Any Ideas? They don't know either |
Once
we get settled in to our campsite, we begin to relax
and realize the site really isn't too bad after all. It really
isn't barren, just no shade beside the pad. We are spoiled by the
lushness of Robert W. Craig Campground, the last one we stayed at.
There are no campsites across from us, the campsites are about twenty
five or thirty feet apart, and the road is a dead end. There is a
children's playground in the center of the loop at the end of road,
and a small parking lot for the seven or eight tenter's camp sites.
And the dogs next door are gone.
We go
through our morning ritual and head over to the Visitors Center to
see what we can learn about the area and its attractions. There are
quite a few local vendors set up in a conference room, and there is a
jar collecting e-mail addresses for a door prize drawing. We decide
they can't hurt us with any more spam than we already receive, and
drop in our entries.
While
milling around outside the Visitors Center, waiting for the
door-prize drawing, we meet Terri and her husband Scott, who are
camping at the Ridge Campground with their three delightful kids.
They are camping with Mom and Dad as well, who have an adjacent
campsite. They are from the area and Terri soon fills my note pad
with information about what to see and do. Again, there is no better
source of information anywhere than local residents who also love to
camp, hike, or kayak. Terri recommends several places that turn out just great.
Several
of the drawing prizes are tickets for a cruise on the Princess, a
double-decker tour boat that does an hour and a half cruise of
Raystown Lake. Terri and her family win several tickets, and when
she wins yet another set of tickets in the drawing, she graciously
gives them to us. You do meet some nice people on the road, one of
the really nice benefits of RVing.
We
arrive back at the marina at 12:30pm to get a good seat on the top
deck of the Princess. We walk around the top deck, looking for seats
in the shade but don't see Terri and her family. They arrive just
before the double-deck cruise boat shoves off, but stay on the main
deck below.
There are a couple of U.S. Air Force veterans chatting
on the side of the deck in the shade. They are easy to spot with their black baseball caps that proudly proclaim “Air Force.” We end
up sitting with one of them, John, a former C-124 Globemaster driver,
and his wife who are celebrating their 47th anniversary.
We chat idly and trade war stories as we leisurely tour the scenic
lake, everyone just enjoying the great weather and being on the
water.
When
I get up to go to the bow to take a photo, a fellow about my age wanders up and takes my seat.
As we
slowly disembark down the stairs, Ilse smiles and reminds me this is
the second time this year we have sailed on a Princess. We went with
Bernd and Agnes, friends of ours from Germany, on the Crown Princess
for a seven day Caribbean cruise in February. I can't help but
smile. Both cruise were enjoyable and memorable, each in its own
way.
NEXT: Local info, or how we found nearby Trough Creek State Park, at:
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