A WEEK'S STAY IN WASHINGTON DC

We arrived here Friday April 3rd in pouring down rain. College Park, Md. is home to the Cherry Hill RV Park about 30 minutes from the Capitol by Metro Train. We can't say enough good things about the people at Cherry Hill. They give you a lecture about how to ride the buses & metro & things to see in DC. We found it easy to get around DC.

Friday evening we booked a Gray Line tour, "Washington By Night". It left the park at 6 PM & returned us at midnight.
So lucky to have an excellent driver & our tour guide. Had the front seat of the bus for the entire evening. The tour takes in the entire DC area including Arlington Cemetery. Many stops and getting on & off the bus to walk up to vantage photo ops. Here is Pat standing in front of the Capitol on this crisp Friday evening.
It was just getting dark at this point. All the monuments have strong lights on them showing them off to there advantage. Yes; we are here at the peak of the Cherry Trees in full bloom. Will save their beauty for later.
Plan to share blogs with you in order of how we toured DC.

This Friday evening many people were taking advantage of the outdoor cafes & dining at side walk tables. A beautiful setting with all the lights.

Washington Monument all lit up. A clear evening. One could see from one end of the Mall to the other a 2 mile distance.

I took many photos but will only share 4 with you on each blog. (that's all blogger will let me post at a time)
World War II Veterans Memorial with Lincoln's Memorial in the background.

There were a total of 41 passengers on the bus. We picked up the other 39 passengers at the Grand Central Train Station.
At the end of the tour the bus took the passengers to their respective hotels. We were the last drop off by midnight. We did get to see many of the fine hotels in DC.

Tomorrow will be the day to ride the Metro & view cherry blossoms...good night. Roger & Pat

ST. MICHAELS, MD.

In the afternoon when returning from Annapolis we took a side trip to ride thru this small tourist city of St. Michaels. "The town that fooled the British August 10, 1813". The residents were forewarned, they hoisted lanters to the mast of ships and in the tops of trees. Tricking the British by causing the cannons to overshoot the town. The blackout was effective, only one house was hit by a cannon ball. Still being lived in today.




St. Michaels harbor on the Chesapeake Bay.






The original houses built back in the late 1700s that are still lived in today. The early settlers were engaged in tobacco growing and ship building. The city today has become a small tourist area with many B & Bs, small shops & restaurants. One called the "Crab Claw" I would have liked to eaten in...we had eaten light already.







Just out of town on the way back to the motor home we spotted this flock of wild turkeys grazing in a farm field. Must have been 30 in the flock. Tomorrow morning we make a move to Washington DC for a week's stay. Until next time wish you were here! Roger & Pat

NAVEL ACADEMY

This morning we were off in the Honda to visit the Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. A one hour drive from the RV Park. In the afternoon we will visit the small city of St. Michaels on the Chesapeake Bay.
We had did our research and was glad we didn't take the motor home. Very limited parking in the area. Finding a two hour parking space we were off to the visitor center. A modest admission fee of $8 each.
Our tour guide was terrific with her knowledge sheared.
4000 midshipmen & 600 instructors at the Academy that was in session. A very impressive campus; high security. The old buildings are of french design.
Bancroft Hall is the only dormitory housing 4000 midshipmen in four wings, four floors covering 38 acres.
This photo shows the main lobby inside the hall. It also houses the largest dining room in the US. Able to feed all midshipmen in 1 hour. 300 food service personnel are employed.


An outside view of Bancroft Hall. A very massive building of the french design.
This is one of the newer designed building. The Science Building. While at the Academy all midshipmen are required to enroll in one of the many sports program for all four years. We were able to tour the indoor sport center complete with a 24 lane Olympic size pool. They all have to pass a swimming test before they graduate: 15 laps with full dress...2 laps in a life preserver made from there clothes.

This is one stop well worth your time to visit.

GREENSBORO, MD.

Arrived in Greensboro Maryland around noon at the Holiday RV Park which is located in the countryside. After getting setup in the park we elected to take a short drive to the capital city of Delaware, "Dover". First we would visit the Agricultural Museum. Depicting early life in Delaware.
Not much of a museum. On to the historic Delaware State buildings. All are located around a square
city block with a park in the center of the square. The state capital is on the left. Governor's mansion on the right. All the buildings date back to the late 1700s. Well preserved.
Dover is a small city with a lot of charm. Easy to find your way.
More state buildings around the square.
Historic homes in the next block.
Returning to the RV Park was a secnic ride through the countryside. Many small well groomed farms along the way.

TRAP POND STATE PARK

We arrived here last Sunday noon. The Park is located six miles East of the small city of Laurel, Delaware. Laurel is located in this small state in the Southwest corner; about 50 miles south of Dover the capital.
There is one other RV in the park. Will be staying here until
Wednesday AM. The campground is located under tall pine trees. Each large site has water & 50 amp electric. A good location to take it easy which we have. Some household chores done.
Yesterday we took a drive over to the coastal town of Rehoboth Beach. A tourist area on Delaware's Atlantic Coast. Many places to stay in this resort city. 3 outlet malls.
The best part of the drive was through the farming country side. This part of the state is level with sandy loam soil. The farmers are just starting to work their ground. Looks like they raise a lot of corn & cereal grains. The big thing here is broiler fryer operations. The TV news reports they harvest 2,200,00 fryers daily.

Trap pond a beautiful pond filled with clear blue water. Our campsite is just to the right of the picture.
A happy fisherman. Spoke to him from shore. "Fishing is good today". Had a larger bass in the fish well. This was the best picture.
The campground. As you can see no other RVs in this loop.
It's clear & sunny today. Temp is 62 degrees.
We received an Email today from our congressman that 2 of our Washington DC tours have been approved: "The Capitol" & the "Archives".
Tomorrow we make a short move to Greensboro, Maryland for a 2 day stay. Will arrive Friday at Cherryhill RV Park in
College Park, Maryland. Will use this park for our home while touring Washington DC the following 7 days. This is about the only park in the area. A 5 star park but expensive.

Until next time wish you were here. Roger & Pat.

I LEARNED SOMETHING ON THE PHOTOS. IF YOU DOUBLE CLICK A PHOTO THEY WILL ENLARGE!

CHINCOTEAGUE, VA.

Friday & Saturday March 27th & 28th a two day stay on this Island. Chincoteaque is located on a peninsula on the coast of Virgina known as Delmarva named after the three states that are on the peninsula. The wildlife refuge is located on the next door island of Assateague 14,000 acres in Delmarva. Acres of beach, sand dunes, marsh and maritime forest. The refuge is located on the Atlantic waterfowl flyway. A modern visitor center explains life on the island. Good roads and hiking trails are available. We were a little late to see the migrating birds going North. We did see several hundred snow geese feeding & resting in the marsh.

Chincoteaque is known for it's wild ponies that have been here a few hundred years. Not sure where they originated.
Could have survived from a sunken Spanish ship. Or early settlers may have turned them loose because at times they didn't have feed. There are 150 wild ponies on Assateque that belong to the local volunteer fire department. They have an agreement with the Refuge to graze the ponies on the Island. At the end of each July they gather the herd & swim them to the Island of Chincoteague where the mares are separated from their foals. A selected group are auctioned off and their proceeds are used to support the fire department. The remaining herd is swam back to Assateaque for another year. The pictures show 4 mares grazing. Had a short hike to view them. Told they average 14 hands in height. We saw approximately 25 out of 50 in this pasture. Many tourists frequent the park.

The Island of Chincoteaque is an old fishing village that has become a tourist area with motels, shops & restaurants.
Maddox Family RV Park is where we stayed...an OK park .



This is about as far as you can drive out to the beach on the Atlantic Coast. We had it to ourselves. You can walk for miles. A couple of surfers were there. Water temperature was 44 degrees. The weather ranged while here from a low of 48 to a high of 60 degrees. Cloudy in the day & rain at night.

I saved the best for last. Where is the best seafood restaurant in town? Locals said go to The Village. We did...the best we have had on the trip. Shared the seafood platter for one...$28.95. The platter included: a small lobster tail, a crab cake, flounder, shrimp, scallops, clam strips, oysters with a potato & salad. There was left overs for lunch the next day. "No more pigging out".

Will be making a short move North Sunday into the State of Delaware. Until next time wish you were here. Roger & Pat