My Terminal Leave Adventure...

LineInTheSand

LineInTheSand

USCGA 2006
10-Year Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
Messages
9,295
All,

I'm leaving the Coast Guard in May of this year. I'm "five and diving" it.

My terminal starts May 13. On June 31, I will be completely separated.

In the week or so following my last day, I play to travel around the Commonwealth of Virginia to see the state (commonwealth) I've living in the past 3 years, before I move to the southwest to be with my fiancee.

Any ideas? I live outside of DC, so I know Mt. Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery.

Leave no stone unturned, I really want to see this state before I leave.

Thanks for any help you gave provide! :thumb:
 
Monticello and the Shenandoah Valley!

Blue Ridge Parkway and Peaks of Otter.

Beautiful! Virginia is a lovely state.
 
You should check out all the historic landmarks in DC before you leave, including this one: http://www.uscg.mil/d5/stawashingtondc/

If you're like me, it will be a very weird (albeit totally liberating) feeling not to have get up early in the morning. Heck, if you want to, you can hang around in your hotel and watch "Sponge Bob Squarepants" all day, and nobody will care.

Congrats to you. And thank you for serving.
 
Luray Caverns.
The Eastern Shore peninsula.
Bay Bridge-Tunnel
Monticello.
Busch Gardens
Colonial Williamsburg
Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Cold Harbor battlefields.
Appomattox courthouse.
Shenandoah Skyline Drive
Jamestown
Bristol Motor Speedway race

That's about it.

:cool:
 
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I second Monticello. The same day drive over to Charlottesville and tour UVa, Jefferson's University.

If you have never been, head down to Va Beach and over to the Eastern Shore. Spend a few bucks on the toll across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel. Head up to Chincoteague and check out the ponies.

I-81 - don't miss this 324 mile gem. My family has a love/hate relationship with I-81! It is so long but really beautiful. Head up to Winchester and grab a beer with tpg. Winchester is a cute little town. Then head south. Lots to see and do. Staunton is a neat town too. You can head into the George Washinton National Forest and so some hiking or just enjoy the view.
 
LITs,

Don't forget, the 150th Anniversary of the 1st Battle of Manassas is July this year. HUUUUUUUUGE event in the local area (expected to be one of the biggest on the East Coast this summer).

Timing should work out right as one of the last things to do here if you plan to leave by the end of July. Be advised, crowds are expected to be HUGE, and the I-66 / Rt 234 traffic is already bad at best. Come early.
 
Great ideas everyone....I'm going to review all of them, and get a good circular route through the state to and from home.
 
LITS,

Does Ft. Story near Va. Beach still have cabin rentals for military service members? Great place to pick up conch shells between the large rocks at the edge of the beach. Sunrises are great there.
 
why

lits, will you share your reasons for leaving??
 
I'm engaged to a girl in another uniformed service, not close to the coast. If we're going to work, someone would have to give.

To tell you the truth, and I'd be happy to go into more detail after June, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill alienated me. Not to the Coast Guard, but to who they report to...specifically politicals.
 
Oh no prob, no prob. I didn't do anything special.

Thank you for paying your hard earned money in taxes, allowing me to serve this fine country!
 
I grew up in Northern Virginia and loved it there. A few years ago we took our kids all over the Valley and went to all the Battlefields and visited a few Presidential houses which was fun. The natural bridge is nice as it the Cherry Blossom's, Laray Caverns as well of coarse all the museums in DC. Air and Space is great and I love the metro system. Don't forget to sign up for a tour of the Capital. Have a great time and thanks for your service.
 
On a side note, there's a movie coming out soon about the trial of the assassin's of Lincoln.

The assassin's were held at Fort McNair. They were hanged where the tennis courts now stand, and were housed before the hanging in the basement of a building still on the base, currently under construction. I went looking for it on my way to my car. Pretty cool piece of history, and interesting place to put tennis courts.
 
LineInTheSand said:
On a side note, there's a movie coming out soon about the trial of the assassin's of Lincoln.

The assassin's were held at Fort McNair. They were hanged where the tennis courts now stand, and were housed before the hanging in the basement of a building still on the base, currently under construction. I went looking for it on my way to my car. Pretty cool piece of history, and interesting place to put tennis courts.
Click to expand...
If you're really into the Lincoln assassination and such...head to Key West, take the ferry over to Fort Jefferson..."home" to Dr Sam Mudd...

It's an amazing place!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
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