So onward our trip started, rambling along the I-95 interstate system. It is the road artery of the Eastern United States and God alone knows the number of people who use it each. We had chosen La Quinta Inn, at Edgewood, Maryland. After lots of research, I came to the conclusion that if you can afford it and need to stay with family but are not willing spend on a full blown hotel chain, then La Quinta and Hiltons Hampton Inn are very good places to stay at. Rooms are clean, breakfast is good, and in general these are safe. So LaQuinta it was. I was quite proud of myself and all the troops along with me that after a long flight from India, renting a gigantic van, we drove some 200 odd miles and checked into a motel. Ms. Friend and her kids were very tired, Mr. Friend, my Wifey and kids all went for a American dinner at the local iHop. Most people dont like iHop because of its calorie loading, artery choking food but I love their pancakes and food in general.
11th May
Next day, we drove from the Inn we drove into the great city of Washington DC (which unfortunately is not represented in the US congress - taxation without representation). Myself being paranoid about parking, we looked for various locations to park our Van and once the task was completed, we went to check out President Obama's house, the White House. It being a lovely day, we got a bunch of pictures. Suddenly at this point, my Friend, who is a fitness person, decided to take a small jog around the garden in front of the white house, it went off without incidents and some of the kids also joined him. Myself, being the lazy bones I am, took a small stroll and found myself a good bench. We roamed around the White House area, and checked out the National Monument, Lincoln Memorial etc in the neighborhood and then called it quits. Our next stop was Goldsboro, North Carolina. The home of my aunt and uncle. I have a very strong emotional attachment to this state as I have spent good number of my vacations in the past at the aunts/uncle and over-all Goldsboro is a very warm and loving place. It is middle America where most people dont lock their houses and people at the grocery store still care for their customers. We reached Goldsboro late in the evening and called it day.
Over the next few days, all we did was shop and shop and shop and shop some more. Ms Friend, who is a art collector and image consultant, loved the fact that all the malls, shopping outlets were within 1 mile of my aunts place and she freaked out with the shopping. In addition we had a good outlet in a place called Smithfield, which carries a bunch of stores like Gap, Polo etc. We took the kids strawberry picking and also brought up a good barbeque. Felt nice spending time at Goldsboro and catching up aunt and uncle. My older one, the Son learnt how to wash dishes and over-all liked the fact that he could help out... I was happy with the fact that at least someone is keen to do household work.
So in a few more days, after a well deserved rest, we moved towards our destination Orlando, but decided to stop by at Savannah, Georgia. It is a beautiful town if not visited, I highly recommend the place. It carries the old world charm of the South but other than the base, it looked a bit run down. The downtown though is very happening and we visited the water - river promenade. Thought about doing the horsey ride, but it was too damm expensive and hence the thought was summarily dismissed. From Savannah Georgia we went further South and reached the great city of Orlando. Along the way Mr. Friend also took a dig at driving and easily got the hang of driving the Van, this reduced some of the driving pressure on myself and for a change, I put up my feet and enjoyed the sites of the North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Btw we did stop at South Carolina and checked out the Waffle House food joint. A good southern place, with a traditional diner feeling.
The Wifey made me drive a extra 100 miles because we drove into Orlando, picked up Universal Theme parks tickets and then drove to the Nasa Kennedy space station (bloody expensive). It was raining, but the traffic was sparse and we had a good time at Nasa. Had the chance to meet up with Astronaut Jim Reilly. Kids were excited though Son thought it was just 'Time-Pass' since as per him anyone can go to space. With SpaceX coming up, in a few years I believe even that should be possible. The little one was more enthusiastic, and found the entire experience very cool.
From Nasa we drove back to Orlando and reached our service hotel. Basically it was an apartment with 2 rooms, washer - dryer, kitchen, living rooms etc. A fully functional house. Wifey was smart to pick up this place and it saved us tonnes of money. I personally became a fan of Suits (this one is run by Holiday Inn). From here onwards, the Wifey and Mr. Friend took charge and started planning out the Disney/Universal adventure (Fast Pass, rides, parking and what not).. something that does not enthuse me, but as they say, for Wifey/Kids one has to sacrifice. Early next morning, we drove to Universal - Island of Adventure where we were hit with a $17 parking fee.. image one is paying $100 odd bucks per person and the dodos also charge for parking.. yucks. Our first ride at universal was the Hulk Roller Coaster. The little girl did not make the height cut but the little boy/ Wifey came for the ride, it was a good ride and my first roller coaster ride of my life.. took a good 45 minutes waiting to get to the ride. In the meanwhile Mr/Ms. Friend and their kids and little girl went to a bunch of rides and generally enjoyed the Universal theme park. Over the course of the day we did a bunch of rides, Harry Potter, Spiderman etc. Spidey as per me was the most technical ride.
Next day, we landed up at Disney World, Orlando, the mecca of how to make money out of nothing and that too in good numbers. We walked all over the park, saw a bunch of rides by Disney princesses and the kids soaked it all in. Ate some over-priced food, and ticked off on my 'Things in Life to Do - Visit Disney". the train ride around the Disney park is interesting and I am sure this is something the kids will enjoy. The Disney park next day was followed up by the Epcot Center park, which was the most lame excuse for a park, it seems everything here is stuck in the 1980's. In a few more decades it will come across as a musuem for kids of how life used to be. Disney also owns this park and should decide if they want to continue this park. They might be better of making some movie studio out of the location, will generate better returns on investment. On the 4th day, we split up with the Friends and family and we landed up at the Disney Water Park. The parking here was free, the crowds were limited and I really enjoyed the lazy river.. I highly recommend this park to all those who visit Disney / Orlando, it is a good DE-stresser compared to the crap one has to go through Disney parks. We swam in the water pond (salt water) where we saw baby sharks, and other sea animals.. also enjoyed the Giant Wave Pool.. over-all a fun experience.
Orlando was followed through by going to Miami.. something I have been thinking about for a long time. Wifey was gracious enough to get us a hotel at South Beach and we stayed at the Kimpton Inn (moderately over-priced for the fact it is in Miami - South Beach). We immediately hit the beach, but not before I had my first McDonalds.. I for one love McDonalds (though it is fashionable for everyone these days to hate it). The kids and I went to McDonalds, the Wifey/Friends/Ms went to some Cuban Joint. The taste of McDonalds is standard across the world. I have been to a McDonald in every country I have ever been (except Belgium). Miami beach is a mix between rich Jewish folks, lots of folks from New York and local folks mostly of Cuban or South American descent. It is a melting pot of various cultures and it is the party capital of the world. It was at South Beach, where I saw my first Tesla Car (actually sat in it etc), and I loved it. It is a rich mans' toy but it will change the game of automobiles in the years go come (I also think Apple will buy out Tesla but that is another story). Our two days in Miami were well spent and I am sure I will go there again this time without kids and for a longer time, no more to say.
In my follow up post I will mention how we drove up from Miami, Florida to Newark, New Jersey and then to New York city.
Adios,
Shiva
11th May
Next day, we drove from the Inn we drove into the great city of Washington DC (which unfortunately is not represented in the US congress - taxation without representation). Myself being paranoid about parking, we looked for various locations to park our Van and once the task was completed, we went to check out President Obama's house, the White House. It being a lovely day, we got a bunch of pictures. Suddenly at this point, my Friend, who is a fitness person, decided to take a small jog around the garden in front of the white house, it went off without incidents and some of the kids also joined him. Myself, being the lazy bones I am, took a small stroll and found myself a good bench. We roamed around the White House area, and checked out the National Monument, Lincoln Memorial etc in the neighborhood and then called it quits. Our next stop was Goldsboro, North Carolina. The home of my aunt and uncle. I have a very strong emotional attachment to this state as I have spent good number of my vacations in the past at the aunts/uncle and over-all Goldsboro is a very warm and loving place. It is middle America where most people dont lock their houses and people at the grocery store still care for their customers. We reached Goldsboro late in the evening and called it day.
Over the next few days, all we did was shop and shop and shop and shop some more. Ms Friend, who is a art collector and image consultant, loved the fact that all the malls, shopping outlets were within 1 mile of my aunts place and she freaked out with the shopping. In addition we had a good outlet in a place called Smithfield, which carries a bunch of stores like Gap, Polo etc. We took the kids strawberry picking and also brought up a good barbeque. Felt nice spending time at Goldsboro and catching up aunt and uncle. My older one, the Son learnt how to wash dishes and over-all liked the fact that he could help out... I was happy with the fact that at least someone is keen to do household work.
So in a few more days, after a well deserved rest, we moved towards our destination Orlando, but decided to stop by at Savannah, Georgia. It is a beautiful town if not visited, I highly recommend the place. It carries the old world charm of the South but other than the base, it looked a bit run down. The downtown though is very happening and we visited the water - river promenade. Thought about doing the horsey ride, but it was too damm expensive and hence the thought was summarily dismissed. From Savannah Georgia we went further South and reached the great city of Orlando. Along the way Mr. Friend also took a dig at driving and easily got the hang of driving the Van, this reduced some of the driving pressure on myself and for a change, I put up my feet and enjoyed the sites of the North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Btw we did stop at South Carolina and checked out the Waffle House food joint. A good southern place, with a traditional diner feeling.
The Wifey made me drive a extra 100 miles because we drove into Orlando, picked up Universal Theme parks tickets and then drove to the Nasa Kennedy space station (bloody expensive). It was raining, but the traffic was sparse and we had a good time at Nasa. Had the chance to meet up with Astronaut Jim Reilly. Kids were excited though Son thought it was just 'Time-Pass' since as per him anyone can go to space. With SpaceX coming up, in a few years I believe even that should be possible. The little one was more enthusiastic, and found the entire experience very cool.
From Nasa we drove back to Orlando and reached our service hotel. Basically it was an apartment with 2 rooms, washer - dryer, kitchen, living rooms etc. A fully functional house. Wifey was smart to pick up this place and it saved us tonnes of money. I personally became a fan of Suits (this one is run by Holiday Inn). From here onwards, the Wifey and Mr. Friend took charge and started planning out the Disney/Universal adventure (Fast Pass, rides, parking and what not).. something that does not enthuse me, but as they say, for Wifey/Kids one has to sacrifice. Early next morning, we drove to Universal - Island of Adventure where we were hit with a $17 parking fee.. image one is paying $100 odd bucks per person and the dodos also charge for parking.. yucks. Our first ride at universal was the Hulk Roller Coaster. The little girl did not make the height cut but the little boy/ Wifey came for the ride, it was a good ride and my first roller coaster ride of my life.. took a good 45 minutes waiting to get to the ride. In the meanwhile Mr/Ms. Friend and their kids and little girl went to a bunch of rides and generally enjoyed the Universal theme park. Over the course of the day we did a bunch of rides, Harry Potter, Spiderman etc. Spidey as per me was the most technical ride.
Next day, we landed up at Disney World, Orlando, the mecca of how to make money out of nothing and that too in good numbers. We walked all over the park, saw a bunch of rides by Disney princesses and the kids soaked it all in. Ate some over-priced food, and ticked off on my 'Things in Life to Do - Visit Disney". the train ride around the Disney park is interesting and I am sure this is something the kids will enjoy. The Disney park next day was followed up by the Epcot Center park, which was the most lame excuse for a park, it seems everything here is stuck in the 1980's. In a few more decades it will come across as a musuem for kids of how life used to be. Disney also owns this park and should decide if they want to continue this park. They might be better of making some movie studio out of the location, will generate better returns on investment. On the 4th day, we split up with the Friends and family and we landed up at the Disney Water Park. The parking here was free, the crowds were limited and I really enjoyed the lazy river.. I highly recommend this park to all those who visit Disney / Orlando, it is a good DE-stresser compared to the crap one has to go through Disney parks. We swam in the water pond (salt water) where we saw baby sharks, and other sea animals.. also enjoyed the Giant Wave Pool.. over-all a fun experience.
Orlando was followed through by going to Miami.. something I have been thinking about for a long time. Wifey was gracious enough to get us a hotel at South Beach and we stayed at the Kimpton Inn (moderately over-priced for the fact it is in Miami - South Beach). We immediately hit the beach, but not before I had my first McDonalds.. I for one love McDonalds (though it is fashionable for everyone these days to hate it). The kids and I went to McDonalds, the Wifey/Friends/Ms went to some Cuban Joint. The taste of McDonalds is standard across the world. I have been to a McDonald in every country I have ever been (except Belgium). Miami beach is a mix between rich Jewish folks, lots of folks from New York and local folks mostly of Cuban or South American descent. It is a melting pot of various cultures and it is the party capital of the world. It was at South Beach, where I saw my first Tesla Car (actually sat in it etc), and I loved it. It is a rich mans' toy but it will change the game of automobiles in the years go come (I also think Apple will buy out Tesla but that is another story). Our two days in Miami were well spent and I am sure I will go there again this time without kids and for a longer time, no more to say.
In my follow up post I will mention how we drove up from Miami, Florida to Newark, New Jersey and then to New York city.
Adios,
Shiva
