IMS - Day # 1

We expected to be driving in rain on our way into Indianapolis, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and as we left the Cracker Barrel around 10 am it seemed certain it would be that way, because it was raining as we merged on to I-70 west bound........I am so happy to be going west again.

Within a few minutes, though, the rain stopped completely.  If only the road surface had been as nice as the weather turned out!  Since we've crossed the border into Indiana the I-70 road surface has been awful 50% of the time....in some cases bone jarring rough.  Fortunately we only had 89 miles to go.  

I forgot to mention that, but just before we left Richmond I called Fred, who is the gate watchman at the campground for "workampers at the IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway).  The campground is just on the north end of the IMS in a large grass field.  We needed to find out what accommodations we might expect when we arrived. Fred advised we would have 30 amp electric, but no sewer, or water connection.  There is a dump station on premises, and there are several hose bibs within reach of a couple of long hoses.  Additionally, a "honey wagon" comes in once a week to empty gray and black tanks if you are willing to pay for it....we will see.  At any rate, with this news we decided to stop at a Flying J just 34 miles west of Richmond so we might dump our tanks and fill up with propane.  We have used a lot of propane in the last 7 weeks since we have been dry camping so much, and when the small Honda broke down we used the on board generator a lot when it was raining.  So we dumped our tanks and then took on 41 gallons of propane at $2.99/gallon.  Usually when we are plugged in a 48 gallon tank of propane will last us as long as 6 months.

The rest of the drive to the IMS was uneventful, and free of rain.....I think a better name for weather forecasters is "weather guessers" (as my good friend John Dickerson calls them).  They are completely wrong so often.  In this case their bad "guess" accrued to our benefit.

We arrived at the campground around 12:45 and Fred promptly showed us to our spot.  We had to drop the trailer, but it is directly in front of us about 20 feet away.  I was able to run a power cord to it from the coach so I have power, and XM radio.

It feels like drop top weather, so the hard top is off!

We quickly got set up, deployed awnings, awning mat, and lounge chairs.  Around 2 I realized I was very hungry, and then the realization hit me that I had not had anything to eat!  How did that happen?

Aerial view of our location on the north end

Well, the T-Bird needed fuel, and our pantry and fridge needed some minor restocking so we headed over to the local Kroger's.....TLE had enough Kroger points to get 20 cents off each gallon of gas at their station.  Right next to the gas station was a pub called Grindstone Charley's, so we headed there for a late lunch around 3 pm.  The food was excellent, and the Fat Tire Ale draft was a nice addition.....TLE chose Guinness.

We then went food shopping and were home by 4:30.  While we were eating we did some checking on Yelp and there are a lot of micro breweries in the area.......I know what we'll be doing over the next few weeks.

Just before we got in the car to go shopping I heard a female voice yell "hey!"....I looked around to see a lady and gentleman we had met at Amazon.com in Campbellsville last year.  They are working here too!  They stayed at a different RV park than we did in Campbellsvile, so we never really got to know them, but we are looking forward to just that this time.  As coincidence would have it they are from Southern California....Pasadena to be specific....were I grew up!  Chris and her husband have been on the road full time since 2009....what a small world!

After returning "home" I took care of some insurance work, and then read for a while.  Around 7 I started watching the Bulls vs. Heat game, which the Bulls won in Miami....I was not expecting that result!

Later on we watched the season concluding episode of "The Mentalist", and then the second game of the night between the Golden State Warriors and Spurs, which required a herculean comeback by the Spurs to win by 2 in overtime.

A nice first day at IMS.  Tomorrow we go to "Check In" to get our shirts, hats, and ID.  On Saturday we start our on the job training.  

Thanks for stopping by!

INDY 500

Our night at the Cracker Barrel in Cambridge, OH was pleasant....in spite of being quite near the Interstate we did not hear too much sound.....the Cracker Barrel building was kind of shielding us from the noise I guess.  We went in to have breakfast around 7:30.  One nice thing about this restaurant is that they will prepare a "coffee to go" for you at no extra charge.  Probably the first time in months and months I haven't had the responsibility of making coffee.

The air was pleasantly warm as we exited Cracker Barrel to walk back to our coach, even if the skies were slightly cloudy.  Probably the first time in a long time I've walked to a restaurant in flip flops, t-shirt and shorts....not since Cedar Key I think.

Sunday we traveled around 185 miles.....one of our longer travel days in some time.  We got away from our night stop around 9 am.  The I-70 gets very straight and flat in Ohio, and what a nice change.  I just set cruise control and held on to the steering wheel as the miles melted away.   We came to a rest stop at around the 55 mile mark and decided to stop and take a walk.  We had to walk 4, or 5 laps around the rest stop, but managed to log just over a mile of walking.

At about the 120 mile mark of the day (65 miles to go) we pulled into another rest stop, had some lunch, and then took another mile walk.  By the time we were ready to leave this rest stop it was around 1, so we figured we would be at our destination, another Cracker Barrel just inside the Indiana Border in Richmond, around 2:15.  With about 40 miles to go it began to rain.....we were expecting rain, but not until after 4, which is why we got an early start.  Oh well......there goes the Jello shaking again!  It wasn't a hard rain, and the traffic was very light so we just plugged ahead arriving about a quarter after 2.  The parking lot in front was packed, but we found a nice spot in back and quickly settled in for the rest of the day.

We both spent time reading.....I've been doing a lot of that lately, and napping...I've always done a lot of that....:D  I managed to finish the Zane Grey book I was reading......they all lived happily ever after.  It's funny how invested you can get in a book isn't it?

TLE and I were talking yesterday about how it seems we have always been traveling, and changing our view.  It's funny how your perception can conflict with reality.  We have been married 41+ years, but only living full time in our Newell for 27 months now, and just traveling for a little over 15 months, however, it feels like we have always been doing this.  Our old sticks and bricks life seems so distant.....like a lifetime ago.  We are madly in love with our new life, and something I didn't think was possible.....more madly in love with each other than when we started.  We joke, kid and flirt with each other all day long...almost like when we were teenagers.  I am seeing my wife through new eyes, and appreciating who she is much more than before we left on this journey.  It's amazing how your perspective of someone can change when all the clutter of the sticks and bricks, work a day  life is stripped away....you can just think and appreciate without distraction.  TLE makes my life worth getting up to live each day, and I hope, in some small measure, I am able to make her life feel the same way, too.

I hope I haven't made anyone wince with such a personal, intimate observation, but I think it is important for folks out there thinking about living this lifestyle to know that living in a small space with your spouse, partner, or companion does not have to be a relationship killer.  If you approach it in the right frame of mind this lifestyle should actually enhance your relationship.  I know all relationships are quite complex, and everybody's situation is different, but one thing you must focus on if you want this lifestyle, is learning to live in a smaller space....in our case 200 square feet......with your spouse, partner, companion.

Cracker Barrel - Richmond, IN

Okay, enough of the mushy stuff.....I'm sitting here Monday morning composing this blog entry to the sound of rain on the roof.  Right after we arrived yesterday it stopped raining, but started again around 2 am, and has been raining steadily (not hard) since then.  The forecast is for rain the rest of today, so when we arrive in Indianapolis later today it will be in the rain most likely......certainly not optimal, but it is what it is.  

Looking forward to being plugged in again to alternating current for the next month.  Living off 12 volt power requires more awareness of electrical usage and a vigilance to be sure nothing electrical is on that doesn't need to be on.....after almost a month of that I am ready to just turn on what I want to turn on without thinking about "amp hours", and how much time it will take to put them back in the battery once I consume them.  The one thing we have learned from the last month is we can live off our house batteries for an extended time period even if the weather is not optimal for solar charging.

Thanks for stopping by!

Beautiful Travel Day

We enjoyed our stay in Belle Vernon, PA.....I'm sure I have said it before, but TLE is the one who finds our overnight spots when we are moving on a daily basis.  She looks for Lowe's, Walmart, Home Depot and Cracker Barrel parking lots to park overnight in.  We tend to arrive at our daily destinations mid to late afternoon, and don't see any point in paying for a full hookup spot in an RV park for just a few hours.  She has really refined the process of picking good spots.  So far in 15 months we have never been rousted out of bed in the middle of the night and told to move.  We haven't even been disturbed one single time.  Lately she has been finding prime parking lots....prime is where we have access to more services than just Walmart.  Belle Vernon was on of those perfect places that not only had a Walmart, and several nice restaurants, but also a Lowe's, which meant free WiFi.  When she settles on a place to overnight we sit down together and look at the satellite view of the lot, as well as the approach so I'm comfortable with her choice, and can see even what part of the parking lot she is suggesting we aim for.  Then when we get close to our daily destination she'll turn on her own mapping program to guide me in.....it works well for us, and removes a lot of my anxiety when it comes to maneuvering in tight places.

We weren't in a particular hurry to leave as we were only covering 105 miles.....our destination, Cambridge, OH.  Now that we are in eastern Pennsylvania, and getting out of the mountainous country the road it becoming flatter, and straighter....that is a nice change, to be sure. 

On top of that the day gave us crystal clear blue skies, something we are starting to get used to.  We even stopped at a rest stop and did a mile + of walking....trying to get back into the habit of walking whenever we stop for a break.

We arrived in Cambridge around 1 pm and since it was early we decided to park in a Kmart parking lot for a few hours.  We had planned to overnight in the Cracker Barrel on the other side of the Interstate, but it was too early, and the parking lot was full.  As serendipity would have it there was also a Goodwill in the same parking lot, so we got dressed and headed over.  This Goodwill was probably one of the nicer ones we have visited.  I found 2 short sleeve t-shirts, an almost new rugby shirt, and a red long sleeve t-shirt....total cost....$7.50!  TLE found a nice lined rain jacket, which she needed, for $2.69.....almost new, and probably cost over $40 new......of course, there were also a few paperbacks acquired....:D

After that we bought a few food products in the Kmart, and then walked over to the local Walmart and picked up some wine....they had much better prices than Kmart.

We got back to the coach around 4 (I think we must have walked 2, or 3 miles) and decided to read for a couple of hours before moving our coach over to the Cracker Barrel.  Around 6 we did just that and by that time the parking lot was much emptier.  We snagged a spot behind the restaurant, which turned out to be a nice, private, quiet spot with a little view.

TLE made put together a delicious taco salad with some of her home made salsa, which I chased with a New Albion Ale.  I continued to read while I ate....I'm in the middle of another very good Zane Grey book  called "The Last Trail'....the 3rd, in a trilogy....that is hard to put down.  Around 9:30 we decided to watch a recorded episode of "Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares", and then hit the sack.

Sunday we will cover around 185 miles...one of our biggest driving days in sometime.....I know some of my Newell friends will giggle at that.   many of them think nothing of covering 4-500 miles in one day....we have left that kind of daily driving way, way behind us.  It also looks like we may be driving into rain....we'll actually be in Indiana at the end of Sunday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Westward Ho!

We have been in the Eastern time zone since October 3rd, or 4th, and here it is May 3.....7 months!  By Monday we'll be back in the Central time zone.

We stayed up to 2 am watching "Gettysburg", and were awake by 8 am.....or, more correctly...I was awake.  I quickly started the coffee perking, and got the cups out to pre-heat them as I always do, but the water out of the tap was just lukewarm.  Once, or twice a month the pilot light goes out on the water heater, and I have to relight it, so that is what I thought happened.  So, while the coffee was making I went out to relight the pilot light.  I could get it lit, but every time I released the button it would go out.  As I was doing this I remembered that last summer in late June this was happening, and I determined that the pilot light nozzle was clogged, and therefore was not putting out a big enough flame to keep the thermal coupling hot, so I decided to take care of some insurance work I had waiting for me, enjoy my coffee and then take out the nozzle and clean it again.

Around 10 I finished with my work, and headed back out to remove the pilot nozzle....cleaned it, and re-installed it.  I was now getting a bigger flame, but the pilot would still not stay on when I released the button.  Well, the next thing in the trouble shooting sequence is to replace the thermal coupling.  You will recall that there is a Home Depot in the same shopping complex where we are staying, so I gathered my dinero and walked over to HD to get a new thermal coupling.  They had just what I needed at 11 bux, so I headed back at a brisk pace to install it.  The removal and replacement went quickly, and the time of reckoning had arrived.  I lit the pilot light, released the button, and it stayed lit!  I love it when problems are easily fixed.

Like any sticks and bricks home things occasionally break on our coach.  Like at home I start the trouble shooting process and try and fix it myself.  95% of the time I can fix it without professional help.  Nevertheless, every time something goes wrong my first inclination is that it will be expensive.  I was thinking Friday, well I'll bet the water heater is shot and it will cost me $800 to replace it, and what are we going to do for a shower until then?  That's my nature, but I still revert to basic trouble shooting 101.....start with the simplest thing first and work up to the most complex.  The elation I feel when it is something simple.....which it is 95% of the time.....is amazing.

By this time it is closing in on Noon time, and we haven't rolled a mile yet.....no worries.....we were only driving 155 miles Friday, and that's about a 3 hour jaunt for us.  We quickly jumped on I-81 south back to I-70....the Walmart was about 4 miles north of I-70.    Eventually we hit the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which pretty much runs all the way to New Stanton....turnpike is another word for "this will cost you", and it did....$26.30 for about 90+ miles.  Usually paying tolls really irritates me because the toll roads are usually in worse condition than the non toll roads, but in this case the turnpike was in excellent condition with very little construction going on.  Additionally, by taking I-70 we avoided most of the climbing and descending we did through West Virginia and Maryland on our way down to D.C., so all in all it was a very pleasant drive west.  All the trees have leafed out now, and the country side that looked so barren on our way to D.C. looks velvety green now.

Eventually we came to a rest stop....on the turnpike they are called travel plazas.....and there is usually a gas station, and food service.  We decided to pull in around 2 pm to take a break which included a 1.25 mile walk around the complex, then for me a nap.  We got going again a little after 3 pm, and exited the Interstate again in Belle Vernon around 4:15 where TLE had found the mother lode....a Walmart and Lowe's right next to each other, along with a dozen fast food, and regular restaurants in walking distance.  I am using the Lowe's free WiFi to write this blog.

We quickly settled in, and around 5 we walked over to a local sports bar called Red Dawgs.....they have about 16 beers on tap, and TLE and I chose the Samuel Adams Summer Lager....a very smooth, unfiltered lager.  Their Happy Hour (1/2 price on drinks and appetizers) runs from 4-6.  We ordered some shrimp, and steak finger appetizers which ended up being our dinner.  The appetizers were out of this world delicious.  

Next we headed over to Walmart to pickup a few things, and then back to the coach for the evening.  We watched a few recorded shows (Revolution, Elementary and Person of Interest), and then went to bed with smiles on our faces.  What a nice, nice day

Thanks for stopping by!

Gettysburg

Thursday was a day I have been looking forward to with great anticipation for a few months.  A few years ago I watched the Ted Turner movie Gettysburg, and was fascinated by the character portrayals of General Longstreet, General Lee and especially Col. Joshua Chamberlain of the 20th Main Regiment.....ahhh....okay that was 1993.....20 years ago......oh come on, 20 years.....really?

We chose the Walmart in Hagerstown because of its proximity to Gettysburg, and that we could stay there two days with no hassle.  Thursday morning around 11 am we drove the 47 miles over to Gettysburg to spend the day touring this National Battlefield.  We had thought we would spend 3-4 hours there, but, in fact, were there over 6 hours.....we could have spent 2 days easily.  The park is 6,000 acres.  There is an enormous visitor's center with 2 theaters that show a Morgan Freeman narrated film about the 3 day battle, and a Cyclorama......a 360 degree oil panting of the battlefield.  The two pictures below are of a couple of the scenes from the Cylcorama.  This was painted in 1883 by Paul Philippoteaux of  France, and took 18 months to complete.  Some are not impressed by this Cyclorama, but both TLE and I were very impressed.  The movie was about 25 minutes long, and very well done.

 Both of these scenes are of Cemetery Hill....the Union position

After watching the movie and the Cyclorama presentation we headed down to the book store to purchase a 3 CD narrated tour of the battlefield done by Jake Boritt, and narrated by Stephen Lang, the actor who played the part of General Longstreet in the Gettysburg movie.

The documentation that comes with the 3 CD's indicates it will take around 2.5 to 3 hours to tour the battlefield.....we spent almost 5 hours and ran out of time.  You can hire a personal tour guide for about $25/hour, but you have to make a reservation 3 days in advance, plus they ride with you in "your car'.....well we have a 2 seater....hmmm....by the time we found out about this it was the day before, and too late for us to do that, so we did the next best thing and bought the CD set for $30.......I am one cheap dude, but believe me, I came away from the 5 hours we spent listening to those CD's as we drove along from station to station around the battlefield and had no questions left unanswered.

There were 53,000 casualties over that 3 day period from July 1st to July 3rd.  One of the most poignant parts of the movie, Gettysburg, was on the 2nd day of the battle when Colonel Joshua Chamberlain of the 20th Maine Regiment was assigned to guard the extreme left flank on Little Round Top.  The picture below is the area on the left flank he and his 400 some men of the 20th Maine were assigned to defend, withstanding attack after attack for hours finally ending in a bayonet charge down the hill at the Confederates when they (20th Maine) ran out of ammunition...you can still see remains of the "breast works" they hastily built.  That bayonet charge routed the Rebs, and secured the left flank.  He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, and also officiated at Lee's surrender in Appomattox.  His job before the Civil War....college professor teaching "Rhetoric".  

I feel honored to have been able to stand for a few minutes on that hollowed ground where Chamberlain's leadership saved the Union Army on Cemetery Hill from being flanked by the Confederates.  What many do not realize is that Brigadier General John Buford's decision use his 2,500 man Calvary unit to fight a delaying action against the Confederate troops approaching Gettysburg that enabled the Union troops to gain the high ground on Cemetery Hill and Little Round Top.  Had he not done what he did day 2, and 3 of this historic battle would have turned out much differently with Lee on the high ground.

Little Round Top viewed from the Confederate lines

 One of the 1400+ monuments spread over 6,000 acres.

The view above is looking toward the forest (over a mile away) where Pickett's Charge originate (click on the picture to see the forest).

Looking left and right from the Union position on Cemetery Hill 

 Equestrian statue of General George Meade who commanded the entire Union Army in this battle.

It was a sobering and emotional 5 hours, but 5 hours I would not trade for anything.  Around 6:30 we headed over to Appalachian Brewing Company for a couple of brews.  This is a very nice micro brewery, and we would recommend it very highly.....right on the Baltimore Turnpike.

We got "home" around 8 pm and settled in around 10 to watch the movie Gettysburg, which we have on CD.  The movie is around 234 minutes long....we finished watching it around 2 am......even today TLE and I are still talking about what we saw, and learned yesterday.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Washington D.C. - Day # 14 - Moving Day

Hard to believe Wednesday marked the end of our fortnight inside the "Beltway" as well as our 15th month on the road.  We arrived two weeks ago with a little apprehension about whether we would find a spot in Beltway Park large enough for our rig, whether we could actually dry camp for 14 consecutive days, and whether we would have enough time to see everything we wanted to see.  Of course we now know we were able to find a spot perfect for our 62 feet, and we were able to successfully dry camp for 14 days even though it rained almost half the time.  We now know that even 14 days is not enough time to see everything.  I'm not sure 4 weeks would have been enough time.  However, we did see everything that was important to us, and we got mostly through 4 Smithsonian buildings....The Castle, the Air and Space Museum, the American History Museum, and the Portrait Gallery.  

Frankly, our visit to Washington D.C. far exceeded our expectations, and has left a lasting impression on both of us.  The most important thing I have learned is that those men and women who conceived this marvelous experiment called the United States of America stand head and shoulders above those who "lead" us today who in my estimation are mere midgets by comparison.  Those men who signed the Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor.....how many of our leaders today would not only take that pledge, but actually live it out......sadly, too few.

Usually when we have been sitting in one place for this long it takes a while to put everything away before we can move.  Since we were pretty much gone from the coach most days we didn't get much out.  We were only going to move 80 miles Wednesday so we just took our time packing up.  We also had to dump our tanks again, and "pay the rent".....for those who have recently begun to follow this blog that means filling up the diesel tank.  We came into Greenbelt Park with about 40 gallons of diesel in the tank.....our tank holds 180 gallons.......about as low as it has been for a while.  

On our numerous trips about town we had passed by a station on Greenbelt Road about 2 miles from the park called U.S. Gas that was selling diesel for $3.63 a gallon......that's one of the best prices we have seen in the last year.  While I dumped the gray and black tanks, and washed the front windshield TLE washed the T-Bird.  By the time we had finished our visit to the dump station it was about 12:15.  We arrived at the gas station about 12:30 and began to fuel up.  Amazingly it took exactly $500 to fill the tank.  TLE figured out that we had averaged 6.5 miles per gallon on this last tank, and while that is on the low end of what we have experienced the past 15 months I was expecting lower mileage as we have spent the past 1,000 miles driving through very mountainous country in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.

As we merged on to Interstate 495 northbound I noticed it was 1:15 pm.   We came to a rest stop about 19 miles from our Hagerstown destination, and even though we had only driven 61 miles at that point, we stopped and took a break.....we are not in a hurry, and have no appointments so why not?  While I walked around the coach and trailer checking the tires TLE made us some snacks (cottage cheese and celery with peanut butter), and then we took about a mile walk around the rather large rest stop.

We arrived around 3:30 at a Walmart in Hagerstown just off the Interestate, and part of a large mall....in addition to Walmart there is a Home Depot, Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Starbucks, Famous Footwear, and many, many other stores.  We were the first RV to arrive on Wednesday, but by the time the sun set there were about a dozen rigs parked around us.  

We took a walk before dinner up and down the entire length of the mall, and then settled in for the evening.....of course there was a Moca Frappuccino along the walk.  For dinner  TLE made delicious Bleu Cheese Burgers (no bun) and a great salad, chased with a  Chocolate Porter.

Tomorrow we'll get out the T-Bird and drive 30+ miles up to Gettysburg National Battlefield and spend the day there.

The RV Ghetto this morning

Thanks for stopping by!!

National Mall - Day # 13 - Portrait Museum, Supreme Court and Library of Congress

It appears old man winter has returned to the D.C. area....at least for a few days.  As the skies began to lighten Tuesday morning it was evident early on that this was to be another cloudy, rainy day just like Monday.  We wanted to get an early start as this was going to be a longer day than usual for us.....we had three things we wanted to see the inside of......National Portrait Gallery, Supreme Court and Library of Congress.

We managed to hit the road into the Beltway around 10:30, and were driving up and down the National Mall to find a 3 hour parking spot by 11.....no luck, so we headed over to the tidal basin and managed to snag the last available spot.  It was about 11:15 by this time and we had a 25 minute walk up to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.  The building (shown below) used to be the U.S. Patent Office, and it is enormous.  In 1962 the building, slated for demolition, was given to the Smithsonian, and by 1965 it was reopened as the National Portrait Gallery.  What is on display are thousands of portraits and sculptures of important and influential people going back to the 1600's.  We spent over an hour of our time in the section called "American Origins".

Stock photo of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery

Great portrait of Benjamin Franklin

From there we went over to the America's Presidents section and looked at a portrait of every single President starting with Washington.  I took pictures some of the ones that interested me.  I found this picture of Ulysses S. Grant intriguing as well as his "bio".  He was a cigar smoker.....

Another one was Andrew Jackson.....cool hairdo, huh?  I loved this part in his "bio"....."...Jackson vetoed key Congressional measures, not because he deemed them illegal, but simply because he did not like them."  Oh that we had more Presidents like him today.

Andrew Jackson - 7th President

This portrait of Lincoln, for the time, was a sharp deviation from the typical stilted portrait of most Presidents.  Doesn't he look a lot like Daniel Day Lewis?

Again, I liked George W. Bush's portrait a lot....very relaxed, informal, and natural.  

Before we knew it 2 pm had arrived and we had to make a 25 minute walk in 15 minutes back to our car to move it so we could explore for another 3 hours.  We were about 10 minutes late, but the "MAN" didn't ticket us.....in fact the "MAN" was no where to be seen....must have been the rain.  We drove back over to the National Mall and snagged a spot quickly right near the NMAH.  We were a little hungry so TLE pulled out some snacks and we sat on a park bench munching away while it drizzled.

Now it was around 2:45 and most government buildings start closing at 4:30 so we had to git a move on to the Supreme Court, which was about a 15 minute walk up and around the Capitol building......I see now why they call it "Capitol Hill".....that is quite a hill you have walk to get around it!

The Supreme Court building is undergoing exterior marble restoration, so I got this stock photo off the internet.  This building, along with the Library of Congress has a LOT OF MARBLE!

We entered the Supreme Court building around 3 and walked around a bit.  We wanted to see the actual court chambers and asked a lady at the info desk if that was possible.  She answered that it was, and that, in fact, in about 10 minutes we could actually go inside and hear a lecture about the Supreme Court.  We headed upstairs immediately and found a line already formed for that purpose.  You cannot take any pictures inside the courtroom, but you can stand just outside, like I did below, and take a picture....I was able to get 8 of the 9 justice's chairs in the picture.  The courtroom, suprisingly, is not that large.  The lecture lasted about 30 minutes.  They occur every half hour with the last one starting at 3:30.....so glad we made the last one of the day!

Below is a picture I took of the 5 story, self supporting, cantilevered, marble, spiral staircase....beautiful.

As we exited the Supreme Court it was just before 4 pm, so off we headed to the Library of Congress, which is right next store.  The interior of the Library is stunning....breathtaking.....just pick your favorite adjective.  Regrettably, most areas of the Library forbid any type of photography....the first picture below I took, but the 2nd one is a stock phot, and the 3rd one down of Jefferson's donated library is also a stock photo.  

When the British set fire to D.C. during the War of 1812 one of the casualties was the Library....Thomas Jefferson donated his quite large personal library to the Library of  Congress to replace the books that were burned, and it is still preserved there to this day.

All good things must come to an end, and Tuesday was chock full of good things for sure.  
As we walked around the right side of the Capitol the Washington Monument came into view shrouded in clouds.....I just thought it was a great shot, so I took it.

We walked back to our car on the National Mall through a light drizzle reminiscing about our 2 week adventure here in the Nation's Capitol.  It greatly exceeded our expectations.  Did we see everything?  Not by a long shot....I guess if we had spent 8 hours a day for 14 consecutive days we might have seen 50, or 60% of what there is to see, but that is not our style.  We saw 90% of the stuff that interested us, and we did it at our pace.  One thing is for sure......we really know this town now.  We probably walked around 5-6 miles Tuesday alone, and probably 20+ miles over the course of the 2 weeks we were here.

We began our last trek home to Greenbelt Park around 5 pm and actually made it home by 5:45.  TLE fixed me a great dinner of reheated Lasagna....I told you that stuff is even better after a week, or so!  Next we headed over to see Jonathan and Shari one last time, and do a little wash...that hamper is getting full!  One of the special things about our visit here was getting to know Jonathan and Shari much better.  They are really a sweet couple, and we will enjoy keeping in contact with them.  Of course, Jonathan loves craft beer, so he has a special place in my heart now.

Wednesday we pull up anchor and begin our 6 day trek over to Indianapolis, IN....we stop in Hagerstown, MD for a couple of days and drive up to Gettysburg National Battlefield....it's only 33 miles each way.

Thanks for stopping by!!!