The original plan was to head west after leaving Grand Manan …. the plan has changed …

After hearing from several people about how fantastic Newfoundland (aka ‘the rock’) is … we have decided to take the six-hour ferry from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland and see for ourselves!

No return ticket yet … but expect to explore the province for about three weeks. Rumor has it we should be able to see puffins and whales … and maybe even some late season icebergs!

Today Andy and I are celebrating our fourteen-year wedding anniversary, and the whole gang is celebrating our one-year anniversary of living on the road.  Since leaving Tucson June 1, 2014, we have travelled 17,503 miles, visited 26 U.S. states, and 4 Canadian Provinces.

Adventure on ….

We began our week in the Capital with a fun visit with cousins in Northern Virginia. We met at Huntley Meadows, a wetland area, where we went for a walk along the boardwalk. Afterwards we went back to their house for a delicious al fresco dinner.

On day two we enjoyed the beautiful DC weather along with thousands and thousands of other tourists. We visited the Memorials, beginning with The Jefferson Memorial. From there we saw the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (love FDR!!), Martin Luther King Memorial, Abraham Lincoln Memorial, and the Korean, Vietnam and World War II war memorials.

Becca, somewhat reluctantly, earned her Junior Ranger badge, and was sworn in at the Lincoln Memorial. Jay, our little Ferdinand, ducked under all the chains protecting lawns, to collect as many dandelions as he could.

On day three we got a late start, and then enjoyed a leisurely afternoon in DC. We parked near the Jefferson Memorial, and had a nice walk to the White House. Unfortunately, we only got to see the President’s House from the outside, as the request we submitted to our Congresswoman to tour the White House was DENIED. No reason was given … but we would like to believe it is because it is high tourist season and all the tours were already filled up …

After cooling down with an ice cream treat, we went to tour the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where half a billion notes are printed each day! Some fun facts: the bills are not actually paper, but rather cotton, with some linen; the average life of a one dollar bill is 5.9 years; and, a bill can withstand 4000 folds on the same crease without tearing.

After our tour, we had a picnic dinner by the Potomac as we waited for the worst of rush hour traffic to pass.

We took the Metro into town on day four. Becca did a fantastic job figuring out our trip. She researched the Metro station closest to our Virginia campground and where we could park for free. She determined which DC station we needed to get off at, and how much our fare would be. She navigated the purchase of our Smart Cards and got us to the train!

Once in town, we visited two fantastic museums, the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian.

Despite our starting to feel some big city burn out, we returned to DC on our fifth day. We braved rush hour traffic (yikes!) to arrive early enough to snag tickets to go to the top of the Washington Monument. Our tour was scheduled for noon, so we first had time for a quick visit to the Museum of American History (the 1980 Apple II computer was a big hit!). At the Washington Monument we rode the elevator to the top – 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches (to be precise) – to appreciate the 30-mile view in all directions. Following was a lovely picnic lunch, with views of the Lincoln Memorial, the White House and the Washington Monument. In the afternoon we made a brief return visit to the Air and Space Museum, before returning to the RV for some much needed chilling time.

We began day six, our last day in DC, with a morning around camp. There is another family here, and all the kids had a great time playing together on the playground.

We spent the afternoon at the amazing National Museum of Natural History. So much to see! Some of our favorites were the Live Insect Zoo and the two “Q?rius” areas with lots of hands-on activities. We also met up with a friend of Andy’s who joined us for a short while at the museum and for some icecream and relaxing time on the Mall.

Day seven … time to pack up and head to Maryland ….