Warm in Williamsburg

East Coast Driving Trip 2015 - Day 10

Ok, warm is an understatement. It was hot today my handy dandy weather app said it is 84, but feels like 94.. and that is as of now... almost 10 at night. Ugh. Bring on the sweet tea, extra ice.

So, it's hot, but we spent the day at Colonial Williamsburg.

An interesting map of Colonial Willamsburg, found at the Visitor Center

It wasn't to crowded and all the people we encountered were friendly (except one).
We spent a bit of the morning wandering the town, trying to find a groove. After exploring a few of the shops and areas, I felt like it was coming together and we broke for lunch.
Then after lunch we were given scavenger hunt cards for the kids.. this really help set the path for our afternoon.

Trying her hand at a game from back in the day. 

Trying to stay cool in the afternoon shade. 

We were able to officially find 5 items on the list, which was the required number to get your pin.
Along the way the kids also had a chance to try their hands at printing. And each printed their own copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Talking with the pressman

Applying the ink

pulling the lever, to press the paper to the type

Reviewing the final copy

Talking with the pressman

A little animation for you... pulling the lever, which applies the pressure - putting the image on the paper.

Reviewing the final product

We wrapped our afternoon with a tour of the Capitol (indoors, w/air conditioning). And in the end this short tour was the favorite of both kids.

in the Jury box.. by choice? ;)

We dinnered in the room - it was great to eat food we made ourselves.... of course the flip side of that is -- a kitchen we cleaned ourselves :)

And we had a bit of trip administration to complete this evening.
As you know from previous posts, we are using a rental car this trip... well today is the official (planned) last day with this car. Based on the distance we are driving we found a sweet spot in rental car cost. If we return this car today at a local rental car return (but not where we picked it up from) it is still considered a local rental and we don't have to pay per mile, in addition to the rental rate.
But if we had kept the one car the whole way... these last 9 days worth of driving we would have had to pay per mile. (are you with me?)
So, we are swapping cars, this time it was planned. And are thankful for all the miles we enjoyed at the lower rate.

Stats:

Miles today: 97

Miles total: 1063

States Total: 7

A Train, A zoo and New Jersey

East Coast Driving Trip 2015 - Day 8

We have been at this for a week now! This morning the son told me it was day 9, I smiled and reminded him we left last Friday... and that today was Friday. Oh... so its day 7 (close enough... it's our 8th travel day)

We left Hershey this morning... Goodbye Chocolate. I would be sad, but we took soo much with us, it's hard to feel like we will miss it ;)

Our first fun of the day was in Strasburg, PA, with a ride on the Strasburg Railroad. This 45 minute excursion is great. Cars are nicely refurbished and the whole trip is narrated.

Our railfan, with 475 after our trip

ready to board

picture time!

please keep your hands, arms, and heads inside the train at all times :) I love this pic of him. 

From here, we were off to Philly and probably the zoo, but we hadn't decided for sure yet. Along the way we stopped for lunch. And then we had a snag... do you hear it? the music beginning to build... something is going to happen....
Well, it wasn't anything horrible... just a window malfunction. Yup, the drivers side door window wouldn't roll up. Not gonna happen. (What music do you use for a goofy mishap?) Anyway, there we sat, with a completely workable car.. not an emergency by any means, but.. we also couldn't leave the vehicle. Hmm, this would need to be fixed, and today!

So we worked our way through the maze of the phone system from the unnamed car rental company (names are being withheld, until the author has decided how she feels about said company) and hubby connected with a real live person! In chatting they decided we should buzz over to the local rental office and just swap out cars. It was only 20 minutes away.. sounds like a fairly easy fix.

Only slightly wind-blown, we arrived at the office, located in a strip mall. The agent just happened to be in the parking lot when we got out of our car and was quite surprised the company sent us to him.... and didn't tell him we were coming (nope, I am still not naming names). He and hubby went inside to talk options and where we might be able to swap vehicles, preferably along our route today. Well, hubby is a charmer ;) and a few minutes later they emerged with a new set of keys. He had a car we could have... grated it was one "size" down from what we had, but all the windows worked and it was much newer... which means bluetooth and more cupholders. (Never underestimate the value of cupholders on a road trip with kids)
We took it! Moved all our bags over and where off.

We decided to hit the zoo after all. And had a nice couple of hours wandering through it. The Philly Zoo has a 360 theme, so several of the animal exhibits even have animals walking over you... amazing. We didn't see any of the big cats using these walk ways, but they are pretty cool.

You can see the overhead walkway the lemurs use.... maybe even the black and white lemurs inside.

Shows the larger cat walkway... also overhead, can you image looking up to see a tiger!?

Okapi, one of my favorites

Great exhibits for pictures

Maned Wolf... these are new to me, our zoo just got a pair. 

Look up... its a bear! 

On our way out of Philly we drove past Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.
And I picked up the Philadelphia Starbucks You Are Here Mug... mug count for this trip: 2.

Independence Hall

More to come! 

In an attempt to catch as many states as possible on this trip we are overnighting in New Jersey.
Good night.

Stats:

Miles today: 186

Miles total: 692

States Total: 6 (+New Jersey)
Starbucks Mug Total: 2

Chocolate doesn't judge, chocolate understands ;)

East Coast Driving Trip 2015 - Day 5

Today we said goodbye to DC and headed a wee bit north to Hershey PA.
Our route took us through Maryland, where I almost missed the sign completely.... 

Almost got the whole sign ;)

We weren't on a big highway, so I will proclaim it wasn't all poor planning on my part ;)

On the way we lunched at Ted's Bulletin. What a tasty meal. I had a Rachel, which is a twist on a Ruben... Its turkey and coleslaw on marble rye. So good! And then we shared some Ted's Tarts, which they are known for...Homemade Pop Tarts! 

Strawberry

Brown Sugar Cinnamon

Back on the road - Pennsylvania wasn't to far away. And we got the picture to prove it. Thank you hubby for your superb photography skills.

Much better - Thank you Hubby!

We checked into the Hershey Lodge a bit before 4:00 and were told they would call when our room was ready for us. So we took our free tickets to the Hershey Story and headed out to the museum.

The museum was great. They had a nice exhibit on what it was like to work in a chocolate factory in the early 1900s. Lots of hands on fun.
And a full floor of info on Milton Hershey and the history of the company. 

Trying to push a tub used in the factory

weighing kisses

trying our hands at sorting

Having fun at the Hershey Story Museum

About the time we finished, hubby got the call.... Our room was ready! Yay!
The rest of our day was settling in, exploring and grabbing some dinner.

Oh, all the chocolate! 

Stats:

Miles today: 145

Miles total: 438

States Total: 5 (+Maryland, Pennsylvania)

Two tours and some rest

East Coast Driving Trip 2015 - Day 4

This morning we kind of did the divide and conquer thing.
Hubby left early to try and get tickets for the tour at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the kids and I met him.
It all went according to plan. The kids and I met him near the Washington Monument a few minutes before a Mall tour started.
The Mall tour was through DC by Foot. You reserve your spot and then pay what you like (at the end). The tour was great, although the kids weren't quite as interested as hubby and I. A few more years of history in school and these things may mean more to them.

Part of the WWII Memorial - each star represents 100 lives lost

White House in the distance

We made it to the other end of the Mall

After our two hour walking tour, we made our way to the largest food court I can remember in the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, which provided us with a  nice assortment of options for lunch.

And before we knew it, it was time for our 2nd tour of the day at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (where they make money). This tour is free, but you need to stand in line early in the morning to get tickets, which was what hubby did.
I think the kids enjoyed this tour a bit more than the Mall tour. In part because it was only 40 mins, instead of 2 hours. The open windows into the printing areas were a big hit, and the gentlemen working waved and had some fun signs to show us. All in all, well worth the time.

The rest of our day was more unstructured. Some rest, some errands and more rest.
We have sure had a busy time in DC.

Stats:

Miles today: 48

Miles total: 293

States Total: 3

All around the town

East Coast Driving trip - Day 3

We all slept like rocks... yay!!
That was wonderful.

So excited for the zoo and our first day in DC

Our plan today was to start at the National Zoo, then do a Hop on/Hop off style tour of the all the tourist stuff. Hopefully having time to walk through two of the Smithsonian Museums.

With a little research we decided the most efficient way to do this involved several different transportation options, starting with a taxi to the zoo.
The zoo grounds open before the buildings, so we kind of did the zoo in reverse, ending with the visitors' center.... silly us, but it worked.

We decided to eat at one of the Smithsonians for lunch, so we hit the Metro to Union Station to grab our hop on/off tour bus, or I should say "Trolley" - it was a modified bus, to look more like a trolley, but it was a bus ;)

This plan worked well for us. The kids enjoyed the Metro ride a lot, and we were able to get through half of the tour before we "hopped off" at the Museum of Natural History.
Lunch was pretty easy at the counter service style cafe they had. And we really enjoyed the exhibits.

First ride on the Metro

Yup, Scaffolding on the dome... We are told it will be ready for the next inauguration

Supreme Court

The Elephant's name is Henry... and he is undergoing some refurbishment... thus the walls
This is funny to me :)

After the Natural History fun, we planned to "Hop On" the next Trolley.... but it took a bit longer than we hoped. They say, the Trolley comes by every 30 mins. And what was the likelihood that we just missed it?
Apparently - HIGH... 25 minutes later, our Trolley pulled up. We managed to be the first in line... but no luck.
They only had room for 3... and the driver wouldn't allow us to have the youngest on a lap :(
He promised the next shuttle was "Just behind" him.

It was closer to us than he had been originally, but it was still about 10 mins out. And it only had 3 spots left - UMMMM?? However this driver was ok with a kiddo on the lap.
So we got on board. Then we had another hurdle. None of the seats were together. Oh bother.
Honestly, had our son known this going in, he might (might) have been able to muddle through, sitting next to the cute 20 something year old girl. [Editor's note: Give him a few years...] But sitting on his own.. two rows ahead of me and one row behind dad, wasn't ok. He fell apart.
He was barely keeping it together with the previous wait and then the full bus. So, his reaction wasn't a surprise to us. What was a surprise, was the kindness of a couple to give hubby and the boy their row. They sat apart and let my guys settle in - I would have hugged the women if I could have. I don't lean too heavily on the "he is Autistic" excuse, when we are out and about. But on an occasion such as this, I think I would have pulled it out. Anyway - a huge THANK YOU, to that kind couple.

So we were off to finish the tour where we left off and ride on over to the Air and Space Museum.
I think the kids enjoyed Air and Space more than Natural History. Both museums are beautiful, full of great exhibits, many of them hands-on. So we had some fun, and hopefully (fingers crossed) learned a little something, maybe?

This took us to about 5:30. And now we are all tired... 10K+ steps on our fitbits, and hungry. So we taxi'd back to the hotel. Well worth it.

I am hopeful we will all sleep well tonight.

Stats:

Miles today: 0 (well, no driving miles... but a few walking ones)

Miles total: 245

States Total: 3