Cherry Hill Park -- College Park, Maryland

The entrance at Cherry Hill Park in College Park, Maryland

      Last Tuesday, April 15, we moved to Cherry Hill Park in College Park, Maryland since a Nascar weekend was filling up the park in Ashland, Virginia.  Our plan was to stay one week and enjoy a variety of sightseeing at the nation's capital.  But with the holiday weekend and our business responsibilities, we've only managed to get into the city once.

Our back-in site at Cherry Hill Park

      Cherry Hill is a large, well located and pricey park and, surprisingly, the pools are already open mid-April.  There is a new addition which is presently under construction.  Our first night in the rain we attended a sightseeing informational meeting presented by Barb, who staffs the bus depot and sells tickets to local attractions.  

The Metro train -- We took the Blue Line to the Red Line into the city.

      At Barb's suggestion, we contacted our Senator, John Thune's, office to set up a Capitol tour.  Wednesday we caught up laundry and replenished supplies and Thursday we made a short trip on the Metro train and walked a couple of blocks to the Dirksen Senate Office Building where we were greeted by young interns, one of whom, Adam, was to be our tour guide.  We rode an underground train from the office building to the Capitol Visitor's Center.  

Union Station in Washington, D.C. where we grabbed a bite of lunch before our Capitol tour

      We learned much about the Capitol and, although we were able to tour much of the facility, the rotunda is under repair, which was surely a disappointment.  The grounds were beautiful with colorful spring blossoms everywhere.

Our nation's Capitol Building -- the rotunda was under construction.

      The nearby IKEA store caught our eye, and we were delighted to find a small, light-weight office chair for Valerie's desk at a very reasonable price, after years of looking at heavier, more expensive models that we felt would not fit the tight space at her desk.

Our tour guide, Adam, points out some of the more interesting statuary inside the Capitol 

      This weekend we enjoyed breakfast at the resort's cafe and made our way to a movie in nearby Silver Springs.  Tomorrow, we are off again exploring and determining what days promise the best weather for the two-day Big Bus tour so that we can get the dogs set up for doggy day camp.

Happy Easter -- Spring has finally sprung!