Congress at Sleep

Up bright and early in the morning, but not early enough to see the sun rise on the Atlantic Ocean, we are headed for the Cape May Ferry. (All pictures are clickable and will auto enlarge)

 Before we cross we are grabbing the Fisherman’s Memorial for the Tour of Honor in Cape May.

The ferry takes about an hour or so to cross the Delaware Bay so we can catch up on our sleep on board. Yeah right. We grabbed breakfast at the terminal. Considering they could really jack up the price, they don’t and while it is not a gourmet meal, it is not bad. Unfortunately we do not have the opportunity to see any dolphins running with the ferry. It is Sunday and it is early.

There is something about crossing the water on a tour. It makes it more exotic or something, it means you are going places. We met a couple on board and spent a good part of the hour chatting with them. When we are on the road, I find that people are curious about where we are headed, and often making a comment at one time they wanted to get a motorcycle, but just didn’t.

Right off the ferry is another memorial right at the terminal in Lewes, DE, the Unknown Sailor memorial. You are suppose to get your flag, bike and memorial in the picture, but this one is impossible, unless we want to break some ones rules.

Today is a full day of BBQ joints, National Parks and USA towns. First stop is the Bethany Blues BBQ joint in Lewes. We have to hunt down a gas receipt since they are closed.

The last time I rode thru Delaware in 2005, I found the place incredibly boring and the roads pretty darn straight. At least that was my recollection. While I would not call the roads twisty, they are not pencil straight like Iowa. Scenery was pleasant, mainly farm lands. Temps were near perfect.

In Seaford grabbed a Tour of Honor Memorial and a USA town.

Veterans Memorial - Seaford DE

Crossed the border into Maryland and a few minutes later over the Chesapeake Bay.

Lunch at Red, Hot and Blue BBQ

Grabbed the Maryland WWII Memorial in Annapolis

Next stop is Oxon Hill Farm in Maryland. This shores up MD for the National Park Tour. The farm was used as a therapeutic treatment center from the 1890's to 1950's. It is quite amazing to find something that looks so rural right outside Washington DC.

Temps have risen and we are off to the center of our Nation, Washington DC. Since we do not have enough time and WDC is really just a stone throw from Massachusetts, I tell MeAsWe we will come back to DC specifically to visit. Our sole purpose in DC will be to get to the Washington Monument VC and grab some NP stamps. They have something like 22 stamps in one location, Ink Heaven.

Check out the people on the Segways. The way to see alot in DC.

While we are grabbing Capital Q BBQ I see one of our fellow citizens acting just like our Congress. I am sure he is much more effective at what he does compared to the folks in DC.

We are just on the outskirts of Chinatown Washington DC. This is the Friendship Archway.

There is so much to see in DC, one really has to spend a couple of days here. It really is a neat town, the Smithsonian alone could take weeks to see just the tip of the iceberg. We high tail it out of DC and head for my cousins house just outside of  Fredericksburg. Grabbed some BBQ joints on the way and  called it a day.

I found out at my cousins that most restaurant in VA close on Sunday evenings. I found this to be most peculiar.

The last 2 days have been a bit grueling for a road trip. We are riding in one of the most congested areas of the country (both in DC and getting out of MA, riding thru NY), trying to see stuff, stops for the 4 Grand Tours we are doing and covered 650+ miles to boot. Traveling out west is much easier. Looking forward to the laid back southern pace they talk about.