Washington DC Tour of U S Capitol

U S Capitol

Wednesday we had our scheduled tour of the US Capitol with our tour guide, Kyle,

Kyle

an intern with CA Congressman Dan Lungren’s office. We passed through Security with NO PROBLEMS when we first got into the Capitol Building. HOWEVER, Kyle took us through the basement/tunnel where we had to go through Security check AGAIN!! But THIS TIME, Norm got caught with his POCKET KNIFE!!! 

Norm, AFTER his pocket knife was taken away from him

Kyle had to go back to Security and was gone for a good 10 minutes! We thought he was getting 20 lashes for letting such a thing happen, but, in fact, he had to take the pocket knife BACK to Lungren’s office for safe keeping! 

Walking through the Capitol reminded me of my field trip in elementary school to the Capitol Building in Sacramento EXCEPT the rooms are a bit more elaborate.

Ceiling of Dome

Actual Spot where Lincoln's Desk Sat

This Explains the Next Picture

The Clock has been 5 min fast since 1837

Old Supreme Court Chamber

Old Senate Chamber

The 6 of Us with President Reagan

The next day Rich & I went to Arlington Cemetery. Another exceptional tour.

Washington DC

We left Front Royal VA June 20th in the rain and drove 90 miles North East to Cherry Hill RV Park in College Park, MD to begin our WONDERFUL 8 day tour of Washington DC. 

Happy Birthday, Rich!!!

Once we got set up and settled in we had cake & ice cream to celebrate Rich’s birthday!!!

The RV park is very nice and BIG!! It has a store, swimming pools, cafe, laundry, and even a hay ride, but WITHOUT the hay, every night that meanders through the park. Of Course, we HAD to take a ride!!!

  

Our 2nd night there, we took the Twilight Tour of Washington DC, and the tour bus picked us up right at the RV park.  AWESOME tour, BUT lots of WALKING!!

Here's Rich TRYING to open the gate to the White House

White House

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument

The Twilight Tour was REALLY PRETTY once it got DARK, but it was NOT a good time for pictures. By the time we got to the World War II and Korean War Memorials pictures just COULDN'T do them justice!!!!



And the story will continue....

More of Greenville, VA

As I promised, the story continues:

We took a SHORT drive on Blue Ridge Parkway which is a National Scenic Byway. It runs 469 miles, that's why I say we took a SHORT drive, mostly along the famous Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain which is part of the Appalachian Mtns. It runs from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park near Cherokee, North Carolina.

SORRY, I do have pictures but they wouldn't upload. I'll have to add them later!!

We were at this campground for 2 weeks and found lots of time to relax and Rich had time to put new shocks on the motor home.

He got SOOO dirty, he had to BURN his clothes

If it hadn't been for the GNATS, we would have spent a lot more time outside!! We had a few mild thunderstorms at night, but on Sunday, June 12th, we had a GOOD down pour, and, as you know, Rich LOVES to wash the vehicles in the rain!!

After the rain stopped, Norm & Cheryl went with Rich & I back to Mill Street Grill to celebrate our 13th anniversary!

June 14th we drove 104 miles to Front Royal, VA and pulled into the North Fork Resort where we will stay until Monday, June 20th (RICH'S BIRTHDAY). The campground here is VERY FAMILY Oriented with LOTS of kids!!! You can lease a spot for $700.00 a YEAR for a maximum of 200 days, BUT, you HAVE to MOVE your RV EVERY TWO WEEKS! I guess that's why the truck with its tent trailer just went by with the pop-up still up and one of the ends still out!!! Wish I had my camera handy!!

We are parked right on the river and can hear the rapids. You can fish in the river, BUT, there is a posted sign which reads:"WARNING  HEALTH ADVISORY ON EATING FISH. Fish in these waters may contain PCB's which can cause cancer. Therefore, it is advised ALL fish caught, be released and returned to the water".
Now, tell me, would YOU want to go fishing OR river rafting in THAT water??

The 4 of us went to the Celtic Festival today in Old Town Front Royal. Lots of GOOD music with the bagpipes, Harps, and violins! I tried to buy Rich a kilt for his birthday, but he said, "NOOOOOO!"

Well, that's about it for here. Like I said we leave Monday morning for College Park, Maryland for a week, where we have a VERY busy schedule. We got the OK to tour the White House and Capitol Building, so we're going to attempt their Metro System to get back & forth from MD and Washington D C. HOPEFULLY, we will have BETTER Internet connections and I'll be able to share our pictures.

And with that, the Asphalt Wanders!!

Greenville, Va

We left Sevierville, TN May 30th and drove 314 miles to Greenville VA. Because it was Monday of Memorial Day weekend, we had ORIGINALLY planned a leisurely drive of 250 miles to Roanoke, VA, spend the night in a Walmart parking lot, and then drive into Greenville. Well, what should have been an EASY 4 hrs to Roanoke, actually took us a VERY LONG 6 hrs. There had been a police shooting on the freeway about 13 miles BEFORE our exit. Needless to say, they CLOSED the freeway and diverted traffic OFF the freeway 19 MILES BEFORE our exit. We were STUCK in VERY SLOW traffic for over 2 hrs. If I had thought of it, I would have taken a picture and shared it with you! Rich suggested I call the campground and see if we could come in a day early just as the freeway was opened up right in front of us. We were one of the first vehicles to get access and it was wide open. Finally, after 6 LONG hrs, we had a leisurely hour and a half drive to Greenville, VA.
Now getting INTO the campground was ANOTHER adventure. It is 2 miles off the highway, but it is a VERY BUMPY, narrow road with lots of pot holes and loose gravel just to GET to the park!  It is a LARGE campground with a lake for swimming and/or fishing, and Large sites.

Lake for swimming or fishing

Lots of Seasonal Campers  

Ours & the Maeder's Campsites

It also has LOTS of trees, NARROW roads, and TIGHT turns.  Rich RUBBED the corner of a truck's back bumper with the side of the motor home when trying to maneuver a tight turn. OOPS Motor home Boo Boo #3 & 4 (I'll explain 1 & 2 later, IF you are interested ).

Rich says nothing major, it can be fixed, just a trip to TX.

Rich also had to straighten the rear mud flap

We visited Staunton, VA. where we road the street car all around town, visited several shops and SunSpot Studios

where we got a glass blowing demonstration,

We didn't get to see the finished product 'cause it had to go into the oven/kiln for 13hrs

Plus, we had an EXCELLENT dinner at Mill Street Grill.

EXCELLENT Prime Rib & Ribs

Ok, I have lots more pictures and newsworthy?? information, but, lucky for you, the computer is downloading the pictures EXTREMELY SLOWLY, so I will continue the story tomorrow!!

May 23rd Norm & Cheryl and Rich & I left Huntsville, AL and drove 240 miles to Up the Creek RV Campground

Up the Creek RV Campground

in Sevierville, TN for another 7 day stay. It was sad to see the path of destruction along the freeway left behind by the Alabama  tornados! We are all so thankful we avoided any of their force!!!
While in Sevierville, we took a ride through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! EVERYTHING is soooo GREEN!!

Of course our first stop was the Gatlinburg Visitor/Gift shop where Rich and I bought our Guardian Angel and Hiking Trail Troll dolls to keep us all safe and from getting lost.

Guardian Angel and Hiking Trail Troll Dolls

There is so much to see when driving through the park. We drove the Newfound Gap Rd, which is US Route 441. It is 33 miles of beautiful picturesque landscape connecting Gatlinburg, TN with Cherokee, North Carolina, which of course, had a casino. And, of course, we HAD to stop at the casino for a late lunch/early dinner, and pay our dues. 

We ran into a bit of a traffic jam caused by a bear cub up in a tree. We would have stopped to take a picture, but there was no place to pull over AND mama bear HAD to be near by!! Not ALL was lost though, because we did come across a mama bear and her 2 cubs in a meadow.

Mama Bear with 2 cubs

Traffic jam was just as bad EXCEPT there was a Ranger that kept the traffic moving, so I had to jump out of the car to take the pictures, and catch up with Rich further up the road.
We also made a stop and walked where the Appalachian Trail crosses over Newfound Gap Rd & straddles the state line of TN & NC.

Appalachian Trail

Us ON the Appalachian Trail

There is the Mountain Farm Museum which is a typical Southern Appalachian farm from the 1880s

1880s Southern Appalachian Farmhouse

and Mingus Mill
which is a WORKING mill that processes corn into meal using RESTORED 19th century equipment.

Weather was good in Tennessee EXCEPT for the one day we had Severe Thunderstorm warnings. We were supposed to go out to dinner with Norm & Cheryl but we were a little uncomfortable leaving the motor home and not knowing what they meant by SEVERE. So once the storm hit and we realized it was greatly over rated OR we just weren't in the sure path of the thing, Rich decided it was a good time to WASH the motor home.

You can't tell, BUT he is absolutely SOAKED!!

Before I move on to the next chapter, I have to tell you that we had to drive through Pigeon Forge, TN to get anywhere. Norm & Cheryl kept telling us that when they were in Pigeon Forge 10 years ago, there was NOTHING there! Well, let me tell you...Things have changed!! Not only is there Dollywood Amusement Park, yes, Dolly Parton is from here, but they have INDOOR sky diving, and PIGS that FLY!!

 And with that, I will let you know we have moved on up to Virginia and that is where we are NOW!!!

Huntsville, AL

May 19th, we packed up and unhooked the motor home and headed on up the road. We had planned to go to Point Mallard Campground in Decatur, AL which does not take reservations, BUT Cheryl called ahead JUST to make sure they would have spaces available. BUT guess what!! They were completely full!! SOOO, the six of us ended up going to Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville, AL for the next 4 days. It is a BEAUTIFUL state park! Can't believe we didn't take any pictures!! While there, we took a full day to visit the NASA US Space and Rocket Center. What an AMAZING place!

Sunday we decided to spend the day getting the motor homes ready for the next adventure then we were all to meet at Dennis and Darlene's rig for a bar-b-cue at 2:00. Well, about 12:30 Norm and Cheryl stopped by to let us know there was a tornado watch for the Huntsville area and asked if we had heard the sirens. We must have had a dumb look on our faces 'cause they knew we hadn't. We turned on the local radio station and Rich brought out the map. The park ranger came thru the park with the loud speaker telling everyone to take cover because we were in the path of the tornado. Well, Rich wanted to stay calm and listen to the radio, pull in the slides, and hunker down in the motor home. I don't think I panicked, BUT I didn't think the motor home would be the safest place. So I ran across the street to the showers and sat in there for a while. When I finally came out, it was a bit windy and the sky was getting dark, BUT I saw the squirrels. Now even I know, if a tornado is near, I wouldn't be seeing squirrels. So I went back to the motor home to check on Rich. The winds picked up, the sky opened up, and we had thunder and lightning BUT we did NOT get hit by the tornado! Needless to say, the bar-b-cue was delayed a couple of hours. The guys DID bar-b-cue the meat outside BUT we had to fix the Smores in the microwave.
Well that was our last night in Alabama, and I have to say, I was kind of glad to be hitting the road again the next morning. 

More of Robertsdale, AL

During our week in Robertsdale, AL, we visited the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park and toured the amazing battleship and the submarine USS Drum. I can't imagine how anyone can live and/or work on a submarine!!!  The park also has MANY MANY other military boats and airplanes. As you can guess, the guys were in their glory!!! 

USS Alabama Battleship

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Our next adventure was to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL.  Another museum with LOTS and LOTS of GUY stuff.  

AND we did have something to eat out in the parking lot!!! Now you KNOW I had to include a picture of us eating!!!    

Then Rich & I rode with Dennis & Darlene 1 hr & 15 min to Destin, FL just so Darlene could get another Hard Rock Cafe pin and then 2 hrs. back to Robertsdale, AL. All I can say, is Dennis REALLY Loves Darlene!!!

Dennis & Darlene

Our last night in Robertsdale, we HAD to go to Lambert's ONE MORE TIME! I didn't take any pictures of the food, BUT I DID get one when the waitress was giving Rich a bad time!!

She picked on Rich all evening!!

From here we moved on up the road to Huntsville, Al. Now THAT proved to be an adventure!!!