Kiptopeke State Park - Cape Charles, Virginia (October 2019)

The third stop on the 2019 Southeast Coast WBCCI Caravan was Kiptopeke State Park in Virginia. It was located across the bay from Norfolk.

Sign at Kiptopeke State Park

According to the online reviews, the camping fees were recently raised to more than $50. Several reviewers said they were upset over the higher prices and would no longer stay there. 

Price may have been a factor because there were more empty sites than ones filled with happy campers. Of course, the prime camping season at that park ended around Labor Day. 

Airstream trailers in the park

This was a short stop and it rained most of the time we were there. It seemed as if everyone was outside once the rain stopped. We found a great boardwalk that overlooked the Chesapeake Bay.

Walkway to the Bay

Rosie in the campground

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a back-in
• Our site was paved with grass and was nearly level
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service
• Our site had a water connection 
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in the campground
• The restroom and showers near our site were dated but clean 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX and PBS using Rosie’s antenna. We also saw digital channels Antenna, Court, Get, Grit and ME-TV
• AT&T placed three bars of 4G service for voice and data over our site 
• The campground did not provide WiFi service 

The Bay

Sunset over the Bay

It was chilly there

Tom’s Cove Park Campground - Chincoteague, Virginia (October 2019)

We hoped we were leaving the coastal flooding behind in Delaware. It turned out that flooding problems were widespread and an issue at our next campground while on the WBCCI Southeast Coast Caravan. We could see the signs of water over the road as we pulled Rosie, our 25 foot Airstream trailer, into Tom’s Cove Park Campground. 

Entrance to the campground

We watched the rising water creep into the lower sections of the campground as we walked around the park the first evening. Trucks entering the campground had to forge through standing water on the roads. 

We noticed something else while on our first walk. A large section of the campground was roped off with big tents inside the gated area. It appeared that some festival was about to take place there. 

When we asked a campground staff person what the tents were for, the look we were given made us feel like we were aliens from outer space. After all, everyone knew about the Oyster Festival. Well, I knew a few people who weren’t up-to-date on local festivals.

The Oyster Festival opened at 10 a.m. the next morning. We were amazed at how many people showed up as the gate opened and the number of people in some sort of a costume. This was a “big deal” local event.

Our first round of food at the Oyster Festival

A cupcake for desert

Really, its Root Beer!

We were also surprised at the length of the lines waiting to get food. Line length was a good judge of what foods were the current crowd favorites. 

Sometimes you had no idea as to the destination of the line you were standing in. I ended up getting oyster fritters. I thought I was in the shrimp line. It didn’t matter because everyone was festive and the conversation was good. 

For some unexplained reason, a surprising number of people were in costume. Did I mention that beer was the most popular drink among the participants? That became more evident as the day wore on.

Maybe this festival is world famous?

The festival shut down promptly at 4pm. It appeared that many people simply moved “the party” back to their campers. The residents around us abided by the 11 pm quiet hours rule. 

Speaking of campers, this is a huge campground with nearly 900 sites, most of which are seasonals.

Rosie and friends in the campground

One of the interesting things to see in this area are the ponies. There are wild horses on Assateague Island. It appeared that living on the island for 300 years has helped the horses get over any fear of people. We were able to get about 25 feet away before the horses started to walk away.

Wild horses on Assateague Island

More wild horses

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a back-in
• Our site was grass
• Our site was nearly level
• Our site had only 30 amp electrical service
• We had to use a 25 foot extension cord to reach the power box
• The power box was shared with four other trailers 
• Our site had a water connection 
• The water connection was shared with four other sites
• We had to use 50 feet of hose to reach the water connection 
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in the campground 
• The restroom and showers near our site were clean
• The showers were functional and had ample hot water 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s antenna. We didn’t see any digital channels 
• The campground provided mediocre cable TV service. The connection point nearest our site had only two jacks to serve six trailers. We were able to connect after some of our neighbors left
• AT&T placed maybe one bar of 4G service for voice and data over our site. The Speedtest app on my iPhone said we had 1.6 MB download and 275 KB upload speeds 
• The campground provided WiFi service. We were unable to log on and it appeared that the password we were given was incorrect 
• There was a laundry facility in the park
• There was a camp store in the campground. 

By the way, I was confused about the park’s name. Half of the signs said  “Tom’s Cove Park” and the rest were “Toms Cove Park.”  The possessive form of “Tom” made more sense to me over the plural version. 

This campground shuts down during the winter and it was easy to see that the staff was winding things down. We understand that the park reopens in the spring with a big seafood festival. 

Lighthouse on Assateague Island

View from the top of the lighthouse

Delaware Seashore State Park - Rehoboth Beach, Delaware (October 2019)

The Delaware Seashore State Park is in the shadow of the Charles W. Cullen Bridge on State Highway One. I’m not sure who he was, but I think he would have been very proud of his bridge. It is visually stunning.

The bridge

The bridge backdrop tends to overpower everything else about the campground. Sites tend to be very close together? OK, but look at the bridge! Sites seem to be too short and rigs longer than 25 feet may struggle to fit within the allotted space? True, but that’s some bridge!

The bridge at night

There are two camping loops in this park. One is on the north side of the inlet and the other is on the south side. You have to cross the bridge if you want to see the other loop. I’m not sure if there are any differences between the two, but we were in the south camping loop.

Sign at the south side of the bridge

The weather tried to steal the show while we were in this campground. We saw sustained winds in the 20-25 mph range and gusts near 45 mph the entire time we were there. That made opening Rosie’s door challenging at times. (Rosie is our 25 foot Airstream trailer.)

Rosie near the bridge

Rain accompanied the wind. This was more of light showers than a driving rain. It didn't matter because the precipitation mixed with cool temperatures made going outside an adventure. 

The third weather factor was the flood. The flood?

A trip to the dumpster on our last evening was cut short when I noticed that water was flowing over the roads and under trailers only four sites away from Rosie. 

Several campers in the flooded area were outside and visibly concerned about the rising water. That was only the prelude to the flood on the morning we left the park. 

High tide is flood time

I noticed the salt water from the inlet was rapidly rising while walking Suzy, our Yorkie, that morning. We decided to quickly hook Rosie to our truck and to take down the utilities in case the salt water reached us.

High tides, a full moon and an offshore storm all combined to create the coastal flooding we experienced in that park.

The surf on the beach

This was the second time we had to pack up Rosie because of a flood. The first time was when a river we were camping next to in West Virginia flooded. That campground was under 10 feet of water a few hours after we hurriedly left. This flood wasn’t as severe as that, but we didn’t want to pull Rosie through six inches of salt water as we left the park. 

Our choice was to wait for the water from the inlet to recede. By the way, the water made it to the trailer parked two sites from us before it started retreating.

Rosie exiting the campground

But through the wind, rain and floods, we could always look at the bridge. Wow! What a bridge.

Driving over the bridge

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a pull-thru 
• Our site was paved with asphalt 
• Our site was level
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service
• Our site had a water connection 
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in the campground 
• The restroom and showers near our site were clean
• The showers had annoying push buttons for service. That meant you had no control over temperatures and had to push the button about every 10 seconds for another stream of lukewarm water
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s antenna. We also saw digital channels  Grit, Get and ME-TV
• AT&T placed two bars of 4G service for voice and data over our site (Our phone reported that we were on 5Ge. Nice try AT&T, but I know our phone is incapable of working on 5G)
• The campground did not provide WiFi service 
• There were laundry facilities at most restrooms in the park
• There was a camp store in the campground. It had a vending machine that sold live bait

Live bait from a vending machine?

Lake Somerset Campground - Westover, Maryland ( October 2019)

We felt as if we were entering a time warp when we pulled Rosie, our 25 foot Airstream trailer, into this campground. It was like being transported back in time about 50 years.

There were lawn knick-knacks and doo-dads everywhere. A few of these were pirates, pirate ships, a wooden Indian and covered wagons around the lake. The campground also had a miniature golf course and a huge playground. Similar to everything else in this campground, the playground looked like it was from the 1950s.

Entering this campground

The pirate on-duty

Ship wreck

You cannot walk around this campground without thinking someone found an amusement park garage sale and bought the place out. 

Check-in didn’t go smoothly. I was told the price was $15 more than the figure I was given when I made reservations. Come to find out, the unexpected $15 was the deposit on a gate pass. Since we were not planning on unhitching, we didn’t need a gate key and saved the $15 fee. 

Speaking of the check-in process, all the campground wanted was the fee. We were not asked our vehicle’s license tag numbers, given a campground map, no list of rules and no lecture about what happens to troublemakers. We were verbally given a site number and told we couldn’t miss it. He was correct because we found it.

Suzy on a walk near Rosie's site

An online description of this park said that it had 100 seasonal sites and 30 sites for pass-thru campers. The seasonal area of the campground was packed. For some reason this campground had a bumper crop of old, dilapidated trailers. There were only two nightly campers in the park while we were there. 

Halloween must be a big deal in this campground. A surprising number of sites were decorated with ghosts and goblins. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a pull-thru 
• Our site was paved with dirt and we needed to use our leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean
• Our site was lined by rows of mature trees on both sides, which required us to be very careful upon exiting
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service
• Our site had a water connection 
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in the campground 
• The restroom and showers near our site were dated but clean 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX and PBS using Rosie’s antenna. We also saw digital channels Bounce, Court, Grit, Ion and ME-TV
• AT&T placed two bars of 4G service for voice and data over our site 
• The campground did not provide WiFi service 

Photo op?

Suzy is in the slammer

The horse and wagon next to the lake

The wooden Indian

RVcation RV Park - Selma, North Carolina (October 2019)

It is easy to get confused when trying to find this park. The exit ramp from the Interstate was abnormally long and the service road to the campground paralleled that exit. Between the exit ramp and the service road was the entrance ramp to the Interstate. The close proximity of these three roads made it easy to make a wrong turn that would have sent you miles down the Interstate. 

Thankfully, the GPS made sure we turned on the right road. I couldn’t help but think of the pastor of our church who once said, “Wrong roads don’t lead to right places.”

This campground was along a small lake. The neighboring property appeared to be the regional administrative offices for a major church. The denomination appeared to be diligent about maintaining not only their property but the lake that was shared with the campground.

The lake

It appeared to me that being next to the Interstate was good for business. Rosie, our 25 foot Airstream trailer, had plenty of company in the front section of the campground as it was almost full of “passing thru” campers.

Rosie in the campground

The rest of the campground was filled with seasonal renters. Unlike many campgrounds with an abundance of shabby seasonal units, these appeared to be maintained.

I expected to hear the busy Interstate traffic noise and the sounds from the nearby train tracks, Neither turned out to be a problem.

Most private campgrounds have rules and we understand why. This park had lots and lots and lots of rules. For some reason, the person working the check-in area felt it was important to read and underline pertinent parts of their rules to us.

The rule he was most passionate about was the 8 mph speed limit. We had to sign a "document" acknowledging the 8 mph limit and attesting that we would tell everyone in our group about the speed limit. Suzy, our Yorkie dog, didn't appear to be impressed when we told her about the speed limit.

Speed limit signs were everywhere

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a pull-thru 
• Our site was paved with dirt and some gravel
• Our site was level
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service
• Our site had a water connection 
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in the campground 
• The restroom and showers had about as much privacy as the ones I had during basic training in the Army. Individual stalls had "saloon" type doors without locks. People had to open them to see if the stall was occupied. I think the campground should do much better than the Army 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS and PBS using Rosie’s antenna. We also saw digital channels Court, Grit and LAFF
• AT&T placed three bars of 4G service for voice and data over our site 
• The campground provided good WiFi service 

Petersburg COE Campground - Clarks Hill, Georgia (October 2019)

Google Maps lied! We were passing through the south side of Atlanta and it said it would only add 90 minutes to our trip to visit one of our favorite stores north of town. We were silly enough to believe it.

It actually took four hours to crisscross Atlanta. To make things interesting, Google Maps squeezed us and Rosie, our 25 foot Airstream trailer, through some very narrow residential streets. 

That was a nerve-wracking and exhausting side trip. 

Our four hour detour meant we would arrive at Petersburg COE Campground after dark so we called the park and the camp host gave us directions and helpful hints on finding our site. He also said that the front gate would be  locked at 10 pm and we would have to make other arrangements if it appeared we wouldn’t make that deadline. 

Thankfully, we made it through Atlanta’s horrible traffic and the rest of the trip was smooth sailing.

This campground is approximately 17 miles off the Interstate Highway. We had to be very careful navigating the backroads of Georgia in the dark because we saw deer grazing along the side of the road. 

Watching campers setup in the dark has been entertaining to us in the past. It wasn’t as amusing this time as we tried to set up in the dark. To add to our woes, the batteries in two flashlights decided that was a perfect time to quit working. Our third flashlight didn’t let us down. 

Things looked better the next morning.  Rosie was parked next to a lake. Sunrise over the water was beautiful.

Our site 

Our site was huge. We didn’t see our neighbors on either side of us. There was space for Rosie, our truck and it appeared there was another parking space for a boat. It seemed that most other campers in this park brought their boats and were enjoying the lake as we packed up to leave.

Sunrise

We stayed an hour or two longer than normal that morning just to see and enjoy the campground. Most Corps of Engineer campgrounds are nice and this was no exception. It was a great find. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a pull-thru and that was helpful since we arrived after dark
• Our site was paved with dirt and was level
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service
• Our site had a water connection 
• Our site did not have a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in the campground 
• The restroom and showers near our site were functional and clean
• We were able to watch ABC, FOX and PBS using Rosie’s antenna. We also saw digital channels Bounce, Court, Grit, Ion and ME-TV
• AT&T service drifted in and out while we were in this campground. At best, we had only one bar of unreliable 4G service for voice and data
• The campground did not provide WiFi service 

Reflection of the sunrise

Our site was on the lake

Grayton Beach State Park - Santa Rosa Beach, Florida (September 2019)

A funny thing happened while on our way to camp for a week at Topsail Preserve State Park near Destin, Florida. We started talking about how we enjoyed Grayton Beach State Park more than Topsail.

This isn’t to say that Topsail isn’t a great park. We simply enjoy Grayton more. If that is so, you may be wondering why we reserved space in Topsail. 

It seems to us that Hurricane Michael changed the game when it comes to getting reservations in Florida State Parks. It was always difficult, but not impossible, to get reservations at a park along Florida’s Gulf coast. Hurricane Michael destroyed both camping loops in Port St Joe’s state park. That took 130 prime campsites out of circulation and increased the pressure on the remaining state parks. The result was that it is just about impossible to book a site in one of Florida’s Gulf Coast campgrounds. You find yourself reserving a site in a campground that isn’t on your “A-List” because it is available. 

One thing led to another as we talked about campgrounds and we decided to call Grayton to see if a last minute site had opened up. It had and we immediately reserved it.

Rosie at Grayton Beach State Park

We both grew up in Florida and know better than to make a beach trip in early September. It is normally too hot and too humid that time of the year and this one was no exception. 

We tend to reserve our beach trips in March and October, but those times were not options this year because we booked WBCCI (Wally Byam Caravan Club International, the Airstream owners association) caravans during those times. We were in North Carolina during the Spring and will be in Delaware during our favorite Fall beach camping time. That put us at the beach in early September, a time we know we shouldn’t be there.

Sunset at Grayton Beach State Park

While suffering through one of Grayton‘s hotter days, we started talking about our childhood homes in central Florida. How did our parents survive in houses without air conditioners? I remember my mother occasionally said we were going shopping in downtown Tampa because the big department stores had air conditioning. 

I also remembered the first house we moved to that had air conditioning. There was a window unit in the living room and another in my parent’s bedroom. I quickly learned how to position doors in that house so that a whiff of cool air would trickle down to my room. 

Somehow we lost that ability to cope with the heat and humidity without air conditioning and Rosie’s AC unit was up to the task. (Rosie is our 25 foot Airstream trailer.) Rosie was cozy even during the hottest days.

The beach

The downside of the heat was that we didn’t want to venture outside Rosie and spent too much time inside or, taking a page from my mother’s playbook, we went shopping during the hottest part of the day. 

We last camped in Grayton two year ago. They were closing the older loop back then to add 50 amp power and sewage connections there. Our fear was that they would remove too many trees from that loop. We were relieved to see the trees were still there. 

The campsites were renumbered since our last visit. We found that our favorite site numbers are now associated with not-as-nice sites. 

We were able to ride our bicycles by getting up early and going out before breakfast. Temperatures were too high for enjoyable rides by 8:30 a.m. We also tried to get out about a half hour before sunset, if the temperatures dropped enough.

Early morning bike rides

Stopping to take a photo

Grayton is a park you want to bring your bikes to. There are some great trails in Watercolor and Seaside. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a back-in
• Our site was dirt and gravel 
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection 
• Our site had a sewer connection. All sites in this campground now have sewer connections 
• The campground has restrooms and showers in each camping loop. They were clean and well maintained 
• The campground doesn’t provide a WiFi signal
• AT&T placed four bars of  4G service for voice and data 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS stations using Rosie’s TV antenna. We also saw digital channels CW, Grit, Laff, ME-TV and THiS. After spending a small fortune to fix Rosie’s TV antenna, I’m not sure we accomplished anything as signals drifted in and out. It is hard to tell because we have always had trouble picking up TV stations while camping at Grayton 
• We quickly learned that biting black flies own the park in September. We never saw these pests when camping there during late fall and early spring 

While walking Suzy, our Yorkie dog, around our loop one afternoon, a fellow camper asked me where the dumpster was. I told her and we chatted for a few moments about camping. This was her family’s maiden trip in their new camper. They were heading from central Florida to Yellowstone, a huge undertaking especially since they had no reservations for the entire trip. 

That sounded familiar to me. My father bought a 16 foot camper when I was probably 10 years-old and took the family to Yellowstone on our inaugural trip.  My parents had to quickly learn the ropes of traveling with a RV. That trip was also one of my best childhood memories. 

I hope that family has a great trip. They are heading there much later in the year than my family did years ago and will encounter snow and freezing temperatures along the way. If they make it, the weather will become part of that family’s fokelore in years to come. 

The dunes

Still looking for the alligator!

A kayaker in the early morning

The famous Grayton Beach trees

A selfie in Watercolor

Seen during our morning bike ride in Watercolor

The Airstream food trailers in Watercolor

The sun reflecting off some trees on a hiking path

Close to sunset time