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Washington, DC to New York, New York<\/p>\n
High Point: Seeing the NYC skyline come into view, hotel lobby disco balls<\/p>\n
Low Point: Arriving in New York means the end of Stage 8<\/p>\n
No Point: Sat nav in New York \u2013 no GPS and no knowledge of one way streets<\/p>\n
Author\u2019s notes<\/p>\n
We had an early start from L\u2019Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington DC. Thanks to Ed for putting us up (and Andy Peters from The Wynfrey Hotel, Birmingham, Alabama for putting us in touch).<\/p>\n
After some suspect driving around the capital\u2019s sights (a \u2019No truck\u2019 sign surely doesn\u2019t mean no Martha right?!) and subsequently a few close calls with local police (\u201cMove away from this area sir\u201d, \u201cPlease remove the person from the top of your vehicle mam\u201d, \u201cYou do not have permission to film here sir\u201d) we continued, unscathed and without any unscheduled visits to the police department – phew.<\/p>\n
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We were on our way to Stage 8\u2019s finishing point \u2013 New York!<\/p>\n
Seeing the city come into view on the horizon was like something from the movies. New York is an absolutely epic place and, having not visited before, I had high hopes for what it had to offer.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t disappoint! New York is featured so frequently in TV programmes and films that you wonder if it\u2019s all exaggerated\u2026it\u2019s not! Everything we saw was like being on a movie set \u2013 steam rising from man hole covers, hot dog stands, yellow cabs, dog walkers, delivery vans and road work tents which obviously housed bank robbers ready to heist a local bank, and secret agents monitoring their every move! We even ran into Ladder 8\u2026more commonly known as the home of Ecto 1 and the Ghostbusters \u2013 classic!<\/p>\n
We then headed to our hotel \u2013 The Carlton Arms \u2013 which is probably the best hotel I\u2019ve ever seen. Every hotel, no, every building, should have a glitter ball in the reception, and an owl playing a piano in the hallway. Each of the rooms are decorated by local artists, giving the place a very eclectic and kooky vibe. The amazingly generous guys at the hotel are donating our stay on behalf of the cause. Manager John is familiar with the fantastic work the Macmillan nurses do and was keen to help out. We can\u2019t thank him, and the rest of the staff, enough. It\u2019s an amazing place \u2013 do check it out if you\u2019re ever in the city.<\/p>\n
Just like the city we\u2019d arrived in, FTFE never sleeps, so it was straight back out again to The Dark Horse bar, were we were hosting a fundraising event. We were met by FTFE fans from far and wide, some who had travelled many miles to meet us and show their support which made us feel very special. Over $200 raised in a few hours was fantastic \u2013 thanks to Gavin at the bar who made us all feel so welcome and kept us fed and watered.<\/p>\n
As this will be my last FTFE blog, I wanted to look back on my three weeks on the engine as part of the crew\u2026<\/p>\n
Things I won\u2019t miss:<\/p>\n
– The un-relentless tiredness that comes over you when travelling, which seems pathetic considering I\u2019ve only been on the road for three weeks. The only thing I can liken it to is trying to stay awake during a university lecture \u2013 the battle between wanting to stay awake and giving in to sleep resulting in nodding heads, sore necks and comedy video moments (see FTFE YouTube channel).<\/p>\n
– Having a shocker navigating: pitifully I just don\u2019t know my left from my right, get panicked quite easily and don\u2019t always understand what the sat nav is trying to tell me \u2013 sorry all!<\/p>\n
Things I\u2019ll miss:<\/p>\n
– Wearing matching outfits: it\u2019s like being in a cheesy 80\u2019s band every day\u2026and a great homing device when in crowds<\/p>\n
– Being \u2018famous\u2019: signing autographs and posing for photos at every turn\u2026let\u2019s face it, it\u2019s the closest I\u2019m going to get to my 15 seconds of fame<\/p>\n
– Meeting the great people of the US \u2013 if my faith in humanity ever wavers I\u2019m just going to think about the amazing people I\u2019ve met on this trip, and the absolute kindness they\u2019ve shown to us and what we\u2019re doing<\/p>\n
– Seeing small town America – before joining the expedition I was most looking forward to seeing the big towns \u2013 New Orleans, Washington DC and NYC, but it\u2019s actually been the small towns that I\u2019ve fallen in love with. Their community spirit, generosity and passion for what we were doing\u00a0 was just immense<\/p>\n
– Spending time with my best friends \u2013 just awesome. Could rattle on for an age about them, but to save time, and avoid scoring a \u201810\u2019 on the cheese-factor scale, will just say it\u2019s been an honour and a privilege, I love them lots and am very proud of them all<\/p>\n
And now I\u2019ve finished what could be my first album thank yous, I have a request\u2026please, please, please if you haven\u2019t done so already, donate to this amazing cause. 100 per cent of money goes directly to the three fantastic charities we\u2019re supporting. We\u2019ve already raised 92,000 GBP and would love to hit, and even exceed, the 100k mark by the time we\u2019re through.<\/p>\n
Thank you muchly,<\/p>\n
Gem<\/p>\n
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