road trip USA

Washington dc

A few years ago, a Brighton couple decided to take a long weekend break in Blackpool to celebrate their retirement. They duly boarded the Shearings Coach on Friday morning, arriving that evening in Blackpool. Accepting the Shearings offer of a mystery bus ride on Saturday morning, they eventually found themselves - to their bemusement - back on Brighton seafront. They decided to have a cup of tea and check out their bungalow for their 3 hours of free time.

At last...

2 legends in as many days...

The point of this waffle is that I thought I had booked a tour on the TrolleyTour bus. It turned out to be a London double decker! This wasn't the only reason for the sense of deja vu. We have a saying about waiting for ages for a London Bus, and then 3 turn up at once... well it was like that, only it was just one that eventually turned up. Of course, the previous bus stops had also waited over an hour, so it was crammed full of unhappy tourists. This experience was repeated that afternoon, and the alleged expert guide had no idea if the roads around the White House are accessible to pedestrians. The so called "hop on and off" philosophy was a pretty hollow one - as is their assertion of a no-questions-asked-refund-policy. So the first accolade of the trip is a negative - a raspberry in fact - to Washington DC's www.opentopsightseeing.com - at $32, the most expensive half mile bus ride I've taken.

However, every cloud... etc... and this gave me the opportunity to rediscover my walking legs. Washington is just about walkable, if you have a sunhat, a bottle of water, and decent shoes. A very attractive, spacious, green and pleasant downtown with some beautiful classical architecture. I reckon I covered a half-marathon distance during the day. And it's the first time for 6 months that I have actually felt warm!

Arlington Military Cemetary was a highlight. I had hoped to see the legendary Changing of the Guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier, but found myself instead caught up in a military funeral. The horse-drawn carriage bearing the flag-draped coffin, followed by a riderless horse with riding boots in the stirrups suggested a cavalry regiment. Two detachments of infantry as an honour guard, a full military band (which played outstandingly) and the firing party added up to a poignant and classy send off for the deceased.

The 3 gun salute, followed by the folding of the flag and presentation to the family: with around 100 army personnel in full regalia is a big commitment, and an appropriate one IMHO. The officers supervising the crowds managed to get all onlookers standing respectfully, and asked for no photos once the ceremony started. Irrespective of the politics of our respective nations' involvement overseas, I can't help feeling that the Americans do this whole farewell thing for their military better than we do. (Some would say they are, of course, getting plenty of practice, as they are losing even more men than the Brits in Iraq and Afganistan.)

OK, back online again. Taking a while to make photo albums. Heard from Doug-The-Techie yesterday (he's a proper techie, unlike Mr Tripper who is a wannabe Techie). Doug kindly ferretted around on the internet and found me the electronic handbook for my new and complicated camera. On reflection, his handle had better be Doug-the-OTHER-Techie, as otherwise Ms Junior Roadtripper might take offence, seeing as she is married to Gav-THE-Techie. 'Twas Gav-THE-T who first taught me how to build a website (applause) but unfortunately he left out the bit about how to make web albums (boo) hence the recent midnight oil.

So now we have the first 2 albums up, representing the walk around DC, and the evening spent at the Blues Festival. This was terrific. Two stages on which acts alternated, and sufficiently informal to allow the audience to wander all around and behind the stages (great to hear the output of individual speakers, as you can hear what each instrument is playing. I know, anorak tendency....) Anyway, on a day liberally besprinkled with legends, there was another standout performance - from a comparatively youthful (I believe she's 69) Beverly Geee-tar Watkins, who plays like a maniac - think Chuck Berry/Hendrix... She doesn't actually play with her teeth, but does play it behind her head.... The whole evening was magical, and hugely enjoyed by the audience which was much larger than my photos suggest (which were largely taken early on to capture the light). Hats off to the Musicmakers Relief Foundation www.musicmaker.org for supporting these grassroots musicians. Of course, as a fully paid up member of their Caravan Club, I benefited from Free Music, Free Food and Free Beer. It brought to mind the Aztecs Musical Soirees - could it possibly get any better, Laura?

Oh, and I discovered afterwards that Capt Luke is actually 82...

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