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Columbia Marina Kayaking

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Jennifer and Jeff invited us to join them for a kayak outing.  We parked at the Columbia Island Marina which is located in Virginia, near the 14th street bridge, just to the north of the Pentagon.

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We put the kayaks in here and headed north to join the Potomac River near the Key Bridge.  We then paddled around the north end of Theodore Roosevelt Island and headed south almost to the 14th Street Bridge where we turned back into the marina.  (We explored Theodore Roosevelt Island back in 2016 where you can find a memorial to the 26th president of the U.S.)  Along the way, we had nice views of some notable Washington landmarks:  Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Watergate Hotel and the Kennedy Center.

Once we pulled the kayaks out of the water we had a nice lunch at one of the picnic tables.  We had a great time and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and great weather.

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Anacortes, WA

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We parked here at the Swinomish Lodge and Casino RV park which is located a bit east of Anacortes and Whidbey Island.  During our car road trip in 2014 we spent a few days in nearby Oak Harbor.

Diablo Lake - North Cascades National Park

We took a day trip from here, heading east to North Cascades National Park.  This park contains some of America’s most beautiful mountain scenery.  The mountains are not the tallest but with jagged peaks, cascading waterfalls, glaciers and sheer-walled cliffs there is ample dramatic beauty.  We hiked the Thunder Knob Trail which afforded awesome views of Diablo Lake and the peaks beyond.

Coupeville, WA

On another day we drove out to Whidbey Island and re-visited Oak Harbor and Coupeville.  We had to treat ourselves to the steamed mussels at Toby’s Tavern in Coupeville.  These are Penn Cove mussels which are grown right here in Coupeville.

Next stop:  Hope, British Columbia

Gig Harbor, WA

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Gig Harbor is located on a small inlet near the southwestern portion of the Puget Sound.  We have previously visited the Seattle area on the eastern side of the sound but this was our first time on the west side in what’s known as the Olympic peninsula.  This is a huge tract of land bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the north and the Puget Sound on the east.

Gig Harbor

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Brunswick, GA (& Savannah)

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As we previously mentioned, our original plan was to visit Savannah, GA, in early October.  But then Hurricane Matthew came along and we had to re-route, heading south along the Gulf Coast of Florida as far as the Florida Keys, then north along the Atlantic Coast.  Weeks ago, we had already booked a spot for an extended stay beginning in mid-November in Navarre, FL, on the Gulf Coast of the Florida panhandle between Pensacola and Ft. Walton Beach.  Bottom line, in order to get back to Savannah, we stopped off in Brunswick, GA.  This would save us 150 driving miles to get to Navarre.

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Charleston, SC

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To visit Charleston, we parked at Lake Aire RV Park in Hollywood, SC, about 12 miles southwest of Charleston.  While here we visited downtown Charleston, took a tour out to Fort Sumter and checked out Kiawah Island.

Charleston waterfront

Fort Sumter is on a small island strategically located in the Charleston Harbor.  It was originally one of a series of coastal fortifications built by the United States following the War of 1812.  It was still unfinished in late 1860 when South Carolina seceded from the United States as a statement about state sovereignty regarding slavery.  At this point a garrison of 85 federal troops led by Major Robert Anderson moved to Fort Sumter from nearby Fort Moultrie.  Within 4 months Confederate troops fired the first shots of the Civil War by attacking the Federal troops on Fort Sumter.  Three days later Major Anderson had to surrender Fort Sumter and was allowed to leave with all of his troops.  For the next 20 months Confederate troops held Fort Sumter against repeated assaults from Union cannons and gun ships.  Today it is Fort Sumter National Monument.

While in Charleston, we began to realize we would need to change our travel plans due to Hurricane Matthew.  We had planned to go to Savannah, GA, next but that would put us too close to the coast and too exposed to potential harm from the hurricane.  We postponed our Savannah plans and instead reserved a spot in Statesboro, GA, approximately 55 miles inland from Savannah.  Even 3 days ahead of the storm we had trouble finding an available RV spot.

Next stop:  Statesboro, GA