Road Trip: Charleston, SC to Washington, D.C.

Date          Stop    Odometer   Location                                       Time

6/26/2013	0	212920	Leaving Mt. Pleasant, SC	8:25 AM
6/26/2013	1	213061	Florence, SC
6/26/2013	2	213369	Ruther Glen, VA
6/26/2013	3	213438	Alexandria, VA

From Cory's personal travel journal (revised)

1:18PM-  We had made plans to wake up early (5:30 or so) to see the sunrise on the beach.  No dice.  We were up a little too late for that kind of start.  We got to the beach about 9:00 just to look around.  We dipped our feet in the water which was much warmer than the Oregon Pacific.  

We saw a couple of little crabs on the sand.  The camera lens fogged up from the heat and humidity, which is oppressive down here.

We stopped for lunch in Florence and continued on, we are just about finished with Harry Potter 6 now.

2:36PM- Just getting back underway after having to pull off during a heavy storm.  Rain, wind, lightning, and hail.  Still raining, but clear enough to drive.

We made it to our sister and brother-in-law's place in Alexandria just around dinnertime.  They made a great chicken and risotto supper.  We walked them through our progress on the road so far and talked about the the future.  Kitchen Nightmares on the DVR before heading to bed.

Thursday- 6/27/13

First full day in DC.  We took a short walking tour of Old(e?) Town(e?) Alexandria, excellently guided by our very knowledgeable brother-in-law.  We saw the historic buildings and learned about how the town has developed since colonial times.  After the tour, we were taken to the Metro station and got on the train to the National Mall.

National Archives-  Don't go in the entrance behind the pillars!

Our first stop was the National Archives to see the Declaration and the Constitution.  We waited in line after getting shouted at for trying to go in the main entrance up the steps.  We saw the documents in the rotunda.  The papers were quite difficult to read, but it felt good to give a silent "In your face King George!"  

edit.  No photos of the documents because pictures are not allowed.  You're on the internet, find your own pictures!

Our next stop was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  It lived up to expectations.  We saw space capsules, rockets, and planes.  We took time to cover the museum thoroughly.  

Bart!  Get out of the Spirit of St. Louis!

Wright Bros. Plane

After the Air and Space, we visited the Natural History Museum.  We spent less time here, checking out dinosaur fossils, ocean animals, live insects, and the famous Hope Diamond.

T. Rex  Status:  Extinct

There was a Hungarian ethnic festival on the mall lawn, so we walked through on our way to the monuments.  The Washington Monument was covered in scaffolding as it is still under repair after the earthquake.  All the lawns had softball games set up on patches of grass, no dirt, and orange cones for bases.  Lots of runners weaving through the crowds of tourists.  Is there nowhere else to run in this city?  

It was very warm, but we spent the warmest (and the rainiest) part of the day in the museums, so we were mostly comfortable.  We sat at the WWII Memorial, walked along the Reflecting Pool, saw the White House from a distance, checked in with Lincoln, and walked the Vietnam Memorial.  After these, we had a good long walk back to the Metro station, but we enjoyed the sunset.

Everything is a long way from everything else

The White House from the back

Lookin' at Lincoln

Washington Monument with scaffolding

Lincoln.  Better recognize.

That reflecting pool is long.

We called our brother-in-law from the Metro station.  We were picked up and taken to Five Guys Burger and Fries for a late dinner.  The food was hot, greasy, salty, and delicious.  The perfect end to a big day of sightseeing and walking.  More excitement tomorrow!