On the road again

We finally left Florida after 5 months on Memorial Day in a downpour. I couldn’t believe our luck. The rain that morning started lightly and turned into heavy blowing rain that just didn’t stop. For 5 months in Florida, we had very little rain and only one all day rain so we did not expect that when we were leaving. Good thing we had packed our outdoor chairs and mat the night before so that stuff didn’t get wet. We still had to be outside to dump the tanks and disconnect our water, electric and sewer; then bring in the slides and hook up. By the time we finished hooking up, we were soaked so we climbed over the bed to the closet to find dry clothes to change before traveling. What a mess! I had planned to get a picture of us pulling out but didn’t bother in the rain.

The weather ended up delaying us about an hour and then slowed down our travels a good bit. The rain was heavy so we moved slowly with flashers on. After getting into Georgia, we stopped for the night. By the time that we stopped, the rain had slowed to a light drizzle. Even so, we decided to just stay hooked up for that night and only put out the bedroom slide.

We stayed at Walkabout Campground and RV Park. It was a decent place to stop and very close to I95. We ended up putting out the awning and sitting outside to eat and relax for the evening. We even got in a walk when the rain stopped for awhile. All in all, it was a fairly good day as we not only adjusted to traveling again but also driving separately for the first time. One thing I learned that day was that I need to plan travel days better to include mapping out fuel stops the night before.

Sitting out in a light drizzle at Walkabout Campground and RV park

Our initial plan back in March was to take 2 months to travel back north and spend time in S. Carolina, N. Carolina, and Virginia. Since we were now doing it in a week and many places are still closed, we had to change our outlook on traveling. Initially, I planned a night in each state and had reservations for one night in each of those states at sites included in our Thousand Trails and Harvest Hosts memberships. The weather caused us to change plans quickly.

Day 2, started again with rain heading our way. It wasn’t as heavy but was steady enough that we decided to cancel our stay near Charleston and go further north. We wanted to at least stay one night to add a South Carolina state sticker to our travel map so we stopped at Camp Pedro at South of the Border. I was very surprised at how nice the campground was. We had a large, paved RV site and the campground was very clean and well maintained. Again, we didn’t unhook but put our leveling jacks down and our slides out and enjoyed a very peaceful evening there.

South of the Border is a bit of a tourist trap but most of it seemed to be closed. A few stores and restaurants were open so we stopped and picked up beer and wine to partake at our site. For the most part it was a quiet and peaceful evening to enjoy a glass of wine under the stars. At one point, some boys on a golf cart were careening in circles near us but they left when Tim asked them to stop. The news that evening warned that Tropical storm Bertha was heading into the coast so we planned to leave early the next day.

This beautiful tree was our view at Camp Pedro

Day 3: Heavy rains started again right after we got on the road that slowed us down and made it hard to see. Luckily it only lasted for about 30 minutes of our drive and then slowed to a gentle off and on rain. We canceled the Harvest Host we had booked in N. Carolina due to the rainy weather and went close to Virginia border and stopped at The RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads. After driving for three days in rain, we needed a break. It was another very nice, well maintained campground and they gave us a site with a gazebo. That was wonderful to be able to enjoy being outside even if it was raining. The weather forecast predicted rain until Sunday so we ended up staying there for 4 nights.

Our gazebo site at The RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads

Days 4-6: The campground was close to Roanoke Rapids, NC so I got online to see what might be in the area to visit. The city is on the Roanoke river and canal and has an interesting history for being a transportation hub for river and canal traffic as well as a railroad center. We wanted to visit the Canal museum but it was still closed due to Corona virus. We spent some time on the 7.5 mile long Roanoke Canal trail which runs from the lake and dam at one end of Roanoke Rapids to River Falls Park in Weldon. On Friday we parked near the museum and checked out the canal remains and started down the trail but didn’t go too far because it started raining hard again. Saturday was a beautiful day so we started in Weldon and followed the trail through the town and checked out some historic sites. The river was flooded a bit but some locals were still fishing for rockfish from the dock. After walking through town and along the canal, we went back to the car and then drove to the other end of the trail and checked out the dam and lake. Unfortunately the day use area was also still closed so we didn’t stay too long. We finished our touring the area in the car with the top down. Even with closures, we discovered that we can still enjoy traveling and exploring.

Remnants of the canal at the Roanoke Canal museum

The Weldon Mills building is now a distillery. Unfortunately it was still closed or we would have stopped for a drink on the patio

Tim and I both really liked these old buildings along the railroad tracks in Weldon

One of the many train crossings in Weldon

Day 7: Sunday was another beautiful day with lots of sunshine so a perfect day to get back on the road. We drove as far as Winchester, Virginia and stopped at Candy Hill Campground for just one night. This campground had some tight sites and was a bit hilly so we sprung for a luxury site which was a large level pull through site. With the Good Sam discount the cost wasn’t too bad. Tim picked up some more wine and we bought firewood to have a campfire. This was our first campfire since November. It definitely felt like we were camping again.

We left Virginia on Monday morning and headed for Pennsylvania. It really felt like we were home as we traveled through the mountains and rolling hills of central and southwestern Pennsylvania across familiar roads and countryside. Glad to be home for a couple months.

Blog

Exploring Tomorrows

Welcome!