algonkian

instead of our usual foray into pohick bay to get a camping fix this fall, we opted for a more comfortable abode to get away from the city and back into nature. just about 15 minutes away from us flows the potomac river and just along it is algonkian park. it has a golf course and event facilities and a boat dock and a water park and mini golf, but we were more interested in the more secluded cabins with views of the water.

sharing a big cabin with another family can be lots of fun, and this experience certainly fit the bill. with five bedrooms, nearly everyone was satisfied with the sleeping arrangements. it was lovely to have comfortable-enough beds with linens provided, and indoor bathrooms were far more convenient than middle-of-the-night-trips-in-the-rain-to-the-closest-toilet-available. there was enough space for everyone to share it comfortably, whether in their rooms, in the generous living space, out on the deck, or in a hammock.

our friends love to play games - board games, card games, word games. their current favorite is wingspan, so we played that twice, but there was also apples to apples and a new game based on bowls of ramen. ander just liked hanging out at the table with us and played mario kart and helped me when it was my turn.

one of my favorite things about camping is the food and cooking it for other people. i tried a new soup mix which was quite delicious, especially when i added sausage and grilled zucchini to my serving! we had a full kitchen which i did use for some meals, but i also used the outdoor grill for hot dogs, hamburgers, bacon, and roasting sweet potatoes. yum! i pack more than i know we can eat because i like to offer a selection and want it to feel like abundance, rather than conservation.

colorful carrots for celebrating the oncoming autumn season

baby eggplants in there, too

we didn't have a firepit, but we still spent time outdoors, mostly on the deck overlooking the river, or me in my hammock. sometimes the quiet time reading or talking or gazing into the surroundings would be interspersed with the sounds of fish jumping in the water, the occasional fisherman or kayaker, or water birds like osprey and herons and egrets, or squirrels rustling above us in the trees and pelting us with black walnuts.

other close encounters with wildlife included deer and toads on the mini-golf course and on the walk back.

i don't know if we will come back here again, given the expense, but i know it was good that we came this time.

happy accidents: an exhibit of original bob ross paintings

the teen and i got tickets! we were lucky! and he said afterwards that it was so worth the drive there and back to get to see these paintings in person, so close that you could see the level of detail that the painter alluded to in his broadcasts. the happy little trees, happy little clouds, mountains, cabins, so much of the beauty of nature captured on canvas. gorgeous.