10/18/2026 DC ROAD TRIP - DC NIGHT TOUR

 Last night we went on the DC Night Tour Bus of The National Mall and Monuments. It was long (3 hours), but well worth it. We stopped at some sites so we can get out & take pics and some we just drove by. 

Here’s a list of all the places we saw: 

1. National Archives (we have passes booked to tour inside)

2. US Capitol 

3. White House

4. Lincoln Memorial

5. WWII Memorial 

6. MLK Memorial

7. Korean War Memorial

8. Vietnam Memorial 

9. Vietnam Women Memorial

10. USMC Memorial 

11. Tidal Basin

12. Smithsonian Air & Space Museum (we have passes booked to tour inside)

13. Washington Monument

14. National Museum of African American History & Culture

15. Arlington National Cemetary (we have passes booked to tour)

16. Jefferson Memorial 

EXTRA BONUS: 

The USAA Special Memorial (there for a limited time).  

It was a great tour, got some decent pics, but more walking than my foot lets me do, so I had to pick & choose how close  I got. 

USMC Memorial 

US Capitol Building

Ulysses S Grant Memorial 

The meaning of the Lions around the memorial

WWII Memorial

WWII Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

USAA Special Memorial

The White House 

Since our tour was on Sunday night, they were waiting on President Trump to return to the White House, so we had to cut short our time there before they shut down the road. He actually landed about 10 minutes after we left. 

All in all it was a good tour. Got back to the room and crashed for the night. 

Monday…..Smithsonian Air & Space Museum‼️

10/17/2026 -landed in Staunton VA

 Mr Charley & I landed safely in Staunton, VA. We kept changing our mind between Staunton & Charlottesville (and I’m sure the “Hey Google” guy was quietly shaking his electronic head, but we decided to land in Staunton. 

I had no idea there was a Shenandoah National Park (which is 1 exit up from where we landed), so guess where  we’re going tomorrow‼️ That puts us over the 40 mark in our National Parks count. ☺️ 

It was a relatively nice drive. Traffic wasn’t too bad, except for my little rant about Charlotte, NC stealing 2 lanes of I-77 for their own “NC Quick Pass”!  

I was surprised the Fall colors just aren’t there. There were a few places along the way, but nothing like Upstate SC/N.GA “changing of the leaves”. Maybe on our way back. 

Here’s a few pics along the way:

I always have to read signs and keep Mr Charley “entertained” when he’s driving . Here’s a couple of my Google searches: 

Did you know there’s a Natural Bridge in VA?

That’s it for today. Not sure how the pics are gonna turn out. Blogger won’t let me upload my pics straight from iPhone, I actually have to Copy/Paste. So we’ll see once I “publish”

10/17/2026 DC ROAD TRIP‼️

 So….Mr Charley & I are planning a road trip to DC & Philly. It will be our first trip since 2023, and our first one without “the girls”. It’ll be different since we won’t be RVing, but….thats cool, we still split everything which makes it affordable for both of us. 

President Trump has made it a mission to “clean up” our Country & specifically, our Capital,  Washington, DC. So, I have had it on my heart to go visit the new, cleaned up version. Mr. Charley is ALWAYS up for a new adventure so, we’ve planned a Road Trip to drive to DC and Philadelphia, Pa. Although we’ve both been there, it’s been a long time since either of us has seen it. It’s also America’s 250th Anniversary year.

Here’s our Itinerary: 

Sat 10/17: 

Leave SC,  stay over in  Staunton, Pa 

 Sun 10/18:

1. Check-in after 3:00

Holiday Inn- Washington Capitol- National Mall 

550 C St SW Washington DC  

 2. Monuments at Night Tour                                            790 Pennsylvania Ave NW (booked on Viator)               7:30-9:30 pm

Mon 10/19:

Smithsonian Air & Space Museum       10:00-5:30                           650 Jefferson Dr SW  (free pass booked) 

Tue 10/20:

 1  Arlington Trolley Board @ Arlington Welcome Center 

1 Memorial Ave Fort Myer, Va 

Booked on Viator 

2 National Archives Tour (free passes)  10-5:00

701 Constitution Ave NW 

Wed 10/21 : 

CHECK OUT & head to Philly!

09/12/2023 - Day 89 Heading Home

It’s Tuesday and we’re heading to SC, our home base and the end of this Adventure.  It’s a bittersweet time, especially since this is our first trip out since 2020. 

Here’s a few stats for this trip: We’ve been gone since 06/16; or 89 days 

We’ve driven:  9,811 miles, averaging 11.1 mph, at a cost of $3,187. 

We’ve traveled to/through 16 states:

SC - start NC - drive through 

TN - Dollywood, Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mountains 

KY -Churchill downs, KY Horse Park

IN - toured Grand Design RV factory, ate some awesome Amish food  

MI* -Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Mackinaw Island, Mackinac BridgeWI - drive across 

MN * - finally visited Clonia & Dan ; went to a meat raffle

ND* - Theodore Roosevelt National ParkMT - Billings Airport to get our babies

WY - Cody, Yellowstone National Park, Beartooth Highway, Chief Joseph Highway 

CO - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, drove the Million Dollar Highway, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods

UT - Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse State Park, Petroglyphs

NM -Route 66, Music Highway 

TX - Route 66, Cadillac Ranch

OK- Route 66, Oklahoma City National Memorial 

AR - 🥴

TN - Grand Ole RV Park

NC - layover 

SC- Home 

We visited our last 3 states! Mr Charley and I can both say we’ve been to all 50 States! Of course, not all by RV, since we’ve both cruised to Hawaii, but how many people can say they’ve been to all 50 states!  We’ve visited over 40 National Parks! 
  “The Great Adventure”, back in 2015 - my first time out West  “Maiden Voyage” back in 2016 - Atlantic North East trip in my Class C  “The Grand Adventure” back in 2017 - Drive to Alaska  “The Greater Adventure” back in 2019 - Pacific North West  And now, “The Greatest Adventure - last 3 of 50”
I am beyond blessed and so thankful Mr Charley has allowed me to ride along. We both know how fortunate we are to be able to do this. Our next “adventure” planned is wintering in TX, since we’ve been wintering in FL for the last 8 years or so. But, who knows what the Lord has planned., and of course, Mr Charley has that “gift” (of changing his mind). So now, I’ll be couch surfing for awhile. Here’s our last sunrise in NC, thankful I got to see another one. 


Have a good one everybody. 

 

 










Have a good one everybody. 








 

09/11/2023 - Day 88 Goodlettsville, TN Grand Ole RV Park

It’s Monday and we’re heading to NC, our last stop before heading home to our babies in SC. 

And it’s 9/11……and I remember where I was, how scared I was, and how proud I was to be an American! So, as we travel towards NC today, I pray we don’t forget what happened back on 9/11/2001. 
 
 
 
And I pray that God will continue to bless and protect our beautiful country. 




Have a good one everybody. 









 

09/10/2023 - Day 87 Goodlettsville, TN Grand Ole RV Park

It’s Sunday  and we’re to TN at the Grand Ole RV Park. 

It’s our last day here, so laundry is done. I got through another book, and the girls are ready to go home. 
Mr C is rested up and has started putting his stuff up. This has been a shorter trip than usual, but we accomplished what we set out to do, hit our last 3 states. With the added bonus of some of our babies joining us in Yellowstone.  
 

I’m gathering up the stats, but I think we hit  about 15 states, traveled nearly 10,000 miles and visited about 10 National Parks and Monuments. We’re blessed to be able to do this, as this is our first trip out since the 2020 chaos. 
Tonight is dinner out at Red Lobster and we head out early in the morning to Hendersonville, NC for 1 night, then home to SC on Tuesday. 
Have a good one everybody. 









 

09/09/2023 - Day 86 Goodlettsville, TN Grand Ole RV Park

It’s Saturday and we’re in TN! 
 I never thought seeing green Kudzu growing would be so welcoming. After seeing so much desert grasses and mountains, seeing green grass growing is such a blessing to my “southern” heart. 

We made a quick run to “the local Walmart” to get the girls more treats and a few other things to get us back home. 
The weather is beautiful! Sunny, gentle breeze blowing, and it’s college football day. I’m not the biggest football fan (previous life turned me off), but I’ll give Mr Charley credit, he explains things to me with quiet patience. So now I enjoy watching Clemson play.  And I was REALLY happy with the final score after they got creamed last week! Mr C grilled pork chops and we just took a day to relax and unwind. 
Tomorrow is getting ready to get ready day. (Laundry). So, I’ll just soak up a little more fresh air, sunshine and get through another book. 
Have a good one everybody.