Dateline: Washington D.C.
November 10, 2007
Another travel day, but our last for the next month. Yeah! We were out of the rack and on the road by 0730, after a stop (of course) at Starbucks for another photo op for Carol and breakfast. Other than Monticello and the University of Virginia, not a whole lot going on in Charlottesville, especially on a Saturday morning when the Virginia football team is playing an away game.
Based upon Carol’s brother-in-law’s recommendation, we both very much wanted to drive the Shenandoah Valley and Shenandoah National Park. We were most-certainly NOT disappointed, and we accomplished both, but in a way picked the wrong day. It was cold and misty in the Valley, but the fall colors were still very spectacular (see photos at the Shenandoah Photo Album on Google Picasa), and we ran into an old friend at the southern entrance to the park – snow and ice. The roads in the park were close in what they call the “south park” (not the show, Jenna), and when we arrived at the park entrance named “Swift Run Gap” (for those of you who are not Civil War – or the War of Northern Aggression is you still live in the Southland – fans a ‘run’ is another name for a stream, creek or empty streambed back in this country), which is at all of 2,600 feet, a little more than half of our elevation at home, but there was snow and ice on the ground, it was 30 degrees (f) and our little PT Cruiser did not have 4-wheel drive. So, we detoured down into the Shenandoah Valley and headed northward to where we could get into the park at a place called Mary’s Rock.
As a short aside, if you are in the market for a car and were ever interested in a PT cruiser, look no further. What a piece of crap! Glad we had a chance to drive one before ever thinking about buying one. Anyone wants more info, e-mail Steve!
We stopped and shot photos all along the way up the valley and then ran into another old friend – Yogi and Boo Boo Bear, and we were so excited to see Yogi, he gets top-billing on the blog space for today! For those with kids, this place (called the Jellystone National Park Official Camp Ground) would be a MUST. We cannot imagine the nightmare it must be during the summer months! Yogi and Boo Boo commercialized to the MAAX!
We got back into the park, which was totally fogged in, with snow and cold winds all the way out to For Royal at the northern entrance to the park, but good photo opportunities all the way, and a nice cozy stop at the large lodge (warm bathrooms!!) and gift shop for yet another cheesy fridge magnet. Our refrigerator is going to need an addition to hold Steve’s new and improved collection of cheesy tourista magnets from every Podunk spot in North America. The boy is relentless! The road was so occluded and icy at one spot, we were thinking of putting ski’s on the PT, but hey, it was insured, so we took the challenge and took the drive.
We arrived in Washington D.C. right in the middle of a Viet Nam Vet’s parade, which was both good and bad for Steve. Note to Self: NEVER drive in downtown Washington D.C. when there are hordes of hell raising veterans marching along the streets around the Mall. Even the guys Steve’s age on Rascal’s (another chapter of “Hell’s Rascals” that must be affiliated with the S.S. Scurvy Group) and with quad canes were out-of-control. Anyway, after numerous detours and missed turns, teamwork persevered we found our apartment for the next month, and got settled in. We drove the car out to Reagan National, purchased Metro passes and began learning the ins-and-outs of getting around Washington D.C. via the tube, which is a LOT easier to comprehend than using BART. Works out to about $3 a day for each of us which around here is one Hell of a deal! For any one else coming here long-term, the apartment deal is the ONLY way to go. Hotel rooms here in our neighborhood are like $200 - $300 a night.
November 10, 2007
Another travel day, but our last for the next month. Yeah! We were out of the rack and on the road by 0730, after a stop (of course) at Starbucks for another photo op for Carol and breakfast. Other than Monticello and the University of Virginia, not a whole lot going on in Charlottesville, especially on a Saturday morning when the Virginia football team is playing an away game.
Based upon Carol’s brother-in-law’s recommendation, we both very much wanted to drive the Shenandoah Valley and Shenandoah National Park. We were most-certainly NOT disappointed, and we accomplished both, but in a way picked the wrong day. It was cold and misty in the Valley, but the fall colors were still very spectacular (see photos at the Shenandoah Photo Album on Google Picasa), and we ran into an old friend at the southern entrance to the park – snow and ice. The roads in the park were close in what they call the “south park” (not the show, Jenna), and when we arrived at the park entrance named “Swift Run Gap” (for those of you who are not Civil War – or the War of Northern Aggression is you still live in the Southland – fans a ‘run’ is another name for a stream, creek or empty streambed back in this country), which is at all of 2,600 feet, a little more than half of our elevation at home, but there was snow and ice on the ground, it was 30 degrees (f) and our little PT Cruiser did not have 4-wheel drive. So, we detoured down into the Shenandoah Valley and headed northward to where we could get into the park at a place called Mary’s Rock.
As a short aside, if you are in the market for a car and were ever interested in a PT cruiser, look no further. What a piece of crap! Glad we had a chance to drive one before ever thinking about buying one. Anyone wants more info, e-mail Steve!
We stopped and shot photos all along the way up the valley and then ran into another old friend – Yogi and Boo Boo Bear, and we were so excited to see Yogi, he gets top-billing on the blog space for today! For those with kids, this place (called the Jellystone National Park Official Camp Ground) would be a MUST. We cannot imagine the nightmare it must be during the summer months! Yogi and Boo Boo commercialized to the MAAX!
We got back into the park, which was totally fogged in, with snow and cold winds all the way out to For Royal at the northern entrance to the park, but good photo opportunities all the way, and a nice cozy stop at the large lodge (warm bathrooms!!) and gift shop for yet another cheesy fridge magnet. Our refrigerator is going to need an addition to hold Steve’s new and improved collection of cheesy tourista magnets from every Podunk spot in North America. The boy is relentless! The road was so occluded and icy at one spot, we were thinking of putting ski’s on the PT, but hey, it was insured, so we took the challenge and took the drive.We arrived in Washington D.C. right in the middle of a Viet Nam Vet’s parade, which was both good and bad for Steve. Note to Self: NEVER drive in downtown Washington D.C. when there are hordes of hell raising veterans marching along the streets around the Mall. Even the guys Steve’s age on Rascal’s (another chapter of “Hell’s Rascals” that must be affiliated with the S.S. Scurvy Group) and with quad canes were out-of-control. Anyway, after numerous detours and missed turns, teamwork persevered we found our apartment for the next month, and got settled in. We drove the car out to Reagan National, purchased Metro passes and began learning the ins-and-outs of getting around Washington D.C. via the tube, which is a LOT easier to comprehend than using BART. Works out to about $3 a day for each of us which around here is one Hell of a deal! For any one else coming here long-term, the apartment deal is the ONLY way to go. Hotel rooms here in our neighborhood are like $200 - $300 a night.
One of the really interesting things we have encountered in the apartment is the Washer/Dryer combination. Carol tried for almost 30 minutes to get the on button to stay on. Steve solved it with (yes) a nail file. Talk about necessity being the mother of invention!For those interested in the geographic itinerary, we have now traveled just under 10,000 miles since leaving home (9,868 to be pretty accurate). We figure in another 3,250 we’ll be back in Pollock Pines, for a “Phase-One” total of 14,121 miles, with our trip to Australia yet to come! We hope to hit the “Around the World” mark by the time we are done.
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