At the end of the 2017 camping season, we decided that we'd be giving up our seasonal and get back to exploring the area. A few things have changed for us recently and it was just the right time for us to start traveling again.
So, what are the plans? We haven't figured out all of our trips, but so far, we've got two planned. Yes, I know we should be planning further in advance. No, I don't really care. We're probably going to do one-two trips a month (depending on the month and when in that month we can travel) and we just don't have all of that figured out.
Shakedown (unplanned) trip: Candy Hill Campground
First planned trip: Gettysburg KOA
Second planned trip: James Island County Park Campground, Fort Wilderness, CreekFire Motor Coach Resort (with a stop between here & there going each direction - need to figure out where)
We really need to figure out the rest of the camping season. We've got a few other places we're considering, but nothing figured out yet. We're looking to go places that 1) we've heard good things about, 2) that get good ratings, 3) we've been meaning to go to, or 4) have never been.
Of course, all of this will be decided based on how much our deck & fence end up costing. Welcome back to home ownership!
Showing posts with label Coach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coach. Show all posts
Friday, February 9, 2018
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Sunset Beach, Cape Charles, VA, August 2017
Note: Sunset Beach Resort is now Chesapeake Bay KOA. I'll refer to it as Sunset Beach Resort since that's what it was when we went.
This trip started out with us planning a super last minute trip with our friends from RVFTA, Jeremy and Stephanie, and their kids. We were supposed to be at the Cape Hatteras KOA - but the whole no electricity to the island thing screwed that up. So, we ended up at Sunset Beach Resort for part of the week and then switched to Massey's Landing Resort (different trip report) for the rest of the week.
From our seasonal, the trip to Sunset Beach wasn't too hard. The worst part was getting out of the valley - like normal! We had to go over the Hampton Roads Bridge & Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnels. In order to go over/through, we had to stop at a station at the HRB to make sure the propane was turned off. Easy peasy.
The campground is just over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge & Tunnels. Easy to find & get to. Check in was pretty easy - park the rig & go inside. They had someone escort us to the site, which was nice. We really liked the site we had - close to the bathhouse (if we needed it), close-ish to the main building, and completely within walking distance to the beach, pool, and everything else down that way. The amenities this campground had were impressive - dog beach, regular beach, bar, restaurant, pool, etc.
We got set up & the RVFTA family got there not too long after. As they were getting set up, we took David (the dog) down to the beach. He's not a water pup, but he love a walk on a beach.
This trip started out with us planning a super last minute trip with our friends from RVFTA, Jeremy and Stephanie, and their kids. We were supposed to be at the Cape Hatteras KOA - but the whole no electricity to the island thing screwed that up. So, we ended up at Sunset Beach Resort for part of the week and then switched to Massey's Landing Resort (different trip report) for the rest of the week.
From our seasonal, the trip to Sunset Beach wasn't too hard. The worst part was getting out of the valley - like normal! We had to go over the Hampton Roads Bridge & Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnels. In order to go over/through, we had to stop at a station at the HRB to make sure the propane was turned off. Easy peasy.
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| David travels like this all of the time. Head under the seat. |
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| And Wendy travels in her crate - facing the rear of the coach. They're funny! |
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| Jon did great over the bridges & through the tunnels! |
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| Someone decided to pop his head out for a minute. |
We got set up & the RVFTA family got there not too long after. As they were getting set up, we took David (the dog) down to the beach. He's not a water pup, but he love a walk on a beach.
We made a simple dinner on the grill & then joined the RVFTA family down at the restaurant area for sunset. There's a reason they call this place Sunset Beach! There were dolphins playing around in the water during sunset. What a show nature put on!
During this trip, we visited Kiptopeke State Park, which we really enjoyed. They have a campground that looks like it'd be another great option for the area - especially if you can get the VA resident rate.
It started sprinkling a bit more than we really wanted to be outside for, so we headed back to the car & drove up to Cape Charles. We stopped by the visitor's center & toured the museum there. Then, we had lunch, ice cream, and walked around for a bit.
One of the other days, we went to the Eastern Shore of Virginia Wildlife Refuge since it was just across the highway. We also visited Chatham Vineyards with Stephanie, while Jeremy kept the boys busy. It was a nice little vineyard.
The last day, we hung around the campground for most of the day. We got to relax at the pool, on the beach, and just generally chill out. We also had a campfire with the RVFTA family. The "boys" (Jeremy & Jon) were playing with the rope lights and having fun experimenting with the lights and photography.
The next morning, it was time to pack up & move on to Massey's Landing. We can't wait to return to Sunset Beach/Chesapeake Bay KOA again!
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Road Trip to Iowa!
Have you ever taken a trip that you've questioned your sanity several times on the trip? Yea, that was us for this trip.
We were invited to a wedding in Iowa and we decided to go. Normally, we'd fly out, but we figured we have the Brave, we may as well use it. The only thing that complicated this was that we were heading to Alaska (by plane & cruise ship) a couple of weeks later. All of this just meant it had to be a quick trip - 2 days out, 2 days there, 2 days back. Whew! We decided to leave the pets at home (with their sitter) for this trip - it proved to be a wise decision.
We started out from our seasonal space in Luray around 6am. We had a long day ahead of us. There's not much to say about the drive - other than it was LONG. Jon did amazing through the mountains in MD. He put the cruise control on and let the engine do it's thing on the long, steeper downgrades. I made lunch in the rig as we were moving down the road & it was great to be able to eat and keep going.
We planned on stopping in Richmond, IN at the Richmond KOA. Honestly, we could've stopped a bit earlier, if we hadn't already had reservations. 10 hours moving time = 11 or more hours of real time once you take into account gas and potty breaks. The Richmond KOA was ok. Great place for an over night stop, but not somewhere we'd stay longer. It was a very small campground & we were staring straight into the rig parked in front of us (our windshields were facing each other). It also was a bit tight and nerve wracking when leaving the next morning. We were able to leave the car connected & get the rig stabilized, so that was a plus.
We got up and on the road by about 7am the next morning. We had a 7 hr (moving) day = 8+ hr in reality ahead of us. We found a Pilot Flying J with RV lanes and made a longer pit stop around 10am. We had them fill up our propane - which was one of the smartest things we did all weekend. We took the time to do it while we had time. I made lunch on the move again, which was great. We also stopped and got the rig washed at a Beacon Truck Wash once in Iowa.
We stayed at Sleepy Hollow Campground near Iowa City, IA in a town called Oxford. Since we were there for the wedding, we didn't really hang around the campground all that much. There seemed to be several seasonals at this campground as well. The campground was doing a "summer carnival" that weekend, so they had a few activities for the kids, which was pretty cool to see. Sleepy Hollow was a great jumping point for us to do everything we wanted to do that weekend.
The night we arrived, we headed to Corallville to join the bridal party & Jon's family (from TX) at the rehearsal dinner. We had already eaten, so we were there to visit with everyone. It was great to get caught up with Jon's aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was here that we learned we were the only extended family on the groom's side to attend - at all. We were really happy we made the effort after we heard that.
Saturday morning, we decided to head to the Amana Colonies to look around for a bit. It was definitely worth the trip & I wish we had time to visit more of the locations of the colonies than we were able to visit. Most of the buildings have been turned into shops, restaurants, or winery representation.
We headed back to the rig after lunch to get ready for the wedding, which was in Iowa City in the bride's childhood church. It was a beautiful ceremony & great reception.
Sunday, we had brunch with the bride, groom, and various attendees of the wedding. It was a great way to wish the couple well & to visit one last time with Jon's family.
We then headed to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and Presidential Library. We spent WAY more time there than we thought we would. The NPS Park Rangers were great to chat with. We've found many times that the smaller the NPS location, the better the chats with the rangers. Probably because they're the less visited & not as busy parks, so the rangers have more time to chat. We were happy to learn so much about Hoover during our few hours at the historical site.
Once we were done here, we headed back to the coach and laid around for a bit. We watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (which was just ok and not what we really expected at all based on the previews), and called it a night pretty early.
Monday morning came and we were woken up by thunderstorms around 5:30am. We were planning on getting up around then anyhow, but morning thunderstorms aren't exactly something we're used to! Jon was able to get out & unhook the rig and hook up the car between storms, so that was good. We got out of the campground around 7am and got on the road.
Now... I was SUPPOSED to drive for the first time on Monday morning. But, we were trying to keep thunderstorms in our rear view mirror and I wasn't thrilled with the idea of potentially being caught in one, so I let Jon drive. I know conditions will never be perfect, but there will be another time that will be better! Other than trying to out run storms & rain (which did eventually catch up a bit), the drive was uneventful.
We stopped at Buckeye Lake/Columbus East KOA, in Buckeye Lake, OH on the way back home. There are definitely seasonal sites here that the campground owners have let build semi-permanent structures, which we found to be interesting. We really liked this campground & wished we had more time in the area. We could definitely see ourselves visiting the area for longer than a night in the future. Our campsite was super level - which was great. Once again, we didn't disconnect & just leveled & put out the slides. Made the next morning super easy.
Tuesday morning, we pulled the slides in, pulled the jacks up, disconnected everything, and headed out. We had about 7.5 hrs to drive back to Luray and then another 1.5 hrs home, so it'd be another long day.
Once again, Jon did a wonderful job through the mountains/hills of OH, WV, Western MD, and VA. Coming into Cumberland, on a 13 mile 4-6% downgrade (yea... love that part of Western MD!), someone (MDOT) decided it'd be a good time to do bridge repair in the middle of the day. A bunch of trucks and us all counted our blessings that we were able to stop & there were no accidents (there was no warning of the construction). Other than a gas stop that went horribly (why are non-RV trucks using the RV lanes instead of going to the truck lanes and taking up valuable space for those of us that are?!), the trip home was uneventful.
When we got to Luray, we noticed yet another storm coming over the mountains. We hurried to get the car unhooked. Just as we got it unhooked & parked, the rain started coming. Jon got the Brave backed into our space and it started down pouring. We were parked just in the knick of time. Whew! We waited the storm out, got a couple of things connected & headed home to get our puppy & see the kitty.
What a whirlwind of a trip - but 100% worth it. One thing we learned, we will NOT be doing 2 days of long driving like that again any time soon!
We were invited to a wedding in Iowa and we decided to go. Normally, we'd fly out, but we figured we have the Brave, we may as well use it. The only thing that complicated this was that we were heading to Alaska (by plane & cruise ship) a couple of weeks later. All of this just meant it had to be a quick trip - 2 days out, 2 days there, 2 days back. Whew! We decided to leave the pets at home (with their sitter) for this trip - it proved to be a wise decision.
We started out from our seasonal space in Luray around 6am. We had a long day ahead of us. There's not much to say about the drive - other than it was LONG. Jon did amazing through the mountains in MD. He put the cruise control on and let the engine do it's thing on the long, steeper downgrades. I made lunch in the rig as we were moving down the road & it was great to be able to eat and keep going.
We planned on stopping in Richmond, IN at the Richmond KOA. Honestly, we could've stopped a bit earlier, if we hadn't already had reservations. 10 hours moving time = 11 or more hours of real time once you take into account gas and potty breaks. The Richmond KOA was ok. Great place for an over night stop, but not somewhere we'd stay longer. It was a very small campground & we were staring straight into the rig parked in front of us (our windshields were facing each other). It also was a bit tight and nerve wracking when leaving the next morning. We were able to leave the car connected & get the rig stabilized, so that was a plus.
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| Our premium site |
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| Mini Golf |
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| Registration Building/Store |
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| Dog Park |
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| Cabins |
We stayed at Sleepy Hollow Campground near Iowa City, IA in a town called Oxford. Since we were there for the wedding, we didn't really hang around the campground all that much. There seemed to be several seasonals at this campground as well. The campground was doing a "summer carnival" that weekend, so they had a few activities for the kids, which was pretty cool to see. Sleepy Hollow was a great jumping point for us to do everything we wanted to do that weekend.
The night we arrived, we headed to Corallville to join the bridal party & Jon's family (from TX) at the rehearsal dinner. We had already eaten, so we were there to visit with everyone. It was great to get caught up with Jon's aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was here that we learned we were the only extended family on the groom's side to attend - at all. We were really happy we made the effort after we heard that.
Saturday morning, we decided to head to the Amana Colonies to look around for a bit. It was definitely worth the trip & I wish we had time to visit more of the locations of the colonies than we were able to visit. Most of the buildings have been turned into shops, restaurants, or winery representation.
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| Look, a bit of home in IA! |
We headed back to the rig after lunch to get ready for the wedding, which was in Iowa City in the bride's childhood church. It was a beautiful ceremony & great reception.
Sunday, we had brunch with the bride, groom, and various attendees of the wedding. It was a great way to wish the couple well & to visit one last time with Jon's family.
We then headed to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and Presidential Library. We spent WAY more time there than we thought we would. The NPS Park Rangers were great to chat with. We've found many times that the smaller the NPS location, the better the chats with the rangers. Probably because they're the less visited & not as busy parks, so the rangers have more time to chat. We were happy to learn so much about Hoover during our few hours at the historical site.
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| Hoover House |
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| Hoover House Kitchen |
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| Hoover House Bedroom & Sewing Room |
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| Straight back, through the clearing in the trees, is Hoover's grave site. |
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| School House |
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| Church |
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| Inside of the Church |
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| Statue of the Goddess Isis. She is the goddess of fertility and patroness of nature and magic. |
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| Herbert Hoover Library |
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| President & Mrs. Hoover's grave sites |
Monday morning came and we were woken up by thunderstorms around 5:30am. We were planning on getting up around then anyhow, but morning thunderstorms aren't exactly something we're used to! Jon was able to get out & unhook the rig and hook up the car between storms, so that was good. We got out of the campground around 7am and got on the road.
Now... I was SUPPOSED to drive for the first time on Monday morning. But, we were trying to keep thunderstorms in our rear view mirror and I wasn't thrilled with the idea of potentially being caught in one, so I let Jon drive. I know conditions will never be perfect, but there will be another time that will be better! Other than trying to out run storms & rain (which did eventually catch up a bit), the drive was uneventful.
We stopped at Buckeye Lake/Columbus East KOA, in Buckeye Lake, OH on the way back home. There are definitely seasonal sites here that the campground owners have let build semi-permanent structures, which we found to be interesting. We really liked this campground & wished we had more time in the area. We could definitely see ourselves visiting the area for longer than a night in the future. Our campsite was super level - which was great. Once again, we didn't disconnect & just leveled & put out the slides. Made the next morning super easy.
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| Nice, level site |
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| The site next to ours. We were trying to figure out if this was the Work Kamper who was at this one. |
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| Dog Park |
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| At one of the rest stops in Western MD |
When we got to Luray, we noticed yet another storm coming over the mountains. We hurried to get the car unhooked. Just as we got it unhooked & parked, the rain started coming. Jon got the Brave backed into our space and it started down pouring. We were parked just in the knick of time. Whew! We waited the storm out, got a couple of things connected & headed home to get our puppy & see the kitty.
What a whirlwind of a trip - but 100% worth it. One thing we learned, we will NOT be doing 2 days of long driving like that again any time soon!
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