On The Road Again - Day 5

Today we left Wahington, DC to continue our journey South.  We made our first stop in Williamsburg, VA.

Williamsburg is a little colonial town that takes you back in time just by crossing a bridge. 

We opted out of paying admission to tour the buildings, but enjoyed watching the residents of this town in their old colonial clothing, and the cute buildings. 

We had lunch at a tavern before heading back out on the road. 

Before long, we were at the beach and Logan got to play in the sand and went in the ocean for the first time! 

One thing that was really cool was that we were super close to a naval base and there was almost a constant stream of fighter jets and helicopters flying over head.  

Simon decided to stay back at the hotel while we took a walk on the boardwalk and enjoyed a little outdoor concert.  Tomorrow is a beach day!

On The Road Again - Day 4

We got up this morning, still feeling the effects of a long day yesterday...but excited to explore Washington, DC!

We decided to start our day big, by heading straight to the White House! It was super cool to stand outside and actually see it in real life.

After walking around the White House area, we needed a break from the hot sun, and headed into the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.  It was great to see the Hope Diamond! It was gorgeous!

We toured around the museum a bit, and had some lunch before going for a big long walk around the National Mall.  Our first stopping point was the Washington Monument.  There was a great view from the monument location down the Mall towards the Lincoln Monument at the other side.

The World War Two monument is really nice and although it's not like the fountain/splash pad in Guelph, I took Logan's shorts and shoes off and let him splash around in it a bit to cool off!

We continued walking down the Mall towards the Lincoln Memorial where we had a great view in the other direction!

We stopped for an icecream break before walking around towards the memorial for the Vietnam War.

At this point we were super hot, and tired, and decided to head back to the hotel for a swim, and a trip to the grocery store to pick up some picnic items for dinner and breakfast!

Tomorrow, we make our way to Virginia Beach! I hope we continue to have gorgeous weather!!!

On The Road Again - Day 3

We left Hershey, PA at around 9am today to continue our journey South.  Before making our way to Washington, DC we had a stop in Gettysburg.  Gettysburg is the location of one of the deadliest battles during the civil war.

The first place we explored on our self guided tour was the Soldiers' National Cemetery.

This is the location where Lincoln gave the famous Gettysburg address.

We saw quite a few markers and monuments along our tour.  But got out and stretched our legs on a hike up to the top of Big Round Top.

Then saw the amazing view from the top of Little Round Top.

After a picnic lunch, we made our way through Maryland, and into Virginia.  Our hotel is across the Potomac river from Washington in Arlington, VA.  We were excited to see the Washington Monument in the distance, as we approached our hotel.

Arlington is home to the Arlington National Cemetery: a huge national military cemetery.

I had no idea how many things in this cemetery were important monuments that I had heard about.  We stopped at the John F. Kennedy (and Family) burial.  Arlington House, Pan Am Flight 103 memorial, World War 2 memorial, Space Shuttle Columbia and Space Shuttle Challenger Memorials.

We had gorgeous views of Washington from the top of the hill! We could see the Washington Monument, the Pentagon, and the Capitol Building.

One of the coolest things we saw was the tomb of the unknown soldier.  We happened to be there during the changing of the guards, which is quite a traditional ceremony.

One thing that was quite interesting was how big the memorial is for the United States Marine Corps.  We expected it to be much smaller than it was...it's huge!

After a busy day with tons of walking in intense heat, we headed back to the hotel for dinner and a rest.  Tomorrow we cross the river into Washington, DC!

On The Road Again - Day 2

Today was all about amusement parks!  We started out in Knoebels.

Which is a free admission, free parking, awesome park!  You pay per ride...and on average, each ride costs about $1.75.   They welcome you to bring a picnic and come and go as you please.

There's something awesome about hand painted signs.  I really think it's a lost art! 

This place was truly a throw back to the amusement parks of the past.  They even had cassette tapes (of carousel tunes) and VHS tapes of the history of old fashioned carousel's for sale in the gift shop.

There were perfect rides for Logan, and some good roller coasters and fun rides for the big kids! 

It was super fun, and someone was totally tuckered out by the time we finished up!

We had some snacks in the park (if you go - you have to try the Frips!) - and a little lunch in the car before heading south to Hershey, PA!

The town is cute with street names like "Chocolate Ave" and "Cocoa Way".

We checked into our hotel, had a quick rest before heading out to explore Chocolate World!

There is a large Park area with a concert theatre, amusement park and Store area.  We decided that we wanted to stick to the Chocolate stuff, and skipped the park.

First, we did the "factory tour" - which wasn't unlike the 'It's a Small World' Ride at Disney.  We hopped into a cart that took us around and showed us a fun artificial factory, all while being sung to by happy milking cows!  The ride was actually fun, and ended with a free sample of chocolate!

Then we signed up for a chocolate tasting experience where we learned a bit about where chocolate comes from, and the proper way of tasting and evaluating chocolate.

Did you know that Hershey's Chocolate's signature flavour is known for having hints of old cheese!? Think about that the next time you're sucking on a Hershey's kiss!

After some exploring around the (huge) chocolate shop, we headed to a restaurant for dinner, and back to the hotel for a rest.  Tomorrow we head to Washington, DC!