Chris Dyson's Travel Blog

I was staying at a hostel around the corner from the drop off point after my tour finished, so I walked around there to quickly check-in because I had things to do and explore in New York. Once I was sorted and had a quick rest, I went to the High Line Park. The Park is a former train track that was converted into a park in 2009. High Line Park. I then walked to Times Square just as the sun was setting to see the famous billboard lights. It was very busy as it is obviously a very popular area. I then walked around the corner to the beautiful Grand Central Terminal. It certainly is very grand and big to look at on the inside. Times Square. My final destination of the day was to go up the Empire State building with my prepaid ticket that I bought online. I got to skip one of the entry lines but still had a very short wait for the elevator but no big deal. I took some photos and went to bed for the night as I was very tired. Up the Empire State Building at night...

Our final group tour breakfast this morning opened at 06:30am, with the same usual early risers there first thing. The coach loaded just before 07:45am as we started the drive back north east to complete the tour. The mornings drive would be around 3 hours as we made our way once again to Pennsylvania. This time we would be spending an extended stop in Philadelphia where we can explore and have lunch at Reading Terminal Market. Before we got there we drove through Delaware for about 20 minutes in the early morning, to add to the count of states visited on this trip. Philadelphia City Hall. After lunch we had a 90 minute walking tour of the city, stopping at as many places that we could in the time we had available. At 13:30pm we made the final push as a group to get back to New York. Independence National Historical Park. We hit the usual traffic getting into New York from New Jersey but the tour concluded at 16:00pm and everybody said their goodbyes. A vide...

Breakfast opened at 06:30am this morning which we had a voucher for, before loading everything onto the coach 1 hour later. Today we would be making the long drive to the nation's capital of Washington DC, where we would spend 2 nights. We drove for around 4 hours with a morning break before arriving at our quick 45 minute lunch stop. As we continued on through Pennsylvania, we were able to pass through an Amish community. We stopped here briefly to look at a farm with miniature horses before driving closer to our final destination for the day. Miniature horses. We continued on towards Washington DC passing through Baltimore, where we arrived around 5:30pm. Before check-in at the hotel we visited Arlington National Cemetery which has many gravestones of those who lost their lives in the many wars America had fought in. Arlington National Cemetery. Later in the evening we had a quick drive around to see a few of the memorials lit up at night. We finished ...

This afternoon we drove from Detroit, Michigan to Cleveland, Ohio for lunch and some free time to explore. Some of the group went to the rock and roll hall of fame museum to spend a couple of hours in there. I personally walked and explored the city itself for a few hours taking various photos and videos. We all met up again on the coach at 4:30pm before driving further towards Pittsburgh. Cleveland Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum. This would be our 3rd city of the day, arriving after a quick rest stop turnaround for some dinner. Upon arrival we took the Duquesne Incline Railway up the hill to get some nice photos of the city skyline, as the light started to fade. We then checked into the hotel after 9pm ending a long day. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A video of this day can be found below:

Breakfast this morning was at 7am in a diner just to the side of the hotel. We loaded the coach at 8am and we were back on the road again shortly after. Today we would heading back into the USA, to the city of Detroit, Michigan. We reached the Canadian/USA border just after 12:30pm and were processed as quick as possible. We then made our way for a late lunch as everybody was starting to get hungry. We ate at a restaurant chain called Cracker Barrel which I believe was good value for its portion size. Cracker Barrel sign seen while driving. In the afternoon we made the last leg of the journey to Detroit. We made 2 photo stops, one was at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant property. The other was to see the Motown Museum from the outside. I spent the rest of the evening around the hotel, as it had so much going on there was no need to leave to find food. There was a whole wing attached to the hotel with various options to eat.   GM Renaissance Center in Detro...

Today was the best breakfast of the tour to date as there was so much choice. We met in the lobby at 8am straight after breakfast and we set off towards Niagara-on-the-Lake . Our first stop of the day was at Pillitteri Estates Winery to see how some of the local ice wine is made. We walked around the grounds of Pillitteri and got shown the process of how it is made, before leaving just after 11am. Pillitteri Estates Winery. Next up was a chance to get some lunch in the town by the water. We would spend over an hour here looking out into the water, watching the various water activities going on. At 13:20pm we were back on the coach for a brief drive to Niagara whirlpool rapids. This was a great spot to get photos and the water was so clear. Niagara Whirlpool Rapids Viewpoint. We then drove around the corner for a once in a lifetime helicopter experience over all of Niagara Falls. This is one of the best things I have ever done and it is well worth the money. The ...