Day 3: Setting up in DC

Our eastward trek continues,

From Ohio all the way to DC.

Fall made for a beautiful drive

Before too long,

We arrived at Cherry Hill Park,

This awesome RV park Dad found for our DC home base.

It was the weekend of their big Halloween celebration

And the park was alive with Halloween craziness.

We took some time to walk around and check out 

the decorated sites and golf carts.

Then we settled in to our own site

For some R&R.

Ahhh!  This feels like camping!

Pretty chill…

Even with 2 freeways on the other side of these trees…

We’ll chalk it up the city camping experience.

Day 2: Back on the road to C-bus!

So…

morning dawned and Mom called back into the helpline.

They tried a few more things 

And again came to the conclusion it was the converter.

The plan was that a technician would meet us at our next stop

And install a new converter there.

But at 8am, there are technicians awake and ready to troubleshoot over the phone.

So we got Chris.

Chris talked us through where to find the converter…

Under Jack’s bed.

We’re very familiar with that space.

It’s were the non-functioning water heater from our last trip lives

(Remember—it was just turned off??!?).

As we were inspecting the converter and confirmed the fan was not spinning

(So clearly it was not working),

Mom and Dad noticed that there was a large wire

Lying beside it, clearly disconnected.

It was the wire from the shore power box.

It was disconnected from the converter.

Guess what happens if you actually connect the shore power to the converter?

It converts power and WE ARE BACK IN BUSINESS!

Whew! Chris saved the day!!!

On to Columbus!

We dropped off the camper and headed to the North Market

For some browsing and snacking.

We had drinks and donuts.

We hung out upstairs for a bit

And tried out the ping pong table

Mom and Dad were really excited to take us to 

their favorite Columbus restaurant Martini’s

But we couldn’t get reservations until 9:45.

No worries—

We strolled all over Short North

Taking in the shops and sights.

We bought a National Parks game, some buckeyes,

And even found a street kiosk for an amazing family selfie

They got us in early at Martini’s

And before we knew it,

We were seated in luxury.

Sadly,

It was good, but not as amazing as Mom and Dad remembered

(And carried a heck of a price tag.)

We were still glad we came

(And documented with a Beckett-taken selfie).

Mom and Dad wanted to see their first house—

Not too shabby!

And then we headed back to the camper…

Which had no power.

WHAT?!??!!?

So back under Jack’s bunk Dad went—

And discovered the fuses had popped out.

He had taken them out earlier in the troubleshooting process

And figured he must have just not got them back in quite right.

He popped them back in and on came the lights.

Whew!

That meant we could try some infamous buckeyes

They were pretty tasty.

And head to bed for another day of driving.

Because…

See you there!

 

Let the fall break adventures begin…

You got it—

Time for another Reed Family Camping trip!

Mom and Dad took the liberty of pulling us from school

(Why do we have Friday off, Monday and Tuesday on, 

and then the rest of the week off???)

So we hit the trail today after we all got off the bus.

We’re headed east,

Which means we’re passing through Columbia,

Which means we have to eat at Shakespeare’s.

Our overnight in St. Louis should not have even warranted a blog post…

But the night became rather eventful.

The battery appeared to be dead when Dad pulled in the driveway,

So we made a quick stop to buy a new one.

Everything worked great as we set up for the night.

But then, around 4am,

The carbon monoxide detector started going off—

Not because there was any CO,

But because there was no power to the camper.

Mom and Dad did a lot of trouble shooting

And eventually called the helpline for the camper rental company.

They tried a bunch of other things

And eventually concluded our converter—

The thing that changes AC to DC—

Was broken.

And it was 5am.

Nothing is open at 5am

And no technicians are awake at 5am.

So we had to bundle up without heat

And wait for morning.

Well, this isn’t starting out well,

But many of our trips start with bumps.

We’ll see what daylight brings.

The Obligatory Fall Sports picture

Our sports look a bit different,

But we still need a picture!

 

The final football season

I’ve had a good time playing tackle football 

for the Bisons the last 2 years.

I’ve found my footing as a safety

Had several good tackles

And learned a lot about teamwork

But I’m not sure I’m cut out for high school tackle football

And the pool is calling me.

I’m hanging up my jersey.

I think my football era is over.

 

The things we do for our Cousins

When Mom offered to take Cooper and Thea

To the movies to see the Paw Patrol movie, 

We didn’t know it was their FIRST movie theater trip ever.

We couldn’t not tag along for that big event!

They were SO excited

Candy, drinks and a large screen

With their favorite cartoon characters?

Cooper and Thea were silent for a full 90 minutes

This feels like the first of many Cousins Trip to the Movies

(But maybe we can see something other than Paw Patrol…)

Parents night out

They had so much fun last year,

They decided to hit Brew at the Zoo again.

Mike and Amber are good dates.

The aquarium is newly opened

With lots of animals to see

We’re a bit jealous they got to see it first—

But at least they seem to have a good time

Glow Wild was going on too

Lots of cool things to see

And clearly a lot of brews to be sampled

Pretty sure they had a good time—

There’s already discussion of next year

 

Fan club

We’re in it for the love of the game,

But the fans are a nice perk!

Mrs. Strickland came to my football game

The grandmas came to Jack’s meet

And Papa Kim, Grandma Phyllis and I 

Didn’t miss a single one of Weston’s home games

Because supporting our brothers is what we do.

Because birthdays need candles

It may be night 2 of cheesecake

But it’s night 1 of candles!

Plus, Dad deserves to be celebrated

More than just one day!

Making every moment count

It’s been forever since we were at the cabin

And we decided a quick 24 hour trip was needed.

We did a ton of 4-wheeling

And then took full advantage of the amazing weather 

For an end-of-the-road Happy Hour.

There was a lot of shenanigans

Fueled by a lot of snacks and sugar

Mom thought she’d grab a picture of me and Dad

But we got photobombed

There we go

We needed a group shot too

What a gorgeous evening!

We had to get back to the cabin—

We had a crab dinner to eat for Dad’s birthday!

And…cheesecake!

We were up bright and early Sunday—

Another beautiful day to live up.

We went hiking with Thea and Cooper

And pretend fishing

And lots of stick and rock throwing

A bit more 4-wheeling

And I think that’s all that will fit into this trip!

Until next time…

A Day for Dad

How do you celebrate the birthday 

Of the world’s greatest Dad?

Lots of decorations

Whisky

And cheesecake, a massage and dinner cooked by the fam

That should do the trick!