Way back in DC

The last of the blooms

Last I left off we had just had a great time in South Carolina...since then we have gone through DC, Dominican Republic, Chris drove to Maine, we stayed in Maine, Vermont and Pennsylvania. I'm going to do my best to catch us up!

Full bloom!

Before arriving in DC, we stayed at Pocahontas State Park in Virginia. It was beautiful. The park was very well maintained with lots of hiking paths, a lake, and what looked to be a water park though we did not go there. There seems to be a lot of state parks around this area and we love spending time in them as they are some of the nicest kept areas with the prettiest walking paths to go on, the problem for us is that they are usually further from town with no Internet, so it makes working for Chris pretty difficult. We all agree that if we stay in them on our weekends during our drives it makes it feel like little bursts of camping!

Garden Tour

We arrived in DC, dropped the trailer off at our huge park and headed for our friend's house. Chris and Britta grew up with one another since they were in diapers and it was so fun to see our kiddos start playing as if they've known each other these past 35 years. They have a 4 year old as well as 2 year old twins, so there was always some kind of play and laughter going on!

VIP Guests

Getting some energy out with Abe

Beautiful Botanical Gardens

5 little frogs, sitting on a log

That week in DC is the week we have by far done our most walking. We had a bus stop in our RV park, but because the park is so big it was about an 8 minute walk just to reach the bus stop. One day the boys and I walked just over 8 miles and found our legs to be completely done by the end of the day! But the museums! And the trees! And the zoo, monuments, food trucks and subways...oh my!  I don't have a great way of summing up this week that held so much for us besides saying that I was continuously amazed at the amount of information that is packed into those streets of our nations' capital. I loved being surrounded by the gorgeous buildings and it was exciting to walk to the major departments of our government and know that these massive structures all held people who were working for the future of our country. Traveling the US has definitely added to my sense of patriotism as we travel from town to town and find people who are just so happy about the places that they live. I think there is so much bad press that is repeated over and over in our news, but if you stop in small towns and big cities across the nation, people are genuinely excited for you to experience their corner of America. People always let us know of great places to eat, the free concerts that are going on, the unique exhibits of their town and how long they've been there. We see so many nature centers and conservation programs that it makes you think, of course America is going to be alright! It is only when we zoom out and look at national news coverage that I get that sad feeling that the country and the world is making horrific decisions because in actuality all of these people, people of all walks of life, all religions and political leanings, they are all trying to do their best. I wish the news could focus on that, and be a collaboration of what each town is doing because if this little conservatory could connect with that nature center which could introduce this other recycling area and share their knowledge of that eco transportation idea, the country could very well find itself working together in a forward and progressive manner. But I digress...

Favorite Museum!

The trip to DC was beautiful and fun and action packed. We loved it. And right in the middle of our two weeks the boys and I took a little side trip out to the coast of Maryland, to a little town called Worton.

Oh, hey, we're just hanging out in DC

Worton is the home town of a lady we met down in Georgia. Her grandchildren were visiting her in GA and all of the kids made fast friends as they played on the playgrounds and zipped around on their bicycles. Laurette lives on 18 acres of land in a house built in the 1780's. She has a guest house on the property that was for lack of better words, incredible. She turned a huge shed into a warm and inviting guest house complete with kitchen and ping pong table. The kids trampled over the 18 acres in the cold sunshine lugging around her grandson's BB gun and getting completely muddy as they discovered deer bones and rabbit holes. Austin and Oliver learned how to climb massive juniper bushes and trees and they would all come in for dinner with a healthy appetite that devoured an entire chicken and all the vegetables and potatoes that could be found. It felt like living a life out of a storybook that is written of children's dreams.

Gorgeous

Picture of childhood

Monkeys for hours

New friends

Coldest boat ride ever!

Having polar opposite experiences in Maryland left us with an awe of the little state, memories that will not be forgotten and new and old friendships that will cross paths again.