Camp "Run Amok"

Monday found us heading South, towards Catonsville, Maryland to spend a few days with Tiff and Scott. The route we follow is West of the coast, once we traverse Massachusetts, avoiding the I-95 corridor thru Connecticut and New York City, following I-295, I-84, I-81, and I-83, thru the Catskills and Poconos, and to I-695 down near Baltimore.

Patapsaco State Park is just a couple of miles from Tiff's home, so the plan was to stay there a few days. We knew that there was a bridge only 11"4 restricting the entry to the Park from the East side of Route 40, so a little past 4:30, we stopped at a large PetSmart lot in Catonsville and unhooked the toad, so Bob could drive past the park, make a big U-turn and use the West entry. However, there was a HUGE sign at the West entry also, warning of the 11'4 entrance (I didn't remember seeing the sign on the West side)....so I bypassed it again, in the car, and Bob followed me back to the PetSmart parking lot once again. He hopped in the car and we drove back to the park to check out the entry. My memory was correct, we could have entered from the West side....don't know why that sign is there??....we decided to check in, since we were there, so after waiting 30 minutes for the Park "Stranger" to show up at the entrance, and waiting another 20 minutes for him to find his passcode to the computer system, and another 20 minutes to register us, we finally got a site!! So back again to the MH waiting at the PetSmart, West on Route 40 past the Park for one more motorhome U-Turn...we finally entered the Park around 6:45 PM!! Frustration was setting in by this time, but we got a good chuckle over the thick black line representing the many trips back and forth over the same route, that Lola (the GPS) was showing on our route between Catonsville and the State Park!

Patapsaco is a large and lovely wooded park..... but a little tight for a 40 footer, so we had to grease the MH to get around the park loop to our site....which, Bob....ooops..... missed, and drove by the first time around!!! Of course, the entire park knew this because I was behind him blowing the horn and waving like crazy, trying to stop him before he bypassed it!! Oh well, he just got to drive that tight little loop again!!!! :) I would have driven in front, but I'd had to park the car and go punch in the entry code for the gate, so he could drive the MH thru.....this put me to his rear!! He got it backed in while I held the small trees out of the way!!! We DID laugh about this!! :)
We were finally parked in "Camp Run Amok" for a few days with the kids, but it was after 7 PM! By this time we were really hungry and just a little stressed..... the kids pulled up in the car so we hopped in with them and went to Ellicott City for dinner! It was great to see them....and the two or three stressful hours were quickly forgotten!! Yay....a couple of days to spend a little time with Scott and Tiff, and little oggie doggie, Dixie!