wagon that sold hotdogs. We paid $14.00 for two hotdogs and two bottles of water. Later on, when JJ was buying some Omiyage from another location, I went to check the lunch wagon next door. The same purchase would have cost us $11.00. Lesson, if no prices are posted, ask first. I don’t know if we got ripped off purposely or accidentally.

On the way to the National Archives, we saw an outdoor garden. So we meandered in and saw some really nice works of art and a neat fountain. Once we got to the National Archives, they wouldn’t even allow me to take a picture of the “No Pictures Permitted” sign. I ended up waiting for JJ at the end. Boring :-(.

We continued our walk to Ford’s Theater. I didn’t realize that John Wilkes Booth was an actor that performed that night. It seems that he even made some angry remarks (as part of the performance) toward Pres. Lincoln during the play.

We then walked back to the Museum of Natural History to retake some of the pics of Dinosaurs that JJ wanted. We also saw an exhibit of the greatest wild life photos. They were all awesome. Super large and sharp too.

JJ and I ate dinner at the same place again and ordered the same dishes as last night again, Crab Cake dinner and a NY steak. Again, the service was excellent and the food good.

Tomorrow, we head back to New York City. Washington DC has been great and we really enjoyed our visit. We’d love to come back here with our twin grandsons and our son David, who teaches history.

I can’t believe how much we walked today. But, it was a very pleasant walk as the air was cool, the winds soft and the stops educational.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012:

We had to get up early as we needed to check out about 8:00 A.M. and head for the bus terminal at Union Station.

The bus ride back to NY was nice. Got to nap for most of it and also catch up with some reading.

When we got to NY, we got a cab to our hotel. I got the address of the hotel mixed up and although the driver was a little peeved, he didn’t make a big deal out of it. So much for the nastiness of New Yorkers. So far, they are no worse than locals I’ve seen in similar situations. But even then, I don't know why he even made any comment as both addresses were on the same block.

The Mayfair is a very old hotel. But they seemed to have done quite a bit of renovations so the AC and bathroom look quite modern.

We split up for lunch as I saw a Ramen place. It was pretty much what I would get in Japan, delicious dashi (soup base) and the noodles not as tasty as I used to eat in Hilo. They offered bamboo shoots as a condiment so I added it on for $3.00 more. I didn’t care for it as it was pickled. For those of you who haven’t tried it, fresh (not pickled) bamboo shoots, like tofu, will pick up the flavor of the food that it is cooked in.

The girls went to the Olive Garden, which kinda shocked me but for two of them, they never visited that chain. While they were eating and I was enjoying another cold one, I saw this guy soliciting money. At first I thought that he was a crazy bum, but then he had an official looking table and collection box. It surprised me that in this large, large city, not even one person stopped by to give him even pocket change. So I asked JJ for all of her change, I added mine (perhaps all of it up to less than $6.00) and put it in the box while he was talking to someone. When he turned and saw me, he was really thankful. We spoke for a few minutes and he told me that I would be blessed, as he is blessed for trying to help others. After we returned to our hotel, we were told that the staff couldn’t figure out why our room rates were so high. So they discussed it and decided to reduce our rate (from $1000.00+ to less than $600.00 for two nights). Wow, remember, this is New York City, where people are supposed to be pushy, mean and not care about anyone else. Big eye opener. And I guess I was blessed.

After lunch, we walked down to Times Square. We were surprised as it’s really small. They had the street blocked off by Police and many people were just sitting around. We asked this guy what everyone was waiting for and he said that people were just relaxing and enjoying the ambiance. The Times Square Ball is really small, not at all like on TV.

While JJ was looking at the board for discount Broadway Plays, I saw a black couple taking pics of each other. I asked them if they wanted me to take a pic of them together. After that, we started talking and the guy played football with Merv Lopes and his brother in college. They were a really nice couple. They came from California. His wife told us an interesting story about how her co-workers at Bank of America thought that she married a white guy because the area that they live has only five black families.

We went to see the play “Chicago”. The first half was ……well, I’ve seen better. But the second half was FANTASTIC! Wow. Great mix of songs, dancing and humor. Before the play, JJ bought some Tekkamaki from a store nearby. It was really good. Even the Nori had a nice flavor. But it could have been because we brought our own Shoyu, Kikoman, of course.

We ate a snack at a restaurant across the street. It ended up being a dinner as I ordered a New York Steak with Tellichery Peppercorn Sauce and JJ had Scallops.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012:

After breakfast at the corner bakery, we went to the Greyline office to get our tickets and start our 6 hour tour. The tour did not stop at too many places, drove by most and included a ferry tour to the Statue of Liberty and lunch at an Italian restaurant. I ate the best spaghetti I ever tasted in my life. And that includes JJ’s specialty spaghetti with Ume and meat sauce! All in all, it was worth the $58.00 each for the tour.

While on the ferry, I thought that someone had stolen my camera bag with my strobe and extra lens. I think someone mistakenly thought it belonged to one of their group as while I was walking toward the tour director to ask him to make an announcement, I spotted the bag along side someone’s purse, so I simply picked it up.

Viewing the skyline and the Statue of Liberty from the ferry is really awesome. Seeing the statue really made the tour worthwhile.

We decided to see another show tonight. Got tickets from one of the street vendors. Paid $115.00/ticket which is not really cheap but I wasn’t about to stand in a long line to save a few dollars. The name of it is Peter and the Star Catcher. The guy said it was his favorite play and the other guy working with him agreed.

The play, which was co-written by Dave Barry, was a bummer and was aggravated by very poor audio (or no audio) system. I was dozing off the first half and ended up listening to my audiobook the second. When it was over, I was tempted to give them a standing ovation as my torture was finally over. It was 2.5 hours of misery. The others don’t share my opinion.

We had our late dinner at a Ramen place. Funny part was that the waiter would ask everyone if they wanted change, even though one of us paid for an $11.00 tab with a $50.00 bill. His momma must have dropped him when he was little .

Well, it’s been a great trip. All of my apprehensions were for nothing. We met mostly nice people. As far as NY city goes, I like the area that we are in but many of the other boroughs seem a little uncomfortable to be in. But that is probably because we have not had a chance to be immersed in that area. The trip would have been perfect if we could have made a stopover in Vegas, spent one more day in Washington and/or saw the Niagara Falls. But, considering the flight time, I’d rather go to Japan, even flying on coach.