Here is what we did yesterday.
Our plan was to leave our campsite, which was 23 miles east of DC, and head west. We wanted to get going early in the morning and make it to Arlington National Cemetery, which is just west of DC, and see the Space Shuttle Discovery at a hanger center in Chantilly, VA. This was about 30 miles west of DC. We wanted to be done with these two places by noon. From here, Matt wanted to drive 250 miles to a campsite in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains.
Do you think that happened?? NOPE!
First of all, we didn't get out of our campground until around 12:30. We all took showers and it took awhile to get everything cleaned up and situated. I think we had been there almost a week. Matt also needed grease for the hitch, so he had to make a trip to an auto store and get that fixed up and don't forget it takes awhile to dump. :)
Finally we got out of there and arrived at Arlington National Cemetery around 1- camper and all! We pulled into their parking lot, parked in the bus parking, put out our slide out half way and ate lunch!
Matt was still thinking we could get to his campsite that night, so he didn't want to take a lot of time there. We saw that there was an option to either ride a tram around the cemetery or walk. We paid $32 to ride the tram. This cemetery was huge and we thought this would help us see everything faster. In the end, I am glad we rode the tram!
The tram also gave you some background information on the cemetery and it had three stops.
1.The first stop was the Kennedy graves. This is where JFK and his wife are buried.
2. The next stop was changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Every hour, on the hour, they change guard at this tomb. Everyone had to stand, turn off cell phones, and be silent. It was very inspiring! (Except my 3 year old was playing on my phone and turned the sound on- who knew somebody would text me in the middle of the ceremony!! I'm not naming names. :)
3. The last stop was the house that used to belong to Robert E. Lee. He owned the property that is now Arlington National Cemetery. His wife didn't pay her taxes (it was really her father's house, so she was responsible for the taxes) and the government took it from them. The government needed it because it was located on high ground above DC and the union soldiers needed that hill! This was right around the time of the Civil War. Robert E. Lee gave up his commission as a union soldier and joined the confederate soldiers and never got his house back!
This picture is taken from the back of the property. The main house is on the left and the slave quarters on are the right.
Of course, I cannot blog about Arlington National Cemetery without posting picture of the graves of those men and women who fought for our freedom! This place was amazing!!
By the time we left Arlington National Cemetery, it was around 3 pm and we still wanted to stop and see the space shuttle Discovery. There was no way we were going to be able to drive 250 miles to Matt's campsite in the mountains, so I got online and started looking for spots around Chantilly, Virginia (where the space shuttle was located.) I found a place and called and made reservations.
We started back on the road and headed towards Chantilly, Virginia to the Steven F. Udar-Hazy Center. This center is part of the Smithsonian complex and it holds aircraft that are too large to be displayed in DC. Parking was free after 4 and we pulled in about 4:05. Admission was also free, just like at the Smithsonian museums in DC.
We walked in and the first thing Courtney noticed was the Mcdonalds! (She loves her ice cream!!) I asked the front desk for a map and the lady there started showing me where everything was and I said, "We just came to see the space shuttle!" She pointed in the direction of the shuttle and off we went!
This thing was HUGE!! Words cannot even describe it!
Here is a side view:
And to give you a picture about how big this really was, I had the girls stand under the back of it.
This thing was amazing! I loved that you could look closely at it and see the wear and tear from being in space! Towards the end of our time there, we ran into a guy who was a reporter for NASA and he talked to us quite awhile about how the space shuttle works and the future of the space program. Quite fascinating!
At 5:30, we were kicked out! Matt really wished he could've seen more of the museum, but we simply ran out of time.
From here, we went to our campground that was about 30 miles away. This campground was called Greenville Farm Family Camp and it was situated on a farm. That was what their website said and you know what? It really was on a farm! We pulled into somebody's lane, saw their house, tractors, cows, etc!! Matt and I looked at each other...were we at the right place??
Matt went into a door on the house that said "Office" and paid for a night at the campground. But we still didn't see the campground! This was wierd and neat at the same time!
It ended up that the campground was about 1/4 of a mile BEHIND the farm in a grove of trees! Who would've known!! We set up camp and had supper. We also realized we needed a few groceries, so at 8 pm, we took off for Walmart, which was about five miles away.
Side Note: There is a difference in this part of the country of WalMart and WalMart SuperCenter. In Omaha, I always shop at a Walmart SuperCenter because we don't have any Walmart stores nearby. I am spoiled because I always get my groceries there which include fresh fruits, veggies, and meat. Well here, Walmart SuperCenters are not so popular. We have probably seen 2 or 3 on this entire trip. We have mostly seen WalMart stores and they carry groceries, just not fresh fruit, veggies, or meat. Last night we were actually at Walmart SuperCenter, BUT had no fresh meat! I have no idea why- the entire fridge was cleaned out! I think they may have been cleaning. Now, I was very frustrated because I had been waiting for a Walmart Supercenter, so I could get meat! Ugh! I did get fresh fruit and veggies though. :)
We wanted to leave early this morning because we wanted to drive around 300 miles today. We pulled out about 9:30 am.
Matt and I had to laugh as we left this place this morning. Cattle troughs truly make it a farm, right?
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