A bit late posting this, and no pictures, but here it goes. As some of you know I bailed out from ARV after just a few hours on site. I was leaving in the morning for the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, VA. It fits in this thread because I used the truck and the camper to avoid the $250+ per night hotel options... and stayed here for 1/10th the cost.
https://www.novaparks.com/parks/pohick-bay-regional-park
It was a campground with all the amenities and then some, but I had a nice site. It was located about 15 miles south of National Harbor, MD where the marathon packet pick up and expo were. I drove up there early on Saturday morning and was there for when the expo opened. After picking up my race packet I went back out to the parking lot and with it finally not raining, popped up the camper to relax and dry out the soft sides. Nice place to sit, eat lunch and people watch. The race has about 30,000 runners and they all at one time or another have to go through packet pick up so the traffic in and out was quite a scene. This highlighted one of the great things about the camper for me. On my little tundra it is easy to drive, park and get around in and to pop up and relax.
Went back to the campground that afternoon for some more rest and a quiet night. I was up early on Sunday morning for the race. I left the campground at about 0400 and headed back to National Harbor to catch the shuttle. This seemed like the easiest way to go. The race is super crowded, parking non existent and as much as I dislike relying on public transportation and other systems, this worked.
Race went great. Met up with a long time buddy a retired Marine about 15 years my junior. This is his 7th MCM and my 2nd. WE ran together for about 18 miles and had a great time. I finished just 6 minutes after him with my PR for the marathon distance. I am still slow as hell, but felt great about the race.
He and his wife and I went to their hotel, had a few beers and they drove me back to National Harbor. We went out and ate and said our goodbyes. I spent that night numbing the pain in my feet and reflecting on the race. On Monday it was pack up and roll out for home.
Lodging cost? $75 vs the $1000 I would have come close to spending at a hotel. One of the many benefits of having the camper.
Who's in for next year?
(low 50's) we had a perfect night of enjoying the quiet of our woods and then some game playing once inside the camper. We enjoyed salad from Ann's garden and a little reading, then hit the rack early. Joe was as happy as I have seen him when we got up this morning and got rolling to get him to school. Best of times.
