Time to Leave Pohick Bay

Monday, 28 May

Yes, “that” time came all too soon, I’m afraid.  A shame, because with most of the weekenders and the biker groups gone by 11:00a, quiet reigned at the campground once again.  It was difficult to pack up and leave, but leave we did.  Knowing we have only six months to go (knock on wood) before we get to stop worrying about such things made it a bit easier — just a bit.

Nothing exciting to write about, but I didn’t want to leave our weekend stay hanging without an end.  It was a work day for me — unfortunately, proposal work doesn’t take a holiday just because there’s one on the calendar.  It was much too hot and humid to sit outside anyway, so I didn’t mind being stuck inside too terribly much.  We did get to sit in the screen shelter for a while during the early morning hours, though.  That was the highlight of our day.

Having paid the $10 late check-out fee, we had until 7:00p (maybe 8:00p; the young volunteers at the office weren’t sure) before we had to leave.  Unfortunately, with tomorrow being a workday, we didn’t have the luxury of staying that long.  We departed around 3:00p.  With the temp at a nasty 96F (36C), and the sun streaming in through the windshield, we had the generator going almost the entire way home so we could run the house A/C to keep things comfortable in the cockpit.

We put the Phaeton to bed at storage, taking an extra few minutes to put up the tire covers.  Alas, we have no immediate plans to go camping until August.  Oh well, the time will come when we won’t have to worry about squeezing in a weekend here, a weekend there.

Kayaking Newbies

Sunday, 27 May

We woke up to another humid morning with the temp already at 69F (20C) at 6:00a.  Hoping that being on the water would keep us cool on a day forecasted to reach into the 90F (32C) range, we grabbed a light breakfast and got ready for our first-ever kayak outing.

On every trip to Pohick Bay Regional Park (PBRP), we’ve had plans to try our hand at kayaking.  But weather — in the form of heavy rain — usually intervened.  And if it wasn’t the weather, it was something else that got in the way.  So, when Mui sent me information about a 4-hour guided kayak tour a few days before this trip to PBRP, I said, “Let’s do it!”

OK, OK.  I took a bit more convincing than that!  My concern with the tour centered around going out with a group.  After all, we had no previous experience.  Wasn’t four hours a bit much for a first time outing?  Would we be able to keep up?  What if we wanted to turn back?  In the end, my concerns were for naught — of the ten people in the group, all but four were newbies to kayaking, so the pace was reasonably slow and easy.

Our route took us around Pohick Bay Marsh and a short ways up Pohick Creek.
This Google maps image shows our notional path: red dots = outbound leg;
yellow dots = inbound leg with a detour across the bay to see an osprey chick.

Figuring we might not want to hike back to the campground after paddling all morning, we drove down to the boat rental concession, arriving 30 minutes before the scheduled meet-up time of 8:00a.  The humidity was making its presence known, but the cloud cover helped to keep the temps at bay.  Later, we lost the clouds to blue skies, but an occasional light breeze kept conditions comfortable for the duration of the outing.

Looking out over the paddle boat dock towards Gunston Cove;
we paddled in the opposite direction towards Pohick Bay Marsh.

Our trip leader was Scott, who introduced himself as a volunteer who takes groups out because he enjoys being on the water himself.  After spending time kayaking, I can understand why.  Our experience was very reminiscent of when we went out in mokoros in the Okavango Delta of Botswana — peaceful, quiet, eye-level scenery, and plentiful wildlife easily approached.

With the group congregated at the boat rental concession, we signed the “If we drown, it’s our own fault,” paperwork, and were given PFDs (personal flotation devices) and paddles.  Next came a brief training session on the beach at the launch site.  Scott showed us proper paddle-holding technique, as well as the moves to propel ourselves forward and back, maneuver left and right, and stop the kayak.

Hmmm!  I wonder if we’re going to get a red, gold, or blue kayak.
As long as it isn’t tippy, I really don’t care.

All in all, we had about 3 hours on the water.  And a grand 3 hours they were.  The peace that surrounded us as we glided quietly through the calm, spatterdock-choked marsh was absolutely wonderful.  The paddle dipping in and out of the water was the only sound to reach our ears; even the birds were quiet.  The scenery was fantastic — all blues and greens with the occasional bright yellow of a spatterdock bloom.  And there were birds galore.  Egrets, great blue herons, eagles, and ospreys — we enjoyed their company throughout the morning.  I could have done without the water snake that we almost ran down while we were paddling, but as long as it stayed in the water and I stayed in the kayak, even that was OK.

No photos, I’m afraid.  We had Mui’s Canon S95 P&S (in the water casing) with us, but we were too busy keeping up with the group to stop and take photos.

Great blue herons in flight.
[taken from the kayak launch site before we joined our group for the paddle.]

Because I’ve never been very comfortable on the water, and also because I didn’t know if I could keep up with the group for the duration of the paddle, Mui and I went tandem.  Or as Scott put it, we paddled in a ‘divorce kayak.’  It wasn’t as bad as all that.  Really.  Once we got our rhythm in sync, we did just fine.  I liked having Mui sitting in the rear of the kayak, responsible for rudder duty!  One less thing for me to worry about on this first outing.  Paddling in the peaceful environment was very nice, but having someone else responsible for keeping us on the straight and narrow while I took in the scenery (and rested my arms) was priceless :-)

The only part of the paddle I didn’t care for was the short distance we went up Pohick Creek.  I didn’t mind that we were going against the current.  Rather, the water was very shallow — barely shin-deep in places, and there were a lot of obstacles along the way.  In fact, Mui ended up stepping out in one place to get us backed off a submerged tree trunk.  I’m not sure what Scott was thinking taking a group of newbies to a shallow creek, but we decided to hold back.  Parking ourselves in the water, and holding onto a log so that we wouldn’t drift down-creek, we waited while he took part of the group through a tight spot with thick, low-hanging tree branches.

Parked in the water (my paddle is jammed against the log to my left), Mui manages to
get the only shot proving that we went out in kayaks today.

The return trip down the creek was more or less a high-speed float.  With Mui using his paddle to maneuver us around some of the tree debris, we let the current take us where it pleased.

Once we were back out in the marsh, Scott led us to a spot where we beached the kayaks for a short rest/bathroom break.  More fantastic scenery, a nice breeze, and a couple of minutes to eat our snacks — oh, and let’s not forget, a large boulder that Harrison Ford sat on for a minute or two during the filming of a movie out here.

Ain’t that view of Pohick Bay Marsh grand?

Proof that Mui was with me on this kayak outing.

On the return leg, we made a detour, crossing to the opposite shore of the bay to check out an osprey chick.  No photos; it was in a nest high atop a tree.  But we did get to watch as mom fed the chick and papa brought home more bacon (so to speak) to satisfy its ravenous appetite.

The return trip to the launch site seemed a little long.  To be expected, I suppose, after having paddled continuously for so long.  We actually felt quite good despite the exercise our arms got.  Scott told us that we’d start feeling the aches soon, but that they would be gone in 3-4 hours.  I didn’t believe him, but he was right.  By the time we got back to the coach, we knew our arms had gotten a good work out.  By dinner time, it was like we’d not done anything out of the ordinary.  Of course, he also did say that if we went out on subsequent kayak outings in the upcoming days, we’d really feel the aches and pains.  No plans to do that :-)

We had a really good time on our first kayak outing and we plan to go out again.  This time on our own, so that we can take our time and enjoy what mother nature has to offer scenery- and wildlife-wise.  I missed not being able to stop and spend time viewing the birds at my own pace.  But, I’m also glad we went out with a guided group this time since we learned the basics of kayaking from Scott — like how to hold the paddle … important information, don’tcha think ;-)

We won’t be rushing out and buying kayaks.  At least not yet.  For now, we’ll rent when we feel like going out on the water.  I checked out the rental prices at PBRP — $10/hour or $41/day for a tandem.  Not bad; especially considering today’s half day outing was $30/person.

See you out on the water sometime!

Since the Birds Don’t Cooperate, We Head to a Museum

Saturday, 26 May

With the day’s high forecasted to be in the 88-90F (31-32C) range, we were up bright and early, raring to go while the temps were still comfortable.  It was only 68F (20C) when we left the coach, but the high humidex made it feel a lot warmer than that.

Our destination was the Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, a mere 3 miles (5 km) from the campground via Gunston Road.

[map courtesy of the Mason Neck NWR website]

We’ve seen eagles, and herons, and a variety of waterfowl here on previous visits, but we were out of luck today.  Not only were the birds nowhere to be seen, the Great Marsh Trail — which we favor over the Wood Marsh Trail because it gets us closer to the birds — was closed for some reason.  So, although we got some exercise, the plan to test my new lens was a bust.  Looks like another zoo visit is going to be in order :-)

A glimpse of the Great marsh from the viewing platform at the end of the Wood Marsh Trail.

Plan B was to explore the adjacent Mason Neck State Park.  We knew the park wasn’t yet open, but we figured we could pay at the fee box and go on in anyway.  Well, there was a fee box, but the gate was locked.  So, we moved on to Plan C — the National Museum of the Marine Corps, located in nearby Triangle.

Google map image showing the location of the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico
in relation to Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge and Pohick Bay Regional Park.

The museum, which opened to the public in November 2006, is part of the Marine Corps Heritage Park.  Also on the grounds is the Semper Fidelis Memorial Park and Chapel, which is where we stopped first.  The chapel is beautifully designed in a way that allows one to be “at one” with nature.

Behind the altar is the “Sacrifice Window,” honoring Chaplain Vincent Capodanno's dedicated service to Marines and the ultimate sacrifice he made in Vietnam to save a Marine's life.
[to read the words, click here.]

After taking a few minutes to enjoy the chapel, we attempted to wander the path winding around the Memorial Park, but it was simply too hot and way too humid by then for it to be enjoyable.  (It was only 9:30a!)  So, we gave up on that idea and headed to the cool comfort of the museum instead.

This monument, dedicated to “The Magnificent Bastards,” is one of many in the Memorial Park.

The Marine Corps Museum, which is the centerpiece of the Heritage Park, is housed in a building that is quite striking.  Upon seeing it for the first time, I remember thinking that it was reminiscent of the raising of the flag at Mount Suribachi, which is depicted in the Iwo Jima Memorial in DC.  I wasn’t wrong; but as I later learned from the website, the designers also intended for it to “evoke notions of swords at salute, aircraft climbing into the heavens, or a howitzer at the ready.”

The National Museum of the Marine Corps and the “Crusading for right” monument.
Per Wikipedia, Iron Mike is the de facto name of various monuments commemorating servicemen of the US military.  The plaque on the pedestal reads: "In memory of the officers and men of the 6th Regiment United States Marines who gave their lives for their country in the World War in 1918."

Inside, we found ourselves in a big, circular space called the Leatherneck Gallery.  Here were what turned out to be the first of the museum’s many ‘vignettes’ featuring life-size cast figures engaged in “battle action.”  When we were finally able to pull our gazes away from the scenes at ground level and looked up, it was to find the space above filled with aircraft.

“Across the Reef at Tarawa” depicts an LVT-1 amphibious tractor breaching the
defensive log wall on the Pacific island of Tarawa.

Quotes on the walls rim the airspace in which this AV-8B Harrier “jump jet” flies.

Before continuing on with our exploration of the galleries, we took in a short movie.  While it was well done, with moving scenes and words, we were disappointed to find that it was not the documentary we were expecting it to be.  I’d have to say that it was more like a recruiting movie than not, and could easily be skipped (IMHO).

Only half of the circular museum building contains galleries so far; the rest is for future expansion.  But what’s contained in that half is quite eye-opening and educational.  That there’s a strong “Semper Fi” atmosphere throughout goes without saying, but that’s to be expected of a museum that describes itself as: “… an American history museum. But it's American history seen through the eyes of individual Marines across nearly 235 years." 

The galleries that rim the building in an arc are accessed from the Legacy Walk.  This space is designed to not only link the history of the Marines from inception, but to also provide visitors who have a limited time at the museum with a “quick initiation into the rich and storied history of the Corps.”  Since we had plenty of time on this hot day in May, we explored the galleries in more depth.

Left: Aerial Message Pouch Pick-Up — Infantry patrols afield in Central American
jungles, lacking portable radios, worked out inventive means of communicating with
marine airmen.  Pilots swooped down to drop messages and adroitly snagged outgoing
messages suspended from a line rigged across an open space.

Right: Artifacts on display along the Legacy Walk — top to bottom: a piece of the Berlin Wall;
melted glass from Nagasaki; concrete from Marine Barracks Lebanon (1983).

Most of the galleries along the perimeter of the Legacy Walk represent a major war of recent times; there’s also one dedicated to Making Marines, and another one dedicated to Global Expeditionary Force.  Each gallery is filled with heart-tugging vignettes — in some instances, complete with sound effects — and more information and exhibits than the average visitor will (or can) take the time to digest.  In the four hours we “put our shoes in the boot prints of the Marines,” we barely skimmed the surface of all that the museum has to offer.

Defending the New Republic Gallery — Battle of Bladensburg
this exhibit in miniature depicts A small band of US Navy sailors and Marines blocking
the way of British regulars storming across the Anacostia River at Bladensburg on
24 August 1814.  …”Their spirited defense was a solitary bright spot on a bleak day that
ended with the  enemy's capture of the US capital."

World War I Gallery — Combat Correspondents
Dramatic news of American troops being committed to stop the German offensive near
Paris attracted veteran combat correspondents to the vicinity of Belleau Wood.  The
first to arrive was the heralded 31-year-old Floyd Gibbons of the Chicago Tribune.
  Ignoring wartime censors forbidding the identification of specific units, he filed his
first report: "I am up at the front and entering Belleau Wood with the US Marines."
On 6 June, he accompanied the assault by the 5th Marines on Belleau Wood and was
severely wounded.  While recovering in the hospital, Gibbons reconstructed the
events of the battle.  Fearing that gibbons had been killed, the military censors
released the correspondent's original report intact."

World War II Gallery — A day that shall live in infamy …

Korean War Gallery — Frozen Chosin
The 9th Chinese Army Group hurled over 100,000 men against the 20,000-man 1st Marine
Division, its units strewn along miles of bad road near the "Frozen" Chosin Reservoir.
Critical to their safe extraction was Toktong Pass, the choke-point of the escape
route, defended against Chinese assaults for five bloody nights by Fox Company, 7th Marines.

Vietnam War Gallery — Hill 881 South
airlifted into the “hot” landing zone at Hill 881 South near Khe Sanh on a CH-46
helicopter, Rotor wash swirls the hot air and the sounds of combat surround
visitors as they step off the helicopter’s rear deck.

Vietnam War Gallery — Hill 881 South
One of several vignettes in the gallery, this one depicts a marine helping a wounded
Comrade in arms to the chopper standing by to evacuate him.

Legacy Walk
Left: Remember to look up when walking along the gallery!
right: The Marine Corps battle standard dips in deference to the stars and stripes.

“9/11: We Remember” is a temporary exhibit; in addition to a building fragment from
the Pentagon and an I-beam from the World trade center, visitors to the museum
can leave notes recollecting where they were on that fateful day.

To wrap up our visit, I took a quick turn around a temporary exhibit on the second floor that featured photographs and artwork of wounded and ill Marines.  You’d think this exhibit would be a real downer, but quite the contrary.  Sure, the images were hard to look at, but many of them were actually quite inspiring.

Though the museum was rather crowded on the eve of Memorial Day, at no time did we feel the press of humanity that would have had us running out the door.  We enjoyed our visit and would recommend it to others, with the following caveat — don’t expect to see any lessons-learned type exhibits.  If there were any; I certainly missed them.  That the museum is a must-see for military history aficionados goes without saying.

(For those who’d like to see more photographs from the National Museum of the Marine Corps, click here to visit my online gallery.)

And just to prove we really did visit the museum …

A “Two to Travel” at the National Museum of the Marine Corps photo op.

We returned to the campground quite drained — and I don’t mean just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.  We were intent on relaxing in our screen shelter, but it wasn’t meant to be.  At least not for long; it was oppressively hot and humid, and that we were shaded by trees didn’t matter one whit.  Inside the coach it was like a whole different world — even without the A/C.  Our three Fantastic fans really did a fantastic job of keeping us comfortable through most of the afternoon.  It was early evening before we felt the need to turn on the A/C for a couple of hours to get things comfortable for the night ahead.

So, all in all, we had a day that started out so-so in the sightseeing department, but continued quite satisfactorily with an unplanned visit to another site.  Tomorrow promises to be another hot and humid day.  Hopefully our plans for the morning will work out much more smoothly; but we’ll have to wait and see about that.

Long Weekend at Pohick Bay Begins

Friday, 25 May

Back in April, before we concluded our stay at the Pohick Bay Regional Park campground, we made reservations to return for the Memorial Day long weekend.  As expected, getting a site wasn’t easy for this popular camping weekend, but we managed to snag one from our ‘will-work-for-us’ list.

To maximize our stay, we came in last night.  The 32-mile (50 km) drive was again quick and easy — the key to that experience is staying off I-95 as much as possible.  Sure, Routes 7100 and 123 mean dealing with traffic lights, but at least we’re not stuck in the inevitable ‘not going anywhere fast’ experience that I-95 often is around here.  We left storage around 4:15p and were set up in our site an hour later.  Another hour to Swiffer the floor, roll out the rug, and put away the stuff we brought from the stix & brix … and we were ready for a quiet evening at home.  I can tell you one thing — I am not going to miss lugging groceries and whatnot to the motorhome every time we want to go camping!!!

We’re usually in Site 71 (blue circle) or thereabouts; this time we’re in Site 4 (red circle).

Our past stays at Pohick Bay have been at a 50 Amp FHU site.  Our favorite site (#71) wasn’t available for this stay, but even if it had been, we would not have wanted it.  You see, it backs up to the open space that is the play field for kids and adults alike — not a good thing on a crowded holiday weekend.

So, this time we’re in site 4.  It’s a 30 Amp electric-only site.  That it is close to the entrance doesn’t bother us; what traffic comes in and out passes us quickly.  The site is plenty long and wide, and there’s lots of wooded open space behind.  We also have a thick canopy covering the site from above.  Considering it’s expected to get into the 90F (32C) range this weekend, that’s a good thing.  (Even as I write this at 5:00p, we’re up from the day’s low of 69F (20.C) at 6:00a to a humid 80F (27C) — and that’s in the shade!)

We have three guys tent-camping on one side — they’re here for Monday’s Rolling Thunder event.  On our other side is another tent-camper here for the same event.  The two sites across the road from us are occupied by a couple of trailers.  So far all’s been quiet.  We’re hoping it will stay that way :-)

Our screen shelter gives us relief from the sun streaming through openings in the canopy.

Another advantage to this site is that we’re close to the campground office, which means we can get a fast — but finicky — wi-fi signal.  Combine that with the decent signal with our aircard, and we’re good to go with connectivity for our stay.  Provided I can squeeze in the time between other things I want to accomplish while we’re here, there might be another blog post or two before we return to the brix & stix.

Our view from the shelter is of the wooded area behind the coach.

Today was a workday for both of us, so nothing of real interest to write about.  I have several proposals due between May 30 and June 6, so it’s likely that I’ll be doing some work over the weekend.  I can set my own schedule, however, so if the files come through, I can work during the hot-hours in the afternoon.

Looking out the windshield and to the right; The comfort station is just beyond the trailer.

The weekend won’t be just about work, however.  We have a couple of things planned for the cooler morning hours.  Stay tuned for those reports.

Of Course the Sun Came Out

Sunday, 29 April

It was time to leave the campground at Pohick Bay Regional Park today, and of course the sun came out.  This was the case for our two other visits to PBRP, so I shouldn’t be surprised that the pattern held true this time as well.

Would love to have stayed to take advantage of the nice day, but site 71 is very popular and it is near impossible to get late check-out.  There is always some other rig anxiously waiting in the wings to get in and get set up.  So, we tucked our tail between our tires and headed out at 10:15a (check out is at 11:00a).

After an uneventful 32-mile (51 km) drive, we pulled into storage and put the Phaeton to bed for the next 10 days.  Yes, she gets to rest up next weekend as we have no plans to go camping.  That doesn’t mean we won’t go out and do something fun, but we’ll just have to wait and see.  After all, we were out more days  gallivanting in the Phaeton this month than we were at the stix & brix, and there are chores that need tending.

On the way home, we detoured over to Bull Run Regional Park, found a quiet shelter not far from the entrance, and had a quick bite to eat.  I guess you could say that we wanted to make sure we had at least one al fresco meal this weekend.  Afterwards, we went for a long walk — got to get my 10,000 steps in ;-)

That’s it for today.  No photos, I’m afraid; just a wrap up post.  If all stays quiet on the “work front” I hope to finish posting our Smokies vacation.  So, stay tuned.

A 14,556-Step Day

Saturday, 28 April

We had all kinds of ideas for things to do today, but we didn’t do any of them.  Why?  It was just too darn cold.  When we got up at 6:00a it was a mere 45F (7C).  We hoped that as the day progressed the sun would come out and warm us up a bit.  That didn’t happen.  It was overcast all day and the temperature barely got up to 52F (11C), staying there for maybe 30 minutes before it began moving back down again.

I’m not really complaining; I’ll take cold temps over hot anytime, but we had hoped to sit outside this weekend, maybe have an al fresco meal or two.  The damp chill put paid to those plans.  Perhaps next time.

Not that we stayed home mind you.  After all, you can’t walk 14,556 steps inside the Phaeton.  Well, you can, but since it takes only 17 steps to get from the cockpit to the far side of the bedroom, it would take forever to rack ‘em up.  I’m participating in the “10,000 Steps a Day” Program sponsored by my company, so I’m off to a good start :-)  Actually, I easily walk 10,000 steps a day; so my goal is to get above that number.  (With my stride, what I accomplished today equates to 4+ miles (6+ km).  Not too shabby.)

After relaxing around the bus-house until mid-morning, we took the .5-mile trail from the campground to Gunston Hall, George Mason’s colonial home.  Since we had toured the estate on a previous visit (post here), our purpose was to get some exercise by strolling the grounds.  Of course, there were some photo ops along the way, some of which made me wish I had my DSLR and tripod with me.

Field of buttercups as far as the eye can see.

a yellow poplar tree with plenty of blooms.

So, this is what the blooms look like when they’re still attached to a tree branch.

Behind the visitor center, a secret garden bordered by tall hedges revealed …

Viburnum bushes

Easy to see why this species of viburnum is nicknamed common snowball.

… as well as the snow white blooms of azaleas.

When the white azaleas start blooming, I'll come back to you … or so the song goes.

Azaleas bloom in the spring; it sure doesn’t feel like it today.

We returned home around noon and grabbed a quick bite to eat.  Then, Mui went off to shop for a project he has in mind (post later).  While he was gone, I processed the photos from our Gunston Hall stroll.  That done, I headed out for a walk around the campground loop to find ‘acceptable’ sites for future visits.  A few shutter clicks added to my collection of Pohick Bay Regional Park photos.

A head-on view of Site 71 shows how wide it is.  our space goes out to the fire ring on the far left;
and there’s wide open space to our right.

Clockwise from top left: a small portion of the play area (for adults and kids), which is rimmed by campsites behind a ring of trees; another angle of view of site 71; one of the two comfort stations that house restrooms and laundry facilities; mountain laurel buds; behind the trees on the far side of the coach is the play area pictured in the fist photo of this collage.

When Mui returned from his shopping trip, we headed out on another walk.  This time we took what was supposed to be a 1-mile paved path to Mason Neck State Park.  It was one mile, OK; but that was just to the park’s entrance.  When a roller-blader told us that it was another 1½ miles to the visitor center, we decided to turn back and leave exploring the park to another visit.

Look at the size of that root base!
Mui’s just being macho; it really IS cold today.  OK, OK – Truth be known, we both took
off our jackets on the return portion of our trek.

The fertile spore-bearing fronds of the Cinnamon Fern gives the species its name.

We saw plenty of these blooms in The Smokies as well; now I know that this flowering
plant is the Sawtooth Blackberry (aka Southern or Highbush Blackberry).

And so we wrapped up another day at PBRP.  It wasn’t quite the day we’d hoped to spend here, but sometimes you just play the hand that’s dealt you and move on from there.