Departing Maryland

Our stay here in the northeast is coming to an end and we are now preparing to head south for a while. Somehow summertime in Alabama violates our desire to follow nice weather by going north in the summer and south in the winter. Call it extenuating circumstances. Our daughter and son-in-law in Birmingham blessed us a few days ago with our fourth grandchild, a 5lb 10 oz, boy, Christopher Jean Junior or CJ. After a few days of dedicated care CJ has crossed the necessary hurdles and will be going home from the hospital. We are so excited. I know we do not need to tell other grandparents who are in the know that grandkids are great.

We have had a great time here in Maryland. We have had Marisa and Sam, our Maryland grandkids, “camp-out” with us in the RV. We’ve taken them to the beach and boardwalk at Rehoboth Beach for a day and also on a weeklong road trip to visit their cousin in Alabama. Our Daughter-in-law, Ann, is finishing up another degree and we had to baby-sit on occasion when our son, Bill, had obligations. It was great to be in the right place at the right time.

We have been staying at Tuckahoe State Park which has proved to be a wonderful state park. They are players in Maryland Department of Natural Resources Tales and Scales educational outreach program. Tuckahoe houses 10 raptors and an assortment of reptiles that the rangers take to schools and events in the area. On every Friday and Saturday Sandi and I would each take one of these animals and walk the campgrounds and provide interpretation to the campground visitors. In addition to being roving naturalists, Sandi did nature craft programs for kids and I got to lead weekly birding and nature hikes as well as do a special bat program for several groups of "Nature Camp" kids.

A majority of the campers that come to this campground are local, travelling generally less than 50 miles to stay at this park. The draw of hiking, fishing, canoeing, and having a place where even young kids can ride bike and run around and feel safe fills this park’s campgrounds every weekend from April to October. The staff is exceptional. This well-managed park is well groomed, park rangers and staff seem very responsive to the needs of the visitors and rank as the friendliest we have encountered anywhere.

When we were not enjoying the grandkids or doing programs in the park, Sandi enjoyed the relaxation and I managed a few hikes and rounds of golf.

We’ll take about a week to travel the 850 miles from here to Birmingham. A drive through the Shenandoah National Park and the Skyline Drive, and several stops along the way for some minor maintenance on the RV will add several days to a normal three day trip. Once in the Birmingham, we will stay for at least a month.