Homeward Bound

Posted on April 8, 2024 by womanwifemotherchild

We left home in mid-March, and you can read about the first part of our trip by clicking here and here. As we approached the last full week of March, we turned our van around and headed north.

Before we left Florida, we found ourselves in St. Augustine again. The first time through we climbed the lighthouse steps and visited the rookery at the Alligator Farm. This time we drove to the historic downtown.

First stop, Castillo de San Marcos. We took the free version of the tour. In other words, we walked around the grounds outside.

Next stop, the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche. What beautiful grounds, church, and chapel. And what a great image of Mary as a nursing mother!

In the afternoon, we drove over the distinctly beautiful Dames Point Bridge in Jacksonville, before entering Georgia.

In Georgia, we found an interesting community park in Richmond Hill for a walk/run. At J. F. Gregory Park we discovered sprawling grassy fields, a large pavilion hosting an artisan fair with live music, and miles of biking and walking trails. My camera battery ran out of juice, so I wasn’t able to take pictures of any of the birds I saw along the way, but that gave me a chance to just walk and enjoy.

We stopped in Savannah around suppertime, ate at a small, very average burger place, walked around a little and then left. The next day was basically a driving day from the campground in Yamassee, South Carolina, to the another in Lumberton, North Carolina. We broke up the drive with stops at Buc-cee’s and South of the Border in South Carolina. And I actually ran into a friend from home in the middle of the restroom line at Buc-cee’s! I think if we’d planned to purposely meet there we’d never have found each other in the crowded chaos of that popular rest stop. So weird!

At the Lumberton KOA, there was a nice 1.3-mile nature trail beside the campground that made for a peaceful walk after supper. And a great place for a walk/run in the morning.

By this time, we were thinking more about home than about having any other adventures. But a quick Google search of interesting stops along I95 listed a whirligig park in Wilson, North Carolina, that sounded intriguing. So we drove to Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park for a peek. Unfortunately, the nearby whirligig museum and store was closed for the day. But, fortunately, we discovered a great little brewery across the way.

From North Carolina, we headed to The Veil Brewing Company in Richmond, Virginia, one of Mark’s favorite breweries. We found that they’d moved to a new location and offered food from their Noko Ribi kitchen. I left Mark to enjoy the food and drink while I made my own dinner in the van, parked down the street and around the corner.

We stayed in Richmond that night and left early the next morning in search of a place to walk/run. It was the morning after the Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore and we didn’t know what kind of traffic we might hit driving past the area. Our RV GPS took us on an unexpected route through DC. We ended up in bumper to bumper traffic without a lot of gas. It was a bit hairy, but we got through it and made it to a gas station.

We drove all the way to our next scheduled campground in Clarksboro, New Jersey — the same one we’d stayed at at the beginning of our trip — arriving in early afternoon. There, we walked/ran along the street in front of the KOA.

Since it was still early, there was time to do laundry and make plans to visit a local brewery for dinner. Unfortunately, the parking lot at Death of the Fox Brewing Company was packed. No room for an over-sized van. We found out the next morning that we’d tried to visit on their open mic night. Oh, well. Luckily, they’re not only a brewery, but a coffee roastery, too. So, we stopped there in the morning on our way out of town for a cup of tea, an espresso, a couple of cans of beer, and some merch.

On this (our last) day, we drove about four hours to Albany, New York, to another of Mark’s favorite breweries, Fidens. After an enjoyable dinner, (best sweet potato fries ever!), a couple of beers, and the purchase of some cans to bring home, it was my turn to drive the final few hours home.

With another adventure under our belts, we were home in time for a quiet Easter weekend. Plenty of time to dream of the next trip. 🙂

July Camping and Summer Fun!

Posted on September 30, 2023 by womanwifemotherchild

Every trip we’ve taken in our Sprinter van has involved a series of one-night stays. So, we decided to try a long weekend of camping in July, not too far from home, staying in one place for a whole four nights. It was a different experience being able to roll out our awning, set up our chairs, and relax! Here are a few pics from that trip to Lake Dennison in Winchendon, Mass.

And just for the fun of it, after Lake Dennison, we drove up to Meredith, New Hampshire, and parked overnight at Twin Barns Brewing Company.

A couple of weeks later, we drove out to Albany, New York, to Fidens Brewing Company. We took the opportunity to park at a Cracker Barrel for the night — something we’ll probably do more of in the future.

At the end of August, we took the Sprinter with us to Cape Cod, even though we’d rented a house in East Dennis. It came in handy as we had some house guests that week and the van became an extra bedroom. All of these short trips over the summer were nothing, compared to the fall trip we were planning… Stay tuned.

Destination: Carolinas

Posted on February 23, 2023 by womanwifemotherchild

In this third installment of our recent van trip, we finally reached North Carolina. If you need to catch up on our adventures, check out From Wilmington…To Wilmington… and What Happens In Virginia…

We left the Holiday Inn in South Hill, VA, on Thursday morning, looking to take a walk/run before getting back on the road. We found a pleasant trail called Tobacco Heritage Trail in La Crosse, VA. The first sound to hit my ears there seemed like an unfamiliar birdsong, but after checking with a group of locals on the trail, I learned that frogs were making all that noise. More throaty than the ‘peepers’ we have up north, but not as low-pitched as bullfrogs. They were loud, but seemingly invisible, so no pics of them. We saw a few birds and a very small snake along the rest of the trail.

After walking/running the trail, we got back on the road and continued south, arriving at our friends’ place in Charlotte, NC, around four in the afternoon. Cathy & Don live in a separate in-law apartment on the property of their daughter and her husband. Their RV was parked alongside their garage, so we spent the night parked on the street next to it.

It rained overnight and was still spitting on Friday morning. We spent a quiet day doing laundry, blogging, and visiting with Cathy & Don & their new grandbaby, Evelyn. Around 3 p.m., we followed Cathy & Don in their Tiffin RV down to Andrew Jackson State Park near Lancaster, South Carolina, to camp for a couple of nights.

Cathy & Don were gracious hosts, even while camping. We ate supper in their RV and played cards until late. We taught them how to play Pitch. Team Mark & Cathy beat Team Chris & Don in spectacular fashion. On Saturday, we hiked around the park, found the site of Jackson’s boyhood home and a museum that was open for exactly one hour everyday. We hit it about eight minutes before closing.

Saturday afternoon, the four of us piled into our van and ventured over to Benford Brewing in Lancaster, SC.

From there, we checked out The Dream Chaser’s Brewery in Waxhaw, NC. What a cute little town! Perfect for browsing all the Main St. shops. The only drawback was that the whole town closed its doors at 5 p.m. Oh, well.

We left Andrew Jackson State Park on Sunday morning. On the way back to Charlotte, we stopped at Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mills, South Carolina for some easy hiking.