This weekend, while camping at Loyd Park, we decided to take advantage of a window of opportunity and revisit our plan from last year to take a long trip to Shenandoah National Park and Washington, D.C. In May 2022, with inflation soaring and gas prices at historic highs, we couldn’t justify spending so much money on a lengthy road trip. But with high prices here to stay, and with some availability around Labor Day, we decided to bite the bullet and head east.

Because we’ll be visiting our nation’s capital over a holiday weekend, we had to contend with full campgrounds and three-night minimum stays, but we finally got everything booked. Our original plan to make the 20-hour trip in two days seemed a bit ambitious, so we adjusted our itinerary. Instead, we’ll travel from Dallas to Memphis for an overnight stay at the KOA Journey, then we’ll head to Creekside RV Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for our second overnight. From there, we’ll travel to Cherry Hill RV Park, just outside of Washington. That gives us about 72 hours to explore the monuments, museums, and memorials in and around the capital.

Unfortunately, the White House is only open for public tours on Fridays and Saturdays, so we’ve set our sights on the Capitol, Supreme Court, and National Archives instead. We’re also planning to visit the Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, and MLK memorials, as well as the WW2, Korean, and Vietnam Veterans memorials. And no trip to DC would be complete without a visit to at least some part of the Smithsonian, so we’re hoping to see the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

We admit, it’s a lot to take in over a short span of time, but we visited the Mighty 5 in five days, so we’re feeling confident.

Our weekend at Loyd Park also found us pursuing our regular passions: engaging in conversation around the campfire, snuggling with our doggies, imbibing signature cocktails, enjoying al fresco brunches and dinners under the pavilion, reading The New York Times, taking long walks, and making new discoveries on ancestry.com.

Why must weekends be so short?