Finished a Fantastic Road Trip!

What a fantastic road trip this has been! So fun!!

Today I had a lot of rain during the drive. I needed to cover a lot of ground today so I had to alter the plan slightly and skip a few places. But here are the things I was able to visit.

Atlanta Georgia State Capitol Building

There was some construction at this capitol, but at least it wasn't entirely blocked off like yesterday's walk!

World of Coke Cola

I was running a little behind schedule so I wasn't able to stop long for a tour, but it was still fun to see what little I was able to. 

 Atlanta Georgia Temple

 Stormy, but gorgeous!!

 Birmingham Alabama Temple

 Mississippi & Lousiana

It was dark when I finally visited these states so the photos aren't great. Since I ran out of time I had to skip the 2 state capitols and the Baton Rouge LDS Temple. I'll have to catch them on another trip someday. I'm staying in New Orleans and then I'm flying back home to Utah!


And now I've finished 6 states that I needed, making my grand total to 36 States Visited! Only 14 more to visit!!

I think some wondered if I'd still like road trips after this trip, the answer... Absolutely! I loved being able to see more of the country. I decided that I really love more landscapes than the big city. The Southern states I can tell you are so beautiful!!

Discovered the best alternative audio book!

I discovered a fantastic way to make your own audio book. Turns out, if you turn on the iPhone Voice Over from the Accessibility menu it will read you an entire book from the Kindle App!! Fantastic, worked like a charm! Now obviously it's not as good as a real person in a regular audio book, but it was a great substitute for me today. I read an entire book on the road today!

Today I visited the LDS temple and capitol in both North and South Carolina.

Raleigh, North Carolina Capitol Building

Raleigh North Carolina Temple

Such a beautiful temple and grounds. I am getting Temple schedules for each of the temples and I had to ring the doorbell for this one since it was locked.

Beautiful countryside!!

Columbia South Carolina Temple

Now this temple is in the middle of nowhere! I worried Google was taking me somewhere random because it's so short I couldn't see it until I was right there. Luckily I found it! The photo of the sign is blurry because it's on the road...

Columbia, South Carolina Capitol Building

That's about as close as I could get to the Columbia capitol building because it was all blocked off with cops and a ton of people in blue shirts. After I Googled it I discovered it was the "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" that raises awareness and money for sexual violence. Who knew!

Here is a hilarious photo I found online. Apparently the men actually walk in women's shoes. Very cool walk, and rather hilarious.

 

 (Photo from this website)

 And now I'm in Atlanta, GA for the night. I'll see the sites tomorrow, but for now that's 3 states down and 3 to go!!

 

Celebrated Wilbur Wright's Birthday

Today's first adventure was to finish visiting the Shenandoah National Park, especially to get my National Park passport stamped!

The view was much more clear today, so beautiful! We saw more deer, SNOW, and icicles. Amazing the difference a night can make. Have I mentioned I love snow, because I do!!

And now the Southern Road Trip begins!

The goal of this trip is to visit the 6 Southern states I have never been to, and to see some amazing things along the way!

First up I traveled from Charlottesville, VA to Kill Devil Hills, NC. I traveled through Richmond, VA, but did not stop since I've already been there. Here I am with my road trip car, a blue Versa.

I visited the Wright Brothers National Monument in Kill Devil Hills, NC. And Happy Birthday Wilbur Wright, today everyone got in FREE!! They told me I could have brought a cake if I wanted to. Sadly I did not know so I did not have a cake to bring to the celebration. People were flying kites on the grounds. So awesome!

By the time they closed and I got gas it was SUPER windy and cold. The guy at the gas station assured me it's not always that cold.

Today's new state was North Carolina! What a beautiful state so far! I have stopped in Raleigh for the night.

Toured Monticello and Shenandoah National Park

Today we toured Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello. It was raining while we were there, but it's still a beautiful home!

During the tour I noticed a lack of commentary and artwork about James Madison. I started wondering if the very best friendship talked about at Montpelier was more one sided, but it turns out they even had an entire guest room for the Madison's. Guess they really were best friends. ;)

Looks like the Nickel....

 We drove on the ridge of Shenandoah. Amazing land, and I do love storms so it made for beautiful view, although you wouldn't see out very far. We saw deer, a wild turkey, but no bears.

Oh and it started snowing!! I rolled my window down to take a photo and was covered in snow! I do really love snow, but it was a bit cold...

Walking just a little up the Appalachian Trail. That is probably one goal I will not be having, to hike the entire thing... I'll stick with my current states goal for now.