Category: 01 Southward bound!

Describes our hard push south to get ahead of winter weather.

Day 4: 12/30/2015 – Ye Olde Brother’s Brewery

Destination: Day of rest

Route: None

Mileage: 0

Calling today a day of rest is incorrect. It is a day of rest for Abby’s engine and transmission and we are not looking to make time on the road. We did learn that the reason we haven’t been able to escape the rain is a stationary front that is hovering right over our route. Thank you competing pressure systems. So the question is, how do we entertain a toddler in a RV without watching the movies Cars and The Incredibles ad naseum? Take Alex shopping of course!

The area map provided by the campground shows a Camper’s World just down the main drag. We figure a few gifts for Abby would help our girl feel appreciated. The scale on the map is a wee bit off and Alex falls asleep on our way over. We manage to get him out of his seat but as soon as we cross the store threshold, he wakes and wants to run around. He just happens to be barefoot, but ah well. Off he goes.

We find a nifty little collapsable broom to help keep the dog hair from taking over Abby, a new outdoor rug, a water filter, a dishwashing scrub brush, a Good Sam membership, and a Good Sam towing package. The towing package would have come in handy during our Acadia trip, and purchasing it feels a bit like shutting the barn door after the horse has already run away.

For lunch we went to Ye Olde Brother’s Brewery. Talk about a pleasant surprise! Despite the slightly unappetizing name, their seasonal ‘Turd Furgeson Lives Weizenbock’ was fantastic. Even more surprising was the pizza. Looking at the price per topping it seems a bit steep. But when they serve the pizza the topping layer is almost an inch thick. The crust and sauce were fabulous. Absolutely delicious. We leave with a growler of their porter because the seasonals are not available for growler fills.

Tasting flights at Ye Olde Brother's Brewery. One flight per beer drinker. Great pizza!
Tasting flights at Ye Olde Brother’s Brewery. One flight per beer drinker. Great pizza!

We head back to camp and begin planning our right turn.

Day 3: 12/29/2015 – Navarre Beach, FL

Destination: Navarre Beach Campground, Navarre, FL

Route: County roads, I-85S, I65-S, state roads

Mileage: 433

New States Visited: Alabama, Florida

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This is our second longest mileage day of the trip; it falls short of Day 2’s mileage by 25 miles or so. After a night of rain, we awoke to the sun! Such a glorious thing. Dave did some rough addition and determined in the 2 weeks or so we had seen the sun a grand total of 10 hours. Jess took morning shift and with that had the pleasure of driving through Atlanta! Jess acquitted herself well through the city, helped by the light traffic.

Dave snaps a view of Atlanta as we head down the road.
Dave snaps a view of Atlanta as we head down the road.

To add to pleasant surprises, we discover the state roads in Alabama, or at the very least the ones we drove on were well maintained. We stopped to fill Abby up, with Jess on the look out for poisonous snakes. Some former co-workers, who were from the part of Alabama we were traveling through, gleefully warned of poisonous snakes. The fact that Jess left the vehicle was impressive. Good roads paired with good weather made for a relatively easy day of driving. We arrive at Navarre Beach Campground just before dusk and just in time for the rain to begin.

Navaree Beach Campground is actually on Santa Rosa Sound, so it is not diretly on the gulf. The campground is clean and well maintained with cozy sites. The restroom facilities were yet another positive with good water pressure and hot water.  The showers were even set up in such a way that Dave was able to take Alex to the shower rather than bathe him in the RV. The laundry room had plenty of washers and dryers.
We stayed a few sites away from the beach/pier area. This beach is not well suited for young children, mainly because there is not much beach to speak of. One has to go down steps to reach the sound and there is a sandy area that appears to be under water during high tide. Not a big deal for us, but if you want a campground that is easy access to the beach, this is not it. The campground has a nice dog walk area, but on leash only.

Day 2: 12/28/2015 – Tugaloo State Park, GA

Monday (12/28/2015)

Destination: Tugaloo State Park, GA

Route: County Roads to 81S, to 77S, to 85S, to more county roads

Mileage: 458

New States Visited: South Carolina, Georgia

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Day 2 is one of the longest travel days of the trip. It is about 20 miles longer than Day 3. Our day started out foggy as Jess took the wheel out of the KOA for the morning shift. As we pushed further south, rain joined the fog to make travel conditions rather miserable. To add to the fun, an accident just north of the 81S/77S intersection, an accident forced us to reroute onto county roads. The county roads also happened to be under construction at several points.

Just as we crossed into North Carolina, we took our midday break at a Love’s truck stop. We headed towards the truck fill up side of the operation and soon determined this choice to be an error. The truck stop is primarily for operators with accounts; we don’t have an account and have to jump through hoops to pay for our diesel. Dave took over the wheel and had cloudy, rain free conditions.

We stop at a gas station a few miles away from our camp for the night to fill up. We just happen to notice the Powerball jackpot is over $300 million, so Dave bought three tickets. (Spoiler alert: We do not win.)

Tugaloo State Park in GA is on a shared reservoir with South Carolina (Saddler’s Creek Sate Park is on the South Carolina side). The park is quite nice; we found spacious and level sites that have generous spacing. The bathroom and showers are clean, with plenty of water pressure and hot water. We arrive after hours and the campground host is very pleasant and showed us to the area where we would chose our site. The host gave some great tips that helped us chose an easy pull through site from the many available. We did not select a premium water site, which is ideal for us. Being close to the water means we have to keep a much closer eye on Alex to ensure he doesn’t fall in.

This would be a fantastic park to visit again, we are sorry it was only an overnight stop for us.

Sunrise in Tugaloo State Park (GA)
Sunrise in Tugaloo State Park (GA)

Day 1: 12/27/2015 – Harrisonburg, VA KOA

Destination: Harrisonburg KOA, Virginia

Route: County Roads to 15S, to 81S, to more county roads

Mileage: 330

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Prior to departure, we spent 3 frantic (Why? Check out this post) days repacking our 6′ x 10′ trailer that contained our brewing equipment, Alex’s crib, clothing, bicycles, and Alex’s little red wagon. Unfortunately, Dave’s motorcycle did not make the cut for the trailer based on weight and the space it occupied.

We wake up to a gray and rainy (no surprise here) departure day. We had also been cautioned by snow bird friend of Jess’ parents that Sunday was a bad travel day because everyone started their journey south on Sunday. Throw in a very emotional good-bye with Jess’ parents, this day is going to be tough.

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With tears in our eyes and a catch in our throats, we hit the road around 10 am. We are hoping we made the right decision for our family. We try and comfort ourselves with the idea that while Alex will see his Mimi and Grandpa less frequently, we hope the longer duration of the visits results in a net positive in regards to time he spends with Jess’ parents. Fortunately, we have problem to solve and therefore can’t dwell on the sadness that comes with moving away from family and friends. Simply, how are we going to get our cargo trailer to New York?

As we slog through the rain, we decide to stop in Liberty, PA for our halfway mileage break. Dave pulls us up to the diesel pump and notes that we are sitting next to a truck and goose neck trailer combination. After initially laughing off Jess’ suggestion to ask him if he is for hire, Dave does just that. The gentleman, Gary, just happens to be for hire. We leave with his card hopeful that we will finally get the trailer moved out of Delaware. Time is especially critical because closing is being moved up from February 1st to an unknown date in the middle of January. What can really go wrong with hiring a stranger to move your household goods?

We continue on south in the drizzle thinking that our luck is turning around. The drizzle continues until the Virginia border where it stops and we enjoy gray clouds. And we see the sun! For approximately 15 minutes before it was overpowered by clouds. At our exit for the KOA, we fill Abby up. The next day is going to be long and we will need an early start.

The Harrisonburg KOA is very nice. Dave has stayed here years ago on a motorcycle trip. Clean rest rooms, spacious shower stalls and sites that are roomier than what you tend to see at commercial campgrounds. The campground is wooded and had a nice atmosphere. The hot water is plentiful with excellent water pressure. The playground is great for Alex to burn off some energy and there is even an area for dogs to be off leash.Not a bad first stop. Dave de-winterizes the water system, fixes the bathroom faucet, and we settle in for the night.