From: Christine W <christineweir@hotmail.com>
Subject: Kiwis crossing USA: hi from Annapolis, Maryland
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 19:21:26 PDT
hi everyone
Well here we are in Maryland again. After an enjoyable time in Washington we hit the road
again on Saturday and did a short ride down to Annapolis where we are staying with George
and Madeleine who offered us a stopover and have been so kind to us. During the night it
began raining, the drought has broken as soon as we arrived, and it rained all day. Tents
are drying in the garage and we will sleep inside tonight, and hit the road again tomorrow
even though the forecast is for more rain. George arranged for a ride across the
Chesapeake Bay bridge, as bikes aren't allowed, and that solves that big problem. We were
going to go to the bridge and see if we could catch a ride. Apparently the bridge tow
trucks used to take bikes across and no longer do that, and there is some arrangement with
a taxi company who would do it for $10.
We had a drive around Annapolis this afternoon, it is a very historic place, was the
country's capital for a short time. Many streets have houses dating from the 1600's,
beautiful old houses and buildings which have been well preserved and restored.
We are heading across towards Lewes where we can take a ferry across Delaware Bay into
Southern New Jersey and then start heading north towards New York. This ferry crossing is
almost in the Atlantic Ocean, so we will have reached the East Coast at last, and will see
the sea for the first time for nearly 3 months! Our flight leaves on 1st July so we will
have a few days to look around the Big Apple and check out a few of the sights.
The rest of our stay in Washington was really enjoyable, we met Marilyn and Riley who
are big-time cycling enthusiasts of the recumbent bicycle type, they have a recumbent
tandem and a single and Riley hasn't owned a car for 10 years. They put on a barbeque on
Friday night and invited some people round, so we all had a very pleasant evening talking
about touring and travelling in general.
We went into DC and had a look at Bill and Hillary's house from the outside, since a
ticket is required for entry and it's necessary to go to the visitors centre about 6.30
a.m. to get a ticket as they only issue a certain number each day. Never mind, they can
come and see my house without a ticket when they are in NZ for the APEC conference.
I really loved DC, the museum buildings and Treasury and other government buildings are so
beautiful, and there aren't a lot of high rise buildings in the city so it seems very
open. The Watergate Hotel is massive, it seems to take up an entire block. Walking through
the inner city parks was interesting, there were lots of cycle messengers sitting around
waiting for their next job, homeless people sleeping on the park benches with their
belongings beside them.
We went up Connecticut Avenue to the zoo and had a quick look. That is very well done,
they have some interactive displays such as one that measures a person's weight and then
says how they would rate as animal fodder. I would only supply a quick snack for a lion.
They have a panda, some kangaroos, cheetahs, and that's about all we had time or
inclination to look at. On the way up there I wanted something to eat and called into a
few cafes to get a sandwich. At a Starbucks I baulked at paying $4.75 for a salad sandwich
and finally got a sub up by the zoo.
On the way back home we went along Embassy Row, and I found those embassy buildings
fascinating, reflecting their country. The Mexican one had pickup trucks parked outside
it, the others had gleaming limousines! We went to the NZ Embassy and it was closed. Saw
the house where the Bolgers lived, didn't call in and say hi to Jim and Joan though.
Riding out of Washington DC was interesting. We went along Pennsylvania Avenue which is
the street where the White House lives, a very long road that heads out of town. A couple
of blocks from the inner city it starts to get a bit scruffy, and further along it is
almost slummy. There was a bridge to cross and the footpath was littered with broken
glass, so presumably Bill
& Hillary don't go for a stroll along the street to chat with the neighbours. The
contrast was amazing to me - only a mile or so back the other way was the centre of power
in the country. We got onto Marlboro Pike and stopped at a grocery store to get some
fruit, and we were the only white people in there! That was an interesting experience,
felt ok though.
The road to Annapolis was all on Rt 214 which was not particularly pleasant, cars and
trucks roaring by. We asked a highway patrol guy if there were any other roads and he said
there weren't. He said it's all like that around here because it's still the metropolitan
area of Washington. However once we get across the bridge and into Delaware it gets into
country areas again so
that will be quieter.
So we are on the final leg of our journey, it's a strange feeling to think that we only
have about 200 miles to go. It's also interesting that 200 miles doesn't seem like very
far to go! We fly out of NY on 1st July, a few days in Amsterdam and then I go back to NZ
and Madi continues riding up the River Rhine to Basle in Switzerland.
Till next time
Christine