Once we were done in DC, we headed for Virginia. We spent the night in Virginia Beach, which was absolutely beautiful. The view below was actually taken from our hotel room… there was literally boardwalk and sand between us and the water. The weather was lovely as well! We didn’t find much to do there, so we stopped at Bad Ass Coffee for some breakfast and headed on our way.
Virginia Beach
Our friends Chris and Kassie had recommended we take the long way from Virginia to North Carolina via the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was an absolutely stunning drive and I got to check another item off my bucket list – to see Fall on the East Coast.
Fall On The Blue Ridge Parkway
We pulled off down a little back road to this hole in the wall place called “Gertie’s” for lunch. It claimed fresh BBQ daily and all of the locals were there, so we decided to give it a try. The food was really good! We headed back out on the Parkway for the rest of our drive.
The views from this road were absolutely stunning – you literally drive along the ridge and can see all the different valleys. The trees were beautiful as well, although we were probably just a few days late for the actual peak. Poor Mike got really good at stopping in the middle of the road without getting us killed every time I yelled “STOP!” to take a picture.
Blue Ridge Views
That was pretty much it for Virginia… next stop, North Carolina!
The next stop on our road trip was beautiful Washington DC. We spent two days there and could have easily spent more… they were two very jam-packed days full of lots of walking.
On day one we decided to try to hit up all of the memorials, monuments, etc. Our first stop was the White House. I was really excited to see the White House garden… they keep bees! While we were there, they closed the street we were on and drove some big caravan by… lots of police cars and black SUVs. The President? Maybe. Sasha and Malia going to school? Maybe. It was neat to see, either way.
The White House
I loved this picture – as we were walking away from the gates near the White House, we saw this mounted officer giving her partner a little break:
The Washington Monument was under construction. Apparently there was an earthquake a couple of years ago that did some damage to the monument… nothing structural, but stuff that needed to be fixed. It was kind of neat to see it with all of the scaffolding.
Washington Monument Getting A Face Lift
We then headed to the Lincoln Memorial via the National Mall. I loved standing on the steps and looking back at the Washington Memorial and across the pool.
Us @ The Lincoln Memorial
Then we went on to the Korean War Memorial… this one was really moving to me. It features a series of stainless steel statues that represent a squad on patrol. It’s especially moving since I know my grandpa was there.
Korean War Memorial
After that, we headed to the Vietnam War Memorial. This one was very special as well… my father-in-law and my uncle both fought there. I was in awe of the sheer number of names on the wall.
Vietnam War Memorial Wall
Finally, we walked across the river (technically into Virginia) to see Arlington National Cemetery. This was something that I’ve always wanted to see… I felt honored to be there among the so many who gave their lives to our country. Yes, I know that not all there died in battle, but all did in some way serve.
Arlington National Cemetery
There was a little bit of comedy. Arlington allows a spouse and up to two children under 18 to be buried with a service member. As we passed this headstone I noticed something strange… see if you pick up on it:
Two Wives
So, to me, at first glance, it looked like he buried his two wives together (which he did). Once you look closer, you notice that the first wife died the same year as the infant son… probably during childbirth. Still…
We also had the chance to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The whole process was very cool to see and so respectful.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
On the second day we decided to hit the Smithsonian museums. There are bunch of them, so we narrowed it down to two that we really wanted to see. The first was the National Museum of Natural History. I think the highlight of that one for me was the dinosaur exhibits. To be honest, I was a little disappointed in the museum. Maybe too many people just built it up too much, but I felt like there wasn’t anything that I hadn’t seen before. Ok, except the Hope Diamond. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful, but anything that big ends up looking fake to me, even though I know it’s not. The second museum that we went to was the National Air and Space Museum. This one was actually really cool… I wasn’t expecting to be that interested (Mike wanted to go there) but was surprised by the really cool exhibits they had. I loved seeing the old space craft… and was amazed at the fact that people actually agreed to be shot into space in them!
From there we headed into Virginia, but that’s another post!
The next state on our road trip was beautiful Pennsylvania. After a rough start in Philly/New Jersey, we returned to Philadelphia to check out a couple of the key attractions. The first was Independence Hall. We didn’t actually go in because the lines were crazy long, but it was a beautiful building to look at. This is where both the Declaration of Independence was signed and where the US Constitution was debated and adopted. It’s always cool to me to stand somewhere that history was made. We didn’t go see the Liberty Bell because the line for that was super long too.
Independence Hall
We stopped for lunch at the Famous 4th Street Deli for lunch. Let’s just say that they don’t do things small there… Mike had an enormous sandwich and I had a pretty good grilled cheese. We ordered fries that came in a gigantic mound. The food was awesome and the walls were lined with pictures of famous people who visited – from movie stars to presidents. I definitely recommend visiting this place!
After lunch we started our drive across the state towards Gettysburg. Along the way, we passed through Lancaster County, home of the Amish.
Amish Buggy
Gettysburg was absolutely amazing. It took a lot longer than we had expected… we spent an entire day doing the auto tour… you basically drive yourself to sixteen different points on the battlefield based on a map that the visitors center provides. I was amazed at how big the battlefield actually was. We started with the museum which walked you through the battle and had some great artifacts. I really liked the self tour… we could go at our own pace and take time for lunch when we felt like it.
Gettysburg Battlefield
There were amazing monuments scattered throughout the battlefield – both to the North and South. The North basically had a monument for each regiment, while the South went state by state. They were absolutely beautiful and reflected the individuality of each group. I liked the Alabama memorial (my grandpa is from there!):
Alabama Memorial
Even though we had a rough start in Pennsylvania, we ended up having a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful and we really loved seeing the sights!
Down The Road I Go 