Anyway....This
Became this
And there were puppet shows with live band
These amazing guys from the Mongolian region.
The singing was like the Tibetan throat singing and the music ......Rocked...for want of a better word.
The craft stuff was just as impressive.
The Kenyan stuff also had some great music too, but as most of our music (well blues,jazz and rock....the most important music ) is derived from African music it sounded ,shall we say, less unusual.
Of course the craft stuff included, amongst the bragging about their athletes, a nice piece translating "Congratulations Obama " to the half Kenyan President.
The dancers and musicians strolling around sure added some colour.
As do the local guys out around town
Spent a day looking at the Pentagon and the 9/11 memorial and then a bit further to the lovely old town of Alexandria. It was spared destruction after the Brits burned Washington..I think around 1814...pure cussedness just 'cos they got kicked out and had to start sending their convicts to the big island that Capt. Cook had found back 1770 in the South Pacific.
We hung around 'til Independence Day for the big parade and the fireworks.
The big inflatables were all ready to go
The military and the High School bands (from all over the country)were getting prepared
Then off they went
I'm guessing that this kid following the "Early Settlers" on the horses with the manure barrow would have been just as proud as anyone
Despite the size and grandeur of this parade ...I gotta say Croaker's more fun.
Maybe cos you know half the people in the parade!!
Speaking of Croaker...Oriental didn't get hit too hard by Arthur who was passing by at the time.
Didn't feel a thing up in DC.which is at the end of the squiggly bit to the left about 10 o'clock.
That's the 3rd Hurricane we've dodged. Touching every bit of wood I can find!
Teak actually.
Anyway the fireworks (fizzworks )went off that night against a backdrop of a fading sunset.
A bit of a waste really....sunset, lots of smoke with some so so explosions.
Maybe being Sydneyites we're a little spoiled.
Next day had to send the First (best)Mate up the mast for a quick adjustment and off we went the 100 miles back down the Potomac
Oh yeagh...when we left our last anchorage to get out into the Chesapeake Bay again I spotted a crab pot buoy just in front of us. A little bit closer and I noticed it had ears.
A deer was swimming across the river! Cool.
You'll be relieved to know that we were on a mission to get north so didn't really think about photos,been there an' done that, and nothing of real interest happened until we got to Sandy Hook at the start of the river/bay up to NY..NY.
No photos of our early morning trip either.
1.The fog was so thick that it was pointless.
2. It was so scary we didn't even think about it.
Imagine blindly chugging up a very busy river just hearing fog horns and occasionally catching a glimpse of a huge ship passing you...very close
The fog cleared ,after about 21/2 hours ,just as we got to the Statue of Liberty.
Spectacular.
Then it was a 10 to 12 knot (about double normal speed-current you see)up the East River and through Hell Gate, the fastest bit , to Port Washington which is just at the start of Long Island Sound.
And that's where we are now...kicking back for a few days.
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