Hi Friends.
We started off the holiday weekend at a campground near Shenandoah National Park. It was very close to where we first started our journey. We haven’t been at campgrounds too often out east, since it definitely can add up price wise. However, whenever we get the chance to be at a campground, we absolutely love it. It feels so much more peaceful and like we can really set up camp all day. PepperJack loves being able to have more room to run around and we love having a campfire. Once we head out west, we are definitely planning on having more time camping on BLM land, which is free.
A campground was the right choice for us for the holiday. Fireworks tend to make PepperJack, like most dogs, a little nervous. Last year, people were shooting off loud fireworks right behind our condo. To say PepperJack was stressed is a little bit of an understatement. Luckily at this campground, we didn’t have too much of an issue. While there were still some people setting off fireworks, they definitely didn’t go on as long and weren’t as loud. Our little guy was feeling okay.
The campground was really nice. The owner, Pam, was super friendly and nice to talk to and it was pretty quiet overall. Our site was backed up against a creek, so we could hear running water constantly. It was incredibly peaceful and relaxing. Travis had Monday off, so we spent the two days relaxing by the water. We caught up on The Tour de France stages, and played one of our favorite games, Boss Monster. We didn’t have any service so besides the little wifi that we had for the Tour, we were pretty disconnected. Being offline was refreshing. We were planning on heading to Shenandoah for a day to hike, but we ended up just hanging out at the campsite relaxing.
After heading out, we decided to go back through our old stomping grounds in Herndon, Virginia. Before we started our journey, we had tried out our setup in town. This was to figure out what will work best for us as far as working goes. We went back to that spot which was near the dog park we always used to go to and spent the day working there. The first day, we didn’t recognize any of the dogs that were there. When Travis went back another day, he saw some familiar dogs that we loved to see.
One of my favorite things about where we used to live was our morning dog walk route. It was not only a decent way to start the day (a 3 1/2 mile loop), it kept us sane during the pandemic. It was also a way for us to meet new people in the area.
The first night back in Herndon, we actually decided to stay at a spot right across from our old neighborhood. We wanted to go through our old morning routine to see if we could run into the usual group as we never got a chance to say goodbye before we left. Sure enough, we didn’t just run into one person, we ran into them all at the same time! It was serendipitous. All of the people that do this route usually run into each other at some point during their walk. This was the first time for us where everyone happened to meet up at one spot. It was fun being able to see everyone again, let them know what we have been up to, and give some love their dogs. Pepper Jack is very fond of this group as he always gets so much love, attention, and treats.
Most of the reason why we decided to come back to the area though was to visit with some friends. . Travis and I split up for a few days, where I went to one of my best friend’s places to hang out with her and her dog, while Travis took the van and PepperJack and hung out with some of his close friends after work. The boys took a road trip to Maryland to see another friend for dinner. Shawna and I spent our time catching up and heading to Washington DC for an evening.
One of the things Shawna and I was excited about before the pandemic was getting to do some fun things around Washington DC. However, we never got the chance to actually do anything like that together. It was fun to get a little taste of what could have been. We took the train into the city, walked to the Wharf, grabbed dinner & drinks, and listened to some live music. Before Travis and I head out of the area, we got dinner and played more Boss Monster with his friend Mike. Now it was time for us to head north west as fast as possible.
The reason for wanting to head north was due to the extreme heat in Virginia. The last few days in Virginia were very fun, but it was also hot as hell both during the day and at night. It made for some interesting ways of keeping cool when sleeping in the van. The nights consisted of drinking cool water before bed and cooling our body down with wet bandanas. Our osculating fan was on high. Luckily, all of those things worked and we were able to get a decent night sleep without too much hassle.
We ended the week at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which is nestled between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. We didn’t get to spend too much time there, but we did get to explore one of the many trails that they had. It’s a beautiful area and kinda sneaks up on you in between the different city sprawls. As far as National Parks go, I think it was a little underwhelming. But like I said, we only explored a little bit. It very well could be much more grand than what we saw. Also, it’s not entirely fair that I’m comparing Cuyahoga to some of the beautiful photos that we’ve seen online of some of the national parks out west. Those are on an entirely different level.
Let’s Discuss! Comment Below:
What’s your favorite holiday?
What your favorite way to celebrate the 4th of July?
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