Our Wander Years

STN Hop 6: College Park MD to East Stroudsburg PA

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Sparky

225 miles on I-95, I-695 (around Baltimore), I-83, US 30, US 222, PA 33 and US 209. Cumulative distance: 1,364 miles.

STN Hop 6

This was, in some respects, the most difficult hop on the STN. It started with I-95 between DC and Baltimore, then a stretch on the I-695 beltway around Baltimore – both of which were quite busy despite being midday. That was followed by 30 minutes on I-83, then 25 miles on US 30 through “Pennsylvania Dutch” county, about 40 miles on US 222, about 20 miles each on US 22 and PA 33, then short stretches on I-80 and US 209 and, finally, two very tight, curvy miles on a local road. Lots of turns, a fair amount of traffic. And, as we approached our I-80 exit, warnings about commercial traffic being prohibited on US 209 “north of Bushkill”. We were staying south of Bushkill but intended to take US 209 north. Would this be a problem? Something to worry about.

We also had competition between Google and the GPS for the best route from I-80 to the campground. Google wanted us to take exit 310 which was, arguably, a bit shorter, while the GPS opted for exit 309. The map directions seemed complicated (7 turns) so we trusted the GPS (which isn’t always a good idea). In this case we made the right choice as we found out later that the route from exit 310 was blocked by construction and we would have been routed back to 309 anyway. As we were pretty close to our range limit, this would have stressed us out even more.

Our hilltop premium site

Our home for the evening was the Delaware Water Gap/Pocono KOA. This was our first KOA stop since KOA confiscated our deposit when we had to alter out plans on the way to Florida, which ticked me off. But KOA campgrounds are generally pretty nice and this one was very conveniently located, so I swallowed my pride and booked it.

I am glad I did. Even though it was very early in the season and many of the facilities were not open, this clearly would be a very interesting and active campground in the summer. It has some wonderful recreational facilities, nice vistas and friendly, helpful staff (who reassured me that the US 209 restrictions would not be a problem for me). Close to the Delaware Water Gap recreational area, this would be a good place for outdoor-oriented families. This would also be a good spot for birdwatchers as the place was populated by woodpeckers and other fairly exotic species, including bluebirds. I don’t recall ever seeing a bluebird in the wild before.

Overlooking over the KOA campground

Our premium campsite (which was a free upgrade due to construction near the office) was on a hill which was a hard pull, but we got there. Our neighbor was a couple with another 2015 Bighorn 3875FB, but one which had been customized a bit (e.g., an outdoor TV and a select-a-number mattress). He was having an issue with his leveling system, so we spent some time talking about the problems we have each had. But we both agreed that, despite the problems, it is a great model for full-timers.

One of the facilities at the KOA was a “mining” operation, similar to the one we saw at Cherry Hill, but even more elaborate. I guess this feature was not as unique as I thought. However, the KOA did have a facility which is, in my travels, unique: a Ga-Ga arena. I learned that Ga-Ga is a variant of dodgeball, played in a small walled arena. It sounds interesting; I would like to see it played sometime and, perhaps, join in.

Our overflowing water tank problem continued. I have taken to shutting the water off at night and using only the (unintentionally full) fresh water tank. This has the downside of having the water pump activate every time we turn the water on – an annoyance – but has the advantage of shedding some of that water weight before we get on the road again. We will have to get this problem fixed at some point, but it can wait for VT.

We also continued to have a coolant leak on the truck. This is a bit more urgent than the fresh water RV problem, but has not yet resulted in overheating. I fill the radiator every morning and monitor the engine temperature as we travel. This might have to be looked at in MA.

There is always something that needs to be fixed on our rig. Just like having a house.

Mining facility

Ga-Ga arena

Categories: PA, Places, Routes, RV Living, RV Parks, STN | Leave a comment

STN Hop 5: Emporia VA to College Park MD

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Sparky

190 miles on I-95 and I-495 (around Washington). Cumulative distance: 1,134 miles.

STN Hop 5

If you want to take your RV rig out for a leisurely drive, I-95 near Washington – and I-495 (the “Beltway”) around Washington – is NOT the place to do it. These roads are always crowded and the drivers are always crazy. Just getting to any destination in the DC area is, in my book, a major accomplishment.

Our destination this time was Cherry Hill Park in College Park, MD. This was a major deviation from our original plan which had us staying 4 nights at Pohick Bay Regional Park, the park nearest Jett’s sons’ home in Alexandria and one of our favorite parks in the US. But there were two problems this time: (1) the park was unexpectedly heavily booked (a situation which we still find hard to believe as we have never seen the park more than 20% occupied in April), so we could get only a water-and-electric site and (2) we preferred to travel farther north, to avoid the need to refill the truck’s tank on Hop 6. Plus I had heard good things about Cherry Hill Park, so we decided to give it a try.

We are glad we did. I don’t know which park was #10 on our Ten Best Campgrounds list, but it just dropped off. Cherry Hill Park is reminiscent of Normandy Farms, in Foxboro, MA, in that it is spectacular. With a price to match. But for two nights we were very happy to pay the $65 rate. Jett did complain that I didn’t fork over the extra $10 that would have gotten us a “premium” pull-through which offers more private patio space – with wrought iron furniture – than the standard site with just a lowly picnic table. But I just didn’t see the need for lawn furniture. We didn’t even use the stinkin’ picnic table.

The inimitable Zachary

This was the only 2-night stay on our revised itinerary to MA. It was a welcome break after four straight one-night stands. Jett’s boys helped us out further by coming to visit us rather than having us come down to them – a saving of nearly 2 additional travel hours in the truck. And they brought Zachary, our seriously cute 5-year-old grandson, so we got some quality grandparent time.

He enjoyed his time with us as well. And why not? Not only are we fun grandparents but we were staying at an RV park that is a veritable playhouse for youngsters. The playground is large, with some interesting (unique?) pieces of equipment. There are two swimming pools – a heated one and an unheated one with a waterfall. A splash pool, a beautiful mini-golf course and – another unique (or so we thought) attraction – a goldminer’s panning stream. No, you don’t actually pan for gold but you can find gemstones and fossils in bags of sand sold at the café. Oh – the café has an arcade and ice cream, too. And a tractor-drawn cart that serves as a free shuttle around the park. And… just about anything your little upscale camping heart could desire.

Playground

Mini-golf

To top it all off, Cherry Hill has the absolute best laundry room that we have seen at any park, anywhere. Jett said, after seeing the laundry, “I don’t want to leave.” Funny what grabs her attention.

Splash pool

Campground shuttle

Air supply

The park also has free air – a place to inflate your tires – if needed. Not a big deal I suppose, but something that I have never seen at any other park. As for the dogs, there is no “dog park” but there are some very large, grassy areas designated for “dog run”. These were more than adequate for the dogs’ purposes. They also had a few cement turtles scattered around the park. I am not sure of their intended purpose, but Rusty saw them as fireplug substitutes.

Rusty using the turtle

Ready to go

Dripping water

We did encounter one… um… interesting problem during our stay at Cherry Hill Park: we had water dripping from a spigot located behind the left rear wheel. I had seen this once before, for just one day, about 6 months previously. But this drip was continuous, for two days, unless we turned the water supply off. This didn’t mean we were without water; it just meant we had to use the water from the fresh water tank. Not a real problem; just a bit annoying. But the presence of the drip indicated some kind of problem. The question, of course, was did it indicate a serious problem.

I subsequently learned that this spigot was the “fresh water overflow,” so the problem was that the fresh water tank was filling to overflowing. But I didn’t have the fresh water inflow valve on, so no water should be flowing in at all. I guess it is some kind of valve problem but not a particularly serious one. We will have to add it to the list of warranty items to be looked at. Which is, in itself, a problem. Our 1-year manufacturer’s warranty expires in a month, then our Camping World extended warranty kicks in. I can just see Camping World saying “You should have had this fixed under the manufacturer’s warranty.” Warranty wars. Oh, fun.

Anyway, despite the minor issues, we really enjoyed our two days at Cherry Hill Park. Highly recommended.

Jett by the waterfall pool

Categories: MD, Places, Routes, RV Parks, STN | Leave a comment

STN Hop 4: Hamer SC to Emporia VA

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Sparky

202 miles, almost entirely on I-95. Cumulative distance: 932 miles.

STN Hop 4

The trip itself is hardly worth noting – 200 solid miles of interstate travel. Uneventful. Boring. Efficient. We didn’t stop until we arrived at our destination: Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park at Emporia, VA.

I had avoided Jellystone Parks in the past because… well, because it is called “Jellystone Park.” I felt that my maturity demanded something less juvenile. But I also avoided Carnival Cruise Lines for years because I had heard they were “party ships,” only to discover that I loved them. Maybe I am just a party guy. Maybe I would love Jellystone Park.

Jellystone derelicts and us

Nope. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it, either. This particular one seemed a bit worn around the (fur) collar. Some sites were being used to store old and possibly derelict trailers. In all, perhaps 10 of the 50 or so sites were occupied. Most of the “attractions” – such as the pool and the bouncy house – were closed. The playground was open, but it wasn’t much of a playground. If I had been traveling with a young ‘un I wouldn’t have seen any reason to pick Jellystone Park over any other (presumably better named) RV park.

And then there were the trains. Loud enough to wake me out of a sound sleep. I was reminded of the early morning train scenes from My Cousin Vinny. If you know the movie, you know what I am talking about. If you haven’t seen the movie, shame on you. Rent it!

Cable TV was an extra $2. But worth it. Turn up the TV to 110 decibels and you won’t hear the trains.

Categories: Places, Routes, RV Parks, STN, VA | Leave a comment

STN Hop 3: Savannah GA to Hamer SC (South of the Border)

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Sparky

225 miles, on I-516, GA 21 and I-95, with 10 extra miles due to my screwup. Cumulative distance: 714 miles.

STN Hop 3

This was supposed to be easy. But I misread the map and took a wrong turn onto I-516 in Savannah and ended up on the local streets. Some 10 miles and almost 30 minutes later I was back on track, heading north on I-95. The screwup did nothing to help Jett’s sensitive stomach as she HATES hauling the RV through busy local roads (and I can’t say I am much of a fan of that, either), but she eventually calmed down. We took one short rest area break about 2 hours into the trip. Other than the early screwup, it was an uneventful trip in bright sunshine and comfortable temperatures (about 70 all the way).

But we cut it close on the tank range: the “low fuel” warning came on just a quarter of a mile short of our destination.

Sombrero Tower

Which was South of the Border. For those of you who have traveled the I-95 corridor – or those of you who, like me, traveled to Florida before I-95 existed – you will know the place of which I speak. Nowadays, even if you don’t stop there, you can’t be unaware of its presence as the billboards begin about 120 miles away and increase in frequency and size as you approach. Like Wall Drug in South Dakota, you are drawn to it, just out of curiosity. What in the blazes could justify such hype?

Well, hype isn’t needed for places that are truly interesting. I don’t think there is a single billboard for the Grand Canyon. South of the Border needs hype. It is a “tourist trap” of the first order. In its heyday – which is now so far in the past that you can’t see it with a telescope – was a glitzy extravaganza of pure kitsch. It was a go-to place for trinkets and souvenir junk of all kinds. Fireworks. Climb the Sombrero Tower. Eat and get gas. One-stop shopping for those who just needed to stop.

But Jett’s first comment when she saw the huge, sprawling complex from the I-95 exit: “It looks deserted.” And indeed it did. The kiddie carnival area had about 3 people there – on a nice Saturday afternoon. The shopping area had a handful of cars. There seemed to be no one at the restaurant. Overall… sad and dying. A fading monument to pre-Interstate travel.

But there is an RV park at South of the Border, which is a popular overnight RV stop for snowbirds. Which is why we stopped there. It isn’t a great RV park, but it is inexpensive (about $33) and decent. We enjoyed our one night – and the $1.86/gal diesel price at the SOB truck stop.

The SOB sign and beach shop

Our rig at SOB

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STN Hop 2: Citra FL to Savannah GA

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Sparky

STN Hop 2

224 miles on US 301, I-10, I-295 (around Jacksonville) and I-95. Cumulative miles: 475.

Spectacular cypress

The weather was less than ideal – intermittent showers the entire 4-hour trip – and much of the trip was on I-95, which we have traveled several times already. So the interesting part of the trip was the 67 miles on US 301. This is a decent 4-lane road with very few lights or stops. It passes through Starke, home to Florida’s very active death row (though the prison itself was not in sight) and traffic was heavy there. But it was Florida, so it was flat and green. Pretty boring.

Our destination for the evening was Red Gate Farms, an “event venue” and, incidentally, an RV park. It is… strange. The RV “park” is pretty much just an open field with water and electric connections scattered about. There are probably fewer than 40 sites in all. Our water-and-electric site was “clubhouse right” – i.e., the site to the right of the clubhouse. Some of the facilities – like a decrepit stage – were awful. But the clubhouse was nice and the grounds, with a scenic lake and a stunningly awesome cypress, were very nice. And it was very close to downtown Savannah which, if we had adhered to our original plan to spend three nights here, would have been very convenient. I also appreciated having a gas station very close by which had diesel for $1.99 per gallon (regular was $2.03).

Scenic but risky lake

I walked the dogs down to the lake and saw a sign warning of snakes and alligators. But a more immediate danger was the gaggle of geese on the shore. They did not like the dogs and appeared to be ready to defend their turf. We decided to let them be. But we coulda took ’em.

On to South of the Border today for a true kitsch experience.

Our rig (in the background)

The full-hookup row

Categories: FL, GA, Places, Routes, RV Parks, STN | Leave a comment

STN Hop 1: North Ft Myers FL to Citra FL

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Sparky

STN Hop 1

230 miles, mostly on I-75.

Last dog park walk

I gave the dogs one last walk to the dog park, then, after waiting for our neighbor to pull out first, we were on our way. It was 11am – about an hour later than we planned – and we paid for our tardiness in Citra by getting caught in a downpour while setting up.

About 210 of the 230 miles were on I-75 and about half of those were construction zone. The scenery consisted of orange barrels. Lanes were dropped or narrowed over long stretches. If it had been the weekend – or even Friday, I think – it would have been very unpleasant. But midday Thursday wasn’t too bad. Even Tampa, which is seemingly always backed up, flowed pretty well.

We stopped once. We didn’t really need a break after just 2 hours, but we had some difficulty in entering our destination into the GPS. I guess the “NW 45th Ave St” (sic) made as much sense to the GPS as it did to us. Entering the name of the campground (Grand Lake) made the GPS happy and got us underway again.

The hop, with GPS stop, took just a few minutes under 4 hours.

Ready to leave Seminole

Our home for the evening, as previously mentioned, was the Grand Lake Golf and RV Resort in Citra, FL. This is a very large (estimate: 500 sites) RV park with many park models and long-term residents. But no trashy long-term residents. All the RV units were newer and in good repair. But many sites had landscape improvements and quite a few had permanent steps and/or wooden decks. I think sites could be owned as the reception desk was labeled “Sales Office”.

The weather was terrible – a downpour while setting up and brisk winds that prevented us from deploying the awning. We also had a tree in close proximity that brushed against the RV, which affected the quality of our sleep. But despite these negatives, I thought the place was very nice. Having a golf course on site was a plus, but there was also a very nice rec hall, a laundry with new machines, a very large dog park and a restaurant, right on the shores of Orange Lake with a lakeside patio (which would have been great had the weather been better), that served surprisingly good food. Their fried green tomatoes were tangy and crisp – just the way we like them. I had a shrimp basket that was very tasty and filling. I didn’t really need dessert but had to try the “peanut pie.” It was like a slice of peanut butter cheesecake. A bit disappointing in that it didn’t have chunks of peanuts, but good enough to finish.

The park also has cable TV – 44 channels. Most of them were either news or sports, so the number of entertainment choices wasn’t a big improvement over our 8 over-the-air channels at Seminole. But it was a relief to not have to deal with a weak signal.

After the downpour

Grand Lake street

Grand Lake patio

Grand Lake restaurant and tree

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The best laid schemes…

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Sparky

… o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley (Robert Burns, “To a Mouse”).

After carefully working out all of the details of the STN (second trip north), as previously reported, Jett was notified today that her brother has decided to forgo further chemotherapy and is now in hospice with a projected lifespan of no more than two weeks. Rather than taking a leisurely trip north we are going to strap on the afterburners and hastily head to Massachusetts tomorrow morning. The trip will still be 7 hops, but they will all be one-night stops, with the exception of the Maryland (formerly Virginia) stop which will be two nights, to give Jett an opportunity to get a few much-needed hugs from her sons and grandson.

The three days we squeeze out of the trip north will be added onto our MA stay, giving us a full week there. Obviously we will be visiting with her brother immediately upon arrival. And hopefully a few more times after that.

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Ft Myers dog parks

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Sparky

Seminole dog park

Dogs love parks, especially parks that cater to canines. What is not to love? Lots of smells to sniff, lots of pups to play with, complete off-the-leash freedom. The campground has a very nice dog park, with two enclosures, fresh water and an occasional tortoise to break the monotony if no other dogs are around. It is their favorite destination within the park.

And it is a good destination for me, as well. With the morning sun hitting the trees, it is a great wake-up spot.

For all these reasons – and the fact that it is a short walk from our campsite – we hit this dog park nearly every day.

But there are other dog parks in the Ft Myers area and we checked out two of them this season.

Seminole dog buddies

Morning dog park sun

First, we found the Judd Community Park dog park in North Fort Myers. This is a fairly small dog park which wasn’t much better than the Seminole dog park. But it did have a large contingent of other pooches, which Grace loved and which made Rusty nervous. We didn’t stay long and we didn’t go back.

Judd Community Park

Then, just a week ago, we drove 10 miles to the Barkingham Dog Park, in the Buckingham Park. This park was more interesting but was still somewhat less that I expected. I had heard that dogs could swim there, so I thought it might be similar to the incredible dog park at James Island in Charleston. But it turns out that the only swimming was in a pond adjacent to the enclosure which was posted with “Caution – Alligators” signs. Letting the dogs swim there struck me as being unacceptably risky. I did let Grace wade in – on the leash – and, of course, she immediately flopped down in the mud. That dog loves the water.

We haven’t returned to Barkingham, either, but we may. It is a very nice dog park.

We will keep our eyes open for more dog parks, but these are the only two public ones that I know of within 10 miles of the RV park.

Barkingham

The pond near the dog park

Grace taking a dip

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A season of puzzles

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Sparky

Tootsie Roll toughie

You can’t say that I wasn’t productive this winter. Softball, golf, dog walking… and jigsaw puzzles. My good buddy Dale and I completed a bunch of them. There were a few 300- and 500-piece puzzles, but most were big, difficult 1000-piecers. The toughest one was the one headlining this post – a jumble of Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Pops, Dots and Junior Mints. Not only was it difficult but it also made me very hungry.

Another toughie was the one just completed – a painting of what seems to be a Venice canal. This one was tough because it was, when broken into 1,000 pieces, just splotches of color. Dale said he would burn it.

Venice menace

The 300- and 500-piece puzzles:

Winter scene

Village

Dogs

Cottage

Bears

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The Plan for the Second Trip North (STN)

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Sparky

STN plan – FL to MA

Our winter season in Florida is drawing to a close and we are beginning the preparations for hauling the fifth wheel, the dogs and ourselves north for what we hope will be an interesting and productive summer in Vermont. We have already done the “wellness checks” on the vehicles, have tested the hydraulics on the RV and the umbilical linkage between the truck and the RV and have adjusted tire pressures. I have planned a route, have booked campsites along the way and have checked the route for low bridges. We are pretty much ready to go.

This is going to be a relatively quick trip – 14 days. We need to be in Vermont by April 30 and are planning on an April 28 arrival, just to give us a day to settle in. Total distance traveled: 1,748 miles in 8 hops (it would be shorter if we wanted to skirt NYC, but we have learned to give it a wide berth). Highlights will include a full weekend in Savannah, GA, an overnight at South of the Border (a guilty pleasure), 4 nights with family in VA and 3 nights at a campground in MA that we remember fondly from a tenting trip many years ago. The hop from MA to VT will also be interesting as much of it will be on local New England roads (always an adventure) and goes through areas that we have not visited before. And when we get there we can add a 32nd state to our map.

The weather could also be interesting. It will probably be near 90 degrees when we leave FL and there will likely still be snow in the mountains when we reach VT. I hope that there won’t be many freezing nights as dealing with frozen water lines is never fun.

STN plan – MA to VT

As this map shows, we have several choices of routes to VT. We will probably take the one shown in blue, but I need to thoroughly review all the routes for low bridges (which I have done once, but checking twice is necessary) and possible fuel stops, should the tank run dry earlier than expected.

Now that the park is emptying (and softball season is over), I am getting anxious to get on the road. And on to our new careers as “workampers”.

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