Checking Out DC...Ahoy There, Who Goes..

I've been a little remiss in posting my stories, as so much has been going on. Behind I am on photo editing and it is getting the best of me. However, I will persevere and get it done. 

Saturday arrived 4/4/2015, Christie and I had decided to go explore DC. After our morning chores, walking the dogs, picking up poop and knocking off five ticks that had started to crawl up onto Christie's legs...yes, I said the dreaded T word, we secured the dogs, buttoned up Izzy and departed for downtown DC.  

The mission...to find the Washington National Cathedral.

One of the gargoyles is the head of Darth Vader.  

Darth Vader Gargoyle

The rest of DC was built over a swamp. Hetty our Garmin decided to take us the longest way through the most interesting neighborhoods which Christie and I found to be well, interesting...a conglomeration of humanity.  The architecture was fascinating. We even passed by Embassy Row and saw the Canadian Embassy. The Saudi Ambassadors Residence

Saudi Arabian Ambassador Residence

was a little ostentatious in my estimation. 

On the way to the Cathedral we went by the Navy Ship Yard, there were several destroyers in dry dock being worked on. Boy those are some big ships. My dad was a Navy man and always had a

In for service

healthy respect for those ships after almost being washed overboard during a storm one time. He said that is why you always wore your storm equipment and snapped your safety lines to the railings when you went outside. 

After finding the Cathedral we decided to go to Annapolis where the Navy teaches young men and women to be future leaders in our military. It is an amazing complex situated on the Chesapeake Bay 123 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Annapolis has one of the oldest State houses in the country, left over

The oldest State House in America

from the American Revolution

One of the many boat moorings

                                                            and still being used.  

We wandered about taking in the sights and sounds of Annapolis and discovered there was a tour boat about to leave so we scurried...ha! More like a fast as

Ah, a good cup of Joe!

 I can mosey, to the boat, paid our fee and boarded and found a seat. It was quite a history lesson and a nice but brisk ride. Going out the wind was in our favor but coming 

Sea Gull looking for a handout

back...I had to head below or be blown away. We managed to get some nice pictures as we toured the inlet and even saw the channel marker where George

Washington's ship got stuck on a sand bar and he had to spend the night aboard until high tide the next morning before the ship could float off before making it into the harbor. It now is home to an Osprey nest. We saw some cadets out on the water in their sailboat doing maneuvers. 

Future leaders honing their sailing skills!

Amazing the history in these places...if the boardwalks could only talk and the taverns as well. One of the taverns was over 200 years old.  Oh the

265 year old tavern, oh the stories...

stories those walls were the secret keepers of. 

We spied Alex Haley, author of "Roots" reading to some children.  Haley was a favorite son of Annapolis.

Area dedicated to Alex Haley

As the sun faded into the west,

Time to head back to DC

we headed back into DC to find a place for dinner. Christie searched one of her apps and found a place called Duke's Grocery which is a British Restaurant which is inspired on an East London hangout offering farm fresh cuisine and craft cocktails.  Actually it is a small hole in the wall yuppie bar, but

The awesome burger, double decker!

the food was outstanding. I would defiantly give it a 5 star rating for food and atmosphere. 

After Dukes we walked back to the car where Christie managed to snag a handicap spot and we left to view DC at night.  We went over to the WWII memorial where she went and got some pictures of the memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, Korean Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. I was done for so she parked me and did the sight seeing. I would have loved to have seen it, but it will have to wait until the next trip.

Oklahoma Representation at WWII Memorial

Pacific Theatre Representation at WWII Memorial

Dusk at the WWII Memorial

Center Fountain at WWII Memorial

Vietnam Memorial and Washington Monument

Soldiers carefully walking the rice paddies at
the Korean Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial

We made our way back home to Izzy, did our nightly routine and hit the hay. It was almost celebration time...the countdown was on...sweet dreams, sweet 
baby girl... 

Izzy's Dilemma...and Shopping...

About 4:00 a.m. in the morning as predicted the thunderstorms rolled in.  I was glad I had pulled in the awning as there was a pretty good wind blowing outside. Poor Bear...he is terrified of storms, but as long as he could squeeze himself into a corner he was okay.  

We didn't roll out of bed until later as we decided that we needed to get the coach looked at. The day before I had contacted a service station that said they would look at the coach and to bring it it. So around 10:00 a.m. we secured everything, raised the jacks and very carefully drove through the park. Along the way we spotted some wildlife. Christie

A young female deer walking amongst the trees.

drove behind me so if I had to signal and get over she could get over first creating a space for me, then I could go and be safe in doing so. Thankfully the service station was not far way.  

The station owner tried to help me.  He spent over an hour trying to hook up his computer to reset my ABS warning light (little did I know that a wire for my cigarette lighter plug in was loose and there was no way anything was going to work). At the moment my brakes were working, thank goodness.  The poor man was getting drenched as he was having to work in the rain.  After no success he sent me to another Shell station down the street who couldn't be bothered with me and my dilemma and on top of that, bad mouthed the poor man who was black and foriegn and had just spent all this time trying to help me and had recommended this other station. Then they sent me to a place that didn't even exist. I wanted to scream.  

I told Christie I needed to get gas as I was running low and she suggested we head the opposite direction from the park.  We did and found a gas station with pumps facing the correct way (yea!). I got out and started to fill up when I noticed a big rig gas tanker.  I told Christie to finish filling Izzy and Libby as I wanted to talk to the driver of the tanker. I told the man my dilemma and he immediately recommended R & S Spring Shop.  I thanked him, told him he was an angel and wished him a Blessed Easter to which he beamed. We hightailed it back to the Park and got Izzy re-parked and made our call to R & S Spring Shop. We were told to bring it in on Tuesday as it was too late on Friday plus it was Easter Weekend.

We decided to stick close to home so to speak and did some grocery shopping, ate lunch at the Silver Diner which prepares all their food fresh from local farmers, it was very, very good! Went to Dick's Sporting Goods and bought a rain jacket and some neat hiking pants and a new sleeping bag for me, then went to DSW Shoes and bought some rain boots and a new wallet, again for me.

Rain Boots

Wallet to match

Friday turned out to be a fun shopping day.  We finished the day off by going to Chevy's Fresh Mex Food Restaurant, which was not far from the campground.  It was awesome.  Our waitress was Ida, a beautiful woman who lost her young grandson

I had to get a picture of this most lovely and gracious lady
who brought joy to our meal amidst her own sorrow.

six months earlier, was trying to help her daughter get through her loss, we could empathize with her, having to get through our own loss.   We ended our meal in prayer with Ida. We brought home some fabulous jalapeno jelly, cheese queso, chips and part of our dinner to snack on later.  

My dinner at Chevy's Fresh Mex

It was a great day...which ended with taking the dogs out one more time and heading to the shower house in the next loop over as the hot water heater in our shower house was on the fritz. If there is one thing I hate, it's a cold shower. We watched the weather to see how the cherry blossoms were doing and if they were near blooming, they weren't,  then we called it a night. 

Washington or Bust...Tears Upon My Cheeks...And Tapas...

We were up early Thursday morning as we wanted to go into DC to do some sightseeing.  After hitting the campground restroom next to the motorhome I went and introduced myself to our new neighbors that had set up the night before while we were at Gettysburg. 

A lovely couple from Mobile, Alabama, John and Leslie Gafford were in Washington for Spring break with their three children Marylyn, Michael, Mathew and their foreign exchange student Johanna

Leslie and John

Gustavsson from Sweden.  What a great family! Leslie helps to find families to host exchange students for their senior year of high school in the Mobile area.  I'm not sure what John does but I do know he plays a mean guitar. We have become Facebook friends, I know if I am in the area I can give them a call and I will be welcomed and they likewise. 

After having some breakfast, feeding and walking the dogs, taking my meds and securing the coach. We got in Libby and headed over to the Metro about 2 miles away. It cost about $9.00 plus $5.00 to park and ride the subway into Washington.  We got off at the L'Enfant Plaza exit

A Civil War Memorial built in the
late 1800's

and walked over to the National Gallery of Art located just off the National Mall. I'm glad I had my back brace on and my walking cane as it was a pretty good hike. 

Once inside we proceeded to mosey through the rooms. The problem I had was, there wasn't very many places to sit down. With my back problem I need to sit and rest ever so often, but I

Mercury and Easter Lilies in the
Great Rotunda

managed. We came to the great rotunda. As you can see the space is huge.  It was decorated with Lilies as it was Easter time. 

We were trying to find a particular gallery in the Americana section and as luck would have it, it was in the very farthest corner of the museum from

You could almost see the fuzz of the
petals

where we entered...of course it was.  We wandered from room to room gazing upon the beauty of each work of art asking ourselves...how did they ever do that? It was pure genius...It looked so real and in some cases you felt you could actually feel the crispness of the paper between your fingers and the strings of the violin as you plucked them...the strokes of the brush were so fine. 

The paper lept from the painting it
looked so real. 

Another room to take a respite in...a huge atrium filled with seating and lush plantings. Christie wandered about taking pictures and got this beauty. 

Miniature Oranges and Cherubs

We finally came to the gallery we were seeking. Upon finding it we went in and sat down at the back of the room. There was another couple in the room wandering about, then left. We had the room to ourselves. In silence we sat looking at the sculpture upon the wall...so filled with emotion was I, I discovered that I had tears running down my cheeks. After having been at Gettysburg the day before and then seeing this, I needed a release...tears were the answer and they flowed.   It is the final shot from the movie Glory.  If you have never seen the movie, I suggest you do. We sat there for a good 15 minutes looking at this magnificent piece of art.

Robert Gould Shaw leading the 54th Massachusetts Colored Troops

Reluctantly we left, I then decided I wanted to go see

the Dutch Masters and off we went to find the painter of the "Girl with the Pearl Earring"  Johannes Vermeer. If you have not seen that movie it is a must. Every frame is a vision of art from the

Master. We saw his "Woman holding a Balance" as well. 

Christie has a friend who works for the FBI. They had made arrangements for us to meet up for happy hour at a Spanish Tapas Bar not far from the museum. It's amazing how time flies. It was going on 4:30 p.m. and I knew it would take us a bit to get there at my walking pace.  It was 9 blocks North of us, uphill no less in Chinatown, a place called La Tasca. Ever so slowly we made it. Along the way we saw street musicians and dancers entertaining those trying to get to the Metro. The Metro Police were busy trying to keep things moving. Boy was I ever glad to sit down. After making our way to the basement, we were seated. Happy hour I must say is LOUD! We were seated next to a party of 15, everyone talking at once. I don't know how anyone understood each other and then laughing was sheer screeching. After awhile they left and finally we could hear ourselves think...well almost. The food was very good and cheap! Our whole meal was $24.00. Everything we ordered was $4.00 a plate and we got 4 items on a plate. Our drinks were $4.00 each as well. 

All I can say is YUM!  This is an absolute must go to destination if
you go to Washington DC!

I remember when Dave, Gene Enrico and Susan Caldwell came back from Spain after filming "And They Sang a New Song" for the University of Oklahoma, Dave thought a Tapas Bar on Campus Corner would be a great idea. Too bad we didn't have the money to do it as it is the "IT SPOT" in DC. I wish there was a Tapas bar in Norman or Oklahoma City with these prices as it would be an instant hit! 

After we finished we decided it was time to head back to the rig.  Thankfully the Chinatown Station Red and Green Lines were not far at all, just across the street and down half a block. It was more expensive going back to the campground than coming into DC as we had decided not to wait until after 7:00 p.m. when it would be cheaper. 

The puppies were happy to see us. Our "dogs" were tired after all the walking, so we got them up after Christie walked and fed the pups. We started the generator and fired up the TV so we could see what was going on in the world. The weatherman said it was due to rain the next day. Quiet hour started at 10:00 p.m., not our rules, National Park rules. Off went Ginny and we ran the lights on the battery for a bit then lights out.   

As predicted a gentle rain began to fall and lulled us into a deep sleep. We slept well...

Washington or Bust...We Walked Hallowed Ground...

Christie and I woke up to the dogs giving us heck for not getting up at the crack of dawn to let them out. It was a crisp 38 degrees. I just wanted to snug down some more but knew that we needed to get up and do some chores around the campsite.  

First order of the day COFFEE!  I started Izzy up to turn on the Genny (generator) so we could get the coffeemaker and the electric heaters going, to get it warm inside the coach and a cuppa Joe in hand.  I made some scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast. All of a sudden the propane detector started going off! What the....!

We reset the button, off it went again. I popped my head out the door and noticed not a breeze was felt anywhere.  No movement of leaves, Nada! Off went the generator. Darn!  You have to have some kind of a breeze to move the exhaust fumes away from the coach so they don't build up underneath and get you. Had I been thinking I would have set my box fan under the coach to blow the fumes away from the area. It's always the afterthought that gets you thinking...wish I had thought of that earlier.  

Christie and I looked at each other and shook our heads still in disbelief that we had made it here to Washington D.C. all in one piece.  Me: "So what are we going to do today?" C: "How about Gettysburg?" Me: "How far is it from here?" C: "About 60 miles." Me: Is that all?" C: Yep!"  We gave the dogs food and water and secured them in their area. Locked up Izzy and away we went to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

One of the sites we saw on our way out of town was the Latter Day Saints Temple in Washington D.C., you come up over the rise and it smacks you in the face so to speak.

Washington DC Latter Day Saints Temple

Once again we saw beautiful farmland and farms on our way to Gettysburg. On our left as we traveled north was the Blue Ridge Mountain range. 

Gettysburg Visitor's Center

We finally arrived at the visitor's center and went inside to buy the boys gifts for Christmas. One of the items we bought was a driving tour of Gettysburg, a 5 CD set telling the story of the battle. Christie and I decided to do that instead of

going through the museum. We will have to make a trip back to take in the museum and do the driving tour again due to the fact it is so darn fascinating.

While on the way to the car we met President Abraham Lincoln, sitting in pensive thought.  Was he thinking of the words he was about to say at such a terrible time in our history to try and heal a broken nation? We will never know.  

We put the first CD into the player and started off. Part of the way through it quit working so we had to take it back to the Visitor's center. While Christie ran it in, I started looking at the map and discovered that we had started in the wrong spot and had left out half of the tour. 

We started again, this time we started at the beginning of the tour instead of the middle.  There are over 1500 statues and monuments. The 3 hour driving tour takes longer than 3 hours if you really want to absorb what you are seeing and feeling. 

Listening to the stories tears at your heart. It's hard to think that over 7,000 men and women lost their lives fighting at Gettysburg.

This small structure was a field hospital.

Over 5,000 horses and mules had been killed. Over 33,000 men and women had been wounded in the 4 day battle. It was discovered that women were disguising themselves as men in order to fight. 

There's a story of a little dog named Sallie who faithfully stood by her troops during battle until she was killed. We finally found her small memorial.

This young soldier keeps a steady
watch to the west over
 the shadows of fallen soldiers
and little Sallie's monument.

It's all so heartbreaking, yet so solemn.  We continued on with our journey to Big Round Top and Little Round Top. At one

The Battle for Little Round Top

point you could almost hear the soldiers off in the distance softly singing songs of home in the empty stillness of the moonlit night. Yes, we were traveling in the dark under the light of a full moon. 

This Photo was shot is complete darkness.
The silence of Gettysburg is eerie...You
could almost hear the clip clop of the
horse's hooves as the General wandered
among his troops to encourage them for
the next days battle.

You have to go to Gettysburg to understand the enormity of it all. It is so overwhelming and weighs so heavy on the soul. It changes you when you travel the roads and walk upon the battlefields, knowing it is hallowed ground. You listen to the stories, see the monuments and only then, just begin to get a sense of what truly happened here. 

President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife Mamie lived at Gettysburg. Their farm is located on the battlefield.  He gave it to the National Park Service upon his and Mamie's deaths with the understanding that the public could not drive up to it, but had to be driven to it by other means of transportation. This was to keep the beauty and serenity of the surrounding area and the National Historic Site preserved. 

Eisenhower National Historic Site

Finally the tour ended 5 hours later and we decided that we needed to eat. We found a wonderful pizza parlor by the name of Tommy's Pizza.  Once again the crust was wonderful, very much like the one we had in Charleston West Virginia, tender and buttery. Not heavy at all. We had a Greek Pizza with Chicken. 

We made the drive back home to the campground, fed the dogs, let them out, walked them and discovered we had neighbors. 

One final thought for today and I will let President Lincoln give it. 

Lest we forget, pray we do not.

Stay safe...Until we meet again...

Washington or Bust...What is That Smell...Uh Oh...

We were up early Tuesday morning to get things rolling as we had to feed dogs, walk dogs and stow gear before leaving to drive Libby back into Morgantown to get her tire fixed. Once we found the tire place we discovered not only did we need one tire we needed 4 tires, as all of them were showing the space bars saying it's not safe to drive. Ugh! About an hour later and $690.00 lighter in the wallet we left to go find someplace to eat as both Christie and I were starved.

Christie looked up a "clean food" restaurant on Foursquare and plugged in the address on her phone. Off we went, up one hill, down another, tight squeeze, up another hill, sharp corner, down steep hill only to discover the place is out of business. Now what? We back tracked, then the light bulb went off...duh...there was an IHOP in the shopping center where we were last night. Knowing this could have saved us a lot of trouble and gas...oh well...life is suppose to be an adventure, so we might as well enjoy the ride. Besides we got to see more of Morgantown. It really is a place you need to visit, it has a charm that will steal your heart. 

Back to breakfast...It was good...smelled good, tasted good, can you tell we were hungry?

Can you tell I was hungry?

Ate every last morsel. Paid the bill and was on our way back to the campground to get Izzy, settle our bill, dump the tanks and leave.

We decided not to hook up Libby until we were out of the state park as we needed to run her a bit more to charge up her battery.  We found a service station down the road aways that was easy to get in and out of. There we topped off both vehicles tanks, hooked up Libby to Izzy and were on our way to Washington DC.  I figured that we would be getting there during the 5:00 p.m. rush...I know, but sometimes you just can't help those things. 

The trip into Washington was uneventful until we got into the outskirts starting at Germantown. Traffic coming out of Washington was a nightmare, but the closer we got to DC it started getting thicker.  The trouble with driving an RV with a toad in 5 p.m. traffic is, no one wants to give you an inch. Then when you're trying to get on to a main artery some idiot will try to pass you on the left side where there is no room to pass next to a retaining wall and hope you won't run him into the wall all the while rudely blaring his horn at you, while you are playing dodge car on the right hand side.  Driving in rush hour

Rush hour traffic, this is mild...

traffic is not for sissy's. Besides I'm bigger than you! At one point I had to pull off at a weigh station to be weighed. Guess I passed the weight test, the little man didn't come out and wave his little red flag at me. 

Starting at Kensington both Christie and I noticed an odd smell. We wondered if it was coming from the cars in front of us. It kept getting worse as we progressed through traffic. At one point Hetty our Garmin took us off the beaten path for about 3 miles then got us back on the path, don't know what that was all about. We finally found our turn to get to the road where we would turn into the Greenbelt National Campground.  I had waited 15 years to camp at this campground and I was here at last!

Here at last!

Finally we had arrived...well almost...we followed the road and as I started to step on the brakes going down a hill and around a corner, they went all the way to the floor! OH S%*T! I started pumping them and got some brake power back but not much. Thank goodness that didn't happen while we were driving in traffic! I had pre-paid with a reservation, so I didn't have to stop at the guard station and get the payment envelope, that could wait.  We followed the road around looking at all the different sites to see if we would fit. At one point I told Christie to unhook Libby and I would park Izzy and we would look at sites again and this time take our time. Christie is unhooking Libby and I hear her yelling HELP!  I ran to the back of the rig and there she is, trying to keep the car from rolling into the RV, she had forgot to put the car in park.  I ran around and put the car in park and set the brake as she finished getting everything undone with a sheepish grin on her face. "Sorry Mom" Me...I'm shaking my head. 

We drove through the loop again and found a fairly level site close to the bathrooms. We jockeyed Izzy in place, got her level, slides out, dogs walked, fed and watched a beautiful sunset when we realized we were exhausted and hungry.  

The end of the day

We drove back to the main thoroughfare and across the street was a TGI Fridays.  Dinner never tasted so good.  It felt so good just to sit down and relax. I even had a drink. Our waiter was wonderful and a delight to talk to. I wish I could have bottled his humor and brought it back home. 

We got back to Izzy sometime before 11:00 p.m., walked the dogs again and collapsed into bed after checking all the switches and knobs and locking the doors. 

I said a prayer of Thanks for getting us there safely and was glad to have my daughter there with me to share the experience.

Stay safe until we meet again! 

Washington or Bust...On to Morgantown West Virginia and a Flat Tire

We had a 167 mile trek from St. Alban's to Morgantown, WV once we got the tanks dumped and had a bite of breakfast at Tim Horton's (we had to buy some of their ground coffee, mmm goood! And 40 donut holes for the road, which Christie said we didn't need, but who ate most of them). Then we were off. Thank goodness I had gotten pictures the day before of the capitol building as the sky was dull and not a good day for shooting pictures. 

The white stuff on the walls is ice. 

The trip was fairly uneventful (once again driving in mountain and valley conditions) we arrived in Morgantown around 4:00 p.m. thankful to get off the road as a stiff wind was beginning to develop. We had contacted the parents of a friend of ours to go visit them. Lou and Barbara Hamrick, wonderful people and so hospitable. 

We made the mistake of trying to take Izzy down into a valley where they lived. Talk about country roads! They were so narrow and the turns so tight that we were not able to get to their home. We meandered our way around tight neighborhoods back to the main road.  It's a wonder how well we followed our noses since we had no idea where we were or if we would end up in an area with no way out. We decided to drop Izzy off at a nearby shopping center, unhitch the car and go back to find their home. 

Barbara met us at the door with a big smile on her lovely face. She offered us some iced tea to drink and we began a lovely chat. Lou came in shortly from work and a delightful conversation ensued. Their son Brian was one of Dave's employees and a dear friend. He was dismayed when he was not able to make it back to Norman for the Celebration of Life for Dave. They once again reiterated this and we said we understood and for Brian not to feel bad about it. 

It was starting to get to light dusk of evening when I mentioned that we needed to find a place to stay for the night.  Barbara and Lou suggested Cooper's Rock State Forest Campground not too far from their house.  We made it back to Izzy, hooked Libby up to her and made our way to the campground, found a site after discovering we had the whole campground to ourselves, hooked up to electricity and made our way back to Home Depot to meet up with Lou and Barbara for dinner.  We discovered that our tire was almost flat when we got to Home Depot. Hmm 

Now how did that happen?  While looking for a campsite we unhooked Libby and Christie took her down a rather rugged road in which she said looked rather shady to say the least. So she turned around to come back and realized she was not on good ground, thank goodness I didn't try to take Izzy down that road. I bet one of the sharp rocks on the road got the tire. 

They decided to give us the twenty-five cent tour of Morgantown.  There is only one mile of road that is flat and straight in the whole town. The rest of the town, you are either going up a steep hill or going down a steep hill.  It's amazing how they built the homes on the sides of the hills and with no parking. It is definitely a walking town and you had better be in good shape to do it.  

An evening sun on Woodburn Hall

The University built a monorail system to get the students from one area to another and it is heavily used.  A rather ingenious idea if you ask me. Lou said that it kept breaking down and hadn't been used in years.  The university was going to tear it down when someone stepped up and managed to get it operational again and now everyone loves it. 

Lou and Barbara took us to the Golf Club where there is a Boston Beanery for dinner.  I had a wonderful French dip sandwich and salad instead of french fies.

With Lou's help Christie got the tire changed. We said our goodbyes. Barbara gave us a goody bag with an authentic piece of Morgantown Green Depression Glass plate and several jelly jars of her homemade jelly's and jams. She also gave me a the story of the barn square and showed me the quilt she made from the 100+ year old quilt pattern of her great grandmother. I will soon write a story about that and post it on dasusmusings. It's quite interesting.

Christie with the goody bag

Barbara and Lou Hamrick, wonderful, kind people

We got back to the campsite and discovered that we had a fellow camper a couple spaces down from us, which made us feel better about being there. We fed the dogs and walked them. Christie used a very nice shower facility then it was time for lights out.