Month: November 2018

My entire anxiety filled body let out a collective sigh of relief as we finally drove out of the chaos they call the New York City infrastructure. With The Big Apple in our rear view mirror, it was time to focus on CT. Just like Delaware, I found myself thinking: What the Hell is Connecticut? Well, I gotta say, it was very similar to its small New England neighbors (surprise, surprise). We found ourselves in New Haven for the night after we escaped New York and we crashed from exhaustion in the back of Meredith after an event filled day of mayhem and airborne Cup of Noodles. We woke up from a warm fall’s slumber and headed to our first destination of the day: The Pez Factory.

The Pez Factory was tucked out of the way a little, but when we drove into the parking lot to look up to 5 gigantic pez candy wrappers, we knew we were in the right place. The factory had an interactive museum about the history of the company as well as the various pez figurines that have been manufactured over the years. There even was a scavenger hunt for little Pez figurines that spelled a hidden message that if you discovered, you could win a free Pez dispenser. We both got a figurine each as well as a lot of free candy and a new insight on the very diverse Pez Dispenser collecting hobby. I had no idea that Pez was created in Austria, and it was originally sold on the market as a mint, specifically for anti-smoking purposes. Well, you learn something new every day, I suppose, which was a preeminent precursor to our next destination: Yale University.

Yes, that Yale. The hoity-toity, don’t-look-at-me-my-daddy-is-a-lawyer Yale was exactly how I expected it to be. The campus was beautiful! Towering church-like buildings loomed near and far, with powerful formations and designs chiseled into the stone structures that painted a beautiful and calming environment. You get what you pay for…

We walked throughout the campus as we headed for the library, and groaned as we overheard a lot of the conversations being held by the students. I mean, we weren’t trying to eavesdrop at all. But when you’re literally talking loud enough to hear when I’m sitting in the car, you can be classified as annoying-and that was my experience with Yale. This was until we got to the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library. We walked into the library unaware of the sheer magnitude of what we were about to experience. A large pillar of glass acted as the centerpiece of a dimly lit building with a ceiling that appeared to be hundreds of feet above us. In the center of the glass pillar was the largest collection of books I have ever laid eyes on. Think Library of Congress jam-packed into a massive column that stretches the length of a three story house-and is about that wide too! These books were so beautiful; olden leather spines with gold lettering went on for what seemed like miles.

You could feel the history in that room. The silent, inviting levels all had various art pieces strewn around the pillar of books. They all highlighted Native American and overall Western lifestyles in still photos of black-and-white. Action shots of protestors fighting back to protect land, Native American dancers garbed in traditional headdresses and beads, and portfolio pictures of low-income families of coal mining towns offered a very interesting atmosphere when juxtaposed to the wealth of books (and their monetary value) just across the way from their exhibits. It was quite the experience, and it made this trip to Hogwarts Yale definitely worth it.

After our hunger for curiosity had been satisfied, we had another hunger to fill: literal hunger. We decided to go to a small, local deli that held claim to making the first burger. Louis Lunch is a small red building that makes you think of the term ‘hole-in-the-wall’. We walk into this small establishment and lay eyes on old, work wooden booths and chairs that take us back to a time before the internet-or really any 21st century technology, ever existed. Initials and various names are carved into every crevice of carpentry in sight, and a large sign that says THIS IS NOT BURGER KING, YOU WILL HAVE IT MY WAY AND LIKE IT, hangs over the window to the left. We walk up to order and discover the sign is not lying. You may order a burger, they will put tomato and onions on it if you’d like, but that’s it. No cheese, no sauce, no lettuce, no extra fluff. This is exactly how they served it back in the day, and not much has changed since. When I went to pay, I learned it was cash only (go figure) and McKayla, the one holding the cash, was in the restroom (again, go figure).

They made the burger patties by hand and put them on sourdough bread inside of this small oven-like contraption. They were definitely handmade, and once we finally got our food, I must say it was well worth the wait. You did not have a choice on how the burgers were cooked; they were all cooked medium rare (as they should be). It was perfectly cooked, and the bread was toasted to perfection as well. Something about the simplicity and the way every ingredient of the sandwich was unique enough to differentiate taste made this sandwich-burger thing taste better than the sum of its parts. If I could, I would have eaten 4 more but alas, I’m not running around slamming up bombs anymore, so I can’t do that anymore.

From New Haven, we traveled to Hartford, CT. There, we took a detour to the Elizabeth Rose Garden for a moment to relax, have a picnic, and unwind a little. The fall struck park had little left growing but the gloomy, overcast day yielded a very peaceful, empty park that gave us plenty of space to relax and eat together in peace. There were squirrels everywhere, desperately burying nuts for the winter. McKayla claims she’s a superhero, and that a bite from a radioactive squirrel in D.C. when she was a kid gave her the ability to talk to squirrels and fly like one too. Her alter-ego is Squirrel-Girl, but I think she’s just nuts. After a relaxing evening in the park, we said our goodbyes to Connecticut before hopping into Meredith and heading towards Rhode Island. Feeney, if you’re reading this, your hometown state is pretty neat.

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God Bless!

It wouldn’t be a true road trip if we didn’t drive through the utter chaos, and traffic of New York City. Thankfully, we timed it right so that we weren’t driving during any rush hour traffic, so we avoided the pure hell of the bee hives peak points. It only took us an hour to find somewhere to park; so we were feeling pretty hopeful as we began exploring the Empire State.

We started our adventure in Time Square, to truly get a feel for the amount of people and that busyness this city truly encompasses. After sitting in Time Square and people watching all the little business men, wild tourists, The Naked Cowboy, street performers, and every stereotype imaginable, we decided to visit the M&M Store. For any chocolate lover, it does not disappoint. With three floors of wild colors and walls covered in M&Ms, there is something for everyone. You can even get your face printed on an M&M! From there, we headed down to the Theater District and checked out what shows were being preformed on Broadway. Not finding any show that particular struck our interest, we headed underground to catch the Metro, the New York Subway System.

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After swiping our passes, we took a series of trains to make it over to Liberty Park. You can only visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty by traveling by ferry (our favorite thing). We snatched up tickets to the last ferry headed to the island, and got to enjoy some time on the Liberty Ferry (thankfully no one got sick this time). Lady Liberty, a symbol of hope to so many Americans, is impressively large in real life. Up close and personal, we wandered around the island dedicated to The Statue of Liberty. Shifting through the crowds of people trying to hold Lady Liberty, we found ourselves in full tourist mode. A fun fact that we didn’t realize is Liberty Island is actually considered a National Park. So, if you have a little National Park Passport, (like we do) you can get your book stamped there which is a fun little bonus. With our book freshly stamped, we ran to catch the last ferry back to NYC. Fun fact: Liberty Island is technically claimed by both New York and New Jersey because she sits in their shared harbor, so you can take a ferry to Jersey or New York.

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Another smooth journey across the Hudson, we were back on sweet land. Our next destination to visit was the Twin Tower Memorial. We were within walking distance, so we took a somewhat solemn walk towards the memorial. It was hard not to imagine that same location back on September 11^th 2001. The Memorial is a quiet, little park complete with a Tree of Hope. They have taken the circumferences of both of the towers and created a very touching fountain, with water rushing deep below ground level. Around both perimeters, they have written everyone’s’ name that we lost on that terrible day.  It’s not a fun place to visit, so to say, but it is a very important place to witness. There is a certain vibe of community at the 9/11 Memorial, and it is a place where people can pay their respects and join with other Americans. We truly are the land of the brave. Even in heart ache, America stands united in love, for the freedom we have in our beautiful nation under God. There is beauty in pain, and this park has perfectly demonstrated that mourning. 

After paying our respects, we wandered over to China Town in search of some cheap oriental food. After living in Japan for years, we have both developed a very nostalgic taste for Asian Cuisine. With the sun starting to set, China town is pretty fun to wander around. There are some interesting smells, but the streets are lit up with Chinese Banners and strung lights as far as the eye can see. There are many stores packed with fun little games, and Chinese Treats. We got a little sesame chicken, wandered through the streets, and eventually, made it back to the Metro.

Unfortunately, there was some sort of “incident” on one of the subways earlier, so all of the trains were backed up. The delay caused there to be an ungodly amount of people crammed into the little prison cell underground. Once a subway finally came, everyone flooded onto the train like their life depended on it. Daniel’s backpack got stuck in the door (we almost had to sacrifice him), as we barely managed to squeeze onto this death trap. Just imagine sardines packed into their little can, well that was an understatement of what we were experiencing. Imagine 20 sardines normally get packed into each can. Now take 50 sardines and tell a toddler to cram them into that same can. Thus you have me and Daniel, and the 4,000 other people squished in one dirty subway. Barely making it out with our sanity and half the oxygen our bodies actually needed, we somehow made it to our stop. Shuffling up the steep stairs to freedom, we hear a large crash, everyone gasps, and a smell of beef fills the air.

Traffic Jam! Moans bubble up from all directions. An elderly man had been coming down the stairs on the opposite side, carrying what I can only assume was a very treasured cup of beef noodles. Consequently, the odds were not in his favor, and he tripped down a flight of stairs. On his decent, he knocked down the people in front of him like bowling pins, and sent his cup of noodles (so tragically) soaring into the crowd of helpless citizens. It was a interesting mix of pity for this man, and anger for the beefy mess that now covered many New Yorker’s outfits. Meanwhile the man continued to lay there for an uncomfortable amount of time, making the strangest noises I’ve ever heard, and half his butt waving at an already frustrated crowd. Thankfully everyone was okay, but I am not sure if the man was more torn up about the pain his body was in (he pretty much did the splits on his way down), or the death of his Cup of Noodles. Gone too soon. RIP Noodles.

After all that excitement, we decided to swing by the Empire State building to see her in her full glory. At night it’s really an impressive building. Shining like a beacon of hope, it made since why New York is considered the Empire State. From there we headed to one of my favorite parts of NYC, The Highline. This is a park was an old rail road track, that art students have transformed into a walk way for people to walk, without fear of traffic or the usual crowds. The Highline is set about two floors above the city floor, so you get a nice view of the city without having to be fully immersed. The park is lit up and open till 10pm, so there was no problem with our evening stroll. There are many different displays and little outlooks spots found all along the trail. It is the perfect blend of industrial nature. 

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After hiking down this little city-nature path, we had worked up a hunger for a little smackeral. In the true New York fashion, we felt obligated to grab a greasy, flimsy slice of NYC Pizza. Thankful for the city that never sleeps, because we had PLENTY of stores still open to choose from. We moseyed our way through the little shops, until we passed a tiny little hole in the wall with men yelling at each other in strong Italian accents. That was it! We had found our golden ticket, and we ordered two (cheap) slices of goodness! Happy for something warm, we finished our hike to the car. Blasting, “No Sleep Till Brooklyn,” we kissed New York City goodbye. Leaving the chaos, the excitement, and the claustrophobia far behind us; we began our journey to Connecticut.

God Bless, 

McKayla

Happy Halloween from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After a lot of careful consideration, we found the perfect Halloween costumes!

We choose to be Bengals, in honor of our recent time with the VMFA(AW)-224 the Fighting Bengals. Unfortunately, there was a lot less people dressed up in Philly than we anticipated so that was an adventure. We did see a lot of dogs dressed up, and there was a hot dog and unicorn in our tour of Independence Hall. I wonder what our founding fathers would have thought if someone showed up dressed up like that back in their day.

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Upon arriving we headed to the most important part of Philadelphia, Tun Tavern. As many of you hopefully know, The Marine Corps was born in a bar in 1775 in Tun Tavern, PA. Unfortunately, much to our disappointment, there is no longer a bar there to date. Honestly, I am really disappointed that some retired Sergeant Major hasn’t set up some sort of bar there. But needless to say, it’s going onto our “Our Millionaire Bucketlist.” Anyways, there is a sign signifying the existence of this bar, but it’s very underwhelming. Sorry to disappoint, but Semper Fidelis!

After viewing practically the only reason we came to Pennsylvania we decided to head to the historic district. There we viewed the Liberty Bell, got our tickets to tour Liberty Hall, and viewed the history exhibits they have set up there. Liberty Bell is tucked away inside where she is being preserved from further cracking. 

When our time came to tour Independence Hall we were greeted by our friendly historian tour guide. He lead us through the rooms of old building and knew an incredible amount of history. Going into great detail and pointing out every small detail, we felt very educated of the under workings of Independence Hall. The tour itself is free, you just have to visit the Park Rangers in the Welcome Center across the street for a touring time. It is a very informative 30 minute tour, and I would encourage any history lovers to attend. 

Learning so much history, really worked up an appetite for the two of us. So we decided to venture out in search of some lunch. What better dish to indulge in than A Philly Cheesesteak. There is a long time rivalry between two cheesesteak joints named the “Great Cheesesteak WAR.” Pats vs. Geno’s have been competing restaurants since 1966. Both of places are set up right across the street from each other, and tempt anyone passing by with strong smells of fresh steaks. The rivalry runs deep, and these competitors even buy their bread from competing bakeries.  Even though they are competitors, both have a similar menu and a certain lingo that the locals have adopted. For example, if you want cheese and onions you are supposed to use the term “whiz wit.” It is even said that Bush got elected by Pennsylvania because he ordered his sandwich “whiz wit,” instead of John Cerry who ordered it like a tourist. In order to get the full experience, we decided to get one sandwich from each joint, and compare. Our verdict is the both were not bad. We were torn half and half with Daniel crowning Pats king, and myself liking Geno’s better. The bread and steak was better at Genos, but Daniel argues you get a lot more cheese and better peppers at Pats. Either way, I guess the war will live on.

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With our stomachs full, we continued to explore the city. There are a lot of beautiful building and a ton of brick all throughout the city. You can easily rent bikes or scooters and get through the town pretty quickly. We enjoyed walking the streets and getting a feel for Philly.

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One of the Parks that really drew pour attention was Race Street Pier. It is a neat little hang out spot with trees and benches lining the whole walk out to the water. Once you reach the “lookout point” you find yourself out over the water, with a huge bridge to your left, and the river on your right. There are plenty of places to sit and gaze at the passing boats. You get a really nice view of the city and the skyline of building across the water. It is a really nice place to listen to some music or catch up on your reading. 

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After we finished at the park, we headed to a artsy coffee shop to knock out some school work. We found a very cute little coffee shop called, Menagerie Coffee. They had no problem letting us chill there for a couple of hours and get some work done.

Thankfully, we have a buddy that we used to work with in the Marines, that is currently living in Philadelphia. Steve opened up his trendy apartment and we spent the evening catching up with a good friend. The view from Steve’s apartment is really incredible and he has an awesome little balcony so you can truly enjoy it. His brother came over and the four of us walked down the street and got some delicious pizza. We spent the evening chilling at home eating pizza and watching the office. It turned out to be a very much needed relaxing evening. 

In the morning, we packed up and started towards NYC. That pretty much wraps it up for our little Philly Expedition. God Bless!

Cheers, 

McKayla

New Jersey, we met a little unexpectedly and maybe not on the best of terms. On our google maps it shows Highway 9 going from the tip of Delaware to the bottom of New Jersey. But not quite to our knowledge its not actually a highway at all, but instead you have to take a ferry. We had heard of the ferry but didn’t realize that was the only option. Looking back, a 17 mile bridge would have been a bit ambitious for any construction team. So after reluctantly paying our kinda pricey fee, we boarded the ferry. Anxious to take advantage of this time not driving we dove into some much needed study time. Turns out Daniel and I’s stomachs did not enjoy the rough seas and the multitasking. An hour and a half later of tossing and turning nausea, we finally reached the shoreline. Land sweet land! Shook up and sea sick we greeted New Jersey. Exhausted, we found a nice parking spot, set up camp, and knocked out for the night! 

Feeling refreshed and much better in the morning, we set out to make the most of our day. We started in Cape May which is a cute little port town that is full of shops and brightly painted building. Think a little old lady’s tea house and you’ve imagined 50% of the Victorian styled buildings. Anyways, we started our morning off with Sunset Beach, a little ironic as we watched the sunrise and ate our breakfast there. Sunset Beach (warning the road to get there is the absolute worst, which is really saying something because we voted New Jersey roads as the worst so far!) is a really neat little beach because there is a sinking carrier probably about 150 feet out in the main body of water. Yes, I meant sinking, (as in still sinking) over the past 50 years it has progressively sunk lower and lower in the ocean. It is expected in the next 20 years or so you won’t be able to see it above the water at all. Either way, a good breakfast spot and I can imagine a nice place to watch the sunset. 

From Sunset Beach, we decided to explore downtown Cape Cod. What a quaint little place. We got coffee, explored their beach themed home decor shops, and admired the fall decorations that covered the town center. Every light post was covered in corn stalks or scarecrows. There was an almost overwhelming amount of pumpkins and hay bails scattered about. We visited The Magic Brain Cafe, to get our caffeine fix, and headed North.

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But, wait, before we actually headed North, we HAD to stop at the Cape Cod Lighthouse. Seriously, Daniel and I have an unhealthy obsession with Light Houses. It isn’t even because we love them so much. It’s the simple fact that if we were to miss, even possibly one light house, the world would literally self implode. So you’re welcome citizens. We’ve made it our personal goal to see every light house ever built in order to protect the greater good. *Takes a polite bow. Rest easy Americans.

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Now, northern bound (for real this time) we had to visit the famous boardwalks. Atlantic City, the more commonly known, and Ocean City (a bit smaller) are known as the longest board walks in the United States. Even though it was off season, I would say it’s still worth a visit. There are a ton of quirky little shops and puns everywhere to catch tourists attention. Atlantic City had a lot more open store than Ocean City, and is well known for their Casinos. Daniel and I not being huge gamblers, but not wanting to miss an experience, wandered into the most dramatic and cringy spot. Commonly referred to as, The East Coast Las Vegas, we had to take our shot at making millions. We were imminently greeted by a wave of stale nicotine, and slot machines. Being the middle of the day, our crowd consisted mainly of an elderly, quite depressing, group of gamblers. Having no clue what we were doing, but trying to play it cool Daniel and I wandered over to the machines. Being pretty tight on our budget, (and we didn’t want to blow our millions) we saw the neon “1 Cent” sign shining like Lady Liberty beckoning us to our fortune! With our nature of being Cheapskates, we found ourselves spending, (are you ready people?) a whole whopping dollar bill. That’s right, we gambled one crispy George Washington. No luck. Nope we got a few points, but didn’t earn our planned fortune. I know, it’s truly tragic. Especially with Daniel being 13% Irish, I have no idea what happened to all our good luck. Tragic. Oh well, guess our big break will come later. Bummed out, we decided to cut our gambling addiction cold turkey and give up the life of risk. With the thrill of blowing a dollar behind us, we finished exploring the board walks, and were met by a  much greater treasure. Salt Water Taffy. Holy Cow, it was so delicious! Shriver’s was our golden arches of freedom, and they have actually been serving taffy on the board walk for the longest since 1898. Literally, eating this candy was like an explosion of flavor and a gentle cloud of love between your teeth. It was not the normal chewy-break-your-jaw taffy I was used to. But instead, an absolute dream of sugary heaven offered in so many flavors it could satisfy even the most picky Americans. I’m telling you, this cheap little pockets of gold, made our boardwalk adventures the best it could possible be.

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With our sweet tooth satisfied, we decided we should burn off some of our recent treats. Batona Trail seemed to be a good escape. Batona is actually a 53 mile trail that is an acronym of “BAck TO NAture” and was designed to get people outdoors and exploring. We selected a 8 mile trail that took us from a Mexican Aviator Memorial to Apple Pie Hill. The trail was small, but incredibly beautiful. When we reached the top, we cooked some soup via our nifty little portable stove. It was a pretty brisk afternoon, and we made it back from our journey, right at dusk. The perfect ending to a wonderful day in the garden state of New Jersey.

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Though that ended our time in Jersey, we did do one more little waterfall excursion before venturing into New York. We woke up bright and early to begin our trip to the Big Apple. However, along the way, we made room for one more hike in the great Garden State. Well, we thought it was a hike but it turned out that it was a waterfall that you could just drive straight to it. We visited Great Falls Park, home of the Great Paterson Falls. It was a tremendous display of power, and it reminded me of the Willamette Falls in Oregon City, OR. The town was built around the great resource that was the falls, yet its full beauty was not completely smothered, and added to in its industrial brace. This stop was definitely worth it, and it was a great way to say goodbye to the neat state of New Jersey.

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Cheers!

McKayla

We looked on our map and saw Delaware as our next destination. This state is tiny, only beating out Rhode Island in a state size competition. While small in stature, Delaware was large in rooted history as well as delicious treats. We made our routine morning stop to Planet Fitness before setting out for Dover. Dover shared a lot of similarities with our previous state’s capitol. Brick everywhere, and I mean everywhere. If it could be constructed out of brick, it was. Delaware prides itself on being the first state in the U.S. and it definitely shows that statistic off with its capitol.

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The first capitol in the first state was very generous! Everywhere we went, we got a souvenir. Here! Have a flag! Take this Delaware State Pennant! Here’s a button you can wear to show off your Delawarean pride! Please take this full collection of commemorative World War 1 era art postcards, and if you try and give me money I will literally burn it, because it is no good here. It was very interesting to read about the history of Delaware, and after a day of walking around this small town, we grew hungry.

We drove past a local pizza joint on our way out and swerved into the parking lot immediately.

MILITARY MONDAYS: 50% OFF ALL PIZZAS FOR VETERANS

Say WHAT now?

Delaware quickly became the frontrunner for best state ever.

We sat down and were treated to a delicious, fluffy Margherita pizza topped with fresh basil, and our souls swooned as they gorged on melted mozzarella and homemade marinara sauce. It was only $7. $7!! It was worth every penny-and we even debated buying a second pie for the road. God Bless you Grotto Pizza, never change.

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Wilmington DE is home to the DuPont Black Powder Hagley Museum. The Dupont family took control of the Brandywine River and harnessed it power to manufacture Black powder. The process was as intriguing as it was dangerous. Everything was water powered-to include the machinery used to repair gears and other metal components in large processing machines. They developed a complex leather belt system that would run any drills, keying machines, grinders, and other various metal working tools needed by repairmen efficiently and smoothly. The craziest part of this whole contraption, is that they worked nearly silently. We also received a demonstration of the potency of black powder by one of the tour guides, and it was definitely a blast(dad pun intended). The whole open area museum was amazing, and the tour guides were all engaging and knowledgeable-although a little free spirited in a sense. In McKayla’s words: This whole place is ran by a bunch of Duanes!

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We began to make our descent towards Cape Lewes, we made a pitstop in Milton to visit the Dogfish Head Brewery. This place was huge! Vats of beer towered over the small visitor center and bar, that sported an outdoor seating area complete with fire pits and bocce ball lanes. A large twisted-metal steampunk treehouse spiraled up out of the ground to greet all those that wished to tasted delicious brews. According to the internet (a very reliable source, I know), a few employees reside inside of it. The beers were delicious, and the tours were closed (noticing a state trend here for the booze tours?), so we headed down south towards the giant highway that connects Cape Lewes and Cape May.

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Because that’s a thing, right?

“There is a bridge we can take… Route 9… That’s what the GPS says!”

“Ok… “

“Here, keep going straight, and then turn left in a mile”

“It says the ferry entrance is in a mile…”

“No, that’s wrong, why would they label a ferry as a route? Keep driving until you can turn left and then take that left onto the bridge”

I’ll let the reader take a gander at deciphering who was who in that conversation, but long story short, there’s no damn bridge that connects Cape Lewes and Cape May. The only way between the two ports besides driving back up north and around the bay, is to take a two and a half hour ferry that boards at specific, reserved times. We should have done our research, because we had no idea that this was what needed to be done. I felt like one of those tourists I always saw walking downtown Portland asking, “Is this a Voodoo?” while naively pointing at every bagel shop they could see (DISCLAIMER for all my non-Oregon readers: Portland, OR does not have a lot of bagel shops, so this must have been a very specific instance to highlight the utter stupidity and capture precisely how I felt in this instance). The lady working the counter rolled her eyes as we asked how to get on the ferry, before condescendingly explaining to us how to use the internet to make a reservation online…

“The next ferry is at 7:45, but you should probably get here at 7 so you don’t get confused”

“It’s 5:30, I think we can make it…”

The first person was the toll troll at the ferry gate. The second, literally anyone (but it was me). We had an hour and a half to kill, and the lighthouse 5 minutes down the road was closed for the day, so Mickey and I decided to travel north 20 minutes to Rehoboth Beach: Home of Carolina Reaper ice cream, and World Famous Thrasher french fries. We roll up in Murky Mer just in time for a beautiful sunset. The dying sunlight painted the sky with an assortment of melted sherbert that God lazily drew together and faded out with white on his latest Instagram post (He is literally the best editor ever, go figure). McKayla and I eagerly walked hand-in-hand down the boardwalk towards our destination: The Rehoboth Ice Cream Shop. Subtle, yes, but it does convey a point, I suppose. As we walked past novelty store after novelty store, we notice a repeating trend: All the stores are either closed for the day, or worse, closed for the season. I was optimistic, however, as the website for our ice cream destination stated that they were open until 9 PM. We wholeheartedly hopped along to the end of the boardwalk; the final destination in which our ice cream craving lay.

Yes! The door is open! We rush into the establishment, eager to sample each and every flavor. They have the Reaper ice cream! Today just got wild, I could not wait to melt my face off with something that was supposed to cool you off.

We look for a cashier

Nah

We look for an employee

NAH

We look for literally anyone

nah…

We round the corner of the building to find 3 ladies huddled in a circle, apparently gossipping about the miserable lives they led in their miserable town full of miserable people.

“What are you guys doing in here? We’re closed, please leave”.

“But… your door is open, and it’s only 5:45”.

“We close at 5 during the fall, BYE”.

The pain of rejection always burns more when there’s no ice (cream) to soothe it with…

I know that’s not how you treat a burn, but there’s no metaphor between running a burn under cold water for 2-4 minutes and a savory dessert derived from dairy products and a very spicy pepper, so sue me. Don’t actually sue me though, pls.

We were heartbroken (mainly me), destroyed (again, mostly me). As we sulked down back towards our sometimes-trusty-steed, we stumbled across another one of Grottos LEGENDARY Pizza restaurants! What luck! Heaven exists twice on earth, and we were eternally. Oh wait…

There is no Military Monday special at this location

Oh, ok, thanks.

The sulking continues… Only multiplied by the double betrayal that Rehoboth Hell  Beach had bestowed upon us mortal souls. As we trudged along the opposite side of the street, Mickey remained optimistic. She even made me pose along the boardwalk with the beautiful sunset. Hey, I had to do it for the Gram. I couldn’t be too grumpy, today had been a great day, and it wasn’t raining. Oh yeah, Thrashers World Famous French Fries was closed, too. The days seemed all but lost. Then, up in the distance, blurry red and yellow banners solidified into view…

NICOLA PIZZA: HOME OF THE NICO-BOLI

All that was America beamed down on us in neon-lights. Nicola Pizza is a bar/restaurant home to a famous calzone that many-a-former president have become akin to gorging on (George Bush Sr. and Clinton, to name a few). We had both read about this place, but had no idea that it was here. AND IT WAS OPEN. We sprinted into the bar, sat down, and ordered one of their finest Ground Beef Nico-Bolis to share. It was a delicious concoction of ground beef, cheese-whiz, and pizza sauce all wrapped together into a flaky pastry cottage. Thank you Nicola Pizza, never change (Grotto’s Pizza, change a little). With our bellies filled, we headed back to our ferry bound for the land of Guidos.

We made it to our ferry at 7 PM sharp. To much chagrin of the ferry toll troll, we did NOT miss our ferry, go figure. We had an hour to kill, and there was not much to do in the waiting area of the ferry. There was, however, a Pac-Man/Galaga arcade machine. Ask my brother, we beat Galaga on our old Play-Station 2, so you know that your boy is great at Galaga. I slammed in two quarters into the ol’ relic and began blasting alien spaceships.

3 levels in, piece of cake.

4 levels in, still, come on, no contest.

The first bonus round came up, and I began to notice a delay in the blaster button.

Still, easy.

Round 6: Out of the blue, my lil’ Skywalker shooter stops shooting…

Literally. The machine stops responding to the fire button on the control panel, and the rest of my 50 cents was spent dodging out-of-this-world kamikaze pilots while McKayla mashed the FIRE button for all it was worth only to yield on average 1 blast per 30 mashes. We didn’t make it past stage 9, but my word was every stage fought tooth and nail.

It was time for our ferry to depart, so we got back into our lil’ Mer’ Bear and loaded the ship with no issues. We both thought this two hour trip would be a great time to knock out some schoolwork and some blog work.

We was wrong.

Both McKayla and I are very susceptible to seasickness, and low and behold, the ride was choppy and miserable. It was fun trying to decide which between the two of us was turning greener, but that was the only ‘fun’ thing about this trip. We huddled in misery and waited for the suffering to end, until finally, we made it to shore again.

Looking back, it was pretty bizarre how up-and-down Delaware as a state was to us. The Delaware giveth, and the Delaware taketh away. Overall, I really enjoyed our time in Delaware, and even the ‘bad’ parts will make great memories down the road. Until next time, Delaware, tell your shops and restaurants to stay open later, yeesh.

-Daniel-

As we moved up towards the Northeastern region of the United States, I had no idea what to expect from Maryland. The only thing I really knew about this small east coast state, was that their flag was very bright, and their football team has a kicker that dabs and celebrates on the regular after kicking field goals. Driving up from the capitol of our country into Annapolis was like entering an era of times past. Brick buildings flowed down the old, cobblestone and brick street that slowly poured throughout a red, fall-struck forest. The city was as soothing as it was captivating. Once we parked near the Annapolis Bay and set foot towards the town, we were both taken aback by how beautiful and rustic this old town was.

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The small town square was abundant with life, but not in an overwhelming way. As we walked through the ivy overgrown townhouses towards the capitol building, we were surprised see about as many Naval Academy cadets as there were wiener dogs dressed up (there is a connection there somehow). After we made it through security and into the main building, McKayla and I marveled at the royal feel of the interior. Marble flooring filled the entirety of the building giving root to tall pillars of white stone. The architecture was incredible, and it looked to be the original. We made our way into a small room to the right, with a statue of the father of our country, George Washington, erected in the middle. The very room we were standing in was the courtroom in which the former Commander in Chief relinquished full power of the country’s armed forces over to congress. This was unprecedented at the time, and was noted as the first time a victorious general had given control of the military to the current governing power.

The exhibit noted how President Washington gave up the power having complete faith in Congress at the time. During his final speech, good Georgie had to support the single leaf letter in which he wrote his speech upon with two hands. Those in the room recorded that his voice broke and wavered as he spoke of his officers that he served. For me, that small portion of history was incredible to me. We, or should I say I, always perceive historical figures as something more of a figurehead than as a human being. These stone-cold, iconic, faces that grace our currency, our stamps, and are plastered in textbooks everywhere often fail to convey the true aura of who they represent. George Washington was a small town farmer who rose to the occasion to help guide a young colony into the becomings of the greatest nation in history, and to lead a second hand army into an uphill battle and emerge victorious takes some passion. I was thankful my perception of Washington was changed to notice some of that passion through a small room full of history during his final moments as a general.

Of course, everyone knows Annapolis as the city where the Naval Academy resides. I’ll make this review of the holy squid school short and sweet.

The campus was beautiful

They make their students wear ridiculous ROTC uniforms out in town (Pensacola alum wya)

Take one ride through the campus and see where the majority of the Navy’s budget is going

*HINT* it’s not going to the Marine Corps

We drove from the Naval Academy straight to Baltimore and parked good ol’ Meredith before setting foot towards the Chesapeake. Tourists littered the edges of the bay that was giving home to various barges, pirate ships and docked cruises. A man dancing to “Get Silly” was ‘getting silly’ to the mid 2000’s hit on repeat, and a dance team of girls aged 2-6 stomped along to a hip hop remix of the BEANS GREENS POTATOES TOMATOES viral video as their moms cheered them on in a circle. Yeah, it was as interesting as it sounded.

Atop the city is Fort McHenry; a massive hill with a picturesque view of the bay and the rest of the city. Fort McHenry is thought of to be the birthplace of The Star Spangled Banner, as the author, Francis Scott Key, wrote The Defence of Fort M’Henry. Only the first verse of his poem made the cut, but it was inspired by what he witnessed that night, aboard an American truce ship in Chesapeake Bay. The view was breathtaking, and I could only imagine what it looked like while the British were bombing it for all it was worth, to no avail. That our flag was still there…

We departed Baltimore and made our way towards Susquehanna State Park. This park was teeming with wildlife-I even had to slam on the brakes a few times to avoid colliding with some Whitetail that were much larger than the deer we have grown accustom to in Beaufort. The trails were lengthy and shadowed by towering temperate trees of various families. We crossed paths with a retired Recon Marine, who gave us the local scoop on what trail to walk, as well as telling us how easy being a Green Beret was compared to being a Marine. He had transferred branches once the Corps said they were through with him, and he told of his time as a hoo-ah as, “much easier, and very cushy” (his words not mine). We began the short 5 mile hike together and took in the MD state park in all its splendor. Occasionally, we would walk by signs for Big Tree Champions. A Big Tree Champion is certified by the state of MD as the largest tree of its kind.

They aren’t kidding

The first champion we came across was massive. The Great White Oak we decided to give the title Sir William, had spindly branches that jutted through the calm forest sky and towered over the foliage beneath it in a kingly fashion. This powerful figure, worn with scars of victorious battle with lightning and wind, made his claim and made his presence known to all that lay eyes on him. McKayla tackled him and kissed the tree, telling him that he did a good job growing while giving him a big hug. We came across a few other champions, but no other stood out quite like Sir William.

Before we went to MD, I was really excited to visit Old Line: a distillery that makes incredible whiskey. They are based out of Baltimore and they have daily tastings of their various spirits and we WOULD have gone if they were open… But they weren’t. I was highly disappointed, and if it wasn’t for the amazing seafood that this wonderful state treated us with, I would have never let that go. As we headed out of the Old Line(less) State for the day, we diverted shortly to the small town of North East to sample some of MD’s famous crab cuisine. We stopped at a local favorite with the name Woody’s Crab Shack. I am not exaggerating when I say that the crab cakes we ate there were the greatest use of an aquatic animal since Dr. Evil put laser-beams on sharks. They were incredible, in every sense of the word! Topped off with some Old Bay, they were a perfect end to a state that we will definitely make our way through again one day. We ventured our way toward Delaware, the First State, next-feeling full of crab and content with our days travels. After shacking up in the Mer’ machine for the night, we exhaustedly said goodbye to the Crabcake state and knocked out.

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-Daniel-

Ending of second day of traveling, (first night in Meredith on the road) Mother Nature was so sweet and blessed us with a demonstration of her full glory. It was windy. It was pouring. It was flooded. And somehow, it was strangely wonderful. It was so perfectly chaotic and miserable that once the rain got bone deep there was a reassuring fact: we couldn’t get any more drenched. It was raining cats and dogs, (honestly it was a miracle that it wasn’t hail or snow) but we layered up, grabbed a cup of Joe, and headed out into the storm to face Poseidon. The adrenaline from the storm actually played to our favor, because in the high tempo of the rain we matched it with our stride. We basically sprinted around DC and hit a bunch of the heavy hitter monuments in record time. To our pleasant surprise, the major monuments are open surprisingly late (pushing 11pm and midnight). The security guards did not mind us trudging around at all and some of the underground attractions were still unlocked. Which really came in handy when that coffee quickly processed through us! 😉

Here’s the order of the monument  marathon we took, but if you’re up for a little hike you could easily switch this order around because they are all about .5 mile from each other. We started at the Washington Monument, which actually had a fence around it because they were doing some repairs. But we still got close enough to take a picture (which would be hard to miss, being it is the tallest monument). The Washington Monument acted as the perfect home base for us because it’s pretty easy to spot throughout whole city.

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From there we headed to The World War II Memorial and then to the Lincoln Memorial. They have a tribute to each state all circling a remarkable fountain.

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The Lincoln Memorial probably had the largest group of brave souls touring around like us. Many people were seeking shelter within the underestimated size of this gigantic hall. Visitors waited out the storm while reading the walls that have many of Lincoln’s quotes, as well as, the entire Gettysburg Address carved into the stone.

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After comparing Lincoln to the back of the Penny, we visited the Vietnam Memorial. I have never seen this one at night, but I think it even more powerful in the rain and shadows that this night provided, creating a truly solemn place.

From there, we headed to the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial. Entering this memorial, you cut through giant rock formations with this powerful quote carved into the granite, “Out of the mountain of despair, and stone of hope.”

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There we hit a huge body of water, the rain started to let up a bit, but the sidewalks were flooded by the waves crashing against the main walls.

Through the water we trudged to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. This contribution to FDR was surprisingly interactive. It takes you through quite a few different art pieces, water formations, and displays before you finally reach a statue of FDR sitting with his loyal pup.

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After walking through FDR’s park, we continued around the body of water to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. This was a special memorial for us, because earlier that morning we toured Jefferson’s home, Monticello. We began the day at his mansion, and ended the day at his memorial. 

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Upon viewing Jefferson, the temperature dropped even lower, but THANK THE SWEET LORD the rain almost fully stopped. With the Washington Monument shining like a beacon of hope we began to wrap up our tour. Since the only parking we could find was almost directly next to the White House, we figured we should make a small detour and pay a little visit to Mr. Trump. After a bit of confusion, we finally found the entrance and snapped a quick photo while multiple secret service men watched us anxiously. Unfortunately, my screen was still soaked, so please ignore the water marks, just consider them as added on purpose for dramatic effect.

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With that, we felt our Midnight tour of Washing DC seemed complete, (plus our parking was about to expire) so we returned to our trusty steed. We planned on cooking soup on our little portable stove (shout out to Daniel’s mom, Wendy, for the awesome camping gear), but between the rain and accidentally buying the wrong baby propane tank, we decided a local 24/7 diner was the only way to go. The Barnside Diner saved these little wet rats lives, and filled our stomachs with breakfast from heaven. Goodnight!

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In the morning, we decided to conquer DC again but this time with a little sunshine on our side. While the weather still wasn’t perfect it was still a step up from the monsoon we experienced the night prior. Our first stop was the Smithsonians, more specifically The National Smithsonian of Air and Space (Daniel and I both working in aviation it seemed appropriate). It’s a huge museum, half dedicated to fixed wing aviation and the other half reserved for space exploration. We gave ourselves a time limit because it would be easy to spend a good chunk of your day there.  

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From there, we headed to The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, but the line was insane and packed with incredibly vocal middle schoolers (seriously, it was impressive the volume coming from people so small). So we decided to visit the Castle and grab a quick treat instead. 

One location that meant a lot to Daniel and I was the Arlington National Cemetery. We really wanted to make sure we did not miss that and with it closing earlier than most DC tourist attractions, we decided to head there next. There we visited the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, and payed our respects the many brother and sisters in arms that gave their life for this beautiful country. It is always a powerful and moving visit, but we are thankful for a place that honors the military and the sacrifice our country was founded on. 

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From there we headed back into the city to visit one of my favorite spots in all of DC, The National Botanic Gardens. It is a beautiful two story greenhouse packed with amazing plants, a peaceful outdoor garden, and an indoor learning facility (and it’s totally free to the public). If you like plants even a little bit or need some inspiration for your green thumb the Botanic Gardens is the place for you!

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After my heart was full from those precious little oxygen machines, we headed to fill my husbands nerd heart, with books. That’s right, we decided to bring DC home by wrapping it up at: The Library of Congress. Even if you’re not a huge book fan, (guilty) the building is stunning, I mean absolutely gorgeous! There are huge sculptures outside, giant columns sprinkled around, a big entry fountain, and every inch of the inside (that isn’t covered in books) is sculpted or extravagantly painted.

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Well, that pretty much wraps it up for our nations capitol. If you haven’t been I would definitely try to make it there at some point in your life. There is so much history, and almost everything (besides parking) is a free entry. It’s a really good place to spend the afternoon, or even a couple days. I hope you enjoyed my little virtual tour of Washington, DC. Love y’all! 

Virginia is for lovers, and I am definitely a lover of Virginia. I might be a bit biased (growing up and living here for 18 years) BUT it really is an incredible state. I’m talking about the reeeall Virginia here, not to be confused with it’s inbred neighbor West VA, who constantly tries to give Virginia a bad name. Just thought we should make that clear. Anyways, Virginia has beaches, the Shenandoah National Park, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the historical triangle, (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown) and is enriched in history and culture. Naturally this seemed like a great place to start our journey. We packed up our Uhaul, moved up from South Carolina, put some essentails into storage, and finished our last minute journey preparations. Being Fall, it seemed only appropriate to paarticiapte in some Fall Festivities before hitting the open road. With my family still living in Chesapeake, Va, we spent three days at “home.” As part of fall festivities, we went to Burgey’s Bread Basket (an amazing local farm), decorated pumpkins, make Cider Moscow Mules, and broke out the old Apple Cider Press. They dug this thing out of an attic somewhere and it looked like it had been purchased straight from some old antique store. The boys rebuilt some of the rotten wooden components and before too long (to everyones surprise) it was ready to go. By camp fire light and a few beams of hope from our cellphones, the group squeezed its first Carter Mountain Virginian Apples into the old machine. It actually worked really well and the apple cider it made was really to die for. With our belly’s full of cider and apple pie, we spent our last night with the Plummer Family. 

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On October 25th the Great Slack Road Trip began. Our first stop was the capitol, Richmond, VA. We got the opportunity to stop and see some very sweet friends Peggy and James Gardner. They welcomed us with warm hospitality, a delicious lunch, told us about their favorite journeys, broke out the maps, and wished us well on our way. Once we finished our visit, we went and view St. John’s Episcopal Church, which is the famous church where Patrick Henry gave his “give me liberty, or give me death,” speech. From there, we headed to Carytown, which is an artsy strip of streets covered with unique books shops, antique stores, arcade themes, and local art.

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After some quality exploring, we made our way to the James River Pipeline Park. It was a little tricky to find the parking and involved some minimal amounts of illegal parking, but it was well worth the struggle of finding. This walkway is a really neat little hike that the city has built over an old pipeline. You walk down some stairs and take a little latter to get down to the main “sidewalk,” but once you’re there its a really scenic walk. With the hike being over a pipeline, it literally takes you out over the water. We watched the sunset over some rapids and the rushing James River directly to our side. It was really beautiful and one of my favorite highlights of Richmond. 

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After hiking around and watching the sunset, we went to meet up with some good friends, the Nobles. We met for dinner at the highly recommended River City Diner. Food was delicious and the company was not bad either!  Tim and Ciara showed amazing hospitality and let us spend the night at their beautiful country home. After a quick goodbye visit in the morning, we were back on the road. Virginia is home to many historic sites and founding father plantations. Naturally, we thought it was appropriate to visit Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. We took a bus up the mountain, toured the gardens, took a little journey through time, and eventually viewed the home. Even though it was wet and rainy, it was still a very good visit. Monticello is packed with genius ideas, unique architecture, and a bit of America’s dark history. 

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Once completing our tour, we headed across the road to Carter Mountain. This mountain is known for its impressive orchards and ample amounts of apple trees. They have a country store up at the top where you can purchase all kinds of goodies, including, apple pie, apple cider, and fresh apple cider doughnuts. With fully bellies we headed north to the Luray Caverns. Luray is a town located right through the Shenandoah National Forest and was opened as a tourist cavern back in 1878. People have come from all over to climb 16 floors below the earth and view natures wonder. The cave is about a two mile trail that takes you on a journey through stalactites, stalagmites, flow-stones, mirrored pools, and a grand finale of the Great Stalacpipe Organ performance (an operating organ that uses the various stalactites acting as organ pipes to create beautiful music). Before exiting the tunnels, make sure you pay your respects at the veterans of Page County Memorial. Overall, a visit well worth your time!

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Finally, we finished our cavern tour and headed East towards Washington DC. So with the windshield wipers blaring, and the sun setting we journeyed back across the Old Dominion State. Well that’s pretty much a wrap for Virginia, but please join me on the DC post for our late night capitol adventures. With wrapping up our little trip through America’s finest, I would like to leave you with this one thought, “A lot of good things start in Virginia; a lot of good things have started in Virginia. We’re no strangers to firsts.” -Robert Hurt

Sic Semper Tyrannis, McKayla