May 31 Devil's Hopyard State Park, Millington, CT

This was our excursion on Memorial Day Monday. There were lots of folks at this park having picnics beside the Eight Mile River and enjoying the perfect weather.

Lovely waterfall; covered bridge (not old); what's the square root of this tree?

The ferns were spectacular; pleasant overlook; can you find the well-camouflaged creature?

Mountain laurels were still blooming; rock overhang possibly used by our distant ancestors?

May 30 Stonington, CT

We spent a little time at the end of the day at Stonington, CT, just east of Mystic. It was located on a piece of land that went out to a rocky point, with a small beach on one side. Very beautiful.

May 30, Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT

Today we explored historic Mystic Seaport, a restored fishing village from back in the whaling days. They are restoring a massive whaling ship named the Charles W. Morgan, and we were able to tour the ship. Fascinating! Those sailors must have been a rugged bunch!

Mystic Harbor, and two views of the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship.

The cauldrons where they rendered the whale blubber into whale oil; Bubba showing that there was no headroom where the sailors bunked; and the rope-making shed in the town.

The Mystic River drawbridge is up; Bubba with a pal; and the famous Mystic Pizza (from the 1988 movie with Julia Roberts....)

May 29 Gillette Castle State Park, Hadlyme, CT

Today we visited the Gillette Castle State Park, beside the Connecticut River. The "castle" was built by an actor named William Gillette, who became famous for portraying Sherlock Holmes. He was the one who created the "Holmes" image, including the unique hat and pipe. The castle is constructed of 100% local stone, and the inside is almost all wood, right down to the light switches. Very interesting!

Here is the castle, the view from the patio, and inside the great room.

The stonework was outstanding!

May 28 - May 31 Pequot Ledge CG, Oakdale, CT

We had a reservation at Pequot Ledge CG on Gardner Lake for the Memorial Day weekend. When we arrived, we learned that all but 8 sites were "seasonal" (read: semi-permanent), and we had some noisy neighbors. One site just below us had 5 tents and a lot of college kids with a loud boombox....we decided to just endure. The site next door included a pet duck named Peep, who thought he was another kid. His posture was erect because he "imprinted" on his owner.

Sunset on Gardner Lake, the beach, and some lovely purple irises.

Here is Thatcher with his pet duck Peep, and a campsite that was, uh, interesting.

May 26-28, Stroudsburg, PA

We camped here so we could check out the Delaware Water Gap recreation area. However, we ended up with a flat tire on the camper, so we lost most of a day getting a tire service to come out to the campground & change the tire. That evening the weather got very dramatic, and the cool weather moved in overnight. The next day we stopped in town and had the repaired tire reinstalled. We managed to get in a little bit of time at the "Gap", which is where the Delaware River makes a large "S" curve at the base of some mountains.

The sign says it all; the Delaware River.

Interesting mountainside; camper wearing the spare tire; outstanding skies.

May 22-26, Washington, D.C.

Our big spring camping trip began with a few days at Washington, D.C. We were camped beside my sister & brother-in-law, Ruthie & Jimmy Wilkinson. We took in all the "must-see" sights, including the Capitol, the White House, the Monuments, and the Museums. We also spent an afternoon visiting with my first-cousin-once-removed, Tim Post, and his family.

We camped at the Cherry Hill CG just off the beltway. One of the first sights we saw was an albino squirrel (pink eyes and all!) while having lunch at a snack stand on the national mall (the green one, not the shopping one!)

Here are the White House, the National Archives, and Bubba with Mr. Lincoln.

Here is the Capitol, the Washington Monument, and our two campers side-by-side. Notice that the Underwoods have a big ol' honkin' truck, while the Wilkinsons are hauling around a little midget car.

Here is the Post family: Rhiannon with Tim (blue shirt) and David (yellow shirt); Nannie with Tim and little Tim and Angela; and there we are on the sofa with all four kids: David in yellow shirt, Angela behind him, Isabelle next to Nannie, Bubba, and Tim. We had a grand time with the kids!