Once upon a time, my brother had a Northshore Band concert in Connecticut, and Mom and I decided to go along with him for the road trip and stop at Niagara Falls, New York City, and Washtington, D.C. on our way. We came, we saw, we did the speed tours of the big sights. Then we drove 14 hours back to Chicago. It was a lovely and sweaty week.

Love is love in Times Square.

Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.

Niagara Falls.

A love lock at Niagara Falls.

A sweaty walk through Central Park in New York City.

Flowers at Niagara Falls.

Tyler, me, and Mom in front of the White House in Washington, D.C.

Sweet graffiti van in New York City.

On the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls.

Ceiling at the Palace Theatre in Stamford, Connecticut.

Love is love in Stamford, Connecticut.

Social book time at the New York Public Library in New York City.

Canandaigua Lake in New York.

A Hillary Clinton sticker stuck to the sidewalk in Washington, D.C.

Atrium of Grand Central Station in New York City.

Niagara Falls.

Inside the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Sunflower garden in Washington, D.C.

Bridge to Niagara Falls.

Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry.

Me and Tyler at Niagara Falls.

The cutest baby ducks in a pond in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

9/11 exhibit at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

The view from the Empire State Building in New York City.

The Strand has a kiosk in Central Park!

I found the New York Public Library.

Fountains in front of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The tile at the Staten Island Ferry is everything.

Me in front of the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Part of the 9/11 exhibit at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Be nice or leave in Stamford, Connecticut.

The Northshore Concert Band performing at the Palace Theatre in Stamford, Connecticut.

The Daily Herald on the monitor at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Niagara Falls.

And yes, I did have “Empire State of Mind” stuck in my head the whole dang time.