Indiana dunes, which is a shore filled with huge sand dunes, is situated in southern Michigan shore in Indiana. We were driving to Chicago airport to drop off my parents who were going back to Sri Lanka. We searched for a place to visit on the way and found this.

It was a cold and sunny day. The lake shore was really beautiful. Sad thing we couldn't stay out much longer due to cold wind.

We visited Cincinnati aquarium on our way back from Cincinnati Buddhist temple.

The New Port aquarium is really good compared to some other well known aquariums.

We drove from New Jersey to Pittsburgh, PA. It was kind of an exhausting ride. It was around 11.30 pm when we reach Pittsburgh. Fortunately still, we had the time to have a ride in Duquesne incline.

Duquesne incline closes at 12.45 am. The ticket price was very reasonable ($2). It elevates to a top of a mountain and allow us to experience a magnificent view of Pittsburgh from the deck. The best time to do this is at night. You can see thousands of lights in the city below.

We didn't have much time to explore the city. We drove around the city next morning but wish we had more time. Pittsburgh is such a beautiful city which is situated in a pit (indeed).

Then we returned to Bloomington, IN via Columbus, OH.

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We spent the previous night in Maryland. So there was no hurry getting up in the morning. The route to Delaware bay via Maryland was really nice. We passed calm and beautiful farms on the way. The only disadvantage was it took much time to travel on old single lane highways.

Delaware bay is a really nice place to have a sun bath. The place is great for fishing too. Many people were enjoying on the beach.

Then we took the ferry to New Jersey which too nearly 2 hours to cross the bay and reach NJ.


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Then we drove all the way to Pittsburgh, PA.  
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We visited Washington D.C on the 2nd day of our trip. Our route was from WV, via Virginia to DC.

First, we visited white house.

 Then, Whashington monument.

World war II memorial.

And Lincoln memorial

It was so hard to find a parking spot in DC. We finally found a parking garage for around $15. The fact I didn't like is, they themselves park the car and keep the key with them. Also, they say they are not responsible if anything is lost. Hearing all that I felt like it is not a good place to leave our car. If they keep the key, the should be responsible for whatever inside the car too. Else, they should give us the key. So, I think it is really not a good idea to park in DC garages. Instead, find 2hr parking lots somewhere.

That day we spent night in Maryland, hoping to visit Delaware bay next morning.
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Grandview state park is situated near New river George bridge. It took around 1hr for us from there to reach Grandview State park.

There is a really nice lookout point. You can see the new river flowing like a snake around a mountain. There is a rail road adjacent to the river.

Life is old there...
Older than the trees...
Younger than the mountains...
Blowing like a breeze...
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After visiting Kanawha falls, we headed towards New River George Bridge. We a hoping to see a huge bridge but we didn't see any until the GPS indicates that we passed it. We were surprised that we really didn't see one. Then we found the visitor center of New river bridge nearby and the lady explained what happened.

We had crossed it without knowing we are crossing it. The bridge is not visible when we cross it. It just looks like the road connecting mountain tops. If you want see the bridge, you have to take the scenic trail which runs under the bridge. Then you can view the huge bridge from the bottom side.

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