Washington D.C., Gettysburg and Philadelphia

After a horrendous journey where it took us 7 hours to cover 200 miles, we finally arrived at the RV park which was to be our base for the next 3 days as we toured Washington.

As it was unseasonable hot, we decided to do the open bus tours in the morning (to get the lay of the land) then hide in the air-conditioned Smithsonian museums in the afternoon.

 Washington Monument

 Thomas Jefferson Memorial

The White House

US Capitol building

Lincoln memorial

 World War II memorial

Iwo Jima statue

The Smithsonian Air and Space museum was really interesting and included exhibits on the history of flight including the original Wright Flyer

Amelia Earhart and her Lockheed 5B Vega which she flew it alone across  the Atlantic then non stop across the US in 1932

the Apollo 11 command module Columbia and lunar suits

to the model of the starship Enterprise that was used in the original TV series of Star Trek

We also spent a day at the National air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center which is where they keep all the big toys like the Enola Gay

The Discovery space shuttle which was the last one to fly

and lots of German and Japanese planes that we hadn't see before. We barely scratched the surface and will have to return again another day.

Next, on to Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought in July 1863 and was a Union victory that stopped the Confederates second invasion of the North. More than 50,000 men fell as casualties during the 3 day battle, making it the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. It is where Lincoln gave his famous "Four score and seven years ago..." speech. 

Next stop - Philadelphia. Its here that Americans began their quest for freedom and independence and where the United States was born. The Liberty Bell is an international symbol of freedom and hung in the State House in 1753 and summoned the Pennsylvania Assembly to work.

The Pennsylvania State House is now called Independence Hall and is where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution was created.

We have learnt lots about the Revolutionary War and the road to nationhood and I think that we might be a bit cultured-out right now. Time to hit the road again and head north towards New York state and then Canadian eastern provinces.