Basecamp Location: Patapsco Valley State Park Ellicot City, MD
The Smithsonian Castle
The Washington Monument viewed from outside of The Castle on the National Mall
The Washington Monument viewed from the steps of The Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial
The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
The U.S. Marine Corp Memorial
The Capitol Dome at night
We learned our lesson last time, don't try and drive all the way into Washington DC. We got up a little bit earlier today, but still didn't manage to get on the road until just before 7:00AM. Today plans are to visit a few of the Smithsonian Museums, The Castle (the original Smithsonian Institution Building), The American History Museum (where they display the 200+ year old Star Spangled Banner) and The National Museum of Natural History (where they display The Hope Diamond). Later tonight at 8:00PM we have reservations on the Old Town Trolley's Monuments by Moonlight Tour. It's going to be an even longer day than our last one in Washington DC.
Knowing in advance that we were taking The Metro into town I found that if we took the Red Line from the Shady Grove stop we wouldn't have to drive quite as far and with a short transfer over to the Blue Line it would drop us off right on the doorstep of The Smithsonian Castle. This is the only museum open at 8:30AM, all the rest open at 10:00AM. Unfortunately they had previously canceled the 9:00AM guided tour of The Castle so we did our own self guided tour. Inside The Castle you'll find the Smithson Crypt, the final resting place of John Smithson, the original benefactor of The Smithsonian Institute. Here they have on display a small sampling of all the other museum's exhibits. Time spent here: 1.5 hours.
Next on our itinerary for today is The American History Museum. Three floors of exhibits to explore, but for us the highlight of this museum had to be The Star Spangled Banner display room. Having just visited Fort McHenry National Monument earlier this week, where this flag was raised over the fort after The Battle of Baltimore victory in 1814, it kind of brought us full circle, a complete then and now feeling. Time spent here: 3.5 hours.
Our last museum today is The National Museum of Natural History's three floors of exhibits. Here they display a whole lot of collections, from insects to dinosaurs, all kinds of geological displays and skeletons of all different species of animals. Everything was very well displayed but for me, the 45.52 carat Hope Diamond display and 300 year history of the gem stole the show. Time spent here: 4 hours.
We ate lunch in the downstairs Cafe at The American History Museum around 1:30PM (very tasty, but very expensive), but now it's time for dinner and we are on a budget. So a Metro ride over to Union Station's Food Court is in order and that is where the Monuments by Moonlight tour starts from. At 7:45PM we board the trolley and begin the tour. All of the National Monuments and Memorials are open 24/7 except Christmas Day. The monuments all look entirely different at night, all lit up in dramatic fashion. Some are bright and cheery and some are subdued and solemn, but all are worth this second look, after the sun goes down.
The trolley tour finishes around 10:30PM and by the time we ride the Metro back to the truck and drive the rest of the way home it is well after midnight, and we thought our first visit to Washington DC was a long day!
STATS FOR TODAY - 25,256 steps or 8.1 miles
Until next time
TWO PEAS
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2400 East Fort Avenue Baltimore, MD 21230 (410) 962-4290 x250
Summary of activities:
Short documentary style video
Self guided tour of Fort McHenry
The park entrance sign
Approaching the fort on foot
The entrance to the fort
The living quarters for the officers
The living quarters for the prisoners
The magazine where all the explosives are stored
An interior secure passageway
Cannons ready for battle
Cannons on the opposite end of the fort
Even more cannons outside of the fort walls
This modern day bridge is 4 miles away - The British Navy was 2 miles away when they began their assault
The official title of this park is the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. Located at the entrance to Baltimore Harbor, Fort McHenry played an important role in the defense of Baltimore during The War of 1812 against the British. In September of 1814, just before the Battle of Baltimore, a young lawyer sailed a ship out to the British fleet located just outside of the harbor, to try and negotiate the release of a captured U.S. soldier. Unfortunately for him the British had plans to begin their assault on Fort McHenry that same night, so he was forced to watch the battle from the odd vantage point of a British war ship. The battle raged on all night and into the early morning before all the cannon firing stopped. It was onboard this British ship that he peered though his telescope that morning and saw what condition Fort McHenry was in. What he saw that morning inspired him to write a poem that we are all familiar with:
"Defence of Fort M'Henry"
written by Francis Scott Key (a 35 year old Baltimore attorney and amateur poet)
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Ironically, Key's poem was later set to the tune of a popular British song and renamed "The Star Spangled Banner". One thing that I didn't know, and I'll bet most of you don't either, is that there are three more stanzas to this poem. It is only the first stanza we all are familiar with.
Although the poem was written in 1814 and quickly set to music, it wasn't until 1889 (85 years later) that it would receive any official recognition by a U.S. federal agency. In 1916 it was used at some Presidential ceremonies but it would not become our Official National Anthem until 1931, some 117 years after it was written. There were other patriot songs during this 117 year time frame, some familiar, some not so familiar. The short list includes Hail, Columbia - My Country, 'Tis of Thee - America the Beautiful. They all got honorable mentions when it came to selecting our National Anthem. I'm glad we selected the right one, in my humble opinion.
One thing I must mention is that the short 9 minute introductory video they presented to us in the visitor center was the most informative and inspirational video we have seen yet, at any of the National Park properties we have visited. In many ways, it made us feel like we were there during the battle and it has a surprise ending.
So if you plan on visiting here someday STOP READING THIS POST RIGHT NOW!.
But the surprise ending is, you are watching this video on a 40 foot wide-format screen, in a semi darkened room and at the end they start playing "The Star Spangled Banner" at a very low volume at first, as the song continues the volume increases and you realize the screen is retracting into the ceiling. Behind the screen is revealed a wall of windows that directly faces the flag flying over the inside of the fort.
Now I have been to many Miami Dolphin football games and heard them playing the song before the game starts. I know you are ASKED to "stand, remove your hat and face the flag for the playing of our National Anthem". Today, with the volume steadily increasing, they were well into the third line of the song before I felt myself COMPELLED to rise out of my chair and remove the ball cap I was wearing and place it over my heart. For what felt like the first time, I was actually listening to the words being sung and understanding how powerful the emotions behind them are. By the last line I looked over at my wife and we were both standing, with tears in our eyes, after watching this short 9 minute video. It has changed the way I'll listen to the National Anthem from now on and at that moment I was most proud to be an American.
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Basecamp Location: Patapsco Valley State Park Ellicot City, MD
The White House
The ornate ceiling inside of Union Station
The Capitol Building dome
Jefferson Memorial - our third U.S. President and author of the Declaration of Independence
A rear view of the Jefferson Memorial with the Washington Monument in the background
The George Mason Memorial - author of the groundwork for what became the United States Bill of Rights
Arlington National Cemetery
President John F. Kennedy's grave site
Senator Robert F. Kennedy's grave site
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Changing of the Guard ceremony
Tomb amphitheater for official gatherings
Korean War Veterans Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial - our 16th U.S. President
Inside the Lincoln Memorial
The 19 foot tall marble statue of President Lincoln
A view of the Washington Monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
The Washington Monument - our 1st U.S. president
Someone important leaving Capitol Hill
Not the President we were told because we wouldn't be allowed on the street
We very naively thought we could just drive into Washington DC and park in the garage next door to the Trolley Tour office and go see the sights. The night before our intended visit I did my homework, we are 37.5 miles north of DC and Google estimated it was a 45 minute drive. We wanted to be at the Trolley Tour office at 9:00AM when they opened, so with that information we set our alarm clock for 6:30AM and went to sleep.
The next morning we woke up, showered and we're on the road by 7:00AM. A quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts just outside of the campground for some breakfast wraps and we're off on our adventure. At 7:15 we plugged my cell phone into the truck to use it for navigation and that same 45 minute drive late last night was an estimated 2 hour drive this morning, and it's only 7:15AM. Nearly 45 minutes later at 8:00AM we are still 15 miles from DC and the traffic is really starting to come to a slow crawl.
One other thing I did late last night was to research the Washington DC Metrorail System. For almost exactly the same price as the downtown parking garage was going to charge we purchased 2 round trip tickets and paid their all day parking fee and didn't have to fight the traffic the last 12 miles into DC. So when I saw the exit for the Green Line's Greenbelt Metro Station we left the traffic behind and pulled into the station. Like I said we naively thought we could just drive into Washington DC.
Arriving at the Trolley Tour office at 8:55AM I thought all of our troubles were over. They were not, but I'm not going to go into that now, however we were off on our Washington DC tour by 9:20AM. We like to take these "hop on, hop off " tours around one complete loop before getting off so we get an overview of the city. Today about halfway around the loop there was an opportunity to transfer to another shuttle to go visit Arlington Cemetery. With the temperatures already in the high 80's and the forecast was for the mid 90's we decided to do this sooner than later in the day, we were glad we did.
At Arlington there are three must do items. First is to visit the grave site of President John F. Kennedy and The Eternal Flame. One thing I did not know is that 30 years later his widow, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, would be buried by his side along with two of their infant children. Just a few yards away is the grave site of The President's brother, Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
The second must do item is to witness the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is a very solemn ceremony that is performed every thirty minutes, every day, rain or shine, during hurricanes and even during September 11th, 2001 when a plane was crashed into The Pentagon only a mile and a half away. The ceremony involves three Marine soldiers, one guard to officiate the ceremony, one guard being relieved of duty and one guard starting his turn at standing guard. The Tomb of the Unknown's actually had four soldiers buried there. One from each major war, World War I, World War II, The Korean War and Vietnam War. In 1998 the Vietnam War soldier's body was exhumed and identified, soon afterwards it was decided to leave that grave site vacant.
The third item on the list is to visit The Arlington House, but it is closed for renovation at this time and is not expected to reopen until some time in 2019, so we only got to travel past it and see it behind a construction fence.
There are many other notable people buried at Arlington, some Civil War generals and some past/present day celebrities who served in the Armed Forces, but we didn't have time to stay and explore any of that. Afterall, there are over 400,000 grave sites here and to try and find the one you're looking for isn't easy!
We took the shuttle back over the Potomac River from Arlington, VA to Washington DC to complete our the second half of our first loop. Since the shuttle delivers you back to the trolley stop at the Lincoln Memorial and The Korean War Memorial we decided to explore these two before reboarding the trolley. We later found out The Vietnam War Memorial was also within walking distance. By this time it was noon and the outside temperature was 94 degrees with a heat index of 105, I guess we were just looking for an excuse to find air conditioning when we decided NOW was a good time for lunch. Back on the trolley we went to complete the loop and travel to Union Station, the second largest train depot in the United States, only Grand Central Station in New York is larger. One good thing about Union Station is they have a Food Court, about four times the size of what you find in most shopping malls, and the selection of fast food chains was never ending. We like to try new things when we eat out so Johnny Rockets is where we ended up. Now I know cheeseburgers, fries and milk shakes are nothing new to us, but we've never had one from a Johnny Rockets. I must say the Chocolate Banana Milkshake is my new favorite, the rest of the meal was good but nothing notable.
After lunch it was back on the trolley to whisk us over to the Jefferson Memorial. It is located on the other side of a tidal basin all by itself, far away from all the other Memorials, which are located near The National Mall and the center of town. We had a long 30 minute wait out in the sun to get back on the trolley here and we were hot and running out of energy. We decided to call it a day and head back to the Metro Station. Earlier we noted the last stop on the trolley tour, #25, was actually closer to the Metro Station than stop #1, where we started this morning. So at stop #25 we disembarked for the last time today, made our way down to the subway and headed for home, or at least back to the truck, to drive the rest of the way home. Oddly enough when I put the keys in and started the truck this morning I noted it was 7:02AM and when I shut off the truck and pulled out the keys it was exactly 7:02PM. Either way that was a very long, very hot day.
STATS FOR TODAY - 11,965 steps or 4.2 miles
Until next time
TWO PEAS
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Arriving at: Patapsco Valley State Park Ellicot City, MD
TRAVEL DAY - 111 miles
LUMS POND STATE PARK to PATAPSCO VALLEY STATE PARK
The loooong way around Baltimore!
Today's drive was a lot different than all the others. We have been heading north for the last three months along the coast of the eastern United States and have experienced very little difference in the elevations of our campsites. To be more precise, our highest elevation up until now was at a whopping 212 feet and that was at our only inland campsite back in South Carolina. Well that record stands no more! Tonight I'm happy to announce that we are sleeping at an elevation of 427 feet above sea level. You may say that doesn't sound so high, but you need to realize that for the last 55 years I have been living in a state where the highest natural point is at Britton Hill, a 345 foot tall hill in northwest Florida, along the Alabama state border. I might also add that hill was 587 miles from my home in southeast Florida whose elevation was a mere 11 feet above sea level. You might be wondering how I remember all that information, well we're keeping track of all that stuff and more on our STATS page. Check it out if you're into that kind of information.
A sample of what our STATS page looks like
In order to arrive here at Patapsco Valley State Park in Maryland we had to cross over a lot of hilly terrain where ROVER, our truck, had to pull THE POD, our trailer, up and down like a roller coaster. ROVER handled the challenge just fine, but the driver, one of the TWO PEAS, only scored a self evaluated grade of C+ for his efforts. I'm still new to this whole idea of towing my 7600 pound home behind me on flat ground, now add in what seemed to be mountains to this native Floridian, it created a whole different set of challenges.
I graded myself a C+ because after all a C is a passing grade and we did survive the trip. I added the + because by the end of the day I was getting the hang of using the tow/haul mode transmission feature that came with ROVER, in conjunction the cruise control feature that most of us are used to. Here's how I did it, let me know if anyone with experience at this has a better idea.
First off I usually tow the trailer a little slower than the posted speed limit. So when approaching a hill I would set the cruise control to 5 MPH less than the speed limit and made sure the tow/haul mode was engaged. I then drove the truck like you normally would up the hill. If my speed dropped 2 or 3 MPH below the cruise control setting it would engage and accelerate the truck, this way I could concentrate on the steering and let the truck worry about the speed. Near the top of the hill I would completely remove my foot from the gas pedal and get ready for the descent. When our speed exceeded the cruise control setting by 2 of 3 MPH the tow/haul mode would engage and down shift the transmission to maintain my speed, saving me from having to ride the brakes all the way down the hill. This idea of riding the brakes is where most people get into trouble because once you over heat the pads they lose their ability to slow down your vehicle. For most of the smaller hills we encountered on today's trip this strategy worked well for us, but when we get up into the real mountains next week I'd better have this completely under control.
Until next time
TWO PEAS
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GPS: 39.55833, -75.72028
3355 Red Lion Road
Bear, DE 19701
(302) 368-6989
through
=
4 nights on campsite #49 at $40.00 per night + tax
SCORE
CATEGORY
COMMENTS
1-2-3-4-5 6-7-8-9-10
scenery
Very well maintained property
1-2-3-4-5 6-7-8-9-10
privacy
Nicely spaced sites but no division between sites
1-2-3-4-5 6-7-8-9-10
cell signal
No booster needed
1-2-3-4-5
free wifi
None we could find
1-2-3-4-5
campsite size
Deeps back in campsites
1-2-3-4-5
electric
50/30/20 on all sites
1-2-3-4-5
water
On every site
1-2-3-4-5
sewer
On every site
1-2-3-4-5
table/fire ring
ON every site
1-2-3-4-5
showers
Hot water showers behind locking private stalls
1-2-3-4-5
toilets
Flush toilets
1-2-3-4-5
laundry
Remodeling while we were there so we went 7 miles down the road
1-2-3-4-5
security
Locked front gate at night
1-2-3-4-5
quiet nights
Quiet hour strictly enforced
1-2-3-4-5
wildlife
Hummingbirds - Squirrels - Robins
1-2-3-4-5
park staff
Friendly and helpful
1-2-3-4-5
activities
Canoes - Pedalboats - Hiking and bicycle trails
Bonus Points:
No bonus points here.
Additional comments:
Once again when they say 1:00 PM check in they mean it. Do not arrive early! The campground has a separate entrance on Red Lion Road, do not go to the Howell School Road entrance.
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I must say this is our third (there are only five) Delaware State Park campground and they definitely rival the Florida State Park campgrounds that I have visited for so many years. Other than their hard fast rule of not checking in early I don't have any complaints. The bathrooms are clean and updated, along with private shower stalls with locking doors. The parks themselves have plenty of activities to keep you busy. Every campground has a water feature, whether it's a beach or a pond to boat on. Conveniently there are always watercraft rentals available for those who don't have their own. Very well done Delaware!
As we have already hinted, this is our northernmost destination for the 2018 season. From here we will be heading southwest, down through the Blue Ridge Mountains, until we return to northwest Florida in mid-December.
Taken from our Landings page
By the way, for those of you who haven't already checked out our Landings page, there you will find a map with a complete list of all the campgrounds we have stayed at. Additionally if you click on the score icon on the far right hand side of each line you will see our campsite review.
After setting up our campsite today we have a couple or errands to run. First, we have another Amazon order waiting for us to pickup. It's in a locker at a Safeway Grocery Store just down the road. These Amazon Locker locations are certainly making it easier to get items delivered to us when we don't have a home or work address to send things to. Secondly, laundry day is today. It's been exactly two weeks since we last did laundry and that is the time frame we set for ourselves, so all is working out. Tomorrow we'll get to enjoy our time off, Tricia doesn't start back to work until the first of the month, so we'll go visit another civil war fort over on the coast.
Until next time
TWO PEAS
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Our second short distance move in a row. Delaware is the first of the smaller states that we have visited. Many of the Northeast United States are smaller because the boundaries were being decided way back when there was just the original thirteen colonies. If we were to move our normal hundred miles or so in Delaware, in any direction, we would no longer be in Delaware. So by doing these shorter moves by the time we leave this state we will have camped at three of the five state parks that have campgrounds.
At every campsite since we started this journey Tricia has hung a hummingbird feeder off the back awning of THE POD. She hasn't been putting sugar water in it, but here at Trap Pond State Park in Delaware, it has finally attracted hummingbirds. After loading it up with a sugar water solution she had not one, not two, but three hummingbirds fighting for their turn at the tasty treat awaiting them. Hummingbirds can be found all over the Eastern United States but until now we haven't seen any. They are also very territorial when it comes to feeding. When there was one on the feeder there would be another in a nearby tree watching. When the one in the tree decided that the one feeding had taken their fair share it would dive bomb him to urge them to move on so he could take his turn. Never did we have two birds on the feeder at the same time, let alone three. How much time on the feeder is enough? Well apparently two or three sips is all you get. The first bird that showed up to our empty feeder tried all four little fake flowers on the feeder before he decided to move on to somewhere else, which was probably the campsite down by the bath house, because they too had a hummingbird feeder next to their trailer. Once we loaded ours up they seemed to be showing up at ours every hour or so all day long.
I know what you're thinking, where's the proof, where's the pictures! Well it seems hummingbirds are very camera shy. Here we were sitting at the dinette inside the trailer, only three feet away and every time we'd move to raise a camera, off they would fly. We did manage to capture a few photos of the one waiting in tree because they were much farther way.
Aren't they adorable little creatures?
Until next time
TWO PEAS
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Kayaking - Pedalboats - Canoes - Boat tour - Bicycle and hiking trails galore
Bonus Points:
No bonus points here.
Additional comments:
NOTE: This campground has it's own entrance on Goose Nest Road (as listed above), make sure you do not go to the Main Entrance for Trap Pond State Park on Baldcypress Lane as listed on most web searches.
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Watch a short documentary film about the history of the wild horses
Search for and photograph the horses
The entrance sign at the northern end of Assateague Island National Seashore
An afternoon view of our campsite from the front
A little bit closer view
And finally a view from the beach
We had this early morning visitor to our campsite nearly every day
One of the horse viewing boardwalks over the salt marshes
There are always faraway views of the horses in the marshes
There are currently a total of 81 horses in the Maryland District of AINS
Unfortunately on average one horse a year is struck and killed by a vehicle
When startled they are also a danger to riders on the bike path
They invade the campground every day
And the beaches in the too
You never see a horse by itself, there is always a group of 3 or more
All in all they are magnificent beasts
Assateague Island National Seashore is a beautiful place. With it's pristine and nearly empty beaches to the vast wide open salt marshes on the bayside of the island, there is much to enjoy for the nature lover. But let's face it, the star of the show here are the wild horses that have full range of the entire island. For over 300 years they have been here and it wasn't until the 1960's there was an easy way on or off the island. It is a long and tall bridge that the horses don't seem interested in traversing. They do swim of course, but everything they need is here on the island. In the 1980's The National Park Service began a program of birth control for the horses by darting the females. Each mare is permitted to have a single foal in her third or fourth year, this not only controls the population of horses but selectively controls the gene pool of the new additions. This is the only interaction between the horses and the National Park Service, everything else is left up to Mother Nature.
There is a law and a hefty fine for anyone on the island that fails to maintain a 40 foot distance from any wild horse, but that seems to go largely unheeded by most everyone we saw. At least we didn't see anyone feeding them or get bitten or kicked by getting to close.
I imagine this is a comfortable place to visit in the spring and fall seasons, but being here in the summer like we are, the mosquitoes and biting black flies have to be dealt with or at least tolerated. With no electricity or air conditioning the temperatures, when in the shade, are not so bad as long as there is that ocean breeze blowing through the campground.
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