Washington D.C. - Day 3 - Out and About

Location: Greenbelt National Park, Maryland

We walked our butts off today. No other way to put it. We walked from Foggy Bottom to Georgetown, Georgetown to The Capitol Building and then all around The Mall, again. The biggest surprise was the predicted thunderstorms never arrived. Instead we had overcast skies, heat and humidity. It was so hot even the birds were getting in a swim when they could!

(So lucky to catch this shot of this little bird in action!)

 

 

 

 

We started our day walking around George Washington Universtiy enjoying this college vibe and neighborhoods.

 

 

From there we walked along the river walk, enjoying the breeze from the Potomac River.

Loved seeing the Pirate Ship make a stop and pick up excited little kids dressed as pirates. Aye matey...adorable.

Lots of joggers and brunchers, too. Very Sunday morning feel.

 

 

We also enjoyed walking the streets of Georgetown. It was fun to walk along the canal,

 

quaint streets,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and tony shops.

We walked by the infamous Watergate Towers, The Kennedy Art Center and along numerous city parks. As we walked from one end of The Mall to the next, it was fun to take in the Sunday vibe. There was beach volleyball, kids running through fountains, and of course monuments & statues at every corner. We took a stroll thru the sculpture gardens too.

Ned says, "He's feeling better since his past mistakes have now been erased." Funny guy.

 

Yeah, pretty much sums up our feelings about Washington D.C.

 

 

We spent ALL afternoon in the Newseum, by far my favorite museum of the trip. Being the News Junkie I am, this totally fed my addiction.

Ned and I on the top floor of the Newseum looking down on Constitution Avenue. There was a "Fiesta Asia" going on.

 

 

 

I really enjoyed all the exhibits, but my favorite was participating in the interactive polls and playing with the CNN "John King prediction map". So fun!

 

 

As if we hadn't walked enough today, we decided to take in the Fiesta Asia too!

If we can manage to climb up to the top deck on Winnie, I think we'll sleep well tonight.

 

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Washington D.C. - Day 2 - Cacao in the Capitol!

Location: Greenbelt National Park, Maryland

Our second day in D.C. and we spent a good 10 hours exploring more of The Mall, Museums and surrounding areas. We spent most of the morning at The Capitol on a tour. The Capitol dome is currently under renovations. A 7 year project costing $100 million dollars. The deadline for finishing the project is the next Presidential Inauguration. That explains why so many people were working on a Saturday.

 

Props to Hawaii for having the most stand-out statue. All others are either bronze or marble. King Kamehameha ruled.

California's statues were Ronald Reagan and Father Junipero Serra. California was in the process of taking back Father Serra and replacing him with Sally Ride (the female astronaut) but the Pope just cannonized Father Serra...which kind of nipped that in the bud.

Washington tour guide humor...What 5 Presidents are NOT buried in the U.S.?

Answer: Carter, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr. & Obama...cause they are still living.

We also toured the U.S. Botanical Gardens. It was really a hot and muggy day. I can honestly say it's the only time I've experienced a tropical greenhouse feeling less humid than the outside!

 

 

 

Ned was thrilled that cacao theobroma was honored in the botanical gardens! Imagine our surprise stumbling upon this mural.

 

 

And even more surprised seeing the cacao tree front and center with tons of flowers on it! We think they must fertilize the heck out of it cause we've never seen that many flowers on a cocoa tree. Every little branch, clear out to the tips, had flowers on it.

There are 19 Smithsonian Museums and we're doing our darnedest to hit most of them! Next up was The National Air and Space Museum. This place was packed with school kids, families and most of mankind. For sure this was the most popular place on The Mall. We did just about every exhibit in this museum.

 

 

The best part of this Museum for Ned was seeing the plane that his dad flew in WWII. It was an SBD Dive Bomber. Ned's dad flew 62 missions in the Pacific as a Marine Pilot. What a hero!

We also saw the Air Medal on display that he received.

 

 

 

After walking around outside for a bit, we decided it was still too hot and humid to hang outdoors.

Here's the event planner doing her thing. Time to find another museum!

 

 

 

The National Gallery of Art won out. I especially enjoyed the photography and print exhibits. There were some pretty cool Andy Warhol prints, but we both enjoyed this one. I think I liked it cause I was thirsty, Ned for other reasons.

 

 

 

 

By this time it was early evening, the temperature was cooler and pleasant so we decided to explore more of the surrounding area. We walked to Chinatown. It is nothing like San Francisco's Chinatown. This was the most Chinese thing we saw. This area is more of a shopping, dining, hipster area. Awesome Con was happening (East Coast version of Comic Con). It was fun to see all the costumed characters wondering by on the street.

 

 

Dinner was an outside Indian inspired restaurant. So much fun to enjoy the cool evening while having fun people watching.

 

 

The Monuments lit up at night are still the best.

 

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Washington D.C. - Day 1

Location: Greenbelt National Park, Maryland

By the time we picked out our campsite (very cool to camp at a National Campground 12 miles from The Capitol) and hopped on the Metro we arrived at The Mall at about 3ish. The weather was threatening, but we managed to walk to a lot of the Monuments and the White House.

We walked for miles and miles and didn't get back to the campsite until close to midnight!

Love this picture, taken at about 8 pm

 

 

We were hoping to get a White House Tour, even wrote to our Senator. Unfortunately, we didn't make the cut.

 

 

 

When it started to drizzle we thought it a good time to head into the American History Museum. We hit every floor and every exhibit! Some of my favorite things...Julia Child's kitchen.

 

 

We both loved the "America on the Move" Exhibit. So fun to see the trains, buses and old cars. Got a kick out of this exhibit showing the first cross America auto-trip, before there were roads! Loved the dog in goggles, and felt for the guys having to get their car out of a lot of sticky situations.

Yes, there were Dorothy's ruby slippers, Mohammed Ali's Gloves, James Brown's clothes, but my favorite thing was the electric marshmallow roaster! Seriously?! Half the fun is flaming it over the fire!

 

 

 

Hometown pride. Nevada City represented with the Pelton Wheel!

 

 

We spent hours and hours in the museum. By the time we left it was still raining outside.

 

 

So we did what any respectacle tourist would do...popped into a bar for a draft beer and Manhattan.

 

 

 

 

After some pub food and libation, the weather had cleared up and we had the most glorious summer evening strolling from one end of the Mall to the other taking in all the Monuments. What a magical summer evening.

 

 

 

If the monument falls over, blame Ned.

 

 

 

 

 

We owned Washington D.C. today! I think we walked 10 miles. Back at it again tomorrow (I mean today)!

 

 

 

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Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater

Location: Ohiopyle State Park, PA

We took some pretty obscure back roads out of Western Virginia, (thank you Mr. Driver for never questioning the navigator, but just going full steam ahead). Our destination was for Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. It did not disappoint!

 

 

We opted for the house tour and spent a good couple of hours in the house and around the grounds. This picture is taken from the opposite view of the above picture, heading into the house.

Notice how the steps head directly into the spring water, a place for the family to take a dip.

 

We weren't allowed to take any pictures from inside the house, but I got some cool angles from the outside. This is from the front hallway terrace leading into the water. Pretty awesome.

This home was built for the Kaufman family of Pittsburgh. (They owned Kaufman Dept. stores). Frank Lloyd Wright built the home for $150,000 in 1937. The average Pittsburgh home at the time Ccost $5,500. It was used by the family until 1963 and then entrusted to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

 

Standing on the main terrace looking in.

 

 

 

 

Looking down from the upper terrace.

My favorite features of the home were the fireplaces. They were open and just curved into the room. Such detail in this house: the doors and doorframes are all beveled so that no light comes in when the door is closed.

 

 

It was sunny when we arrived, but a huge thunderstorm opened up on us as we were walking the grounds. Fortunately, we made it to the Visitor's Center, Museum and Art Gallery before getting drenched. The Visitor's Center was gorgeous and such a beautiful place to wait out the storm. The center is open air, with covered walkways to the various galleries.

 

An inside shot of the Visitor's Center...Ned chilling out.

Ned photographing the photographer...haha. Good one Ned!

 

 

 

 

This place just exudes calm, peace and serenity. Such a romantic place to spend some time with my honey walking the grounds and enjoying the space.

 

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The Greenbrier Trail - West Virginia

Location: Watoga State Park, West Virginia

We continued our eastern odyssey across West Virginia, sticking to the back roads. In case you're wondering, this road is typical of how we roll. While I'd call it a one lane road, West Virginia refers to as the James River and Kanawha Turnpike. "Turnpike or no turnpike" it sure is gorgeous country.

 

We eventually came to the town of Hillsboro, also known as the birthplace of Pearl S. Buck. Here's the place she was born.

One of the things we delight in, is pulling into towns and seeing signs like "Hometown of Miss America", "Childhood home of Booker T. Washington" or "Marshall University" with big signs stating "We Are Marshall". Just love everyone's hometown pride.

 

 

Planning this trip, at the top of my list, was biking the Greenbriar Rail Trail. It runs 78 miles along the Greenbrier River. I even wrote to the State of West Virginia asking them to send me literature on it. (I know, old school). I've had so much fun all winter pouring over the brochures and dreaming about this trail.

First in order was setting up camp. We're camped at Watogo State Park, right ON the river.

 

I couldn't wait for us to jump on our bike and head out. We rode for about 20 miles. The best thing about this trail is that it is almost all under tree cover. The day was hot and humid, but the trail next to the river and under the trees was cool and much appreciated.

I'd love to bike the whole trail someday. There's even bike campsites along the way set up for the bikers. We were so lucky and had the trail all to ourselves!

 

 

 

Loved riding over the old train trestles too!

 

 

 

 

 

The Greenbriar River transitions from wide flat spots to small Rapids. We saw kayakers and people floating on tubes. It really felt like the epitome of summer.

 

It was great to stretch our legs and go for a long bike ride, but it also felt great to just relax around the campsite. While Ned went for a swim, I made sure the hammock was working.

 

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