DC & West Virginia

Saturday, April 05, 2014
Hagerstown, Maryland, United States
We slept in a little before finding some breakfast. Breakfast was a bit rough, but it got us out on our feet. We will need to find some better food for lunch.

We walked around DC in the morning, enjoying the parks, monuments, and sunny weather . We walked all around the White House, past the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial. Even though it was early on Saturday every place was busy with tourists snapping pictures and locals running and biking through the park. We happened upon what from a distance looked like a protest in the park. Upon closer inspection it was a massive group yoga class. There must have been a couple hundred people with their hands and feet on their yoga mats and their butts up in the air. Way too many yoga pants! During our walk we encountered a Google street view car. He even made a wrong turn on a one way street before he quickly turned around and went past us again. We will have to check street view in a couple months to see if we made the street view of DC.

We checked out of our hotel and loaded our silver minivan and headed for the National Cathedral. The National Cathedral is a gothic style cathedral that reminded us of the cathedrals in Europe that we have visited . Beautiful stained glass windows, pointed arches, ribbed vaulting and flying buttresses. Multiple chapels through out the cathedral and a pulpit that is built from stones brought from the Canterbury cathedral in England. We walked around the church grounds and enjoyed gardens and views. Spring has just arrived so a few early flowers are showing but nothing is in full bloom yet.

Everyone is hungry and ready for lunch. Thanks to Yelp we found a Le Pain Quotidien - a favorite of Lauralees. After lunch we drove into West Virginia to explore Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry is located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. The Appalachian Trail passes through the area so we have officially "hiked" the Appalachian Trail. It was very pretty, and some say it is the prettiest spot of West Virginia. There is a rock that is named "Jefferson Rock" along the Appalachian Trail, high above the Shenandoah River. Thomas Jefferson said the view from this spot was worthy of a trip across the Atlantic. The Appalachian Trail is nearly 2,200 miles long and stretches from Maine to Georgia. It is considered the world's most famous hiking trail.

Back on the road and headed for Maryland. A quick stop at a Walmart in West Virginia for some water and road trip supplies. We arrived into Hagerstown, Maryland, checked into our hotel and set off for dinner in downtown Hagestown. We found a wood fired pizza restaurant called the Flying Pie Company. A little wait and we enjoyed some very fine pizza.

Tomorrow we head into Pennsylvania and then down to Deleware. Sweet dreams.

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