(Day 5: Monday, May 31st): the last day in May being Memorial Day, we make an early start to negate any traffic problems. The roads to National Airport are quiet, however, and a taxi ride soon gets us there to pick up a 3.1-litre Chevrolet Lumina from Alamo. We then drive eat to Annapolis, the state capital of Maryland. We arrive in time to see the Memorial Day parade.

The Maryland State House is a splendid red brick building with historic rooms including the Old Senate Chamber where George Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and where the Treaty of Paris was signed on January 14th 1784.

 

A walk through Annapolis takes us via the waterfront and Market Square to the Naval Academy.

The huge area of the Naval Academy has a riverside location. A number of statues include one of the Academy's mascot, 'Billy the Goat'. The Academy also houses the Freedom 7 Space Capsule which was used for the first United States human space flight on May 5th 1961, piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard.

 

Two of Annapolis's Georgian houses are our next stops, commencing with the  William Paca House  and continuing with the Hammond-Harwood House.

From Annapolis we drive by way of US-310 to the 170-mile long Delmarva Peninsula, accessing it via the William Preston Lane Memorial Bridge over Chesapeake Bay. Arriving in Delaware, we drive through Dover to Dewey Beach and the Best Western Gold Leaf Hotel. The hotel recommends eating at the Rusty Rudder where we have an excellent seafood meal in very pleasant surroundings overlooking Rehoboth Bay.

(Day 6: Tuesday, June 1st): this is our first visit to the small state of Delaware (our 34th state), but it is a short visit as today we drive south into Virginia. Our route follows the Atlantic coast, much of which is developed with hotels, condominiums, and entertainment facilities. We bypass as much of this as possible by driving to Assateague Island, a 37-mile long barrier island located off the eastern coast of the Delmarva Peninsula facing the Atlantic Ocean. The northern two-thirds of the island is in Maryland while the southern third is in Virginia. We explore the National Seashore and the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (in Virginia) by a series of walks on the beach and boardwalks. As we enjoy a picnic lunch we are able to observe one of the area's feral horses.

Much of the afternoon is consumed with a long drive south, the highlight of which is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel - a 17.6-mile bridge-tunnel complex across Chesapeake Bay. An amazing experience in which we suddenly drive (twice) down into a tunnel way out in the bay. At 7:30pm, we reach the Hampton Inn at Williamsburg.

(Day 7: Wednesday, June 2nd): for the next three days we will be exploring this part of Virginia, known as the 'Historic Triangle'. The three historic sites that give the area its name are Jamestown (the first permanent English settlement  in America); Williamsburg (the restored site of the American colony's 18th-Century capital); and Yorktown (where George Washington defeated George III's troops in the final battle of the American War of Independence).

Our exploration of the 'Historic Triangle' begins with Jamestown - the first settlement of the Virginia Colony, founded in 1607, and which served as the capital of Virginia until 1699, when the seat of government was moved to Williamsburg.

(left): Jeanette with a statue of Pocahontas.