It All Adds Up

Leaving the KOA near the village of Salem, Ohio, this morning at nine, we had high hopes for a quick five hour run into southern Maryland for our next stop at the Cherry Hill Park ("A Monumental Experience!"). After all, it's only 318 miles…..

We were so close to the PA state line that it only cost us a buck and a half to exit Ohio on I 80. Things soon changed. For the worse. $24.30 got us through the "prepay" area of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which is an area about 25 miles long where the toll is paid upfront. In cash or via EZ Pay, which we don't have. Then the toll booths start: $18.80 got us southeast of Pittsburgh to another error in the dash GPS that took us through the burgs of Mount Pleasant, Acme, and back on the Turnpike at Donegal. Back on the correct road, we drove some 70 odd miles to the Breezewood Toll Booth. Yeah, $25.85.

Turning south on I 70 got us into Maryland, and then the fun started.

One of the Travel Plazas on the Turnpike.  There must have been thousands of people stopping there!

The landscape of southern Pennsylvania is striking, being heavily forested, interspersed with green, beautiful valleys.

We soon saw some signage that told us we were in a special part of the country.

Think of it this way: from this turn onto I 70, it required 4 hours to travel 130 miles. This ain't Kansas.

The countryside is absolutely stunning, and the scenery was awesome.

On into Maryland got us, finally, to the rv park. Set in a wooded area near several very busy highways, the park provides a small amount of protection from the noise, and the sites are fairly close together, but considering the location (18 miles from the White House), it will be perfect.

And, of course, it's all about the dog...

Ok. Here we are so near Washington DC that you can smell politics in the air. It only cost us $70 in tolls to get here today. A five hour trip took nine hours. And the temp was 99 when we arrived, with 60% humidity.

We're gonna love it!