Maryland in a Nutshell: Our 2-Week Stay Recap

After our great visit to Maryland last year, we didn’t think we’d be returning so soon. But a work event came up for Josh, so we ended up spending 2 weeks in southwestern Maryland. There was a lot of work-related stuff, but of course we packed in some fun activities too! In this post we’ll share our full itinerary, including activities in Waldorf, Kent Island, and Washington DC too, along with tips on visiting each of these places.

As a little background for those who don’t know us in person, Josh works for an environmental-related nonprofit on the national staff, but the org is made up of chapters across the country with local volunteers. The local Chesapeake Bay chapter runs a NatureFest event, which was being filmed by a major news outlet, so some of the staff came out to support it.

Here’s a cast of characters that might come up, too: J- Josh’s boss, S- Josh’s coworker from national, M- the local chapter president, and B- her husband.

Day 1: Sunday Drive

Sunday we drove 335 miles from our West Virginia campground through to our home for the next two weeks at Cedarville State Forest. It was a very long day, not only was the drive itself long- but it involved driving through DC and on the beltway. We learned last year that drivers out here are a different breed than back home in the Midwest, and towing an RV on the beltway is especially not fun.

Where to Stay in Prince George’s County, Maryland

If you’re not a camper, there are still plenty of options for hotels in this part of the state. Some of the best rated in the county are:

• Holiday Inn Express La Plata by IHG
• Residence Inn by Marriott Waldorf
• Courtyard Marriott Waldorf
• Hilton Garden Inn Waldorf
• Hampton Inn Waldorf

Day 2: Monday Campground Hikes and Groceries

Our usual order of business on our first full day at any new campground is to go get groceries. But first, we decided to check out the park a little. We looked at the charcoal kiln, and then hiked most of the Brown Trail around Cedarville Pond before leaving the park for groceries.

The charcoal kiln at Cedarville is a restored brick kiln that used to turn wood into charcoal for blacksmithing and iron production in the 18th and 19th centuries. Kilns like this were an important part of the iron making process in early Maryland and supplied charcoal to nearby iron furnaces.

Days 3 & 4: Tuesday and Wednesday Meetings

On Tuesday and Wednesday Josh had evening meetings, so we stayed at camp both days. It was also rainy, so at least we didn’t feel like we were missing out. And I always say this in these recaps, but this is the reminder that RV life is still life and sometimes we don’t do anything fun because we have work or chores.

Day 5: Thursday at Scary Strokes

Josh had another late meeting on Thursday, but not as late as Tuesday and Wednesday. It was also rainy that day, but the later meeting meant that options for indoor activities were limited since the museums on my list were all closed for the day. We ended up doing something different, for us, and going to Scary Strokes. We played a round of blacklight mini golf, and even though it was a little overpriced, it was fun. I just love the design and vibes of blacklight mini golf and the fact that this one was classic monster themed was even better. I also really liked that a few times on the course they had “Scary Strokes Spinners” to spin with different things like using your non-dominant hand or switching positions on the green. I love stuff like that!

Day 6: Friday Visit to Jug Bay

Friday was our first real adventuring of the trip and we spent it at Jug Bay. Jug Bay is a freshwater tidal wetland and is one of the best preserved sites like this on the East Coast. There are multiple trails to choose from, including boardwalks through the marsh itself. Also on the park grounds is the Patuxent Rural Life Museums. It was closed when we visited, but we were still able to walk around the historic buildings on the museum campus and peek inside some of the windows.

Day 7: Saturday Seedlings and NPS Sites

Saturday we were up bright and early to meet members of the local chapter at Bona Terra Nursery. Bona Terra is a small native plant nursery and the owner Jeremy is definitely in it for the plants, not the money. One of his ways of giving back is Plant Grant, which gives free native plant seedlings to community groups to give away. This day we were helping to separate and pot seedlings to be given away during an upcoming event (more on that event later).

After our work day, we grabbed some lunch at T & J Bar-B-Q Pit and then it was time to get some National Park Passport stamps! First up was Thomas Stone National Historic Site. Thomas Stone was a Maryland politican who was also one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. This site is the Haberdeventure plantation that Stone lived at later in life. They had tons of stamps, unigrids, and jr. ranger books here, so I was in heaven before we even left the gift shop. We missed the last house tour of the day, but we walked the grounds some and still had a nice time.

After Thomas Stone, we drove over to Piscataway Park. This park protects both natural and cultural sites and is run as a partnership between the National Park Service and Accokeek Foundation. we walked one of the trails and checked out the National Colonial Farm, which is a working farm museum that focuses on heritage breed livestock.

Day 8: Sunday in Arlington

This was Memorial Day weekend, and since we were near Washington DC we knew there would be meaningful activities to attend. Josh grew up doing Memorial Day ceremonies with Boy Scouts, so he really wanted to find something special to do. The problem was that there were too many options!

On Sunday we ended up driving to Arlington National Cemetery (which we had visited last fall) for Flowers of Remembrance. This is the only time of year the public can walk up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and leave a flower, so it was a really special thing to be a part of. We got there before it officially started and the line was massive! It was cool to see how many people had come out for it. After we laid our flowers, we caught the tail end of their Meet a Sentinel program in the amphitheater and then stayed for a lecture on the history of Memorial Day and Memorial Day at Arlington Cemetery. Then we continued on with the historians for a walking tour themed around the Army’s 250th birthday. The executive director of the cemetery, and the top military guy for the installation, joined our tour- so that was kind of cool too. It ran a bit long, but it was still overall interesting and the historians did a great job.

On our way back to Maryland we stopped in Alexandria at Rustico Restaurant for pizza and then spent the rest of the day chilling out.

Day 9: Memorial Day Monday

We had really debated on what to do for actual Memorial Day. We could have gone to Arlington Cemetery for the wreath laying ceremony, and with any other president we would have, but we just couldn’t stomach going. So instead, we took the Metro into DC. 

We started off with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, which we had run out of time for during our last visit. Last time, though, we did visit the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and I actually think that one’s way better. The main museum has more exhibits about the history of flight, which is good, but the Udvar-Hazy Center is just massive hangars full of aircraft which is so cool. The Air and Space was also disappointing on this trip because a lot of it was closed for construction. There were also many rude people! We knew it would be packed, but the way people just let their kids run around and didn’t pay attention to other people trying to see stuff was another level than we expected.

After the museum, we grabbed lunch at our favorite DC spot- Mitsitam Cafe inside the Museum of the American Indian. We visited here last year, and Josh spent 3 days here for a conference, so we just checked out the special exhibit with Lily Gladstone’s Oscar dresses.

Our main activity for the day was watching the Memorial Day Parade, and we had a little time to kill so we walked over to the Boy Scout Commemorative Tribute. Honestly, just walking the mall while everyone was staging for the parade might have been cooler than the parade itself. There were bands and color guards everywhere and it was such a cacophony of noise. 

The parade itself was neat and we’re glad we went- but be prepared if you ever go that it is a LONG parade. There were also some pretty substantial gaps between groups for some reason.

After the parade we swung back over to the Museum of the American Indian because Josh wanted to get something from the gift shop for someone, and we also stopped at the National Native American Veterans Memorial. We had just missed the wreath laying ceremony that held, but we still got to see the wreath up at least. 

Day 10: Tuesday on Kent Island

Tuesday found us crossing the Bay Bridge (always slightly terrifying) to meet up with members of the Delmarva chapter at Cult Classic Brewing on Kent Island. When we saw the KI Pie which features crab dip and an Old Bay crust, we knew we had to try that. We had a great chat with everyone and Cult Classic has great vibes. After we said our good-byes, we decided to do a quick stop at nearby Terrapin Nature Park to walk along the Bay and see the bridge from another angle. The rest of the day was spent back at camp working.

Day 11: A Last Minute Vet Appointment on Wednesday

Wednesday started out pretty hectic. Our cat Betsey had been pawing at her mouth where she had a tooth extracted a while back, so Josh had been calling around for a vet appointment. This was our first time needing any kind of health care while on the road, and it was quite a task to try to find somewhere that wasn’t booked out 2-3 weeks, since we’d be gone by then. Josh ended up finding a rescue that has a vet clinic that does same day appointments. So Wednesday morning he called in, they added us to the triage list, and then they called back with an opening in 20 minutes… and we were 30 minutes away. Luckily they had a 15 minute grace period, so we were able to rush over and make it just in time. It turned out nothing looked infected or anything, and it was bothering her less than it had a few days ago, but it was at least a good peace of mind until we got home to take her to our regular vet. The rest of the day was work and chores and it was a gloomy and rainy day.

Day 12: Thursday Starts the Whirlwind Weekend

Thursday started the whirlwind long weekend of the trip. Josh’s coworker S got into Maryland this day, so in the afternoon we picked her up from her hotel and all headed out to the USGS Bee Lab. Josh and I had visited last fall too, but it was pretty depressing to visit again. They’re on the chopping block for federal funding cuts and they’ve been focusing on just preparing specimens so that if they close they can send the collection to another institution. Last fall we helped plant shrubs in a new research plot, but those are all gone now. Sam, who runs the lab, has been speaking out though and has talked to a number of reporters if you want to learn more about the Bee Lab.

Besides S getting her first tour of the Bee Lab, we also helped the Chesapeake Bay chapter with more seedling separating. Besides their own research, the Bee Lab lets local community groups use some of their outdoor space for growing their own plants.

Just like our last Bee Lab visit, we immediately followed it up with going to DC Green Drinks. Green Drinks is an org with chapters around the world that host networking events for people interested in environmental-related things. This time we were at Metro Bar, which is a really cool bar made from an old Metro car. Again, though, it was pretty depressing because we met so many people who used to work for federal agencies but were now unemployed. We did talk to a lot of great people, though, and had a good time. Towards the end of the night Josh’s boss, J, made it into Maryland and came over to meet us. Leaving Metro Bar was definitely an adventure, too. We drove instead of taking the Metro and Josh missed one turn that led to us getting stuck trying to get out of a not very good neighborhood for a while, but we finally made it!

Day 13: Friday Event Prep

Friday was a very full day! We started off at the College of Southern Maryland for a walkthrough of tomorrow’s NatureFest event, which was the main reason we were there. We did some pre-setup walked through plans with the film crew. We also went over to the nursery to grab more plants and to M’s house for more planning with the film crew. All of that pretty much took all day, and then we had a late lunch with M and B at Randy’s Ribs & BBQ. We had a little time to just decompress at camp and then we went out again to meet up with J and S for food. When we got to the restaurant we noticed hand-written signs all over the building and, of course, were curious and had to stop and read them. They all said not to park in the Arby’s parking lot, and we had a good laugh over how it must be an ongoing issue because there were SO many signs. We had already eaten dinner, but we got some snacks and drinks and hung for a while. After we left, though, we shortly got a call from S asking us to come back… we jokingly asked if they had parked at Arby’s. And yes, they did, and yes, they got towed. So we swung back around to pick them up and take them to the (luckily) 24/hr tow yard to get the car back. Somehow they both missed the million signs about not parking there. Luckily everyone has a good sense of humor and was able to laugh at their dumb mistake, and they even posed for photos with the tow truck driver, but they’ll never live this down.

Day 14: NatureFest Saturday

Saturday was the big day! We were at the college bright and early for NatureFest set up. Most of the day Josh and I helped staffed the org’s booth, but we had some chances to get out and enjoy the event too. This event happens every May and was so much fun! There are tons of booths from different local organizations and plenty of activities for kids. I saw the Chesapeake Mermaid, owls, goats, S dressed like a butterfly, and lots more. Filming seemed to go well too, and hopefully by spring their coverage will be ready to share!

After NatureFest, we went back to camp to relax a little before going back out to meet J, S, and S’s husband and kids for a demolition derby we had all seen signs for. Josh and I were the only ones who had been to a demolition derby before, so it was fun bringing newbies! This was the Silver Hill Lions Demolition Derby, and even though it wasn’t the biggest we’ve seen, it was very well run! It was a really fun way to cap off a hectic trip.

Day 15: Another Sunday Drive (and a new Harvest Host!)

On Sunday we left Maryland and headed to Michigan. Josh had a conference in Detroit and S and her family would be meeting us there to camp next to us. It was longer than we like to drive in one day with the RV, so we stopped for the night at The Vineyards at Pine Lake thanks to our Harvest Hosts membership. This was such a great HH site! They had some free electric hook-ups (they were all taken by other RVs when we got there though) and really pretty views over their lake. We got a wood-fired pizza and some wine and enjoyed the patio before heading to bed.

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