Finishing the story

And so the longest day of the holiday was here. Today we would begin the long journey back home. We had mixed emotions. Ones of sadness because the day had finally come to return home, but ones of happiness as we have had such an amazing couple of weeks.

As we did have a long day ahead of us we decided to have a longer lie in and check out a bit later.

I still got up at 9:30 and tidied a few things up round the suite.I also finished repacking my cases which had become over cluttered. Definitely not anything to do with the amount of things I was bringing back.

Once we were all ready we made several trips to the car to pack all the cases and bags in before saying goodbye to our final accomodation. 

I drove Sam round to the front as Jill checked out.

We then headed to an IHOP about 15 minutes down the road for a final American breakfast. I had a breakfast biscuit with bacon,egg and hash browns.

Once we were all set we headed off to the Air and space museum near Dulles Airport. We had planned to visit the one in the centre of Washington but found out you had to pre-book a time slot, of which there were none available for the day, so we opted for the sister museum near to us.

We were not to be disappointed however as this was magnificent. It was split into sections, war planes, commercial aircraft and space.

We got tickets for a cinema showing of 'A journey into space' which was a short 25 minute film about the history of space travel and plans for the future. Very interesting.

Before that however we went up to the viewing platform at the top of the museum which gave us great views over Washington Dulles airport. I was using the flight radar app on my phone to track the aircraft that were taking off and landing. It was fascinating, there was a tour guide up there who knew everything about the aircraft and patterns flying into the airport.

The rest of the museum was amazing and very easy to get around. The space section held the space shuttle 'Discovery'. Yes the real one! It was so interesting to walk around. There was also an air France Concorde and the red bull space jump capsule that Felix Baumgartner used when he broke the record for the highest freefall.

We spent ages marvelling at all the weird and wonderful aircraft and could have stayed longer but at 5:30 the doors were closing.

We headed back to the car and headed out to get some fuel so we could return the car with a full tank. We queued up at a Costco, the queue was massive because it was Friday evening and everyone was filling up for the weekend. After a while it was our turn, but we soon realized we needed a Costco card to be able to fill up at the station, how stupid.

So our we went again and luckily just a few more miles up the road we found another place, with no queue.

Once we filled up we headed to Dulles airport and dropped off the hire car. I have nothing but praise for this car. It drove well, it was perfect for getting Sam in and out, and great for storing all our bags and cases.

Jill and I struggled across the road with our cases and soon after we checked in at the BA desk. We were well ahead of time however as it was only 7pm and our flight didnt go until 10:45

This was all pretty straightforward. Jill and I sailed through security no problem but Sam's chair set off a bomb alert! This means he and his chair had to be thoroughly searched. After a few nervous minutes we were clear through.

Once at gate B42 we were all hungry and thirsty again so got a cheeky Wendy's before doing a bit of last minute snack buying in the shops!

Once again when the plane boarded we were the first on. How ironic that waiting at the gate to help Sam on the plane was the same guy we were chatting to about Wrestlemania when we arrived over 2 weeks ago. He remembered us and we had a good chat with him about it, he was amazed at everything we had done on our trip.We had covered nearly 2000miles in total.

The flight took off pretty much on time, it would only be 6 hrs 25min flight time due to strong tail wings pushing the 777 across the Atlantic.

This flew by pretty quick as we got stuck into a couple of films. I didn't sleep at all as I never really felt tired.

We landed at about 11:00am. The staff were so nice whilst we got Sam off the plane. We were chatting to the cabin crew about our trip.The cleaners were waiting to get in as they had 1 hr to clean the plane before it was heading off to Riyadh.

We got through passport control fairly quickly and then baggage claim. Once we had loaded everything into the car Jill had to get used to driving on the left side of the road again. We had a slow drive home due to hold ups on the M25 and more hold ups the rest of the way, ironic after we experience no traffic jams in the whole 2 weeks we were away, well not to that extent anyway.

Got home at 2.45pm to be greeted by mum and dad who had a chat with Jill and Sam about what an amazing holiday it had been.

What an amazing time it has been, it felt like we were out there for ages because we packed so much in, now it will take a few days to settle back into the routine of normal life again, but the memories will last a lifetime!

Back to the Capital

Thursday was our final full day in the US. In some ways it feels like we have been out here for ages as we have done and seen so much.

Today we hoped to visit the attractions that we planned to see on the first day of the trip. It should be much quieter being a weekday and no other events going on.

Parking in the city center is still tricky however so we had to park in the JFK performing arts center which was a good 15 min walk from anything.

Our first attraction to see was the Lincoln memorial. Just as we got out of the car it started to rain,typically. We persevered on though just as we did in Niagara falls.

Fortunately the rain let off as we arrived at the Lincoln memorial and we marvelled at the view down towards the Washington monument and Capitol Hill.

We took some pictures and walked up the steps to have a look at the Abraham Lincoln statue inside. 

The memorial looked very different from when I was there 15 years ago. They are building a new museum next to it and a new accessible platform (which wasn't open yet). The accessible platform had been placed right in the middle of the steps that lead up to the memorial which to me looked a bit out of place.

Nevertheless the view from the top was breathtaking.

We decided to walk along the path adjacent to the memorial pool towards the Washington monument and the WW2 memorial. There was an air of peace and tranquility in the area, apart from us having to dodge the electric scooters that were flying past us. We took some more photos around the WW2 memorial before finding a couple of food vans in the park. I had steak quesadillas and an Oreo milkshake which I managed to drip onto my trousers. Once I had wiped it off i had a wet patch which made it look like I had wet myself! Luckily the wind was quite strong so it wouldn't take long to dry!

After a brief rest we made our way a few blocks down the road to find the white house. Whilst making our way there we heard a lot of police sirens and saw a motorcade of bikes, police cars and other vehicles. There was heavy police presence. We later found out that the Japanese president was meeting at the White House with Joe Biden, so i doubt they would have had time to let us in as well.

As we approached the white house, which you could get quite close to, we encountered a group of protesters who were protesting about the Philippines supposedly being controlled or sold by the US. Anyway it didn't effect us as we were able to get some amazing photos of the white house stood right on Pennsylvania avenue.

Sam was overwhelmed with what he was seeing, he couldn't believe he was here.

After we had soaked it all in we headed back towards the car as it looked like the weather was going to get us soaked again. We made our way via the white house gift shop where Jill bought some things.

It was a long walk back to the car but our step count for the day was through the roof.

When we got back to the hotel which was about a 30 min drive away I decided to repack my cases ready for the journey home tomorrow.

For our last evening in the US we headed out to an outback steakhouse as we all fancied a steak. We had a lovely meal here. I had a steak with a few shrimps and garlic butter on the side plus veg. We spent the evening reminiscing our trip and all of the memories we had made.

After this we went back to the hotel,had a drink and watched TV. 

Tomorrow is our final day as we head to the air and space museum just up the road from here before we fly home in the evening. 

Final Destination

Today (Wednesday) was our final travel day as we would head south back to Washington DC. The original plan was to stay at the same hotel we went to when we landed but Jill managed to find a much cheaper option which would be ideal for our 2 night stay.

We had breakfast in the hotel but we only just made it down in time as they started clearing everything away 30mins early. Still we managed to get what we wanted. Had my first bowl of fruit loops on this holiday!

As soon as we were ready we gathered up all of our cases and stacked them in the car. We had worked out a good system for this now.

The hotel had served us well for the 5 night we were there, the rooms were very cozy and had everything we needed. We enjoyed talking to the staff about our travels and our trip to Wrestlemania.

After checking out of the hotel we found a gas station to fill up on fuel for the next leg of our journey.

It was a 2.5 hour journey down to Washington DC. We drove down through Baltimore and were able to see the bridge that had collapsed a few weeks earlier.

We stopped at a Starbucks halfway and had a nice caramel frappachino.

The traffic getting in to Washington was very smooth and we arrived at the hotel around 3.30

We had a nice suite at the Sonesta ES suites hotel near to Dulles airport, perfect for a 2 night stay. I tried to do some washing in the guest laundry but the washing machines were always full and being used by other guests. We reckoned there were people living in these suites as some had plants outside their rooms and washing hanging up in their living areas.

After chilling out for the rest of the afternoon we decided to go to a Vietnamese restaurant which had fantastic reviews and was only 5 minutes down the road. We had a lovely meal here. Sam had a cocktail whilst Jill and I had a massive beer each much to our surprise when it arrived. For the meal we had pad Thai, spring rolls, grilled chicken skewers and much more, however it was quite light so we didn't feel bloated.

After this we returned to the hotel before planning our sightseeing day in Washington DC tomorrow

Philadelphia - freedom city

Tuesday morning we woke up to sunny skies. Temps would be in the high 70s for the first time on this trip.

For breakfast we headed to the same IHOP that we went to on Sunday which was just 10 mins down the road.

The plan then was to head into Philadelphia again and visit the famous 'Rocky' steps and have a mooch around the city however Jill wasn't feeling well today unfortunately so after breakfast we drove back to the hotel and dropped her off so she could get some rest for the day.

Sam and I carried on with our planned activities however so we headed off into the city.  Without my chief navigator I propped the phone up on the dash and embraced the challenge of reading the sat nav myself. Luckily the journey to the area was pretty straightforward but the directions to the car park were not. After driving round in a circle for a few minutes a luckily found the car park. It was very busy so we just had to jump in a space we could find. 

We got out and walked around the perimeter path of the Philadelphia art museum. Saw some sights along the way including an ice cream truck with a very annoying jingle and a woman sunbathing on a patch of grass right by a busy main road.

Anyway we found the rocky steps. Sam took another amazingly funny video as I reeannacted the scene of Sylvester Stalone running up the steps and back down again.

From there we went to the Rocky statue just along from the steps and had our photo taken with it. There was a long queue but it went down pretty quick. Still lots of Wrestlemania fans in the area.

We were trying to find a way to get to the top of the steps via an accessible path but the only way seemed to be via the art museum which was closed. So after asking for directions we followed a path around the outside of it which brought us onto a building site. We had reached the top of the steps but were soon shouted at by some builders who told us to get out of the way.

We bumped into a nice family who had the same idea,and we were telling them about our trip. One of them was from the UK and was visiting family in Philadelphia.

As our parking allowance was about to expire Sam and I walked around the park behind the rocky steps before heading back to the car. Our next stop was the JFK plaza which gave great views of the city looking down Benjamin Franklin Parkway. 

Finding somewhere to park was highly stressful as I didn't know where I was going or where I might find parking. After 30mins of driving around, taking wrong turnings and getting tooted at we eventually found an underground car park right near where we wanted to be.

Parking wasn't cheap so we didn't stay here that long. However we still got to the plaza which was a very nice area,took a few photos and admired the scenery and architecture around us.

Before heading back to the car we phones Jill to see how she was as we wanted her to join us for dinner that evening.  She was feeling a lot better now thankfully. So we decided to head back to the hotel and pick her up.

In the evening we headed back into the city to visit Mac's Tavern which is owned by Rob McElhenney and features on the Wrexham FC Disney+ documentary.

We had a lovely meal and drinks in there and had a lovely conversation with the bartender about our travels. They were so nice that they even replied to our Facebook post when we name dropped them. They said what amazing people we were and that they would pick up the tab for us on our next visit. Its just a shame that we are leaving Philly tomorrow.

To end the day we headed back to the hotel to chill out with another drink? Its our final travel day tomorrow as we head back towards Washington DC for a few days sightseeing.

Total Eclipse

 After the excitement of the previous 2 nights and not getting back until 2am we had a lie in and a leisurely morning. 

Took the time to plan our day for today as we would venture out and explore the sights of Philadelphia.

About midday we headed out towards the city centre to go and explore the famous liberty bell. 

We parked up just a few blocks away and walked to the building where it was situated. There are lots of historical buildings dotted around and intertwined with the modern ones. We came across the foundations of an old courthouse from the 1700s. 

There were lots of people gathered in the park, lots with Wrestlemania tops on, some with telescopes pointing into the sky. They were there to view the rare sighting of a total solar eclipse. There was someone handing out special glasses so we could view the eclipse without damaging our eyes. We were incredibly lucky to see this once in a lifetime event. The best place to view it ironically was Niagara Falls which is where we were a few days earlier.

 Cloud cover came over just before totality which was a bit unfortunate but still great to see what we did. 

After this we found a food court across the road where we had an authentic Philly cheesesteak which was delicious.

Later on we joined the small queue to see the liberty bell, one of Philadelphia’s most famous landmarks. It signified liberty, independence and freedom within the USA.

There was strict airport security to get in here so we all had to place our bags through the scanner.

This was a small museum providing a bit of history in the city and the significance of the bell. We all had our photo taken with the bell which is heavily guarded.

From there we were going to head to the Philadelphia visitor centre but they were just closing up, we did manage to sneak in the gift shop however!

On the way back the car just happened to veer off the road towards a wal mart where Sam and Jill stocked up on clothes and snacks.

For dinner we headed to a Red Lobster where we had a lovely meal, I had 2 styles of shrimps with fries and a Long Island iced tea!

We have another sightseeing day on Tuesday where we plan to visit the famous Rocky steps and a few other landmarks. 

Being part of history

 After a late night (or should that be early morning) when we stumbled through the hotel doors at 2am we had a much needed lie in.

After I got up I put Man Utd v Liverpool on the tv and watched a bit of the first half.

Then I had to go down to reception and enquire about room availability for tonight. We weee scheduled to be checking out of the hotel today and moving to another one down the road, the one that let us down a few days earlier. However as we liked it here we decided to stay on for the additional 3 nights we would be in Philadelphia.

So stupidly we had to check out if our rooms and check back in again, the only complication being that I would have to move rooms as mine had been allocated to another guest already, so I wouldn’t be able to check in to my new room until we come back from Wrestlemania tonight, let’s hope they haven’t forgotten!

As we missed hotel breakfast we decided to make for an IHOP just down the road. With it being a Sunday it was very busy so we had to wait to get a table. 

I had a lovely omelette with some coffee, Sam had pancakes and Jill had eggs, bacon and sausage. Perfect to set us up for the day.

Afterwards we made our way back over to Lincoln financial field. Traffic was already bustling and there were fans everywhere. We parked up on the same place as  yesterday. Great access to the stadium.

There was a great sense of buzz and excitement around the stadium and after waiting a bit they let us in. We headed straight to the elevator which would start taking us up when the concourses opened at 4:45.

Fans flooded in once again like yesterday and once we reached the 2nd floor we headed to guest services where we got our tickets exchanged again. We were in the same section as last night which would give a great view overall.

The event itself was breathtaking from start onto finish. Great matches, drama, spectacular entrances and even some surprise visits from wwe legends as well.

The main event ended brilliantly with the Rock and the Undertaker facing off in the ring. The match was won by Cody Rhodes who ended Roman Reigns title run of over 4 years

Sam was beside himself with joy. 

We later found out this was the highest grossing wrestiemanja, 15 previous shows had sold out as well. The Rock coming back probably helped as well.

Once back to the car we must have been sat for 1 hr to get out .eventually got to the hotel and just crashed about in our rooms at about 2am.

Tomorrow we explore the wonders of Philadelphia 

Wrestlemania night 1

 So the day has come, this is what we were in Philadelphia for. I used to follow WWE years ago and was mad on it for about 3 years, never did I think I’d ever be at the grandest event of their year but here we are. I had to do a bit of research before the trip to follow the storylines so I had some context as to what was happening.

Sam has been massively looking forward to this all trip.

It was another freezing cold day in Philly and we headed for breakfast, which wasn’t great really. Rubber scrambled egg and plastic sausages so we might skip that tomorrow. 

After breakfast we chilled out for a bit and watched some football on tv before heading to the Lincoln financial field  early in the afternoon which was where Wrestlemania was taking place. The atmosphere was already building at 2.30pm. We found a car park right by the stadium entrance, albeit at a cost. 

Despite the gates not opening until 3.45 there were people already queuing. The lines were easily 100 people deep. We got in the accessibility queue which was a lot shorter. Sure enough at 3.45 the gates opened and sea of people flooded into the grounds.

 The queue for merchandise was already long, we wanted to get programmes and some other bits. The queue moved fairly quickly and we were able to get what we wanted. We then had to fight our way through the crowds to find the elevators which would take us up to guest services where we would need to exchange our tickets for ones in the accessible seating section. 

However the main gates to the concourses didn’t open until 4.45 so it was a bit of a wait. The crowds were building and so was the atmosphere. A bit later than scheduled the gates opened and fans flooded onto the concourse. We got in the elevator and made a beeline for guest services. There was already a queue there, we were about 10th in line but there was only 1 person on duty. One fan was kicking off because he had been placed in a section where his view was completely obstructed by a tarpaulin. No such issues for us however as we were placed in the club suites section and had a very good overall view of everything.

The event started at 7pm and was brilliantly done, everything ran like clockwork and the matches were of the highest quality. The superstars entrances were very impressive. We got to see The Rock in the main event which was pretty cool. He won his tag team match which sets things up nicely for night 2.

Sam was beside himself with excitement, amazement and adrenaline.

It finished about 11:15. Traffic getting out was quite disorganised and I don’t think we moved very far in 1hr.

Once we got going on the open roads however it was a smooth drive back, Sam completely crashed out on the way back. We got back to the hotel about 1:30am and headed straight for bed. I watched a bit of the F1 which was starting and eventually got to sleep at around 2am.

A great day all round and we get to do it all again on Sunday!