Washington D.C., Round 1

Our first stop was The International Spy Museum.  It was fun to take on an identity cover and try not to be detected on your mission progressing through the museum as you view spy equipment, famous spies, and methods of espionage. 

Next we went to the Museum of Crime and Punishment.  It was a fascinating place covering methods of punishment for crimes from the Dark Ages to present day.  We loved the CSI portion! They covered all the notorious serial killers, gangsters, mobsters, and many famous law enforcement personnel too. 



Ted Bundy's car

a bad person in the stocks...must have done
something like kiss a person on Sunday! 

John Wayne Gacy's clown costumes

We spent the entire next day at the National Mall and Memorial Parks.  We started at the Lincoln Memorial.  They were so much larger than I had imagined. 

 

 


 

The Vietnam Memorial with the very long wall of names takes your breath away, there are just so many.  They had soldier statues there depicting soldiers of that war too.

 

 

The World War II Memorial fountain and the state representations were very beautiful.  The wall of stars representing all the men killed was an emotional statement.

The Korean War Memorial was unique with the soldiers coming through the bushes, and the reflective wall with soldier faces on it.

The new Martin Luther King Memorial was quite stunning with the quotations surrounding him, and the granite entryway.

 

 

The FDR Memorial covered a long period of time because of his 3 presidential terms.  The waterfalls, and the depression era people depicted were quite a contrast.

 

 

 

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial was huge, with a statue of him standing in the middle, and his most famous sayings on the walls.  It was right on the Potomac River and had such a peaceful setting.

 

 

 

We drove through the city to see the important buildings of our government.  We saw the FTC, many government office buildings, the White House, the Library of Congress, the FBI, the IRS, the National Archives, and the old Post Office buildings, just to name a few. 

 

This is the US Supreme Court building, currently being covered in protective scrim,

 

 

and this is the US Capitol building.



 

The Washington Monument stands gloriously with a magnificent cloud background.  We couldn't go up in it because it is under repair from the earthquake last year.

 

Here is the "Castle" building of the Smithsonian.  A great looking building that does look like a castle from all sides!

 

 We will be returning to DC in a week for Round 2, when we tour the White House, the Pentagon, one of the Smithsonian Museums, and Arlington National Cemetery.

 

 

 



Grant, Lee, and TJ

 

In Appomattox, Virginia, we visited the courthouse and watched a video about the events leading to the end of the Civil War and Lee's surrender, looked at lots of historical artifacts, then toured the actual house where the surrender took place.

 

the courthouse

the home where Lee surrendered

Our next tour was Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.  What a creative person he was!  It was a very interesting home with French influences in the home from his time spent in France, passages made for all weather conditions connecting the outer buildings, and even a promenade deck connected to the house over the stables!

the front

the rear or "nickel view"

see the promenade deck over the stables

Horses, Hillbillies, and Haunted Forests

Continuing our trek East we arrived in Louisville, Kentucky.  We stopped along the Ohio River and enjoyed the view of the riverboats there.

Then we went to Churchill Downs.  I didn't know that it was the grandson of Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame) who dubbed it the Derby. 

 

 

 

We toured the Louisville Slugger factory and learned about the company and its famous baseball bats.  We saw how they were first made and how they are made now.  We watched as they were making bats specifically for Derek Jeter.  We even received a small free one at the end of the tour!

 



world's largest bat

Of course we had to have some of the local favorites, so we headed to Lynn's Paradise Cafe, a very eclectic place, and had some delicious eats!  A Hot Brown is a turkey sandwich smothered in Mornay sauce and topped with tomato, cheese, and bacon.

hot brown

Country Ham, Mac N Cheese, Fried Apples

Derby Pie A La Mode

We drove on through the Horse farms of Kentucky.  There were plank fences and horses scattered throughout the rolling hills.  We saw the farm where the thoroughbreds rest out their lives after racing, and many more farms.  We stopped to see Thoroughbred Park in Lexington.  What a nice tribute to the race horse.

 

 

 

We crossed into West Virginia, where we stopped at Hillbilly Hot Dogs for some tasty lunch. It was an Appalachian stand complete with all the eclectic things you would expect to see, and some you wouldn't.  Two of the rooms to sit and eat in were converted old buses added on to the building. They even had markers to write on the walls, so we left our marks after eating.  

 

West Virginia Dog with chili sauce, mustard, onions and slaw on top

Big Bad Bubba's Baby Sister Bertha's Baby Burger

We headed into Virginia, through a haunted looking forest, where the overgrown vines made everything look spooky!

 

Sunflowers, BBQ, and Presidents

We have been on the road for 6 months.  We have seen so many wonderful sites that we will never forget while we look forward to just as many more!  We have enjoyed many tasty regional cuisines and are looking forward to trying more.  This is such a wonderful trip, and we are having a great time together exploring this great country.

We drove through Iowa, stopping to have a loose meat sandwich.  It is kind of like a sloppy joe without the sauce, the meat is seasoned and it is very tasty.

 

The Pony Express Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri, was our next stop.  The museum is housed in the actual barn where the trail began, and the displays were fascinating to see.  We saw dioramas of what the trail looked like in the various parts of the country at that time, the three men who financed it and became bankrupt because of it, information on the first and several other riders, what the stops looked like, and much more.  It was such a fascinating museum!

 

the first rider prepares to go!

the mochila used to carry the mail





In Independence, Missouri, we visited the Truman Presidential Library.  They had lots of displays on the history that happened during his terms of office, which were important dates in WWII.  They also had displays of what America was like during those times, as well as the life of the Trumans.

the Oval Office of Truman

 

We traveled on to Kansas City where we had some BBQ at Arthur Bryants.  We had pulled pork and ribs with sides of their fries, beans, and slaw, and it was delicious!

  

We cruised through the city and saw the downtown Public Library.  What a great design to have classic books grace the outsides of a library.

 

even the steps are books!

 We went to the Hallmark Visitors Center to see the history of Hallmark.  We saw cards through the years, and all the many Emmy awards for their TV shows.  We watched cards being printed, and even got to make a bow on the bow making machine. 

 

 

We drove into Kansas, the sunflower state, and just loved all the wild sunflowers alongside the road.

 

 

 

And of course we had to stop at the Wizard of Oz Museum to see Dorothy and friends.  They had lots of movie trivia, mementos, and signed memorabilia from the actors.  Since I love that movie, it was especially fun!

 

  

We went to the Eisenhower Presidential Library next.  It had great displays on WWII, the Korean War, and the weaponry used, the White House china, Mamie's fashions, and memorabilia from the 50s.

 

  

We stopped for some sliders that were delicious!  We wanted to take home a bagful!



 

 

Mushroom Rock State Park had some really interesting rock formations.  They were varying heights, and quite fascinating to look at.

 

 

We enjoyed some toasted ravioli with marinara sauce in St. Louis. What a tasty treat!

 

 

While in St. Louis we had to stop at Pappy's for our favorite BBQ again.  We had a feast of ribs, fried corn, potato salad, green beans, sweet potato fries, and a pulled pork sandwich !

 

 

Then we had a "concrete" super thick, tart cherry frozen custard for dessert!