Second Installment of the G. & C. trip - 
We arrived in Washington, D.C., on a Monday, as it was getting dark. The traffic had slacked off a bit so we assumed rush hour was about over and drove down Capitol Avenue to the National Mall. We parked on Constitution Avenue and went over to take our first ever, in person, look at the Capitol of the U.S. of A. It was a bit dark for good pictures, but we tried. Then we went back to the motor home and drove further down to park closer to the Washington Monument. We checked out the World War II Memorial, strolled along the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial and back up through Constitution Garden, taking pictures all the way. It was a very special, solumn occasion being in such a place, and walking streets so many important (and world famous), people have walked. 
During our stroll back to our vehicle, we decided that the morning traffic might be a bit much. So we drove out into the countryside, along the commuter train rails and found a station near which we could park and ride. The next morning, we discovered someone had stolen our front license plate during the night (probably while it was parked next to the National Mall and we were out of it sight seeing). They probably think they're a big wheel now - a Washington D.C. person with a Washington State plate! 
Our commuter train had a stop right on the National Mall and less than a block from the original Smithsonian Building (it is primarily used as an Information Building now as there are five separate National Museums with half a dozen galleries and special exhibit buildings). First we toured the National Air & Space Museum and then the National Museum of American History. Even Merle Haggard's family had contributed some of their pioneer ancestor's belongings to that one! There is so much to see and admire and learn - - -. A person could spend a whole day in each building and not totally take it all in. Alas, we are getting a bit wore out with all the walking. 
We catch the Orange train back to Vienna, Virginia and our portable house just in time for the evening meal (which we prepare and eat in our parking space to let the rush hour traffic thin out), and then we drive south another hundred miles or so before we stop for the night. 
At about 6:30 in the evening of October 5th we see an Asplundh truck convoy going north - fifteen so far. Have they been helping to clean up after the hurricanes? Sure enough, the next morning we saw several more groups - gas company trucks, electrical service trucks, electronic specialty vans, it looks like many states sent crews to rescue their brothers. 
We're almost at the southern most edge of South Carolina and the road sides are just beautiful. They have wide swales on each side of the freeways and plant great swaths of cosmos and sometimes poppies in them. When there is water and cattails in the low places, there are egrets hunting. 
We arrived in historic Savannah, Georgia in time for a stroll and lunch on the Savannah River front. The city seems to be filled with very old gnarled trees whose festoons of Spanish moss wave cheerfully in every gentle breeze. The very narrow, old streets and warehouses (now converted to little shops and restaurants on the street level), are built mostly of ship's ballast. So a building will have massive walls of odd size, shape and color of rock with brick corner areas framing them, and elegant, intricate, wrought iron balconies and trims framing the openings in the walls. 
After totally relaxing in Georgia, we begin to tense up again in northern Florida as we start to enter the hurricane devastated areas. The bill boards are mostly skeletons when they're up at all. And there are a lot of the highway signs laying in the neighboring bushes or folded in half against their posts. The trees look pretty brown compared to Georgia, tho' it hasn't been dry here - it's just that they are mostly missing their foliage. The suburbs are decorated everywhere with blue tarps, especially the mobile home parks. The businesses haven't fared as badly. 
We drove out to Cocoa Beach to walk again in the Atlantic, and then drove on to Lauderdale by the Sea where a cousin and her family live. After a special evening visit, she treated us to breakfast at a wonderful beach front cafe with open sides as if we were on a boardwalk with tables. We strolled through the downtown (and an occasional store), on the way back to their condo. 
Our next goal is the farthest south a person can drive and still be connected to the United States mainland, Key West. We got to the end of the Keys in time for their usual sunset party. What festivities! A little more drinking and dancing then we're used to, but the majority of the attendees were having a great time. We bought giant Ben & Jerry's ice cream cones and checked out the shops and store fronts on the way back to our Vixen. We have a rented spot at Bahia Honda State Park. Our Vixen looks out over the Gulf of Mexico as we sleep, and the next day we play in the Atlantic surf on the opposite side of the park. We aren't in the water more than a minute or two when I found a wondrous shell about three inches long - alas, it was occupied. I threw it out several feet from shore hoping to give it a fighting chance from those who seemed to be hunting shells this am. Bougainvillea drapes over hibiscus hedges near palm lined driveways. Brown pelicans fish in the tidelands while egrets stalk their prey in the coastal brush. It is all so beautiful that one could almost forget the hurricane damage farther north. 
It is time I stop again for the night. Hope to see you all again tomorrow. 
Much love, Connie and Gary