Travels by Land
Before leaving for Washington DC, we spent days getting the boat prepared if a tropical storm or hurricane should hit Beaufort. By the time we left, it didn’t look like our home anymore. We were reluctant to leave and also excited about doing something different.
Before leaving for Washington DC, we spent days getting the boat prepared if a tropical storm or hurricane should hit Beaufort. By the time we left, it didn’t look like our home anymore. We were reluctant to leave and also excited about doing something different.
Patrick Henry's study.
Before arriving in DC, we stopped in Red Hill, the home of Patrick Henry. A short video in the museum and a stroll around the grounds filled in the many gaps of our knowledge about the man who exclaimed “Give me liberty or give me death.”
Our next stop was Appomattox; the town where General Lee surrendered to General Grant. During the past several years, we have visited Gettysburg and Antietam National Battlefields. Staring out into the battle fields and imagining the fighting, we felt a profound sense of loss.
It was not hard to imagine the scene at Appomattox; the descriptions of the event elicit a tremendous amount of respect for Generals Lee and Grant.
To make the event even more alive in our minds, we attended two period presentations based on the experiences of soldiers who were there. The first was given by an actor who portrayed a Union soldier from Pennsylvania. He remained in town along with 50 other soldiers to keep peace and help set up a government run by locals who had signed an oath of allegiance to the Union. The second was a young man from Appomattox, who had been a lieutenant in the Confederate Army. He was in civilian clothing and expressed strong opinions of the surrender at Appomattox.
It was not hard to imagine the scene at Appomattox; the descriptions of the event elicit a tremendous amount of respect for Generals Lee and Grant.
To make the event even more alive in our minds, we attended two period presentations based on the experiences of soldiers who were there. The first was given by an actor who portrayed a Union soldier from Pennsylvania. He remained in town along with 50 other soldiers to keep peace and help set up a government run by locals who had signed an oath of allegiance to the Union. The second was a young man from Appomattox, who had been a lieutenant in the Confederate Army. He was in civilian clothing and expressed strong opinions of the surrender at Appomattox.
McLean House where General's Lee and Grant met to address the conditions of surrender.
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Mariah Wright House from 1800's
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Clover Hill tavern where 30,000 parole passes were printed for confederate soldiers to return home.
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Once we arrived in DC at the RV began organizing the massive amount of stuff we brought with us to the RV.
Total amount of "stuff" we took with us to travel 6 weeks in Ireland and Scotland last fall: 2 suitcases.
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Total stuff for 6 week RV trip: Car, 2 suitcases, and everything else we could fit in car!
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The next morning we drove to downtown DC for our tour of the East Wing of the White House. It was fascinating, thinking about walking in the foot prints of the past Presidents. Our phones were burning up as we snapped pictures of every room and of ourselves in those rooms.
The highlight of our DC visit was a tour of the West Wing. Seeing the Oval Office, the James Brady Press Briefing Room, the Rose Garden and a glimpse into the Situation Room as someone opened the door were all pinch me moments. Pictures are not allowed in the West Wing tour, only outside.
The day we have been anticipating with excitement and trepidation finally arrived. Tony, Francie’s brother arrived around 8 to show us how to unhook the RV with all of its systems and prepare for the road. Mike drove it out of the site and onto the highway with Tony’s instructions. We arrived back at the site and Tony directed Mike how to back it in. After we hooked the car to the RV for the first time, we hit the open road.
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After two and a half weeks of travel and 6 campsites, we have begun to feel more confident. Since we left Washington, some of the places we visited where: Woodrow Wilson’s Boyhood Home and Museum, Natural Bridge, Blue Ridge Parkway, Linville Falls, Carl Sandburg’s Home, Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and the Carter Library and Center.
The coach is very comfortable and roomy; a freezer that holds ice cream is grand! The absence of the fluid movement of water is missed. It is different living in a space that you climb up to get into, rather than going down stairs; we have gone from sea at eye level to mountains!