With a planned departure date of November 7th, it was a busy couple of weeks. Pivot would be hauled on October 24th so we had a lot of prep work to accomplish to be ready on that date. Move back to the coach, pack everything up, take down the enclosure, winterize the plumbing, etc. were just a few of the many tasks on our list. The engines would be winterized by our local mechanic.

It was hard work but our mission was accomplished! Then Matt, the guy we hired to shrink wrap her, was able to dodge the inclement weather and shrink wrap her before our departure day. We left knowing she was ready for the long cold and possibly snowy winter!

Back on the coach, projects continued with the installation of a new house Lithium battery which was at the top of Rob’s project priority list. It took some time and effort but that mission was accomplished!

After stocking up on a few of our favorite RI delicacies, we were finally ready for lift off! Leaving around 9:30 a.m. on 11/7, after stopping for diesel in West Greenwich, it would be a long six hour drive to our first stop, the Mohegan Sun Pocono Casino in Wilkes Barre, PA. RV’s and trucks are allowed to park overnight for free in paved Lot E or the overflow gravel lot. Lot E is very hilly making it difficult to get at or near level while the gravel lot is much flatter. Since it was fairly late in the afternoon by the time we arrived, most of Lot E was already full with trucks and RV’s. Since there were no level areas available, we pulled into the overflow gravel lot. This is now our preferred location because it is much quieter and less busy than the paved lot. With no hookups, this was a good test for the new Lithium house battery install (it worked well). Not much else to say about our stay there.

Our second day wasn’t quite as long as our first one, just a four hour drive to our destination, Candy Hill Campground in Winchester, VA. Decent campground although a little pricey ($75 with no discounts). Not a lot of options for a decent big rig friendly campground with full hookups along our route which we needed for laundry because our next few nights would be off grid. 

It did have a lot of amenities – pool, laundry, chickens, etc. but none that we were interested in because we were only there for one night. Our site (E4) was a nice long pull thru with a grill, picnic table and chairs. Our only complaint was that the campground was quite close to I95 so lots of traffic noise but despite that and the nightly rate, we would probably would stay here again.

The next day it would be a relatively short drive to our next destination – The Battlefield Country Store, a free, no hookup, overnight Harvest Host location in Fredericksburg, VA. Although the store was closed on Sunday, when we made our reservation, we asked if it was okay for us to stay there when it was closed. Whew, permission granted! With only one other small trailer parked there, we had lots of room on one side of the building to park. Not sure how easy parking might be during busy periods. Since we arrived in the early afternoon, we were able to meet up with our RV friends, Stu & Cindy, who live in the area.

After giving us a driving tour of the historic district of Fredericksburg, they brought us back to their beautiful home where we had drinks and munchies. Later, they took us out to dinner (thanks guys!) at the Park Lane Tavern. Very nice place. Rob and I both had the Jägerschnitzel ($19.50) which was hand-flattened pork loin fried and topped with traditional onion and mushroom gravy and served with kraut, warm potato salad, and green beans. A German classic! Excellent. By the time we left the restaurant, it was pouring rain. After they dropped us off back at the coach, the rest of the evening was uneventful.

The next morning we had breakfast in the General Store. No table service – order at the counter and pick up your food when they call your number. Although our breakfast plates ($7 for 2 eggs, bacon and toast served in a Styrofoam take out container) were nothing fancy, it was good and certainly very convenient. After breakfast, we spent some time perusing all the goodies for sale on display but we managed to keep our credit cards in our wallet. Candies, jams, jellies, popcorn, pasta, coffee – you name it, they had it!Our next stop was at another Harvest Hosts location, Keystone Truck & Tractor Museum in Colonial Heights, VA, south of Richmond.

Check in was in the gift store which was to the right, off the lobby, in the photo below.

Similar to other Harvest Hosts locations allows one free boondocking (no hookups) night or, for a fee ($50), water/50A electric sites are available for multiple nights. We elected to pay for our two nights, staying on a W/E hookup site. The sites are really nice here, well spaced and long enough so unhitching the tow vehicle was not required. The museum is really well done and they have a decent diner type restaurant inside as well.

In addition to the museum, they had a few oldie but goodie items on display in the parking lot.

Although we weren’t interested in the museum, on the day of our arrival, we did eat twice at the diner. For lunch on the day of our arrive, we enjoyed a ham and cheese melt served on a croissant ($9.49 with a 10% discount for staying there) with a choice of one side – onion rings for me and a salad for Rob.

On the morning of our departure, we returned to the diner for breakfast.  We both had the Joy of Keystone ($10.99) breakfast – 2 eggs, bacon, and home fries, served with a choice of either toast (my choice) and a pancake (Rob).  While we were here we took a quick ride into Richmond and toured around a little. Richmond offers a nice 1.25 miles “Canal Walk“, along the banks of the Haxall Canal and the James River & Kanawha Canal.  It was quite chilly the day we visited – must be quite nice in the summer months.

Our next destination was Raleigh Oaks RV Resort in Four Oaks, NC. At check in, we were assigned to pull in site #214.

Over the past few weeks, we had been having a problems with the toilet in the half bath. the mid-bath toilet broke and couldn’t be flushed. Great! We have a 2nd rear bath toilet, but while on the road it’s not accessible without extending one of the bedroom slide rooms. Over the last 9 years Rob had fixed the mid bath (and most used) toilet a few times replacing valves and springs and such, but this time it seemed it would require a more serious repair with a fairly hard to get part. As luck would have it, a Camping World in Raleigh had a complete new toilet of the exact same make and model in stock so we reserved it during our drive. We arrived at the campground about 2:30ish, unhitched the Jeep, drove about 40 minutes each way to pick up the new toilet and had it all fixed by happy hour. Yippee, problem solved!

Next on our agenda was a one night stay at Midpoint RV Park in Sellers, NC. This is a nice wooded campground with a state park like feel located about 5 miles off of I-95. Their booking site allows you to choose your own site plus their website also provides a drive thru video so you can check out the sites almost as if you were there (https://midpointi95rvpark.com/site-map/). We chose site 46 which was a nice long private site.

Since this site was at the end of a row, when exiting, we had to essentially make a U-turn. It was tight but we made it with our 65′ rig (including attached tow vehicle). Actually, there are other options to exit the campground that would not require the U-turn, but required taking a longer ride thru other parts of the campground. The rate ($59 minus a 10% Good Sam discount) here was more reasonable than the previous few non-Harvest Host sites so even with the longer distance from I-95 we would definitely stay here again. Distance from I-95 has a good side – it was *quiet* here – no traffic noise!

Thus far our trip had consisted of a few fairly long driving days and very quick overnight stops. Yes we were glad to leave the cold temps in New England behind but the travel pace was exhausting! Finally at our next destination we would enjoy some much needed rest and relaxation during a week long stay! Stay tuned!