Trip to Philadelphia, Delaware (DE), Baltimore, Washington DC and Virginia (VA)

We went to the cities/states mentioned above over the weekend. This was supposed to be a birthday (March 30th) gift for IFC but decided to postpone it for Kuya Lito’s visit to avail of the buy 2 get 1 free promo. I made the reservations online at www.paradiseusa.com where it only includes the bus fare and an overnight stay at a hotel. All entrance tickets and food will have to be extra. My only concern though was that Paradise Vacations is Chinese owned. I was really hoping that there will be some other non-Chinese or at least the tour guide will speak English as well… and we were glad he did. And while this is already the 2nd visit, I was still excited about it knowing IFC was with me. It was my 1st time at DE and Baltimore though.

Anyway, the call time was at 715AM on Saturday. We left Flushing 10-15 minutes late not to mention that we had to transfer to another bus in Chinatown and didn’t leave till 9AM.

1st stop was at Philadelphia where we saw the Independence Hall (previously known as the Pennsylvania State House) and the Liberty Bell. They consider this place as the birthplace of the US… where the Declaration of Independence was adopted and the Constitution of the US was debated, drafted and signed. I also learned that there were only 13 states in the beginning compared to the 50 states and 1 district now. We didn’t get to go in though as the line was very long.

Lunch was at King Buffet’s Chinese Restaurant in Delaware.

Then, we headed off to Baltimore. I was amazed with the many great views at the Harbor area. People were enjoying the nice sunny weather, dining outdoors and taking pictures at every angle of the place.

Next stop was at DC. We went to the American Museum of Natural History… which I think is similar to the one we went to at Central Park NYC. There were so many people. Tourists were everywhere. I’m sure you will also enjoy the old structures of the buildings there. It’s really a nice place to see especially for 1st timers. We also went to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial… who is known for his inspiring words to US citizens and where it signifies liberty; and US Capitol which serves as the “seat of government” for the US Congress. There were many more museums that we just passed by not having a lot of time to go to.

We stayed at the Comfort Inn in Herndon, VA for the night. I didn’t expect the hotel to be that nice. I mean I even brought towels, soap and shampoo just to make sure. If I remember it right, we had to use our own when we stayed at a hotel (which the name I can’t remember) in downtown DC back in 2004. Comfort Inn provided all these including hangers, hair dryer and a vault. The room was so neat and nice. They even had a complimentary breakfast.

Dinner was at McDonald’s. We also stopped by K-Mart and bought some things.

1st stop on Sunday was at the Lincoln Memorial. Abraham Lincoln is the 16th president of the US. This place basically “attracts anyone who seeks inspiration and hope”. Across was the Washington Monument which was built in honor of George Washington being the 1st president of the US and the one who led them to independence. 1/3 of the height of this monument has a different color compared to the other 2/3. The tour guide said something like they couldn’t complete it (for whatever reason I can’t recall) till 20 years later and they can’t anymore find the same kind of material they previously used. We also got to see the Korean War Veterans Memorial and Vietnam War Veterans Memorial. People sometimes think that Korean War was not as significant since it only lasted 3 years compared to the Vietnam War which went on for 16 years. Statistically speaking, 54,246 soldiers died within those 3 years… and 58,226 in 16 years.

We were taking pictures of the White House just outside its gates when a ranger approached us and said tickets are free for the day to enter the garden. It wasn’t part of the day’s activities but the tour guide was nice enough to have squeezed it in. We went back there before 1215PM and there we were… very close to the White House. It was right in front of us. What’s even more exciting were those “secret service agents” (with the “wires” on their ears) that I used to see only on TV. The garden was nice and the flowers were gorgeous. We also took pictures of the Department of Treasury which was in sight.

One thing that the “boys” enjoyed was the National Air and Space Museum. I wouldn’t talk much about it but you can explore their website in the link provided for more.

In between these historic sites hopping, we had lunch at China Garden in Arlington, VA. It was some sort of “ala-carte” where there were 10 of us in a table. We didn’t really enjoy the food. Let’s just say some of those served were “authentic” dishes. We also saw The Pentagon, headquarters for the US Department of Defense, from afar. Pictures were taken only while inside the bus.

We reached home at 8PM.

Overall… the tour was tiring but… fun! We got to see and learn new things. The tour guide was good… very hard working. And if you’re going to ask how the Chinese were in the bus, then that’s another story.

Please click here for the photos...