Lunching @ National Portrait Gallery

Eating fancy sandwiches in the Courtyard.  A nice peaceful respite after the action and adventure of the Spy Museum, located right across the street.

National Portrait Gallery Atrium

Girls Relaxing at the National Portrait Gallery Atrium

Wet in Washington DC

Sunday, headed in early to see some monuments and memoriald before heading to the National Archives, American and Natural History Museums.  Plans were thwarted by a downpour as soon as we got off the Metro.  Ended up hanging out under the Archives massive front. Was still fun just talking with the girls. We made plans, and still got to see most of what we'd planned. Today, the Spy Museum and Portrait Gallery.

Evening in College Park, MD

Made it down 95 without a hitch to Cherry Hill RV Park. Had a late lunch in their great cafe, enjoyed a swim with the girls (even fit in a nap) and just relaxed and laughed for a good bit. Caught a photo of the girls playing with sparklers. Looking forward to touring a bit of DC tomorrow. 

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

Julia Childs Kitchen

Julia Childs Kitchen

Hey, where's Perry?

Hey, where's Perry?

Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

Federal Triangle

Federal Triangle

Library of Congress

Library of Congress

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

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

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.

Washington DC - One Hot Town....

Washington DC is hot for many reasons - For us it was REALLY hot - and it's a great place to visit.
We stayed at Cherry Hill Park, in College Park Md. This is THE place to stay if you want to see DC and come by Motorhome, Fifth-wheel, Travel-trailer, or any other type camper. The campground is nice, A well equiped camp store, landscaped nicely, 2 good sized pools, and a small cafe - with really good food!
This is not a 'great' camping experience in the woods somewhere. Rather, it's a great place to park your RV, get to DC convienently, and have some not-to-shabby ammenites to come back to and relax after a day of sightseeing.
It is convienent to get to Washington D.C. A Metro bus stop is right by the office, and it takes you to the Metro subway. Now some of you may say, "Eewww - a SubWay..." but the Washington Metro is like no other underground you have rode on. Clean and secure, it is a great way to get around DC on the cheap. The ride from Cherry Hill, transfers to CollegePark Metro, and into DC takes about 40 minutes. We took the time to get to know a few other RVers, and talk (or brag) about our favorite places to go.

We have been to DC before, so this time we wanted to see specific monuments. First stop was the Jefferson Memorial. We took time to read the inscriptions within the memorial. Anyone who trys to point to Sepparation of Church and State, had better first read the writings of this Giant among men.
We continued our walk around the Tidal Basin to the Franklin Delanor Roosevelt Memorial. His life really shows that whatever trys to hold you back, you can still accomplish great things
We then checked out the World War II Memorial. Maybe not as moving as the Vietnam Memorial Wall, but you should never again take your freedoms for granted after visiting here.
We stopped and had sandwiches at a stand near the Washington Monument. Tastless and expensive - and we had to help the counter girls figure out the change (my 12 year old counts better) Our usual place was closed because of the major restoration project going on at the base of the Washingtom Monument.
We were hot and tired and decided to call it quits after a half day. (This was my first outing after having my cast taken off) We got back to the campground and the girls enjoyed the pools, and I sat back and did some reading.
Next day we visited the New American Indian Museum.
the collections were amazing to look at, but might be boring for really wee ones. Our girls did ok. If going to DC - make sure this is one of your stops for lunch. All the meals are inspired by various regions of Native American cooking. Not Cheap, but very tasty! Amy had the best deal, some Buffalo Chili - Smelled real good, and she didn't share much! It was a Buffalo Burger for me!
After lunch, we walked off some of the calories at the Botanical Garden, and near the base of the Capitol refecting Pool. We also walked down the Mall just looking at the buildings and the people.

We love visiting Washington DC - and plan on staying at Cherry Hill Park!