Our second day at Myrtle Beach was amazing! The rain had passed us by and we had full on sun. We had our bikes stored at the hotel bellman's closet so the next morning we were able to get out fairly early for a bike ride before the weather really heated up. We had a nice ride on the boardwalk and then found a spot a perfect spot on the beach. Rick purchased an umbrella and two chairs and we were good to go.
Except it was a pain trying to find a spot to change into our swimsuits.😐
I brought a book to read. It's been a while since I've sat on the beach and read. it was super nice to do!
We got to spend some time in the water and it felt so good to cool off on a hot day.
We were at the beach for four hours which was plenty for us.
After the beach we dropped our bikes off and then went to get showered and ready for the evening. We had reserved a boat ride on the intercostal waterway on a paddleboat The Barefoot Queen. The paddleboat wasn't really a working paddleboat but just had the looks of one. They served a nice dinner of chicken, pork or fish, with veggies, salad, potatoes, coleslaw, and dessert. We had a lady with a great voice entertain us by singing some awesome music from the 80's and 90's. We had some beautiful views from the boat and enjoyed our time on the water. The occasion absolutely made a nice memory.
We spent our last night in Myrtle Beach (not without another Ben and Jerry's New York super fudge chunk;) and then got up the next morning and took off towards Raleigh. We made a quick two hour stop in Wilmington, NC. We were able to walk down by the waterfront and then caught a horse and buggy ride around the historic district.
We then stopped at the Bellamy Mansion an antebellum home owned by the Bellamy family for years. We took a self guided tour and enjoyed the home.
Afterwards we stopped for a quick bite alt the Fork and Cork and little cafe/bar.
As you can tell, the food was super delish!
We then got back on the road to catch our appointment at the Raleigh temple. We did baptisms for family in the last "Hinckley" temple of our trip. While talking with some ordinance workers they mentioned that Richmond has a temple. It had been dedicated just two months prior, in May. We had no idea there was a temple there and it was not a temple we were planning on visiting. Knowing that we would be driving right through Richmond the next day we immediately set an appointment to do a session.
After spending the night in a town outside of Raleigh we made our way to Richmond. It was a designed in a colonial style and was very beautiful. What a surprise to be able to serve in a temple that was brad new! We are so thankful that someone casually mentioned it to us so that we could make arrangements to attend!
Immediately after our session we left to drive to Washington DC. We knew that we would be arriving around rush hour and our appointment was at six so we did the best we could to get there on time. We mad it with a few minutes to spare to get some nice pictures of the exterior. This temple was one of the highlights of our whole trip. We had never been inside this temple and it did not disappoint. It had been rededicated last year after a long closure and the inside was just magnificent! I couldn't believe how spacious it is. The celestial room had twelve large chandeliers around the large oval room with one matching extra large one in the center of the room. It was all very beautiful and felt very special to be there. It was a wonderful place to end our Southern temple trip.
After the temple we drove into downtown DC and got set up in our hotel room at the Marriott Georgetown. Rick asked for an upgrade and they gave us the Presidential Suite! That was awesome! We had a huge dining room table set up with a beautiful chandelier overhead. Next to the dining area was a living room complete with two couches a coffee table and a giant TV. There was also a desk area overlooking next door's rooftop garden. Our bedroom was spacious and connected to it was a nice bathroom. We were spoiled with this awesome room!
After getting settled in our room we went looking for Italian food. We found it at ? They were very busy and after waiting for twenty minutes we decided to just sit at the bar because it was available. I was wanting a pizza but there spaghetti and meatballs sounded so good that I ordered it instead. We got totally stuffed because on top of our meals we ordered a chocolate torte with ice cream. What a way to end the night! I might've paid for it a little bit as I had trouble sleeping that night.
It was as good as it looks!
Thursday we woke up ready to go!
We took the City Bus Tour to get over to the downtown area of DC.
The bus ride came free with our room's stay but our intent was to get to the Smithsonian so we hopped off close to Chinatown and walked the rest of the way. We passed the Ford's Theatre but didn't go in. We thought we would try that later.
I have been wanting to see a couple of the Smothsonian Museums for a very long time.
This was the day!
We first went into the Museum of Natural History to see The Hope Diamond, the biggest cut diamond in the world. It was beautiful. There were so many beautiful gemstones in this area of the museum. There were sapphires in different colors, topaz, emeralds, rubies, and more diamonds. They were a sight to behold!
Outside the museum of Natural History
The Hope Diamond
Some but, polished topaz.
Here's a look over into another area that we didn't get to.
So much to see...so little time. Honestly you could spend half the day here. We didn't have the tmuch time so we had to pick and choose what to see.
Next we hopped on over to The Museum of American History. We went over to see the entertainment section. Here are some things we got to see...
Star wars memorabilia.
Dresses worn by the First Ladies. I especially loved this part.
Superman Costume worn by Christopher Reeves.
A cool low rider.
Mr. Rogers' clothing.
Rocky's fighting robe.
Tevia's costume from Fiddler on the Roof.
We caught an Uber ride back to the hotel to pick up our car. Rick had never been to West Virginia and we were so close so we took the hour drive to get to Farper's Ferry. What a beautiful drive it was! It was reminiscent of Tennessee with rolling hills and farmland with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.
Harper's Ferry is where the Shanendoa River meets the Potomac. Also, it is known for the failed John Brown slave uprising. Harper's Ferry is a National Park so we were able to get our park pass for the year. We parked then hopped on a bus to get to the town. Harper's Ferry at one time was a bustling city. It was important for the civil war because this is where the guns were made for the Union Army. Through the years it has been nearly washed away by floods but each time it has been built back up.
Now it is a historic city.
The beautiful Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.
We stopped at a couple of museums in the town to learn about the history and then stopped for a sandwich and ice cream at a small cafe. We enjoyed looking at the historic homes and businesses.
On our way back towards DC we drove through a downpour. Water was flooding the roads and splashing up onto our windows from the passing cars. It was CRAZY!
Instead of driving back to the hotel I wanted to get into Old Town Alexandria for dinner. We were still getting a lot of rain so we found respite in a bar/restaurant. Rick let me out at the curb while he went to find a parking spot. He came in wet from the rain.
After dinner the rain stopped an we enjoyed walking around the waterfront .
After finding yet another Ben and Jerry's we each got some ice cream and headed across the bridge to see the Jefferson Memorial at night. We parked the car and walked quite a distance to see it. On the way we were blessed with this beautiful view of the Washington Memorial lit up at night. Rick took this amazing picture.
The Jefferson Memorial did not dissapoint! It was spectacular! There were hardly any people inside (because it was so late) so we basically had it to ourselves.
There were some wonderful Jefferson quotes around the memorial.
He was a force for good in the making of our nation and it was really neat to see his memorial.
The next morning (Saturday) we got up early, rented some bikes and rode over to the National Mall.
We were able to see lots of sights...The White House, the Washington Monument, The WW II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol. All really awesome to see!
We stopped the foodtrucks at the Smithsonian for a bite to eat. The cheesesteaks sandwiches were soooo good! Why is street food so yummy?
It was a super hot and humid day so we before turning our bikes in we stopped at one last food truck for an ice cream treat.
This was our last day full day in DC. After turning in our bikes we got back to the hotel with just enough time to shower and pack up. We got to the airport by 5 and flew out at 7. After a short stop in Dallas we arrived home about 1AM.
What a wonderful road trip we were able to have this year. We got into SEVEN new temples, got to do some family history, enjoyed a few days in Myrtle Beach, and vistited the Nation's Capitol. This was a road trip for the books. Where will we be off to next?
