Rolling Thunder parade

Final pictures before the trip home.


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Location:Washington DC

FinaL Rolling Thunder Pictures

This Memorial Week-end 500,000 people on 350,000 motorcycles came into Washington DC to honor those who have served and to never forget the MIA's and POW's that are still waiting to come home.  150,000 bikes participated in the parade from the Pentagon to the White House creating a true ROLLING THUNDER!

Here are a few of the pictures from Sunday's event.  I will post a few more photos that are on my IPAD in a second post.

A Marine's Special Salute

Yesterday, Ken, Lisa and George met Tim Meadows who is an active Marine that takes vacation to stand at attention in his dress blues saluting all the bikers riding in the Rolling Thunder parade.  The parade can take up to 6 hours.  Today, parade day, it was 90 degrees and humid in DC. 

Here is Tim today honoring all those who have served.

Photo by Lisa Emmi

Who braved crossing Constitution Ave during the Rolling Thunder Parade to make sure we had a worthy picture of this special Marine.

Oops 3

Mickey the Tour Guide is actually Mikey, aka The Deuce, aka Chuck Jr the Tour Guide, aka Mikey doesn't give a shit aka I had a ball with two old broads!

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Mickey the Tour Guide

Emily, Carol and our tour guide nephew Mickey took off a fabulous afternoon of adventure. We started at the Fish market..........OMG!




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We continued our stroll to the Tidal Basin for a great view of the Jefferson Monument.








Then off we go to find the American History Museum at the Smithsonian.




To find Julia Child's kitchen.




The original muppets plus all the First Lady inaugural ball dresses, Fonzi's jacket, Archie Bunker's chair, ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, plus a lot of other stuff where I was too tired to take pictures.

The best exhibits were the American Flag over Ft. McHenry which inspired The Star Bangled Banner.

Second, a fabulous retrospective of Abe Lincoln showing what an extraordinary man and leader he was.

By the time we got done we were so tired we ended up cabbing it back to the hotel.

Road trip to Ft Washington Harley Davidson

Lisa, George and Ken hopped on the bikes to cruise around DC and and see what was happening at the big HD dealership.


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Meet Tim Meadows, he is the Marine who has for the last 6 years, stood at attention, saluting the riders during the entire 6 hour Rolling Thunder Parade in Dress Blues. He is an active Marine who takes leave to perform what he considers an honor.

Curbside Cupcake

As we left Eastern Market, how could we pass up a stop at the Curbside Cupcake Truck for a bit of the sweet.




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Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins

Our real purpose of the road trip was to eat at the Tortilla Cafe which was featured on DDD. This Ecuadorian restaurant which turned out to be a very tiny and ever so popular restaurant with the most fabulous food. The walk through the Market was a great bonus.




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Lisa and Michael were getting our lunch.

Location:Eastern Market

Saturday Adventure to Eastern Market

To begin our journey, we agreed to meet at our Metro Station for our adventure to Starbucks.



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What a meal!

There could have pictures but torrential rains hit when we got off the Metro in China Town and then the food at the restaurant was so fab we didn't even bother to waste time taking pictures.

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Location:China Town

Oops 2

Oops, forgot to share the pix of the Nina and Pinta.




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Location:Historic ships

What a Day

Started this morning with coffee on the Potomac.


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Then it was off to breakfast at Harriett's Cafe about a two mile walk from the hotel. After a tasty meal it was off to the Newseum. What a great day experiencing the major news stories and media over the last 100 years.




A piece of the Berlin Wall!




The FBI Most Wanted poster showing Bin Laden dead.




Waiting to see News in Action in 4D.







The view from the museum is spectacular with the Capital in the background.




The Washington Monument was in full glory on the 3 mile walk back to our hotel so we thought we'd savor the moment with a respite stop at the Billy Goat Tavern.




With one more stop as we continue our stroll, Emily and Carol pose for one more cheesy pose.



After returning to our hotel we fixed some liquid refreshments and when to the waterfront to see the replicas of the Pinta and Nina sailing ships in town for the holiday.

Tonight Lisa and Mickey are taking us to Chinatown
For dinner. Should be a great night.

PS. The harley's are rolling into town and Lee Greenwood was warming up in the park for his concert.

Location:Washington DC

The People we Meet

Sometimes you meet the most amazing people when you travel. Ken and George had the pleasure of meeting Fae Adels, a 94 year young woman who was fascinated by 2 young bucks who were bikers.

Our hats our off to this beautiful woman!


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Location:Middle burg Virginia

Emily and Carol's Adventure

Little rain in Michigan with lots of road construction in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Got to Virginia and as we approached DC things got crazy. Horrific traffic and confused directions.

As we tried to get into DC missed an exit and ended up at the Pentagon. After a couple of U turns, illegal turns and a tour of downtown DC including the Capital we to the hotel.

The gang was there to great us and happy hour began.


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George, Michael, Emily, Telma, Lisa, Carol and Ken

Location:The road to DC

The Biker Boys are Safe!

The boys are safe in DC. Overall a beautiful ride into town!


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Location:Bridgeport WV to DC

Day One for the Biker Boys

After riding in rain all morning in Michigan, they finally hit nice weather as they exited the state and drove through Ohio. Midway through West Virginia, it was time to stop for the night in Bridgeport, WV. Tonight it was dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings (the only place in town with a liquor license) and some great playoff hockey.

Tomorrow,it's the scenic Hwy 50 across WV to Virginia and then on into DC.

Lesson learned today: Kid Rock Red Stag Bourbon is not worthy of their sophisticated taste buds.

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Location:West Virginia

Oops

Well I had some technical difficulty trying to post the Biker Boy's launch picture. Thanks to good friend Larry Spencer, I think I almost have it. Future posts may not be pretty but they should have photos!



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The Biker Boys

So it was 50 degrees and sprinkling when Ken and George departed this morning. Approximately 10 minutes later the black clouds opened and erupted with torrential rains, lighting and early rolling thunder!

Emily and Carol leave tomorrow morning in an enclosed vehicle (our mamas didn't raise fools) and arrive in DC shortly after the boys tomorrow.

Our plans

The adventurers are very good friends, Emily and Ken Benardino, our niece and nephew, Lisa and Michael Emmi, plus George and I. We plan to arrive in DC on Thursday. Friday we will tour a couple of museums, sample a couple of bars, find a great place to eat on the Potomac.

Saturday, we hit Farmer's Market in the morning and have lunch in a neat little place features on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Saturday afternoon, Biker Babe Lisa will go with George and Ken to check out the big "Do's" going on at the Harley Dealerships celebrating the week-end. The rest of us will visit a new museum. Of course we'll be sampling Happy Hour alternatives and great eats later in the evening.

Sunday morning is a visit to the war memorials and then the parade starts at noon. Sunday afternoon the trip home begins.