Cabin Fever

And did we have it bad.  We had to get away from this place for a while before we went stir crazy.  We thought about where and decided to stay close.  Cotoctin Mountain Park was our choice for this adventure.  School is back in session so we departed Baltimore on Monday planning to return on Friday hoping that the campground we chose would be sparsely populated during the work/school week.

Cotoctin Mountain Park is a U.S. National Park so our senior pass gave us 50% off the fees.  Another reason we chose it.  Can't beat $10 a night.  This park, also, is the home of the presidential retreat, Camp David.  Our retreat was the Owens Creek campground located about a mile, as the crow flies, northwest of Camp David.

We arrived around noon after a leisurely hour and a half drive.  OK.  Nothing is leisurely about driving around here, but we did make it there without incident.  Setting up camp was easy and quick.  Before too long, the O'Doodle brothers were romping around the site.  Unfortunately, they had to remain leashed at all times due to campground regulations.  They did, however, get to go off leash for a few minutes each evening close to chase each other and burn some energy.  No one was around so we took the chance.

The days and nights were cool and they flew by.  On Wednesday, we made the short drive to Gettysburg and did a small bit of research.  My cousin Jim and I are going there next month to see what both our great-great grandfathers saw when they fought there in 1863, his with the 9th Georgia Infantry Regiment and mine with the 22nd Georgia Infantry Regiment. That, however, is the subject of another post next month.

Our last day brought us rain in the afternoon and through the night.  It was very heavy at times, but we endured it without any problems.  We were lucky this time for it usually rains the whole time we are out. The boys took this time to lay back and relax.  They both slept most of the afternoon and all through the night.  Needless to say, the next morning they were ready to go.

Friday morning we packed up and were on the road by 10 AM.  We took the back roads through the Maryland countryside to stay away from the Friday traffic around Baltimore.  It took us a hour longer, but we enjoyed the slow drive and light traffic.  The boys were extremely excited about getting home.  They went to their toy boxes right away.  They had their fill of camping for the mean time.  The short respite did what we were hoping it would.  We felt better all around and immediately started to make plans for our next adventure.  Look out West Virginia for you are next.