Our WAY Big Adventure

What better place to end an amazing big adventure, and U.S. tour, than the capital of our country, Washington D.C.

Our day began with a drive into the city from Severna Park, landing at Union Station…

(scroll over photos for a description)

…and then, boarding a bus to tour the city, we stopped at a few museums, and a Smithsonian, or two, or three…

    …and a few monuments, and memorials…

…and then the place that brought me to tears. Seeing this was a dream come true, as was our Way Big Adventure. Two dreams realized at one time…I blubbered!

…and then to the wall, and dad’s turn to cry.

“Every name you see here has a story.”

                                            -Dad 

…and Arlington National Cemetery

…and finally, The White House.

About 37 years ago, Scott’s family took a family vacation to see our country’s capital, and we are proclaiming it a family tradition. We believe that every American (which includes you!) should see this place once in their lifetime. We have told our children they must bring their children here…and they must take a picture for us, something like this…

 Doug Way family – April, 1973

Denny-DJ-Juli-Scott-Lorrie-Doug

                                        Scott Way family – April 15, 2010

                                        Scott-Angie-Tyler-Hilary-Amber

…but we are not in the RV anymore.

From the city of Annapolis it is just a short drive to Severna Park Maryland, where my brother Dave lives. Knowing we were weary from a long drive in a crowded car, staying in motels every night, (especially that last one, that I’m not mentioning) and restaurants for three meals a day, David took the afternoon off to welcome us for our last few nights of this Way Big Adventure, and to prepare a wonderful home cooked meal. We were so thankful!

…and as we did the dishes I kicked myself for not taking a picture!

But I did get my camera out get some photos  him with his dog Lexus, and his sweet new Harley!

We were hoping he could join us for our visit to the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center west of DC; these next pictures are for him, and all our other air and space loving followers. It was well worth the trip!

As we were driving up the east coast recently, I told Scott, “With all of the places we have been, I have yet to find a city that Ilike as much as Charlevoix.”

I think Annapolis is the city that could change that. While Savannah and Charleston were absolutely charming, there is a quaintness here, with 200 year old buildings, incredible history, downtown marinas, waterways for boating, and a Kilwin’s.

Annapolis is the capital of Maryland, and for a short time, served as capital of the United States. The Maryland State House, is the oldest state capitol in continuous use. It is here that the Treaty of Paris was ratified in 1784, formally ending the Revolutionary War.

It was also here (in the room below) that General George Washington resigned his post as Commander in Chief of the Continental army.

(It is now that I will admit to you that while I am a teacher, I never liked nor remembered history that I read about it books…however, history that I can see captivates me!)

Author Thomas Fleming designates Washington’s resignation “the most important moment in American history.” He writes:

There is a Christmas story at the birth of this country that very few Americans know. As Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, Washington had become as much a chief executive as the United States then had…The man who could have dispersed this feckless Congress and obtained for himself and his soldiers rewards worthy of their courage was renouncing absolute power. By this visible, incontrovertible act, Washington did more to affirm America’s government of the people than a thousand declarations by legislatures and treatises by philosophers…The next day, after an overnight stop at a tavern, they rode at a steady pace toward Mount Vernon. Finally, as twilight shrouded the winter sky, the house came into view beside the Potomac River. Past bare trees and wintry fields the three horsemen trotted toward the white-pillared porch and the green shuttered windows, aglow with candlelight. Waiting for them at the door was Martha Washington and two grandchildren. It was Christmas eve. Ex-Gen. Washington–and the United States of America–had survived the perils of both war and peace.

 

 

       After our Capitol tour we took a stroll through town…

…and, of course, we ended our day with ice cream!

“…If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

Our stay on the island of Chincoteague, to see the wild horses of Assateague is something I’m going to say very little about. If you are a parent of a daughter that has read the “Misty” books you might have heard of it.

I recommend you stay home, play on your local beach and visit a nearby horse farm. Amber however, is forever the trooper, and although it was nothing like the magical images she has held in her mind since reading those books in fifth grade, she was still smiling.

Assateague is a National Wildlife Reserve off the coast of Maryland and Virginia. It is a beautiful natural sanctuary for bird-watching and wildlife viewing. The wild ponies, however, were viewed from quite a distance (the photo above is with a 10x zoom), or they were penned up. The motel (the only one on the island that allowed pets) and the restaurant we had dinner at in Chincoteague could not have been worse…but better things are coming!

Thirteen years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, a group of 104 men and boys made a 4 1/2 month voyage from England to the New World.  They settled on the James River with the goal of making a profit from the New World’s resources for the Virginia Company in London.  But survival, soon became their  mission. The settlers at Jamestown did survive, and women and children eventually made the voyage to join them. Jamestown became the first permanent English colony in the New World.

Find out a safe port in the entrance of some navigable river…as runneth into the land…that you may take election of the strongest, most fertile and wholesome place.                                                            -Virginia Company 1606

The bunks were for the captain and crew. The passengers traveled and slept in the very crowded the mid-deck.

The provisions included, among other things, many barrels of beer which was just slightly fermented, and much safer than drinking water.

Soon after their arrival they built a fort for protection, including barracks, a few individual houses, buildings for tradesmen and a church which they attended with strict orders from the king twice a day, and three times on Sunday. 

The English settlers worst enemy was hunger, not the nearby Powhatan tribe. The English would have been completely wiped out had it not been for the tribes corn crop.

Shortly after seeing the Jamestown Settlement, we bolted forward in history to 1781 and the end of the American Revolutionary War. We visited the Battlefield in Yorktown, where Cornwallis surrendered his entire army of 7,000 English Loyalists to the French/American troops under the direction of General George Washington.

                                          …and the rest is history!

Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown by John Trumbull, 1797

As we travel up the coast, we are making some short stops at some beautiful, historical cities including Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. Both are incredibly charming!

  City Hall in Savannah

Savannah was once labeled “most beautiful city in America,” and we can see why. The town was designed on a grid with small squares to deter invaders, now those squares are parks, 25 in all, full of trees, flowers, fountains and statues…beautiful!

We had a terrific Olde English meal at Churchills, and my nutty family provided me with some comic relief, both during dinner (I laughed until I cried!) and afterwards.

  I think they were a little loopy from the long drive!

The Exchange overtop of Provost Dungeon in Charleston

After a stroll through town, we had  lunch on the water overlooking the Harbor where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. Not only could we see the history as we walked through these streets and alleys, but we could feel it underfoot as we tried not to trip on brick and cobblestone…I cannot imagine how they felt from the seat of a wooden carriage not so long ago!

I love the fact that the tallest structures in this town are the church steeples, and architecture in both of these southern cities is absolutely amazing! In one city block you can find examples of Colonial, Federal, Georgian, Greek, Italianate and Victorian styles.

After some fried green tomatoes and some local seafood, we headed north along the coast as far as Myrtle beach for the night.

With a good night’s sleep, the kids and I headed to breakfast, the beach, and a bookstore to give dad a couple hours to work…

…but by noon the five of us and Pepper the cat were loaded in the car headed north. Our east coast excursion will be much faster than the west coast was for us, with our grand finale being Washington D.C…and then home.

While our friends Kelly and David have jetted off to the Bahamas to tie the knot, Amber has had the privilege of spending time each day with their dogs, Elvis and Madonna. Amber speaks dog (also cat, and horse) very, very well, and is having a blast!

We even pulled Hilary away from her schoolwork a couple of times to enjoy a run with the dogs, and some fun on the beach.

My favorite kind of History lesson is one I can see with my eyes, and while Henry Ford left an enormous impact on industry in Michigan, his dear friend, Thomas Edison, made his mark on Massachusetts, New Jersey and Fort Myers, Florida. Our family toured their winter estates and gardens, a museum in their honor, and Edison’s Botanical Lab. "Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration."

-Thomas Edison 

I have far more respect for the person with a single idea who gets there than for the person with a thousand ideas who does nothing….

                        -Thomas Edison

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” – Henry Ford

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.

-Henry Ford

The Laboratory…

Edison, Ford and Firestone each pitched in $25,000.00 in 1928 to build the lab for researching a domestic source of rubber. The impact of  WWI and their concern that the supply of rubber to our country could be cut off prompted the research. Each of their industries would have been greatly impacted.

While Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb, he was the man who made it better, more affordable, and reproducible . He tested over 3,000 filaments before he was satisfied. He was awarded 1,093 U.S. patents in his lifetime. His purpose for invention was to “transform middle class life.

His greatest accomplishment is said to be his discovery of how to economically generate and distribute light and power -the world we live in is “plugged in,” thanks to Thomas Edison.

His favorite invention; the phonograph.

Edison was a man who (like me) believed in “power naps” – notice the cot in his Laboratory office. 

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Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.   – Thomas Edison

After a long, cold January, and plenty of time for our family to get established in our rental on the east coast of Florida, it was time to take a trip to the other side of the state. It was a bonus that friends we’d met while boating in Charlevoix have a winter home there. The drive was uneventful as we traveled through the innards of Florida, right through sugar cane country. We saw the huge plumes of smoke from the controlled burns on the fields and stopped at the edge of the Saint Lucie/Okeechobee Waterway to take a closer look. We also stopped to get a closer view of Lake Okeechobee, a course we would have taken had this been our “Way Big Great Loop Adventure” (come back in 10 years for that one!)

We arrived at Mike and Karen’s beautiful new home just before dinner.  Amidst the painting crew and in spite of the lack of furniture (thanks Mike for moving that last bed over for us!) we found our friends with an open home and open arms for our crew.  Karen said she is not yet sure how to decorate in Mediterranean style…I offered to take a trip with her to the Mediterranean, so the two of us could figure it out together…

A room with a view…

After an amazing sunset from their patio, dinner, and a good night’s sleep, we enjoyed a boat ride before we set off on our adventure for the day. I always enjoy seeing towns from the water and Fort Myers, the “City of Palms” does not lack in beauty, or places to visit by boat.