2004 EAST COAST Trip to Washington DC, south to Florida Keys and return to South South Dakota

This was a 44 day trip and we traveled 7097 miles. It was during May and June 2004.

If you read the dailyTRAVELOGUE you will get a lot more details about the trip. The travelogues are unedited as I want to enjoy my retirement and really don't want to invest the time to edit them so you get them as is personal notes and all!

The following link is the first e-mail travelogue for the trip E-MAILS

The following is the second e-mail travelouge for the trip E-MAILS

As you go through the pictures and captions and refer to the travelogue and E-mails you can find out a lot about what we saw and did on the trip. This should not be to hard to do since the travelogue is in order by date and the pictures are in order as well. You will of course find days where there are no pictures posted but there is always a travelogue!

Our first major stop was Washington DC. Like most RVers we stayed at the Cherry Hill RV park just off the beltway. From the park there were buses to the Metro (subway) and also bus tours of the area that picked up at the park. Our first day based on the helpful information from the people at the RV park and a fellow we met who lives in the park several months of the year and does business in the area we got the Metro figured out. We did things a bit different rather than go to the capital area we first we went to the Tanszania Embassy to get our VISA for our upcoming Africa trip and then went to the Nation Zoo in Washington, DC. We got along just fine with the Metro and were impressed with it. If I had to live here, forbid, I would use the Metro. The traffic is bad news! We enjoyed the zoo and the Panda's and then decided to take a quick look at the Capital area as we had tours the next two days. The tours were well worth the money.

In the downtown area and going out quite aways the Metro is underground. This an entrance to the metro

I worked for the Cooperative Extension Service for 30 years which is a part of the Department of Agriculture and also has a state and county level. I thought I should have a picture by the headquarters in Washington.

George Washingtons home at Mt. Vernon in Virginia. It was a cloudy, hazy day but quite a view out over the Potomac River

The view from George Washingtons porch looking over the Patomac River.

This is a distant view of the Washington Mall from Arlington Cemetery looking east. The mall is about 2 1/2 miles long.

John F. Kennedy gravesite in Arlington Cemetery.

Tomb of the Unknown Solder on a very rainy, cloudy day.

Arlington National Cemetery.

Lincoln Memorial which is across the river east of the Arlington Cemetery. Lincoln Memorial is the west end of the Washington Mall, east of here to the north is the Vietnam Memorial and across from it on the south is the Korean Memorial. The Jefferson Memorial is on the south side of the lake Farther east on the south side is the FDR Memorial and then the WWII memorial right in the middle of the mall and then it is clear to the capital but buildings are on each side.

Since everyone has seen pictures of the Vietman Memorial here is a picture of the Korean War Memorial. There is a wall on the south side with images from photographs engraved on the marble and the reflections of these statues reflect off the marble. Very impressive!

US Captial building, we had to get free tickets which gave our group a time to come back for a guided tour. The security was tight here and all over with airport type checks going into every building.

Capital Rotunda inside the US Captial

WWII Memorial that was to be dedecated in about a week

Franklin Delanor Roosevelt(FDR) Memorial. FDR specified he never want anything larger than his desk to rememer him but obviously congress disregarded his wishes.

FDR Memorial, one of several statements he made.

Jefferson Memorial still rainy and cloudy.

Pennsylvania Avenue taken the top of the US Capital steps. Everything can be removed so it is a clear wide avenue for the Inaugarual Parade.

The Washington Mall from the top of the US Capital steps looking west.

Ford Theatre where Lincoln was shoot. I did not realize it but this was a conspiracy with several involved.

The streets along the White House are blocked off but you can walk in along the south fence and this is looking north at the White House. To take a tour you have to contact your congressman at least a month ahead of time to make arrangements.

From Washington DC we went to the Delaware Coast. Going across Delaware there is some rural country with farming. Here is Rehoboth Beach, many people come here from Washington DC in the summer to get out of the heat and humidity. We stayed in a Delaware State Park where a lot of people fish and it is a short walk to this beach. It is by the Indian River channel!

We took this ferry from Delaware to Cape May NJ which is an old historical area

Victorian home, upper middle class to wealthy working class who had summer homes here; especially out of Philidalphia, PA. Again to get away from the heat and humidity.

As the latter part of the 1800 arrived people wanted indoor bathrooms so this is how they added them on.

Another Victorian home in Cape May.

The beach at Cape May which has been used since the very early 1700's so it is one of the oldest used beach in the U.S.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge going to from Delaware to Virginia. There also were some tunnels.

Views from Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mt.

Another view in the Shenandoah NP

Sign about the Appalachian Trial. Most people start in Ga and hike north so they can start earlier in the spring.

Standard sign post for the trail. Note the white blaze on the tree, also standard on the trail. Two blazes mean the trail is going to take an abrupt turn.

Metal band on trail post giving information to hikers. I hiked several miles on the trail.

The entrance to the 469 mile Blueridge Parkway.

The Natural Bridge of Virginia, considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Highway 11 actually crosses over the bridge which is the road we took to the bridge.

Marby Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the most photograph site on the Parkway

Notice on the left side the gear ratio from the water wheel to the shaft going into the building

This is the shaft inside the building. It is much like many early machine shops where things were driven with belts off these pulleys. This mill had the grindstone for making flour, a saw mill and a double blade jig saw.

A close up of the water wheel

High point

Scenery from the high point to the east

Scene of a cross from a high point near Wayneville cloase to the end of the Parkway

Milepost 469 the end of the Blue Ridge Parkway and just across the river Great Smoky Mt. NP.

Edith on the Appalachian Trail so she can also truely claim of having hiked for aways on the famous trial. This was in the Great Smoky Mt. NP at Newfoundland.

Mingo Falls near Great Smoky Mt. on Cheroke Indian Land NP

Clingman Dome the highest point in TN. Very cloudy and raining so no view at all.

Clouds in the Great Smoky Mt. NP looking from Newfound Road crossing.

Ole Methodist Church and Cemetery at Cades Cove and open valley where people settled in the Smokies. A number of things have been restored by the parks service in this area. For more information as always check the travelogue

One style of wooden fence.

Old Mountain Cabin at Cades Cove

Old Cantilever Barn at Cades Cove

At Smokemont CG Great Smoky Mt. NP. It rained for 3 days straight so was not long the rain drove most everybody away and we had the place to ourselves

Another type of wooden fence.

GA coast near Kingstown close to FL border

Florida coast at Fernanda Beach on Acadia Is. just south of GA state line. This area had a couple of paper miles. There is a lot of logging in the southeast with both deciduous and conifers.

Launch complex 39 Kennedy Space Center

Chinese acrobatics at china center at Epcot Disney World.

Light show and fireworks at Epcot Disney World

Adams Key Biscayne NP Fl

Long bridge between Keys going to Key West

Southern most point in the USA at Key West

Harbor at Key West

Dry Tortugas NP, Fort Jefferson about 50 miles west of Key West.

Hall on second level in fort.

Dry Tortugas NP inside Fort.

Moat at Fort Jefferson

Dry Tortugas NP

Beach at Fort Jefferson, good snorkeling

Logger Head next island from Dry Tortugas

Airboat on Everglades

Place to get off the Everglades called a hammock

View of Everglades

Alligator in Everglades signalling he is king of the hill

Alligator in Everglades taken from Airboat

Wild Turkey in Everglades

Like a RV advertisement. At Mammoth Lake Great Cypress National Preserve. We are the only ones here, no charge as it is the off season. This lake is full of alligators and if you fish they try to take your bait or catch.

Alligator right by our 5th wheel at Mammoth Lake. They can run faster than you can but I am in 5th wheel and very, very, very close!

He has spotted me so crouched down a bit. Look at the size of that bass! They lack digestive juices so don't eat many times and don't eat in the winter for several months. If they eat to often they get sick and can die because they can't digest the food we were told

Banyan tree at Ford Edison Winter Estates. Edison imported scores of plants to his home here. The Banyan tree was a gift from Firestone who brought back a cutting from India.

Copy of Edison's boat that he powered with batteries he invented

More of Edisons plants in his garden

Edisons winter home

Henry Ford winter home right next door, they were great friends.

Beach on island by Fort Meyers Florida.

We finally found some Manatees! This was a Homosassa Springs, FL on the west coast north of Tampa

Under water so not the best picture but show Manatee swimming upside down but really makes no difference to them.

Another Manatee picture, the eat foliage and need reasonably warm water so they come to these spring areas in the winter.

Underwater but shows Manatee eating

From ancient indian area by Crystal River just north of Homosassa Springs. In the winter this is a great area to see Manetees where the Crytal River begins at the springs. It is in town.

Rainbow Springs State Park a bit west of Crystal River There are a lot of warm water springs in FL

Brackish salf and fresh water where it enters the Gulf. At Econfina River on FL panhandle not to far from Perry, FL. Perry is a big logging industry area.

At Fort Walton Beach. We are on a great boat tour in a bayou by our friend Joe K2BG with our friends Chris and Carol.

The beautiful water and sand which is from Panama City to Alabama. This is by Destin near Fort Walton Beach.

Our last state Arkansas. We have now been in all the states, all the provinces of Canada and all but 4 states in Mexico. This is a Hot Spring at Hot Springs National Park at Hot Springs Arkansas

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