ot/ east coast disappointment

Took the family on an east coast trip... saw Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, the Smithsonian museums in DC, (well at least several of them), Arlington Cemetery. (What a somber, thought provoking place), Washington"s Mt. Vernon, and the capitol. (couldn"t get into the White House, not enough time.) The American History museum was closed though, much to our disappointment.
A few observations:

DC was incredibly loud... all night. Sirens, traffic, and people.

I hate heavy traffic. We got caught in rush hour traffic in DC. Could have rode my bike the same distance I covered in my car, only faster.

The tourist places RAPE you. We ate ONE time in one of the Smithsonian"s museums.. (Me, the wife, and 4 kids). I knew it would be high, and we"re trying to spend the money on seeing stuff, not food..We each got a slice of pizza, an apple or banana, and a soft drink.....SEVENTY FOUR DOLLARS! The sign said it was $4.85 per person on the display for that combo... ($29.10 plus tax) When the lady at the register told me $74, I nearly had a high speed come apart.... She impolitely advised me that the $4.85 was for the same meal w/ a HALF a slice of pizza, but we were getting WHOLE slices of pizza so it was $74.00.... lets see, 74 - 29.10 = 44.90. 44.90 / 6 = 7.48.... so each 1/2 slice of pizza cost $7.48 additional!
I was so mad, I was about to simply tell the kids to set the trays down and walk away... my wife, not wanting to be run out of the museum on a rail, made me bite my tougue as best she could. I later went back and looked... yeah the sign was there. BEHIND the guy serving the pizza by the slice, on a 5x7 card on the wall....

The Potomac river is a cesspool. We took the boat tour from Washington"s Mt. Vernon, about 20 minutes north and then back. I saw THOUSANDS of plastic bottles, 55 gallon barrels, and other bits of trash and debris. What would George have thought of his descendants if he saw that?
And finally, the worse part, look as I might, I saw only a handfull of old tractors anywhere. Not that that is why we went, it was just an observation. Never really saw many at all until we came back thru PA.
Saw lots of expensive houses, rude drivers, and overpriced everything.
Finally, just an observation on security. Its there, but flawed. I"m a police officer and can carry my off duty weapon anywhere in the US, with the exception of course of some very senisitve places. As I expected, I had to ck my weapon at the Capitol, but was allowed to carry it in all of the museums and other buildings. I won"t go into what they required for me to enter, but I felt it was neither very well thought out nor implemented. It would be no big feat for anyone to get in w/ a weapon. More importantly, I didn"t even go thru the metal detectors, and could have been carrying a nuke in my vest... My 9 year old son, on the other hand, got jerked out of line and once overed w/ the "wand"... the metal tuna can in his lunchable package set off the alarm.... can"t trust them 9 year olds...

Enough of a rant, but next year we"re going to IOWA! (Mt. Pleasant, here we come.) Hope we fare better there. At least there will be tractors and nicer people.

I've come away from the East with some of the same opinions. Cleanliness, or the lack thereof, is what I always notice. Dirty citys, dirty towns, dirty restaurants, dirty streets etc. Coming home, it's always nice to hit about mid Ohio and points West. Midwest is much friendlier also. Mt. Pleasant is a GREAT midwestern show. You'll enjoy it!

I loved Iowa and MO. I like NC too and invite you to a little cleaner place than you described. I like to go to NY and stand on the corner and see it "ALL" pass by and then go get on a big bird and get out of there. It is no wonder the world is such a mess when all of our officials live in the Cess pool that you describe--and their minds re cluttered up with all those bad thoughts.

tw

We look forward to having you in Iowa. I live about 30 miles north of Mt Pleasant.

59th Old Threshers Reunion
August 28 - September 1, 2008
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
Only 41 days until the reunion!

Still time to come

SGT,Welcome to the metropolitan area,by driving a hour either direction there some good veiws.The potomac I hate to say is cleaner now than its ever been,Its clasifed as one of the best Bass fisherys in the US.There are a lot of antique tractors in the area.Most tractors can be found in small towns and subdivions,Plow days and local fairs are still very popular,This is mostly red country.I will admit that Baltimore and Washington needs to be pushed over and plowed up,but the politians would starve to death.In that area a 50 year old house can sell for a million bucks,and a starter home here in the Eastern panhandle of WV starts at 250,000

PS Its not hard to get on as a police officer in DC,you might like it

jimmy

maybe i missed it , but where ya all from?

There's a nice tractor show in the Springfield, MO area in mid-Sept (11-14 this year) called steam-o-rama, and that's close to Branson, MO which is an incredibly family-friendly tourist destination. The traffic on the main road in town can get a little busy from time to time, but the folks are very nice usually.

boomer you can't be over about 35 miles from me.

What town are you from?

Go to Mt Pleasant about ever other year myself.

Gary

Sgt Bull,

I share your opinions for the most part, having come from rural Upstate NY and moving to the DC area for work.

I have been here almost 4 years, and I still have to make regular trips outside the beltway to help keep my sanity.

Spending time among the working "professionals" here has started to make me a cynic, but more sad to think about some of the people and their lives here. I realize how blessed I have been to be able to work and live in real America, and it seems to me like most of the people that have been born and raised in this area are really missing out on something. I miss the simple pleasures of hearing frogs in the swamp, looking at actual stars (too bright for that here) and just the ability to spend a cool evening on a porch (it stays too hot here because DC is built on a swamp, and all the concrete holds the heat in)

You are right that the traffic is awful (I believe 3rd worst in the country), and many people are rude. The tourist trade is what keeps most of downtown going, and it is rather expensive for anything, especially food and bottles of water. My apologies that you missed the American History museum (The company I first worked for here in VA is actually responsible for the engineering design of the renovation, thats part of why it isnt open yet, and why I dont work there anymore )

Regardless, I dont want you thinking that everyone here in the east, or in DC even is all that bad. There are a lot of good folks around here, its just hard to find them somedays. Thats not to say Im not headed back towards rural life as soon as I can swing it.

(quoted from post at 05:16:59 07/19/08) boomer you can't be over about 35 miles from me.

What town are you from?

Go to Mt Pleasant about ever other year myself.

Gary

Click to expand...

I live in the small town of Columbus Junction. Your right North Liberty is about 35 - 40 miles away. I worked in Iowa City for many years now I work in Muscatine. Is this the year you are going to the Old Threshers Reunion? If so I might just see you there.

Boonville Indiana Has a Thresherman Park
July 27-28 antique tractor show its awesome
they have it every year.Parades pulls demonstrations and so much more.

Did you get wet in the flood?

Gary

We lost part of the town but I live in the country on a 7 acre farm so we didn't have any probelms

Oh, don't worry... I know there are great people on the east coast and hope I didn't offend any of them. Guess just being a country boy in the big city was a bit overwhelming. I loved the museums, and saw many things that I'd hoped to see. Being a tightwad conservative, I guess I was disgusted with the ridiculous prices of things and the attitude of many of the vendors I met. They knew they had you over the proverbial barrel, and took full advantage of it. And, yes, like so many, I finally just gave in and handed over the money.
I realize what I saw was not representative of everyone there. I'd have to say though, DC proper didn't have much I liked beyond the museums. Guess its what you're used to.
I met quite a few nice people at the motel and the museums. They were all, without exception, from somewhere else, there to see the sights like us. Good experience, no matter how you slice it, but nice to be home!
One really eye opening experience was the Capitol building. I watched about 12 people pass a bill that cost who knows how many million dollars affecting folks in the Appalachian mountains.... I'm serious when I say 12... There may have been fewer... I guess I expected more folks to have an interest in our country's spending, especially our legislators. Wonder what else goes thru w/o much review. Our tour guide, a staffer for our local legislator's office, (who got us the tour), said that unless someone opposed the bill, it usually went thru like that... wow... just how much DO we pay them for that level of apathy?

Certainly no offense taken here.

I hear you on the prices. I worked across the river in VA for the first few years I was here, and then moving to DC everything is more expensive, even when you arent on the mall.

Whats funny is that I think I have met all of four people that are "from here". Everyone is from somewhere else, and they are all just here for work or the military. Its a very transient place for sure. If you were to head into downtown DC on a Sunday morning you would all but own the place. Much of it is commercial only, so there isnt anyone there at all.

DC itself has some great museums (the spy museum is pretty nifty, but expensive) and some really wonderful monuments. There is a lot of stuff that inspires pride in me for my country and my countrymen, and the leaders that we had to get us through hard times. But once you get past that stuff, there isnt much here to hold anyones interest.

I think most of the people running the country are on vacation this time of year...right? Even so, its amazing what gets passed through when there is a "majority".

Air Strike.

scott#2

Sarge,

You need to keep headed North for quite a bit before it gets sensible again. Flip the bird to New Yawk, Hahtfud and Bawstun as you pass em by and when yer about 2 hours past P'otland it gets back to the way it should be.

I see a lot of Red still working the field up here too.