Trippin' Archives - Page 5 of 15

Denver – January 2015

May 25, 2016 by Dee

It was a happy surprise that I found myself with enough time to be able to make Denver the last stop on my way home to Melbourne, catching up with a former co-worker from NZ who’s made her home and family in the US. I was treated to wonderful Kiwi hospitality, was able to leave behind my stash of Vegemite and Golden Syrup (to great acclaim) and to spend time with J and her extended family all of whom I’d met on their travels to Australia some years ago. What a treat! I got to spend some time hanging around central Denver, checked out the Cartier exhibition that was on, and took J’s nephews with their Aunt and Nanna to visit the National Western Stock Show – like the Sydney Royal Easter Show on steroids. The perfect way to end what had been a phenomenal 3 months stateside!

Kinda wish I’d tried this

The ‘lil momma’s room… pink much?

Rope y’all

Belt up

The Salon

Well coiffed

Mmmm, tasty

Cartier

Oooh Shiny

This’ll do

Cartier

Colorado Chautauqua

Heading towards Boulder CO

Denver Art Gallery

Public Sculpture with tiny pro-lifers

Colorado State Capitol

Pro Life rally in front of Colorado State Capitol

Colorado State Capitol

Chicago January 2015

May 24, 2016 by Dee

So, on the penultimate stop of my trip, I went from New York to Chicago, from one great WordPress buddy’s home to another’s and had a week in the cold, oh man, was it cold… I don’t know how my friends survive it year after year, it was a great novelty for me…but… nice to visit, not wholly keen on it as a long term prospect… I’ll take Melbourne’s 4 seasons in a day… any day. Did spend a couple of days walking around, when the weather allowed and caught the highlights. Really loved Cloud Gate with its snow cover (that’s the jelly bean in common parlance).

Cloud Gate at Millenium Park, Chicago,

Union Station, Chicago

Union Station Chicago

Union Station, Chicago

James R. Thompson Center

“Monument with Standing Beast,” a sculpture by Jean Dubuffet

Chicago’s Picasso at Daley Center Plaza

I can’t even

Walking in the cold… that’s ice, ice, baby on the Chicago River

View from John Hancock Center

Walking in the cold… that’s ice, ice, baby on the Chicago River

Brutalist Architecture in Marina City – aka the Corn Cob buildings

Chicago Theatre

Chicago Water Tower

John Hancock Tower

View from John Hancock

Looking over Navy Pier

Couple of crazy kids

View from Jess’ apartment… chilly

Retro Maccas

Hard Rock Cafe

Washington DC – the Mall and Monuments

February 16, 2015 by Dee

Having lived in Gaithersburg, MD, for a year,way back in the Eighties. It was quite the trip down memory lane to go into town and wander round Washington DC once again. Predictably the monuments don’t change much, I guess that’s the whole point of a monument… the Korean War Memorial was new to me, but everything else remains much the same, a reassuring thing.

It was a glorious day, but omg, so freezing old… I hadn’t worn thermals under my jeans and my thighs were numb by the time I got home… I don’t have photos of the Holocaust Museum which was also a new one for me, it was an incredible place to visit and one I highly recommend. It strikes the right balance between interesting and arresting.

The Potomac River

Arlington Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial

Reflections of the Korean War Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Looking up to the Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument

Vietnam Memorial

Vietnam Women’s Memorial

The White House

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Washington Monument at Dusk

World War II Memorial

That Washington Monument, again.

Arlington Cemetery – Washington, DC

January 19, 2015 by Dee

If you’re inclined to walk a lot (or need to increase the number of steps your fitbit registers), and you’re in Washington DC you can cover a LOT of ground having a look around Arlington National Cemetery. They have an excellent app that you can use to plan your visit and map your route. I made great use of it, but it should be pointed out that there’s only one entrance and exit… so my plan to walk in one end and out the other was thwarted… so I walked rather a lot further than I had planned to… It was a very, very chilly day as you’ll note by the picture of frozen grass in the gallery below but the weather was stunning and the walk really worth it.