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.

Niagara Falls.

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

On the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls.

A sweaty walk through Central Park in New York City.

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

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

I found the New York Public Library.

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

Be nice or leave in Stamford, Connecticut.

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

Me and Tyler at Niagara Falls.

Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry.

Flowers at Niagara Falls.

Sunflower garden in Washington, D.C.

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

A love lock at Niagara Falls.

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

Bridge to Niagara Falls.

The Strand has a kiosk in Central Park!

Love is love in Stamford, Connecticut.

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

Atrium of Grand Central Station in New York City.

Canandaigua Lake in New York.

Niagara Falls.

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

Love is love in Times Square.

Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.

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

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

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

The tile at the Staten Island Ferry is everything.

Sweet graffiti van in New York City.

Ceiling at the Palace Theatre in Stamford, Connecticut.

Niagara Falls.

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