AZ - March 2018 - Days 5-7

Chuckwagon Trail

March 11^th, 2018

Rain, rain, go away! Really is was only a bit misty out, but the cloud cover was quite dense. While we were waiting for the fog to clear we went and checked out the really cool arts area called Tlaquepaque. We also drove out to the Hillside art area to check out the Exposures International Gallery of Fine Art. There were some gorgeous pieces of art.

Devil's Bridge

Around 11 AM, the clouds were lifting so we headed out to do some hiking around Sedona.  Tripadvisior.com indicated that Devil’s Bridge was a cool place to visit. Reading the reviews someone had indicated that the Chuckwagon Trail was a great way to reach to Devils Bridge Trailhead.  The Devils Bridge Trailhead is down a fire road and not accessible with a standard vehicle. We parked at the Mescal Trailhead and ventured out on the Chuckwagon trail towards Devils Bridge. The hike was scenic with not a lot of people. Once we reached the Devils Bridge Trail the trail became much busier.  I was not brave enough to head onto the bridge (the line was a little long also). During our return hike, we decided to take the rest of the Chuckwagon Trail.  It was an okay trail, some nice views with a lot more ups and downs than the portion we had hiked previously.  We got off the trail just in time – the rain came back.

Sedona Rocks

We attempted to go to a BBQ place for dinner, but it closed at 5! We walked around town a little bit and decided what we wanted to go next. Since it was approaching sunset we decided to take a drive up to the Airport Road overlook. There was a $3 parking fee, which seemed reasonable. In general the view was very nice; however, the clouds came in eliminating the chance for a beautiful sunset.

View from Airport Road

March 12^th, 2018

Coyote Canyon

Originally, we had planned to take a hot air balloon ride, but the weather the previous two mornings put the brakes on that.  Instead, we decided to go on a Pink Jeep ride. There were a lot of different options to select from.  We decided to try the Coyote Canyon ride. Had we known, we probably would have selected a different route since this took us to the exact area that we had hiked the day before. The jeep ride was fun, but I would probably not do it again.

We did have some yummy homemade ice cream at the Black Cow Café in Sedona after the jeep ride. Mike had the prickly pear flavor.  I sampled it but it was too weird for me!

Sedona Rocks

After the jeep ride, we headed out to Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock. We were fortunate to find parking. We spent a few hours hiking around the area before heading back to Phoenix for the night.

We stopped and ate at Chili’s before heading to Holiday Inn Express Phoenix North – Scottsdale. The hotel appeared to be quite new – the room was in great condition and had lovely décor.

Bell Rock Area

March 13^th, 2018

We had intended to head to the Botanical Garden for a few hours before heading to the airport, but traffic was a bit heavy so we decided to just chill out at the hotel until we had to go to the airport (10am). The airport was not busy due to cancelled flights - the east coast was getting hammered with snow!  We had a smooth flight and drive home.  Until next time, happy travels!

AZ - March 2018 - Days 3-4

 March 9^th, 2018 (Friday)

What an exciting day! A while back, on Facebook, I had reconnected with a friend that I had made in middle school. We were able to coordinate a meet-up during our trip to AZ.  We met up for breakfast at a place called Kneaders Bakery & Cafe. It was super yummy and the company was awesome! I was so happy to meet up in person!

Tonto National Monument - Lower Cliff Dwelling

Tonto National Monument 

After our meet up, we headed to Tonto National Monument. Tonto National Monument is home to two Cliff Dwellings. The Lower Cliff Dwelling is a steep, paved one-mile hike. You must start the upward hike by 4pm.  The Upper Cliff Dwelling is only viewable if you take the guided tour, which requires a reservation and only allows 6 people per tour.  We did not visit the Upper Cliff Dwelling during our visit (tour takes 3 to 4 hours and is a 3 mile hike). The Cliff Dwellings are estimated to be about 700 years old. There is a video at the visitor center - shown outdoors near the visitor center exit to the Lower Cliff Dwelling. Visitors were very disrespectful with talking loudly and ignoring the fact that a video was being played. There is a $7 fee for those over 15 years old to walk up to the cliff dwelling (free if you have a NPS pass).

The Tonto National Forest surrounds the Tonto National Monument. The visitor center for the National Forest is very near the National Monument.  There are many hiking trails available in the National Forest. There is a really cool bridge and the dam right near the visitor center.

Tonto National Forest

Onward and upward we go – Sedona here we come!  We stopped to snoop around in the old mining town of Jerome before heading into Sedona. We had previously visited Jerome and Sedona, but both places are worth a second visit or more!

For the next three nights, we stayed at Sedona Summit – very nice place. After checking in, we headed into Sedona for some food.  We tried the Pisa Lisa Restaurant, which specializes in wood-fired pizza. The pizza was very good – no burned crust here.

March 10^th, 2018 (Saturday)

Grand Canyon National Park

We left Sedona early to get to the Grand Canyon National Park. The annual park pass got us in at no cost – if you do need to pay it is $30 per car. We parking in Lot 2, which I think might be the closest one to the visitor center. There was plenty of parking available when we arrived at 9am. Rain was in the forecast so we headed to the trails first thing.

Grand Canyon National Park

Starting at Mather Point, we headed west along the Rim Trail. We stopped to check out numerous views along the way, including the Yavapai Point Geology Museum. We reached the Grand Canyon Village area around 11 SM and checked out the buildings in the area including: the 1905 Hopi House (designed to resemble an ancient pueblo), Verkamp’s Visitor Center, Lookout Studio and Kolb Studio. We decided to have lunch at Bright Angel Lodge before continuing west on the trail. Lunch was decent in taste and price. We hopped on the bus at the Hermits Rest Route Transfer and rode until we reached Monument Creek Vista. Exiting the bus, we walked west on the Greenway Trail until we reached Pima Point, where we hopped back on the bus. I had seen a recommendation that this portion of the park was a lovely walk. It was a bit disappointing that there were not a lot of canyon views, the plants did provide nice diversity. We would have continued to walk to the end of the trail at the Hermits Rest bus stop but it looked like rain in the distance. The bus stops at Hermits Rest for 10-15 minutes, allowing time to jump off, take a few photos, check out the gift shop, used the bathroom, before hopping back on the bus. Hermit’s Rest was opened in 1914 and supposedly provides amazing sunset views.

Grand Canyon National Park

Once getting back to the bus transfer station, the line was long to get on the bus to the visitor center. Buses arrive at each bus stop every 10-15 minutes. We had to wait for the third bus before we were able to get on.  We debated about walking down the street to the next station, if we did not get on that third bus we were going to.  The buses are nothing fancy, but we were fortunate to see five Elk near Trailer Village. 

Back at the visitor center, we checked out the limited displays before watching the NPS video, which is about 25 minutes long and starts every 30 minutes. The video was just okay – for sure skip it if you do not have a lot of time. Exiting the video the rain had started.

Grand Canyon National Park - Watchtower

Leaving the visitor center area, we headed east (and stayed ahead of the rain) to the Tusayan Museum and Ruin. The museum was okay – it talked about the Indian Tribes from the area. The sky was a little clearer and we stopped at the Navajo Point lookout.  From the lookout, you could see the 70-foot-tall Desert View Watchtower, which was just a little further to the east.  The Watchtower is super neat! The interior and exterior are both impressive, as are the views from both inside and outside the tower.  The tower was designed in 1932 to resemble a prehistoric Puebloan kiva (a round room used for community meetings and religious rituals).

We were surprised that when we entered the park in the morning that there was not a Grand Canyon sign.  The sign is located at the east park entrance. Of course we stopped to snap a picture!

There was one hike that I had read about that was supposed to be great that we did not have time for was a hike to Showstone Point. The trail starts about 1.2 miles east of the Yaki Point Road, where you hike down a dirt road to reach the point.  Parking is available along the Desert View Drive roadside.  There was also a guided hike along Cedar Ridge that would have been nice to check out. The hike starts at 8am and is 3 miles long (2-4 hours).

AZ - March 2018 - Days 1-2

March 7^th, 2018 (Wednesday)

First trip of the year!! We had an evening Delta flight out of DTW to Phoenix, AZ! There was a short delay due to plane cleaning, otherwise smooth sailing. Hotels were a bit expensive, but we managed to find a place in Mesa, about 25 minutes from the airport, that was under $150 a night. The place was called Westgate Painted Mountain Golf Resort. We had a studio unit, which was in decent condition.

March 8^th, 2018 (Thursday)

We love the HOV lanes! Phoenix traffic was quite heavy on our way to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. By 9 AM, traffic let up, which was fine with us, since we were pretty much out of the city by that point. It was a bit of a drive to Organ Pipe Cactus, but well worth it.

Organ Pipe Cactus

Organ Pipe Cactus was named after the Organ Pipe Cactus that exist at the site.  Organ Pipe Cactus is a part of the Sonoran Desert and is home to over 4,000 species of plants and animals.  Organ Pipe Cactus is also known as the Green Desert. We had stopped at the IGA store in Ajo to get some lunch, since the park does not offer food. The IGA did not have a lot of options for an easy lunch, unless you wanted a lunchable (or something along tho  We probably should have stopped at a gas station where we probably could have picked up sandwiches for lunch.
se lines).

The weather was nice – mostly cloudy but in the low 80’s. Unfortunately, the visitor center did not have power. Luckily, when we first arrived the rangers had some materials outside of the center and could answer any questions. We checked in later in the afternoon and the power was still not on and the rangers and information were not available.

Arch Canyon Trail - Ajo Mountain

We opted to check out the Ajo Mountain scenic drive first, which the ranger had given us a pamphlet that described each numbered site along the way. The drive takes about two hours. There were many pull-offs, a few hiking, and picnic areas along the 21 mile loop. The drive was on a gravel road, which was in okay condition. There were not any restrictions as to what type of vehicle could be taken on the road. Besides stopping at some of the numbered stops, we also stopped at the Arch Canyon trailhead. The hike was advertised as 1.2 miles and lasting about an hour.  It was a relatively easy hike until you get to the sign that gives you a warning about the trail turning rocky. Apparently, the advertised 1.2-mile hike ends at this point. We continued past this point, since we did not know that it was the end of the hiking trail. The trail on the rocky portion was a bit more challenging with a lot of smooth rocks to scramble up. We were unsure if the rock scramble portion would actually lead us to a close up of the rock bridge so eventually we turned back. We did have some nice views from the portion that we did make it up to.

Desert View Trail

After leaving the Ajo Mountain scenic drive, we headed back to the visitor center to do a hike near there.  The Desert View Trail loops around the group camping area and provided lovely views and was an easy 1.2 mile hike.  This trail is advertised as great for sunrise and sunset.

We had adequate time for another hike, we drove over to the other loop road, Puerto Blanco, and parked at the Red Tanks Tinaja trailhead. Again, this loop road was gravel and in decent condition in the portion that we traversed. Our plan was to hike the 1.6 mile Red Tanks Tinaja trail. We set off for the hike and reached a cluster of signs, since did not think we had reached the end of the trail that we were set out on we kept on walking the direction that we thought we should go. The trail ended up taking us down an old fire road (maybe?)  - it was super boring with very few views. L

uckily. the hike was not to challenging – just lots of small pebbles that tended to end up in your shoes.

The entire Puerto Blanco loop is 41 miles and takes 3 to 4 hours.  Portions of the road are two way.

All in all we hiked over 5 miles at Organ Pipe Cactus, which would have meant that we could participated in the Hike for Health Challenge for hiking more than 5 miles had the visitor center opened up. Note – there is a $12 fee that you are supposed to pay at a station at the side of the road.

Driving back to the accommodations from the previous night, we stopped by a place called Booty’s Wings Burgers & Beer for dinner. It was tasty.

Year in Review - 2017

As 2017 wraps up, I reflect on all of the new places we got to visit during the year. It is super hard to pick a favorite trip...picking a favorite experience - even harder yet! The most unexpected fun would have to be the NFL Draft. We made it to most of the places we had planned to hit in 2017 and a few places that we originally had not planned to visit.

Believe it or not, we do not currently have any trip for 2018 planned!  Oh, I have some ideas, but nothing has been decided. My ideas for 2018 include the following destinations:

Southwestern Texas (Big Bend NP, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, etc.)

Sedona, AZ (Grand Canyon NP)

Maine (Acadia NP)

Washington State / Northern Oregon

Colorado (did not make it in 2017)

Santa Fe, New Mexico

2017 put me up to 217 visited National Park Sites! Only 200 more to go!

Texas - Nov 2017 - Days 3 -5

 November 11^th, 2017

Magnolia Market

After breakfast we made the trek up to Waco. Our visit of Waco started at the Magnolia Market, yep that probably sounds familiar, you have probably seen the HGTV show Fixer Uppers. Despite arriving before 10am, it was already very busy. Street parking was available around the store, or if you would rather you can park in the church parking lot for $10! The prices were not nearly as bad as we had expected – apparently the prices are only high at other locations that sell their stuff. Leaving Magnolia, we headed over to a relatively new NPS site – Waco Mammoth National Monument. If you want to see the bones, you will have to pony up $5/adult to take the guided tour. The site was rather interesting. Tours lasts about an hour.

Waco Mammoth National Monument

We had lunch at a place called The Wagon Wheel. It was good, we all had sandwiches.

After lunch, we headed back into Waco to check out Baylor University, the Dr. Pepper Building, and we grabbed some cupcakes at What about Cupcakes. The cupcakes were just okay.

Next, we ventured to the boardwalks along the river in Austin.  The boardwalks provided great views of the city skyline.

Downtown Austin

Welcome to Austin 

We visited the “Welcome to Austin” wall mural, which just happened to be near we planned to eat. It was suggested we stopped at Torchy’s Tacos for dinner. There are numerous locations around town, but we picked the one that was in a food truck courtyard on 1^st street. The Queso was really good as were the tacos that we had. I really liked the Green Chile Pork taco.

Texas Capitol

Since we had yet to have some ice cream on this trip, we decided to try a local ice cream place called Amy’s.  We lucked out and found street parking.  The ice cream was okay, comparable to most other good quality ice creams.  There were a lot of restaurants in the area and we walked around a bit.  We came upon another cupcake place, Hey Cupcake, so we stopped to get cupcakes for the next day. These cupcakes ended up being better than the ones we got in Waco.

I had my camera with me so we stopped by the capitol for some night time photos. The previous night, I just had my cell phone with me.

November 12^th, 2017

Zilker Botanical Garden

We made yet another stop to the capitol – this time we went inside and poked around. The interior is just as pretty as the exterior! There is free parking in a nearby parking deck.  Since we had a little more time to kill, we made a visit to the Zilker Botanical Garden in Austin.  There were so many places that lent themselves to great photographs! There was a $3/person fee to enter the park.

Heading south, we stopped by Gruene. Gruene is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There is a dance hall and a bunch of shops. The area was really busy, so we opted to have lunch a little ways away at a place called Cooper’s Pit Bar-B-Que. It was an interesting place.  You go in and get in line, you tell the “meat” guy what you want – like ½ a pound of brisket. The guy then slices a hunk off and asks if you want it in sauce, if so he dunks it in a vat of sauce and then proceeds to plop it on a tray.  Then you head into the next room where they take the tray, slice and wrap the meat. You then proceed along the line and pick any sides you may want and then at last you pay.  Community seating is available. I would say it was my least favorite BBQ place that we visited.

Mission San Jose

After lunch, we headed to Mission San Jose (the visitor center is located there) in San Antonio.  We watched the 20 minute video which was informative and worth a watch. There are guided tours available of the mission. Since we had a little bit of time before the tour we ventured into the mission on our own and then returned to the visitor center for the tour. The ranger that took us on the tour was very informative. Very little of the exterior paint remains, but what that does remain is pretty.  The interior is pretty as well.

Leaving the Mission San Jose, we headed down the road to check out Mission San Juan.  This mission was not nearly as grand as the first.

Mission San Juan

Lastly, we attempted to visit Mission Espada, however the gate was locked. By this time, we could check into the hotel. We stayed at the Holiday Inn San Antonio - Riverwalk.  On-site parking is $25. Our room was on the 22^nd floor and provided nice views of the city.

My sister had a friend in San Antonio that we met up with for dinner.  We ate at a place along the Riverwalk called Mad Dogs British Pub. The food was good; however, the red velvet dessert waffle was not as amazing at it sounded.  After dinner, we walked around the Riverwalk area for a while, but then started to get creeped out by the number of homeless people lingering.

November 13^th, 2017

3 pound cinnamon roll

Holiday Inn does not include free breakfast, which was okay since we had our eye on the 3 pound cinnamon roll at a place called Lulu’s Bakery and Cafe.  Lulu’s did not smell the best, but the cinnamon roll was a fun reason to visit.  The three of us did not finish the cinnamon roll, I think had we had another person with us we would have conquered it!

Alamo

We could not forget the Alamo!!  There were two different tour options, we opted for the guided tour ($15/person). There was also a self-guided tour with audio available ($7/person, but there was a deal if you also went on the guided tour). The tour lasted about an hour and was very informative. After the tour we checked out the buildings (the tour covered the battlefield). There is also a building that has a special exhibit. During our visit the exhibit was about the Bowie knife.

We visited one last mission that we did not get to the previous day, Mission Concepcion. It was very nice inside.

GO RIO San Antonio River Cruise

After breakfast, we dropped the car off back at the hotel and headed out on foot to take the tour of the Riverwalk.  The GO RIO San Antonio River Cruise costs $12/adult and lasts about 35 minutes. When you get your tickets they tell you that time the tour that you can get on is, but the time is not printed on the ticket.  We stood in line and got on the next boat, no one seemed upset that they missed the boat so it worked out for us.

We walked back to the hotel and packed up and headed out (thank you IHG rewards for the late checkout).

Another recommendation was to visit Nothing Bundt Cakes for some yummy treats (we ended up taking them home). Come to find out, Nothing Bundt Cakes is a chain and there is a location opening kind of near where we live! We had lunch at a place nearby at a Mexican restaurant called Paloma Blanca.  It was good, as expected, the restaurant was celebrating 20 years of service!

It was time to drop off the rental car and get to the airport. Again we got luck and not paying for a seat worked out!  We ended up in the Comfort Plus seats!  Our flight home was a smooth one, as was the drive after picking up the car.  Until next time happy travels!

Texas - Nov. 2017 - Days 1 & 2

November 9^th, 2017

Sister trip + Mike (we like having someone cart us around)!  This is the third year of this new tradition. The sister lived in MO during that time, but now is back in MI. Continuing with the visiting a city, with great music, we headed to Austin, TX!

We had an 8:30ish flight to San Antonio, TX. The not paying extra to pick a seat worked in our favor – all of us ended up in the exit row!! We had a smooth flight, no one had a lost bag, and the car rental line was not too bad. Luck was for sure on our side!  We also rolled the dice when booking the car (Alamo). Mike picked the “Managers Choice”. We were able to select an Impala for our trip.  The hotel was near the airport, Holiday Inn Express San Antonio - Airport. The room was okay- the bathroom was a little small and the room did not smell the best.

Lyndon B. Johnson White House

November 10^th, 2017

After a quick breakfast, at the hotel we were on the road.  Our first stop for the day was the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park (and portion of the National Park Service), which is where you can visit the ranch and his white house. It was a neat site.  It was a bit of a drive to the white house, but it provided lovely views of ranch land with wandering Herford cattle. Once arriving to the white house area, we were able to purchase tickets to enter the Texas White House with a tour guide ($3 for adults). Advice - arrive early so you will not have to wait too long for a tour. When we were getting ready to leave a bus load of people showed up and easily filled the next two tours. There were some displays and video to watch.

LBJ Ranch

LJB Boyhood Home

Leaving the state park we headed to the second LBJ NPS site, his boyhood home. There is a short hiking trail to check out the farm area. You can enter the house with a park ranger – free. The house is closed during the lunch hour, so plan accordingly.

Time for lunch!! Our first Texas BBQ selection was a cute place called Salt Lick BBQ. It was an excellent choice! The BBQ sauce (mustard based) that they use reminded my sister and I of home – it was super similar to the homemade sauce that the family uses for BBQ chicken! We also tried the Chocolate Pecan Pie – it was just okay.

VooDoo Donut

We made it to the hotel, Best Western Plus – Austin Central.  The room was decent, even a smaller bathroom than the last hotel! We chilled out at the hotel for a bit before heading out for the night.  We parked at the convention center for $10 and then checked out 6^th Street.  A friend recommended that we check out VooDoo Donuts – it was amazing!  The hardest part was picking out what type to try!  We had signed up for the Austin Live Music Tour thru Austin Detours. The $50 tour provided us with a local musician guide/driver that took us to 3 different music venues/bars. We started the night at the Elephant Room for some jazz type music, it was nice. The second stop was at a dive bar called The White Horse, where were was some honky-tonk music being played. There were lots of folks two-stepping. Of all the places, this was the busiest of the three bars we visited.  The last stop of the evening was the Skylark Lounge. It was another dive bar. The band that was supposed to play had cancelled, but the replacement band was super good. The band was called Oscar Ornelas. 

Outer Banks Road Trip - October 2017 - Days 5 - 6

 October 23, 2017

Appomattox Court House NHP

Time to head home… Again, we had a couple of stops to make on the drive home. Our first stop was the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. The site was really busy! The visitor center has really nice displays and a video.  There are also a lot of ranger talks that take place. When we arrived there was one just finishing up and about ten minutes after we arrived another was starting. There are a few reconstructed buildings on site to visit.

Booker T. Washington National Monument

After a quick lunch at Dairy Queen in Appomattox (really good ice cream) we headed to the Booker T. Washington National Monument.  The visitor center had a 10 minute video which was worth the watch. The visitor center also had nice displays to check out.  Outside you can visit the log cabin where Booker was born. There are also some animals and other structures on site. We spent about 45 minutes at the site.

Back on the road…the drizzly rain that we had been dealing with all day increased in intensity making the drive not very fun.  It was really back for about two and half hours. We stopped at the Applebee’s in Princeton, WV for dinner and we decided on how much further we wanted to drive for the day. We decided to book the Holiday Inn Express in Parkersburg East. Based on reviews, it was newly opened – new hotels are the best! The room was really nice!

October 24, 2017

Hocking Hills

The weather was okay so we make a stop at the Hocking Hills.  We had not visited the Hocking Hills region in a few years.  We did some hiking at the Rock House and the Old Man Cave area before heading to the capitol in Columbus.  The capitol was quite basic, not nearly as fancy as most state capitols.

Columbus Capitol Building

The rest of the drive home was uneventful. Until next time, safe travels!

Outer Banks Road Trip - October 2017 - Day 4

Wright Brothers NHS

October 22, 2017

Rise and shine! It was another beautiful day! We started the day with a visit to the Wright Brothers National Historic Site.  It was really busy at this site! The visitor center is undergoing major renovations but there is a small temporary one available to visit. The site has a large memorial on top of a high and also has markers showing just how far the first flights flew.  The first three efforts were pretty dismal, but the forth flight was a decent distance.

We had lunch at a place called Pigman’s Bar-B-Que in Kill Devil Hills. It was decent, we aren’t really huge fans of Caroline BBQ since it is usually vinegar based. I had the Brunswick stew and pork sandwich. The stew was really good!

After lunch, we headed to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. The site is believed to be the first English settlement in the present-day United States (1587).  The colony failed sometime between 1587 and 1590 when supply ships failed to arrive on time. The next time the site was visited it was found abandoned, thus giving the site a nickname of the “Lost Colony”.  The Union Army occupied the island in 1862.The video is a must see and the exhibits in the visitor center are really nice to check out also. There is a short hike on site that provides lovely views of the sound.  There is also another longer hike, but due to time we did not check that one out.

Jockeys Ridge State Park

Next up, the Jockeys Ridge State Park to visit the Dunes. It is free to visit. The visitor center is okay - it has a few interesting facts and interactive activities. Outside there are a few different trails.  There is also a boardwalk that provides a nice overall view of the dunes. From the boardwalk, you can also watch people hang gliding. There is a hang gliding school right at the state park if you are interested in learning! It seems like a lot of work for no much hang time!

Corolla Lighthouse

Leaving the dunes, we headed to the north end of the Outer Banks. We visited the Corolla Lighthouse. The lighthouse was open for climbing. The price was $10/person. This lighthouse is unique because it was never painted. The area near the lighthouse has lots of things to check out. There is a boardwalk to the sound and then there is a path to the ocean.  There are also wild horses in the area.  The historical Whalehead Club (1920s-era Art Nouveau-style mansion) is also just a short walk.  The old town area, historical Corolla. There are about 120 feral “Banker” horses that roam the area.

Heading back towards Kitty Hawk, we stopped for ice cream at The Chill Spot in Corolla. It was really pricey. They had interesting sundae options – yum!

Heading back to Kitty Hawk, we also visited the town of Duck. They have ¾ of a mile boardwalk along the Currituck Sound. Parking was available at the Town Hall. The boardwalk provides links to stores and other town amenities like the amphitheater, fishing areas, and kayak launch.

Village of Duck - Boardwalk Stroll

We decided to play some putt-putt golf at Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf. They put us on the gold course.  While the course wasn’t overly challenging, we had not played in quite a lot time so our putting skills were lacking. Regardless, we had a fun time in great weather!

Outer Banks Road Trip - October 2017 - Day 3

October 21, 2017

Bodie Island Lighthouse

Cape Hatters National Seashore, ready or not, here we come!  We started at the north end, since that was pretty much where we were staying at.  Our first site visit was at the Bodie Island Lighthouse in Nags Head.  The lighthouse was closed for climbing, but that did not stop us from checking out the area. There was a short boardwalk to a viewing platform. Please be sure to take the short trek!!  So many people did not walk over there, the trail looks longer than it actually is.  The viewing platform provided nice views and it was really peaceful out there!  The lighthouse that is there now is the third one that stood in the area. It is 170 feet tall and opened in 1872.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

The next site we visited was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton. Again, the lighthouse was closed for climbing, which was probably a good thing since this lighthouse was about 12 stories high (193 feet tall)!!  That would have been a lot of steps! This lighthouse opened in 1803. There is also a visitor center in the area as well as a hiking trail. The hiking trail was less than a mile long, but did not really offer much in terms of views.

Continuing south, we stopped for lunch at a little place called Kat’s Deli in Hatteras. It was okay, nothing to fancy. There were not a lot of options in the area that were open for lunch.

Ocracoke Lighthouse

We reached the end of the road…what to do…  The state offers a free car ferry ride to Ocracoke Island, which is home to the southerly portion of Cape Hatters National Seashore.  We decided to ride the ferry. We ended up having to wait about an hour and a half before getting on, but we were one of the first to get on. There are retail shops next to the ferry queuing area, and we did check a few of the shops out. The ferry ride lasted about an hour, lucky me I had a book to read! There was not much to see once on the ferry – just lots of water!  Once back on land, it was a 13-mile drive to get to the only town on the island, Ocracoke. Ocracoke is decent size with the locals and visitors mostly getting around on golf carts. We visited the National Park Visitor Center and then had some ice cream at The Fudge & Ice Cream Shop. The ice cream was really good! Nearby was the Ocracoke Lighthouse. Parking was VERY limited at the lighthouse, only 4 parking spaces with no additional parking nearby. Parking is limited to 15 minutes. We ended up having to driving around and then waited for a space to open up. Again the lighthouse was closed to walk up.

After the lighthouse visit, we headed back towards the ferry location. There was a sign stating that the ferry time that we had hoped to be on was cancelled. Since we had a little extra time, we took a short hike. This hike offered slightly better views than the previous hike. After the hike, we drove the rest of the way to the ferry line.  There were quite a few cars in front of us…we really hoped that we would fit on the next ferry! We ended up being the second to last car to make it on – yikes, that was close!  In the area of the ferry there was a bathroom and vending machines. There was also a little beach area.

Off-roading is very popular along the beach, not just on Ocracoke Island, but all along the Outer Banks.  We did not do any off-roading during our visit.

Outer Banks Road Trip - October 2017 - Days 1 and 2

October 19, 2017

On the road again, can’t wait to get on the road again… You guessed it, another road trip!! After work, we hit the road for a long weekend in the Outer Banks (North Carolina).  We go to the Columbus area where we stayed at the Best Western Canal Winchester Inn – Columbus South East.  It was just okay, I probably would not stay there again.

Gilford Court House National Military Park

October 20, 2017

We had breakfast and were packed up and ready to go by 8am.  We had decided to take the longer route to get to the Outer Banks because we wanted to visit a few National Park sites that we had not yet visited.  Gilford Court House National Military Park was the first site of the day.  The battle that was fought here back in 1781 was one of the largest and most contested battles in the American Revolution, and helped lead the way to the Cornwallis surrender at Yorktown.  The site was not too busy.  The video was just starting when we arrived so we watched that before exploring everything else.  The video was good and worth the watch.

Raleigh, NC Capitol

Onward we go…continuing with our visits to the state capitol, we were able to swing by Raleigh. We arrived just after 5pm, so there was plenty of free street parking available.  The capitol was not overly large, but was a very pretty building that demonstrates Greek Revival style architecture. The capitol was built in 1840 and is listed on the National Historic Landmark registry.

Back on the road we FINALLY arrived to our accommodation for our Outer Banks visit!  We stayed at a lovely place called Beachwoods in Kitty Hawk. The place boasts as being a 4 seasons resort. There were a ton of amenities – indoor pool (with a few waterslides), outdoor pool, tennis court, volley ball court, and nature trail. Totally worth staying at if you are in the area for a visit.

DC - Sept 2017 - Days 5 & 6 & 7

September 3, 2017

International Spy Museum

My name is Carol, Carol Liu…I was a spy for the day at the International Spy Museum! There was an admission to get into the museum, but we were able to find a $3 off per person at the hotel we were staying at. It was $21.95 for adults.  We spent about 2 hours at the museum, our friends spent 4 hours.  Your ticket does allow you to leave and come back.  When we left, there was a line forming outside of the building, so I would recommend going early if you plan to go.  Some of the popular items to check out include the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger, the lipstick pistol, and the spy pigeon.

We had lunch next door at the Shake Shack. It was a bit of a line, but it was a convenient location. After lunch, we headed over to the Smithsonian American History Museum. The highlights at the American History Museum include: the Star-Spangled Banner and the invention hall.

After spending a few hours there, we met our friends at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. I find the Air & Space Museum incredibly boring, but the guys just loved it. The museum is home to the largest collection of air and spacecraft in the world.

Dinner ended up just being at the Capitol Bistro, which was in our hotel. There was a buffet option and we did that, it was decent ($23/person).

September 4, 2017

Union Station

The morning started with saying farewell to our friends. They had taken the Amtrak Train from Charleston, SC.  In the future, they said that would not take the train – long ride (7 hrs. and once getting off the train they felt like they were swaying back and forth).  We had a little bit of time to spend at Union Station before the next door Smithsonian of Postal Stamps opened.  Union Station is a pretty building but there were a lot of homeless people in that area. The Postal Museum actually ended up being a lot more interesting that we had expected. The highlights were the “Jenny” stamps (stamps that were misprinted – for sure watch the video about it!), you can select six cancelled stamps to take home with you, mail a postcard, and learn about how mail is moved. We ended up spending more time that planned at the museum, about 2 hours.

Besides food options, at Union Station, not much else was super close by, so we decided to venture to the area near the capitol building were lots of options showed up on TripAdvisor.  We decided on We the Pizza. It was a neat little place where you can buy pizza by the slice (I had the BBQ one and it was good). We also tried the garlic knots – yum! 

After lunch, we headed to the United States Botanic Garden. For some reason, I had expected this place to be really large, but in reality, it did not take much time at all to make it thru the place.  There were some really neat plants!

"The Castle" Smithsonian Building

Next stop the Smithsonian Institution Building, also known as “The Castle”, the first Smithsonian museum.  The museum was a great place to figure out what Smithsonian has the most stuff you would be interested in – lots of touch screen options.  In general, there were not that many things to see in this specific Smithsonian.  Based on the touch screen, we had missed quite a bit of stuff at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, so we headed back over there for a few hours. Leaving the museum, we headed over to the Chinatown area.

Chinatown

The previous day we had waited too long to figure dinner out so we made reservations earlier in the day for a place called Plan B Burger (also called b DC Penn Quarter), again based on a recommendation from a friend.  The place was not very busy and the food was great!  We had tried to get a reservation the night before but there was like a 2-3 hour wait. The restaurant is next to the US Navy Memorial Plaza.

September 5, 2017

Time to head back to Michigan… We had a few hours to spare in the morning, so we headed back to the Air and Space Museum, since there was some stuff that Mike did not get a chance to see.  Noon was our hotel check-out time, which just happened to be about the time we needed to head to the airport.  We took the Metro to the airport, checked our bags, and got thru security really fast. The line to check bags was longer than the security line.  We had lunch in the airport terminal at a place called Good Stuff Eatery. It was really good!  Our flight home was delayed about 20 minutes due to incoming storms. The flight was a bit longer since we took a different route than normal and it was pretty smooth right until right before we landed.  All in all it was great trip!  Of course, we need to go back and visit again – a few National Park sites were closed for remodeling. One thing that we did not do during our visit was take advantage of the Bike Share – it seemed like a great idea and we saw lots of bike stands around. If you are visiting DC you might want to check into that to get around to places.

DC - Sept 2017 - Days 3 & 4

 
September 1, 2017

Jefferson Memorial

Back on the Big Bus, we headed to the Jefferson Memorial. For the most part, we had the entire place to ourselves. We spent probably about an hour there before hopping back on the bus and heading to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. The site was interesting. It was divided into 4 different open air rooms, each representing an elected term. There was a lot of water and quotes incorporated into the design, for sure worth a visit.  Next door, to this memorial is the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial. The monument again is unique, with quotes and the memorial kind of cut out and pushed out of the wall.  Another nearby site the DC War Memorial.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

Upon recommendation of the Big Bus Tour guide, we had lunch in the Ronald Reagan Building. It was an excellent choice – there were many options!  We did have to go thru security to get into the building, but the line was pretty much not existent!

Martin Luther King Jr.
Memorial

After lunch, we visited the visited the Old Post Office Tower, which you access thru the Trump Hotel.  The clock tower provides nice views of the city. The elevators do not hold many people, so be prepared to wait. Lucky us, there was not much of a wait when we arrived.

We checked out a place called Elephant & Castle for dinner – it was good! The dessert was not quite as good as the night before, but for sure worth it for dinner. 

A view from the Old Post Office Tower

Since the bus pass included the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum we decided to check it out. It was our first time in a wax museum, it was not quite as creepy as I thought it would have been.  This particular one was mostly about the presidents. I probably will never go to a wax museum ever again, unless it is free.

September 2, 2017

Capitol Building

The day started with a visit to the Capitol.  I had reserved tickets online. Once thru security, you can redeem the email confirmation for a real ticket.  The tour started with a video and then everyone was divided into groups.  The tour guide that we got with was really good – informative but funny! The architecture is for sure worth the visit. From the capitol, you are able to take an underground tunnel over to the Library of Congress, doing so means you get to skip the security line. The Library of Congress is another beautiful building that is worth a visit.

Capitol Building Dome

Library of Congress

We went over the Union Station for lunch. There were quite a few options, just nothing much sounded good to me. I ended up getting a wrap of some sort that was just okay.

The afternoon was spent at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum where the main highlights included: the Hope Diamond (not as big as you might think), an 80-foot dinosaur skeleton, a life-size model of a blue whale, and a prehistoric white shark.

For dinner, we checked out a Mexican place called Oyamel Cocina Mexicana which translates a type of fir tree that monarch butterflies winter at.  It was a small plates type of place. We were told it would be an hour wait, but we got in before that. There was a cupcake place nearby (Red Velvet Cupcakery) that we purchased cupcakes from for dessert. The Mexican food and cupcakes were both tasty!