Baltimore/D.C

We left Philly and made it to Baltimore. We looked for a hotel for a while at the fabulous Baltimore Travel Center (bus station). Rather than spend 90 dollars on a room for 5 hours we decided to sleep in the van. Just a little side note: In my opinion Baltimore is a complete waste of a city if you ask me. I have only been there twice but I can say that I have not seen one thing to make me ever want to go back.First thing in the morning we headed for D.C. with hopes of seeing President Oboma (no such luck). Washington was cold, windy, and overcast when we arrived. Most of the monuments were under maintenance. The reflecting pool and WWII both had no water so the photos turned out less than impressive. Never the less it was great to walk around the national mall and see in person some of the views. I stood where MLK gave his I have a dream speach. That was a great feeling. And I got to see the Obama White House in the first months. Washington really has a unique engery that I appreicate. Of course there are the govermental elements. Mixed in you could feel the implied history and then there is the sturcture of the city. By being on the ground you can really tell that Washington has a particualar layout that is powerful and subtle. I would have never know this feeling exactly without experiencing the city first hand. I really enjoyed that part of being in the Nation's Capital.Around mid day Ches and I went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. This was my favioate part of the entire trip. I just loved everything about this place. There were so many things. I saw the Hope Dimond, A huge head from Eastern Island, amazing fosils, stuffed animals of all kinds. This place was just fantastic. Ches and I were lucky to go on a Tuesday b/c the butterfly exhibit is free. I took some cool photos and Ches met his dream girl. While we were looking at the butterflies one landes on a girl's head. Ches was nearly speachless. I took the chance to snap some photos from my camera and with the girl's camera. Ches said he is going to find a girl like the "butterfly girl."We left D.C. feeling cultured and excted for the last half of the trip. It wasn't long before he hit Northern Virgina and it felt like home. The people were more Southern than Northern. Ches and I had an amazing dinner of pulled pork sandwiches and sweet tea. On the advice of an elderly man at the meuseum we decided to take the Blue Ridge Parkway for the view. That ended up being great advice. We saw great views, wildlife, and an amazing sunset over the vally. The scenic route took an extra two hours or so but it was well worth it. Around sunset we set out on the last leg of the trip.