A Pleasant Surprise

When we planned our cross-country trip we expected to see some wonderful things in the Southeastern states, but we didn't expect the area to be as great as it is.

After leaving New Orleans we made an overnight stop outside Tallahassee, and then headed for Savannah, which is laid out in a series of 24 small parks, each with its own design & feel.  The squares seeem to be THE place to get married. One late afternoon/early evening we saw 3 weddings in the squares.There are some beautiful old homes, and walking along the Savannah River is restful. We didn't see many tourists, so we were able to experience the "real" Savannah. Savannahians are friendly and justifiably proud of their city.

From there, we went to Charleston, driving along smaller roads rather than interstates. It was probably a bit slower, but it was nice to see something other than tree-lined interstate roads, which all look alike after a while. This is truly the deep south. One interesting thing we saw along the way: we stopped at a general store to pick up a bottle of water & noticed a gas pump in the front of the store that had obviously been hit by a car. We have no idea how long it had been that way, why it hadn't exploded, or if/when it would be fixed. The town is called Ashepoo, & the owner of the store had an accent so thick we could barely understand him.

Our hotel was in a great location, but we definitely would NOT stay there again. The room needs a lot of work before it can be recommended.

Charleston has more of a "big city" feel than Savannah, and has many more tourists.  Charlestonians are also justifiably proud of their beautiful city. The historic area is well-preserved and quite a few grand old homes can be toured. The Charlestonians are sophisticated, and there are many shops & restaurants that look appealing. We took a couple of house tours, one that has been restored, & one that has been left "as is" so we were able to get an idea of the amount of work it takes to bring these beauties back to the way they appeared in their heydays.

Charleston's Riverwalk Park is a charming refuge from the city's crowded tourist areas.  

Everywhere you turn there is another grand old house or church, many with decorative ironwork...

 

Next stop was Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home in Virginia. First revelation to us is how beautiful northern Virginia is. Our hotel was virtually part of the University of Virginia campus, which is the most beautiful college we've ever seen. There are a number of buildings still in use that were designed by Jefferson.

Monticello itself is well worth a visit. The guides are knowledgeable, the house & grounds so well designed by Jefferson. We learned much about him, architecture, and gardening. One tidbit we learned is that the reason older houses had no closets is that they hadn't yet invented the hanger. Actually, we're surprised Jefferson didn't invent it. 

 

With all the things Jefferson accomplished in his lifetime, he wanted a simple inscription on his grave:



We were now deeply into the trail of American history....next stop Williamsburg. They have done a wonderful job of restoring & recreating the 18th century city of Williamsburg, what was then the capitol of Virginia. The staff all dress in the clothing of the time, & we were able to see demonstrations of things such as printing, yarn spinning, carpentry, etc., done as they were around the time of the American Revolution. It could have turned out to be extremely corny, but it was well done.

Our hotel in Williamsburg was, ahem, interesting. At check-in, the clerk mistakenly only charged for 1 night, instead of 2. At checkout, the rather short Indian woman (owner?) actually jumped up & down in frustration/anger because of the error. I wish we had the video running....

Time to move back into the 21st century...We're in Washington DC now. Visited the National Archives where we saw the original documents of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, & the Declaration of Independence. Wow!

Spent the rest of the day at the National Gallery of Art, which has an amazing collection....hard to absorb it all. They have a Da Vinci painting, the only one in the western hemisphere. The rest of the collection is like a "who's who" of art.

The next day we decided to spend most of our time just walking around the Mall. Despite the hot & humid weather, it was quite impressive. We saw the WWII monument & an old man in a wheelchair told his attendant that at Iwo Jima he thought he killed 3 Japanese, & it "still bothers me."

Walking back from the Mall, passed Fritz Mondale out for his daily jog. Old & slow, but still going.

We walked back to the hotel separately (Holly had to present a webinar), but each of us had a similar -- & not so great -- experience. The quickest & cheapest lunch idea seemed to be grabbing a hot dog from 1 of the many Asian hot dog vendors that line up near the Mall, hoping to attract the business from tourists. Holly's experience:  I asked for a hot dog & bottle of water, & the vendor grunted & pointed to the coolers & I assumed he was telling me to grab my own bottle (it was a case of trial & error to figure out which cooler held the waters). He held up a giant hot dog, & I said that I wanted the regular one, with sauerkraut. He then fixed up the dog & kraut & told me it was $9. Well, the price list said the regular hot dog (not the jumbo) was $2.25, so I questioned how it could add up to that much. He then showed me the miniature, nasty-looking hot dog & told me that was the "regular" one. I told him to forget it & walked away.

Chris's experience: another Asian vendor (a woman this time)....I ordered a hot dog with sauerkraut & a soda. She hands me the hot dog & says "ten dolla". I asked the price of the hot dog & she said "7 dolla" (spelling error intentional) & I asked how much the soda was. She said "3 dolla". I looked at the hot dog & noticed that the sauerkraut was 1 poor, wimpy strand of marinated cabbage. I gave the soda & hot dog back & told her "you eat it yourself". Although still hungry, I felt much better.

The real problem here is that people from all over the world come to Washington DC & they shouldn't be subject to blatant theft. It's just bad for everyone's image.

There is a great vibe to DC. Lots going on & a good energy. Not quite sure why all the stations of the Metro are so dimly lit....energy conservation?

One thing we've noticed as we drive the many miles across the US...there really are many tax/stimulation dollars being spent on improving the infrastructure. We've run into road work/upgrades in every state we've passed through. Though they do slow us down, it's great to see the sorely-needed improvements being done by people who would otherwise be out of work. This is real, but in order to see the reality on a broad scale, you need to drive 4,000 miles as we have done (so far).