The Maine and Eastern Seaboard Trip, Just the Facts, Maam!

[garyb1st]

I hope you are driving west Sarge. Right now is not a good time to be on the east coast. Hermine is coming your way.

It's pretty dicy here in the West as well.  There could be a few morning clouds late next week.   

 

[SargeW]

I hope you are driving west Sarge. Right now is not a good time to be on the east coast. Hermine is coming your way.

Figures, our next stop is the Virginia coast..........

 

[Ken & Sheila]

Currently, we are just north of Richmond, Virginia at Americamp. 

We also stayed at Americamps. Could be we use the same criteria when choosing Campgrounds, but of course for most of these places there is much of choice for large rigs. How far south are you headed?

ken

 

[RVnChick]

How far south are you headed?

ken

Ken - We will be spending the next month or so in North Carolina sightseeing and visiting family.  We aren't going any further south than Georgia and will be taking I-20 westbound.

 

[WILDEBILL308]

You might look at going west to visit The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As you know it is in the western end of North Carolina. I have been there a couple of times and will be going again, probably next year.
Bill

 

[Ken & Sheila]

Watch that storm and stay safe!

 

[SargeW]

Watch that storm and stay safe!

yes, Diane called the park in Virginia today. They said everything was looking good, no problems

 

[WILDEBILL308]

I think it is kind of fun you are East and I have benn West. We were almost in your back yard last month, at Steckel Park, Santa Paula, CA.
Bill

 

[SargeW]

Americamps RV Resort
11322 Airpark Road
Ashland, VA
​

Our first stop in Virginia was in Ashland, which is just north of Richmond.  This was another highly rated RV park.  While it did have the amenities listed on the web site, the place could really use some sprucing up.  Some of the interior roads were paved, but most are gravel, so vehicles can make a bit of dust going by.  We were in the ?B? section, which  was near the front of the park and the pool.  The pool was never a problem, but what was a huge detractor for us was the close proximity to I-95. 

The freeway noise could be overwhelming at all hours of the day and night, and because it is a major highway, even at 2 AM the sounds of trucks and cars racing by was constant.  We were parked next to a couple that stays there often, and their solution was to turn on the AC fan in the bedroom and run it 24/7. 

On the up side, our Verizon air card was blazing fast as the cell tower was only a few hundred yards from the park. The park did offer free Wifi, but I never had the occasion to try it out.  The restrooms and showers were clean and handicapped accessible.  They also had a new fitness center that is one of the best that I have seen in a while.  It is stocked with the usual treadmills (2) elliptical bikes (2) and a full set of free weights.  The lighting was good, 2 large ceiling fans moved the air well, and really important was that the AC was always on and cool.  It also had a large TV mounted with an attached DVD player that Diane used for her workout DVD's.  All in all a very nice set up.   

We had a premium back in site with a patio, and paid $55 a night.  All the utilities all worked well, and there was a reasonable amount of room between sites.  The rear loops of the park are where most of the long term residents stay, and I must say was much quieter than the front.  Some of the interior roads are pretty tight to navigate as well, especially in a larger rig.  I  had to move our Jeep for one fifth wheel pulling in as he couldn't make the turn to get down the road. 

The owners are very nice, and on Labor Day Sunday they brought in a bounce house for the kids, set up a variety of games like Corn Hole, and Ladder toss.  Tables were also set up, and starting at about 1 PM a mobile food truck showed up and cooked free burgers and fries for everyone in the park. 

This park was originally a KOA, so you get the idea of the set up of the park. In spite of the positive points of this park, the freeway noise was just a bit too much for us,  and if in the area again we would scope out a different park to stay in.

For activities we took a Trolley Tour around Ashland, and unfortunately it was just ?fair?.  We paid $35 a person for the tour and picked it up at the Ashland visitors center.  The trolley which was about empty  was advertised to have AC, but I don't think it was working well.  Our narrator, an older gentleman tried to have lots of enthusiasm, but his tone of voice and slightly slurred speech made it only possible to understand about every other word.  Sadly, this tour isn't recommended.

We did visit Hollywood  Cemetery in Richmond.  Hollywood Cemetery is the resting place of many Confederate soldiers, Jefferson Davis, and two US Presidents.  In many ways, Hollywood Cemetery seemed much more elaborate than the Union Soldiers Cemetery in Gettysburg.  It is also a must see.

 

[SargeW]

The Colonies
501 Fenwick Road
Fort Monroe, VA 23651​

After the noisy last park, we opted for a smaller, more removed park removed from the sounds of the interstate.  Diane located a small RV park (13 sites) that is on a decommissioned Army Fort, Fort Monroe. The fort was decommissioned in 2011 and is now a National Monument.  It's called the Colonies because each of the 13 RV sites is named after one of the original 13 colonies when the nation was in it's infancy.  Our site for the week was Massachusetts.  The fort is surrounded by water, and was first commissioned in 1861, just months after the start of the Civil War. 

The park itself does not have many of the regular amenities, like a pool, spa or game room. What it does have are paved sites and paved roads.  The sites are widely spaced and are full hookup.  At the current time only 5 of the 13 sites are 50 amp, but the new owners are in process of adding 50 amp to the remaining sites.  Some sites are shaded, but others are more open and sunny.  One of the oddities of the sites is that the water hook up is located on the passenger side rear of the site, so at least a 25' water hose is required for hook up. 

There are some amenities, like some playground equipment, lots of surrounding open grassy area that was well trimmed, and a walking path that ran along next to the seawall on the Chesapeake Bay.  We rode the length of the seawall path  one day on bikes. The total length of the trip up and back was right at 3 miles.  The restrooms/showers are clean and handicapped accessible, but there is just one for men and one for women.  In between the shower areas is one washer and one dryer. 

There is a club/restaurant on the site, called the Paradise Club which serves food and beverages. They also had a ?VIP? area where you could go out onto the beach and sit in beach chairs some with tables and umbrella's.  A live band was playing out in the VIP area while we were there.  There is a charge for the VIP area, but we didn't ask how much.  However, the day that we went was our first day arriving at the campground, and it was also the last day of operations for the club as it was closing for the season.

On the up side the RV park was spacious and dead quiet at night. On the down side, the heat during the days, and the presence of various biting bugs kept us from spending much time outside. They were not the usual mosquitoes', but Midges,  and  biting flies that bit right through your clothes. Poor Diane had welts all over her from the last few days there.  And she was usually covered from head to toe in long pants, a long sleeve shirt and hat. And that was with daily temps in the high 80's to low 90's and 80% humidity.  Maybe at a different time of year things would be better in that respect. 

We paid $49 a night plus tax.  There is also no Wifi offered at the park, but due to the close proximity of a cellular tower, our Verizon air card was blazing fast.  The surrounding area was interesting, and we did a bit of exploring.  When we left we wound up taking a tunnel under the Chesapeake Bay that is about 1.3 miles long.  There is a requirement that all propane is turned off prior to entering.  Diane was not thrilled with the thought being under water in a motorhome for over a mile, but we managed to make it out the other end without issue. 

One of the attractions in the area was the Chrysler Museum of Art.  It was having an exhibit of a modern photographer, Herb Ritts.  He had photographed many Rock-N-Roll starts, and some of them were my favorites.  Plus there were exhibits of modern art (some of which is just goofy to me) but still interesting.  And it was free admission so there was nothing to lose.  It was a cool way to spend an afternoon.

 

[SargeW]

Diane just updated her blog for a different slant on our adventures...

 

[Kevin Means]

I read it while I was working in Amsterdam last week (was homesick for RVing.) It sounds like the bugs got her pretty bad. Interesting, the point she made about east coast vs. west coast humidity.

Kev

 

[SargeW]

Yeah, it seems as though the humidity has been worse this year, but I am sure the folks that live here would tell you it's just an average year.  It's just tough on us westerners that aren't used to it!  And the bugs weren't bad in Maine and up north, but really got voracious when when we hit the New Jersey area. 

 

[Tom and Margi]

Diane just updated her blog for a different slant on our adventures...

I always enjoy Diane's blog and especially like it when she "tells it like it is".  ;D

 

[jagnweiner]

Yeah, it seems as though the humidity has been worse this year, but I am sure the folks that live here would tell you it's just an average year.  It's just tough on us westerners that aren't used to it!  And the bugs weren't bad in Maine and up north, but really got voracious when when we hit the New Jersey area.

In the Midwest, the humidity has definitely been worse this year.  We just kept getting rain in July and August, so it was always humid.  It's not just you westerners. 

 

[SargeW]

Camp Hatteras RV Resort
24789 NC-12
Waves, NC 27968​

Well after many visits to  the east coast, this was our first visit to the Outer Banks (OBX).  While  this was a very well rated RV park, we honestly didn't see a lot of difference from many other beach locations on the coast.  As a matter of fact, we were in site #95 which was in the third row.  The spaces that are on the first row cost the most, but honestly there was no difference in views or amenities. 

One tip if  you come here, try to get a site that puts your windshield facing away from the dunes.  If you face the dunes like we did,  you get full sun all day, and puts the patio side of the rig  in the sun all day too.  Since the view doesn't matter, you may as well be shaded on your patio. 

There are no difference's  in views because similar to other beach RV parks we have stayed in the east, there is a 10' sand berm that separates all of the sites from  the beach and the ocean.  There are wood ?bridges? that span the dunes that create access to the beach.  They are spaced about 100 yards apart. 

We stayed during the ?Fall Rates? and were in an Ocean Premium site.  That is any row that is not the front row against the dunes.  The rate was $69 a night, but on a weekly rate, we paid for 7 nights and got one free.  The front row sites are $73 a night.  All sites are paved and have a small patio, but the surrounding areas are grassy sand.  That was a great place for the bugs to hide, and there were many.  I am sure that the time of year played a part, but the weather was hot and humid during the days, and the AC got a good workout day and night.  The sites are FHU, but we did lose AC power one particularly  hot and humid day when the voltage on one of the legs dropped out.

All of the parks in the area were similar in layout and design, but the KOA next door was even pricier in the $100 a night range.  They do have more kid friendly activities for families though and their pool has two water slides on it. 

A check of the restrooms showed them to be handicapped accessible, clean, but could have used some up dating.  Wifi was offered at the park, but not guaranteed to work.  I was in the office picking up a package one morning when another camper was complaining that his wife couldn't get on the Wifi.  Instead the only one her computer would see as a possible was at the KOA next door.  The employee told him that the Wifi was not consistent, but should be back eventually.  Our Verizon air card worked well here due to a nearby tower. 

Dogs are allowed on the beach on leash, and walked Heidi several times. The Saturday before we left we took a walk of about 1 ? miles on the sand.  The breeze completely stopped though and she  was starting to overheat as she is also afraid of the water.  That ended our beach walks.  There is the possibility of being able to drive the beach, and we have in many other places. However,  a ?Beach Permit? was required to drive the sand here, and the cheapest permit was $50 a week.  We would probably only do it once, so I passed on the $50 one way tour.

One other tip, if you come here, or any of the parks in the area, be sure to stop at the store on  the way in.  The park is 24 miles off of the main highway, and stores of any kind are scarce.  All in all the park was OK, but for the price I doubt there is a return trip in our future. 

One interesting side trip was to the Wright Brothers airfield and visitor center.  I had forgotten that aviation as we know it got it's start right here in Kill Devil Hills, NC.  It is the spot where the first 4 engine powered flights took place, helping to launch an entire world wide industry.  Pretty cool!

 

[HappyWanderer]

Marty - if you want to learn more about the Wright Brothers, I can recommend David McCullough's excellent biography.

 

[SargeW]

Thanks, I may look into it when my reading time settles down. Lately all of my free time has been taken up fixing stuff and keeping up on the forum.  It's funny how little down time there seems to be.

 

[SargeW]

New Bern KOA
1565 B Street
New Bern, NC 28560
​

We stayed at another KOA on this stop still in North Carolina. Diane checked her records and we have stayed here before, but it was about 6 years before.  I also rated this park very highly on a RV park review site.  So it was interesting to go back and see if my opinion of the place would change after 6 more years of staying in hundreds of different RV parks since then.  Well, it did slip a little bit in my recent trip, but some of that was probably weighted by current conditions like weather and bugs. 

This RV park is right on the Neuse river, and even has it's own boat dock and launch ramp to the river. The boat dock and launch are in very good condition, and there are even a few swing benches that let you sit out and view the river from close up if you desire.  We were in a premium patio site that was  the closest to the river, and our front windshield looked out on the river.  However,  in the 6 years since we were here last, a lot of the foliage was allowed to grow up in front of the sites, and that great view is almost completely obstructed.  The site was dirt gravel, but the patio was cement.  Normally that is not an issue, but the dirt of the RV pad has been allowed to build up higher than the patio,  and during the regular rains we got during our week stay, the white alkaline mud would wash over the patio, turning it a milky white slippery substance.  I think that erosion from the rains carried down dirt from the rest of the park and deposited it there.  I stopped by the park office and asked them to send someone by.  An employee showed up after a while and hosed the white stuff off of the patio with a hose. Right on the side of my RV. It's hard to find good help these days I guess. 

The site came with a wire patio set, which was nice as I didn't have to get out our chairs.  We didn't get to spend too much time outside though, the heat, humidity, and bugs kept us inside a lot. The KOA had all the usual family friendly stuff, pool, playground and bike rentals. There is also a small ?catch and release? pond on site, and a mini golf course as well.  We paid $58 a night for our FHU site. 

The park offered free Wifi, but our Verizon air card worked well here.  I was a little surprised to see that the bathhouse closest to our site was not handicapped accessible due to small doors and raised entries on the entry door and  the showers.  There was another facility in the main building, but I didn't get a chance to check it out.  The location does have some road noise from Route 17 that fronts the park.

So while this park is not quite the ?10? that I recall from years past, it is still a nice, well cared for KOA, especially if you have children. 

A cool stop in New Bern was visiting the museum of the CSS Neuse.  It houses a Confederate built Iron Clad battleship built during the Civil War.  It was a formidable ship for its time, housing 2 large guns and a crew of up to 65 soldiers.  However, due to the Union controlling the North Carolina ports at that time, they had to build the ship inland on the Neuse river and planned to float it down river to battle the  Union.  But the main problem with their plan was that after being built, the ship  was too large with too much draft (ship under the water line) to make it down river.  So she got a mile out of dry dock before getting stuck on a sand bar for the rest of the war, and was later partially skuttled to prevent the Union from taking possession.  Diane had lots more detail in her blog.  It was really cool to see what was left though. 

Diane has also just updated her blog with lots of other info and pics.

 

[SargeW]

Raleigh Oaks RV Resort
527 US Highway 701 S
Four Oaks, NC 27524

Our next stop was at a park that used to be a KOA.  I say this to give you an idea of some of the usual amenities and won't re-list them all.  There was not a lot to complain about at this park, but a few things could have been better.  This park has over 150 RV sites, and 30 cabins. We stayed at the front of the park in a large site with about a 75' long pull through.  The RV pad and roads were layered in a heavy white gravel. It was heavy enough to keep the dirt from leaching through, but it was still white dirt at the edges.  The biggest ding on these sites are that none of them have any kind of patio surface for your chairs.  So although there was not a lot of rain, when it did the grass got wet and soggy for a while afterward.  That and since the rain tends to excite the flying critters, sitting on the wet grass was not much of an option.  We spent most of our outside time squeezing the chairs onto the gravel next to the motor home. 

There are two very nice pools at the park, each at the front, and right across the entry drive from each other.  Both looked pristine and well cared for.  One of our favorite spots was there air conditioned work out room next to the pool.  It was large, well appointed with free weights, machines, and several aerobic machines.  We did our morning workouts there to avoid the humidity outside. 

Besides the size of the grass area at our site, the other thing that made it a premium site was it's proximity to all the amenities.  We were only steps from the pools, work out room and laundry.  There was a bit of road noise being up front though, and as we walked the park many times with the dog, we noted that it was considerably quieter in the back of the park. 

Our site was FHU with cable and we paid a weekly rate of $270 for a week (site #2).  That came out to $38.57 a night, compared to the $45 rate for a daily stay.  The sites farther towards the back  and in the $35 to $40 range.  The only real draw back to the front premium sites is that the dumpsters, although fenced in, are right on the corner where everyone in back of you drives out, stops and dumps the trash before leaving.  That means that every few minutes most mornings, it sounds like someone is driving on the gravel and is coming to your RV site and stopping in front to see you.  Kind of annoying if they are early risers , and you (me) likes to sleep until 7 AM.   

The park offers free Wifi, but due to a close signal tower our Verizon air card worked extremely well.  The shower houses were wonderfully clean, new, and handicapped accessible.  This was the best value that we have had at a park in a while, and really enjoyed the amenities.  I can highly recommend this RV park. 

At this stop we visited the Bentonville battlefield.  Bentonville was the last major battle of the Civil War, and involved General William Sherman for the Union, and General Joseph Johnston for the Confederacy.  Sherman had already marched his army to the sea leaving a path of destruction through Georgia.  He then turned and headed north through the Carolina's.  He encountered Johnston in Bentonville, North Carolina and after battling for several days, Johnston withdrew, and later surrendered his army to Sherman.  This was shortly after Lee had surrendered in Appomattox. 

There is so much Civil War history in the South, that nearly every state you visit has it's own story to tell, and historic sites where American lives and American history were changed forever. I encourage everyone to put it on their bucket list to make a Civil War tour at some time during their travels.