Summer 2016 - Delaware & New Jersey

Summer 2016 – Delaware & New Jersey

Saturday, June 18^th – Wednesday, June 22^nd

Camping at Lums Pond State Park

Photos link:

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The drive from Maryland to Delaware again took us through many agricultural farmlands. We never knew this part of the country had so many farms. We also drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Maryland to Delaware. Because of the shipping lanes, this bridge was very high for large ships to pass under, and the toll was $20 (WOW).

We arrived at Lums Pond State Park campground after a nice drive through Delaware. This State Park campground had just been remodeled with full hook-ups for RVs. Also the sites were very large and shady. There is a small lake with trails all around, plus many activities to enjoy. We were surprised to find that some of the trails in the park were for mountain biking. Nothing very advanced, but fun flowy trails. These trails were fun to ride and easy to access right from our campsite.

One day we drove to White Clay Creek State Park, which has highly rated mountain bike trails. We spent a couple of hours riding these forested trails, but then we had to leave as a thunderstorm was approaching. We did enjoy riding the trails and the challenges presented.

Another day we drove over to a small town, White Crystal Beach, on the Chesapeake Bay. The scenery was again very beautiful, with more farms. The little towns in this area were founded back in the colonial days, and very quaint with lots of history.

We also enjoyed simply relaxing at this nice park. After days of running around D.C., this was a nice place to chill. The dogs also enjoyed being outside more and soaking up the sun.

Camping at Turkey Swamp Park, New Jersey

Thursday, June 23rd – Monday, June 27th

The purpose of this stop in New Jersey was primarily to visit some longtime friends. Jay and Chrissie Patel have been friends since the guys worked together at the Space Center back in the early 90’s. They had relocated back to their home state of N.J. They now have two sons, Luke and Jake.

We camped at the closest campground to their home in Middletown, Turkey Swamp Park. Even though it was a 25 mile drive to their place, we went there every day to visit and hang out with them. It had been over 10 years since we had seen them. They have a lovely home with a gorgeous backyard and pool. It was so nice to see them again and get to know their sons. We mostly spent time at their home and with other friends. One evening we went to watch an equestrian event in which Chrissie was competing. She really enjoys riding horses and is continuing to learn more about riding competition. She rides with her sister-in-law who owns the horses.

On Sunday, we all drove over to Sea Bright Beach on the Jersey shore. Wow, the beaches up here are so different from S. Florida. First of all, there is admission to the beaches and then there is paid parking, and they are packed! The locals buy season passes that cover both fees. We met them and some other friends there to hang out and enjoy the ocean and sun. The boys were having so much fun in the water and we enjoyed conversation with everyone. After the beach we all went back to the Patel’s home for a cook out and swim in the pool.

While driving around in the area, we noticed the beautiful greenery and again many farms, mostly horse farms. This area reminds us of Ocala, Florida, with rolling hills, green pastures and very large horse farms. There were also many very large mansions, even in smaller communities. One town, Freehold Township near where we camped, amazed us with the large communities of huge homes, with rolling green yards. We were also told the Bruce Springsteen lives in this town. There’s definitely some big money here. Jay explained that many of these residents commute to NYC or other nearby large cities.  At least the drive was very scenic and we saw many parts of the Jersey countryside.

We truly have enjoyed our time here in N.J. and appreciate the surrounding communities. Our next destination is in Connecticut near the shore and close to Mystic CT. Our next challenge is to drive out and around NYC to try to avoid city traffic, tolls and forbidden bridges for RVs! Wish us luck.

Summer 2016 - Washington D.C.

Summer 2016 – Washington D.C.

Monday, June 13^th – Friday, June 17^th

Touring Washington D.C.

Photos link:

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Washington D.C. was on our bucket list, as Kurt had never visited there. We camped in College Park, MD at Cherry Hill RV Park. This is a very well run, large campground with amenities like I’ve never seen. We never really used the amenities (other than the laundry) as our main goal was to tour D.C.

For four days, we rode the Metro bus to the nearest Metro Rail station. Then we used buses and/or walking in D.C. to visit the places that we wanted to go. The first day we visited mostly the memorials and monuments: Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, World War II Memorial, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, and Union Station. The following days we visited Arlington National Cemetery, where we witnessed the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also saw two funeral processions, with horse draw caisson, military band and 21 gun salute; very moving. We also visited the Washington Memorial, toured the U.S. Capitol (where we learned more history of the building) and visited the National Archives, where we viewed the original U.S Constitution, Bill of Rights and other historical documents. We stood outside the fence of the White House, and also saw the President’s helicopter landing on the south lawn. I spent some time at the Museum of Natural History while Kurt spent more time at the Air & Space Museum. At the end of each day we were exhausted, but thankful of all the special places we visited. We truly enjoyed our visit to the Nation’s Capitol.

Our next stop is in Delaware and a newly remodeled campground at a state park.

Summer 2016 - New England Trip

Wednesday, June 1^st – Tuesday, June 7^th

Leaving Home To Full Time RV

Santos Campground, Ocala & Bay Quarter Shores, Virginia

Photos link:

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So we finally did it, our house sold and we were officially out of the house on May 27th. On June 1st we headed north towards New England. Our first stop was in the Ocala area at Santos Campground. We picked up our brand new mountain bikes in Ocala and then had three days of riding there to try them out. What an amazing difference the bikes with new technology makes. We both love our new bikes and we're going to really enjoy them when we get up to the mountains in New England.

Next we stopped by my sister's house in North Carolina for a short two-day visit to see the whole family, including the brand new grandbaby Archer.

From there we headed across the back roads of Virginia ending up at a Bay Quarter Shores on the Northern neck of Virginia, which is situated on the Potomac River. We camped at the campground in this community with some longtime friends, Chris and Bruce Harper.  We both used to work with her in Palm Beach Gardens. They had relocated to Charlottesville Virginia and invited us to meet them at this wonderful community. We spent 5 days there enjoying the river and the great people that were staying here.  We plan on meeting up to camp with them again in the future as Chris is getting ready to retire.

Our next stop is in College Park Maryland. We will base out of an RV park there and spend 5 days touring Washington DC.

Summer 2015 - Wekiwa Springs State Park, Apopka, FL

Thursday, August 13^th – Saturday, August 22^nd

Wekiwa Springs State Park – Apopka, FL & Santos Campground

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The trip south included an overnight stop at an Army Corps campground on Lake Seminole in southwest Georgia. We had planned to stay there three nights, but changed our plans. We decided to go on to Santos Campground (near Ocala), one of our favorite mountain biking venues. We were able to stay there two nights and enjoy mountain biking for two days, riding when it wasn’t raining. After that we headed to Wekiwa Springs S.P., north of Orlando. We enjoyed six days there, working in our activities when it wasn’t raining. The weather actually got nicer as the week went on. We spent some time kayaking the Wekiva River and Rock Springs Run, swimming in the springs, hiking the beautiful trails and also biking some of the trails. This is one of the nicest state parks in Florida. We’ve been a few times and enjoy it so much. We also visited a local bar, Wekiva Island, nearby on the Wekiva River, which we can drive to or paddle our kayaks right up to the dock. It’s also one of our favorite activities when staying at this state park.

From there we headed home… looking forward (not) to 2-3 days of unloading, cleaning, laundry and shopping to get back into our home routine. It will be nice to spend some time with our friends whom we haven’t seen in two months. Time to plan our next trip in October!

Summer 2015 - Westpoint Lake, LaGrange Georgia

Friday, August 7^th – Thursday, August 13^th

R. Shafer Heard Campground – Westpoint Lake, Georgia

Picasa picture link:
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Our path south now took us along the west side of Georgia. We had never traveled through this part of the state.  At the recommendation of friends, we stayed at this really nice Army Corps campground. The campground lies on several peninsulas around Westpoint Lake, near LaGrange, Georgia. We had reserved a specific site on the lake, so our rear picture window and front patio area looked out toward the water. We were able to place our kayaks right on the shore at our campsite. We allowed the dogs to roam off leash, as there were no other campers next to us. They loved swimming and playing in the lake.

During our six days there, we paddled around on the lake (particularly at sunset), rode the mountain bike trails and simply relaxed around camp. Kurt kayaked and fished the lake. This is one of the nicest Army Corps campgrounds that we have stayed at. This is on our go back list when traveling through this area.

We did enjoy the mountain bike trails. There were all skill levels, mostly intermediate, but with some difficult black trails. I really enjoyed the Lakeview Trail, which followed the lake shoreline, went back into the forest and offered some really nice flow areas along with some more technical challenges. The views of the lake were very nice. Kurt rode the black trails, and enjoyed some better than others.

We enjoyed our time here, but we continued our journey south towards Florida.

Summer 2015 - Ft. Mountain State Park, N.Georgia

Saturday, August 1^st – Thursday, August 6^th

Ft. Mountain State Park – N. Georgia

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We headed west through northern Georgia and the Chattahoochee National Forest along the mountain roads, finally reaching Ft. Mountain State Park after miles of uphill climbs. This park is part of the Cohutta Wilderness, way up on top of the mountain, and miles from any town. The park is heavily forested with a very nice campground. We found a spacious pull-through campsite that was completely shaded, with a view of the forest.

During our stay at this park, we hiked the amazing steep trails past cascading creeks, rock outcroppings and great views of the valleys below. The boys hiked with us up to the Overlook, where you could see for 80 miles; three states were within view, Alabama, Tennessee and N. Carolina. Also, at the top of the mountain, there are the rocky ruins of an ancient “stone wall”, which is steeped in legend.  Many archaeologists and historians have not been able to determine exactly what is was used for or who built the 855 foot wall around 500 A.D. Possibly ancient Native Americans, Welsh explorers during the 14^th century or possibly early Spanish explorers. It’s still a mystery. There is a hike up to a stone fire tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.  There were also mountain biking trails, which were as steep as the hiking trails. They were most difficult to ride, so I chose not to bike on the actual mountain bike trails. I did, however, bike the lake view trail, which was mostly flat, but wound around the lake and into the forest area. Kurt rode the main trail, which was mostly steep ups and downs. We were also warned that there were active black bears in the park. Kurt experienced this first-hand. On one hike he took the dogs, and at one point, Luca became agitated about something in the woods and started to head for it. Kurt called him back, then saw the black bear partially up a tree. He was able to get Luca back to him, but in the meantime, the bear charged toward him and the dogs. Kurt quickly picked up Luca, while Kody remained behind him when the bear came within 30 feet and growled. Kurt had an air horn that we use to scare bears and it worked, long enough for him to get to the bear spray. Fortunately, he didn’t have to use the spray as the bear then turned around and headed the opposite direction. After that we kept Luca on a leash while hiking. Other than the bear incident, we really enjoyed the beautiful trails.

The first day there, we met our camping neighbors. A young family from Clearwater, Florida with three beautiful kids. They were all very friendly and the kids were so cute. We quickly got to know them, as we visited each other’s sites frequently. Walker and Lindsay are the parents, with one son, Pickett, and two daughters, Makenna and Brynnan. The kids loved playing with our dogs and hanging out with us. Both Walker and Lindsay are teachers, and it was quite evident of their love for making everything a lesson. By the end of our stay, we promised to keep in touch and someday we will try to get together on a camping trip in Florida.

We truly enjoyed this park in the forested mountains of N. Georgia. Again, we are amazed that all these years we never ventured into these mountains, but always headed straight for the Smoky Mountains. They are all equally beautiful. We were reluctant to leave, but we needed to continue our trek southward toward Florida.

 

Summer 2015 - Bryson City, N. Carolina

Saturday, July 18^th – Friday, July 31^st

Bryson City, N. Carolina

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Bryson City is a place we have visited a few times. We’ve always loved this area, the Smoky Mountains and the small town atmosphere.  It’s been since 2004 that we were in Bryson City. Wow, have we noticed the changes! Apparently, last year TripAdvisor listed Bryson City as one of the top 10 mountain vacation spots. The downtown area has grown, more businesses and also more people visiting. I’m sure it’s good for the local economy, but it’s hard to find a parking place in town now. We’re glad our campground is east of town about 5 miles. We are staying at Country Girls RV Park, it’s not fancy (far from it), but the rates are cheap and our campsite backs up to the Tuckaseegee River. The campsite has a deck overlooking the river, and there are rapids right behind us. It is a great view!

My sister Cindy, drove over from central N.C. and visited for a couple of days. We enjoyed seeing her again, especially in the Smokey Mountains. She and Tommy had met us here back in 2004 and we enjoyed our time at the cabin and hiking.

We decided after about 5 days that we would stay here at this campground for two weeks, instead of going to Murphy, which we had planned. We just did a day trip to Murphy to look at some land. After looking at several pieces of property from Franklin to Sylva to Bryson to Murphy, we have made a decision to not purchase property up here yet. We still have at least three more lengthy trips to complete before we settle down in the mountains for the summers. So goes our motto, “Already Gone”.

Our friends, Sharon and Jim Wagner, came up to the mountains to visit us for the day. They live near the N. Carolina/S. Carolina border, so it was an easy drive. We had intended to go tubing on Deep Creek, but the weather was rainy. We spent the day just hanging out at camp, walking around in Bryson City, and then cooking a nice dinner in the evening. It was great seeing them again, it had been since 2012 that we visited them in S. Carolina.

During our stay here, we’ve been very active. Mountain biking at Tsali Trails, hiking the Appalachian Trail, hiking in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, kayaking in the Tuckaseegee River, tubing at Deep Creek and rafting in the Nantahala River Gorge. It’s been a lot of fun and the dogs have enjoyed their hikes and playing in the rivers and creeks. They also enjoy this campground, as the owners don’t really mind dogs running off leash.

Tomorrow we head south to Georgia!