Tag: Virginia

Travel America – Homeward Bound

I almost didn’t want to write about the end of our trip because that means it’s over. Yeah, I know how dumb that sounds since it’s obviously over. I just don’t do well with endings. Summer ended (for us) a week ago and school activities have ramped up, so I figure I’ll hang on just a little longer while sharing the last two days of our trip…as we were homeward bound.

 

We woke up one final morning in Connecticut to that crazy early 5am sunrise (I won’t miss that part). Everyone was sad to say goodbye, as the adults enjoyed renewed time together and all the kids enjoyed getting to really know one another. Deejay and the kids mentioned what we could do “next time” we visited, while the Galloways all pondered the thought that we weren’t sure we’d ever make it that way again. If we do, there are more sites to see and more Just Dance to play.  🙂

We traveled through Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. We payed lots more in tolls and listened to a wide variety of tunes (Prodigy, Phish, the Transformers soundtrack, Guster, Honors orchestra, Toad the Wet Sprocket, the Wreck-it Ralph soundtrack, Allstate high school chorus, and the Nightmare before Christmas soundtrack). Alexander spotted nuclear power plants, Brandon spotted soybeans, and I finally spotted corn. (The plants were tiny though—we were apparently north enough for late harvest seasons.) Elizabeth commented how funny it was that one “piece of land” was shared by Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia…made me think about the Michigan U.P.

We finally approached the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, and the highest toll yet. However, this $15 toll was well worth the view (far better than the industrial views in Jersey for a lovely $12 toll). For 18 miles, we traveled along an isolated corridor of bridges and tunnels. There were two mile-long tunnels, going as deep as 75 feet below the water’s surface. The bridges were so long that they didn’t even seem like bridges as you skimmed above the water. Besides the road, there was nothing in site besides a few passing cars, a lone cargo ship, a picturesque sail boat, and the setting sun. We rode along in near total silence, just soaking up the amazing wonder of it all.

 

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It was hard to reenter reality after that, but soon found our hotel for the night and wandered out for one more delicious seafood meal. The last overnight stay was probably my favorite. This hotel room was a little more spacious, yet we were all still together. Long after crawling into bed, we were all talking about the day and giggling over shadow puppets on the wall.

The last day was celebrated with one last round of hotel waffles and one last effort at packing the car. I suddenly realized that while we had lots of pictures from the trip, we didn’t have a single picture all together. Lizzy came to our rescue and took a good group selfie!

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We drove through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia…of course with lots of music (the Connells, the Cure, more Metallica, Jack Johnson, Delirium, and more Phish). We drove past a giant beach chair in Virginia and wondered about an 1800s cemetery in the medium of I-85. Our final meal stop was at the Beacon in South Carolina. We made the mistake of ordering things “aplenty” (with onion rings and fries)…needless to say, leftovers aplenty went home with us!

 

It really was a wonderful trip. Of course there was tons we didn’t do and see, but that’s life. We all felt like we experienced a lot of our country without being overly scheduled. We made the most of technology (Waze, Gas Buddy, Trip Advisor, Roadside America, and Guess-It), and we made the most of time together. Thom blessed me with the gift of driving, as I got to just enjoy the view much of the trip. I don’t think we’ll ever forget the big things—monuments and our country’s history. I know we won’t forget the little things—silly jokes, crazy selfies, whispers in the night, and even the silence of awe. If you haven’t gotten out and experienced our world in some way, I urge you to do so. Take your spouse, your kids, your dog, or just yourself and experience this amazing world. Whether you experience something new in your community or something cool in a different country, it will change you (for the better) if you let it.

Travel America – Washington DC (Day 2)

Our second day in the DC area was a little slower pace than the first day. After some of those delicious hotel waffles, we headed out for Thom’s tour of Virginia and Maryland. He showed us his old homes in Burke, Lorton, and North Beach. We’ve been on similar “tour of homes” before here in Georgia, and it always makes an impact on the kids—giving them an appreciation for their life, with consistent schools, friends, and community. After the tour, we had lunch at Ledo Pizza, which was a pizza place Thom worked at as a teenager, where he learned to toss pizzas.  (He didn’t work at this location, but the location he worked at was closed.) Side note – if you ever make it to one of the many locations, you HAVE to check out the Buffalo Chicken & Cheese Waffle Fries! Of course the pizza is also fantastic. We thought we’d go walk on the beach after lunch, but the tourist-driven town of North Beach charged money to access the beach, so we took a picture and moved on.

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As we headed back towards DC, we decided to try parking in town instead of taking transit. We figured it would save time as well as cost less (since we spent about $35 for all five of us to head in and out of the city the day before). We ended up parking under the International Trade Center for $22 and had the added fun of going through car security (opening up the doors, running mirrors under the car, etc.). The actual parking deck was a little nerve-wrecking (yet somewhat comical) as the ceiling was only inches higher than the car. While looking for a spot, we were sure the car was going to scrape at any moment…but it didn’t! Alex was slightly annoyed as we walked out, since he couldn’t stand up straight, but the other two were oblivious and were just happy to follow pigeons around the parking deck.

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For the afternoon, we went to Brandon’s museum choice, the National Museum of Natural History. They had late hours that day, so we still had plenty of time to explore. When Brandon chose this museum, I was sure that it was because of the dinosaur exhibit. However, when we got in there and started walking around, he made it clear that he chose this museum because they had the Hope Diamond. I’m not sure how he knew about the diamond and was genuinely surprised that he would be interested in it. Sadly, the diamond was off exhibit (along with the fossil exhibit), so that to-do didn’t get checked off. However, the dinosaur exhibit and gem & mineral exhibit were also both on his list, and we all enjoyed both of them. We all enjoyed Alex’s favorite exhibit area, the Ocean Hall, and couldn’t believe the size of some of the replicas—especially the 45 foot long Right Whale. Lizzy’s favorite area was the Ancient Egypt exhibit, where she was intrigued by the mummies.

 

Reflections: For Thom, the first half of the day held the most impact. He recalled the difficulties he encountered as a teenager and remembered the moment when it changed in Maryland, as he decided that he wanted to spend his life with me. He said it showed him how he’s been victorious despite the circumstances of his youth. It was a lighter note for the kids, as Alex really enjoyed the luminous objects at the museum (both in the ocean exhibit and the mineral exhibit), Brandon was intrigued by the recreated T-Rex skull, and Lizzy found interest in skeletons—noting how many similarities there were between humans and animals.