Still Kickiing Up My Paws In DC

Scout and I are still exploring the campground here. Dad is attending his conference now, so we are not seeing much of him.  He got home around 10:30 last night and we expect the same tonight.  Today is his birthday and he has to attend meetings all day.  Dad was actually born in Maryland.  His Dad was in the Army. It's strange that he is back in his birthplace on his birthday considering he only lived here for a very short time.

The folks ate at a place called Hard Times Cafe the other night.  It is a place that is just down the road from our campground.  They are known for their chili.  They brought out a sampler of their chili before the folks ordered.

Texas Chili: Coarse ground beef cooed in its own juice, using an authentic turn of the century family spice blend and recipe.
Cincinnati Chili: Introduced in 1922 by Greek immigrants, it is a fine grind of beef with a tomato base and sweeter spices including cinnamon.
Terlingua Red: A tribute to the Texas ghost town that hosted the first Chili cook-off. A redder color and spicy kick of championship chilies.
Vegetarian Chili: Soy flakes cooked in a tomato base with fresh mushrooms, onions, green peppers, jalapenos & peanuts.

Mama decided to order their Five Way Chili Mac which is spaghetti, chili, cheese, onions & beans.  She chose the Texas chili.  She decided that she should have mixed it with the Terlingua Red since the Texas Chili is a little greasy.  The portion size was huge though and she brought some home and had it for lunch the next day.

Five Way Chili Mac

Dad ordered the Polish Cowboy: Grilled Kielbasa topped with BBQ sauce, Cincy Chili, fresh-cut fries and coleslaw. Serve with a side of onion rings.

Polish Cowboy

 Dad liked it. The onions rings were really good and Mama said the dipping sauce was zesty.

Yesterday, Mama ate at the cafe here.  She said the burger was really good. She will probably go back tonight. She bought a cup from them because they give unlimited refills for your entire stay and if you come back at any time in the future, they say you can get free refills.  Mama says that is a good deal because she loves her Diet Pepsi.  She has already had like four refills and we are here for a few more days. Mama gets excited over the silliest things.

Last night and this morning, we walked on the nature trail.  We still haven't completed the whole thing. We just hop on and off.

This is the Bus Depot at our park.  We watch the buses come and go all day.

Here we go through the woods.

There is a bridge up ahead.

Another bridge

We had been searching for this pond for a few days.

Pretty flowers in front of one of the many bath houses.

Our site.

 We have been visiting the dog park each night.  There are only a few dogs here.  They actually have a dog walker in the park that can be hired. Mama said she would be scared that we would get away from her.  Actually, she is scared that I would get away.  Scout would probably just tell the dog walker to skip the walk and pet her.

Oh, we were asked what is up with all the turtles. We don't know, but we found where they have some in storage. LOL

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Still Finding New Places To Explore Here

We are in DC!

We arrived in Washington DC last night. Actually, we are in College Park, MD which is close to DC.  We had a pretty easy trip, no problems. Our gas stops all went well unlike our trip to Texas.  I would like to say it's because the folks are more experienced now, but part of it depends on how crowded the gas stations are and how easy they are to get in and out. We only stop at travel centers, but they are not always RV friendly even though they should be.

We hit heavy traffic in Virginia. If there was a car on the side of the road it caused a standstill. We hit big jams several times during our last 100 miles.

Virginia Traffic

I love our campground!  Mama says it is rated #2 in Best Parks of America.  There is so much activity here.  Mama says I am over-stimulated. Today, she decided I needed to wear my harness because I was pulling way too much. I am acting much better now.

The campground is really a resort. Mama says it is perfect for families.  They have a bus depot here so the buses come here to pick people up for tours or to take them to metro stations.  There is a nice store that has camping things as well as souvenirs. There is also miniature golf, a spray park, basketball court, several playgrounds, nature trail, cafe, outdoor movie theater, hot tub, sauna, game room, exercise room, free Cable TV, free Wi-Fi, TV lounge area and they have a DOG PARK!  Actually, there are two! This place is huge!  We still haven't seen it all.

Each day they offer an informational sightseeing session to help the campers learn how to get around DC. Mama is going to attend tomorrow's session.  They really make things easy here.

Oh, Boy!  Look at this place!

Turtles are all over.

View of the park.

Pool area

Tractor rides are offered free every night.

At the dog park.

Turtles are even in the dog park.  Dad says it is a hazard.

Fire hydrant is also a hazard to running dogs.  We haven't run yet though.

I love being off leash again!

Dad and Scout walking down the path.

A view from the dog walk.

Another view from the dog walk.

And one more view from the dog walk.

We still haven't walked the nature trail. It goes through the woods. It's 1.5 miles.  Does anyone know if we need to worry about Lyme Disease in this area from ticks?  Haven't had any ticks yet, but Mama wonders if it is okay for us to go on the nature trail.

I am having the best time here!!!!  

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Wouldn't Mind Living At This Campground

Please Turn Off The Rain

We have been having rain since last Friday or Saturday.  It has been nice. However, the rain started around 3 a.m. and it has not stopped except long enough for us to get in two short walks.  The rain has been very hard. The local stations are having continuous weather coverage which we have not seen even in bad storms. They said we were getting 4"an hour for a while.  The front lake here is out of its' banks and the lake by us is full. It has always been quite low. The ducks are swimming in the field.  Mama keeps checking the gully behind us to make sure we are okay.  It is fine, so far.  We just need this rain stop because Mama is getting nervous.  Heck, if Mama has to move the RV due to flooding, we will be nervous.  LOL  I am sure if the worst happens, Fred, the park manager will help us.

Exciting news!   It sounds like we are headed to Washington DC for a week and then on to our next destination after that.  We have a verbal commitment for the next destination and hope to have it in writing today.  It will probably only be for a month this time. It's a place that the folks have never been before. 

Dad made the reservations for the campground near Washington DC.  It sounds really nice. It is the Cherry Hill Park. They have buses that stop right at the campground to take people to the city or to the Metro System.  The campground has a cafe, theater, nature trail, pools and many other things.  Mama is very excited.  The folks visited DC in the 90's and loved it.  They will be able to see the sights on Monday, Thursday afternoon and Friday.  Dad has meetings on Tuesday - Thursday afternoon.  Mama said she might take a tour or something while he is gone or we may just explore the park.  They took the night tour of  DC when they were there before and really liked it.  We had hoped to stay in DC for a month or two, but so far, that is not where we are staying.  It is very expensive!  The campground charges $900 a month, plus electric.  That is out of our budget, but if we end up there sometime, we will just have to deal with it. DC has so many things to see and do and most of them are free.  Mama says it is a fun city to explore.

Mama ordered a new battery for her Dell laptop this morning.  She has needed a new one for a very long time. It should be here well before we leave on the 27th.  We will be able to update the blog while we travel with a new battery, hopefully.

Now that we know we are really leaving on the 27th, we are busy making plans for our last two weeks here. This weekend, Dad wants to wax the RV and the folks are supposed to meet up with some relatives that Dad hasn't seen in like 25 years.  Next weekend, there is a big dog show here that Mama would like to attend. It is the Reliant Park World Series of Dog Shows.  They have a ton of vendors and Mama would like to do some shopping.   Mama said she needs to double check with Dad though because at one time, he wanted to visit Moody Gardens which is near Galveston. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Hopes The Rain Stops Soon