RJP BOF: Charleston to NYC

Myrtle Beach is a renowned beach location so we stopped to get the official...

feet in the Atlantic picture.

It was pretty horrible and had the usual kitsch Ripley's, Wax museums and other canned entertainment.... although it was missing a Titanic museum.

The locals seem to like it.

We'd had enough after an hour and ended up driving back through North Carolina that day for an overnight in Portsmouth. These guys like their cars so much that they even have instructions...

Demonstrating how it can be done...

We rarely see anyone else walking and in many places it's very hard to get to where you want to go safely without getting in the car and driving. However the docks are always open for a stroll...

Lots of marina queens. I want this one!

Portsmouth also had sidewalks on the streets and on the northern side was picturesque.

Even free street parking on this side of the bay.

Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel (CBBT) is a bit epic. It's 23 Km long so you can't see the other side when you take off across the bay.

There are man made islands, fishing piers and restaurants to stop at along the way...

Pancakes for brekky on the Bridge.

Crossing the bridge into the Chesapeake area also means that the Redneck/Deer ratio has inverted. A lot less pickup trucks to dodge on the road but more wild deer to keep an eye out for. Now that we have come North the state parks are a bit drier but a lot more expensive....

$33 per night for a campsite is a bit rich. Being on the shore of Chesapeake bay means that local seafood is plentiful. Even we went for a walk that evening and caught half a dozen blue crabs for a taste. So we though of it as $13 for the camp and $20 worth of crabs...

The camera and the torches both ran out of batteries so this is all you get. Much frivolity ensured.

If you can't afford a boat just build one. Seen a few like these being towed around. Lots of protected waterways to explore all up the east coast...

Even a cute little ships bell.

Still lots of little stops to enjoy the culture. Deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

Even the cook was a bit fried...

The Mustang had the first day off so I headed out to do the selfie thing in Washington...

...but I wasn't alone...

... Forrest Gump set.

Look!

The gauntlet on the way to the White House ...

and finally the Money shot...

Lots of happy looking chaps...

This guy had a sense of humor and I almost made him smile.

Lots of Placards.

The land of Granite, marble and steps...

The real house of power.

Some of the buskers were unusual...

Barack likes jazz so Washington has taken it to extreme. Speaking of extreme...

What could that drum stool be possibly made of?

Look!

Smithsonian was packed with kids so I didn't stay long. Just in for a quick...

...nosey.

I walked the whole strip but only visited the western side that day...

Donny Darko's Thinker.

Rodin's Thinker

I ended up getting stuck in the National gallery which was pretty amazing. Firstly I couldn't believe they would let me in and then get so close to some of these little beauties...

Renoir...This'll fit in my bag.

Monet... I should have brought a bigger bag.

Resemblance?

Paint me like one of your French girls...

Deep in the basement was the really valuable stuff. The Holy Grail!

Actually a 200BC hand carved stone cup that had a gold and silver setting added several centuries later. An absolute treasure. In a room by itself. And no security guard.

Look!

Money shot of Scaffolding...

That night we went to hear the national orchestra at the Kenedy Centre and...

got a nose bleed.

The next day I took The Mustang back to where I ended and she managed to get told off trying to nick the only DaVinci. No questionable "Mona Lisa" look here....

"No. It wasn't me"

Spent some time at the Native American museum...

Seems to have stopped working...

Look!

Baltimore is a real historical area that has been paved over and the inner harbour has been turned into another tourist "Mecca"...

The last surviving ship from Pearl Harbour...

US Constellation 1861.

Federal Hill overlooks the inner harbour and was occupied by Federal Forces throughout the duration of the civil war making it a bit of place for the Mustang to do a Cher pose. Turning back time...

... is only possible by travelling faster than the speed of light which you can't do by falling off a cannon down a hill. Apparently.

Ssshhh ... This is the road sign that tells you where to get off the Interstate for the Secret Service. It has camera deflecting technology.

All through our camping in the South the Mustang has been determined to have a decent camp fire, however the wood has just been too wet. We've even bought (with money) firewood, briquettes and literally gallons of lighter fluid to try to get the desired result. The Mustang has become a bit compulsive in her pyrotechnic endeavors. There are five individually sized piles of potential firewood placed around tonights' fire attempt in the Beltway national park...

OCD Campfire prep

I have been doing my own prep.

Over a month of attempts and at last the Mustang basks in the glow of Success!

Beltway is a little park just 20 miles North of Washington. They have a connection to the metro which means it's a great cheap place to stay if you're on a budget and want to visit the capitol. There are however some drawbacks...

10cm tiles. Yes these are mosquitos.

Actually if you don't disturb them they'll leave you alone. We do however have a lot of bites from Washington which we think must have been from bed bugs in the hotel. The Mustang is worse for wear as she spent the most time in the room.

We arrived in Philadelphia to a traffic jam. We had some oil on where to go but unfortunately ran out of time for the money shot at the Rocky statue so...