Kingsport to Chippoakes State Park VA June 11 Thursday June 11th

We left Kingsport at 8:30 anxious to be on the road for our venture to Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. We will primarily visit the Chesapeake Bay region, take in some history and eat seafood. Today our drive took us north on I 81 and then east on route 460. The trip up I 81 was uneventful. We made one stop in Radford for Ben to do a quick inspection. He had told all his inspection companies he would be away starting Thursday but one called for an inspection on Wednesday which he agreed to do on Thursday since it was right on our way north. We had a book on CD and the miles clicked quickly by.

We got off I 81 in Roanoke and headed east on 460 and began to look for a spot to stop and eat our lunch. The sky that had been looking rather threatening opened up for some of the most torrential rain we have experienced since getting the Sprinter. We had to turn off the CD as the noise of the rain would not allow us to hear the book! Finally past Lynchburg we ran out of the rain. We continued on to Appomattox Courthouse National Monument where Jane pulled out the lunch and we ate a quick bite. Then we walked up to the Visitor Center to get a passport book stamp. We had spent some time visiting all the buildings here at Appomattox on a previous trip; but due to losing the passport book thought we would replace this stamp since we were here. We got drenched before we could return to the Sprinter- the rain storm had caught back up with us!

After a quick change of clothes, we were back on the road. We continued on across Virginia, bypassing Petersburg, and then headed southeast towards Chippoakes State Park which is only about a mile from Jamestown – on the opposite side of the River. We arrived about 4:15 and were greeted by a nice young man in the entry gate who directed us to the campground. We got to the campground to find no host (an empty RV with no one home), went to the camp store – no information; went to the visitor center – closed at 4:30! So we went back and picked out a site and enjoyed a little rest assuming the host would be around soon to check on everyone. Other campers were also arriving but the place was largely deserted! We were meeting Ben’s college roommate, Buck Pickard, and his wife Peggy at a restaurant in Surry (about 10 miles from our campground) for dinner. So we thought we could check-in as we went by the entry gate – it was now closed. We can only assume this park has had major cutbacks in staffing!



Campsite at Chippoaks State Park, on James River VA

We arrived at the Surry House and had a delightful dinner with the Pickards. They live about 30 minutes south of here near Smithfield. It is nice to find old friends to catch up with when you travel. We may see them when we come back through Virginia Beach on the way home.

We returned to camp about 8:30 – hoping we were not going to be locked out! Luck was with us and we arrived back at our camp. We had left our internet reservation form on the site clipboard but no one had been by in our absence. It took us a while to get the camp set up – we had not used our van screens since Alaska so had to get them up as the temperature was into the 80’s and we knew we could not shut the doors to the Sprinter. We got everything set up and got into bed to read about 9:00. I think maybe we made it to 10:00 before we fell asleep! It had been a long drive and Ben was very tired.

We had a heavy rain during the night but no wind so we stayed nice and dry and comfortable with both the back and side doors open with their screen covers up. This was the first time we had slept with the doors open. All our travels have been spring, fall, or winter except our trip to Alaska. On the Alaska trip when we got back to the states we drove two long days just to get home and stayed in motels because of the long days. We were pleased with how this night passed – now we will see how this trip goes. It is a first in several ways for us – summer camping for one and secondly we have reservations in campgrounds every night for eleven days. We haven’t had a trip we can recall where we had this much structure….usually we have a tentative plan but had not made reservations and paid so we could just drive and stop when the mood struck us….

No photos today- rain and gloomy skies…but the sun is shining as we begin Day 2.

Blue Ridge Parkway in Rain May 11th 2009

We left about 8 AM on an adventure that was part business and part pleasure. Ben had two inspections to complete for Trillium Works and Jane went along for the ride. Our GPS was set for first visit near Hillsville VA. We plugged in a Tony Hillerman book and were on our way north on I-81 and 77. We stopped at the Red Barn General Store for Ben to complete his first inspection and then began a rather long trek to Rocky Mount VA.

We stopped at a couple locations in Floyd VA which has turned into quite the Arts Community. We saw some very nice baskets, metal work, paper, and pottery work at the Over The Moon Gallery and Cafe. They also had a good selection of various food items. We had Google Map directions as well as the GPS and followed some rather confusing directions but did finally reach Rocky Mount - in fact came into town on the road where Uttermost Industry was located!

It was lunch time so we set off to find Bowlings Place - Jane had read about it on the internet site for the Crooked Road - this is a scenic route through southern Virginia that goes through many small towns that are part of the Country Music History of the Area. We were in the area but did not follow the entire route. Bowlings Place was known for the best hot dogs in the area serving 400 - 500 a day! That just seemed like a lot of hot dogs so we found it - a small place that did indeed serve lots of hot dogs. The menu was hot dogs, soup beans, and slices of hoop cheese. We each had two hot dogs and a drink. They were good and from the buns stacked on the shelves and traffic in and out during our 20 minutes there - they probably do sell that number each day!

We got back to Uttermost and Ben completed his inspection. We then headed off toward the nearest entrance point to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had chosen this as our route south instead of I-81. It was not raining but still very cloudy and we were afraid we might be in the clouds on the Parkway. It was a nice drive south to where the Parkway crosses US52 at I-77. We saw many yellow and orange azaleas as well as some rhododendron. We had never been on this section of the Parkway and were surprised to find that in many locations - while it was beautiful scenery - the parkway only owned a very narrow section of the land.

We stopped at Mabry Mill which we had seen so often in photos but had never visited. The weather was cool and there was very little traffic on the Parkway. The fog or clouds were hanging in valleys off and on and gave our drive an unusual feel. I wish there had been a little more light so I could have taken some photos.

At US52 we got off the Parkway and Ben enjoyed seeing a short portion of the road he used to travel back and forth home from NC State years ago. We got on I-77 and headed back south towards home. We stopped at Red Lobster in Bristol for a good dinner before reaching home about 8:00. A nice 12 hour trip into a close-by home area but one where had never seen.

One Day to Franklin NC - Saturday May 9, 2009

We had planned a weekend camping trip to Western NC Mountains with a couple visits to the Gem and Mineral Show (always lots of beads)! We had reservations at Van Hook Glade campground and were looking forward to a great weekend - but the weather had other things in mind. Friday we had storms and even a tornado warning so did not leave. Saturday am was not great but we left with enough gear to stay or not stay the night depending on the weather. Trip over to Franklin was pleasant with only a few sprinkles but no sunshine. We got to Franklin and ate lunch at the City Grill - OK but not great. We then made our way through the huge vendor tent - Ben looking for a star sapphire for his dagger and Jane searching for the beads on her "list" so she can get back to beading. We found some of the things on the list including some nice amazonite beads to go with the turtle Ben cast in silver over the winter.

About 2:00 there was a huge storm - the sound on the roof of the more than football field size tent was staggering! Wind and hard rain for about 15 minutes and then it was gone. We finished our shopping and left to find the Sprinter in a muddy lake parking lot! We decided to drive back home and not stay in what would be a VERY wet campsite. We will miss our dinner in the Thai Restaurant in Franklin - one of our favorite places.

Coming through Ashville we searched for the River Arts District. Thanks to the GPS and maps Jane had found on the internet we looked around for a while. There are a number of galleries in old buildings but none that peaked our interest. We drove on home arriving without any further rain storms.

No photos - Jane forgot her camera and there was no sun!

Hunting Island SC to Durham NC

We put on old clothes and took down a very wet tent and packed up all our gear. Then we changed into clean clothes for our trip. It was not as hard as we had thought but everything was wet to be sure. We stopped at a McDonalds on Lady’s Island for breakfast and made our way over to I 95 for an uneventful trip north. We watched spring lessen as we headed north – we stopped at South of the Border to see what this place had become. We had planned to eat lunch here and did; but it was very poor quality. Then we crossed into North Carolina and stopped to buy some Rockport shoes at an outlet mall in Smithfield. We were at Jeff, Robin and Daniel’s about 3:30 and enjoyed a great visit with all. Daniel has become quite the conversationalist since we last saw him at Christmas. We had a great dinner and good nights’ sleep.

Hunting Island March 16

Our breakfast was the last package of pancake mix – Jane made a wonderful discovery- it could be mixed in one of the red plastic cups avoiding anything to wash-up. The only part of camping that Jane dislikes is washing dishes. Well Lysol wipes with on side scratchy and one side antiseptic along with paper towels and some excellent Pam have made it easy this trip but using disposable items when possible makes it even better. Since we always have a location to throw away trash it has not been a problem. Most campgrounds have recycle bins for plastic bottles. We have used tea and water in plastic bottles and always keep a quart of Gatorade mixed up in the refrigerator.

Today we walked for a long way on the beach – it was cloudy with limited visibility but walking on the beach was very pleasant. Then we drove to the north end of the island to the fishing pier that was probably 100 yards long or more. We watched birds diving for food and tried to get some photos. Ben remembers fishing on this end of the island when we were here before. Then we drove out to the lighthouse and had lunch (the last of our fish from the platter in St. Mary’s) along with cheese crackers, fruit, and chips. Having the microwave to heat up the fish was great! We surely made good use of that seafood platter for 2! The only thing we did not eat was 2 deviled crabs. We started out eating lunch at a picnic table right on the beach at the lighthouse but about halfway through lunch it began to rain a little so we moved to a shelter. The rain did not last long and we got some photos. You could climb this lighthouse but we neither one felt the urge to do so.



Ben collected palm frond sticks for himself and Daniel. He says they are the best sticks around. Then we drove out to the fishing area on the ocean side of the island and to see the beach cottages that are for rent. They are on a very isolated section of the island and looked very nice with screened porches. There are also some private cottages in that area. Some of them had been nearly washed away in a fairly recent storm.

All the camp stores, gift shops etc. are closed today for taking inventory so Jane will have to wait until tomorrow morning to buy a patch for her hat. This is a very nice park and will certainly be worth another visit when it is a little warmer. It was very pleasant yesterday and perfect temperature last night. Today however, the wind has really picked up and it is chilly. We have the flaps all down on the tent and are enjoying a pleasant couple hours reading, working on the computer, and Ben has found we get 3 TV channels! With the flaps down the wind is cut and it is very pleasant. Ben is working hard on getting all the edges of the palm fronds smooth so his and Daniel’s sticks are perfect.

Well the rain came and continued all afternoon and most of the night. We were very glad we had the tent up as it provided a dry place to fix and eat dinner as well as read for a while. Jane made it over to the bath house in the rain and had a good shower – there was lots of hot water and it felt good to get warm! The only down side to the shower was she forgot her towel! Well a knit shirt filled in just fine. A good reminder of being sure you have everything you need with you on shower trips!
The rain on the roof was peaceful through the night.

St. Mary's GA to Hunting Island SC

We ate continental breakfast at the Sleep Inn and were on our way to the Cumberland Island Visitor Center. We looked at the exhibits, took a photo or two, and got the passport stamp. Ben got one on a slip of paper when he and Steve were here but now we have it in the passport book. It has been at least 30 years since Jane was here and nothing seems the same. She remembers a sleepy little town and now it is bustling even on a Sunday morning. Ben of course has been here numerous times with scouts and his hiking friends. We found our way back to I 95 and headed to St. Simons Island for our visit to Fort Frederica. Jane had visited this island numerous times for Red Cross meetings at Sea Palms. She had even gotten the passport stamp at Fort Frederica but did not visit the fort because no one else wanted to pay the fee and no one had Golden Eagle Passes at that time. The stamp was in our original passport book anyway – which was lost in the rental car in Arizona some years ago – the only good thing about that loss is it encourages us to repeat visits to places we had been. St. Simons is a beautiful island and even more so now with the azaleas blooming. We watched the movie at Fort Frederica – it was a British fort in the 1730’s. It was built to protect the colony sent from England and the colony of GA from the Spanish who were in St. Augustine area where we were yesterday. There were only 1 or 2 battles and the British won. But when the troops were withdrawn the colony just disappeared when the people left for other areas. It has been preserved very nicely – not many structures left but all the foundations of buildings are still there and identified. It was a very pretty area and well worth our visit. We then drove down the island to the lighthouse for Jane to take a photo. We ate some snacks and decided to go on to Tybee Island for lunch. We got back on I 95 and headed north to visit Tybee Island and Fort Pulaski. A huge traffic jam kept us at a snail pace for miles somewhere along the way - we think it was a wreck. We just got to listen to more of The Hostages. The main problem with Fort Pulaski is the only way to reach it is to go through the middle of downtown Savannah. Sunday afternoon might have been better than other times except everyone was having St. Patrick Day parties. Green flags flying, green clothes, lots of people drinking beer, and even people with green hair were to be seen. The GPS did a great job, we made it with little trouble arriving at Fort Pulaski about 3:00 to eat lunch in the picnic area. We had great fish sandwiches made from most of the fish leftover from our platter last night. This fort was part of 30 forts built along the east coast of the US in the second half of the 18th century. They were all similar and Fort Pulaski was very similar to Fort Jefferson on Dry Tortugas. There was a moat, mounds for magazines, etc. It was however much smaller than Fort Jefferson. Visiting the other forts will have to be left for another trip. Jane got some photos and we walked around some but did not stay too long as we knew we had to get back through Savannah and on north to a campground for the night. The trip back through Savannah was OK but we were a little concerned when the GPS took us across the river and into South Carolina without going back to I 95 the way we had come. Ben has “Home” in as our final destination so it choose the shortest way to home – luck was with us that it was headed in the right direction – we selected Hunting Island as our next camping location after Jane called and they had lots of sites available and did not close until 9 PM. We followed a back road towards Hilton Head and Beaufort before turning towards the beach and Hunting Island. We had camped here before but Ben remembers little and Jane remembers less. We arrived about 6 PM and easily got a campsite very near the water. There are surprisingly many campers here in this 200 site campground. The campsites are fairly far apart under high pine trees. The ground is covered with pine needles on the sand which makes it much nicer than sand for camping. We immediately said – let’s just stay two nights! So back to the camp store we went, got a site for 2 nights and set up our tent and settled in. It is cloudy and was very dark since the moon is not giving any light. There is a wide beach to explore tomorrow, a lighthouse, and boardwalk nature trail so we will have plenty to do tomorrow. We called Jeff to say we would be there to visit Tuesday night, cooked supper of beef stew and cornbread and went to bed about 10PM. The cornbread was great cooked from cornbread mix – using slightly less milk than called for and cooking like pancakes in the skillet. I guess instead of cornbread we had corn cakes.

Jupiter FL to St,. Mary's GA

We packed up and were on the road before 9 AM. We drove into Jupiter FL to find the lighthouse which we found but they did not open until 10 so we just took photos, bought some gas and were on our way north. Ben was thrilled with the mileage on the Sprinter was the best ever 25.6. We are really involved in W.E.B. Griffin’s The Hostage and are about half way through 15 CD’s.

When we reached the Space Coast we headed for the Kennedy Space Center – the internet site spoke about all the pricey tours; but Jane had a tour book that said you could visit the space center visitor center and park at no cost – so we thought why not! Well the book was wrong but they told us where we could go to visit a gift store to find some surprises for Daniel. We retraced our steps back to the Astronaut Hall of Fame and found way more than we could possibly buy for Daniel. It can be a surprise but it is not the $50 astronaut jump suit! It would be outgrown in 3 months! After our shopping we headed across to the Canaveral National Seashore and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Luckily the Wildlife Refuge was open until 6PM today but the Seashore was closed. Tomorrow there is a space launch; and since these two facilities are in close proximity to the launch area they close to prevent any exposure to accidents if one might happen. We had a nice lunch at the Refuge Visitor Center – surprisingly they had the stamp for both themselves AND the Seashore so we got the stamp even if they were closed – well we were really here – they were just closed! We also took a nice hike around some lakes and forest but did not see too much wildlife since it was 1 PM.

Today we had the worst weather of our trip – other than the snow on the day we left! It rained during the night and several times today. In the Saint Augustine and Jacksonville area it was very foggy. Not cold but just cloudy and damp.

We then continued north with Jane driving for the first time this trip – Ben needed a rest for his back since he had worn the wrong shoes today – too much walking in his moccasins. Our next stop was Fort Matanzas National Monument just south of St. Augustine. We found it but the last ferry of the day was leaving just as we arrived. We did not realize the visitor center is on one side of the river and people have to be ferried across to the actual fort – their large ferry was getting inspected by the coast guard today so small boats were trying to handle the people and failed. We listened to some historical information from a period dressed Spanish Soldier. They were going to have a ceremony in St. Augustine tonight with a large number of the dressed soldiers marching and performing. We drove up the island a way to see if we could get a site at Anastasia State Park but alas they were full up.

We did not find another private campground so decided to head on up to St. Mary’s GA (about 50 miles) to camp or get a motel and eat at one of Ben’s favorite seafood places in St. Mary’s. The drive to Jacksonville from St. Augustine on A1A was interesting – very narrow strip of land. As we neared Jacksonville the homes became larger and larger. We were driving through one of the most exclusive areas of Jacksonville.

It was 6:30 when we arrived at St. Mary’s – it would be dark in 30 minutes so we checked into a Sleep Inn and Ben discovered from the receptionist at the Sleep Inn that his favorite restaurant had closed! She recommended St. John’s Seafood as a good substitute. It was outstanding - best scallops and clams either of us had ever eaten. The shrimp, fish, hush puppies and oysters were good too. We even have fish leftover we put in the fridge in the Sprinter for sandwiches tomorrow!
Tomorrow we continue north and will visit Fort Frederica National Monument on St. Simons and then Fort Pulaski National Monument on Tybee Island. Then we will head into South Carolina and see how far we get. We have not been to Fort Sumter National Monument even though we lived in Charleston so we may try to go there.

It was 59 degrees when we stopped in St. Mary’s – time to get out the long pants!

Key West to Jupiter FL

We left Leo’s Campground on Stock Island – immediately north of Key West and made two stops as we drove north. First stop was at a bookstore in Marathon to see if they had the Nevada Barr book written about an assignment at Fort Jefferson but they did not have it; neither had the bookstore in Key West. At least the book store worker in Marathon knew what I was talking about! Ben wanted to stop at a dive shop to see about a new mask – something broke on his yesterday. He found the whole set of things for under $100 which was a bargain compared to some prices in the store.
We stopped at the Fish House in Key Largo and had fish sandwiches and key lime pie. Since we had been doing most of our own cooking this trip – we had not had any yet – and these were good. Then it was on to Miami for Ben to stop in at one of the inspection companies he works for, and thanks to the GPS we drove right to the location. Jane thought she would get to read several chapters in her book – but Ben was back quickly having said hello to everyone he works with on his inspections.
Then we headed north up I95 with a target of somewhere in Palm Beach/Jupiter area. Jane studied the Florida Camping Book and came up with West Jupiter Campground and called them – they had a spot so here we are in a full-fledged “snow bird” campground. It is really very nice – there is a small lake and we are camped beside it. Mallard Drakes make the lake their home and are very tame coming right up to our table and chairs. The campground has a quite extensive program – pizza dinners, bingo, aerobics classes – not sure what else – but tonight was a concert by a Rod Stewart look-alike with free beer.
We ate dinner, tried to call Jeff, Daniel, and Robin on Scype – that failed so we just talked on the phone. We cleaned up around camp, did some catching up on email etc and went over to the concert about 7:45. Probably 50 people at this party – well it is 10:30 and can hear it just as well here in the Sprinter as we did in the room. The act was one guy who indeed did look like Rod Stewart and two other guys. Their music was not too bad but the jokes were awful. Since neither of us know what Rod Stewart sings we are not sure if this guy sounds like him or not.
Tomorrow we head on north;hoping for stops at the Kennedy Space Center and a few other places.

Dry Tortugas

We did not sleep well – maybe afraid we would not wake up on time. We needed to be at the ferry terminal at 7:30. A rooster crowed most of the time from 4:00 on! We got up about 6:30 and made it to the parking and to the terminal on time. The boat is a large catamaran which would hold up to 250 persons they said – today there were probably 150. The trip over was fairly smooth – some small2-4 foot waves at times. Jane had remembered to put on a scopolamine patch yesterday so had no problems. They served us a great continental breakfast and we were underway at 8:00 AM as scheduled. We reached the Dry Tortugas at 10:30. It is a little more than 70 miles from Key West. We passed a number of smaller islands before we hit the open water. They are all in a protected part of the sea.
The island where Fort Jefferson is located is almost entirely the fort. A 6 sided fort with a moat all the way around. Some of it is being restored. It has been used since 1861. Civil War prisoners were kept there including Dr. Mudd who was a part of Lincoln’s assassination plot. We debarked, walked and toured around the fort – went on all three levels and inside. We then returned to the boat for a lunch of deli meats and salads. After the lunch we walked around part of the moat and ended up at the swimming area where Ben was going to snorkel. He had taken his own mask and snorkel but got a set of flippers and a BC – buoyancy compensator – learn something new everyday! He snorkeled around for about an hour saying it was fun but not too much to see. He saw a barracuda, some urchins, coral, and fish. Then we visited the gift store and returned to the boat about 10 minutes early. The most impressive things to me were the beautiful color of the water and how large the fort was. Strange to believe this fort was a Union stronghold during the civil war. Not too sure why so I am going to have to read up on that!
The trip back was a little rougher but pleasant. We got to our campground about 6PM and had good leftovers for supper. We are both tired. The sun was very hot today and although we had 30+ sunscreen and drank lots of fluids- we are still tired.
We plan a short visit back to check internet at the camp office and then maybe read and plan where we will go tomorrow. This is the end of our previously planned adventure so we have to plan a little!

Long Key to Key West

Jane was up and got a couple early morning photos and enjoyed coffee while all was quiet and peaceful. Of course this location at Long Key has been peaceful almost all the time. We took down all the gear, the tent, and packed stuff for travel. Then we sat in the sun for a little while more before we left. A couple camping a few sites down came over to say they were moving in #16 when we left. They left a few things by the picnic table and went off to run errands. We left about 11:00 and began our drive south. The weather was beautiful. We turned our CD book on again and drove to Pine Key where we stopped at a Winn-Dixie for a few items we needed. We also bought some chicken peg legs to have for lunch. We tried to find the deer refuge but finally decided it was the entire island. There is a very small deer that is endangered that is protected on this island.
We then continued on to Key West where we found Leo’s Campground without too much trouble. We had a nice lunch on the boardwalk that runs behind their tent sites. There was a group of ‘spring break” guys camping here previous to our arrival – they had left a lot of trash so we picked it up and settled in for the two days. We will not put up the tent since we go on the tour to Dry Tortugas – leaving at 8AM and returning at 5:30 so we will not be here much. We both spent a while on the internet since we had not had access for several days. Then we drove into Key West to scout out locations to park. There are several parking garages but the Sprinter is too high for most of them. We found a lot a couple blocks from where the ferry leaves so we are all set.
Tonight was the night Jane cooked the outstanding meal – we had lightly breaded bonnethead shark that Ben had caught. We then had shrimp/spinach enchiladas that Jane had found on a camping webpage. She also made some excellent salsa with avocado and tomato bought from the roadside stand earlier this week. It turned out really well and since we had not really planned on the shark we had too much so there are leftovers for tomorrow. Ben has been warned not to expect this level of cooking on a regular basis.
After dinner Ben began experimenting with his TV/computer device again – he found lots of stations and we watched an episode of American Idol as clear as on real TV.