In at Brunswick Maryland for 6 days

We buttoned up at Lynchburg and left a bit ahead of schedule, at 0730, and made our way up US 29- heading toward Charlottesville, when the GPS decided to take us on a short cut a bit, and we wound up taking a very narrow, up  through and over the Blue Ridge Foothills kind of road that drives Bette crazy, and becomes a good test of my motor home driving skills- lots of 20 mph triple switchbacks and stuff, low limbs that kept smacking the coach and stuff.  Note to self, take the main roads sometimes!

We got to our planned first stop at Middletown, Va., at exit 291 on I-81 at about 1115, and pulled into a Love's Travel stop so I could unhook, then Cooper and I spent the next hour or so running 9 miles up the road to park # 195, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. 

This is a somewhat newer park, and had 4 locations to get stamps, and we were able to get to all of them.  There was Hupp's Hill Museum:

The actual plantation house at Belle Grove, which was a very impressive home built in 1797:

Then, a couple of quick stops to two "headquarters" buildings, one for the Battle Ground, and then the NPS hq in the town of Middleburg itself.

This was the site of a major Union victory in 1864.  Sadly, we will miss the huge reenactement that they are having here next weekend, they said they are expecting over a thousand reenactors. 



Then, we headed back to Love's and had lunch at Arby's then headed up to Brunswick, Maryland, our home for the next 6 days.  Had a bit of an adventure finding the place, the one GPS totally couldn't find it, the other was very vague and actually not correct either. I pulled into a side street, and the streets here are very 1790 narrow, and NOT considerate of motor homes towing cars, we unhooked thank goodness, because I found out I was close, but no cigar. Had to back out into the street, go over some railroad tracks, then almost a mile on a dirt road. 

The campground is nice enough, only 30 amp, no sewer (oops) right on the banks of the Potomac River, and oh yeah, right next to the main line of the MARC trains running all day and a lot of the night.  NO worries!

We got all settled, did have Sat tv with no problem at all, (see, I told you it was a loose cable!), then Coop and I headed 18 miles up the road to see a double-header between the Frederick Keys and the Potomac Nationals.  We had been at the Keys back in 2006 or 7. 

Coop and the Mascot- he got 5 balls tonight, and a pair of batting gloves

We had seats right at the dugout, and I noticed them charting on every play/pitch- these were the "spray" charts, where the tracked the pattern of hit balls for each batter, plus tracked running time to bases, and all sorts of stats.  Interesting!

Today will be a fun day, lots to do.    Letting the others sleep in a bit, I am going to run over to Harper's Ferry and Antietam, then come back, and then we're heading up to Catoctin Mountain Park, and meeting up with the Ritz's, whom we last saw up in Maine a couple of years ago, then we're heading over to Williamsport to the Visitor's Center for the C & O Canal, then going out to eat, and then to a Hagerstown Suns baseball game!!

Thursday, we have seats for the Washington Nationals, and Cooper and I are riding the train into town, doing town a bit, then the game at 1:35.