Freedom on the 4th of July

We feel so blessed to be able to work remotely and travel across America. The freedom we enjoy in this country is incredible. The freedom to travel, to build a business, to spend time with the people you want, etc. The RV Life allows you to plan your life the way YOU want! We decided a few months ago we were going to check it off the bucket list to spend Independence Day at the Nation’s Capital in Washington DC!
We hauled the Road Warrior from Florida to Minnesota in two days to pick up Nevaeh. If you’ve been following our blog and haven’t seen her in our previous posts, she’s our daughter from Eric’s previous relationship.
We have her for the Summer and alternate holidays. During the school year, she lives with her mom in Bemidji, MN. She’s one of the biggest reasons we started traveling. When I was working back in Orange County it was almost impossible for me to get away from my executive position.
When I could get away, it was always rushed. I’ve learned that there will always be another big project, another metric to hit, but you can’t get back the time you spent on things like that and replace it with family time. So we redesigned our life so we can work where and when we want. We set up my office in the Toy Hauler. I still put in long hours like before, but I love what I do and I control my schedule. Also, without a commute and with minimized disruptions I’m convinced if you have the discipline working remotely is far more productive and creative than working in a traditional office setting.
Once school was out for the summer we picked her up and headed to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. We spent a week on the beach and headed to visit Danielle’s Family in Maryland. This put us just 15 miles from DC! Because of the sheer madness of putting so many people in one area we knew parking would be a mistake so we took the Metro Train to The Mall. Coming from a small town it’s always a thrill to head into a big city.
This area has had a lot of rain recently so people built mini bridges so we didn’t have to get our shoes wet.
We made sure to get their early so we would get a good spot. The weather was perfect and the people watching was amazing! We brought camping chairs and relaxed while listening to the FREE Concerts. The spot we picked was between the Capital and The Washington Monument.
This is a scenic place to play games, relax, or whatever keeps you entertained while you wait for the big show.
We walked around checking out all the vendors.
I was really excited to do Firework Photography. I haven’t done this before and knew I would have to put some thought into getting the shot. We set up in a central area in the middle of the Mall. I was shooting with a Nikon D80. I set my manual focus to infinite. I played around with the Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO to get a few decent shots. I forgot my remote trigger so I set the 2 second timer on my camera. Trying to time the Fireworks with the 2 second delay was a blast!
Now it’s a waiting game for the show.
It got packed right before the Fireworks started. It was so beautiful!