Posted on 02/02/2012 8:16:00 PM PST by West Texas Chuck
I proposed to She Who Must Be Obeyed on Christmas Day, in front of all the usual suspects. So now the marriage machine is in full stroke and I am planning our honeymoon. I think we have settled on a roadtrip through the Appalachians up to Arlington. Probably come back through the FL panhandle, over to Nawlins and back home to Dallas.
I have a few thoughts and many questions ...
The NE won. Gonna hit the Smokies and Smithsonian, and Arlington. I am finally gonna put some flowers on Audie Murphy's grave, plan to drop a rose on some other Texans who are planted up there. If any fellow FReepers would like me to pay some homage to the brave ones you knew, or know of, up in the National Cemetery, I would love to hear from you. I will make a list and say my honor words to those who sleep in Virginia.
Gimme some ideas and names, I promise to spend a few minutes with them all.
Need to figure out the proper route, skipping Dollyworld but will prolly do Graceland. Lots of cool places 'tween here and there. Lay it on me kids, what would you recommend to not miss driving from Dallas to DC and back. Plan some camping in beautiful parks, but nights in hotels to take the edge off.
October 2012, hoping for exquisite foiliage and good weather. And some history, we both appreciate that stuff.
What to see FReepers? I am a blank sheet of paper.
I’d consider getting out of this while you still can. ;)
Niagara Falls?
Gettysburg for sure.
If you can come to Newfoundland, you can see giant icebergs float by the East Coast.
I just gotta say- Congratulations and best wishes to the both of you.
If you’re in DC, the museums along the National mall are nice to visit. my 2 cents.
If you’re under 50, the only advice I can give is DON’T DO IT!
Yer about to learn the definition of a wedding ring; It’s a viscious circle. Just jokin.
If it were me, I would pick HI, but you could do worse than head into the Appalachians in fall. The weather should be fantastic. In the Smokies, visit Cades Cove and hike the Abrams Falls Trail.
Do hit the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive. The foliage will be gorgeous. There’s a great winery stop in Floyd, VA along the Blue Ridge - Chateau Morisette. Nice restaurant and wine tasting. Gorgeous spot - sit on the restaurant deck if the weather is nice. Take a blanket, lie on the lawn and take a snooze after lunch.
There’s enough to do in Washington to keep you busy for weeks, so you’ll have to pick and choose. A relatively inexpensive hotel (for D.C.) is the Courtyard Washington Capitol Hill/Navy Yard. It’s not so cheap in the summer or during the cherry blossom time, but off season it’s not bad considering. It’s not too far from public transportation or you could even walk to Capitol Hill from there (about a mile or so).
Congratulations and have a great trip.
If you must go east, Yorktown on the Va Peninsula might ring a Patriotic bell for you.
I suspect you’ll be glad to return to Texas; I’d have headed west myself.
If your going to Memphis, then head over to Shiloh Battlefield, then up the Cumberland valley(one of the great unknown beauty spots) to Nashville. From Nashville to Galtinburg to Clingman’s Dome, then on to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown Battlefield will take the better part of 2 days. Chicamaugwa Battlefield in NW-most Georgia; Vicksburg; The Trace roadway to N’Allins, and Chalmette Battlefield. Bring y’all’s stilts as The French Quarter is 6 feet below Sea Level at mean low tide. (So far the Miss. River flood berm has held). Tyler with miles of rose fields and then WHAM! lots of Texans in Big D.
CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you pick a cold, rainy, foggy location, she’ll be more likely to want to stay inside the hotel room :-)
First off...CONGRATULATIONS!!
A few suggesions:
I did 80 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah last spring...I know you’re not looking to do backpacking, but there are nice day hikes there and in other parks along the A.T.
Went to Gettysburg last summer, highly recommend.
Check out what’s going on in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Of course there’s the factory “tour,” which is neat, but there’s also a theme park, an amphitheater (saw Def Leppard and Heart there last summer) and an Antique Auto Museum that’s worth checking out.
One FReeper suggested the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum at Dulles (the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center), and I second that! They have the Enola Gay there, as well as Ross Perot’s helicopter that he flew across the world, an SR-71 blackbird, a Concorde, and the Space Shuttle Enterprise, to name a few. You could easily spend two days in there.
Good luck and have fun!
See if the Redskins are in town. Seeing them get their butts whooped could be fun.
A+1 on Skyline Drive. That is a nice drive.
If you can get up to Anapolis, that’s a great time to be there.
But make all of your reservations early,, and be a patient tourist. Columbus day is a very busy weekend.
Ditto for the Gettysburg and Antietam battlefields. The Cyclorama is back at Gettysburg after a five year restoration and is a must see. If time allows, you might also enjoy Harper's Ferry and Monocacy battlefield or follow the Lee invasion through southern Pennsylvania as our highland backcountry is gorgeous and full of quaint little towns with great food and friendly people.
Sure, you have to go through Louisiana, but Vicksburg, required me to add a day of leave to my travel time... Great history there.
/johnny
If the two of you are the type that can handle it, more power to you! When my wife and I were considering our honeymoon we began with planning a road trip (prior to gps). Then one day as I was contemplating maps, and getting lost, and traffic jams, and carguments, and the possibility of a car accident in unknown territory, and a different motel - hotel - B&B each day, etc. etc. (These days you may also want to think on the probability of meeting bed bugs) As for me, I squashed that very quickly. We went to the Caribbean and loved every minute of it. It made it possible for the focus to be us together instead of where we were going next and what time we had to be there.
Technically, we’re mid-Atlantic, not “north east”.
:)
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