Virginia (Part 1)

7/31/26 - After one night in our campground, we packed some overnight bags to head towards the Virginia coast for a couple of days. We spent several hours in Colonial Williamsburg ("the world's largest living history museum, where restored 18th-century buildings, costumed interpreters, and hands-on demonstrations bring Virginia's colonial capital and the story of America's founding to life").

On our tour of the Virginia Governor's house, who in 1775, was a man selected by the King of England

Our favorite things about the visit: the sidewalk back through time,

talking to the blacksmith that had been working at the park for almost 50 years, the special treatment Pat got at the Liberty Lounge:

and this colonial-era map:

Look at the shapes of Michigan, the Great Lakes, and the southern states!

For dinner we had amazingly delicious pizza at a Mellow Mushroom Restaurant.

8/1/26 - Virginia Half Marathon completed on a pretty wooded course. We saw a snake cross the path near the end.

8/2/26 - We continued southeast for our morning bus tour of Norfolk Naval Base (the world's largest naval base, serving as the headquarters and home port for a large concentration of U.S. Navy ships, aircraft, and military personnel). It was a good tour, despite only being able to understand half of what the tour guide said due to his accent! No pictures allowed. We saw lots of barracks, Admiral's Row (the nice houses where they live), the huge ships at the 14 piers, and more.

After a quick lunch in town, we parked and spent about an hour in a marine museum before our afternoon boat tour of the Norfolk Harbor (called Hampton Roads). Another good tour despite only being able to understand half of what the tour guide said due to his speed!

I was able to take LOTS of pictures on this tour. We saw dozens of military ships at the naval base and in dry dock at private boat yards.

Most amazing are the aircraft carriers capable of carrying 60+ aircraft and ~5,000 personnel 

We stopped for a seafood dinner on the way back to the RV, driving by Hampton University on the way.

8/4/26 - We drove 2.5 hours to get to Shenandoah National Park. Once there, we traveled on Skyline Drive which picks up where the Blue Ridge Parkway ends (at the south end of the park). It too is on the ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

After stopping at a few overlooks, we hiked along part of the Appalachian Trail to the 4051' summit of Hawksbill Mountain

When we came towards the parking lot, this deer was having lunch while people walked by!

Our other hike was to Dark Hollow Falls. I cooled off by standing in the pool at the bottom.

We stopped at Big Meadows lodge and enjoyed a refreshment while watching the butterflies in the meadow. On our way home we detoured briefly to...

8/5/26 - A quiet day. We went to a local park where we got a kick out of their sign:

Pat pictured a committee of 15 people, where every person wanted to add something to the rules!

We saw more wildlife at this small park than we did at Shenandoah N.P.: a doe and her fawn, a toad, a salamander, over 12 different types of mushrooms including this scary variety:

and an Eastern Box Turtle: