Early Thursday we headed to Tommy Jeffs home Monticello outside of Charlottesville, VA This is our second trip. but Monticello is still amazing. Our tour guide was barely adequate, but touring the grounds on our own was great, Bets was having difficulty on the grades and because we had not eaten needed extra breaks. We had connected with her friend Judy and husband Dave who left from Nevada a day after we did. We played catchup on our trip and where we were headed next. Although Monticello is on many acres, the house is not huge, but there are many interesting [View Full Entry]

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Monday found us again in DC with an easterly breeze off the Potomac making the day comfortable. First on the agenda was a Capitol tour and the make or break issue is the tour guide. Ours was both informed and enthusiastic, A win for our side. Bets needed some energy, so off to the Rayburn building for lunch. As we sat down, 2 tables away just finishing lunch was the “Bulldog” Henry Waxman. He was meeting with 2 or 3 others and when they all left the table, he cleaned up the table and took all the trays to the trash [View Full Entry]

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Early Tuesday morning we set out for the historic area around Williamsburg (2.5 hour drive). Although there is a Historic Williamsburg, to enter and tour required a fee ($37 per). So we walked the streets, played tourist, and took photos for free, We also went on the campus of William and Mary (second only to Harvard in age). Light rain fell, but we persisted and finished our street walk and headed to the Yorktown Battlefield. Historic areas are under the National Park Service, so access is free to Golden Eagle Pass holders (old people). We took a driving tour of [View Full Entry]

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Saturday (Sep 13) was a down day and the weather cooperated with temps in the 90s and humidity trying to catch the temp. In a word BRUTAL and the reason I don’t live in the east. Sunday was a bit better weather-wise, but still hot and humid. Sunday is a bad day to visit DC because there are a bunch of gawkers and sightseers like us, but on this Sunday there was also a triathalon so major streets were blocked. I visited parts of town I did not know existed. The Washington monument is always available, so it was bypassed, but [View Full Entry]

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Long time no talk. I gave Betty her chance to update the blog, but she did strictly a narrative with little humor or colorful imagery (OK flat out exaggerations). First, I would like to checkpoint our family visitations and locales honored with our presence. I think we left off with arriving at my sister Leslee in Northern VA outside DC. While there from Friday PM to Thursday AM, we visited the FDR and Jefferson memorials, Congress (House and Senate), lunched in the Rayburn building cafeteria, did a whirlwind trip through the Library of Congress (we were kicked out), drove to and [View Full Entry]

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We spent a couple of days in Harrisburg visiting daughter, Melanie, grandsons Eli and Nick (and Eli's girlfriend). It has been awhile since we have seen this little branch of our family, so we were happy to see them and catch up. It's amazing that Nick and Eli are all grown up! Where does the time go? We had some good family time and then went out to Lancaster County to see the Amish country. I was a little disappointed because it is so commercial. It seems strange that a McDonalds is across the road from an Amish farm. There is [View Full Entry]

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Here are a few Lincoln Museum snaps [View Full Entry]

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What a wonderful feeling! Not packing the Forester and driving less than 5 miles to start our day. However I know there are more 13 hour days on the horizon. Reflecting back on the trip from North Platte to Springfield, Betty came up with a way to shorten the trip. Try to follow her logic and remember after many hours of driving one tends to be a bit psychotic. We traveled through the widest part of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa, so if these states were rotated and we only drove through the narrow part, the trip would be much shorter. This [View Full Entry]

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Well we started our trip across America with great expectations, but 13 hours later pulling into SLC we were wondering "whose idea was this?". Driving across Nevada can have that kind of effect on even the sanest of travelers. There is no amount of lipstick that can help the endless nothingness of Reno to SLC. However the next morning we were once again ready to continue our journey with North Platte, Nebraska as our overnight stop. 13 hours later we pull into our motel. Not only have we driven over 650 miles, but have lost another hour to time zone change. [View Full Entry]

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