Chicago

Another long week-end, another city hop. This time Chicago. Let's start with the funny or curious things. First, at the airport, this sign for "animal relief area". Ever seen that ? Since it is the second busiest airport in the world in terms of passengers, I guess one could imagine it is also the second busiest for pets. Still about the airport, before checking back to Washington, they asked me to take my racket out of its cover, and put the cover in my back pack... When I remarked that I had no problem checking in at my original airport with the racket inside its cover, they said "it is the rule in Chicago"...
Chicago might be trendsetter when it comes to skyscraper, let's hope it is not when it comes to food. This ties in well with the results of the 2010 US census, which shows that Americans have on average become fatter in all the 50 states over the last ten years.
So instead of a McDonalds, we decided to go to the big open air food celebration called "Tastes of Chicago". There I opted for a much healthier Polish sausage roll... I guess it was in honor of the million Polish people who settled there.
But do not worry for my health, I still did some sport activity, like biking throughout the city. Great way to explore.
Chicago has a fantastic skyline, as can be seen from Lake Michigan.
By the lake, the Navy Pier, a local version of the "Waterfronts" is a great place to walk around, try various activities, and sit at an outdoor restaurant while fireworks go off.
The Millennium Park in the middle of town hosts a lot of special features, such as a modern music stage (where I got to hear the national anthem ... what else can you expect on the 4th of July), a AT&T cloud which reflects and deforms shapes and...
a ten-store high futuristic building, which spits out water. Welcome cooling in these hot days.
The iconic building is the Sears/Willis tower, which was built in 1974 and was then the tallest building in the world. It is so big that it has its own postal code. It is 442 meters high and has got a very specific structure to resist the notorious Chicago wind. The queue to get to the top was quite long. Time also to note the Swiss expertise, since the elevators are built by Schindler. The view from there quite magnificent. Not sure I saw the four US states one is supposed to see from there. The glass balconies where we are supposed to walk and get afraid of the high are definitely not as impressive as the glass promenade on Shanghai's tower.
An architectural boat tour on the Chicago river is the way to discover all the different styles of skyscrapers. But first it is quite impressive that the flow of the river, which naturally went towards lake Michigan, was reversed by engineers to flow towards the Mississippi in 1900. This was done so that the sewerage would not flow anymore into lake Michigan but towards St.Louis...
A few years after the great Chicago fire, architects started building skyscrapers starting in 1885. There are many style, like classic, modern, avant-garde, art-deco.
These two corn-like towers have the additional characteristics of having a marina directly by the river. So you can park your boat and take the elevator home. There is also no interior right angle and the apartments are all pie-shaped! The most recent Aqua skyscraper from 2010 (see below) has the specific feature that the size and shape of the balconies vary according to the wind pressure.
Still it is strange that with all these nice skyscrapers, the population of Chicago has actually dropped dramatically since its peak of 3.6 million in the 1950s to "only" 2.7 million in 2010.

Outer Banks

It was a long and slow drive to the beaches of North Carolina, probably because it was the beginning of the summer holidays. It felt like going to the Mediterranean. The road led us to Kill Devil Hills - that great name is owed to the fact that ships transporting rum (called "Kill Devil" by the English!) would often sink of the shallow coasts and sailors would then hide the rum casks in the hills. These days Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head and the barrier islands of the Outer Banks are famous tourist resorts. Finally, a place where the Atlantic Ocean is warm enough to swim in it !
The lighthouse at Cape Hatteras is a major landmark in the area. Many will remember it because of the strenuous 268 steps needed to climb to the top of the tower. The lighthouse was built in 1868 and is still the tallest in the USA. What is also very impressive is that in 1999 it was moved by 870 meters to safer ground, because of the erosion of the coastline. Most houses are actually built on stilts to better resist against the hurricanes and other weather-related damages.
The sandy area, steady winds and remoteness were decisive factors for the Wright brothers (Wilbur and Orville) to come here during three consecutive summers to try and build and fly the first airplane. They collected lots of scientific evidence and had to correct many features of their models. This certainly inspired them more than their bike shop in Ohio.
Finally on the 17th of December 1903, Orville managed to lift of the first plane for the whole of 12 seconds. The rock on the picture marks the first "lift off" of the plane.
Unbelievable how twelve seconds - and few meters - did change mankind. For the Wright Brothers, they patented their product and went on a sales' tour, which brought them success in Europe. Still, it is very obvious how their technology was then rapidly overtaken. Even those flying Boeing can notice an improvement...

Seattle

From Washington DC to Washington state, it is not as close as the name might suggest - it actually takes a 6 hour flight across the continent, all the way on the Pacific side.
The iconic structure in the town is the Space Needle (we can see it in the distance on the above picture as well). With such a key and high landmark, I really wonder who would need a GPS to orientate itself there... Maybe it would be needed during the many rainy and foggy days. I was told that there are two seasons in Seattle: winter and August !
Of course, the West Coast is famous for its excellent salmon. I went to the local Pike market where you see merchants throwing heavy salmons over the counter and estimating the weight of the animal, before being weighted on a scale. Quite accurate in general. And the salmon - fresh or smoked - is yummy!
Seattle is also famous for being the headquarter and birthplace of many important businesses - probably a positive externality of bad weather: people here have to stay indoors (because of the rain) and come up with good ideas. For coffee addicts (is it surprising in Seattle?), Starbucks opened its very first store here. Now they dot the American landscape and have even spread abroad.
Besides Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing have their headquarters in Seattle. It is hard to come across people who do not work for one of these companies. The visit of the Boeing factory and fields ("Future of Flight") is worth it, even on a public holiday - when there is hardly any activity ... or is it always like this?? The tour guide was proud to say that there is no official retirement age and that their oldest worker is 82. What does that tell you about productivity? So off we go and wander through the widest building in the world, the size of 61 football fields. Very impressive to see the assembly line. Because that is what this place/country has become: an assembly place. A lot of parts are produced outside of the USA, including Japan and Italy. But let me not criticize Boeing too much, after all we saw that they had planes ready for delivery to airlines from Ethiopia, India, Angola, Morocco... Great customers. And they might have to wait, as the green light from the US administration is still pending.
Seattle has also a funny history, including how it got its name (from the Indian chief "Seattle" who did not want the town to be named after him because of bad spirits until he got shown some money), toilets and poor sewage systems, as well as a ravaging fire. An interesting way to know this is by doing the "undeground tour" of the city.
Seattle is also a great gateway to majestic landscape. Unfortunately, the distances are big and we could not make it to the St.Helens volcano. Instead, both trips to Mount Rainier and the Olympic National Park (via a ferry ride) brought us high up in the mountains. There was still lots of snow.
And we were fortunate to come across a bear ! Quite menacing...
All the contrary for this fox. It was begging close to a parking lot, while snow was falling down. It still has to wait for two months for summer to arrive... At one of our stop, we even met a skier - in June !!
Like any mountainous areas, there are nice blue lakes, lush forests and steep waterfalls to see. Enjoyable walks in the nature.

Gettysburg

Like any other country, the United States also has a history, albeit a relatively short one. Still, there are always decisive moments. One of these happened over three days in July 1863 around a little town called Gettysburg. This was during the American civil war between the advancing Confederates and the defending Union forces. It was one of the most northern point reached by the Confederates.
The visit of Gettysburg starts with a presentation via a 360 degrees cyclorama painting (with sound) of the battle. Quite impressive, especially since it dates back more than a century. Then, it is time to drive through the battlefield. There are towers to have a view over the fields and the army's positions. Some places have terrible names, like Cemetery Ridge or Devil's Den. At each station, it is explained what the happened there and which side was holding the position. It gives an idea of the changes in fortune over the three days. Still I do not know how the Union managed to emerge as the winner. Was it the bravery of their troops? Was it the tactics and strategy? Was it the better knowledge of the area? Was it the better starting positions? It seemed rather that it was more the failure by the Confederates to win that settled the argument. Sometimes, losing a battle is losing the war...
I must say that driving through the fields and the forests, it gives a sense of the (small) space where the battle was fought. Every year, there is a reenactment of the battle. It must be quite impressive, but also very patriotic.
In the end, the number of casualties was very high on both sides. Around 8000 died and a far larger number was injured, captured or counted as missing. The number of tombstones dotting the drive through Gettysburg is testimony to this. The largest one is the one from Pennsylvania.

Baseball

Being in America, you also need to do American stuff (ok, not all of them...). A famous one is to attend a Baseball game. So there we go - with the metro - to the Nationals Park, the stadium of the Washington Nationals, the local baseball team.
The atmosphere is festive, there are families, everything is well organized. The view from our seats is great. The stadium has the characteristic shape suited for the game. Actually, it is not too difficult to understand the basics of the game - it is much simpler than cricket. And more boring... But we are there to enjoy the ambiance and the food ... ok, I should probably rephrase that.
Uncharacteristically, the Washington Nationals manage to win the game! And quite convincingly, 3-0 against the San Francisco Giants. The runs, including one home run, were scored in the second and fourth innings. The Nationals pitcher was very good. The Giants players were put out in all sorts of fashion. It was also funny to experience a stolen base.
The match lasted around 3 hours and finished at night. A nice evening out.

Rehoboth Beach

Early May provides a good opportunity to look out for nice summer spots. A beach on the Atlantic Ocean would be a great week-end get-away. So we headed to Rehoboth Beach, a little Delaware town, two hours drive from Washington.
The weather was not yet nice enough to go for a dip. The beach seems nice and broad. No comments on the food options... I also spotted a mini-golf and tennis courts. The highlight of the day was when I spotted a group of around twenty dolphins swimming close to the shore. Glad to see that my talents as an animal spotter apply not only in Africa but also in America. The whole crowd was then alerted. Unfortunately, the pictures are not so good, but you can trust me that this is the dorsal fin of a dolphin.

So let's come back in summer! I will keep you posted.

New York

In the early hours, Boltbus leaft Washington for New York. The trip - through uninspiring landscape - takes less than 4 hours and there we are in downtown Manhattan. The hotel was in between China Town and Little Italy. At the Italian bakery, I bought a nice chocolate eclair and was told to pay 3 dollars. No price displayed, not the impression of being charged for taxes (the final price would have not been so round). I was wondering how much more cliche things could be.First stop, Time Square with its huge billboards. Good to notice the excellent product placement by Swatch ! Later, while queuing to get ticket for an evening show, it was good to have all these flashy ads to look at. Unfortunately, the shows were full or still really expensive. Instead, we decided to go for drinks at the top of one of Manhattans' skyscraper for the best city views, including over the Empire State Building and the Crysler Building! Thanks to another great tip by one of my colleague, we also enjoyed a great supper, including an excellent rhubarb cake.
Further south, the "Ground Zero" area. It has changed a lot since last time (see entry from July 2009). Two big new towers are being erected, as well as a memorial in the form of two basins surrounded by trees. There is a sense that "progress" wants to be achieved here. Two years ago, it was still much more chaotic.
A few blocks down, Wall Street. The sign is right - anyway it could not have read: "The best currencies: the dollar and the pound" ! How the world has changed. Or is it back to basics.
After having used the bus, the metro, and our own feet, we took the ferry to Staten Island.
We passed by the statue of Liberty.The final stop was at Central Park. Thousands of people there, mostly to enjoy outdoor activities such as biking, jogging, playing baseball, throwing freesbee, or simply sunbathing.
Finally, I was very surprised to hear so many people talk French in the Big Apple. I am still trying to figure out what is the right explanation for this? 1) the dollar is so low that it is cheap to travel to New York, 2) I am almost French and did what the French do in New York, thus repeatedly bumping into them, 3) the French are deserting Sarkozy for Strauss-Kahn, ...