It’s been a long week. The weekend is upon us. Although it’s mostly cloudy, it’s a beautiful day out with warm weather. After finding my keys buried in the couch, Teddy and I hopped into the cheese and ran off to the park. Our first stop, like always, was to our local park, Gertrude Miller Community Park.

It’s fun being in such a tiny car. We were able to maneuver into a small area that isn’t wide enough for most cars to park. It was also at a convenient spot where we had enough area to do a U-turn and be on our way.

Teddy will often find his way to the Happy Creek river that runs in between Lions Park and Gertrude Miller Community Park. I let him wade around in a low spot and watch him drink some of the water to help keep him cool.

On the other side of Happy Creek river, there is a little observation deck that he likes to hop up on as well.

We walked around Lions Park, sat in the shade, and then walked past Fantasy Land playground on the way back to the car. Just looking at the castle made me want to be a kid again.

As noon approached, it was time to cool down with a nice cup of ice cream. We drove over to the Front Royal town square. Our favorite ice cream man at C & C Frozen Treats across the street was happy as always to see us visit his establishment for “essential supplies”. I purchased a quart of Diary Free Blueberry Cheesecake to bring home, and Teddy got a scoop for himself.

Teddy and I went back over to the town square to find some shade and to do a few tricks. He’ll do anything for a treat, and ice cream is one of his favorites.

Sit	Down	Head Down
Nudge	Scratch	Paws Up
Off	Play Dead	Roll Over
Back	Come	Leave It
Wait	Balance	Speak
Left	Right	Touch

Afterwards we walked around the town square a little bit. The Front Royal visitors center is an old train station, and a Norfolk & Western Cupola Caboose sets in the park. It’s locked off, so you can’t go inside. Usually kids like to play around it, climbing the steps and pretending to ride. It’s been inoperable for a long time, and grass has grown up over the tracks.

One of the main attractions in the park is the town center gazebo. Many bands have sat within the gazebo performing for the local community.

The center of the gazebo has a plaque with an inscription about a time capsule buried beneath. Who knows what treasures it contains?

We found a new mural on the side of one of the buildings. I decided it was time to continue our adventure and have a closer look.

This mural lets you become a part of it. If someone takes your picture standing in front of the wings, you can see what you look like with wings. It’s always a treasure to find these murals around Front Royal. One day we’ll find them all. This one also had bee’s flying around.

As we took a walk down main street, Teddy and I found an interesting little pet friendly shop called “Inklings“. It used to be occupied by an art gallery. We went inside to have a look around. The woman inside offered Teddy a treat. I had him do a little performance for her. I grabbed a bar of soap to remove elbow grease with Rosie the Riveter saying “We Can Wash It!”. In addition, a cup with Lewis Carol on it and quotes from Alice In Wonderland caught my eye.

Main street was closed to traffic so that establishments could use the area to help keep people spread apart. We crossed over and headed towards a hiking store called Mountain Trails. The Appalachia Trail runs through our little city, and many hikers and locals stop by for supplies. A mural of the Appalachia Trail is painted on the side of the building next to its entrance.

The staff were already familiar with Teddy. We hadn’t been there in such a long time, and they were asking to see him do a few tricks. I mentioned he wasn’t going to do them without a reward. A woman offered a treat, but he would only sit. He wouldn’t do the trick to play dead when she asked. I asked for one of the treats and had him doing a bunch of tricks to everyone’s admiration.

Since I had lost quite a bit of weight, I picked up a lightweight Charcoal El Mono T-Shirt by the Howler Brothers. It has a better fit and is ideal for the late summer heat. They threw in a free coffee flavored cliff bar with my purchase.

Time was moving fast. Even though we parked in the shade, I felt that our ice cream back in the car was going to melt if we took too long. We returned home and I got to unpack all of my loot for the day.

View a map of Front Royal, Virginia

Waypoint	Odometer	Distance
Home	1,069.3
Gertrude E Miller Community Park	1,072.2	2.9
Front Royal Town Square	1,073.3	1.1
Home	1,077.0	3.7
Total		7.7

Recharge	Energy	Cost
Rate	kWh	$0.0985
Total	2.37 kWh	24.1¢
Per Mile	308 Wh	3.1¢