Day 1
Although the East Coast lacks the mesas, canyons, and bizarre tourist spots you find further west, a road trip on this side of the country is no less fascinating as you traverse famous landmarks like the New Jersey Turnpike and the Brooklyn Bridge. It does, however, undermine the idea of low taxation in America. Sure, car tax is cheap, but the number of tolls that are levied against you on the way is eye-watering. You can choose alternative, free routes if you enjoy dodging even more potholes, but it adds a week to your journey.
Today was St David's Day, when those of Welsh origin seek out each other to share stories of the old country, reminisce about rugby triumphs (though not recently) and sing in close harmony. My cousin Kath lives in Brooklyn so we knocked on her door and traded Welsh cakes for bed and board. Pete and his cousin Orson got on like a house on fire - and only slightly less destructive - as they ran around the free-standing kitchen brrrrrming and beeping.
Pete and Orson, enjoying my Welsh cakes. This could also be a picture of me and Kath circa 1981, proving the strength of the Brinson genes.
Future centre backs for Wales and/or the USA.
A (slightly) quieter moment.
Rob picks up the reading baton the next morning. We're a very literary family.
Day 2
I can't say I'm in favour of surrendering all personal data to these huge Internet conglomerates, but when it allows Google Maps to inform me that there's a Blue Bottle Coffee right around the corner I'm suddenly happy for them to know everything! We dropped Orson at school and then picked up a cheeky cappuccino. Is it as good as the San Francisco original? Is the East Coast better than the West? Who can answer such riddles, but it was delicious.
It was time to head north again, up to the beautiful state of Rhode Island. Claire and Eavan live here having moved from Walnut Creek shortly after us. They've also added young Declan to their number, and the pattern of young boys having crazy fun repeated itself within minutes of our arrival. Claire and I left Eavan in charge (ha!) and went out to an exercise class.
Back in California I used to worship at the altar of Les Mills BodyPump - an exercise class involving weights, effort and suffering. It was great, before children and encroaching age made such activities impractical and dangerous, and now Claire has qualified as a BodyPump instructor so invited me to her first class. What could possibly go wrong with putting myself through a grueling physical workout after four years of laziness? Well, as I'm typing this with my little finger, the only extremity of my body which isn't screaming in pain, I think I may have made what is known as a "bad life decision".
Mmmm...Blue Bottle.
A quick stop on the beach on the way up to Rhode Island. Quick, because it was sub-zero and 50 mph winds.
Now this is a road trip stop: The Pez Factory! We followed the smell of orange sherbet and ended up here.
Pete and a big Pez dispenser.
Classy.
Pete receives his Pez trivia certificate.
The most collectible Pez ever!
And then we found a nuclear submarine we could look around, the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear sub in the world ever!
The helm is yours, Mr Davies.
Under pressure.
Ah, finally, the sign of a real navy.
Pete and Declan, in a rare moment when they weren't whirling blurs.
It was a short sojourn in Rhode Island, so today we retraced our steps to NYC through Connecticut's stunning coasts and forests. On the way we stopped at a kids' science museum (thanks again, Google) and it was a wonderful call-back to the much-missed Science World of Vancouver. We launched plastic balls into the air using water power, learned how our skeleton helps us cycle, and chased virtual snowflakes across the floor. We tempered this overdose of the scientific method by listening to Bible stories in the car.
I then demonstrated my rural Somerset upbringing by deciding to drive through New York in rush hour on a Friday night. Where did all these people come from? Why do they all have cars? Our route took us down the east side of Manhattan, and we had plenty of time to admire the skyscrapers as we crawled along. I complained about the traffic, Pete informed me he wants to live here.
Back at Kath and Rob's, and thanking my mother for the many hours teaching me how to reverse park into a tiny space (the only type available in Brooklyn), my cousins offered me the unbelievable luxury of leaving Pete with Orson and his nanny and taking myself out for a meal and a movie. So it was that I found myself munching a rib sandwich and zucchini fries in the unspeakably hip Mooburger before meeting Rob and a friend to watch Get Out in a packed New York cinema. I felt almost adult again. Not that I ever did anything like this back when I was an adult.
Science, or something.
A little bit of art mixed in.
Exploring the moon with a home-made space helmet (not recommended).
Cycling with a skeleton.
Chasing computer snowflakes. Yes, it descended into chaos quickly.
Day 4
It was time to return to real life, although describing the current events in DC as "real life" is a bit of a stretch, so we began with a stop at Blue Bottle Coffee and brunch with Elad, Daphny and Ollie. Their dream since Berkeley was to live in New York, and they're in a different part of Brooklyn (how is New York City so big?!) but one with no less enticing eateries. I enjoyed a sumptuous Vegetarian Benedict at Daisy's Diner.
Our only stop on the way home was a service station in New Jersey. "Do people in New Jersey steal things like people in New York do?" Pete asked loudly in the middle of the crowded bathroom after quizzing me about why I'd tucked my camera under the coats on the car back seat. "Umm...ask your mother," I said as I quickly and embarrassedly whisked him away. Luckily his mother arrived back an hour after we did.
Brooklynites frequenting their favourite coffee shop.
One for daddy...
...and one for Pete.
Ollie and Pete, obsessed with technology. Where do they get it from?
Daisy's Diner housed a red telephone box. Because this is Brooklyn!
Thank you to all our wonderful family and friends up the East Coast! Come to see us anytime in DC, before we're/it's gone...
