After Ashley left I took a day to mourn while we cleaned up the bus a little and did some laundry and whatnot. That night we were fortunate enough to meet up with my cousin Sean down in Alexandria, VA. We had a nice dinner at an Irish pub and it was pretty cool because our waitress was actually Irish, I wish I could type the accent out phonetically, but I just don’t know how to quite capture it. Anyway going off a recommendation from Sean we headed out to Annapolis the next day.

Seeing as how Annapolis is known as the sailing capitol of the US certain I was going to enjoy it, and of course I did. It’s a pretty small town but with a lot of history and naval ties. We also visited the Naval Academy campus there just to check it out. The campus was really nice and the very formal, we even saw some younger students or “midshipmen” practicing the color guard duties. After Annapolis we set sail for Baltimore (only on the bus, so not really setting sail, but you get the reference).

Baltimore brought about one magnificent change for us that we had yet to experience on this trip, wearing pants. For the first time in my life I was happy that it had cooled off and the sun was gone for a day or two. Luckily it didn’t rain though, so we were still able to see the sights in Baltimore. First stop was the National Aquarium. The best part was seeing a lot of the stuff that we actually swam with when we went snorkeling in the keys. The puffer fish that I once caught was on display in a tank, as well as sea turtles, sting rays, and other tropical fish like the tarpon. Actually let me reevaluate the best part, aside from the hundreds of animals in tanks and cages there was a dolphin show. It wasn’t quite like Sea World in San Diego (no Shamu) but it was pretty entertaining. After the aquarium we walked around the inner harbor and over to Fell’s point.

The next day we went to Fort McHenry. On an average day it would have just been a pretty cool historic fort with a good story to go along with it, but on the day we went it was awesome because we basically got to reenact the raising of the gigantic flag after the British retreated from their attack on Baltimore. You may remember the battle better if you listen to our national anthem, it was written at Fort McHenry after that battle. I won’t go into the whole history lesson about the fort and the song, but it was a cool experience to raise that flag at Fort McHenry. After the fort we cruised through the Mount Vernon area and saw the original Washington Monument. (Mount Vernon area of Baltimore, not to be confused with Mount Vernon, VA where Washington lived.) Apparently Baltimore made a Washington monument first, but it is nowhere near as spectacular as the one in DC. We also cruised through the first “Basilica” in the United States, it was pretty impressive. Baltimore was good and we lucked out with the weather finally, hopefully it won’t get crazy into the 100’s again on the adventure.

- Carson

I’ll bet you thought your history lesson was over after you read the Virginia blog… I am sorry to say that it must continue because next up on our list was Washington DC. This stop brought mixed emotions for me because it actually is where my trip all came to an end (you can read more of that stuff in the next blog, my farewell to eBUS live). I was pretty amped that we got to spend 3.5 days in DC, and we surely used every minute of it. We probably did the same amount of stuff that most people would see there in a week or more. The first day, we didn’t really have a plan so we headed out to DC on the metro. While we were on the metro, we saw the various stops and decided what we were going to do based on the metro stop. Maybe it wasn’t the best plan, but it worked out for us. We decided to go to the pentagon first. Silly us, we thought we could walk right through the pentagon doors and hop on a tour (we didn’t actually think this). Needless to say, we did not get to go inside, but we did get to walk around and see the reconstruction of the pentagon from 9-11. It was pretty sobering to see how much destruction was done to the building. After our quick 15 min tour of the perimeter of the pentagon, we headed off to Arlington Cemetery. That was a sight to see! We walked around, saw the amazing views, Kennedy’s grave, the Lee monument, and the tomb of the unknown soldier as well as the changing of the guards. I would say that the changing of the guards is way too over dramatic to happen every 30 min, but I can respect the tradition. After walking around the cemetery, we headed over the the Iwo Jima monument with the famous statue of the soldiers hoisting up the American flag.

Next on the list was to see the national archives including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. This room made me very proud to live in a country that takes such pride in our history of our founding fathers and their goals of freedom and equality. I also got to put together some of this history lessons I took with me from Virginia (Jefferson’s house, the big battles of the Revolutionary war ect.)which was pretty cool. By this point, it was getting pretty late, so we made the bad choice of going into Chinatown to a restaurant we didn’t know and ate some less than desirable Thai food.

The next day, it was just Carson and I, so we decided to go to some of the Smithsonian museums. We went to the Holocaust Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Museum of flight. They were all very educational; we even got to see the Hope Diamond as well as some other very valuable gems. Maybe that is only really exciting for girls. Carson and I also did a lot of walking around to various sights in DC. We walked to the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court Building, the White House, Ford’s Theater (where Lincoln was shot), and the house where Lincoln Died. We were very tired after all the walking and museums so we grabbed a bite to eat at Carson’s favorite pizza place, Matchbox. If you know Carson even a little, you would be impressed at this because his favorite thing in the world is pizza; he gets pizza EVERYWHERE and has it probably 6 out of 7 days of the week. So… I guess what I am saying is if you ever see a Matchbox, stop by for their pepperoni pizza, it is the BEST! (No they did not pay me to tell you this) After pizza we went back to the bus and immediately fell asleep.

The next morning was an early one because we realized the day before that we needed to get tickets to places like the Washington Monument, the Bureau of Engraving, and the Capitol Building before 9 in the morning. Carson and I headed off again without Lieu and we were on a mission; the get ticket mission. We pretty much ran to the Bureau of Engraving, the Washington Monument, and then took the metro down to the Capitol Building to make sure that we could visit all these places. Luckily we got in to everything! First we toured the Capitol Building which was awesome, then we met up with Lieu to go to the Bureau of Engraving and to go to the top of the Washington Monument. After we used up our tickets, we walked to the Lincoln monument as well as stopping by the South Korean Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. Each of them were unique and different which made it very enjoyable to visit them all. Since Lieu did not go with us the day before, he wanted to get a chance to see the White House, so on our way to dinner, we made a stop at the White House. For the last supper I had with eBUS live, we again went to Matchbox. We had a great dinner and it was nice to finally rest and relax our tired legs and feet. After dinner, we made a quick stop at the Jefferson Monument and then went back to the bus… we were pooped! It was the third day straight of walking and looking and learning that we did not have much energy to go out and celebrate my last evening. It was nice though to enjoy the last night on the bus with Carson and Lieu.

The next day, I had one more thing I really wanted to do before I left; Mount Vernon. A lot of my desire to go here stems from an early childhood experience. When I was little, one of my elementary school teachers asked the class if anyone had been to Mount Vernon. I, along with a few other students, raised my hand. My teacher then started to talk about history and asked questions that did not pertain to the Mount Vernon I was talking about. I quickly realized that we were not talking about the same Mount Vernon so I played dumb and let the students who went to Mount Vernon in Virginia answer all of her questions. I had been to the Mount Vernon in Washington State. My family and I met some friends that had moved to Canada at the Dairy Queen, so unless she wanted to know what I had for lunch I had nothing to add to the conversation. Anyway, I got to see the Mount Vernon my elementary school teacher questioned me about, and it was pretty spectacular. Apparently one million people each year walk through Washington’s doors! Also, the original stair rail is still in the house, so it was neat to be able to touch the handle that Washington and so many other important figures have touched. We could not stay for long because I had to catch a plane back to reality. I felt like I really got to see Washington DC, thanks Carson and Lieu for making that happen.

-Ashley

The South is full of history, but Virginia is where it all started. Let’s talk about the beach first. We stayed in Virginia Beach for a couple of days knowing that it might be our last chance to bask in the sun and play in the water. The volleyball courts were so nice there we couldn’t resist trying to play despite the fact that we only had three people. If you know anyone who wants to join us on the bus, please let us know. After the beach we walked on the boardwalk for a while. It’s supposedly one of the best in America, but I didn’t see what all the hype was about. I think it’s because I’m comparing it to Venice, my favorite boardwalk of all time. We saw another lighthouse and Ashley bought a pair of shoes and that’s all we did in Virginia Beach.

Now everybody pay close attention to what I’m about to tell you to learn how you were given the opportunity to live in America, land of the free, home of the brave. Our first stop was Jamestown, the first English settlement in the new world established 400 years ago. I’m sure you’ve all heard the story of John Smith and Pocahontas, it all happened in Jamestown. We saw statues of John and Pocahontas as well as artifacts from the original fort. I kind of feel bad for the Indians who didn’t believe in owning land since the English came over and claimed whatever land they wanted to because they had guns and the Indians had spears and bow and arrows. Next up was Yorktown where the last battle of the revolution took place. Over 200 years ago, a guy by the name of General George Washington led a group of red tag soldiers in a siege on General Cornwallis’ last stronghold in the new world. If Washington failed, you would be living on British soil. With a little help from General Rochambeau of the French army, we dominated and Cornwallis gave up in the Moore house which we got to go inside in Yorktown. We also saw the battlefield where it all went down. Pretty much any where there was a gap in trees large enough to fit all the soldiers that were fighting, a battle took place. Last stop on the historic triangle was Colonial Williamsburg. It was like a historic amusement park where people dressed up in goofy clothes and portrayed life in the 1800’s in the colonial world. It was pretty interesting to see old world life, but the ice cream I ordered tasted very similar to modern day ice cream. They had a bunch of reenactments of blacksmiths, newspaper pressing and so on, but we didn’t get to see those because we didn’t pay the ridiculously overpriced entrance fee.

Are you falling asleep yet? I hope not because your boss probably doesn’t appreciate sleeping on the job. Two more historic stops in Virginia: Appomattox and Monticello. After a two hour drive through the Virginia countryside, we came upon a small group of buildings known as Appomattox. Switchback to the Civil War which started in Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, well it all ended in Appomattox. We toured the McLean house which is where General Lee of the Confederates surrendered to General Grant of the Union reuniting the states. The McLean house is to the Civil War as the Moore house is to the American Revolution. Write that down, it might be on your next history quiz. Last stop was Monticello aka Thomas Jefferson’s estate. He had a lovely place high on a mountain that took him 40 years and several remodels to make. He designed it himself. He was a pretty smart guy. You might know him better as the writer of the Declaration of Independence and as our third president. Not quite as cool as George, but he did his part in founding our country. Our next stop will be Washington DC.

Only two quick days in North Carolina, but that was enough for me to want a cabin on the outer banks. Within an hour and a half of leaving the entertainment packed Myrtle Beach we arrived in a nice little town called Wilmington. Had a few more navigating problems and drove 10 minutes out of the way before U-turning, but it worked out as usual. Wilmington was a nice little historical town similar to Charleston. We did a self guided driving tour of the historic area and the riverfront. After talking to the Visitor Center lady for a while we were told that Wilmington also has the most movie and TV filming activity east of the Mississippi (somehow I think New York, but who knows). The claim to fame is Dawson’s Creek and now One Tree Hill. After our whirlwind tour of Wilmington we were off to the outer banks.

The bus has been running pretty good lately but we decided against driving it up the outer banks and instead we opted for a plan to park the bus slightly inland in the northern part of the state and then drive the car down and back up the outer banks. We got started the next morning and it was a packed day. First stop was Kitty Hawk aka the birthplace of aviation. It was pretty cool to see the exact spot where the Wright brothers took off and landed the first plane flights ever. There was a nice monument and several air conditioned exhibits explaining the accomplishment and the science behind it. Pretty much those guys were geniuses and they built and paid for everything themselves from experiments to prototypes to the construction of the first self propelled flying craft. I didn’t realize how much they did themselves, including figuring out the best wing construction as well as building an engine from scratch that was light enough and powerful enough to get the job done. Perhaps the most memorable thing I read was a Buzz Aldrin quote “from Kitty Hawk to the moon in 66 years”. It’s pretty amazing what the Wright brothers achieved and how it has changed the world. Anyway, back to the trip. Next stop was Roanoke Island where the first landing of English settlers took place in 1585. It is not remembered as the first landing because the settlement failed earning the nickname of the Lost Colony. It was not for another 22 years and another leader of England that English settlers finally established a lasting colony in Jamestown, VA (coming up on the tour). After the history stops we continued down the banks and visited some beaches and lighthouses. The most impressive lighthouse was easily the Hatteras Lighthouse, known as America’s lighthouse. It is the tallest lighthouse in America. It was pretty impressive knowing how long ago they built it and that they made it completely out of bricks. After a 40 minute ferry ride our last destination was Ocracoke Island. Known as the island were the ponies run wild, (which they no longer do) Ocracoke is probably the most touristy town on the outer banks. It is only accessible by ferry and it has many restaurants, hotels, condos, and a marina. The town was pretty nice but it was just packed with people. Lastly we took a quick break and checked out the beaches of the outer banks. After that we headed back to the bus, but not before a quick bite to eat at the islands best pizza of course. It was a long day, but it was great.

So why do I want a cabin there? Let me tell you a quick list of activities and whatnot that takes place in the outer banks. There is awesome sailing, great sand, warm sun, clear skies, bright stars, beautiful sunrises, excellent shore fishing, also good deep sea fishing, always fun sea-dooing, great off-roading with a sand rail or other sand vehicle, plus I’d have a salt-free spa on my sundeck at my super sweet cabin.

- Carson

Hey guys, we’re back. We’ve been slackin’ on the updates; can you blame us for having too much fun? Our first stop in South Carolina was Charleston; it reminded me of Savannah, a small town with a lot of history. The only difference was that there was no Paul Deen, thank goodness. Before I tell you what we did there, let me tell you how we got there. I don’t know if you know this, but we usually drive the bus at night when it’s not too hot outside. So it’s around three o’clock in the morning and we’re approaching our destination. We’ve been driving on this dark windy road for a while and everyone’s starting to get worried we’re lost and that the South Carolina Chainsaw Massacre is going to get us. We pull over to figure out where we are on the computer, but it’s hard because we’re in the middle of nowhere and the internet speed is crawling. Ashley has a great idea and tells us to find the number to Walmart (that’s where we always stay) so she can call them, but she couldn’t find her phone (she never knows where anything is) so she asked Carson for his. I don’t know what happened next, but all of a sudden they were frustrated at each other and the next thing I know Ashley’s going to bed so I end up calling Walmizzle. About an hour after we pulled over, we found out Walmart was only a couple of miles down the road right behind us. Carson and I felt dumb, but looking back it was funny. After we got there we figured out that this Walmart was kind of new and that’s why Google didn’t know its location. The moral of the story is don’t let me navigate and don’t always trust Google. Later that day we hit up downtown and the city market, cute place where tourists go to shop and eat. The weather wasn’t cooperating with us because it started raining which meant plan b; take a driving tour of Charleston via automobile to check out the sites. We went to Patriot’s Point, drove across Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge to Sullivan’s Island and saw Fort Moultrie, but our main attraction was a boat ride to Fort Sumter, the birthplace of the Civil War. To be able to visit such a significant place in history was quite the spectacle. We got to see pictures of what the fort looked like before it got destroyed, it would’ve been cool to see it in its glory.

Next up was Myrtle Beach; can anybody guess what we did there? If you said hiking, you’re wrong. Before I tell you what we did there, let me tell you how frickin’ hot it was. First of all, every time I stepped outside I was soaking from sweat and condensation all over my body. Second of all, my eye glasses would fog up instantly so I would go blind for a few seconds. Lastly, the heat index was 15 degrees hotter than what the thermometer read. That’s because it was ridiculously humid just as if you were in a sauna. Carson’s mom warned us about the unbearable heat before we even left on this trip, but we didn’t think it was going to be that bad. Even the extreme temperature couldn’t stop us from experiencing Myrtle Beach. Let me give you a quick recap of the events of our adventures in Myrtle Beach. Obviously we went to the beach and it was different than any other one we’ve been to because the water was actually refreshing, not lukewarm like a bathtub. We also saw a double feature at the cinema for the price of one. Are we bad for sneaking into a movie? Please leave your opinion on the comments page. There was a great outdoor shopping center called Barefoot Landing. Luckily for us, we were there for free firework show Monday. We thought it would be nice to see a musical variety show, so we went to the well-known Carolina Opry. It was a performance to behold from all sorts of different music and they even threw in a few comedy acts. Our plan was to leave right after the show; however, we couldn’t resist playing 18 holes at the site of the U.S. Open of putt-putt. Carson won both rounds. He’s the best and Ashley had the best putt of the day on the very last hole where she canned it from 25 feet with a double banker. I forgot to tell you about our stay at an rv park while we were there. It was just an average rv park, but something not so average happened that night. I set the world record for otter pop consumption in one night. If you look it up in the Guinness Book of World Records, you will see my name. I will take on any challengers to prove that I am the best.

After our adventure through Orlando, we said goodbye to Florida because a new state awaited our arrival… Georgia, sweet Georgia.   After a long day playing around at the Universal Orlando theme parks, headed off on a four hour drive.  It was tough but we made it to Brunswick, Ga around four in the morning.   When we woke up the next morning, actually afternoon, we had a new comment with a suggestion of a place to eat: Willies Weenie Wagon.  It was great to finally get a suggestion so we stopped by the restaurant to eat some pork sandwiches on our way to Jekyll Island.  The sandwiches were alright; mainly it was awesome to have someone post a comment with a suggestion of someplace new to try.  We continued on to Jekyll Island which was really cool with old historic homes that had been renovated into hotels and museums, big grassy fields, and tall oak trees.  It was just how I pictured Georgia.  Jekyll Island is also where the first transcontinental phone call was made, so we got to see a little bit of history that I use every day.  Thanks Alexander Graham Bell!   Since our next stop was Savannah, we headed back to the bus early so we could make the short one hour drive and get a good night’s sleep.  Unfortunately for us, we had a minor complication with the bus which set us back a few hours; however, it was all worth it because Carson finally picked up some sunglasses at the truck stop that we had to go to.  For those of you that aren’t aware, Carson has been searching for the perfect pair of sunglasses for about 8 years now so be sure to leave him a comment about how nice they look.   Needless to say we eventually made it to Savannah, a town where Carson doesn’t have to squint.

I really was excited to try Paula Deen’s restaurant that is in Savannah, “The Lady and Son’s”, but we did not wake up early enough to get on the waiting list the first day.  Instead we walked around the historic district in Georgia’s first town, Savannah, which is a really beautiful city with so much history.  There are numerous, I think 21, unique squares (parks) in the middle of the town that have old oak trees, water fountains, and beautiful old historic homes.  We also checked out River Walk which was a cobble stone road with shops and restaurants along the After a full day of walking and seeing the sights of Savannah, we headed to the bus to get some rest. 

The next morning we planned on getting up at 5 AM to watch the sunrise, and I don’t know if you know Carson and Lieu too well, but they have only seen 5 AM on the clock when they have stayed up really late… they have never seen that time when they were trying to start their day.  It was an early wake up call, Carson and Lieu eventually made it out of bed, and we made it out the door in time to see the sunrise.  Unfortunately for us, it was cloudy over the water, so we did not see the sun until about an hour after it rose, but we still got to see some beautiful pinks and purples as the sun was making its way up the horizon.  Next on the list for the day was to go to an old civil war sight; Fort Puluski.  It was really well maintained and I had a great time walking around the fort seeing where all of the soldiers fought.  By this time, it was about 8:30 AM, so we made our way back to the historic discrict to put our names in at The Lady and Son’s for lunch.  It was my lucky day because as I was waiting in line, Paula Deen herself showed up.  I don’t know if you guys know this about me, but I am always watching the Food Network and Paula Deen is my favorite!  Carson said that he thought I was as excited to see Paula Deen as he would be to see Michael Jordan.  I think that is probably an over exaggeration, it was pretty spectacular to be in the same room as someone as awesome as Paula Deen.  After my celebrity sighting, Carson, Lieu, and I sat down and had a wonderful lunch at The Lady and Son’s restaurant.  The wait was worth it because it was some of the best food I have eaten in a very long time.  We left the restaurant each with 10 extra pounds in our stomachs and ventured on to the bamboo gardens where we took a quick walking tour.  Since our wakeup call was 5 AM, we were all pretty tired so we headed back to the bus to take a nap.  After a few hours we woke up played a little volleyball in the Wal-Mart parking lot and then headed out of town towards Charleston, South Carolina. 

It was a jam packed few days, but it was all worth the time and effort to see the sights of Savannah and the best cook on the food network, Paula Deen!

 -Ashley

After visiting the keys we took a couple days to recuperate and just hung out around Fort Lauderdale. There were a few things we fixed up on the bus, did a little more cleaning, and just before leaving we were able to visit Alicia and Mechelle one last time. Orlando was our next stop, the 4th most visited city in America and the home to countless gigantic theme parks/resorts.

The first day in town we took it easy and headed out to the beach. The nearest beach to Orlando is Daytona, paradise for NASCAR fans, but to me just a pretty cool beach they let people drive on. We hung out at the beach a while, played some games, and saw our first real waves since the west coast. Body surfing was a blast as usually, but we found the rip currents to be much less entertaining. On our way out of town we took a photo in front of NASCAR Mecca the Dayton 500 sign just for fun.

For our theme park adventure we wanted to go to Universal Studios/ Islands of Adventure, but a 1 day pass was $80 per person and that seemed like a little too much. We did not give up there though; we searched through craigslist and found someone selling their passes. We ended up getting into both parks for $50 each. We spent all day at the parks riding countless rides and waiting in endless lines, but having a great time throughout the adventure. My favorite ride was probably Spiderman because it combined the 4D stuff with a ride. As for roller coasters, the Hulk was pretty good, but so far nothing compares to the X at Magic Mountain. (I’m looking forward to Cedar Point). After an exhausting day at the parks we went back to the bus and headed out to Georgia.

- Carson