Day 7 | Philadelphia to Washington DC
Last morning in Philadelphia and it’s a clear sky as we leave our Holiday Express – really central and with the complimentary breakfast.
Before leaving town we need to see the Rocky steps and statue out the front of the Museum of Art. After the Thanksgiving Parade and a marathon finishing here the roads are changed and the carparks are all in use for maintenance. We do get a park pretty much straight across the road and join the enthusiastic visitors. There’s a family all in grey sweat outfits running the stairs. There were actually quite a few groups dressed in the grey sweats, seems to be a thing. The statue of the triumphant Rocky (“Adrian!”) is at the bottom of the stairs now after being placed at the top for Rocky 3. It is a great draw for tourists with a line up managed by a Philadelphia parks person. We presume people get pushy around the Rocky.
The boat houses are just over the hill where the Schuylkill River (the river that defies pronunciation) has a Dam – really a little weir. Lovely park, the pond had a bit of ice still on it but it isn’t as cold as yesterday which is lucky as there’s a wedding photography shoot going on.
Here we go, off to Washington DC, should be about a three hour trip. The traffic is really heavy – maybe people relocating back home after Thanksgiving – potentially a bigger family event than Christmas for a lot of people. Then it started raining. Lots of pavement ponding which was a bit daunting. Seems like they haven’t planned for a bit of rain, big puddles everywhere next to concrete barriers. Almost five hour trip.
Arriving after dark at the Oakwood in Arlington we’re impressed with our apartment across the Potomac from Washington DC. The guy that checked us in was lots of help but we’ve not stayed in apartments like this before. We were able to stop in to get some food from the supermarket. Going to miss the complimentary breakfast but now have to make our own.
Highlights:
Angus | Dunkin Donuts and Coffee
Rosie | Great conditions for the Boathouses
Jemmz | Family photos on the Rocky steps
McKay | Driving through crazy weather in Baltimore and narrowly missing a fence.
O’Regan | Seeing the luxurious apartment – almost a real bed (poor number 5)
