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en it snowed we stayed on the west side of dc after visiting shenandoah our friend told us about dogfish head brewery not too far from where we were staying so we had dinner there we got up in the morning and headed out in snow we decided to park at the metro and get the all day pass again first stop arlington cemetery when we arrived the visitor center was open and there were maybe two school groups there they told us that kennedy s grave was not open so we started walking to the tom of the unknown solider we took the route that the woman at the visitor center told us to take for it was plowed however the school groups did not go this way plowed is a relative term we had our boots and proper weather gear which is more than many of the kids could say we got there just a bit before the 50 or so kids it just kept snowing we walked around a bit and decided to head to the visitor center to use the restrooms before getting back on the metro the door was locked we didn t understand we saw someone go out the other end the building and went around they told us the cemetery was closing really it was snowing but not that much maybe 2 4 inches had fallen we begged them to stamp our passport book and snuck into the bathrooms and then headed back to the metro we had lunch at a nice restaurant in dc and then started our walking tour we had planned to do the walking tour it just happened to be snowing no big deal first was the white house we could only see it from across the street armed guards were in the street keeping people on the opposite sidewalk we then walked over to the washington monument visitor center to get the stamp we had been here the day before but it was already closed there was a family there with two kids from montana they looked at us sadly and said everything is closing really i felt more bad for them the kids couldn t get their stamps from montana that s a long trip next up the world war ii memorial we pretty much had it to ourselves the lincoln memorial this was the most crowded of them all the vietnam veterans memorial the korean war veterans memorial the martin luther king memorial i didn t really like this one maybe it is better without snow the fdr memorial this was our favorite maybe because we had it to ourselves or maybe it was just the way you moved through it and read all the quotes it was nice walking around the tidal basin the jefferson memorial there were maybe 3 other people at this one not many people can say that we stopped in the holocaust museum but it was closing in 30 minutes so we used the bathrooms and left back on the metro to theodore roosevelt island a bit of a trek from the metro station or at least it seemed so as it was starting to be a more wet snow rain mix also a really nice memorial i suspect not as many people get to this one we pretty much had it to ourselves once again it was then about 3 45 or so and we decided to get back on the metro to the car and drive back to bwi airport about an hour away we knew that the rain was to turn to ice and would rather try to drive back while it was light we did see one truck spin off the road after dinner southwest cancelled our morning flight and we ended up getting on a late late flight that night there was a school group of about 50 kids so we knew that flight was going to get off the ground even if it was a little late a nice long weekend trip we both decided we would like to go back to washington dc again maybe when things are open posted by kt at 8 52 pm 2 comments sunday march 27 2016 washington dc day 2 we had planned to head a bit east to visit shenandoah national park i had researched doing the old rag trail but decided against it as we would be arriving more towards mid day and the parking it somewhat problematic at the trail as it is so popular so instead we packed an extra suitcase with the snow shoes hoping to make it up to the big meadows area and maybe even go to the hoover s rapidan camp which we did not have time to make it to on our last visit we stopped at the entrance sign to the park however when we got to the entrance gate at skyline drive we found it closed i didn t even think to check i figured it would be open the ranger at the gate said snow and ice i asked her about old rag and if she thought we could get a parking spot at the back door hike to the summit to avoid the rock scramble with the potential of ice she thought we would have a good shot and gave me a map to get there since i had researched it months before i knew quite a bit about it it was about a 30 minute drive we got to the small parking lot where there were 12 spots and only six filled no problem we sat in the car with the heat on eating our lunch that we got at safeway then looking around didn t see any bathrooms so we used the woods brrrr it was warmer than the day before but only in the 20 s off we went the first mile or so didn t have snow after that it was a light snow the rest of the way since we were coming in the back door of a very popular hike the most popular in the park maybe even in virginia we came across a pit toilet about 1 5 miles in naturally oh well it is not like it would have been that much warmer when we got to the summit we had it to ourselves not many people can say that about old rag another couple coming down probably the only other ones that were older than us agreed that it was a pretty perfect day to do the hike a little cold but if you kept moving it was okay very quiet and peaceful the views were fabulous at the top so glad skyline was closed and we did this hike instead we searched for the survey marker but found nothing another couple arrived after we had been up there maybe 10 minutes and they also couldn t find it we stopped and sat down for a snack but quickly realized we just had to keep moving to stay warm on the way down the blue skies were replaced with clouds and the sun went away making it cooler just a fantastic day at shenandoah national park and no we got no postcards as we couldn t get to the closed visitor center ugh posted by kt at 9 03 pm 1 comment wednesday march 9 2016 washington dc day 1 we had really wanted to go to phoenix to visit an aunt and get to petrified forest national park but the airline prices just didn t cooperate we ended up flying into baltimore for about 90 a ticket yes that is round trip add that to a 40 rental car for 3 5 days well there is a very affordable trip the tradeoff it was february and cold we started at great falls park not a national park but run by the national park service we would consider it more of a state park it was about oh maybe 10 degrees when we were there so we had the place to ourselves this is not typical of this park as sometimes it takes an hour just to get past the fee gate you can see all of the 2 foot snow from a few weeks before melted and there was just the occasional ice you can see we bundled up by the time we got done with our 1 5 2 mile hike there were a few other cars in the parking lot next stop the dc metro in reality we could have just driven into the downtown area this cold day there was nobody out we could have just found a spot on the street but instead we bought the all day pass on the metro and just hopped on and off as we wished first stop the zoo the pandas were inside they were all just lounging around very cute then ford s theater they actually were having a play so we didn t get to tour it however we did peak our heads in the door when they were letting people in we had the capitol tour at 2 50 so we scrambled to get there loved this hard working pup the tour was good started in the crypt george washing was suppose to be buried here but the family did not want this and it sits empty the rotunda looked as good as the outside covered with scaffolding oh well the tour guide was good and did the best he could with the given situation we probably spent more time in statuary hall than the average tour it was fitting we were by lincoln s spot on the floor being from illinois each state has two statues we walked over to the library of congress we were getting tired and did not go outside to look at the supreme court maybe we should have as the announcement of judge scalia passing away was around this time maybe we would have seen the flag lowered i wanted to see the monuments in the dark we got off the metro and headed to the washington monument notice the flags are at full height after this day they would be at half staff the rest of our trip also notice the flags are flying nearly perpendicular to the flag pole it was so cold i don t think i have ever been so cold standing up by the monument we decided to forget the monuments in the dark and just went to the metro to warm up we headed back out to the suburbs where we would stay the night posted by kt at 8 35 pm 2 comments saturday november 28 2015 florida day 3 on the way back from key west to marco island we decided to stop at the everglades there are a few different ways to get into the everglades and we had not been to this entrance knowing we wanted to get back at a reasonable hours we choose a short hike lots of birds but no alligators or snakes with a warning of vultures eating the rubber off of cars including the windshield wipers we decided we would walk quickly it was unusually warm in florida and the ocean was warm so we did spend a few hours at the beach our friends were also in marco island which is why we booked the trip to begin with it was fun spending time with someone else there their daughter had just turned one and it was he first vacation on an airplane it was her first visit to the beach she fell asleep in the ocean fairly quickly we had dinner them and then just relaxed at the condo the next day i got to see my friend s condo that is more near the fort meyers airport she had talked about it with me in the past making the drapes redoing the kitchen so it was nice to finally see it this is their first true snow bird winter down there where they are not renting it out at all good for them posted by kt at 3 14 pm 2 comments monday november 23 2015 florida day 2 dry tortugas national park is only accessible via boat or seaplane the plane takes about 30 minutes the boat 2 5 hours knowing that other had had the boat cancelled in the past due to choppy waters we opted for the sea plane knowing that we only had a day in key west we had booked on the 8 am flight knowing that there would be minimal people on the island when we arrived the boat carrying 70 150 people would arrive about 30 minutes before our departure the boat ride was beautiful there were 10 people and the pilot we wore headsets to hear the pilot tell us features of the waters below i was amazed at how many boats we saw out in the ocean also we flew over other small islands we first got a glimpse of fort jefferson from the air this is the plane we took over landing on the water wasn t that much different from landing on the ground we had another person on the plane take our picture at the sign we spent the first half of our time there visiting the fort we didn t know that about 1 4 of the fort was re novated to house the park service employees it was nice to walk around the fort with only a few other peo ple from the plane first named las tortugas the turtles due to the abundance of sea turtles the word dry was added to mariners charts to warn of the lack of fresh water the fort had three levels you could get from one level to next at the corners the first construction on garden key was in 1825 it was of a lighthouse construction of fort jefferson began in 1846 nearly thirty years in the making 1846 1875 fort jefferson was never finished nor fully armed yet it was a vital link in a chain of coastal forts that stretched from maine to california during the civil war union warships used the harbor in their campaign to blockade southern shipping the fort was also used as a prison mainly for union deserters its most famous prisoner was dr samuel mudd the physician who set the broken leg of john wilkes booth during its time it held over 2 500 prisoners it received its designation as a national monument in 1935 and was upgraded to a national park in 1992 by president george bush walking around the fort was a very unique experience when we pulled into the park we noticed a couple of poor conditioned boats they were from cubans it turns out the night before two cubans had come ashore the coat guard then picks them up and takes them to miami one of the rangers said that the numbers are up with the relationship between the us and cuba changing it was pretty amazing to think they traveled the ocean in these boats and actually made it to dry tortugas national park the policy since clinton is that if a cuban is caught on the waters between the two nations with wet feet they would be sent back to cuba if they made it to shore dry feet they get a chance to remain in the us and later would qualify for expedited legal permanent resident and eventual us citizenship yup it happened when we were there we did see the coast guard circle the island when we were there helicopter and also saw their presence in key west finally we spend the last 45 minutes of our trip in the ocean it was a beautiful beach rob put on his fins goggles and i didn t see him again until time was about up i put on my fins and mask and realized after about five minutes that i couldn t tolerate the brightness of the sun the mask wouldn t fit over my sunglasses so no more snorkling for me stupid ocular melanoma i just put on my sunglasses and enjoyed swimming in the warm waters what an interesting day i sort of think dry tortugas should not have national park status yes it should be protected but perhaps a national monument or historical site is more appropriate i have had this feeling about a few other parks too i suppose once you have seen the majestic nature of yosemite or glacier it is hard to put this in the same category but on the other hand it needs to remain in the park service we do sort of think in our lifetime that the fort will become inaccessible there were signs of deterioration and i sense the government just doesn t have the money to put into it it will be interesting to see what happens to the fort in years to come posted by kt at 8 16 pm 3 comments older posts home subscribe to posts atom katie and rob fall 2012 other information our national park quest puppy dog andra and mr rowan followers katie sperl create your badge visitor locations blog archive blog archive april 1 march 2 november 3 september 5 august 1 july 1 june 1 may 3 february 1 january 3 december 2 november 1 october 3 september 3 june 2 may 5 april 1 february 1 january 1 december 1 november 1 october 5 september 3 august 3 july 2 june 1 may 4 april 4 march 1 february 2 january 3 december 2 november 2 october 4 september 4 august 2 july 2 june 2 may 4 april 4 march 2 february 1 january 3 december 3 november 1 october 2 september 1 august 4 july 4 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