On Wednesday, August 26, 2020, William joined us at our campground in Lothian, Maryland to spend three days learning what it means to RV and hike with NaiNai and YeYe.
As soon as we got to the campground, it was time to give Ruby kitten her walk. William helped David. No sooner did Ruby get outside than she raced over to a nearby tree and climbed right up into it, high above their heads. David explained to William how you get a kitten out of a tree without the help of a fireman:
We got the cats settled and then headed out for our hiking adventure. We chose to return to Glendening Nature Preserve and the Butterfly Garden. William showed us how to hold butterflies:
In the Butterfly Garden we spotted lots of butterflies. They did not sit still for photos, so it was difficult to take their portraits, but we caught photos of one or two of them. Here is one of the best butterfly photos:
After the Butterfly Garden, we drove on to Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, where Kathy and William demonstrated the best way to cross a bridge:
The wetland is cool. It is called Glebe Marsh. It is filled with water lilies and other plants. If you look carefully, you can spot ducks and other waterbirds out there!
After checking out the Marsh Boardwalk, we followed Otter Point Trail to the Railroad Bed Trail, and turned out the Railroad Bed Trail toward the Patuxent River. Before long, we heard the roar of helicopters and spotted this one flying overhead!
We made it to the Patuxent River, where William checked the GPS to determine where we were:
On the way back Railroad Bed Trail, we stopped at one of the wildlife observation blinds, and William used it to spy on great white egrets in the nearby trees:
That was an exhausting hike. Returning to the campground, we rested outside the RV with little Ruby kitten, who entertained us with her antics:
We watched a movie that night, and all of us slept in the RV. We woke up bright and early on Thursday, and William helped us move the RV from its campground in Maryland to a new campground at Bull Run Regional Park in Virginia. William had the most important job: he was in charge of the checklist, and he watched Kathy and David like a hawk to make sure that we completed each step to pack up the RV to leave camp.
We arrived at Bull Run Regional Park after a drive of only a little over an hour. It took an hour or two to get set up in our new campsite, but we were equal to the task!
Before long, it was time to put up the tent for sleeping under the stars. Kathy and William were the tent engineers, and we think they did a fine job:
All work gets its reward, and William, that hard worker, got his. Here he is, roasting his first marshmallow of the evening over the campfire:
No marshmallows are complete without the full S'More makings! William and Kathy look like they especially enjoyed the chocolate:
There is no doubt that William has Rug Rat Camping genes. He roasted the most perfect, golden-brown marshmallows we have ever seen, just about as perfect as Gugu Katie's. Hers are always the most golden brown when she roasts them.
Our second night at Overnight Camp Sharktooth boasted a second movie. Here, William cuddled in his sleeping bag watching the movie, while that blur coming into the photo from the right -- Ruby kitten -- leapt onto William's tummy to get a reaction. Ruby loves movie night!
William, Kathy and David all slept in the tent on the second night, and we all slept very well. The crickets were very loud, but we were so tired that we fell asleep right away. Before we knew it, the morning light was coming into the tent.
We woke up, got dressed and, after breakfast and morning chores, we headed out on a scooter (for William) and bike ride (for Kathy and David), doing several loops around the campground. As we set out, William spotted two balloons lying on the ground. We saved them and took them home to the cats. Ruby especially loved to bite the knotted end of the balloon and try to drag it around the RV.
On our earlier coffee walk, Kathy and William tried out the campground swings. It looks like the swings worked perfectly:
Returning to our scooter and bike adventure, we found part of the campground road with a yellow center line, and all of us practiced running along the line without falling off. There is no doubt that William was the best line-runner:
It was our third day at Overnight Camp Sharktooth, and we had some spare time, so we played some games. We played one game of "Ticket to Ride" and three games of "Potato Pirates." But the most exciting game was "Pass the Pigs." William won the deciding game. But, alas, no one got a Leaning Jowler. NaiNai oinked out and William scored some great Razorbacks! YeYe was concentrating on some mysterious thing in the background. It looks like YeYe wasn't too happy with whatever he was doing. But that's all right; YeYe bounced back and we all had a great time.
During Overnight Camp Sharktooth, William could earn Campbucks doing various camp chores. He did lots of amazing things, such as making a pancake breakfast, helping haul trash, and other very useful work. Overall, he earned $12! He found a camp fan and some Oreos to purchase with part of his earnings; but he saved about $5 to spend at some later date. He put his $5 into the RV bank and made a credit card to record his bank balance:
I'm sorry, you can't see William's bank balance. His credit card is protected by a password, and it cannot be seen except by someone who knows the password. So only William (the customer) and YeYe (the banker) know what the exact balance is in The Bank of Areveing.
Save wisely, my friends.
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