East Coast Trip – Washington DC and New York City!

March 22 – April 2, 2026

Dick and I have our grandson, Josh, to thank for inspiring us to take this trip.  Close to a year ago, Josh’s choir at West High School in Salt Lake City announced they would be singing in Carnegie Hall in New York City!  Who could resist the opportunity to see their grandson sing in such a prestigious venue?  When we realized the concert was scheduled for late March, the possibility of seeing our nation’s capital’s Japanese Cherry Trees in bloom expanded the trip to include Washington, DC.  The decision to drive rather than fly was cemented with the opportunity to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, IL along the way.

Dirty Politicians are nothing new, but Martin Van Buren literally got dirty when citizens in Plainfield, IN toppled him from his carriage into the muddy road for which he had vetoed funding for road improvements!

Day one of this trip took us to Indianapolis, IN where we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.  We selected our hotel rather last-minute based on its location.  It’s ironic because we were attracted to a canal walk in the downtown area.  The canal leads to a park and the idea of getting a few steps in following a day in the car was appealing.  The canal not only provided for an enjoyable evening stroll, but also serves as access for the river water to reach Indianapolis’s water treatment plant.  Construction began on the canal in 1839 and it has operated since 1881 for the Indianapolis Water Company!  

Beams from each of the Twin Towers along with a stone from the Pentagon are a powerful memorial to those who lost their life on this tragic day in history.

Upon our arrival, we realized that this hotel sits directly across the street from Lucas Oil Stadium!  Anyone who watched the NCAA Men’s Final Four games viewed what was our neighborhood that night!  Everything was pretty quiet while we were in town, but I’m sure that all changed by then!  

Technology today and its creative uses!

Our second day on the road took us to Washington, DC.  We stayed in Cheverly, MD as anything in DC itself was ridiculously expensive.  We drove over 500 miles this day, so once we checked in to the hotel, we grabbed a quick bite and settled in for the night.

There is an official website that keeps track of the cherry bloom progress.  Unfortunately, blooms weren’t expected until early April, so our timing looked to be a little on the early side.  With cherry blossoms out of the question, we didn’t bother to check them out for our first official day of exploring DC.  Instead, we began by taking the free city bus from the curb of our hotel to the Cheverly Metro stop where we found our way to the closest Georgetown stop.  Riding the Metro couldn’t have been any easier or felt any safer!  We chose to discover a few of the non-typical things to do in DC, as this was our fourth visit to the area.

Georgetown didn’t disappoint!  We strolled along the shores of the Potomac River, taking in the signs of spring, as well as a view of the Kennedy Performing Arts Center.  We found a labyrinth there, allowing us a few moments of quiet reflection as we wound our way to the center.  It sounds a bit hokey, but the mindless wandering along the path really does allow for some beautiful freeing of any worries.

The Watergate Hotel on the left and the Kennedy Performing Art Center on the right!

The Old Stone House!

Walking by Holy Trinity Catholic Church, we didn’t resist the temptation to step inside and say a prayer or two.  This is the church Joe Biden and JFK attended during their presidency.  It was where JFK last attended Mass in DC before his fateful trip to Dallas.  I couldn’t help wondering where he sat.

As fun as exploring Georgetown was, lunch at Martin’s Tavern was the highlight!   Martin’s Tavern is where JFK popped the question to Jacqueline!  Right there in Booth #3!  Over the years, this tavern has been a popular place for politicians to work out a lot of deals in addition to marriage proposals!  In 1954, five US Supreme Court justices sat in that very same booth debating Brown v. Board of Education.  Many of the booths have plaques recognizing the politician who frequently dined in that particular booth, including Truman, Nixon, George W., Clinton, and Johnson to name a few! I enjoyed a delicious Beet Salad while Dick feasted on their Colonial Brunswick Stew in Ted Kennedy’s “cozy corner” booth!

The arrow points to the Proposal Booth!

With time left in the day, we hopped the bus with our handy SmarTrip pass and headed to Chinatown. It’s really a very small area of town, but still interesting to check out.  Adjacent to it is Little Italy – also a very small area.  

Our second and final full day in DC found us focused a bit on Honest Abe as we planned to hit up Lincoln’s presidential museum on our return trip home.   Our first stop of the day was at Ford‘s Theatre. I hadn’t realized that Abe didn’t die immediately after being shot.  Our 16th president was taken to the house across the street from the theater where he died nine hours later from swelling and pressure on the brain.  Our second Lincoln attraction was a stop at his Memorial.  It took some careful looking, but we successfully found the typo in his 2nd Inaugural Address which is carved into one of the walls inside his memorial.  

The house in which Lincoln died.

As we walked around DC, we couldn’t help noticing the huge amount of beautification projects going on in preparation for our nation's 250th birthday celebration.  With this in mind, we felt compelled to stop by the National Archives to check out our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.  Pretty amazing pieces of parchment!  Sadly, we just missed seeing the Emancipation Proclamation.  Later this month, it will be added to the rotunda to be on display with the other three national treasures.

The Renwick Museum’s current exhibit is focused on State Fairs.  We love going to state fairs, so this was a must see for us!  I’m proud to say, Iowa was well represented with a couple of amazing quilts displayed along with the Butter Cow!  It was Kentucky, however, who had the most moving display in my opinion.  Women who were serving significant time in the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women having either killed or plotted to kill their abusive partner made a simple but poignant quilt from two sheets.  The purpose of the quilt was to provide an emotional outlet for these women.  It was intended to be therapeutic for them.  When the Kentucky governor saw the quilt on display at their state fair, not only did his eyes fill with tears, but he went on to have several of the women’s sentences commuted.  Now that’s a powerful quilt.

Made of seeds!

There are endless things to see and do in DC, but at that point of our trip, the cherry blossoms were the only biggie left on our wish list for this visit. We were disappointed they weren’t expected to peak for another week.  However, as we left the WWII Memorial, we couldn’t help peeking over in the direction of the Tidal Basin.  We couldn’t believe what we saw!  The Tidal Basin is surrounded by Japanese Cherry Trees gifted to the US in 1912 in honor of our two nations’ friendship.  Not only were the trees in what appeared to be full bloom, but the cloudy sky was opening up and blue sky was emerging!  Thank you, Lord!  It’s the small things, right?!

Remembering Verner's (Dick's father) service in the Pacific Theatre

At the top of the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial, you find the spot where MLK stood for his "I have a dream" speech.  So sad how both men were assassinated for championing civil rights for blacks. 

With our time in DC complete, we put NYC in the GPS and headed the four hours NE to the Big Apple!  I have to admit, driving into Manhattan sounded a little intimidating!  We found confidence in it being a short drive, making it possible to get there before the rush hour hit.  We stayed at Chelsea Savoy Hotel on the corner of 7th Ave. and 23rd St. parking in a secure garage just across the street from our hotel for the duration of time in NYC.  No need to push our luck!  I did manage to get honked at a couple of times between the time we exited the Lincoln Tunnel and got parked, making it an official drive in NYC!  The garage attendant spoke with such a thick New York accent that I knew this was the guy to get a recommendation for pizza from.  He didn’t disappoint us!  He sent us to Little Italy for pizza from John’s of Bleecker Street.   Established in 1929, this is the place to go for coal-fired brick-oven pies.  Not only is this place delicious, but also nostalgic!  Over the years, guests had carved their names into the wooden booths.  In addition, photos of guests, including Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springfield, Adam Sandler, Don Mattingly and Vanilla Ice fill the walls of this delicious pizzeria!  When we asked the server where we would find the best cannoli’s, he didn’t bat an eye:  “Rocco’s, just down the street”.  Ya gotta love the local touch!  Both recommendations were out-of-this-world delicious!

We had wandered around neighboring Chinatown before heading to Little Italy.  If I’m going to be honest, Washington DC’s Chinatown and Little Italy aren’t much to see.  It was worth a look at, but that’s about all I can find to say about it.  It’s a different story for NYC’s Chinatown.  This is a bustling, busy area, filled with restaurants, gift shops and fresh markets.  A bit off the beaten path, we found our way to a highly-recommended spot to pick up fried pork dumplings.  It is nothing more than a hole-in-the-wall place.  Everything on the menu was $5.00 cash.  You walked up, ordered, paid, took your goods and left.  The young gal in line in front of us shared, “This place is all over TikTok. We came from Brooklyn for it.” It’s funny the things you can stumble upon!  With no seating at this “fine dining” establishment, we found the concrete stairs to an apartment building just across the street to be an enjoyable spot to take in these steaming hot, beyond-delicious Chinese treats before continuing on our way.  

I have a friend, Jeannie, to thank for our final stop for the day.  She recommended we go to Chelsea Hotel where we would find the best martini we’ve ever had.  This stop was more than convenient, as we were staying right next door at Chelsea Savoy Hotel.  Don’t confuse them when you make reservations.  One is budget friendly and the other is a historical, luxury hotel!  Back in the day, Chelsea Hotel was a haven for artists including Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Andy Warhol to name a few!  The place is not only historic, but also eclectic and totally hopping with activity.  It was the perfect way to end the beginning of our visit to the city that never sleeps!

Our first full day in NYC took us to the Guggenheim Museum.  This building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and has become my very favorite art museum!  Technology is integrated just enough to provide background information on each of the artists as well as a bit of insight into the works of art.  The architecture itself spirals around with each level providing on offshoot featuring various artists.  Again, thanks for the recommendation, Jeannie!

Carol Bove somehow pulls off making steel appear soft!

Franz Marc's "Yellow Cow" 

"Le Moulin de la Galette" by Picasso was especially appealing, as we passed by Moulin Rouge last November!

Leaving Guggenheim, we cut through Central Park and headed to the Belnord Building, which is the site where the exterior shots from “Only Murders in the Building” were filmed!  This apartment building is a gated community, so we could only peek through the bars of the gates to get a glimpse at the courtyard and fountain (where Lester, the doorman in the show, was murdered).  Still, it was fun to picture Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short investigating the murders that were supposed to have happened there.

Located only a mile from the fictional murders of this popular television series is The Dakota, where John Lennon was sadly, fatally shot December 8, 1980.  His memorial “Imagine” is just across the street, inside Central Park.  

Due to time constraints, dinner this evening was compliments of New York food trucks.  Actually, there was nothing complimentary about it!  Food trucks are pricey!  But, so is everything in this city!  

Anne (Josh's Mom) and her parents Maurice and Julie joined us for the concert and "Hadestown"

Following dinner, we headed to the Walter Kerr Theatre where we were treated to the Broadway show, “Hadestown”! We had fabulous seats – first mezzanine, third row up, smack in the center!  Not only was it an amazing production, an incredible theatre, and fabulous seats, but we finally caught up with Josh!  It wasn’t coincidence.  We knew ahead his choir was going to be at this showing, so we purposely bought tickets for the same showing.  It was lucky, however, to actually be able to find him during intermission!  He was super sweet and even let me give him a hug in front of his friends.  Not many high school kids are that tolerant!  

Again, thank you Jeannie for the next day’s fun explorations!  Maybe she should consider hiring out as a consultant!  The mile walk into Lower Manhattan took us to the Meatpacking District.  There, we had such fun wandering around the Chelsea Market.  Interesting fact:  before this was a market, it was the original site of the National Biscuit Company (now Nabisco) where the Oreo cookie first began!  It has since been reinvented as a market and is filled with restaurants, little shops, and even a market for locals.  It’s considered a must-do when visiting NYC.

Although there is a bagel shop in Chelsea Market, the doorman highly recommended we go to ARK Bagels on 8th Ave. if we were in search of an out-of-this-world bagel.  Again, I love the recommendations the locals provide!  At ARK Bagels, I enjoyed their Classic (smoked salmon, cream cheese, tomatoes, onion, capers, and spinach).  Actually, I only enjoyed half of it.  If you go, go hungry!  It’s huge!

Little Island was another highlight of our time in the Meatpacking District.  Built on the site of what was previously Pier 54, Little Island now sits.  Pier 54 had been damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and was in need of repair.  Barry Diller teamed up with Judson River Park Trust and reimagined a new kind of public space. This park hovers over the Hudson River, offering you stunning views of One World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty.  This hilly, manmade island is landscaped with trees, shrubs, and perennials, giving you a park-like experience as you stroll the trails!   

Just across this bridge, you enter the most unique man-made island ever!

Our final highlight of the area was the High Line Park.  This one-and-a-half-mile public park was where elevated freight trains ran from 1933 through the 80’s!  Destined for demolition, ideas began to form for another type of use – public recreation.  Another type of “rails-to-trails”, this one urban style!  No stop lights, honking cars, or blaring sirens up here to worry about!  (Yes, you still hear them, you just don’t need to worry about them!)

Imagine the freight trains on the elevated railway behind me from years ago!

Today, it's pedestrians who enjoy the views, sunshine, and exercise on this former railway.

With having had a food truck dinner the previous evening, we treated ourselves to dinner at the Boathouse in Central Park for this night.  Reservations are easy – just get on-line or give them a call!  We enjoyed lake-side (behind moveable glass walls, as it was still chilly outside) seating at this historic site.  Originally opened in the 1870’s as a storage spot for boats, it has since been updated and reupdated into its current use as a café, restaurant, and boat dock for renting row boats.  To get there, we had a leisurely stroll through Central Park, making the entire experience just lovely!   

Topping the day off, we headed to Carnegie Hall – the event which sparked this entire trip!  What a thrill it was to sit inside this prestigious hall and listen to these talented high school voices gathered from across the nation.  Particularly of interest were the three songs from the featured choir – Josh’s choir!  I may be sounding overtly proud here, but… I guess I am!  My very favorite was their performance of "Blackbird" written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.  It was not only beautifully performed, but learning the lyrics were inspired by the Civil Rights movement gave the song a more meaningful, third dimension.  “🎶 Take these broken wings and learn to fly 🎵”.  It has become quite the earworm for me.  

Josh is in the front row, wearing a red collar, directly behind the the right-most violinist.

Palm Sunday was our final day in this “City that Never Sleeps”.  Honestly, the cars honking, the sirens blaring, and general din of this world are non-stop!  That said, our day began with a delicious cup of joe at a quiet coffee shop on 5th Ave.  This is where I met Patricia, who is a retired school teacher.  She taught for a time in Harlem before becoming a private educator for a family in Manhattan.  Patricia says it was the best move she ever made!  Seriously, we met the nicest people everywhere we went.  Where did I ever get the idea New Yorkers aren’t friendly?!  While I was visiting with Patricia, Dick was having a delightful conversation with Brooklyn who had flown in from California for a conference she was looking forward to.  I don’t think we have ever struck up conversations with total strangers at any other coffee shop we have been to – and coffee shops are right up there with quilt shops for me, so you know we’ve been to more than a few!

After coffee, we went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for Palm Sunday Mass.  What can I say?  It’s mammoth.  Its Gothic architecture is stunning.  Mass was beautiful.  The choir was possibly the best choir (aside from Josh’s) I’ve ever heard in my life.  The homily was brief.  Considering everything, it was just about the most perfect Mass ever!  

Rockefeller Center was only a couple of blocks away from St. Patrick’s, so that was an easy choice for our next destination.  I almost rented some skates to take a short spin on the ice, but practicality got the best of me.  It wasn’t cheap, and we didn’t want to make a day of it.  Hindsight, I kind-of wish we would have splurged and done it.  Next time – right?

One more final go at NYC street fare.  Nathan's hotdogs - a classic, right?

From there, we found our way to Greenwich Village or, “The Village”, as the locals call it.  By now, we had been there long enough that I was starting to know my way around a bit.  I don’t know how long it would take me to get used to things and be able to call this home.  Living among the skyscrapers, you are always in the shadows of the buildings.  The noise is constant.  Steady streams of traffic and people are the norm.  Greenwich was a nice change from all of that.  We found Washington Park to be well-used and entertaining to do a little people watching at!  

The Empire State Building is viewable through this arch in Washington Park!

Near Washington Park, we found the building that was used for filming the exterior shots from “Friends”.  Little Italy wasn’t far from there, so we circled back to Rocco’s for a sandwich and one last cannoli.   

"🎶 So no one told you life was gonna be this way...🎵"

For our final evening in the city, we headed to Broadway once again, this time for “Operation Mincemeat” at the Golden Theatre.  This was another outstanding production!  It couldn’t have been a bigger contrast to “Hadestown” as far as content goes.  This lively comedy/musical, based on a true story from WWII, had you laughing and thoroughly entertained.  

Having used up all of our time (and energy!) in Manhattan, it was time to leave this amazing city.  I have to admit, the city certainly captured our hearts!  We were pretty proud we managed to drive out of NYC without getting honked at even once!  Maybe part of our success was all the practice at traffic signals we had as pedestrians.  We had walked over 36 miles during the four days we were there, during which time we learned it’s a rule not to wait for the walk light before stepping into the street.  Your first step across the street is as soon as the cross-traffic’s light turns yellow!  I wouldn’t go so far as to say we “blended in”, but we certainly did make a little headway at not looking too touristy!

The weather forecast convinced us to speed things up a bit for the road trip home.  Rain and cold weather looked to be the norm for the remainder of the trip.  We spent a night in Springfield, OH before reaching Springfield, IL where we couldn’t resist springing into action on our quest to learn more about Honest Abe.  

Turns out Abe was a huge animal lover, frequently taking in stray cats and often found petting them.  I can relate.  Not so much with cats, but I definitely find petting dogs to be calming and relaxing.  Abe even had two cats in the White House, Tabby and Dixie, who were lovingly allowed to join the family at the White House dinner table!  

Learning Abe Lincoln had several close calls with death, I found myself wondering about the correlation between a cat’s nine lives and the many close encounters Lincoln had with death himself.  At the age of 7, while living in Kentucky, Abe fell into Knob Creek and nearly drowned.  

At the age of 9, Abe worked at a grist mill and was kicked in the forehead by a horse he was driving.  Abe was thought dead for a while, being unconscious several hours.  If you look closely at Lincoln’s eyes, you will notice his left eyelid droops and his eye rolls slightly upward, likely due to nerve damage incurred from the horse kick.  

In 1842, Lincoln was challenged to a duel by James Shields after writing satirical letters.  Weapons were chosen for the fight, and the two were steeled to defend their honor when the duel was called off at the last minute by mediators.  

In 1861, while traveling to DC for his inauguration, an assassination plot in Baltimore was uncovered.  This forced Lincoln to leave Baltimore and enter DC secretly in the dark of night.  

In 1864, Lincoln, as Commander in Chief, went to witness the Battle at Fort Stevens.  During the battle, a soldier standing next to Lincoln was shot!  Yikes!  I’m sure there are other instances, but you can see, the count of close calls is numerous!

Even after Lincoln’s death, his body continued to be in danger.  Eleven years following his assassination, there was an attempt to kidnap his corpse and hold it ransom for $200,000!  Fortunately, Secret Service got wind of the plot and hid out until the theft attempt was underway.  Turns out, there wasn’t a law against stealing a president’s corpse, so the pair of would-be thefts were found guilty of some misdemeanor crime and sentenced to a year in jail.  

The original tomb

The Lincoln Presidential Museum is a must-see, in my opinion.  It’s filled with amazing technology that gives visitors such personal insight as to who Abraham Lincoln was.  Yes, it contained wonderful artifacts and interesting documents, but it was the technology that brought our 16th president alive and offered a real look at the challenges he faced and the great leader he was for our nation.  I believe the most impressive thing I learned about President Lincoln was that he filled his cabinet with individuals with a wide range of opinions, rather than individuals who only agreed with him.  It was only after hearing arguments from each cabinet member that Lincoln finalized his decisions.  Our world would be a more compassionate world if more leaders listened to all sides before they acted.  

In addition to the Presidential Museum, we visited his tomb.  There, we learned Lincoln’s casket was moved 17 times before it found its final resting spot.   Robert Lincoln, Abe and Mary’s only surviving child, had had enough of the constant relocating of his father’s body for security reasons.  He insisted his father’s casket be placed inside a steel cage, lowered to the base of a ten-foot-deep hole and encased in two tons of concrete.  No one will ever try to steal Abe’s body again!

Not far from the museum, you can tour the only house Abe ever owned.  It’s been amazingly well-preserved and is furnished much like it would have been the day Abe and Mary left Springfield for DC.  In fact, much of the 1860 neighborhood has been preserved and is available free to tour.  

We also found our way to the rail station from which Abe left Springfield as he headed to DC.  Lincoln gave a very emotional farewell to Springfield, where he prophetically said, “I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return.” Sadly, it was his funeral train that returned him back to that same spot only four years later.  We left Springfield knowing so much more about this wise man and being ever more grateful for his service to and guidance of our nation.

We managed one final bonus stop during our last day on the road.  My brother, Ron, and his wife, Rhea, met us at The Machine Shed in Davenport for lunch.  It’s always such a delight to spend time with them and catch up with each other’s busy lives!  

With that, it was time to head for home, catch up on some laundry and get back to our regular routine of... well, actually not much of a routine!  We do love retired life!