Pohick Bay: The Rest of the Day

Sunday, 10 April 2011 — Part II

As we did at Bull Run last week, we paid the extra fee ($10) for late check-out from the campground to give ourselves a few extra hours of leisure.  After returning from Gunston Hall (click here to read the post), we had a light lunch at home (the coach, that is).  Then we headed down the very short trail a few sites down from ours to go to the water’s edge.  A no-precip day had helped to dry out the well-mulched trail, which we had to ourselves.

At the bottom, we found the water sports concession open.  Colorful kayaks were laid out along the shore in open invitation.  The overcast skies and chilly temps, however, dissuaded us from trying our hand at kayaking this time.

We skipped going out in a kayak this time.

The parking lot was filled with vehicles, most belonging to boaters.  There was one big group having a picnic, but that was the extent of the people actually in the park.  We wandered around for a while, sitting on a bench near the boat launch to watch people returning from outings on the water.  There were a surprising number of people going out while we were there.  They obviously knew something we didn’t — that the sun was going to show itself within the hour.  For us, though, it was time to pack up and go back to the sticks and bricks.

The return drive was uneventful.  En route, we made a quick detour to top off the diesel at Fannon — $3.94/gallon … a 7¢ difference since we topped off three weeks ago.  Luckily, we needed just 20 gallons this time; next trip, we’ll need a whole lot more.

Just a few spots over from us is another Phaeton.

Rest up ... you're going on a longer trip next week!

With no center lane of vehicles, there’s more room to maneuver in this lot.

With the coach put to bed in its new spot in storage, we called it a day.

Oh but wait — I can’t end this blog without mentioning that I DROVE the coach today.  Well, calling what I did driving might be a stretch, but I did get behind the wheel and the coach was in motion.  I made use of a wide open area near the storage lot to drive a couple of loops and get a feel for how the coach handles.  Next time, I’ll practice on the long stretch of paved road leading to the lot.  Assuming, that is, there’s no traffic … not ready to be on the road with other vehicles yet.  No photos this time; Mui wasn’t about to stop paying attention to what I was doing just to capture the moment for posterity.