VA
STS Hop 6: Petersburg VA to Stony Creek VA
27 miles via I-85 and I-95. Well, you guys obviously did not wish hard enough. We made it just over 10 miles into our planned 300-mile trip before the “check engine” light reappeared. We limped (which turns out to be exactly the right word – more on that later) to a truck stop just north … Continue reading
STS Hop 5: Lorton VA to Petersburg VA
128 miles, mostly via I-95. This was not the hop that was planned. We had to abort about 100 miles short of our intended destination (Wilson NC) when the “check engine” light came on just north of Petersburg VA. Accompanying the light was an alarming loss of power: I had difficulty maintaining 45 mph going … Continue reading
Gunshots, acorns and drag racers
Answer: gunshots, acorns and drag racers. Question: what noises have kept us awake in the last 3 campsites? Explanation: I told you about the shooting range near us at Pinch Pond. That was followed by 7 nights of staccato acorn explosions (at least they sounded like explosions) on the roof of the RV at Pohick. … Continue reading
Manassas
In case you didn’t know, I am a bit of a Civil War buff. I think Ken Burn’s Civil War series is the best documentary I have ever seen. I have visited about a dozen Civil War battlefields and think Gettysburg is one of the 5 most interesting places in the US. So it is … Continue reading
Boo to you, too
The Pohick Bay Regional Park Campground is really into Halloween. Besides having a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt this past weekend, they also sponsored a campsite decorating content. Which our neighbors won, hands down. They put a lot of effort into building a little Zombie town on their site, populated by 4 animated zombies, a very scary … Continue reading
STS Hop 4: Manheim PA to Lorton VA
161 miles via I-76, US 15, I-270, I-495 (MD and VA) and I-95. This was, for the most part, a familiar trip on familiar roads. We have done it before, most notably on our GTW way back in 2012. US 15 in MD is memorable as the site of our very first (and very traumatic) … Continue reading
QTE Hop 4: Lorton, VA, to Foxboro, MA
This was a get-more-states-on-the-map hop. We stayed just four days at Pohick – and it warmed up after that icy start, fortunately – then did three quick trips to MD, DE and CT. It was an uneventful hop… until the end. QTN Hop 4, Day 1: Lorton, VA, to Greensboro, MD 105 miles via I-95, … Continue reading
QTN Hop 3: Roebuck, SC, to Lorton, VA
Yes, back to Lorton and the Pohick Bay Regional Park for our fourth visit. This will be the shortest of the four – just four nights this time – because we are committed to getting the MD and DE stickers on our map. These little states are hard to get to – particularly Delaware. Who … Continue reading
QTE Hop 6: Lorton, VA, to Littleton, MA
2 day, 534 miles via I-95, I-495, US 29, I-70, I-695 (near Baltimore), I-83, US 30, US 222, I-78, US 22, PA 33, US 209, I-84, I-90, I-290 (near Worcester), I-495 (near Boston) amd MA 2A. This was a grueling weekend, primarily due to the fatigue from the previous weeks, the complicated route to our … Continue reading
An introduction to the pumpkin patch lifestyle
When I was a kid Halloween was a one-evening event. You dressed up in some wacko costume, grabbed a large shopping bag and went out – without adults – and extorted as much candy booty from your neighbors as time and upper body strength would allow. Followed by a week of sugar overdosing. But now … Continue reading »