Naples to Chepachet RI – June 2022

Lots of farms and farmland along this road; along with so, so many fruit and vegetable stands along the road selling various healthy choices. Fuel prices along the way are outrageous with some stations offering regular for $4.89/gallon. FJB!!! Sunny Oaks RV Park is lovely and I would highly recommend this place. Paved roads leading to the sites are well maintained. The sites are gravel with a small patio and picnic table. Our site is particularly lovely because it includes a gazebo with another picnic table. The site is nestled among tall oaks with a large grassy area and a small pond to the rear. The addition of the gazebo gives us good privacy from the site next to us. Here and there around the Park gazebos, grills and picnic areas can be found. There’s also a playground for the kiddos. Very nice stay!

May 30, 2022

The Barnyard RV Park

Lexington, SC

327.7 Miles/5 hours 27 minutes

Full hook up Pull thru site B04

$38.29 Good Sam Discount

Sam’s Club

Pooler, GA

Diesel fuel $286.41

$4.879/gallon

58.703 gallons

Traveling on a holiday is never fun; today was no exception. We hopped on I-95 a little before 10:00. Most of our time today was spent on the horrible highways of Georgia and South Carolina. Damage from frost heaves, and just pieces of asphalt missing from the road, was our driving pleasure today 😞. We were going to be nearly depleted fuel-wise today so the hunt was on for, hopefully, better than we have seen on the roadways so far. I’ll forgive Georgia for their horrible roads and horrific drivers because this is where we found the best bang for our buck. Using Gas Buddy, the best price was found at Sam’s Club in Pooler. Pooler is on the outskirts of Savannah and just a very short distance from I-95. Regular was offered at $4.12 and diesel for $4.87 so there was a long line of waiters. It took a good half hour to fuel the hungry beast. No problem. I took the opportunity to make lunch, we ate, and got back out into the jungle.

Our last leg of today’s trip was on I-26 westbound. Both highways were riddled with holiday travelers and three times our speed was slowed down to clear fender benders from the roads. 

At 4:12 we pulled into The Barnyard RV Park.  It’s very minimalist offering only a laundry room and bathroom as amenities . It’s a very large campground with maybe a third of the sites occupied today. Makes me wonder if it’s a good transient in and out. The sites are very spacious, private and even more so now that it’s far from full. Oak trees are plentiful and, of course for us, block the line of site for satellite. No worries 😉. It’s one night and Barry has many other options. Of course he does 😄.

May 31, 2022

Natural Bridge/Lexington KOA Holiday

Natural Bridge, VA

309.47 Miles/5 hours 9 minutes

Full hook up Pull thru site

$63.71/evening

Another five-hour day 😞. Today’s route was I-20, I-277, I-177 for nearly 200 miles. Our one hour and a half last leg was on I-81 N. Most of the roads were quite nice, minus some major road repairs in NC. All of these highways are popular tractor trailer routes and today was no different. We were very surprised to see how crowded the rest stops were; mostly full of resting tractor trailer drivers. Once we crossed over the VA line the roads became hilly and winding with beautiful scenery to match. There’s no denying the beauty of VA.

We arrived at Natural Bridge KOA at 3:30. As we entered the Park we noticed a Safari Adventure just to the left. Perhaps something to do?? I inquired when checking in and was advised many people stay at this KOA to specifically go there. So when looking at our options we were too late. Last entrance was at 3:30 with the Safari closing at 5:30. Next time, for sure! It looks like great fun 🤩. This area is rich in things to do. Natural Bridge, which we have visited, is wondrous. The Luray Caverns are spectacular…bring a sweater! Take a cruise along Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoy some amazing scenery at the look out areas. This area offers a zoo, ghost tour, other caverns, and much more. This is a fabulous holiday destination for the whole family.  

The KOA itself is carved out of the side of a mountain, therefore very hilly. It’s nicely maintained with a pool, camp store, cabins, tent sites, cable, Wi-Fi, playground and game and recreation equipment for guest use. They also offer what one would expect in the way of laundry and bath houses. They will also deliver wood to your site!  And speaking of sites, check out the premium sites that include a patio with tables, chairs and a gas grill. Quite nice! Definitely worth the extra money if we were here for a longer stay. 

June 1, 2022

Robin Hill RV Resort & Campground

Lenhartsville, PA

319.46 Miles/5 hrs 19 min

$74.70/evening Good Sam’s Discount

Pull through W and 30 amp electric site H2

Fuel

Shell

Winchester, VA

$350.00

$5.65/gallon

63 gallons

All of our travels today, minus the last hour on I-78, was on I-81. Most of the roadways were decent, but when they were bad they were very bad! Same scenery as the day before consisting of beautiful rolling hills, livestock and corn field farms. We watched as thousands, yes thousands, of tractor trailer trucks passed us by…both north and south bound. The truckers are definitely out there working.

Robin Hill Campground is a bit disappointing. It’s not very well maintained, with rocky, lumpy roads with tall hills. We were assigned a site right next to the bathroom and a dumpster because we requested a pull-through site. I was advised it was the only pull-through in the park, but that was absolutely not true. The receptionist agreed to move us, but never said that site she was moving us to only had 30 amp electricity. The jacks were down and the slides on their way out before we knew, so screw it; we will manage for one night. 😠 The sites are very close, but we are the only RV in this large field so it’s pretty nice. I would not recommend this campground. Unfortunately, we are booked here as we head west in July. One more night here, but never again. In my opinion, pretty pricey for what you get.

On the brighter side Dietrich’s Market is close by. It’s a country store that sells locally-sourced meats and cheese. They offer a lot in the way of smoked meats and cheese. Quite the variety of everything they sell. Most of the prices were very fair while others had our eyes popping out of our heads…lol! We selected a good number of different items. $100 later we were out the door with our parcel. So far we’ve tried the beef jerky and it’s the best we’ve ever had.

Upon a recommendation from the campground receptionist we had dinner at C. J. Hummel’s. This over 100 year old establishment started out as a place for ho-downs and snacks. Eventually, the snacks increased to more options for food until it eventually became a restaurant. They also host events. The food was delicious ( best lobster bisque ever ) and so extremely affordable. Our server was pleasant and very attentive. When we are here in July we will visit again.

June 2, 2022

Holiday Acres Campground

North Scituate, RI

319.46 miles 6 hours

$1360.00 for 32 days

Pull through/full hook up 50 amp site D22

Fuel

Mobile

Scituate, RI

39.2 gallons

$5.99/gallon

$234.75

There was pretty much nothing good about today’s travels due to horrific roadways and construction sites. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and NYS Thruway were particularly awful. The traffic on the NYS Thruway was outrageous. The bird and I were about to commit suicide! She was not particularly pleased with the ride either…bracing herself from vibration and bumps by sticking her beak between the bars of her cage. The torture was accentuated by topping off the tank and getting screwed for the third time this week with the purchase of more diesel fuel.

Holiday Acres was another bit of a disappointment in that when the reservation was made I was advised they would take a $200 deposit (plus 3.5% because I used a credit card) with $800 due upon arrival. That was not the case. We were charged for an additional 4 days, 3 of them being holiday rate, and an additional $50 for electricity. They are now using a credit card machine that charges an additional 3.5% to the customers because it is a convenience for the customers. That’s the way they are trying to spin it, anyway. I paid our balance by check to avoid the additional charge.  We have made 39 reservations for this adventure all over the country and no other place has charged us “for the convenience” of using a credit card. Unbelievable! Then, let’s add on a guest fee of $6 pp/per day. If your guest would like to stay past 8 pm, they are now considered an over night guest, and there’s an additional $6 tacked onto the initial $6. Ridiculousness at its finest. Way to go with putting your hand in your guests’ pockets, Holiday Acres!

Our site is acceptable. We are parked in the middle of a field so we get some satellite service. Thankfully, we have many options for watching television.  The site, right now, is quite spacious. If RVs are placed on either side of us that would diminish our space and privacy considerably. There are many other RVs parked along the very woodsy perimeter of the field and it appears that they are permanent, seasonal  patrons. The internet is basic and, as usual, can be very slow depending upon how many others are using it also. Cell service is certainly not the best; conversations can be very spotty. Texting has been found to be our best bet for communication. We are within reasonable distance of family and friends…so let the fun begin! 😁

Michelle, Jay and Jackson visited for dinner and we enjoyed the sausage (from Dietrich’s) and veggies cooked on the grill…very yummy.

The weather, early morning and evening has been chilly over the past couple of days. It warms up to the mid 70’s for the afternoon so we are enjoying the outdoors 😎.