Heading South

7 May 08
We had a good run down to the outskirts of Washington yesterday (6 May),
And on the way we passed through Lancaster County where we saw several Amish men out ploughing the fields with their teams of four horses. If you saw the Harrison Ford film “The Witness,” you will understand what I mean about the Amish.
Lancaster County is a very beautiful place, not one that the Americans should underestimate or undervalue.
We hove to not far from Washington D.C. in a very quiet area; we are camped in the woods. Perhaps not unlike the New Forest but without the rain! We are a bit short of amenities here; there is no Wi Fi internet or cable TV, but one can’t expect everything all the time.
Today we went to the Air and Space museum, not the one on Washington’s famous Mall where I am sure lots of you have been, but the one 25 miles out of town at Chantilly. This was built with a donation of $65 million from Steven F. Udvar-Hazy and houses all the exhibits that would not fit into the hall on the Mall. It can only be described as huge and if you like that sort of thing, fascinating. Of course if you don’t like that sort of thing, you could describe it as boring. Photo’s much later and only by request!
Tomorrow my wife tells me she is taking AC to DC!!! (me to Washington!) We haven’t been there for about 15 years so all will be fun and I will take lots of pics to remind me (us).
We will visit Washington centre. I spell that (centre) the English way, not the bad American way, so apologies to my American/Canadian friends. Interestingly, we are staying near a town called Centreville, yes, spelt just like that, with r before e.
May 8th
Washington, well it’s raining a bit which just puts the damper on things slightly. We are pretty determined but a full day in the (light) rain would not be a great pleasure. The Washington Monument was worth a visit even if all the tickets to go to the top had been allocated for the day; the visibility from the top must have been grim anyway. We walked some of the Mall and went into the American Natural History Museum for a quick coffee, thought we’d just have a quick look but couldn’t tear ourselves away for ages.
Washington was full of school children out on education trips and they were everywhere but no problem.
We also visited the original Air and Space Museum on the Mall. We had been there in 1993 and that Dakota is still hanging from the ceiling.
At the end of the day we made our way to the Metro and took a ride back to our truck. We were very tired.
I would like to thank you for those messages of encouragement; it’s nice to know that someone out there reads this stuff!
The facts man, just gimme the facts.
The truck cost us $45,000, I suppose if you bought these things by the lb then this would represent the best deal in the world. It is certainly a lot of truck for what is realistically 23,000 English Pounds. It burns gas at 16 miles per English gallon but when it is towing our house, the consumption is frightening I kid you not!!! We now find that we are doing around nine to the gallon with our house in tow. Perhaps I worry too much.
Diesel is not as cheap as anticipated; the fuel companies are taking the p...s quite a lot. Diesel is a by-product and should be cheaper than regular gas (petrol) but it is a dollar dearer at close to $4.50 per gallon.
Our “house” weighs 6½ tons and takes some dragging around but is very easy to set up when we arrive on site. I can sort the water, power, TV, and sewage quicker than I can with my German Hobby or previous English caravans and the air con is good too!
In terms of value for money, the thing cost $36,000 which makes the value we get in Europe look very poor indeed.
For the most part, it’s cheap living, the only major expense is diesel. Apart from that, everything else rates good value with good service.
My friend Chris once said, “Sat nav is the one thing you didn’t know you really needed until you’ve got one”. Gosh Chris, were you ever right about that? Somehow, getting round England can be achieved without it (but why struggle?). Over here if my sat nav burnt out I would stop at the next Walmart, Costco or Target and replace it instantly. These days they are down to $150.
Planning ahead, as we normally do, we bought a US map program for the computer and it is truly amazing; any of you who are planning a trip to the USA would do well to give me a nudge when I get back, it is truly amazing and definitely indispensable.
May 10th
We have now moved to Charlottesville which is 100 miles south of Washington. Our first day here we have been to the home of Thomas Jefferson, the third President and author of the US constitution.
May 14th
Another day, another town and we are another 100 miles further south at Natural Bridge. You will see why it’s called that when you see the picture.
We have had a couple of nice sunny days; this is not Spain I can tell but still very nice.
Yesterday we went to the nearby town of Lexington, VA (there are lots of Lexington’s in this part of the country) where we did a walking tour of the town, taking in Robert E Lee’s chapel, Stonewall Jackson’s house and the George Marshall museum, he of the Marshall Plan for Europe and winner of the Nobel Peace prize which was on display.
We can’t help but notice that the parts we have seen on this holiday are very clean and green and that the whole place, generally, is very tidy and worthy of note for the fact that we do not have to keep dodging piles of doggy stuff on the sidewalk (speaking American already!). Not seen a single pile yet this holiday!!
Today we “did” the Natural Bridge after an American breakfast at “The Pink Cadillac“; no more food needed till evening after that! Enjoyed a lovely walk along the trail to see the bridge and a pretty waterfall, also lots of Monarch butterflies and different birds.
We plan to have a quiet week here and move on to Bristol, on the Virginia/ Tennessee border where they all tawk reeel furny.
Pictures are on Album three at
http://picasaweb.google.com/arthur.croasdell/AlbumThree