Sunday 31st August, 2008 - Waikiki, Hawaii

Day 36

The Ala Moana Centre in Honolulu is the largest shopping center in Hawaii, and the largest open-air shopping Centre in the World. After catching the bus here, we can also attest it is very easy to get lost here. It’s also well worth a visit, especially if you’re hungry, because it has the largest food court in the world. Have you noticed how everything in the United States has to be the world’s biggest?


There are fountains, palm trees, rain forests, and these colourful fish (pictured above) swimming happily in the pond. There is entertainment most days, including Hula dancers.

TRAVEL TIP: Ala Mona Center is located on Ala Mona Boulevard cross of Piiloli Street. Jump on nearly any bus and it will take you there.

On the way back we stop of at Waikiki’s best kept secret – The US Army Museum (pictured below) on Kalia Road, Fort DeRussy. It’s also absolutely free!

We signed the guest book and had a long chat with the old guy at the counter, who was a retired Chicago cop. He couldn’t believe that we were cops travelling around the world on six weeks leave, and I kind of formed the impression cops don’t get paid that much in the States. The pay and the fact that there are 192 million guns in this country, makes us feel lucky we are NSW cops. The museum has exhibits on the history of the army in Hawaii, the war in the Pacific, The Korean War, and The Vietnam War. There is even this cool Cobra Helicopter Gunship on the roof (pictured below).


We spent the remainder of the afternoon on Waikiki Beach, enjoying the sunshine, the warm water, and the relaxed atmosphere. It's easy to see why they call this place paradise - perfect weather, friendly people, and a laid back lifestyle reminiscent of our own.

It's a public holiday tomorrow, and we have been warned to stay off the roads due to traffic conjestion. It's pretty bad from what I've seen so far, so I would imagine it's going to be really really bad tomorrow. As a result we will delay our drive to Turtle Beach on the North Shore of the Island until tuesday.

Saturday 30th August, 2008 - Pearl Harbour, Hawaii

Chief Cabin Boy on USS Bogan. 

Day 35

It's about one hours bus ride to Pearl Harbor; an hour of stop, start, stop, start along Waikiki Beach, through Downtown Honolulu, past Chinatown, and industrial areas to the Visitor Centre, which is run, like, Alcatraz, by the National Park Service.

The tour begins with a film on the Japanese attack on ‘the date of Infamy', Sunday 7th December, 1941. At the time of the attack, battleships were lined up two deep along that far shore (pictured above). The white building is where the USS Arizona was docked, and the grey ship on the far left is the USS Missouri. The Japanese sunk or damaged 21 ships here with a total of 2,388 people killed and 1,178 wounded.



Immediately after the film we board a boat to the Arizona Memorial (pictured above) crewed by the United States Navy. The water is shallow here, and you can see the base of the gun turret (pictured below), the white buoy marks the stern of the battleship Arizona. A Japanese bomb ignited the ammuniton stored on the boat, subsequently causing a catastrophic explosion, thus sinking the ship, and killing most of the crew.

Oil still seeps from the ship, called the “tears of the Arizona”, which I just happened to see. At the far end of the memorial is a white wall with the names of the 1,177 crew killed, and it is eerie to think that many of them are entombed beneath us.

Then it was back on the boat to the Visitors Centre, where we managed to take this photograph (pictured above) with one of the sailors.

He said, "I love Australia. I've been to Sydney, Darwin, and Brisbane." (with the Navy).

The Arizonia Memorial tour is absolutely free, however to visit the USS Bowfin & USS Missouri it costs $24 per adult.

This is the USS Bowfin submarine (pictured above - with some idiot on it saluting), which sank 44 enemy ships over the course of 9 missions during World War 2. US submarines were the unsung heroes of the war, sinking over half the available ships, a crippling blow to an Island nation having to import most of their raw materials.


The tour of the submarine was fascinating:



This is the business end - the Torpedo room. 24 torpedoes were carried.









This is the bunk room. There were not enough beds to go around, so they had to 'hot bunk'; the sailor coming off duty had to get into the 'hot' bed of the sailor coming on duty.








This is the engine room. If attacked by Japanese ships the submarine would 'run silent, run deep' - turning off the diesel engine, and run on electric battery power and dive to over 300 feet deep.









This is the galley, where the crew ate. There was even an icecream machine, that was obviously very popular.




We board a bus to take us to the battleship, USS Missouri (pictured above), which is where Japan formerly surrendered. The ship is absolutely massive and had a crew of 1,500. The living quarters are positively palatial compared to the submarine we just visited.

Back at Waikaki, we had walk along the beach, which is actually quite narrow, a cement boardwalk is needed in places (pictured below).

Tomorrow we are having a relaxing day in Waikiki.

Friday 29th August, 2008 - Honolulu, Hawaii

Day 34

It's a beautiful day in Hawaii; a great day for a cruise, so we looked on the internet and booked a spot on The Makani, a luxury sailing catamaran (pictured above), at Kewalo Basin about a mile west of Waikiki beach. (http://www.sailmakini.com/).

The famous Waikiki Beach (pictured above) is already packed with sunbathers, and surfers, as we walk to the bus stop. It's pretty cheap to catch the bus around Honolulu; a return ticket only costs two dollars. When we arrive at the yacht basin, Louise says "I forgot to put sunscreen on."

TRAVEL TIP: Carry a small plastic container of sunscreen around with you. Otherwise you will end up like us having bought five bottles of sunscreen by the end of your trip. Today Louise purchased a thirty dollar bottle of lavender essential oils made in Hawaii sunscreen, because that was the only sunscreen they sold, and the native Hawaiian lady was so friendly that she felt sorry for her.

Clearing the harbor, the captain hoists the sail and cuts the engine, and we’re cruising along Waikiki beach towards Diamond Head (pictured above), an extinct volcano (Well, I hope it’s extinct).

This is Pal, the ship’s mascot, and he is very cute (pictured above). Don’t you think?

He also doubles as the ships rescue dog, which I think must be a joke, for the only thing he wanted to rescue was our hotdogs from our lunch plate.

There's something romantic about sailing - silently gliding through the water, the sails flapping in the wind, a cool sea breeze, and the sun on your face. But, at the back of the boat, not everyone was finding it quite so romantic, particularly the girl continuously vomiting into a bucket Her poor boyfriend looked shattered, she looked a nasty shade of green, no doubt hoping the whole experience would be over soon.

Meanwhile at the front of the boat, we were having a great time (pictured above). I think this is the way to see Honolulu, by sail boat, just like Captain Cook. Maybe, that's a bad example - didn't he get killed in Hawaii? Anyway, we enjoyed seeing New York Harbour by jet boat in thirty minutes, but we recommend for Hawaii a nice relaxing two hour sailing cruise. Except, if you get sea sick, like the girl above, because then it could be the worst two hours of your life.

As I mentioned earlier, the bus is very cheap, but it's also very popular, and therefore very crowded on the return journey. An advertisement says their building a train, no doubt to reduce some of the heavy traffic conjestion in Honolulu, and their total reliance on imported fuel.

For dinner we went to the Oceanarium restauarant, which as the name implies, features a view of their massive Oceanarium, and a seafood buffett.A scuba diver even swims around and holds up signs like, "Happy birthday Mr Migayi (Hawaii is about 16% Japanese American: The irony is not lost on me either -pictured below).

Tomorrow, if we don't have food poisoning, we plan on visiting Pearl Harbour.

Thursday 28th August, 2008 - Honolulu, Hawaii

Day 33

For the first time in America we were not searched, perhaps, because nobody it seems is being searched on the way out of Orlando. I was a little disappointed in a way, because I had come prepared; I was wearing no belt, and had no shoes, just thongs or Flip Flops as they are called here. Whatever you do, don't ask for thongs, they will probably give you a G string, which could be kind of awkward if you’re male. A short monorail journey conveys us to the airport terminals. Our flight left at 12.50pm; five hours to LA, and another five to Hawaii.

There's nothing enjoyable about flying in the States. I much prefer the train. I really enjoyed our train trip from New York to Washington; we didn't have to battle to the airport, or arrive two hours early, or be searched, or sit like sardines into an uncomfortable seat. What I hate most about the plane, apart from the inconvenience, is the inability to see whats going on down below. Just to sit and watch the world go by in relative silence is one of the train's chief pleasures. I miss the great train journeys we had in Europe: the fast train from Paris to Monaco, through Italy to Venice, and then the night train across Austria to Prague.

We arrive at Los Angeles around 3pm, and wait until 5pm for the plane to fly the next leg to Honolulu. The flight is really starting to drag; without the monitors in the back of the seats, we can't entertain ourselves by selecting movies or programs - I can't even watch that little plane move across the map.

Around 8pm we see the dark outline of Hawaii, and the amber lights of Honolulu ahead. 'Aloha' the captain says as he taxis up to the gate. We're very weary, because it's 1am on Orlando time now.

Hotel Renew is everything we expected: cold fruit juice upon arrival, professional friendly service, and the hotel room (pictured above) had everything, including this huge projection TV on the wall (Pictured below).

Then it was time for a stroll along the famous, Waikiki Beach. The weather is perfect, warm, but with a nice cool sea breeze. We didn't see too much, but what I saw I liked; flaming torches line the promenade, people seem happy and relaxed, and most importantly we saw our favourite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory.

Wednesday 27th August, 2008 - Orlando

Day 32

Today is a rest day; no driving, or bus tours, and definitely no theme parks - relaxing by the pool or a short walk across the road to Downtown Disney is the order for the day. I think there comes a time, probably around the one month mark, where you hit 'the wall', you need to rest, to recharge the batteries, to do, quite frankly 'bugger all', even for just one day.

Yet, at the same time you don't want to go home. Funnily, as I write this a black snake slivered past me in the garden behind my pool deck chair.

"Hey, look at the snake." I said.

"I'm sure it's just a lizard.' she said, with her eyes closed. Slowly, she turned and sighted the one metre long snake now directly behind her.

'SNAKE!' she screamed, jumping up on her sun lounge.

Too funny, so much for relaxing by the pool. If an alligator gets in the pool, that's it, we're out of here! (Pictured above – I managed to get this picture on my phone before it slivered away).

It's easy to forget Orlando is built on a swamp (until your attacked by a snake), but like Las Vegas, built in, what should be a similarly hostile environment the desert, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. Why? Firstly, both are relatively cheap, in our case to stay at a Hilton Hotel, with breakfast, and the internet, it's about $150 US a night. The second reason; Entertainment, nonstop entertainment - Theme parks, Shows, Space Centers, etc. Lastly, they make money, buckets of it, as gamblers drop millions in the casinos, families drop millions into Disney Parks, and Disney merchandising - can you imagine any kid coming back home without a Disney product? Even Big kids, like Louise, have spent hundreds of dollars on her three year old niece.

Whilst, waiting for our laundry, we had an ice-cream from Main street market, a shop in the hotel. Every now and then we come across a great product or retailer, like Edy's Fruit Bars - strawberry flavour - all natural - winner of the Best Taste Award in 2008. "It's the best ice block I've ever tasted......there are real chunks of strawberries in it' Louise said, with a big smile on her face. Remember the name - Edy's Fruit Bars.

Late in the afternoon we wandered across the road to Downtown Disney, where we enjoyed a chocolate fudge sundae from the famous, Ghiradelli Chocolate Company. We saw the original headquarters in San Francisco, now turned into a San Francisco landmark near Fishermans Wharf.


We continued walking past this dragon made out of Lego, outside the huge Lego store. (pictured above – snakes, now dragons?). Our hotel is directly behind it.

This is the world's biggest Planet Hollywood, where we ate the other night (pictured below).

Then it was onto this massive Virgin Megastore, that I couldn't get Louise out of, and where she subsequently bought five CD's, a book on Madonna, and a DVD. What did I tell you? - Disney Orlando makes people go shopping mad.

Then it was back to the hotel for room service - they do a great Spagetti Bolognaise.

Tomorrow we’re off to Hawaii. It’s a long flight; we have to stop at Los Angeles, and won’t arrive until 8pm. We will be staying at Hotel Renew on Waikaki Beach. We're excited by this boutique hotel, because it's rated number one on Tripadvisor for Honolulu.

TRAVEL TIP: www.Tripadvisor.com is a travel internet site, where people can rate hotels, and provide feedback. We used this internet site to choose each one of our hotels; each of the hotel's we stayed in came in the top five for that city, and as a result each hotel has been perfect. There's also useful advice in the feedback comments, like "pick a room at the rear of the hotel to avoid noise', that turned out to be a real lifesaver in New York. It's not just hotel information, but everything to do with travel, and we would strongly recommend checking this website before you plan your next trip.

Tuesday 26th August, 2008 - Mount Dora, Florida

Day 31

In a quest to find a real American small town we headed for Mount Dora about one hour drive away, which we had read in our Top Ten Orlando guide book was a picturesque lakeside town. Upon arrival we discovered a town that seemed to be in a 1950’s time warp; no chain stores, or fast food restaurants, just quaint little shops – lots of antique and craft shops (pictured below). The townspeople lived in neat houses, with well kept lawns, and it seemed like every second one had an American flag.

The people were so polite and friendly, and I was not surprised to see they had been voted as one of The Top 100 Southern Towns.

On Fourth Avenue, we found a little piece of America, "that will be forever England", The Windsor Rose Tea Room (pictured above), obviously run by Anglophiles, with pictures of the Royal Family on the walls, and an English menu, (pictured below - note the uniforms) which included one of our favourites - Devonshire cream teas. They even had clotted cream for the scones imported from the mother country, and English Breakfast tea in tea pots. It was all very civilized; not something you would expect to find in a small town in the United States, and had us both missing England.

If your tired of theme parks, disheartened by rampant consumerism, and need to escape the hustle and bustle of the resorts, drive to the small town of Mount Dora, and experience 'good ole Southern Hospitality' at its finest.

Monday 25th August, 2008 - Kennedy Space Center

An Aussie Bogan on the moon 🌒 

Day 30 Being tired from a late night is not conducive to learning to drive on the right hand side of the road in a strange car. Avis have a desk at our hotel, and we hired some 1950's retro car, which drove like a truck, but Louise thought it looked 'cute' (Pictured below).

  I was off to good a start when I went to get in the driver’s seat on the wrong side. Then I turned on the windscreen wipers instead of the indicator – it kept getting better. It’s a weird feeling driving on the other side of the road at first, but gradually you get used to it, but I don’t think it will ever become instinctive like driving back at home. The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is at Cape Canaveral, just under one hour drive from our hotel. We start at Visitor Complex and then catch the tour bus to the LC-39 Observation Gantry, where we can see the Launch Complexes where the Apollo and Space Shuttle missions take place. Apollo 11, left from here with Neil Armstrong when he landed on the moon (Pictured below). This tall building is the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB - pictured below), where the solid rocket boosters are assembled and mated together with the external tank and the orbiter to create a complete Space Shuttle. The gravel road is the Crawlerway used to support the 18 million pound combined weight of the Crawler Transporter, Mobile Launch Platform, and the Space Shuttle, from the VAB to the Launch Complex. The next stop is the Apollo/Saturn 5 Center. After walking through the doors, the sight of the Saturn 5 rocket, commonly called the Moon Rocket, stops people dead in their tracks. It’s huge, 111 meters long, just one foot short of St Paul’s Cathedral, London. It had to be to take a man to the moon. The Firing Room Theater is the original control complete, and recreates an Apollo mission – complete with the countdown, the roar from the rocket, and shaking windows (pictured below). The third stop is the International Space Station Center that prepares the components for their flight to space. In a couple of years the station will finally be completed. We return to the Visitors Center. The highlight was the Shuttle Launch Experience, which is a simulation of a real shuttle flight (pictured above). We walk into the shuttle, strap in, and then it tilts 90 degrees, and then the countdown begins, the boosters ignite, the chair rattles, you can hear the roar, and the tinkle of coins falling out of people’s pockets. The G force pushes you back into the seat, our teeth rattle - even the skin on our face wobbles. We’re now hammering at 17,500 miles per hour. Then we level out, and we feel weightless – we’re in space! The roof of the shuttle opens and we look down at Earth. I think it was the best ride I’ve ever been on. They say it’s very similar to a real takeoff. TRAVEL TIP: The new Shuttle Launch Experience is a definite ‘must do’ on any trip to Florida. I think it’s the best ride I’ve ever been on.

Opposite, we walk through a full-scale replica of the Shuttle Explorer. The IMAX Theater has a great 3D show called “Walking on the Moon’ narrated by Tom Hanks, and you really do feel like “you are walking on the moon’. The Rocket Garden (pictured below) has a number of rockets used in the space program. Note the massive Saturn rocket.

The Kennedy Space Center is one of the best attractions we’ve been to in the United States; we didn’t realize how good it was going to be, otherwise we would have arrived earlier in the day. We stayed, until they kicked us out at 6pm. I tried out to be an astronaut, but they said I looked too silly in the space suit (pictured below). What do you think?

Sunday 24th August, 2008 - Orlando, Florida

Day 29

We had a special treat at the hotel's buffet breakfast - the Disney Characters attended, and posed for photographs, including Minnie, Goofy, Pluto (pictured below), lots of bears, foxes,, and other characters who we don't know their names. Hey, we're not under five or have any children. The kids were going crazy with excitement. So too was Louise. (Pictured above).

The plan today was ambitious, perhaps evan foolish, to visit both Universal Studios and Disney's Magic Kingdom. We started with Universal Studios, where in the Twister, we stepped into the vortex of a tornado, resulting in Louise becoming soaking wet - she just happened to be standing in the wrong place. We were terrified by the Mummy Ride, and nearly eaten on the Jaws boat ride. On the Simpsons Ride I think I was more scared than the five year old next to me. Animal Actors, was an entertaining live animal show (pictured below), featuring the dog from the Men in Black movie. It was so hot I found myself envying people who had those daggy electric portable fans.

TRAVEL TIP: Purchase the Express Ticket; I promise you, that in the Florida heat and humidity you will not want to wait in long lines for rides and shows.

Around 7pm we arrive at Magic Kingdom, and as Hilton Disney World Resort guests, tonight we can stay in the park until 1am - 3 hours after the official closing time. It's cooler then and after 10pm the crowds for the rides and shows will be roughly halved.

TRAVEL TIP: Stay at a Disney affiliated hotel if you want to be ableto stay after hours and avoid the crowds.

You might be interested to know that Louise's favorite Disney ride is 'It's A Small World', where you cruise around in a small boat, whilst hundreds of miniature dolls sing 'It's a small world after all' dressed in their national costumes. Australia was represented by an Aboriginal man in a loin cloth with a boomerang.

TRAVEL TIP: Space Mountain appears to be the most popular ride, so I would recommend using the Fast Pass system on this one. Don’t miss the spectacular fireworks display at 10pm, or the Disney Parades.

Well, it was a long day, but we did it - two theme parks in one day. We arrived back at our hotel around 2am - absolutely exhausted. We are proud to have now been to every Disney Resort in the world. Now, which is the best amusement park we've visited? The amusement park I enjoyed the most was Universal Studios in Los Angeles; the studio tours, the shows, the rides, and the VIP Pass System - straight to the front of the line for rides and shows, are just too good in my opinion. However, I must admit that Disneyland is more geared for children, and I think little kids would really love it, but if you're an adult with no children, and can only visit one amusement park, I would head straight to Universal in Los Angeles and purchase the VIP Pass.

Tomorrow we plan on going to the Kennedy Space Centre, which is where they launch the Space Shuttles. Hopefully, there will be a launch tomorrow.

Saturday 23rd August, 2008 - Orlando

Day 28

Driving to the airport along the Potomac River we pass more joggers – there are hundreds of them – they must be having a fun run. I'm ready to declare them the World's fittest city. Over the bridge across the Potomac, curving past Arlington Cemetery, and along a tree lined freeway we're soon at Reagan National Airport. Yes, we are searched again – it’s getting real old now. It’s a small crowded airport, the lines for the female toilets stretch down the corridor, and there are even lines inside the male toilets, something you don't often see at an airport, especially in at a Nation's capital, and eating options are likewise limited. Better to have breakfast before coming to this airport, or better yet, catch the train, or drive. Louise and I are in firm agreement that we will never fly domestic in the US again.

Orlando by contrast, is a large airport, so large it has a monorail to convey passengers to the baggage terminal. Around 1pm we have collected our bags and were on a taxi on route to the Hilton Walt Disney World. It’s hot, humid, but the wind is gone, and we can see blue sky. Fortunately, we postponed our flight yesterday, because the taxi driver, said, "they were getting off the plane white as sheets it was so windy." He told us he thinks one in ten people get in his cab furious after losing their bags. He also told us that his wife is having a baby and he had to pay $500 a month for health insurance. In reference to all the beggars, he commented, “In America if you fall down the government won’t help you.” All this time I was thinking he sounds just like Borat. It turns out - yes, he was from the glorious nation of Kazakhstan just like the character, Borat! What’s more he recognized we were Australian and knew where Sydney was, “it’s where Nemo goes in the movie".


After checking in to our room (Pictured above) we were soon on the hotel’s shuttle bus to Magic Kingdom, Disney Land Resort. Disney World Resort really began, because there was no more land to expand Disneyland, so Disney secretly bought up a huge tract of land in Florida. Today it is the largest and most visited resort in the world, and every year 17 million people visit the Magic Kingdom Park alone. Yes, there are actually four theme parks; Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, and two water parks. But, don't be confused they are not in Orlando, most are in Lake Buena Vista, about 15 miles away, which is where we are staying. When we exited the bus, the sky was dark, rumbling, and then the rain came in sideways - and hard. Luckily for us, we hadn't bought our tickets yet, so we escaped back to the hotel on the next bus to go another day.


Across the road from our hotel is Downtown Disney (pictured above - viewed from our room) filled with shops, restaurants, and a 24 movie theaters - not cinemas, we asked directions from the Disney information kiosk, "Cinema? Is that an English term?" Like nearly everyone else here, he thought we were English. So far on this trip the only people who recognized we were Australian was a concierge at Las Vegas and a taxi driver from Kazakhstan.

We had dinner at the biggest Planet Hollywood in the world, with three levels inside a giant blue dome symbolizing the planet. It seems everything is bigger and better in America.

After dinner, we watched the new Ben Stiller comedy, Tropic Thunder, that was so good - the audience applauded at the end of the movie. It's even funnier if you have seen the documentary, Heart of Darkness, about the difficulty in making the Vietnam war movie, Apocalypse Now, which the movie partly satirizes - it was notorious in Hollywood due to production difficulties, earning the nickname, "Apocalypse When?"

Outside the theater, Downtown Disney is still busy - the streets are crowded with people, music is playing, bars and restaurants are trading well, and people are still streaming into the place.

Tomorrow we are plan on going to the Magic Kingdom Theme Park, and that will then mean we have finally visited all the Disney Resorts around the world; Paris, Hong Kong, LA, and Orlando. The worst is Paris - the French don't seem to really get the Disney spirit, and besides it was so cold, we were turning blue. Hong Kong is small, but they make up for it with their enthusiasm.

I love Orlando: it's like Vegas, but in a swamp.

Friday 22nd August, 2008 - Washington DC

General Robert E Lee’s house. 

Day 27

Arlington National Cemetery is actually in Virginia, directly across the Potomac River from Washington DC, and is the former home of the Confederate General Robert E Lee. When the Civil War broke out he was asked by President Abraham Lincoln to command the Federal Army, however when Virginia succeeded, after much debate decided he could “never bear arms against my native Virginia”, and became the commander of the Confederate Army. Out of revenge the Union Army started to bury dead soldiers on his land, and later confiscated the property to use as a cemetery. They did this quite sneakily; they brought in a law stating the owner had to pay the taxes in person, which of course General Lee couldn’t do, nor could his wife who was riddled with arthritis, so she sent an agent with the money by the due date. Of course, they said, too bad and took possession of the property. The Supreme Court later upheld an appeal by his heir and the Federal Government had to pay a huge sum in compensation, but by this stage Arlington National Cemetery was well established.

This place is hallowed ground for the people of the United States, silence and respect is asked for, but it’s not necessary, when you see white tombstones stretched as far as the eye can see, you can’t help but, maintain a respectful silence. Over 320,000 service men and women are buried here, and more are added every day. On US television they have a dedication at the end of some of the news programs for soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, and keep a running tally of the dead. Tonight it was 4,146.

The cemetery is so large, that trolley cars are used, to transport the visitors. The first stop is the grave of President John F. Kennedy, framed by the eternal flame behind, and with his wife buried next to him (pictured above). Continuing on we arrive at the Memorial Amphitheater, where on the eastern side is the Tomb of the Unknowns, guarded by a sentinel of the US Third Infantry at all times. In full dress uniform, he passes 21 steps in front of the tomb, pauses 21 seconds, and returns. Every half an hour there is a changing of the guard (pictured below), which is a spectacle of military precision, and a solemn experience. Interestingly, the Honor Guard is carefully selected from servicemen with an exemplary record, and as the guide states, “You don’t ask to join; they ask you.” They will guard the President in life, and bury him in death.

Louise loves military Tattoos, and precision marching, so she loved the changing of the guard - I think it appeals to her need for order and neatness.

Continuing up the hill, we arrive at Arlington House (pictured above), in the tradition of those big mansions you see on Gone with the Wind, with its magnificent views of Washington DC. You realize that it must have been a hard decision for Lee to give all this up, and I wonder if he ever thought the South had any hope of winning given the disparity between the two sides in population and economic resources.

Down on the other side of the hill the slopes are carpeted in white tombstones of the dead from the Korean and Vietnam wars.

The famous Marine Corps War Memorial is based on the photograph of the marines raising the American Flag on Mount Suribachi during the fierce battle of Iwo Jima during Second World War. (Pictured above). It’s very impressive, and well worth the fifteen minute (hot) walk along the bike path from the front gates. We're out here dying in the heat, and we are always passed by joggers, seemingly unaffected by the heat. Maybe, they are all defence force personel, and this heat is nothing compared to Iraq.

The tour bus was just departing when we arrived back at the front gates, and fortunately he stopped for us, because we were literally dying in the heat. We jumped off at Union Station, which has a huge food hall underneath, for a healthy salad, before taking the tour again around Washington. Louise went back to the hotel, while I continued to the next stop, the Lincoln Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial is an impressive monument, to an impressive President. In a white Parthenon like temple sits a giant statue of Abraham Lincoln gazing out across the Reflecting Pool, past the Washington Monument, to the Capitol Building.

It's as if he is thinking how his presidency helped save the union or as he famously said in the Gettysburg Address, printed on the wall to his right, ensured that “the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Likewise people are crowded onto the steps of the Memorial watching the same view - seeing the Washington Monument mirrored in the pool in front of them, the Capitol Building in the distance, (pictured below), all mired in their own private thoughts.

I too sit on the steps for a moment, admiring the view, and reflect on the great three days we have spent in Washington DC, and the trip ahead. Tomorrow we are off to Orlando, Florida, where the forecast is for scattered thunder storms. Tropical Storm Fay, seems to be heading west, so perhaps we have missed the worst of it, but a "catastrophic emergency' has been declared in the state. There's still a 'travel advisory alert' on the flights, which may mean they may be cancelled. I wouldn't mind staying longer in Washington - there's so much to do.