Day 1
Mostly On Track

Day 2
No Madonna

Day 3
A Day at the Mall

Day 4
Happy 230th

Day 5
Turning West

Day 6
Into Pennsylvania

Day 7
Through West Virginia

Day 8
Through Ohio

Day 9
Through Indiana

Day 10
The Last Bridge

July 10, 2006
First the end of the National Road in Vandalia then the end of the Historic National Road Byway at the Mississippi River. I had a nice visit in Greenup and got to stand on Route 66 for the second time of the trip.

July 9, 2006
A visit with the Bremers in Indianapolis and a new appreciation for downtown Indy.

July 8, 2006
Almost through Ohio with a side trip for a pig roast.

July 7, 2006
Two Madonnas in a day and a couple more bridges. A funeral in Brownsville and a beer at the Century Inn.

July 6, 2006
After six nights in Maryland, I finally left the state; Shooting another Mason-Dixon stone on the way out. Educational stops at Fort Necessity & Braddock's Grave.

July 5, 2006
A pair of Washington Monuments, a few mile markers, some bridges, and a shirt tale. There was also a little rain but who cares?

July 4, 2006
Parade, dinosaurs, rain, music, dancing, and a bunch of fireworks. Who could ask for anything more?

July 3, 2006
I rode the wonderful Metro into DC and found the Zero Mile Marker in the middle of a big crowd taking pictures of the White House. The World War II Memorial and the American Indian Museum were both thought provoking while the Smithsonian Folklife Festival was a little more fun. A good and busy day.

July 2, 2006
I took the expressway to Frederick but even that provided some nice scenery. There has been a lot of work in Frederick but little or none at the Madonna of the Trail site in Bethesda.

July 1, 2006
The Independence Day weekend looked like a good time for this trip since it was just about the earliest possible and the holiday would give me a couple of extra days off. I had already planned to work in visits to two new Washington attractions; the World War II Memorial and the Smithsonian American Indian Museum. Once July 4 entered the picture, celebrating the country's independence in its capitol seemed attractive. A schedule evolved that would accommodate that plus a pass at the Madonna of the Trail in Bethesda and a ride on the steam powered train in Cumberland.

Step one was getting to Cumberland (actually La Vale) Friday night and riding the train on Saturday. Both have been accomplished. Next is driving the National Old Trails Road spur that ran through Bethesda followed by two days in and around D.C. There should be no problem with the first of those but recent flooding and predictions of more rain have me rethinking the D.C. segment. I haven't changed plans but I am watching the weather reports.

Prelude
Driving the National Road has been on this site's "Just Seeds" list almost from the beginning; Waiting only for an opportunity or justification. The first bit of legislation authorizing it was signed 200 years ago and a bicentennial seems a pretty good justification. I'll be working on that opportunity with July or August seeming the most likely. My original "Seeds" page (complete with what I now know are errors) is now here.

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