11/4/99 – Washington, D.C. – our nations capital. We catch a train into the city and spend the day at the Air and Space Museum, the Archives building (very interesting display of historical documents), the Museum of Natural History and a quick walk around the Capital (amidst all the secret service agents – something big must be going on).

11/5/99 – Another train ride into the city to visit the Monuments. Many were undergoing some sort of restoration but still very impressive. We walked past the White House. It’s sad, but we could actually get closer to Buckingham Palace than we could our own White House. (Maybe it’s Who you know and Who you Blow...) We finish our tour with a trip to the Museum of Fine Arts. Washington, D.C. is a wealth of cultural and historical exhibits – all for free.

11/6/99 – We make a stop at George Washington’s Birthplace. The grounds are very pretty and worth a walk around. We enter Westmoreland State Park in Virginia. This Park is known for public fossil hunting. The cliffs are made of clay and are situated right along the Potomac River. We take a hike along the rivers’ edge and try our hand at fossil hunting – Tim gets lucky and finds a fossilized cone shell. We drive into the campground and encounter the USA Snoring Gold Medallist. He’s practicing his technique on his hammock outside his camper. We back up our 24-ft Diesel, level the coach and set up camp all without breaking his snoring cadence. Later that day, he felt he needed to polish up his technique and we could here him reverberate his nostrils from inside our coach. Let me tell you – he was impressive.

11/7/99 – We drive into Yorktown and partake in the Tea Party Walk with the Park Ranger. Jamestown was the next place we visited. Established in 1609, you could begin to image how tough these early settlers were. Fear of Indians, war with Britain and the daily challenge of survival. Made us realize how easy life is today

11/8/99 – We plan to visit False Cape, VA, however the only way to get there this time of year is to hike or bike the 4 miles from Back Bay NWR into the park. It’s a cool, clear day, so we gear up and ride our mountain bikes along the beach to get to the park. After about 2 miles into the ride, we have the entire beach to ourselves. We come across a motherload of empty conch shells washed up on the beach. The park is pretty – landscape reminds us a lot of Florida. We hike and bike along the sand dunes, then ride back out of the park. For people that enjoy semi-remote locations, this is a recommended place to visit.

11/9/99 – Kitty Hawk, NC. Here is the site of the Wright Brothers National Monument commemorating their historic flight. OK – it’s been a while since we had a quiz. Along the line of man and flight: What did Neil Armstrong have in his boot when he landed on the Moon?

1. A lucky penny
2. Odor Eaters
3. A piece of the Wright Flyer
4. A clean pair of Underwear

Well, despite the wisdom of all mothers to those who travel, it was not D. The correct answer is C. Interesting!!!

We then drove on to Cape Hatteras to see the famous lighthouse. It was a bit of a disappointment because they were still in the process of finishing its new location. It was roped off, so good photo opportunities were limited. Even though it didn’t appear as photogenic as we would have wished, we were happy to see it still exists. If it wasn’t moved, it probably would have been lost to the sea by Hurricane Floyd a few weeks ago.

11/10/99 – A long day of driving from the Outer Banks to Raliegh/Durham. The countryside was dotted with numerous cotton fields in full bloom. We didn’t realize this was such a big crop in NC.

11/11/99 –While in the Durham area, we stop at a local Kinkos to check our mail. The strip mall was packed only to find out Emerill Lagousse (Mr. Kick it up a notch) himself was in town to do a book signing. The people (at least 1000 deep) were lined up around the mall waiting to get their cookbook signed. Police and helicopters surrounded the place. BAMMM – there you have it!!!! Guess there’s something to be said for a little showmanship and a lot of garlic – he’s Bammming it right to the bank.

That evening, we stop to visit with friends (previous neighbors from Florida.) There’s not much left to our old neighborhood, but we did have some great times. Thanks for a fun visit and best wishes to your new addition to the family. Keep us updated with photos of the kids.

11/12/99 - 11/13/99 –A long drive but we made it to the Great Smokey Mountains. We experienced first hand why they are called the Smokey Mountains. On a hike to Clingman’s Dome there is an incredible fog hanging in the valley of the mountain. Looks just like the mountains are full of smoke – rather impressive. The lighting in the sky and the landscape actually made our color photographs appear to be black and white. After a nice day of hiking on the AT, we drive back down the mountain.

Well – (A) would have been a good guess, however the correct answer is (C). She pulls off the road to notice a light haze of smoke emitting from the tire area and the pungent aroma of very hot brakes. As Tim walks around the coach to inspect the damage, a helpful stranger drives by and shouts out hit car window – "Use a Lower Gear!" That friendly bit of advice has since come in handy. No damage done – and we are on the road, this time with Tim at the wheel.

We exit the National Park only to enter one of the cheesiest towns we have yet to encounter. Pigeon Forge – the Disney World for Red Necks. The sad thing was, this place was packed. We sat in 3 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic. With the over abundance of Sideburns, big belt buckles and confederate flags, we knew we have entered Bubba country.

11/14/99 – We make our way out of NC and into Tennessee. My gosh, we actually drove through a town called Bucksnort. No lie! Just visualize this --- "Ladies and Gentleman, this years’ 1999 Miss America from Bucksnort, TN" Hey – it could happen.

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