Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Medival Times

Medival Times
On Tuesday Night we surprised the girls with a Trip to "Medieval Times" a Dinner Theater with audience participation located about 40 minutes from Cherry Hill Park. Our "roles" were as lords and ladies of the kingdom, taking part in festivities at an 11th century castle - guests of the King Phillipe of Leone, and his daughter Princess Leonore. As we enjoyed our feast of a half chicken, we were entertained by a falconer, dancing horses, and finally, a match of six knights. Ours was the Green Knight, Don Temple. Turns out he was the bad guy.
For a great show, and a surprisingly great meal, check out Medieval Times - They have "castles" across the US
Some Pictures: from the Evening
Dancing Horse














Entrance of Medieval Times


















Our Ladies Ready for the Show

Amelia Earhart's Vega

K with Amelia Earhart's Vega
We didn't expect to go into the Air and Space Museum, but the Arts and Industries Building next to the "Castle" was closed for renovations. Arts and Industries is one of my favorites, so I was a little disappointed. Still the Air and Space is interesting, and they had a hall I had not seen before dedicated to the Wright Brothers. Also, seeing the exhibit on Amelia Earhart inspired K to buy the flier's biography - the first in her personal library.

Display @ the Castle

Display @ the Castle

Monday, April 18, 2011

Da Metro

Da Metro
The best way to get around DC is the Metrorail. Clean, quick, and running every few minutes, the Metro made it easy to get from College Park, where Cherry Hill Campground is located, to any of the sights in DC. Since granny was along, we did use RoadToad to hit the Women's War Memorial and the National Zoo, just to save her some steps we used her handi-cap placard to get closer parking. Below is the Map we would use the Green line from College Park, then transfer to (mostly) the Orange or blue line.
DC Metrorail Map

Julia Childs Kitchen

Julia Childs Kitchen

Hey, where's Perry?

Hey, Where's Perry?
Hey, where's Perry?

Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

Federal Triangle

Federal Triangle

Library of Congress

Library of Congress

Sunday, April 17, 2011

New Day, Bright Skies

A New Day and Bright Skies. Molly and I found a great trail that takes us around the perimeter of the campground. As Molly and I made the rounds, Am started making our breakfast of walnut pancakes and fresh fruit salad. Since the weather was expected to be beautiful all day, we planned on travelling to Arlington Cemetery to see The Women In Military Service Memorial, and the National Zoo.
By the Women in Military Service Memorial

At the National Zoo
Panda Feeding on Bamboo

Saturday, April 16, 2011

White House - and the Skies Open Up

What a Wet Day!
Today started at 5am for our family. Back in November, through Congressman Chaka Fattah office, we requested to tour the Whitehouse during our time in DC. Just a few weeks ago our request was approved. So we needed to be @ the check in point by 8:45am for our 9am tour today. We pre-bought our metro tickets last night, and Amy and I did a dry run to the parking at the College Park station.  We didn't want to miss our train. After a good walk around the campground for Molly, we got everyone breakfast and together and out by 7:15am. A 10 minute car ride later, we were at the College Park Metro Station. We were concerned for Granny's ability to do the steps in and out of the stations, and to walk the distance to the Whitehouse. As it was, we all did fine. As we waited for our turn to get checked in, a slight drizzle started. We were able to get in the Whitehouse before the skies opened up. Each of us (even the girls) were verified with picture ID, and verified our information, more than once. It seemed our check-in process took longer than our self-guided tour.
I'm thankful we were able to see the inside of our wonderful Presidential Mansion, but after all the waiting, it seemed almost anti-climatic. I must admit though, the amount of history in the place, knowing what has occurred within it's walls, and who had spent time in the rooms we toured, gave a feeling of being in hallowed halls.
When we exited, rain was pouring down, so we donned our rain gear as we headed out. We ducked into a Souvenir shop for a bit - girls bought a few trinkets. With the rain, wind, and granny not up for  too much walking, we took a break under cover of the Ronald Reagan Building . The Metro Station is right there so we decided to come back to the Campground and relax for the rest of the day. Glad we did - as the rains and winds really rocked us all day, and I heard from other campers that they had to do detours from flooding and fallen debris coming up from Annapolis.
Got some reading in, watched the rain, and tracked it on TV. Enjoyed some time in Cherry hill's cafe & lounge as well. And a Rainy Day is not complete without a little nap to the sound of rain on the roof. Not a productive day, but still a good one.
Waiting at L Enfant Plaza for the Metro to RoadAbode

Friday, April 15, 2011

Washington DC RoadTrip

After finishing a few last minute items at work, (remote work) packed up the car and headed down toward Cherry Hill Campground in College Park., MD. On the way, was able to help troubleshoot a log-on issue at work. Just glad it got fixed for them. First time using EZ-Pass, made the trip a bit quicker - til we hit the traffic close to DC. Left RoadAbode's Storage around 1pm, and pulled into our Spot @ Cherry Hill about 4:30pm.
Cherry Hill already has their pools open - which was a surprise. Em may get enough gumption to take a swim - too cool for me though. Had our usual Friday Night Pizza - and enjoyed some curly fries and Onion rings as appetizers from the Cafe here. Everything here at Cherry Hill is well laid out, well done, and cared for. Great Campground, and well run. Looking forward to our tour of the Whitehouse tomorrow Morning. It will be an early start - but we're excited. Time to turn in for the night.

Ran into this Guy

Ran into this guy @ CherryHill Campground

Friday, April 01, 2011

RoadAbode Upgrade - 2011

This year we've decided to have RoadAbode's Couch recovered. This will include the material areas around the dinette, but not the dinette cushions themselves - as we just did those last year. (holding up well)
Can't see it in the pictures, but the arms and seat are starting to fray a bit. Frame is still in tip-top shape. Will post when she's finished - Hopefully for our Washington DC trip, or at least the Walden Pond RoadTrip.