Headin' to Washington

Friday, October 19
We packed up form Normandy Farms Campground outside of Boston and headed down the road today. We waited until after rush hour was over, and for the most part we missed the worst of the commuter traffic. The Interstates were another story though!

We took I495 up to I90 and headed west to I84 where we turned south. We crossed Massachusetts, then into Connecticut. Hartford must have had the roughest section of Interstate we have ever been on. Then onward to New York. Well maybe New York takes the prize for the roughest overall Interstate. Sprinkle in at least a half dozen construction slow downs and you have the makings of a very stressful drive! Next state was Pennsylvania and it's roads were better for the most part.

Interstate 90 in Massachusetts. 

Hartford Connecticut

Interstate 84 in New York. You can almost see the bumps!

The Hudson River

The bridge over the Hudson River in New York State.

Heading from I84 to I81.

We followed I84 to Scranton Pennsylvania and then took I81 south from there to Wilkes-Barre where we spent the night at Walmart. Other than some rain and strong wind overnight we had a great night. Of course we dropped some money off at Walmart in exchange for a buggy full of stuff we just couldn't live without!

Saturday. October 20
We didn't have too far to drive today so we had a later start. We were heading down the road through Pennsylvania and into Maryland. We planned a stop at Walmart in Hagerstown, MD. That leaves us a short drive into Washington tomorrow. We had planned on stopping in Gettysburg to snoop around some of the civil war historic sites, but apparently all the campgrounds there are having a Halloween celebration this weekend and next so there isn't a camping spot available for miles. Even State Parks are full, if they are open.

The Pennsylvania countryside.

We did some more Walmart shopping and had a nice supper at TGI Fridays, a restaurant we have never tried before. The rain and wind hit about 8:30 tonight and as forecast it rained and blew hard for much of the night.

We were cozy in our trailer with our blue flame heater. We had one installed in Quartzite, AZ last spring and it was a very worthwhile investment. It doesn't use any power like the furnace does, and it is 100% efficient, meaning all the heat stays in the trailer unlike the furnace that exhausts half the heat it generates. You just have to be sure to keep a window open to make up the combustion air.

Sunday, October 21
Lots of folks left the parking lot before we did today. That's OK, we didn't have far to go and we wanted the wind to die down a bit.

We stopped for fuel at the Pilot Truck Stop in Hagerstown and let the bandits rob us on the price of diesel. They are about 50 cents higher per gallon than a regular service station, but we have a hard time getting in and out with the trailer attached. Pilot is no worse than any other truck stop in terms of price and I do get a Good Sam discount on the fuel purchase, so Dave, quit complaining!

Nice quiet Sunday afternoon traffic! Hey wait, we're in the right lane but we supposed to be heading to the left in 1 mile!

Our little friend at the campground

We made it safely to the Cherry Hill Campground in College Park, Maryland just outside Washington, DC. Once checked in we attended their Sightseeing Session provided by their staff. They provided excellent advice on touring DC, including selling Metro passes and Trolley Tour tickets.

This is without a doubt the nicest campground we have visited. Expensive, yes, but when you balance the services and location it was reasonable.

New spray park for the kiddos

Mini-golf area.

Fountains at the main gate.

Front office. Note the solar panels.

The Ballroom. The pools and cafe were on the lower level.

They had an onsite restaurant. reasonable prices and they served a great burger.

Our street

We stayed on Badlands Gulch

The City Metro bus picked up passengers directly from the campground.

The Wedding Chapel

Lots of cabins for rent

Special event hayride trailer.

Air hose to fill up RV tires. I had no problem ensuring 110 lbs in the trailer tires.

Great sites! and only a bit of freeway noise.

.....and that was Our View From Here!