On the Road Again!

We drove home from VA in an epic road trip.  In two days we crossed 7 states and traveled about 1,500 miles and 23 hours of actual drive time.  

Video Link.  If you're reading from mobile, you'll likely need to click the link.

Along the way we stopped to capture pictures at each state-line.  The trip was long but beautiful!

The KY sign was on a bridge, so we took our group picture a mile down the road at the Welcome Center.

 

The Beach

The main goal of our trip this October was to visit the Ocean!  

We got lucky and the rain backed off for a while Sunday afternoon so we took a quick walk on the beach!  I don't have much narritation for this post, but here is a photomontage and quick video!  If you're reading on mobile, you'll want to click the link.

Sandy Feet!!

King Neptune!

 

USS Wisconson

 Our first adventure after reaching Hampton Roads was to tour the Battleship Wisconsin. With rain forecasted to begin around 2 pm and the Wisconsin opening at noon we knew we had a narrow window to explore this magnificent ship.  The Wisconsin served in WWII, Korean Conflict, and Operation Desert Storm. After its retirement, it was transferred to the City of Norfolk and now serves as a Museum.  

We bought our tickets online and showed the resulting QR code to the staff at the Wisconsin .... touchless for the win!  Each person then received a dated wrist band which would be our access into the ship itself.  

Selfie Stick Time

Can you tell Wifey has been getting rained on?  

Stationed throughout the Wisconsin were various volunteers who shared their knowledge of the Wisconsin as well as experiences from their time in the service.  We enjoyed chatting and learning!

Across the bay, we could see modern Naval ships at dock.  

and docked nearby, we saw smaller historical recreations:

A lifeboat on the decks of the Wisconsin.  

The majority of the interior of this ship is closed due to COVID, 

but the open portion was fraught with risks for the taller among us: 

The White House

We're at the White House!!!!  How cool!  Sadly, despite reading and rereading the do's and don't's of visiting, the traveling selfie stick still died in order to allow us to enter.  There were tears.  The white-house tour was somewhat disappointing.  We walked through a number of old public-facing rooms.  The tour might be interesting if you've never done castle tour after palace tour after castle tour after palace tour.  We're glad we went, but probably will consider this a once-and-done experience.  

Americana Hotel - Crystal City, MD

Crystal City is a neighborhood in Arlington, VA just outside of Washington DC.  You may have seen it mentioned recently on the news as the new home of an Amazon hub.  Crystal City is also just one simple metro stop away from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.  Since hotels in the DC area are EXPENSIVE, we ended up at a little off-brand hotel called the Americana.  It was literally half the nightly price of nearby options and included on-site parking!  What! 

Our room was one of the nicer rooms on the property.  Out the curtained door in this next picture is a balcony.  Honestly, Wifey wasn't a fan of the balcony and is pretty confident it is a former motel that has since been converted. 

A TV and appropriately proportioned desk and chair were included.  

The Americana advertises as having "retro" bathrooms.  And do they ever.  This appears to be the only part of the hotel's interior that hasn't been updated since it was built sometime last century :)  For all the lack of style, and in some places, the integrity of tile, the bathroom was clean and functional.  And for the price and location, this was all we asked for. 

Breakfast was also provided, although we weren't huge fans.  Options included donuts, toast and other breads, and oatmeal. 

We do want to warn future guests of the Americana ... some of the parking is ... low clearance, so watch your head! :)