Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). Founding Father; 3rd President of the United States; chief drafter of the Declaration of Independence; made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and sent out the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore it. Dusk at the Jefferson Memorial, Washington D.C. Day 5. October 1, 2017.

The Assembly Room of UNESCO-listed Independence Hall in Philadelphia where both the US Declaration of Independence (1776) and the United States Constitution (1787) were drafted, debated and signed. Independence National Historic Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Day 4. September 30, 2017.

NEW YORK TRAFFIC JAM/GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE/NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE || Traffic jam. Crawling through the upper Bronx, New York. September 28, 2017.
Yes, it was an eventful drive to Gettysburg. We had hoped to get to stop off en route at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, but the traffic. Oh the traffic. We didn’t suffer one traffic jam over the course of 36 days of US road-trippin’ last year, the roads of the eastern seaboard wasting no time in proving to be as busy, as time-consuming and as frustrating as we suspected they would be. Shortly after capturing this picture, the only one I captured on the drive west to Gettysburg, we were crossing high over the Hudson River into New Jersey courtesy of the massive double-decked George Washington Bridge. Seemingly the 14-lane conduit carries over 100 million vehicles a year making it the world’s busiest passenger vehicle bridge. We crossed over the Hudson via one of the 6 lower-level lanes (there are 8 more on the upper deck) meaning we didn’t see a whole lot that was picture worthy crossing the state line into New Jersey, and onto the New Jersey Turnpike. Suffice to say, there wasn’t much of anything that was photogenic here either. Running between two major US East Coast cities, New York & Philadelphia, this 122-mile (197-kilometre) stretch of toll road is one of the most prominent and heavily trafficked roadways in the country, so they probably won’t worry too much over us missing the toll we did miss (there were frustrations here, too). The Turnpike, as it’s affectionately known, was considered the pinnacle of highway building in the early 1950s (the road opened in 1951), quickly becoming something of a pop culture icon thanks to unusual exit signage & 13 designated rest areas that are each named after prominent New Jerseyans. An iconic road it may be, but scenic byway status it will never attain. Presenting the Dirty Jerz at its post-industrial worst, the decaying dystopic landscapes synonymous with this region are, unsurprisingly, not pretty (the only vistas of note en route were the very distant skyscrapers discernible at the southern tip of Manhattan), reason enough to keep my camera stowed for the drive to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where thankfully things are an awful lot prettier.

DAY 4 – HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA || The Liberty Bell, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.
Founded in 1682 and named by its founder William Penn, Philadelphia, Greek for brotherly love (from philos, “love” or “friendship”, and adelphos, “brother”), was the largest of the colonial cities and was once the second-largest city in the British Empire (after London). It was also a centre for opposition to British colonial policy. As the new nation’s capital at the start of the 1775-1783 Revolutionary War, and pretty much right up until the approved-by-congress-but-still-to-be-constructed Washington D.C. took over the mantle in July 1790, Philadelphia’s UNESCO-listed Independence Hall is where both the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Constitution of the United States (1787) were drafted & first read, and where, on July 8 1776, the (cracked) Liberty Bell, seen here, was rung to announce the signing of the aforementioned Declaration. Yep, gritty Philly has historic clout in abundance, and tourist numbers to match.

DAY 3 – HISTORIC GETTYSBURG || Gettysburg National Military Cemetry, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.
Some 80 years after ridding themselves of the Brits and the Americans found the need to fight among themselves with one of the most decisive and pivotal battles of the 1861-1865 American Civil War, not to mention the bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil, taking place in and around the historic Pennsylvanian town of Gettysburg, today beautifully & touchingly commemorated (in this the US clearly has no equal) at the vast Gettysburg National Military Park, the exploration of which was to be the highlight of Epic US Road Trip 2017 Day 3.

DAY 4 – AMISH COUNTRY || Farming in Amish Country outside Bird-in-Hand, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.
Between the horrors of Gettysburg and pioneering Philly there’s agricultural Amish Country. Centred on Pennsylvanian’s Lancaster County and definitely not a place to overlook on any visit to the region, witnessing the simple living of these Anabaptists, who fled persecution in their native Europe in the early 1700s & settled in pockets of tolerable northeastern North America, was a memorable step back in time, not to mention the highlight, pictorial and otherwise, of Epic US Road Trip 2017 Day 4.

July 2 1863, day 2 of the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.

‘Gettysburg is history’ indeed. Even the Gettysburg motels evoke the town’s storied past. Motel 8, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.

Lincoln Square in Historic Downtown Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.

BRAFFERTON INN || The Brafferton Inn, York Street, Histortic Downtown Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.
A standout among many eye-catching Historic Downtown Gettysburg edifices, the National Registry of Historic Places-listed, 17-room Brafferton Inn dates to 1786 making it Gettysburg’s oldest deeded house and the town’s oldest continual residence.

R.R. DEPOT || The old Railroad Depot, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.
Built in 1858 in the Italianate Villa style, the Railroad Depot and its attendant telegraph line afforded Gettysburg with modern day transportation and communication services. Serving as an army hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, train services were resumed shortly after the war – then sitting president Abraham Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg at this depot on November 18 1863 to deliver is famous Gettysburg Address the following day. Today the historic Old Railroad Depot plays host to the Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Visitor Information Center, closed when we twice happened by, once before our visit to the nearby Gettysburg National Military Park and once after it. Their loss.

On the approach to the Pennsylvania Memorial of Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE MEMORIAL || The Pennsylvania State Memorial, Cemetery Ridge, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.
Completed in 1914 to commemorate the 34,530 Pennsylvania soldiers who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg (whose names are inscribed in a series of bronze tablets on the memorial’s exterior), the 34-metre-high, Beaux-Arts style Pennsylvania State Memorial is the largest of all the memorials in Gettysburg National Military Park. A visually impressive structure, steps led to the a square granite pedestal upon which rests a towering granite pavilion whose 4 corner towers – perches for 8 portrait statues, among them Abraham Lincoln & Maj. Gen. George Meade – are linked by arches that form an impressive triumphal arch. The whole shebang is topped by a dome, itself topped by a bronze figure of Nike, the ancient Greek mythology Goddess of Victory and Peace.

SOLDIERS’ NATIONAL CEMETERY & THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS || At the Soldiers’ National Monument in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, the scene of the Gettysburg Address, Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.
Upon the conclusion of the Battle of Gettysburg some 51,000 soldiers lay dead, wounded of missing, the town of Gettysburg itself both a shambles and overwhelmed. Some 4 months after the battle, a 17-acre plot of land was set aside as a burial ground. Primarily for Union dead (most Confederate soldiers were reinterred in southern cemeteries), today this hallowed ground is known as the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. It was here, on November 19, 1863 and at a spot today marked by the Soldiers’ National Monument, that Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address during the cemetery’s dedication ceremony. The ceremony’s principle speaker, Edward Everett, delivered a well-received two-hour oration rich in historical detail and classical allusion. He was followed by Lincoln, who had been asked to make “a few appropriate remarks.” Lincoln’s speech, which contained 272 words and which took barely two minutes to deliver, is today considered a masterpiece of the English language and a speech that that is credited with transforming Gettysburg from a scene of carnage into a symbol, giving meaning to the sacrifice of the dead and inspiration to the living.

The fallen, some known only to god and resting below blank markers. Soldiers’ National Cemetery, Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.

On a ‘Journey Through Hallowed Ground’ while touring Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.

Our guide outside the Eisenhower Home of the Eisenhower National Historic Site, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.

LIVING ROOM || The Living room of the Eisenhower Home of the Eisenhower National Historic Site, Pennsylvania. September 29, 2017.
The only home the Eisenhower’s – Dwight D. & Mamie – ever owned was purchased in 1950, two years before the 30-year military man won by a landslide to become America’s 34th president. When purchased it was a tumbledown redbrick farmhouse in much need of repair. Dismantled and rebuilt while retaining aspects of the old structure, the house was completed in 1955 although it wasn’t used as the retirement home it was purchased for until Eisenhower finished his 2nd term as president, handing over the reins to JFK in January 1961 (it was used as a weekend retreat and “temporary White House” prior to this). Between 1961 and his death in 1969 at the age of 78, Eisenhower used the farm to host world leaders and important dignitaries, farm prize-winning Angus cattle (the farm’s Show Barn is well-preserved and nicely presented) and pursue his hobby of oil painting on the rear porch, his favourite room in the house, while gazing out over the rolling Pennsylvania hills of the surrounding landscape (and Gettysburg National Military Park). The large 2-storey house, which retains most of its original furnishings, is explored via a self-guided one-way route with information garnered from a pamphlet, giving an intimate glimpse into the life and times of one of the country’s most revered leaders.

Day 4. Off the Boardwalk at dusk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. September 30, 2017.

An Amish buggy on the roads outside Bird-in-Hand in Amish Country, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.

AMISH FARMING || Amish farming outside Bird-in-Hand, Amish Country, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.
The Amish simple life is 100% rural and revolves around two things – the Bible (& its word) & farming. The main crops raised by Amish here in Lancaster County are corn, hay, wheat, tobacco, soybeans, barley and potatoes. Farming is, of course, simple and all carried out with the aid of horse-drawn equipment with metal wheels (you won’t find a rubber tyre in these fields for love nor money).

FARMERS MARKET – AMISH QUILTS & RAG DOLLS || Amish stalwarts. Quilts & rag dolls. Farmers Market, Bird-in-Hand, Amish Country, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.
While the Amish want nothing more than to be left alone, they have long since accepted their draw as a tourist attraction, and are even cashing in on it. The intimate Amish eye-opener that is the Bird-in-Hand Farmers Market is first & foremost a market for locally-produced Amish crops & organic produce, but it’s also something of a one-stop local for all things touristy Amish (& it draws the hordes by the busload). Hand quilted quilts of striking detail & rag dolls are favourite Amish keepsakes. Some of the faces portrayed faceless, be they on quilts, dolls or whatever, the reason being, and similar to the refusal to have pictures of people, that from an early age children learn not to have images, likenesses or idols.

Farmers Market, Bird-in-Hand, Amish Country, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.

AMISH DRESS – FEMALE || Farmers Market, Bird-in-Hand, Amish Country, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.
It’s hard to photograph the Amish, even in the busy & touristy setting of the Bird-in-Hand Farmers Market; they just don’t like having their picture taken and, for the most part, people seem cognisant of this. Amish women and girls wear modest dresses made from solid-colored fabric with long sleeves and a full skirt (not shorter than half-way between knee and floor). These dresses are covered with a cape and apron and are fastened with straight pins or snaps. They never cut their hair, which they wear in a bun on the back of the head. On their heads they wear a prayer covering – white if they are married, black if they are single. Amish women do not wear jewelry. The Amish feel their distinctive clothes is just another way to ensure humility and separation from the wider world. Far from being a costume, their garb is a visual expression of their faith and beliefs.

AMISH FARMING || Amish farming outside Bird in Hand, Amish Country, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.
We took a drive into the countryside outside Bird-in-Hand in the hopes of seeing something. Anything. Anything Amish. We got lucky. Very lucky. It’s approaching the fall harvesting period and all Amish farms in Lancaster County are gearing up for their busiest time of the year, whole families tending to harvesting chores as the unit they are. While watching these Amish at work, while listening to satellite radio from the cosy confines of my technology-rich 2017 Ford Fusion cabin, it really struck home to me the value that the Amish place on simplicity and self-denial over comfort and convenience, a lifestyle choice that deliberately separates them from the wider world while helping to maintain their self-sufficiency. I wanted to interrupt this guy (not really), trundling towards me via horsepower alone, and tell him there was an easier way, but I suspect he already knows that; the Amish get along without modernity, choosing to do so knowing modernity is readily available. Needless to say, this self-imposed ostracisation from the modern world results in there being a very special bond that unites Amish communities, one that both protects them from outside influences and ensures their unique and utterly fascinating way of life survives from generation to generation.

AMISH DRESS – MALE || Intercourse, Amish Country, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.
Amish Men and boys wear dark-colored suits, straight-cut coats without lapels, broadfall trousers, suspenders, solid-colored shirts, black socks and shoes, and black or straw broad-brimmed hats. Their shirts fasten with conventional buttons, but their suit coats and vests fasten with hooks and eyes. They do not have mustaches (these have a long history of being associated with the military, and therefore are forbidden among the Amish people), but they grow beards after they marry.

INDEPENDENCE HALL || Independence Hall, Independence National Historic Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.
The somewhat unassuming centrepiece of Philadelphia’s Independence National Historic Park, an L-shaped, 45-acre, 20-block central city park that has been called ‘America’s most historic Square mile’ given its abundance of storied buildings (over 30) where the seeds of the 1775-1783 Revolutionary War were planted and where the US Government came into being, the Georgian-style Independence Hall was built by the citizens of Philadelphia between 1732 and 1756 as the State House of the Province of Pennsylvania. Often called the birthplace of the United States of American & where the American government as we know it today was first formed, this is where delegates of the 13 original colonies met to approve the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776; it was in the small square at the rear of the hall, Independence Square & from where this picture was captured, where the deceleration was first read in public. It was also here, a decade+ later in 1787, that the Constitution of the United States was adopted.

ASSEMBLY ROOM – UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION – ‘WE THE PEOPLE’ || The Assembly Room of UNESCO-listed Independence Hall, Philadelphia, where both the US Declaration of Independence (1776) and the United States Constitution (1787) were debated and adopted. Independence Hall, Independence National Historic Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.
The precursor to the United States Constitution of today, the Articles of Confederation were ratified by the then new United States of America, i.e. the original Thirteen Colonies, in 1781, 5 years after they declared independence from Great Britain (a guiding principle of the Articles was to preserve the independence and sovereignty of the states, a principle adhered to with the future expansion of the union to its present 50 states). The Revolutionary War ended in 1783, Great Britain formally recognising, via the Treaty of Paris, the independence of the United States in what was the very first successful war of independence against a mighty European power. With the Articles of Confederation adjudged to provide inadequate federal powers, the current United States Constitution, which famously starts with the words ‘We the People’, was drafted, adopted & signed over the course of 4 months in 1787, the first permanent constitution of its kind in the world. Its first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and were designed to guarantee many fundamental and now famous civil liberties including the right to bear arms (the Second Amendment) & the right to decline to give self-incriminating information, a.k.a. pleading the fifth (the Fifth Amendment). And it all started here in the Assembly Room of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, a room, and much like the rest of the building, inside & out, that has been restored wherever possible to its original mid- to late-18th century appearance; most of the furnishings seen here are period pieces, including the so-called “rising sun” chair used by George Washington as he presided over the Constitutional Convention (seen here to the rear of the room beyond the Syng Inkstand used by delegates/founders such as James Madison, James Wilson, Benjamin Franklin and other early American leaders to sign the seminal documents drafted here).

LIBERTY BELL || The Liberty Bell of the Liberty Bell Center with Independence Hall seen in the background. Independence National Historic Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 30, 2017.
An internationally recognised symbol of freedom and deemed “a very significant symbol of the entire democratic world” by none other than Nelson Mandela, the Liberty Bell, first called such in the 1830s by abolitionists fighting slavery who used it as a symbol of their cause, was cast in London and arrived in Philadelphia in 1752. Housed in Independence Hall (then the Pennsylvania State House), it was most famously rung on July 8 1776 to announce the signing of the Declaration of Independence, an occasion that changed world history. A travelling beacon of pacification during its earlier years, for most of the past century it has been on display here in Philadelphia, people queuing for extended periods of time take a close look at the 940-kilogram gong that famously sports a blemish, an irreparable gap resulting from a failed 1846 attempt to fix a thin crack that destroyed the brittle bell’s tone sometime after the 1775-1783 American Revolution (the exact date that the crack developed has been lost to history).

Bless her, she tried, but not even Lucy The Elephant bathed in glorious sunshine early morning on a Sunday Funday could make me like New Jersey. Oh well. You can’t like em’ all. Margate, Jersey Shore, New Jersey. October 1, 2017.

AC BOARDWALK|| Dusk on the Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey. September 30, 2017.
The world’s very first boardwalk started out in 1870 as a mile-long solution to keeping sand from plush beachfront hotels, one dissembled and stored during the winter months. Rebuilt and extended many times over the years, the present system of a herringbone board pattern, supportive steel pilings and steel beams was first installed in 1916. While no commerce of any kind was allowed within thirty feet of the boardwalk in the 1870’s, today it’s a totally different story. Stretching for 4 miles, the permanent promenade is an (almost) continuous stretch of confection shops, amusements, neon signs, fortune tellers & psychics, tacky tourist tat, tattoo artists, hotels, bars, restaurants, shopping malls &, of course, casinos. Home of the Miss America pageant since its inception in 1921, a large part of AC’s draw has been its starring role in many a film and television series, most notably the well-received HBO period crime drama series Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014). Set during the prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s, I guess it was way too much to hope for that present-day AC would retain even an inkling of the 1930s AC as portrayed in the awesome production that was Boardwalk Empire.

Beach Patrol. Atlantic City, New Jersey. September 30, 2017.

PLAYGROUND PIER || Playground Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey. September 30, 2017.
Just like the state that houses it, AC can’t be accused of being pretty, its seaside setting doing absolutely nothing to boost its aesthetics. It doesn’t surprise me to read that the city skyline has been transformed over the decades by the construction (ad hoc construction if first glimpses are anything to go by) of new casinos, hotels, condominia and shopping malls, especially since the legalisation of casino gambling in Atlantic City (only AC, not the state of New Jersey) in 1976. In a city full of them, one of AC’s largest eyesores is the hulking lime-coloured Playground Pier. Opened as an amusement pier in 1906 and the largest of AC’s piers, it was reborn in the 1980’s as a 4-storey, 28,000 m² luxury shopping mall adjacent to Caesars Hotel & Casino (we took a look around the casino innards, with its bizarre adjacent smoking & non-smoking areas, time we probably could have passed more wisely elsewhere). It may strive for luxury internally, but externally this structure is certainly best viewed from afar, like as seen here from the sands of AC beach late in the day – each step you take towards it increases its unsightliness.

Day 5 ferry. Continuing the road trip on water. Crossing Delaware Bay on the ferry Cape May, New Jersey to Lewes, Delaware. October 1, 2017.

LUCY THE ELEPHANT || Lucy The Elephant. Margate, New Jersey. October 1, 2017.
At least we did get to see Lucy The Elephant en route from AC to Cape May, although in fairness she’d be hard to miss. Twenty metres high, built of wood (1 million pieces, seemingly) and covered with 1,100 m² of tin sheeting, 136-year-old (& counting) Lucy was built in 1881 as a gimmicky roadside novelty architecture structure to help promote regional real estate and attract tourists, who could enjoy views of the surrounds from her howdah (carriage). She hasn’t had it easy and has had various roles over the years including as a restaurant, an office, a cottage and even a tavern. She has also had to battle fires, hurricanes, floods, neglect & closure (1962-1974). Even after all that she’s still standing mainly thanks to efforts of a concerned group of locals, the Save Lucy Committee. The oldest roadside attraction in the US, Lucy got her dues in 1976 when she was designated a National Historic Landmark as the oldest surviving example of a unique form of zoomorphic architecture. Most recently restored in 2000 and as popular today with tourists as she has ever been, ‘The World’s Biggest Elephant’ & the most popular non-gaming attraction in the greater Atlantic City region is open for tours, just not on a Sunday morning in early October – the place was deserted when we came calling by.

S Decatur Avenue, Margate City, New Jersey. October 1, 2017.

CAPE MAY-LEWES FERRY || At the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Terminal in Cape May, New Jersey. October 1, 2017.
The first sighting one gets of New Jersey if arriving from Lewes, Delaware. Thankfully we were going in the other direction. Constituting a 27-kilometre portion of US Route 9, the ferry crossing of Delaware Bay from Cape May to Lewes has been in operation since 1964. Although primarily a vital transportation link between the two states, the ferry is something of a tourist attraction in its own right and has been optimised by the operating Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) over the years to attract tourists.

LEWES || The Zwaanendael Museum, Lewes, Delaware. October 1, 2017.
The Zwaanendael Museum building made us pull over for a closer look (they’ve nothing like this across Delaware Bay in New Jersey). A replica of the Town Hall in Hoorn, Holland, and sporting a severe lean, it was built in 1931 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the first European settlement in Delaware. As it’s a museum, it recounts important regional history from the time of the Dutch arrival to the present day. I know this thanks to the information posted outside the building as seen here; being a Sunday, the museum itself was closed.

DELAWARE BEACHES || E Savannah Road, Lewes, Delaware. October 1, 2017.
Beaches. That’s probably Delaware’s biggest draw, boasting 28 miles of dune-backed Atlantic Ocean beaches. And even if you don’t want to go to the beach then the beach will probably come to you as seen here on E Savannah Road, a few hundred metres from sparkin’ Lewes Beach.

LEWES ARCHITECTURE || Savannah Road, Lewes, Delaware. October 1, 2017.
Dignified and friendly Lewes, with its unique Coastal Delaware bayside ambiance, is a perennial favourite with travellers, although it was awfully quiet when we swung by. The small but historic downtown is awash with gorgeous English & Dutch architecture offering charming boutique accommodations and high-class restaurants & boutiques. Striking edifices abound, the very purple Ocean Retreat Day Spa & Hair Studio on Savannah Road, right across from the Zwaanendael Museum, one of the more noticeable buildings in town.

ZWAANENDAEL PARK / FISHER-MARTIN HOUSE || The Lewes Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau in Zwaanendael Park, ‘A Garden Park & Colonial Library’, Lewes, Delaware. October 1, 2017.
One of the town’s most historic buildings, the wooden barn-esque Fisher Martin House was built in the 1730’s. Preserved and moved to its current location in 1980 on the edge of Zwaanendael Park, the building houses and is cared for by the Lewes Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, a good place, we assume (again it was closed on this 1st Sunday in October), to swing by to learn about the rich history of the town.

Colourful Prince George Street on a gorgeous sunny Sunday afternoon in Annapolis, Maryland. October 1, 2017.

CHESAPEAKE BAY & THE CHESAPEAKE BAY BRIDGE || Crossing Chesapeake Bay via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Maryland. October 1, 2017.
At over 11,500 km², Chesapeake Bay is not only the dominant geographical feature around these parts but also the largest estuary in North America. Needless to say water rules around here and it’s never too far away. The Bay is spanned only twice by bridges, the 17.6-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel further south in the state of Virginia (driven on Day 9 of US Road Trip 2018) someway longer than Maryland’s massive Chesapeake Bay Bridge. While not officially on the route of the Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway, crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, a.k.a. The William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge, was a highlight of this day. A major dual-span bridge spanning Chesapeake Bay & connecting Maryland’s rural Eastern Shore, whence we came, with its more urban Western Shore, the bridge runs for 4.3 miles (7 kilometres). Opened as a single-span structure in 1952, when it was the world’s longest continuous over-water steel structure, a parallel span was added in 1973. It provides a picturesque drive on sunny and calm days like today, but it’s a totally different story in adverse weather. Narrow lanes (there are no hard shoulders), low & flimsy-looking guardrails, a disconcerting dogleg curve, declines and (blind) inclines between spans (this dashboard picture was captured on one of the inclines) and sitting at a height of 200 feet (60 metres) above the water all makes this a particularly perilous place to be in bad weather. When the wind blows, which it does often, some people avoid the bridge altogether, others choosing to avail of a Maryland Transportation Authority arrangement through private companies to help anxious motorists drive over the bridge for a fee.

Main Street, Annapolis, Maryland. October 1, 2017.

ABSORBING ANNAPOLIS || Annapolis, Maryland. October 1, 2017.
Parking was a chore, not to mention expensive, as we hear it always is, but once that hurdle was overcome we were free to explore the preserved Colonial Architecture, cobblestones, and rows of 18th-century brick houses that make Annapolis the strollable stunner it is (we also found time to sample the nosh in Chick & Ruth’s Delly, a busy & quirky city institution since 1965). Indeed, this city has more 18th-century buildings than any other US city, including the homes of all four Marylanders who signed the Declaration of Independence.

SAILING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD || Spa Creek, Annapolis, Maryland. October 1, 2017.
Life in Annapolis revolves around its rich maritime heritage. With a motto of ‘Come Sail Away’, the town claims to be the ‘Sailing Capital of the World’ (although Newport, Rhode Island, might have a thing or two to say about that). Annapolis Harbor is full of vessels of all shapes and sizes, smaller oceangoing vessels able to navigate the tight confines of the city’s Sap Creek right in the centre of the historic town.

US NAVAL ACADEMY || On sale on Main Street, Annapolis, Maryland. October 1, 2017.
Annapolis’ claim of being the Sailing Capital of the World is bolstered somewhat by the presence of the US Naval Academy. One of the most selective undergraduate universities in the country, the Academy has been educating officers of the US Navy here in Annapolis since 1845. The Academy’s sprawling waterfront campus, much like Annapolis itself, is steeped history and culture, the highlights of which include the US Naval Academy Museum and a beautiful domed chapel that holds the ornate crypt of John Paul Jones, father of the US Navy. We didn’t visit the Academy, but we did make the mistake of driving into the Academy grounds, although only for long enough to be told we should be here are that we’d need to leave – we duly did (‘Aye aye!’).

Day 6. Point the camera the other way. Looking out over the National Mall through the iconic Doric columns of the Lincoln Memorial on a beautiful day in Washington D.C.. October 2, 2017.

Gleaming once again following a recent renovation, the impressive dome of the US Capitol on Capitol Hill at the eastern extremity of the National Mall in Washington D.C. October 1, 2017.

It was a day for sunglasses. The US Capitol, Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. October 1, 2017.

UNITED STATES CAPITOL || Fronting the US Capitol, Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. October 1, 2017.
Marking the origin point of the 4 DC quadrants, policy decisions made under the iconic dome and within the marble walls of the massive United States Capitol building, the largest of its kind in the US, resonate around the world, for good or bad. Originally to be called Congress House, it was called the ‘Capitol’ by Thomas Jefferson (the word ‘Capitol’ comes from Latin and is associated with the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome). First built in 1800, it has been added to at various stages over the years – the Capitol’s most distinguished feature, its iconic wedding-cake style, 30-metre-diameter (96 feet), 88-metre-high (288 feet) cast-iron dome, painted white to appear to be made of the same stone as the Capitol building itself, was added between 1855 and 1866 (most recently, in 2008, the Capitol even got itself a visitor center). This is where the legislative branch of the US government (Congress) meets to write the country’s laws; the lower House of Representatives (435 members) in the building’s south wing and the upper Senate (100 members, 2 senators per state) in its north wing. Built in a distinctive neoclassical style, the blindingly white exterior, and especially the dome, free again of scaffolding following an extensive 2-year renovation (2014-2016), looked great in the late afternoon sunlight on this sunny Sunday.

THE WHITE HOUSE || The northern facade of the White House (& the Washington monument) as seen from Lafayette Square, Washington D.C. October 1, 2017.
Cars can no longer pass Pennsylvania Avenue fronting the southern facade, sporting its famous semi-circular portico of 6 Ionic columns, of the White House, famously addressed 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, so we pulled up at Lafayette Square and peaked at its columned northern facade instead. Again, the fading light played its part making the scene look all the more appealing. I vaguely remember my tour of the White House innards back in 1998, but I do remember clearly being underwhelmed. Accessible these days only via a prearranged, 6-month-in-advance-minimum-notice tour (& it’s seemingly quite the rigmarole to organise through either a member of Congress, for Americans, or your local embassy, for visitors), probably Washington’s most famous & beloved building (it came second, behind New York City’s Empire State Building, on a 2006-2007 American Institute of Architects list of ‘America’s Favorite Architecture’) was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban. Built between 1792 and 1800 in the neoclassical style using Aquia Creek sandstone painted white, it is, of course, the official residence and workplace of the President of the US, and has been for every US president since John Adams in 1800, the 2nd US President.

WASHINGTON MONUMENT || Late evening at the base of the Washington Monument of the National Mall, Washington D.C. October 1, 2017.
The Washington Monument was built almost in the middle of the National Mall (its positioning is slightly off-center) to commemorate George Washington, the nation’s first president hailed as the father of his country. DC’s tallest building, the 169-metre-high obelisk is both the world’s tallest stone structure (it’s made of marble, granite and bluestone gneiss) and the world’s tallest obelisk. Construction started in 1848, but was halted from 1854 to 1877 due to a shortage of funds & the 1861-1865 American Civil War. It was fully completed in 1888, a difference in shading of the marble, visible approximately 46 metres (150 feet) up the structure, shows where construction was halted and later resumed with marble from a different source. I’ve peered over the National Mall (and further afield) from atop the claustrophobic confines of the Washington Monument before, again back in 1998, not an option on this visit – the monument is closed to the public until at least 2019 to facilitate a refit of its elevator.

JEFFERSON MEMORIAL || Dusk at the Jefferson Memorial, Washington D.C., October 1, 2017.
The sun was well gone by the time we made it to the Jefferson Memorial, another high-profile & heavily-columnated neoclassical Washington D.C. memorial, this one located across the Tidal Basin, a 0.43 km² partially man-made reservoir, from the National Mall. One of DC’s newest monuments (it was built between 1939 and 1943) and open to the elements, it is constructed of white marble from Vermont.

Inside the rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial, Washington D.C. October 1, 2017.
A flight of marble steps lead up from the shore of the Tidal Basin to the memorial’s 8-column portico, beyond which is the central rotunda. Pride of place in here, in the centre of a circular colonnade of Ionic order columns topped by a shallow dome, is a 5.8-metre-tall (19 foot) bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), Founding Father, 3rd President of the United States & chief drafter of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, quotes from which adorn the internal walls of the memorial.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL || On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial of the National Mall, Washington D.C. October 2, 2017.
A pop culture icon, probably the most instantly-recognisable of all DC’s instantly-recognisable monuments and with a staring role in a string of Hollywood blockbusters & TV shows, the Lincoln Memorial, marking the western end of the National Mall, was built between 1914 and 1922. A huge draw for tourists since its dedication, it has also been something of a symbolic centre focused on race relations ever since civil rights leader Martin Luther King delivered his ‘I have a Dream’ speech from the memorial’s steps in August 1963.

The Lincoln Memorial, National Mall, Washington D.C. October 2, 2017.
The interior of the Lincoln Memorial is divided into three chambers by two rows of four 15-metre-tall Ionic columns (as opposed to the Doric columns fronting the memorial). The two low-lit flanking chambers display carved inscriptions of Lincoln’s 1865 Second Inaugural Address (north chamber) and his famous “Four score and seven years ago…” 1863 Gettysburg Address (south chamber), but most of the attention is diverted to the 18-metre-wide by 18-metre-high central chamber’s marble representation of the main man himself, a 6-metre-tall statue of ‘Poppa Abraham’ sitting in contemplation atop a 3-metre-high oblong pedestal of white marble, this one quarried from Tennessee.

The Lincoln Memorial, the National Mall, Washington D.C. October 2, 2017.
Carved from Georgia white marble over a four-year period and originally intended to be a more modest 3 metres tall, the seated statue of Lincoln weighs upwards of 160,000 kilograms and was shipped in 28 pieces. Sculpted by American sculptor Daniel Chester French and carved by the Piccirilli Brothers, it depicts the figure of Lincoln gazing directly ahead and slightly down with an expression of gravity and solemnity. His frock coat is unbuttoned and a large US flag is draped over the chair back and sides. French paid special attention to Lincoln’s expressive hands (he used casts of his own fingers to achieve the correct placement) which rest on the enormous arms of a circular, ceremonial chair, the fronts of which bear fasces, symbols of a magistrate’s power from Roman antiquity. Finally, the ‘In This Temple’ inscription above the statute was penned by American art historian Royal Cortissozs.

VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL || At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, National Mall, Washington D.C. October 2, 2017.
Completed in 1982 and contrasting sharply with the capital’s gleaming white marble, the black reflective gabbro wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a low-lying 150-metre-long V-shaped memorial, symbolically described as a “wound that is closed and healing”, is inscribed with the names of the 58,318 (as of May 2017, only 8 of which are women) servicemen who died in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members unaccounted for (missing in action, MIA) during the war. Designed by American architect Maya Lin, of DC’s many memorials, this may just be the most powerful of them all.

At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, National Mall, Washington D.C. October 2, 2017.

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY || Where Valor Proudly Sleeps. Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. October 2, 2017.
Across the Potomac River in neighbouring Virginia and on land that was once part of Washington (it was returned to Virginia in 1847, 17 years before the cemetery’s founding in May 1864), Arlington National Cemetery is America’s most sacred shrine, as hallowed as hallowed American ground gets. Covering a hilly 2.5 km² (625 acres) of mostly neat rows of photogenic ordered headstones, this is the somber final resting place for more than 400,000 military personnel (over 400 of which are Medal of Honor recipients) and their dependents with veterans of every US war starting with the Civil War, as well as reinterred dead from earlier wars; the very first soldier to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, on May 13, 1864, was a Private William Henry Christman of Pennsylvania.

While not the first, the burial of Edward S Foster on July 13, 1864 was one of the very first burials to take place in Arlington National Cemetery, his small headstone located in the vicinity of the cemetery’s Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial. Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. October 2, 2017.

JFK GRAVESITE & ARLINGTON HOUSE, THE ROBERT E. LEE MEMORIAL || The JFK Gravesite below Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. October 2, 2017.
Arlington National Cemetery was established during the 1861-1865 Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, seen here in the background occupying the highest point of today’s Arlington National Cemetery and visible from far & wide. Completed in 1818 & the former home of Confederate general Robert E. Lee, he of Battle of Gettysburg defeat infamy, the estate was confiscated by Union troops to bury their dead when Lee left to lead Virginia’s army at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 (the son of a Revolutionary War hero & a proud native Virginian with 3 decades of decorated service in the US Army, Lee was torn between representing the Union or the Confederation at the outbreak of the war, eventually realising he could not “raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home” & thus opting to serve his home state & the Confederacy in what was ultimately a losing cause). The house, a salmon-coloured Greek revival style mansion, was first restored to honor Lee in 1925, was made a permanent national memorial in 1955 and is today open to the public as Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial. Although primarily for military personnel and their dependents, a number of persons known for their civilian accomplishments are buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Five state funerals, greatly influenced by protocol, steeped in tradition, rich in history and the highest possible honor bestowed upon a person posthumously in the US, have been held here: those of President William Howard Taft (1930); General of the Armies John J. Pershing (1948); and President John F. Kennedy (1963) & his two brothers, Senator Robert F. Kennedy (1968, the only nighttime burial to have ever taken place at Arlington) and Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy (2009). (Whether they were wartime service members or not, US presidents are eligible to be buried at Arlington by virtue of the fact that as Commander-in-Chief they oversaw the armed forces.) Today the eternal flame that marks the grave of JFK, next to those of his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and two of their infant children, is probably Arlington’s biggest attraction; you won’t need a map of the cemetery to find this burial plot, just simply follow the crowds.

The subtle white crosses marking the final resting place of brothers Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy located in the hillside below Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial (& adjacent to President John F. Kennedy’s grave) in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. October 2, 2017.

Off the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Washington D.C. as seen from Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial, in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. October 2, 2017.