11/01 to 11/13 Visiting 4 State Parks in 4 States to Florida 2025

 11/01 to 11/13

4 State Parks in 4 States

NJ, VA, NC, SC  

Greetings and welcome back. I've had a wonderful short stay at home as an "apartment dweller." Meanwhile, my Hudson Islander RV friends were enjoying a gorgeous weather week in Cape May while...

Question: Why are people properly vertical while the horizon is dipping to the right?

A nice crowd dining out and celebrating Doreen's birthday. I was there as "a fly on the wall," behind Roberta's head

...I enjoyed my time filled with family, friends and, you guessed it, terrific dining experiences. 8 trips for sushi entertaining 12 friends and family alone. For my sushi loving friends, my "home away from home," Sakura Garden in Hastings-on-Hudson, never fails in providing wonderful dining experiences both in quality and presentation.

Appetizers:

Special Rolls

And desserts.

Unusual though it may seem, I use my annual trip to Florida (near the end of 2024) to herald in my 2025 RV season. As a change of pace and venue, I decided to break up the 712 mile, 12-hour trip to Myrtle Beach State Park, the first leg of my six-month journey and spend some leisure time in four state parks along the way. This first blog will contain my thoughts and photos of each.

“State parks have some of the most breathtaking natural landscapes...and are perfect for an RV journey where you can enjoy scenic drives, quiet mornings, and nights under the stars” ~~RVshare

As most of my readers know, I finished visiting the remaining nine states missing from my RV map this past summer. Thinking about those cross-country trips triggered a thought that resulted in the visuals I created below. Each triangle represents a campground:

My cross country trips over the years.

To California along a northern-central route, returning via a southern route

To California via Florida, along the southern route, returning via a central route.

The "9-Sticker" states trip was along the northern tier and returning via the northern-central states.

This is my finalized itinerary for my winter travels, November through April, 2025

"A sunset is the sun’s fiery kiss to the night." — Crystal Woods

"The sun has gone to bed and so must I. But the memories of its colors will dance in my dreams tonight." — Unknown

And so it begins. After being treated to a "going away" get-together with four wonderful neighbors, Mother Nature also treated me to yet another spectacular sky canvas rendition of sunset. With striking colors that always leave the viewer in awe, this captured rendition is added to my extensive collection of sunsets as seen from my balcony.  The view from my balcony also reminded me why it was time to follow the sun and continue an "endless summer."

BELLEPLAIN STATE FOREST, WOODBINE, NJ

Once again on the road, I can repeat that New York has the worst roads in the country. My short trip from Peekskill to Elmsford where I pick up I-287 was the bumpiest ever. So much so that iron skillets, pots and pans from an above storage compartment came crashing down onto the floor. This is not a sound you want to hear while concentrating on traffic.

Belleplain, from the French, "beautiful plain" refers to the open flat area that would become Belleplain State Forest. It was established in 1928 when 21,000  acres were set aside in an attempt to reforest the area. In the 1930's, the Civilian Conservation Corps added structures that are still in use today. In addition, they dammed the East Creek, a swamp (the Meisle Cranberry Bog) and created Lake Nummy, named after Chief Nummy, of the indigenous Lenape people who lived in the area. 

There are 169 campsites available for RVs, tents and cabins. Densely wooded, the roads and sites are not well marked making is slightly difficult to find and then maneuver into the site. My site 102 has just water and electricity. The carpet of fallen oak leaves provided the welcome silence. That silence is broken when walking passersby cause each step to make a rustling sound. The crinkle and the crunch of acorns are reminiscent of childhood days of kicking your way through piles of leaves put curbside waiting for the city's truck to come and vacuum them up for disposal. The flurry of fallen leaves as well as temps remaining in the mid 50-60's are comforting reminders that the time is right to migrate.

November 3rd's event also reminds us of the inevitable change of seasons and moods.

I thought giving my readers a 360º video clip might be a good way to give the "flavor" of the campground.

WESTMORELAND STATE PARK, MONTROSS, VA

Westmoreland State Park in Virginia was a 5-hour trip from Belleplain State Park.  Much of it was along route 301 and over the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the Bridge over the Potomac (The Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge) with heights above water of 174' and 135' respectively. Neither of these up-in-the-sky structures would have suited the faint of heart or gephyrophobics.  Traffic was okay but traffic lights through many towns slowed the trip where the 55 m.p.h. speed limit was merely a suggestion. 

Still, the ride was scenic and beautiful. Past croplands sheared of their harvest to rest for winter and horse ranches in pristine settings, the color of the day was Crayola's (meaning "crazy mass of color") BURNT SIENNA. Aside from the never changing dark green of the pines, all trees sported their seasonal dark golds and browns, including my favorite, "burnt sienna." Burnt sienna was my go-to Fall color of choice from that box of 64 Crayola's. I remember well those unsigned, never-to-be-displayed masterpieces I created in elementary school depicting pastoral seasonal scenes; of the vivid illustrations and story, The Little House written by Virginia Lee Burton (1942) and read to me in third grade by librarian, Claire Finnegan in Franklin Street School, Peekskill.  

I have the book at home, so it was a treasure from my past I visually experienced with today's drive from Jersey through Delaware, Maryland and into Virginia. Again, it must be reiterated, it's not the destination, but the journey that leaves (pun intended) lasting impressions.

Who could not feel the autumn air; the crisp and chilled, sometimes biting temps or the rustle of fallen leaves merely by looking at this illustration. It's burnt sienna in its purest form. Ah, but...I digress.

 

My 3-day stay here in Virginia is in a 1,300+ acre state park with 133 campsites, some cabins and Yurts. My back-in, graveled site A-30, has just water and 30-amp electrical service. Temps are in the low 50's with tonight dipping down to 44º .

A very slight incline required levelers

A very spacious area behind with a new picnic table and fire ring mounted on a concrete slab. Neat, clean and well maintained. Park employees came by every other day to blow away the leaves from campsites. The silence once again gave a serene, tranquil relaxed feeling (except for the leaf blowers, of course).

I'm beginning to see a pattern that starkly contrasts State Park Campgrounds from the commercially run, like KOAs, or private campgrounds. It's all about amenities. All provide the basics like water and 30 or 50-amp electrical service and all have dump stations for waste water be they at the site or on the way out. But what's different is what I enjoy most: the natural habitat; untouched beauty that was present long before the CCC came along and supplied buildings and infrastructure. Nature was here first and man quietly and respectfully assimilated into it. In the commercial campgrounds, they cater to the family, to everyday recreational needs that folks have come to enjoy when their vacations include a "camping" experience.

Jim and Debbie, volunteer camp hosts, stopped by to welcome me. They're from Culpepper, VA and spend a month as camp hosts making sure I'm a happy camper. That was a first for me...at any campground to be greeted and welcomed. Nice touch.

I don't know if these are unique to State campgrounds or to the campgrounds in the south, but the fire rings with cooking grills on concrete slabs are major.

This State Park, nestled along the Potomac River is also of CCC creation. It's known to be one of the best locations on the East Coast for fossil hunting, especially million year old shark (Megalodon) teeth. There's Horseheads Cliffs rising 150 feet above the shore line. The rate of erosion, 2 feet per year, has caused the closure of these cabins that had spectacular views. It is also located along the migratory path of Bald eagles, ospreys, and great blue herons. There's even legends of several cabins being haunted as reported by both park employees and campers; flickering lights, strange noises, etc. I'll keep you posted.   

After my 3-day stay and no haunted experiences, I said good bye to my carpet of leaves, the silence of the forest and headed south to North Carolina.

GOOSE CREEK STATE PARK, WASHINGTON, NC

I decided to take the 240-mile scenic route, mainly route 17, that went through so many small towns that seemed to appear in clusters separated by miles of farmland in between. Each community had their staple Dollar General, Piggly Wiggly, Walmart, McDonalds and CVSs.  With a stop to refuel and another to fill my propane tank, it was a 6-hour day. But it was sunny, warm and the scenery mostly farms. The number of shuttered businesses, homes in disrepair, the usual old, abandoned vehicles in yards was another reminder of scenes encountered so many times as I've traveled across this country. And Baptist Churches? All along the way. North Carolina has 4,300 associated with the Southern Baptist Convention and that number doesn't include additional churches affiliated with other Baptist conventions and independent Baptist congregations.

By choosing this scenic route I crossed five rivers: the Rappahannock, York, James, Chowan and Roanoke Rivers and their amazing views.  The color of today's drive was WHITE.  Acres and acres of cotton fields. In North Carolina, there are about 410,000 acres devoted to growing cotton. Cotton dates back as far as 7,000 years making it one of the oldest known fibers. It's planted in April and May, takes about 140-160 days to mature and is picked late September, early November. With the neatly aligned rows of brown twigs giving the area its brown color, you could tell that these fields were harvested. So it was a treat for this Yankee to come across many that had yet to be. As a result, I did something I've always wanted to do whenever I saw cotton fields.

When it was safe to do so, I pulled over to the side of the road, flashers on, walking stick in hand and maneuvered down the short embankment, across a gully and with a pair of scissors, snipped some branches from the plant. Feeling a smidge of guilt taking someone's crop, I looked both ways and across the field before hobbling back to Winnie and taking off. 

What must it have been like back in the day when slaves worked to harvest such acreage by hand?

Today, huge machines costing between $850,000 and $1.2 million are doing the work in no time, usually 10 to 20 acres an hour. In a 12-hour day, that's 100-200 acres a day.

Cotton is naturally flame-retardant compared to synthetic fibers. When it does catch fire, it burns more slowly and doesn’t melt, making it safer in certain applications like clothing and home textiles. For your crash course on how these machines, pick and separate the cotton from the plant, watch a 2-minute video HERE. Below are the fruits of my labor.

When mature, the pods burst open very much like milkweed pods to display the cotton ball.

Surprisingly soft to the touch, the soft fibers sprang back to their original shape when squeezed.

The next thought: Who was the first to figure out that by teasing, you can get spun thread?

My research indicated the earliest evidence of spun thread comes from prehistoric times, with fibers like flax twisted and spun into threads around 20,000 to 30,000 years ago.

And finally, this guy, Eli Whitney in 1793, invented a cotton gin (gin is short for "engine"). What was that all about? Found this. Check it out HERE.

When I arrived at Goose Creek State Park, there were no signs or buildings where I expected to sign in. Instead, I drove past site 1, labeled, "Camp Host" and directly around the only road and found my site 28. And impressive it was. A back-in site on a huge concrete slab with water, 30/50-amp service AND sewer.

The extra treat of having spic-and-span, modern, clean showers about 100' away was a plus. Speaking of which, there was another first, however. It took me a little time to figure out that to run the shower (in ten-second intervals), you had to push/punch the knob each time. Ever take a shower in 10-second intervals? Luckily, hot water was available instantly. 

With temps in the 80's, a slight breeze and some overcast skies, I had plenty of down time, for relaxing, working on Cryptograms and updating my blog. Occasionally, couples, either walking their dog or riding their bikes would pass. Other than that, there was no one who took notice of my presence. This stay has been most pleasant. 

 

MYRTLE BEACH STATE PARK, MYRTLE BEACH, SC

With two stops, one for fuel and one at the Food Lion for groceries, today's 5-hour trip along route 17 was uneventful. Again, I purposely chose the scenic route which took me along the coastline and through small towns with speed limits adjusted accordingly. There was a mystery, however, hanging over my head throughout the trip. It started back on site in Goose Creek. I happened to walk around the camper...

... only to be greeted by a sight no driver ever wants to come upon. A flat tire.

It just went flat. My TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) did not alert me to the drop in tire pressure nor have I ever had a problem with it. Panicking, I immediately inflated the tire to the proper pressure and monitored it for the next 24 hours. The timing was critical as I had my RV insurance roadside assistance in place with a service provider scheduled to come campsite and change the tire and I'm scheduled to leave the next day. The tire held its pressure and by the time I was ready to leave, the TPMS and the digital readout on my portable tire inflator both showed the tire was inflated properly. I canceled the insurance claim and 230-miles later, the tire is fine and properly inflated. I will continue to monitor it but the WHY and HOW are beyond me.

Once off the Kings Highway and into the Myrtle Beach State Park, one is immediately removed from life's rush, traffic pressures, noise and malls. The densely wooded entrance road...

...greets the visitor with an impressive canopy decorated by Nature with Spanish moss; a very nice welcome for the weary traveler.

Site 66 is a pull through, sandy site with just water and 30-amp service; the usual fire ring and picnic table are present if needed. The camp store is within walking distance and it's one of the most extensive and well equipped "camp stores" I've seen...especially in a state or county run campground. Most impressive. Your 360º tour is below.

This campground on the coast happens to be in the flight path of departing commercial flights from Myrtle Beach International Airport. Yup, every few minutes hundreds of folks up there are headed somewhere. Interesting factoid for you. "At any given moment, about 5,000 commercial airplanes are flying over the United States, with an estimated 61,000 passengers on board at once." ~ChatGPT

Last November on my way south, I stayed at this campground and rather than repeat experiences this year, I will refer my readers to that blog and memories that it contains. Read about it from this LINK.

From here, another 4-hours south and I'll be in Okatie, SC and Dell Webb's Sun City at Bluffton (Okatie, SC) spending three days visiting long time friends and fellow retirees from Blue Mt. Middle School, Roger and Wendy, the subject of my next blog. See you there.

"Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause."

— Abraham Lincoln