Mississippi Here We Come!

Wow...has it really been nearly two weeks since I last posted? It seems like just yesterday I was up in the middle of the night blogging! Well, I guess it has and so here is what has been going on these past 12 days.

We left Massachusetts and Cape Cod on the 15th for Washington DC. We made good time until about 15 miles from NYC. Then traffic came to a screeching halt. Three hours and after nearly overheating the RV we reached the George Washington Bridge and entered New Jersey. As far as I am concerned if I never have to drive anywhere near NYC again it will be too soon! We ended up getting only half as far as we had planned (D.C.) and pulled off the highway in central NJ and spent the night at a Residence Inn since we had no campground reservations in the area. Plus, there were strong thunderstorms in the area and those are just no fun to drive through.

The next morning we completed the drive and arrived at Cherry Hill Park in College Park, MD around 2pm. After hooking up we headed to DC and took an evening bus tour of the city so we could plan our stops for the next day. We decided to hit a few Smithsonians and the White House/Capitol/Lincoln Memorial. It was a warm day and we spent most of the day sightseeing before going back to the campground for a swim and some dinner.

Monday we spent at the campground and swam in the pool until around 2pm. Then I went to Baltimore for the Red Sox-Orioles game. Camden Yards is a beautiful place to watch a ball game and to top it off the Sox won 6-3!

Tuesday we drove out to the eastern shore of Maryland and down to Virginia along Chesapeake Bay. We spent the next two nights at Cherrystone Family Camping Resort with a view of Chesapeake Bay from our living room and bedroom windows (in the RV, of course). We took a day trip to Virginia Beach on Wednesday and we enjoyed some beach time. The water was about 78 degrees but the waves were rough due to the effects of Hurricane Fay. Swimming was limited to waist deep water but it was still fun.

One of the highlights of the drive was the crossing of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. It is 20 miles long and cost $28 for the RV and car. The views of the bay are spectacular and the tunnels go under the bay at two points to allow large ship traffic in and out. We saw a Navy Destroyer leaving Norfolk and passing through one of the channels as we crossed.

From there we went to New Bern, NC for a night and then on to Myrtle Beach, SC for 3 nights. Our site at MB was about 30 yards from the beach and we could see the ocean from the RV if we cocked our heads just right. It is what they call a "partial ocean view" in Hawai'i. My sister's ex-husband brought her two boys up to the campground on Sunday so we could meet them (I met the youngest one in 2001 when he was 6 months old) and we had a good time and cooked burgers on the grill. Then the boys played on the beach for a while with Grace before heading home to Charleston.

We left this morning during a wicked thunderstorm and reached Augusta, GA around 3pm. We'll stay here tonight and then travel to Birmingham, AL tomorrow. We chose to book hotels for this leg of the journey because campgrounds are not as plentiful along Interstate 20 as they were up north. We plan to arrive in Starkville, MS on Wednesday afternoon. The movers will come on Friday to move our stuff to the house we are renting from the university until we decide whether to buy in Starkville.

I'll add some pictures after we get to Mississippi when I have a chance to download them and sort them out. We'll keep posting updates here as we prepare for our next trip. We're going to Florida and Walt Disney World in November to celebrate Kate's 38th birthday and Grace's 2nd (belated). Maybe we'll even celebrate mine a little early!

Hope all is well with you and yours.


SDG



ROB

Kate adds...

Today is the day that we arrive at our new home. I have such a mix of emotions - relief that this long journey is coming to an end, joy that God has provided us with every need, sadness (still) that we had to leave the good friends we made in Washington, excitement to meet our new friends in Mississippi, uncertainty as to what my future holds...

Overarching it all, though, is a profound sense of being in my Father's hand, and immense and ever-growing love for my husband, baby girl, and dog - my little family that God has blessed me with. Thanks for joining us on our journey - for reading, for praying, and most of all for being our friends. We look forward to keeping in touch with every one of you... if you wish to email us, Rob's is robmellenjr@gmail.com, and mine is kmwgrace@gmail.com - in case you didn't have them.

Many blessings on all of you...

In Christ,
~ Kate :)