MM Roadtrip!!

[arejayesss]

Hey everyone. Our summer trip this year will be a trip to the Washington D.C. area to visit some friends and also some sightseeing. We decided to take the Marauder up instead of just flying (boring) We have some ideas and some thoughts on what to see / do while we are there and along the way. I will try to do a MM count for the trip and post the sighting(s) Are there any special Marauder related events happening during that time? Oh, I guess you need to know the date, huh? We will be leaving Southwest Florida on Friday, August 31st after work. We plan on driving to St. Augustine first and stopping there for the night (never been there) Then, I believe we will be high-tailing it to the D.C. area Saturday. We have some Plans Sunday With our Friends and A boat:). We will then spend a few days in the Capitol Area, seeing the usual D.C. attractions, and then begin the trip back. Along the way back we will be stopping several times to see different things along the way.???? We are planning on returning home on Sunday, September 9th. Any ideas or tips for our trips? Hopefully I can see some CAMers while I'm there!! rjs

[Haggis]

I am sure we can arrange a get together somewhere in the greater DC area while you are here. On what day do you plan on leaving the DC area?

[Bluerauder]

I am sure we can arrange a get together somewhere in the greater DC area while you are here. On what day do you plan on leaving the DC area?
Hey, a boat ride sounds good to me. How big is your friend's boat? ;)

Looks like Sunday, 2 Sep or Saturday, 8 Sep offer the best opportunity for a CAM get-to-gether. Where are you gonna be "specifically" (i.e. town, zipcode). When you say the DC area it covers ALOT of territory. Could help us plan better if we could pinpoint your destination a little closer. If your buddy keeps his boat at one of the marinas on the Occoquan River, you might be staying in my neighborhood. :D

[arejayesss]

Nothing is finalized yet, but probably looking to leave the DC area around Wednesday or so, maybe thursday. Only time will tell!!

[CBT]

Are you cruising thru the Norfolk VA. area?

[Breadfan]

Hey, a boat ride sounds good to me. How big is your friend's boat? ;)

Looks like Sunday, 2 Sep or Saturday, 8 Sep offer the best opportunity for a CAM get-to-gether. Where are you gonna be "specifically" (i.e. town, zipcode). When you say the DC area it covers ALOT of territory. Could help us plan better if we could pinpoint your destination a little closer. If your buddy keeps his boat at one of the marinas on the Occoquan River, you might be staying in my neighborhood. :D

If that's the case, I might suggest the new Marine Corps Museum at Quantico, I'll post some pics later I made it there 2 weekends ago it's worth a visit. The BK Cruise-In is only about 10miles away from that too, or something like that, down Joplin Rd which is a fun twisty road. :)

[arejayesss]

Hey, a boat ride sounds good to me. How big is your friend's boat? ;)

Looks like Sunday, 2 Sep or Saturday, 8 Sep offer the best opportunity for a CAM get-to-gether. Where are you gonna be "specifically" (i.e. town, zipcode). When you say the DC area it covers ALOT of territory. Could help us plan better if we could pinpoint your destination a little closer. If your buddy keeps his boat at one of the marinas on the Occoquan River, you might be staying in my neighborhood. :D
Actually I believe the boat is a large cruise / fishing type boat that they go out on every sunday night. My girlfriend is the social director / coordinator, and I don't know all the details yet. I will have to look at the map and figure out our route. We will be taking the most direst route on the way up to Maryland on saturday. It's possible we could arrive in time on saturday for a get together (september 2nd) But the following saturday, the 8th, we will be down south on our way back, maybe around Georgia or so. I will try to get a better timeline going here. Thanks rjs

[SC Cheesehead]

Are you cruising thru the Norfolk VA. area?

Hijacking this thread, I'm in Norfolk for a couple days enroute to MV-V, wanna get together Tuesday evening? PM me.

SCCH

[Bluerauder]

I will have to look at the map and figure out our route. We will be taking the most direct route on the way up to Maryland on saturday. It's possible we could arrive in time on saturday for a get together (september 2nd)rjs
Total distance is 1,051 miles or about 16 hours (two good 8 hours days).

Most direct route is I-75 north to Tampa (145 miles), then I-4 to Orlando & Daytona Beach (123 miles), then I-95 north to the Washington, DC area (773 miles plus or minus where you are actually going). Have a safe trip.

[arejayesss]

Total distance is 1,051 miles or about 16 hours (two good 8 hours days).

Most direct route is I-75 north to Tampa (145 miles), then I-4 to Orlando & Daytona Beach (123 miles), then I-95 north to the Washington, DC area (773 miles plus or minus where you are actually going). Have a safe trip.

Wow, this is the first time in a while some one has told me where to go, in a good way! Thanks for the info


rjs

[airborne_mp84]

you guys should also check out the tomb of the unkown soldier at FT Myer (arlington national cemetery), the changing of the gaurd is a real good sight to see

[Bluerauder]

you guys should also check out the tomb of the unkown soldier at FT Myer (arlington national cemetery), the changing of the gaurd is a real good sight to see
The official title is "Tomb of the Unknowns". The Tomb contains the remains of unknown American soldiers from World Wars I and II, the Korean Conflict and (until 1998) the Vietnam War. Each was presented with the Medal of Honor at the time of interment and the medals, as well as the flags which covered their caskets, are on display inside the Memorial Amphitheater, directly to the rear of the Tomb. The tomb is guarded by specially trained members of the 3rd US Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) 24/7/365.

[CBT]

Hijacking this thread, I'm in Norfolk for a couple days enroute to MV-V, wanna get together Tuesday evening? PM me.

SCCH

Argh! I shoulda checked this earlier today!!! It's past 9 right now, shoot.
I'd like to meet up, send me a PM!

[arejayesss]

Hey, a boat ride sounds good to me. How big is your friend's boat? ;)

Looks like Sunday, 2 Sep or Saturday, 8 Sep offer the best opportunity for a CAM get-to-gether. Where are you gonna be "specifically" (i.e. town, zipcode). When you say the DC area it covers ALOT of territory. Could help us plan better if we could pinpoint your destination a little closer. If your buddy keeps his boat at one of the marinas on the Occoquan River, you might be staying in my neighborhood. :D

OK, our friend resides in Gaithersburg, MD 20879. I was showing my GF some of the pictures of MV5 and one of the convoy pics had a Gaithersburg road sign in it, she said "hey, that's where we are going" Kinda funny.
But it looks like we will try to get up to the area saturday 9/1 late afternoon / evening. I will continue to update as we go!

[Bluerauder]

OK, our friend resides in Gaithersburg, MD 20879. I was showing my GF some of the pictures of MV5 and one of the convoy pics had a Gaithersburg road sign in it, she said "hey, that's where we are going" Kinda funny.
But it looks like we will try to get up to the area saturday 9/1 late afternoon / evening. I will continue to update as we go!
Yep, the whole 45+ Marauder convoy passed through there on I-270 southbound around 9:30 AM, Saturday, 4 August. It was a sight to behold. :D

[arejayesss]

OK, we are getting packed and ready! Claude (carfixer) balanced my tires, Rich (magindat) helped me install new kick-a$$ stereo system, had an oil change, cleaned the MM. Goin' grocery shopping tonight for road food. Finishing up all the little things I needed to get done here at work. 1 more day till we head out!!! We are SO ready for this vacation. And, as of now, we are planning on taking the aforementioned boat trip this Sunday afternoon/evening, so that day is off for a meet:( With Labor Day being monday, I'm sure everyone has plans and everyone will be busy, so for right now I don't think we can plan any formal get-together. But, either way, I'll be in the capitol area (Gaithersburg, MD) from Sunday through Wednesday or so. I have a 2003 300A Black MM, tinted windows, stock exhaust and wheels / tires, and silver inserts. My license plate frame says 'Sunshine State Marauders' on the bottom, and my screen name 'Arejayesss' on the top (thanks John Nero) So keep an eye out, and hopefully I can meet someone up there. We should have internet access, and I'll be bringing my laptop, so if I have some free time, I will post up where I'm at and what we're doing. When I return I will post up trip stats such as Total miles traveled, total gas consumed, Marauder sightings, and how many heads turned (if I can count that high) See ya soon!!!! Ryan

[RoyLPita]

Ryan,
Have fun up there. Try to see the Iwo Jima Memorial. That is the only one that I missed when I was there in 1995.

[arejayesss]

We made it!! 2,592 miles, 1 windshield chip, and 1 Fiance'!!! She said yes!!! A mile high, too. (at the summit of Mt. Pisgah, NC) I am still pretty tired, but I will be posting up pics and more detail about all our adventures some time later on. Just wanted to chime in with the good news!

[jgc61sr2002]

We made it!! 2,592 miles, 1 windshield chip, and 1 Fiance'!!! She said yes!!! A mile high, too. (at the summit of Mt. Pisgah, NC) I am still pretty tired, but I will be posting up pics and more detail about all our adventures some time later on. Just wanted to chime in with the good news!

Congrats and Best of Luck.:D:beer:

[arejayesss]

Friday 8/31/07 : On the road at 6:31pm, not as early as we would have liked, but oh well. Drove all the way to north Jacksonville, and stayed overnight.
Saturday 9/1/07 : Left in the morning, driving straight up I-95 through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia and eventually made it to Gaithersburg, Md. (Long day of driving) Our friend Michelle has a real nice townhouse there, and a finished basement that we stayed in.
Sunday 9/2/07 : SLEPT IN. Lounged around a little. Michelle's friend owns a 45' vintage sailboat that he races, so we took that out Sunday afternoon / evening into Cheasapeake Bay. We passed right by the Naval Academy there, I think Bethesda? Beautiful boat and beautiful weather, awesome experience:)
Monday 9/3/07 : Labor Day, Michelle invited her friends over and cooked us all a wonderful dinner on the grill. Filet, fish, veggies. :beer::beer: A little bit o' the sauce was consumed.
Tuesday 9/4/07 : Hopped on the DC Metro and rode it to the Smithsonian stop. Got out and walked the entire mall, saw everything. A lot more walking than I thought!!!!
Wednesday 9/5/07 : Hopped on the DC Metro once again and headed to the Zoo, then proceeded to the Smithsonian Nat. History and the Botanical Gardens. After that, I had a big painful blister on my left foot, so we headed home to cook dinner.
Thursday 9/6/07 : Departed Michelle's house in the morning and headed West and South. Drove right by Luray Caverns and I think the same route that the convoy traveled at MV5. We drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway for a while, then got off to stay for the night in Pearisburg. We found a nice B&B called the Inn at Riverbend. Absolutely wonderful place, and a great price too.
Friday 9/7/07 : Left Pearisburg and continued on 81 I think it was along the mountains for a while. We stopped in Asheville, NC for a few moments for the free Wi-Fi, so we could find a hotel for the night. We settled on Mt. Pisgah Inn. We drove back to the Blue Ridge Parkway and found the Inn. Breathtaking views.
Saturday 9/8/07 : Got up early and had breakfast at the Inn. We then decided to hike to the top of Mt. Pisgah. The sign said 1.5 miles long and 712 ft incline, caution steep in some places. Well, that didn't sound hard at all. So, we proceeded to the entrance and started hiking. WOW, this trail was really kicking our butts!!! 1.5 miles uphill is not fun at all. But we eventually made it to the top, and wow what a view. It was well worth it. 360 degree view of all the mountains!!! Beautiful clear day, about 11am. We took a few pictures, and looked around for a little while. Then, out of nowhere, she turned around and I had a ring in my hand, and popped the question! She was VERY surprised, I mean she knew we would get married some time, and we had been dating for about 2.5 years, but she had no idea I was doing this on this day!!! At one of the most beautiful spots we had ever been. So, she said yes, and we got some more pictures. We of course then had to go back to the gift shop and pick up some Mt. Pisgah memorabilia! We then continued on our way southward and drove to Valdosta, Ga. right on the border of Florida.
Sunday 9/9/07 : Slept in a little and packed up one more time for our homestretch of driving. And wouldn't you know it, after like 2400 miles of driving, we get within a couple hundred miles of home on our last day of vacation and I get a windshield chip, complete with little spider veins:(
Oh well, we got home at around 4:30pm and got unpacked and did laundry and then hit the hay.

2,592 miles total driven over our trip. We spotted 3 black MMs total, and in the Tampa area spotted a Silver MM FHP lit up assisting a truck in the median. I have attached a few pics, and will be uploading more later on.
11530

11531

11532

[Bluerauder]

Friday 8/31/07 : We passed right by the Naval Academy there, I think Bethesda? Beautiful boat and beautiful weather, awesome experience:)
The US Naval Academy is in Annapolis, MD. Bethesda has the US Naval Hospital but its a little difficult to get there by sailboat or any other boat.

Congrats :congrats: on the engagement. :up: Best wishes to both of you.