Boston and Washington - Spring 2016 - Final Thoughts and Washington, D.C. SHOPPING REPORT

[Guest]

This is my first trippie...please be gentle...



Trippie Index Here


Day 15 Here



What:


Boston, Washington D.C. and Baltimore



When:


Spring 2016



Who:


Me (April) Long Past Legal


DH (R.C.) Even Longer Past (but still not past it)


DM (Judybat) A Real Lady


DS (Pooter) Aged 9, Loves Baseball and Books



Firstly, I want to say a major “sorry” to all those Dibbers whose trippies I’ve read and NOT commented on.

In the past, I’ve only commented when I felt I had something relevant or interesting to contribute - but now that I know how much work goes into one of these, I promise to comment, even if all I can think of to say is “Thank you for doing this”...


Carrying on in that vein, I want to thank the Dibbers who have commented on my trippie. It was a HECKUVA lot easier to keep plugging away once I knew that a few people were following along…



Final Thoughts Boston:


All four of us had a great time. A return to Boston (coupled with a driving holiday in New England) is definitely on the cards - possibly in 2018 or 2019.


I was really unsure how the Boston part of the holiday would work out, with us having to stay in two separate hotels...but it was fine (and maybe, dare I say it...better than it would have been otherwise?).

I think there was a real opportunity for the chaps to have more of a boys’ trip - their very first! And it was pretty awesome for me to just have to think about myself...I quite enjoyed spending ALL DAY doing girly things (and then eating popcorn for dinner).


Accommodation:


I would definitely stay at the Loews Boston again - though I am also tempted by a hotel called the Liberty - it’s on Beacon Hill and was once a gaol!

The Liberty:

Restaurants:


We loved Flour, and would definitely choose to eat there again (either for breakfast or lunch).

Pizzeria Regina will also get another visit.

Poot and R.C. were impressed with the Italian food they had at Lucca Back Bay and Cantina Italiana.

Final Thoughts Washington:


I feel done with D.C., frankly, having now been there twice.

I am still annoyed with myself for not insisting we go out to the Udvar-Hazy Center (to see (the space shuttle) Discovery and the Enola Gay).

I also REALLY wish I had prioritised going out to Arlington.

The rotten weather cut short our days and meant we got less accomplished.

I hate seeing holidays as checking things off a list - and I’m not really like that - but I definitely wish we had been able to do more...


Accommodation:


The Residence Inn Capitol was fine.

It was very convenient for the Mall and the National Museums, and I REALLY liked having the kitchen since the surrounding neighbourhood seemed to “roll up the sidewalks” at sunset.


It occurred to me this year that - for the first time since Poot was born - we can now plan evenings out! We’ve gotten so used to earlier nights on holiday these last few years, but now that Poot is older (and not getting up at 5:00 AM anymore - yay!) it’s fun to think about planning for concerts, shows, etc...


SO...if Poot IS able to talk me into going back to D.C. (and he is trying) I would choose to stay in a more residential neighbourhood - so there would be more things to do at night. Maybe Dupont Circle, I liked the look of that...

Restaurants:


In D.C. we ate all of our evening meals at our hotel - either the free hotel dinners, or ones that I cooked up in our little kitchen. Lunches were all eaten at our “day out destinations” - I was happy with my cheese curds...

...at the Museum of American History, but the only place I would really recommend is the Mitsitam Cafe at the Museum of the American Indian.

I think on a weekend, when all the regional counters are open and serving - there should be some pretty interesting choices - it is cool to see the “native foods” on offer. It was VERY spendy, though - share a meal - and don't forget that they have massive carafes of (free) water.


I was sad that we missed out on our slap-up Ethiopian meal in Adams Morgan. I LOVE Ethiopian food, and was really looking forward to this. If you like Ethiopian, D.C. has some GREAT choices (as it’s home to the largest Ethiopian community in the world outside Africa).

More on D.C. and Baltimore:


I REALLY dislike the way that security is handled in D.C. (if you’ve read this far you’ve probably noticed that…).

And, in truth, the experiences we had with security are the reason I don’t want to go back. There are so many places in the world to see...many of which actually make visitors feel WELCOME...what a concept!


I know a lot of people are able to separate their security experience from their travel experience as a whole - but I am not. I firmly believe that if London can do it, D.C. can do it - and the fact that it chooses not to DOES NOT say good things about the way Americans view the world, or indeed one another.


My biggest disappointment though - was with myself. The rain (monsoon!) kept us from Fort McHenry in Baltimore on our first day there - and my twitchiness kept us from it on our second. I wish I’d have sucked it up and insisted that we stayed in Baltimore for a few more hours, because frankly I don’t anticipate a return visit! What a wuss…



Future Plans:


Next on the holiday agenda is Florida (yay!) this autumn. We are doing Orlando and Sanibel Island (Poot is shell-mad).

On Sanibel we’re sharing a suite with DM and her new husband...hopefully that will go OK...


I was tentatively planning for Hawaii next year, but I think we’re going to do more baseball instead - perhaps a driving holiday that takes in some of the Great Lakes cities - so maybe Toronto, Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago, Duluth - some combination of those.

I would also like to try and work in Niagara Falls (which none of us have ever seen!).

My DM and I had such a lovely time at the figure skating that I am also toying with the idea of doing it all over again for the 2017 World Gymnastics Championships in Montreal.

I floated the idea past DH; he seemed keen. We are French speakers in our house, so I think he and Poot could have some more fab “manly days” while DM and I watch gymnastics.


...I spent a couple of days in Montreal back in my (much) younger days...I can remember a pretty wild night at a club called “Le S*x Dome” - I imagine this visit would be a little more sedate…



I have MASSIVE respect for those of you who do full trippies every year. I have enjoyed doing this one (and especially enjoyed finding out more about my own lad!) - maybe I’ll try a food report next...I love reading those…


CONCLUDES (!) in next post with Baltimore/Washington Shopping Report

[Melbatb]

I totally hear you about the comments

I have really enjoyed your report - warts and all!

Montreal is worth a revisit - we are off there tomorrow to finish our Quebec trip. We are also French speakers (well we do live in France ) so it is fun trying to get the quebecois to understand our European French! Though in Montreal we found last year they are far more bilingual than out here in the sticks where we are now!

Have fun in Florida.

And a big thanks to Poot for bringing a very brilliant extra dimension to your report.

[Guest]

continued from previous post




Washington, D.C. and Baltimore Shopping Report




We flew hand luggage only - limited space meant not TOO many purchases.


As I did with Boston, I’ll list our “advance purchase” first, and then list other things by shop. I will again put our book purchases at the end of the report, so bibliophiles can go right to them and bibliophobes can skip them!




Advance Purchase:


Washington National V-Neck Boys’ Raglan Top - $6 + $5 shipping (I had this shipped to England from America)


I ordered this “boys’” shirt from (American) Amazon. It was nice - not just screen-printed - it has a really big applique across the chest - well worth the £7 (including shipping) that I paid. Oh, I could just cry thinking about the exchange rate when I bought this...

The problem:


It was not a boys’ shirt! It was an adult shirt - so I decided that I, too, would wear Nats gear to the game...lol.


It was big on me, but it was SO COLD the day of the game that I was able to layer it over a turtleneck jumper. Sadly, I also had to layer it UNDER a jacket. It was really cold at the game - ah, well...at least my jacket was red, too.

Columbia Heights (D.C.) Target:


Heath chocolate/toffee bits ($2.50).

These are scrummy in cookies - I also use them as the topping of my “Better than Robert Redford” cake (I’m sure younger women call this cake something else now () , but when I learned to make it that’s what it was called).

Better than Robert Redford Cake:

Poot picked out this book - he had been hoping we would find it:


"I Survived: Nature Attacks" ($12.99)

National Zoo:


Panda patch for Poot’s jacket ($5.00):

Pressed pennies for Poot’s collection (I didn't photograph his, but they looked like these, lol):

Marshalls (Baltimore):



LeSportsac “Love” tote bag ($34.99)

I adore LeSportsac - it weighs NOTHING and it’s washable - it is SO great for travel.


If you like Kipling, LeSportsac is even lighter - and it does special and novelty prints (like Kipling, LeSportsac is expensive for what it is - the RRP for this tote was $85 ).


Snoopy LeSportsac Duffel Bag ($39.99):

OK, more Snoopy…


These glittery Peanuts notecards were $3.99.

Three rolls of "Duck Tape" duct tape, in Dia de los Muertos, Candy Corn and Minnesota designs ($2.99 each):

Disney Pictopia Game ($7.99):

I will NEVER get DH to play this, but I just couldn't resist!


Graphic 45 "Good Ol' Sport" 12x12 Paper Pad ($6.99):

I'm a cardmaker/scrapbooker - I LOVE Graphic 45 paper, but it's sometimes too pretty to use.


Marshalls (Columbia Heights, D.C.):


I wanted Poot to have a Washington Nationals shirt to wear to the game. I was not thrilled by the quality of ANY of the Nats gear I saw (at Target, Marshalls or Nationals Park) - so I’m glad I got him this cheaper choice.


Washington Nationals Quarter-Zip “Tech Fabric” Shirt ($11.99):

Barnes and Noble - Inner Harbor, Baltimore:


This store is really interesting - it was built inside the shell of an old power plant, and has maintained some of the plant’s “guts” as features. There is also a massive aquarium on the second floor.

National Park Quarters Album ($3.95):

If you are collecting all different national park quarters, these are so handy to have. Poot loves checking his American change for state and national park quarters - over the years he has assembled quite the little collection!


I DO let Poot do the pressed pennies, but I think the state and national park quarters make for better souvenirs.


Spongebob Comic ($3.99):

Hideous Star Wars Gloves ($4.98):

...see, I told you they were awful!


It had been so cold...but we hadn’t seen gloves for sale anywhere (because it was April!). I found these in the clearance bin and wore these every day until the day we left D.C. (when it warmed up, typical!).



Books for America (Dupont Circle, D.C.):



Books for America is a charity. Here is a little bit more about them - from their website:


We are a small non-profit organization with a staff of twelve and a rather tight budget. Even with these limitations, we have donated more than $9 million worth of books and educational materials to local schools, shelters and other organizations as of March 2016!


We bought three comics - Captain America, Northlanders and Jack...something...I bought these specifically to frame and hang on Poot’s bedroom wall. They were 50 cents each.

I chose a book about Saxon treasures for myself ($5). I love National Geographic books - they have such gorgeous photographs.

Poot picked out one book from the (adult) nonfiction section and two from the kids nonfiction section.


"Connecticut Disasters" ($3.00), "Earthquakes", "The White House is Burning" (this was an EXCELLENT book for 8-12 year olds about the War of 1812):

Lol, until I had a son I never knew there were SO MANY disaster books…


While we were looking at the kids’ books, another customer came up to me and told me that all children were allowed to take ten CHILDREN’S books from the shop, for free. Wow! Poot was over the moon.


In addition to the nonfiction titles above, he picked out these from the fiction department:

I especially like "Theseus and the Minotaur" - it's a translation of a French title - and part of a graphic novel mythology set. Very cool.


This shop is now closed, sadly. I hope they find new retail space soon - they are hunting for it as I write this...




Washington, D.C. Southwest Library:

Poot and I ducked in here one night just in case they had a little sale corner. Indeed they did - and all the kids' books were free.

I was excited to find "Snow Treasure" - this is a FAB historical novel for kids based on a true story (about how some Norwegian children smuggled Norway's gold supply out from under the noses of the Nazis).


And that is it. The end of the shopping report - and the end of this trippie! Thanks so much for reading.

[Melbatb]

You did well to get all those books in your handluggage

Could we have the recipe for the cake please? It looks delicious!

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

I totally hear you about the comments

I have really enjoyed your report - warts and all!

Montreal is worth a revisit - we are off there tomorrow to finish our Quebec trip. We are also French speakers (well we do live in France ) so it is fun trying to get the quebecois to understand our European French! Though in Montreal we found last year they are far more bilingual than out here in the sticks where we are now!

Have fun in Florida.

And a big thanks to Poot for bringing a very brilliant extra dimension to your report.

See more...

Thanks so much. I will pass your kind compliment on to Poot...

Where in France are you? We live part of every year (how much of the year depends on DH's work...) in our house near Apt!

I promised myself that I wouldn't READ any trippies until I finished writing this one - but now I am going to read yours - I love Quebec, and I've planned to set aside some time on Sunday to enjoy your journey vicariously...

As for French, I think Quebecois French is like Mexican Spanish - I never knew there could be such an...interesting array of expletives...

Have you seen "Bon Cop, Bad Cop"?

Should be required viewing before a Quebec holiday - so funny!


I cannot get this laptop to do accent marks...sorry.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

You did well to get all those books in your handluggage

Could we have the recipe for the cake please? It looks delicious!

See more...

We were posting at the same time, lol.

I have NEVER taken such a heavy case on a plane.

The recipe is a bit embarrassing to post; it barely counts as "semi-homemade".


"Better than Robert Redford Cake"


You make a chocolate or German chocolate cake (from scratch or from a mix) in a standard 9x13 (inch) cake pan (sorry, I don't understand metric cooking - I have a set of American pans/spoons/measuring cups both here in England and in France).

When I'm in a hurry, I use this one from Tesco:

Once the cake has cooled for ten or fifteen minutes, you poke holes in it - about every half-inch or so - going all the way down to the bottom of the pan - with the cylindrical end of a wooden spoon (or the "fat end" of a chopstick).


Drizzle one BIG tin (the one that's about the size of a soup tin) of sweetened condensed milk over the cake, and let it absorb the milk (that's what the holes are for). I know they sell condensed milk in bottles now, too - but I'm not sure how big the bottles are...


Then drizzle one bottle of caramel or toffee sauce (it needs to be a FAIRLY runny one, you can't use straight dulce de leche) over the cake as well. Personally, I think that American-style caramel tastes better in this than English-style toffee, but that's just my opinion.


Run your knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake, and refrigerate for at least two hours - during which the cake will continue to absorb the milk and caramel - this is why the caramel needs to be pretty runny.


Whip up some (whipping or double) cream (about 6-8 ounces should do) so it's lovely and light (and holds its peaks really well). Some people add a little sugar to the cream - but I don't usually, as the dessert is already so sweet. A lot of Americans top this cake with Cool Whip - yuk! - instead of "proper" whipped cream.


Spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake and sprinkle the toffee bits all over the cream. You can also sprinkle it with nuts, if you are so inclined...


Make sure to keep it in le frigo.

[dismamx2]

I've enjoyed reading your report and appreciate the effort you put into it. Great trip, thank you for sharing

[Mel49]

I "need" a Snoopy LeSportSac Bag but Uk prices too dear so will need to wait until back in States and keep an eye out for range - will make a change from my Kipling bags !
Have really enjoyed both your and Poot's trip report and it was very interesting to read about different places and thank you for sharing

[maznorm]

I've so enjoyed reading your trip report. I, like you, don't usually comment unless I feel I have something worthy to say. I will from now on though.

I have been inspired by Poot's Trip report and now my eldest DS will be doing his own as welll. He's quite excited about it.

[Twilight Nerd]

I too have enjoyed your report its great that you and Poot took the time to share with us. I want to visit Boston now!