Too Early for Bluebells at Bull Run Regional Park

Sunday, 3 April 2011

Let’s see, I left off yesterday’s post just before dinner last night.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to elaborate; nor am I going to post photos of our meal.  We kept things simple this trip and brought leftovers from home.

Our tummies sated, we then settled down to watch Hiroshima, a Netflix DVD that we brought with us.  The made-for-television drama recreates the events that led up to the Hiroshima bombing, which ultimately ended World War II.  As President Harry Truman (Kenneth Welsh) takes office, he's forced to weigh the price of war.  He knows his decisions could kill, or save, countless lives; after he authorizes the nuclear weapons program, his decisions carry even more serious consequences.

This is one of those movies where saying that we enjoyed it sounds odd.  Let’s just say that we found it fascinating; especially considering current events in Japan.  After the devastation wreaked by the bombs that were dropped on Japan, I can’t fathom why we — humanity, that is — have not learned our lesson.

After a good night’s rest, we were again up just before 6:00a.  Most of you might be thinking, “Why on earth didn’t you sleep in?”  We did!  You see, we’re normally up at least an hour earlier.  Anyway, after a quick breakfast, we lazed around most of the morning.  Mui re-read some of the many, many, many manuals that came with our Phaeton; I played around with the software on my MacBook Pro, getting familiar with the differences between Windows and Mac.  We also took the time to finalize our inventory of stuff in the coach.  Now we don’t have to rely on our memory when we wonder, “Do we have that in the rig?”

The view out the windshield; just the one trailer on the corner and a motorhome way off
in the distance keep us company on the outer loop.

By mid-morning the temperature had risen well past the 36F (2C) we had woken up to.  Bundling up, we went out for a walk around the campground.  Not many people were out and about; not even on the more crowded FHU loop.  The morning quiet was broken by the occasional chirping of birds, and the frequent sounds of shots from the nearby firing-range.  Luckily, the Phaeton is well-insulated and the noise doesn’t penetrate.  The shots going off would otherwise quickly become a pain.

Mui put a “nazarlık” decal on the lower glass pane of the door.
(the caption in the inset explains further; and there’s more info about the “evil eye” here.)

Having paid for late-check out, we were in no hurry to end our stay at BRRP.  So, after lunch, we went for another walk.  Our intent was to hike the Bluebell Trail, located a short distance outside the campground, but still within the park.  We were thwarted by the muddy conditions on the trail, however, and had to find an alternative.  (It’s probably a week or so too early for the bluebells to be blooming anyway.)  Our 3-mile (4.8 km) walk took us along the main road and gave us a chance to do some people-watching.  Although the temp was only in the 50F (10C) range, the sunshine had brought people out by the droves.  A good many of them had lit barbecues and were having themselves a grand old picnic.  It was nice to see people were making the most of the good weather.

Bluebells from 2008; the flower on the lower right is a Spring Beauty.

We left the campground around 3:00p and put the coach to bed.  On the way home, we stopped to check out another storage spot for the Phaeton.  This one is a little closer to the freeway, and it offers more space to maneuver the coach when we’re parking it.  Plus, there is an open lot and a nice long stretch of road with little-to-no traffic where I can practice driving the 40-foot (12 m) behemoth.  And even better — the lot is operated by the same company, so we can simply take the rig from our assigned spot when we go out next week and drop it off in the new spot when we return.