A couple of days ago we bundled up ol’ LeuC and drove about 3.5 hours, going from our campground across the James River from Jamestown, Virginia up to our new campground in Reston, Virginia. It was an easy drive with most of it being freeway driving. It was only about 170 miles and the reason it took so long was that we ran into a 30-minute traffic slow down as we approached the Washington DC area.
Our campground for the next two weeks is the Lake Fairfax Recreational Area located in Reston, Va. It is not the nicest campground we have stayed at but it is only about 45 minutes from downtown Washington, DC and even less than that to Bethesda, Maryland, where Mary Margaret’s oldest sister, Lonie, lives. Mary Margaret also has another sister, Gaby and two nieces (Lonie’s children): Katherine and Sarah, who live in the area. We hope to visit with all of them while we are in this area.
Our campground reminds us of camping in Europe. Most of those campgrounds really pack ‘em in as people pitch their tents right next to each other. There is very little privacy. The central part of our campground is just like that with campers and their tents or RVs are packed in close to each other. Ugh! We are a bit more fortunate than most as we were able to reserve a site that backs into the forest that surrounds the park. Thus, we have a bit more privacy… as long as you look in the proper direction. The pictures that I will post to this blog shows you what I mean.
Another disappointment for us is that while we have 50 Amp power at our site, there is no direct water hookup. There is just a one centrally located water spigot for the entire campground. Normally, this would not be a big deal but last week our water pump that pumps the water from our 100-gallon fresh water tank throughout LeuC failed. Whenever we do not have a direct water hookup option, we have to rely on our water tank and water pump. Without a working water pump, we have no running water.
Last week, while camping near Jamestown, this was not a big deal because we just hooked up LeuC to the water spigot at our campsite and this provided water and water pressure throughout LeuC. However, in our new campground without a water spigot to hookup to, we were bone dry.
Fortunately, when our water pump failed, I had ordered a replacement pump and it was waiting for us when we drove over to Lonie’s house. The first thing I did this morning was switch out the pumps so we now had water inside LeuC again. Yea!
Soon after the pump was installed, Mary Margaret’s two nieces, Katherine and Sarah came for a visit. Sarah also brought her lovely 3-year-old daughter, Finn. We had a wonderful reunion, catching up on things that have happened since we last saw them.
We also went for a little hike through the woods, which we all enjoyed. Along the way Finn got a horsey ride.
Tomorrow we run over to Sarah’s apartment in Washington DC and will be joined by Loni, Rich, Katherine and our two boys, Branden and Jamie. Her husband, Morgan, is working overseas so we will miss him.
Going Down The Road With The Leu's 