Yaaaay! Our friends Jimmy and Jen came to visit for a long weekend. Unfortunately we were cursed with rain almost everyday they were here. This however, gave us a good excuse to laze around in PJ's, chat, eat, drink, and play Wii. We did manage to get out of the house on Friday for Happy Hour @ Capitol City Brewery... which then lead to us going to another bar for more drinks and some intense games of darts.
On Saturday we headed out into the rain in order to attend the Solar Decathlon on the National Mall. This was exciting, as it featured the top 20 prototype green homes, all of which were decked out in top of the line green technology. Smart lighting, integrated heating/cooling systems, solar panels, grey water collection system, etc... were just some of the features each home demonstrated. The University of Minnesota's home placed 5th overall, so were were sure to stop by and congratulate our fellow Gophers.
While in DC we also attempted to show Jimmy and Jen Eastern Market, however due to the rain there wasn't much to brag about. We also went to National Botanical Garden which was a nice warm escape from the rainy cold weather we were walking around in all morning.
On Sunday we loaded up the Prius and headed out to Rohrerville, MD.
Our initial plan was to head to Shenandoah National Park and camp for a night, however once we saw the forecast calling for 5 days of straight rain we made alternative plans. Awhile back we had heard about a Maple Tree Campground, so we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to check them out.
This is where we 'camped' for the night. Our cabin, named Bonsai was nothing fancy, no electricity, just a wood bringing stove, a table/chairs and beds, it however was a perfect! Harvey also joined us for the trip, the cabin option worked perfect for him too considering his activity was limited, so he held down the fort for us while we explored. The weather was chilly, but we were thankful to have escaped the rain. Once we moved all of our blankets, food, and gear into our cabin we went outside and explored, hiked around, checked out the Appalachian Trail etc.. and then came back to our warm cozy cabin, and Harvey. We also took a nice long drive through winding back country roads taking in the fall colors as we drove through little quaint towns. The country side was scattered with farms and farmettes, it was lovely and reminded us all of rural WI. For dinner we cooked up a HUGE pot of clam chowder on top of the wood burning stove. Our night was filled with cooking, eating, drinking, and a never-ending game of Phase 10.
On Monday we took a short 15 minute drive from our cabin MD, into VA, and then into WV to Harper's Ferry, WV. Harper's Ferry is a quaint, historic community, at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. It was a really unique experience that seemed as though we stepped into the past. We took our time and strolled through the picturesque streets and shops, stopping for a delicious lunch before hitting the road back to northern VA.
We got back to our house just in time for Jimmy and Jen to pack up their stuff, exchange pictures, and get them to DCA.
As anytime we have visitors time went way too fast, but a great time none the less.
No comments:
Post a Comment