Statically speaking a nifty day. We began in Virginia, drove through
Maryland, peeked into Delaware, then to the District of Columbia, and
stayed the night in Maryland. What the heck...? speaking, we managed to
see two car crash sites and witness a third, leading Tubby to conclude
traffic in DC is horrible, and people aren't overly great at driving (at
least downtown DC).
The alarm went off. Surprisingly, after the 3:15am bed time last
night, I was not eager to get up.
6:58am
Accepting bitter defeat, I got up, splashed in the sink, smoothed
out the feathers and packed up to go.
7:04am
We checked out, and headed down to Shell to add petrol to the car.
At the corner, we were privy to seeing the aftermath of two cars rudely
meeting in the intersection.
7:07am
Whilst pumping gas, I figured I could let you see the little car
crash.
7:09am
We made our way to the interstate and begin pushing ahead.
7:33am
Until we hit traffic. The bad part about Hampton, Virginia is that
when you go south through Newport News, Virginia Beach and all those,
you're going to hit traffic. And, we did.
8:31am
We hit the bridge and began our trip north, which would span the
bulk of the day. This first meant we had to cross the 17.6 mile-long
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (and yes, they have a web site: www.cbbt.com).
8:32am
After Tubby nearly choked on the $12 bridge toll, we got some comfort
in getting a coupon for a free soda at the bridge's cafe and gift
shop. Yes, that's right -- there is such
a place on the bridge as you go from end to end.
8:34am
Okay, so the deal is it's a bridge. A long one. In two places, it
becomes a reasonably deep tunnel, to allow ships to pass over the
cars without the need for drawbridges and the like. This is one of
the those
undercrossings.
8:59am
Once on the other side, we stopped at the vista point to see...
well, the bridge. And to note that lots of people wrote their name
and stuff on the wall. And
I hate to be left out.
9:02am
After a quick stop over at the rest stop whatchmacallit thing just
past the vista point, we were on our way the 60 or so miles to the
next city.
9:56am
And just shy of 10am, we arrived in Onancock.
The local deputy is nice enough to not have stopped us for Tubby's
illegal parking to get a photo of me with the town sign, and didn't
hassle us as we wandered around (which The Man sometimes like to hassle
folks, y'dig?). But it was a nifty little town, established 1680.
10:35am
We crossed over from Virginia and into Maryland. But plenty more
driving until the next town, so we stopped and grabbed more Pepsi.
11:14am
Salisbury had the
distinct pleasure of being one of the day's fun little places to wander.
It had a college and a gospel book store, and when you have all those
elements, and a store named after characters of biblical proportions,
it's a good time for all. Then, we left.
12:02pm
I managed to land in Cambridge.
I was ready to shop, but when I saw the asking price at nearly $20
each for Saved! and Fahrenheit 9/11, I balked.
12:33pm
We hopped back into the car and popped in the CD I just got as
we wandered around the balance of this town. A wrong turn later and
I found myself in a rather lovely marina area for this town o' ours.
12:53pm
Easton will never rank
in the order of New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. Still, it had its
appeal, although limited. And even to this moment, I have no idea
why the police sergeant parked in the middle of the intersection,
and looked like he was going to direct traffic -- while the signals
were up and running fine.
1:34pm
We headed up north further to Queenstown, where we veered east toward
Delaware. I figure if there's a state capital within 50 miles, I should
give it a look.
2:04pm
I set my first webbed toe into Delaware, the First State. (They
were the first colony in the Union to ratify the U.S. Constitution,
having signed it December 7, 1787, there in Dover.)
2:28pm
i arrived in Dover and
loved the town instantly. It had a quaint, small-town charm and appeal
to it, while not leaving you as though you lacked any of the trappings
of big city life. It's all the sense of community without the worry
of crime.
2:52pm
We finally knew time was nearing an end, and headed back to Maryland,
bound for that state's capital.
3:57pm
Just as rush-hour traffic was kicking up, Annapolis
filled our sights. Over the span of the next 40 minutes, we wandered
around, sat in slow-and-go traffic, and Tubby less-than-subtly looking
in the direction of this girl on a Vespa. (She got away, of course
-- those are agile little scooters.)
5:05pm
Hopping back onto Highway 50, we found ourselves in Washington DC
for a wander (through
traffic) and photo session, before we'd head to the motel for
the night.
5:14pm
Then it gets interesting. Robin spots a
place I could, and really, should own. Tubby hears nothing, because
he's on the phone.
5:16pm
Oops, no more phone. These nice
guys pull along side us and point out it's illegal to be on the
phone whilst driving in DC -- and it's a $100 fine. That settled that,
of course.
5:22pm
After parking, Tubby hops back on the phone, and leads us down Pennsylvania
Avenue. But not without reading the map. He's a bit obnoxious when
Robin points out that while the river blow our bridge is lovely, this
ain't Oz, and he's not the wizard. We return to the car, and he *finally*
hangs up.
6:29pm
Heading toward the plaza of monuments and stuff, we manage to get
our first
peek at this little fella.
6:33pm
We hop from the car and wander around the Washington
DC monuments as the sun is setting. As pretty things go, it's
not too bad.
8:02pm
Enough of that, we head back to the car, and almost make it before
-- whump, a car crash right in front of us. It seems a woman with
tall hair and short-heeled shoes makes a sudden left, and is tagged
by the first car (woman's front passenger panel and tire are whacked),
and the other car loses a headlight and stuff. But then, car number
three clips other car's rear passenger taillight, and more plastic.
Fortunately, all were alive and moving, so we moved on. (And it just
occurred to me... that was a one-way street she was trying to turn
onto. Tourists.)
8:11pm
We got into the freeway. We thought. The road led to Highway 495,
then to 395 south (we wanted north). I exited and turned around, then
eventually, got through traffic, after passing another crash, and
made excellent time down the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (Belt?).
8:57pm
In any event, that took me only 7 miles away from our motel. This
despite we only started 10 miles away, 45 minutes ago.
8:59pm
Exiting the interstate, we found and checked into room 240 of the
Motel 6 at exit 15B. Techy description, eh? ;)
9:04pm
We ventured out one last time, they to get food and I to wander
Target a bit. When both missions were completed, we returned to the
motel.
9:28pm
I settled in to work on updates, and everyone else konked out. And
I'm determined to get more sleep than last night, so 1:30am is my
end-all, be-all bedtime tonight.
12:59am
Everything is written and posted, so I'm doing well for my goal
end time. Yea!
1:13am
All posting is done (I think I may have mastered the notion of pre-posting).
1:15am
Too lazy to check the links in my sleepy state. If you find something
broke, yell in my general direction.
1:24am
Okay, this, that and the other thing are done -- I'm off to bed.
G'night, y'all.
