Gettysburg PA Monday June 21st

Left Front Royal VA this morning and traveled 122 miles through West Virginia and Maryland to Gettysburg PA. The drive was through the mountains and the views were great through the front window of the motorhome. Our campground, Artillery Ridge, is located about 1 mile from the National Military Park and battlefields in Gettysburg. Ivan and Randi stayed in Hagerstown Maryland to get some repairs done on their motorhome. They will join us in Gettysburg tomorrow.

Father's Day Sunday June 20th

After 3 full day trips to Washington DC and other sightseeing activities during the week, we decided to take a complete day off. In other words, we did nothing but hang out at the campsite and relax. Fired up the barbque in the late afternoon and grilled up some fresh salmon and tuna. We also steamed up some mussels and enjoyed a few glasses of wine to go along with everything. Ready to head north early tomorrow morning.

DC Saturday Afternoon June 19th

After touring the Capitol, we visited the Library of Congress (building with the flag on top) and passed by the Supreme Court Building on our way to the U.S National Archives. At the Archives we viewed the original documents of the Bill of Rights and U.S. Consititution.

Hillary, a long time friend of our son Aaron who lives outside of DC, hooked up with us at the U.S. Archives and joined Ivan, Randi, Yvonne and I for lunch. Its been 5 years since we last saw Hillary and it was nice to catch up.

U.S. Capitol June 19th

Third trip into DC this morning. Left early to get a parking space at the train station and arrived at the Capitol around 9:00 and we were able to get a tour of the inside of the Capitol. The art work and statues were really something to see. Our tour guide was great and filled us with lots of great information about the paintings, statues and history of the building. A definite must see if you visit Washington DC.

Shenandoah NP Friday Afternoon June 18th

The north entrance to the Shenandoah National Park is located about 4 miles from our campground. Yvonne and I took a drive into the park and traveled about 12 miles on Skyline Drive, the road that goes the whole length of the park. This road becomes the Blue Ridge Parkway after 105 miles. Great way to relax and enjoy the views from up high.

Kayak Trip Friday Morning June 18th

This morning Ivan, Randi and I took a Kayak trip down the Shenadoah River. Yvonne decided that Kayaking was not for her so she stayed at the motorhome. This was my first experience in a Kayak and after having trouble executing through the first rapids, I made the rest of the trip without problems. It was great fun and the views from the water were wonderful. A great way to relax and enjoy the morning.

Thursday June 17th

After two days of traveling and sightseeing in Washington DC, today was laundry, shopping, cleaning and wine tasting. Virginia is 5th in terms of wineries and wine production and there are a lot of wineries in this area. Of the few I visited, Rappahannock Cellars had the best selection of wine, and they were pretty good. They had a great Norton, which is a grape developed in Virginia in the early 1800's and it does extremely well here. Rappahannock Cellars is family owned, in fact the owners have 12 children, so lots of family presence there. Their oldest son Allan was my server and we had a great time and he poured wines that are not on the regular tasting menu. A great way to end the day.