Tag: Alex’s adventures

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.