Summer RV Trip 2024 - Part 3: Animal Encounters, Fresh Take on DC, and Over-the-Top Experiences 

Time flies - I can’t believe I’m sending this while we are already starting to plan Summer 2025!

RV trips force you to slow down, further explore, and just make things you’ve only heard about truly come to life.  These places/ experiences were so unique, and I am so glad we were able to make them happen. All the places visited on this part of the RV trip (besides Washington DC), are areas we just never took the time to go and visit. 

WILD HORSES IN MARYLAND

Have you ever heard of Assateague Island? It’s an island located off the coast of Maryland and Virginia, where a particular breed of wild horses roam free. I recommend taking a boat from Ocean City to get to this fairytale island. From this vantage point, you will see some beautiful homes and scenery. Where the boat docks, you will discover a quaint beach and see wild horses roaming around. There are 2 myths about how horses got here. One is that there was a Spanish Galleon shipwreck and horses made it to shore.

The second, and most likely explanation is that settlers brought horses to the island in the early 1600s to herd cattle. Over time, the horses became wild after being left behind or forgotten by their owners. Whatever the real story is, this was a surreal, amazing experience. 

DC - BEYOND THE TYPICAL

I love this city and always have. I have returned multiple times with my children since college, but this was my youngest’s first time. I wanted to explore new things we hadn’t done before, plus a few DC classics. I find that visiting the same place repeatedly, gives us the ability to start exploring new sites within the same city.

THE MONEY FACTORY, AMERICAN ART, AND MONUMENTS

The Bureau of Engraving was closed to visitors for quite a while so being able to bring the girls was such a treat. Watching how money is printed and sorted, right in front of their eyes is just something they never thought they would see, and they’ll never look at money the same way again. 

Then it was off to enjoy some American art at the Renwick.  This American arts and crafts museum located right next to the White House is my favorite. Every time I am in DC I always make sure to stop here. The building itself is just beautiful, and it has the feel of a very large mansion.

The Game Fish located in the gift shop, is something I have visited many times. Made from toys, many from the 1980s, and 1990s, these smallest pieces come together to create the shape of the amazing fish. Larry Fuente’s 1988 mixed media piece utilizes various materials, including fiberglass, epoxy resin, plastic found objects like beads, buttons, poker chips, and even badminton birdies. 

The work is both a celebration of creativity and a commentary on consumer culture, as it repurposes mundane objects into something visually striking and culturally significant.

A trip to DC would not be complete without visiting the monuments. Beyond Lincoln and Jefferson, we also went to the FDR, MLK Jr., Albert Einstein, and the Vietnam Women’s monuments.  These monuments are not as well known, but they are really beautiful and always a conversation starter. I added the Vietnam Women’s monument to the itinerary when I finished reading “The Women” by Kristen Hannah and I gained a new respect for these women. My kids especially love the Einstein one, because you can climb up and sit on his lap. 

Obviously not as part of the official monument tour, I always stop at GW, where I went to college, to show the kids my personalized brick, which has been there since I graduated.

THE NEW (FOR US) STOPS

I was finally able to secure tickets for the first time ever to the Washington Monument where we got to see it all from above. The view from up there is beautiful and seeing all of the places we had visited from above was just amazing. This is the tallest building in DC. The way this city is laid out is very symmetric and orderly, so the aerial view is even more interesting and beautiful.

We later headed a little further out of DC to the Udvar Hazy Center, the Air and Space Museum. This is my first time at this museum, located near Dulles Airport. This Smithsonian Museum is fantastic! We saw airplanes and went up to the lookout tower, where we were able to watch planes take off from Dulles Airport. 

Sending postcards has been a huge part of our trip this summer. With my daughters in camp, we bought postcards each day. We mailed one letter to my daughter in camp, and then picked a few to send to friends and family- we even mailed two to Israel! This became part of our daily routine. This is a great way for my girls to practice their writing, and also share some meaningful souvenirs along the way.

Thanks to this daily routine, visiting the National Postal Museum made this all come to life for them. Did you even know there's a postal museum as part of the Smithsonian? We saw mailboxes from around the world, learned all about the history of stamps, saw how mail is sorted, and learned the history of the postal service in the U.S.! We got to learn the history behind stamp images and understand how mail is distributed around the world. The girls loved seeing how mail delivery has evolved from horse and carriage to train, car, and plane.

And of course, they have their own post office which sells limited edition stamps, and postcards that you can send from the museum to be postmarked from the National Postal Museum.

STEPPING BACK IN TIME

Walking the streets of Colonial Williamsburg, you feel like it is still the 1700s (1774-1781 to be exact). The Living History Museum offers 300 acres of restored, reconstructed, and historically furnished buildings, filled with costumed interpreters reenacting daily life from the 18th century.

We visited a tailor, watched wool being spun, took a horse and carriage ride, went to a farm, and even explored the Governor’s Mansion. What the kids enjoyed the most was the musical performance: here, 18th-century musical instruments, melodies, and styles bring the cultural feel of the time to life. 

We visited a Old Town Books- local bookstore which my kids loved. The woman who worked there not only helped Rebecca pick out a few books, but she gave Rebecca a book that was released that day- which Rebecca loved. Next door we saw a fire station, the firefighters invited us in, let the girls climb on all the firetrucks, and even gave them firefighter hats. Sometimes it’s these seemingly small moments that have stayed marked as special to my girls.

MYRTLE BEACH SAFARI

We drove to Myrtle Beach just for this, and boy was it worth it. This is Doc Antle’s safari. Antle is the founder and director of The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This is a private zoo where Doc Antle and his team work with big cats and other exotic animals. By booking a tour, you get to interact with them, not just observe them from afar. We got a picture with a cheetah and a liger (part lion, part tiger, creating the largest cat in existence). We interacted with incredible animals like servals, lynxes, chimpanzees, a lemur, a capuchin monkey, and the icing on the cake- feeding and hugging an elephant.

What's funny about this week of the trip is when my kids talk about it, it seems like they are lying/ exaggerating "I fed an elephant carrots and took a picture with a baby tiger" or “I went on a boat and when we got to an island there were wild horses.” “I saw airplanes that are so famous, everyone has heard about their history.” “I met Thomas Jefferson.” “I watched the $10 bill, just like the one you have, being printed.” 

Our RV trip was a full loop. We started at home, then drove all the way up to Rhode Island and back down again. We spent a lot of time in the surrounding DC area, both in the first week and last week of our trip. We covered 13 states total, plus a stop in Washington DC- our capital! 

Journeys like this one always bring our family closer, and help each of us grow in one way or another.

And just like that, summer came to an end, and the adventures I spent so long dreaming of took their place in our memories. I can’t wait to sit and make an album we can all pour over and reminisce about. We got a chance to dedicate a few weeks to our youngest girls, to see the world through their eyes once more, and to hear their voices and opinions without being crowded out by anyone. The journey reminded us all how important it is to take time with each child. Nothing is perfect, every detail can’t be planned, but sometimes it's the unexpected turn that stays as a core memory. 

It’s never too late to start planning your next out-of-the-box adventure!

Summer 2025 here we come!

Click here for Part 1 and Part 2 of our summer road trip.

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