Tanny Takes DC!
After a half-week's stay outside of Philadelphia, it was time to journey southward. We revived our plans to spend two weeks in DC, which were initially to take place in January, but now would bring us into March. We had a credit left over from our cancellation at Cherry Hill Park in College Park, MD. It's a sought-after park that usually books fast, but we're still in the off-season, which allowed us lots of flexibility as we rebooked our stay.
The park is humongous and has basically every amenity you could ask for. It also comes with a hefty price tag, but we needed to have resources at our fingertips while we hunkered down to get work done and really start learning how to live the day-to-day life in the RV. The park's rave reviews don't exactly match our experience, but we'll save that for the next blog post. What we will say, though, is that we doubt many people get to experience a near-empty Cherry Hill Park for two weeks. It was a good opportunity to see what this campground was all about, without feeling like we were packed in like sardines.
Most of our days consisted of getting work done, doing laundry and dishes, and taking walks around the campground. However, we did have a few adventures in store while we were in the DC area. The first order of business was to take Tanner sightseeing. This was one of our favorite things to do in Boston when we were back home, and we couldn't wait to show Tanner another city that we know well. On the first warm afternoon we got, we took him into the District and showed him all the famous memorials.
Another must-do while we were in the area was to go to Cheesetique. This is a wine and cheese shop/restaurant that we discovered on our East Coast Road Trip five years ago, and we hadn't had a chance to go back until now. Sadly the location we visited last time is closed and only two others remain, but we were excited to get our cheese fix and reminisce about all the delicious food we had on our road trip.
Despite being south enough to not worry about March snow, we still had iffy weather. That means when the mild temperatures rolled in, we took full advantage, which was exactly what we did our final weekend. On Saturday (March 5), we headed to Potomac for a riverside hike and first use of our National Parks Pass at Great Falls Park. It was crazy crowded, which was to be expected, but the waterfalls were a sight to behold! The National Park Service does a great job at maintaining boardwalks over the cascades to protect the ecosystem below, and at the end of the path is an overlook with this view:
When we got back to the campground that afternoon, we took advantage of the outdoor amenities that Cherry Hill offers. Of course, the weather was still too cold for the pools, but we enjoyed a round of mini golf and some ping pong at their outdoor table.
On Sunday (March 6), we got to set up our patio for the first time since we left MA. Tanner was thrilled. He had only seen the ramp lowered once for a short while during renovations and loved it then. He really loved it now. Lily on the other hand needs some convincing, but she does like basking in the fresh air from behind the screen.
And of course, milder weather calls for some campfires! Building our first campfire felt like a rite of passage. There is an ongoing joke in the RV world that non-fulltimers think all we do is sit around the campfire eating s'mores. We wish! But, on the nights we're able to, it sure is a fun, quintessential experience.
One important activity we're trying to prioritize during our travels is visiting friends and family. A huge perk to life on the road is getting to see loved ones who live far away, without needing to set aside tons of vacation time. Life is busy, but while we were in town we got to squeeze in some quality time with our good friend Roberto. He also earned the honor of being our first friend to tour our new home-on-wheels!
Typically, we're more nature-dwellers who would rather be away from the city, but metro-area RV parks certainly have their perks. We were able to utilize amenities and conveniences as we continued to get a feel for our trailer. We easily ordered Amazon packages and had them delivered to an Amazon locker right up the street. We visited a friend and ate some delicious food. And we added to our list of happy memories spent in and around Washington, DC.
A thorough review of Cherry Hill Park is coming next week, along with some more details on some of the activities we got to enjoy right here at the campground! But for now, we'll leave you with this gorgeous sunset we experienced right over the Washington Monument.
