Top 10 National Parks

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Big Horn Sheep at Yellowstone

Out with a Bang

We are so sorry, but this post has been removed because it is a part of our book Napkin Dreams that details our trip around America!

Chippewa Nature Center

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We are so sorry, but this post has been removed because it is a part of our book Napkin Dreams that details our trip around America!

Champ

While we spoke at a church near Plattsburgh, New York, we crossed over Lake Champlain on a ferry from Vermont. this was pretty exciting for everyone because, well it is out of the ordinary. We have been on a ferry before, most recently to Balboa Island last March. But this is the first time we have taken Howard on an ferry. This was both cool and expensive.

While crossing the lake we kept a sharp eye out for America's Loch Ness monster - Champ. Champ has been rumored to live in these deep waters for many ages and there have been some sightings even photographs. We thought we might have spotted him ourselves - see if you can see him in the photograph below.

The church had a great little spot for us to camp at while we were there. This little camping spot was perfect because we full hook-ups, a quiet location, playground equipment and it was right next to Lake Champlain. Thus we had more opportunity to spot our mystical creature. We definitely saw a few loons and kingfishers at this beautiful location!

The church we spoke at is in nearby West Chazy and will soon become our home. We were there to candidate and were eventually offered the position of senior pastor here. So our full-time traveling days will be coming to an end when we start at West Chazy Community Church on July 1st. We plan on keeping Howard and still traveling from time to time. Our love of exploring will always burn bright.

Our GPS while on the ferry - in the middle of a lake!

Be sure to keep tuned in to our blog as we will continue sharing updates from the road these next couple of months and wrap it up once we stop. We also plan on writing a book detailing our journeys!

Campground Review - Gentiles Campground

We stayed at Gentiles Campground near Waterbury, Connecticut. Apparently if you are Jewish you can still camp here! I was confuse by the name until I found out Gentile was the owner's last name! Haha!

Staff - 8 - A staff member waited for us to get there to check us in a little past office hours. She was nice and talkative.

Natural surroundings - 8 - Campground sits on a top of a mountain with lots of trees in campground. We saw lots of different birds at our neighbor's feeder.

Roominess - 3 - Not all the lots were as bad as ours - but we had a big tree that made our lot very tight to get into. Probably the most difficult back-in I have ever done.

Facility Fun - 6 - Pool open during the warm months. Lots of playgrounds and equipment, some of it in decent shape, some pretty old. Mixed feelings here because four of our boys had a blast here playing in the small church.

Facility usefulness - 4 - Propane, small store.

Bathrooms - N/A - Bathrooms are were not open.

Cleanliness - 2 - Lots of old equipment and old rigs. The platform next to our door was broken, had lots of holes and cracks and really a safety hazard.

Nearby attractions - 7 - Close to Waterbury, Hartford and within reach of New York.

Value - 6 - Paid $35 a night for a back-in graveled site with full-hook-ups.

Overall - 3 - Nice owners, but this park needs some help.

Wild Horses on a Beach

This post has been removed because it is part of our new book - Napkin Dreams!

Shenandoah National Park

We are so sorry, but this post has been removed because it is a part of our book Napkin Dreams that details our trip around America!

 

 

 

Campground Review - Crown International Campground

We stayed for a week at Crown International Campground near Charlotte, North Carolina. The campground is actually located in Fort Mill, South Carolina but is minutes from downtown Charlotte. We were surprised to learn this campground was once part of the PTL Club campus! You can still see some remains of the old buildings including a castle (huh?) and an outdoor amphitheater built to like a castle. Both of these were in ruins.


Nearby is a man-made lake where a pair of swans gracefully swim around amidst the ducks, geese and coots. Patsy and I took a walk around this lake and fed the swans. Date night on the road!  

Staff - 8 - Helpful and pleasant.

Natural surroundings - 6 - Lots of trees in park, but next to a construction project building houses.

Roominess - 7 - Sites are normal sized, drives are pretty tight.


Facility Fun - 3 - Outside of the nearby lake, nothing to do on site.

Facility usefulness - 5 - Free and fast wifi, expensive laundry.


Bathrooms - 8 - Average 

Cleanliness - 8 - Ownership is really trying to get this place into shape and that is evident with landscaping work being done

Nearby attractions - 8 - Close to all Charlotte attractions.

Value - 8 - Paid $31 a night for a pull-through cement pad site with full-hook-ups including cable.
 
Overall - 6 - Owners are trying to get this place into shape.

Charles Towne Landing

Our family visited Charleston, South Carolina a few years ago and we really fell in love with this old city. We visited several sites in the area, so this time around we have tried to see some of the sites we did not see before. And of course we need to pick attractions that are either free for us or very cheap. Previously we visited Fort Sumter, Patriot's Point and Middleton Plantation, along with a carriage tour of the "Holy City." Pretty much all of the main attractions.

So what is left to see in Charleston? Our first attraction we visited was Charles Towne Landing. This state park is located on the original site of the British settlement, called Charles Towne back in 1670. The park has a small zoo area with some animals that were once native to this area. Some still are a part of the local ecological system. We were very fortunate because several of the animals were playful. The otters were swimming and wrestling, the puma was stalking and the black bear was wresting a huge pipe. Nice to see animals in the moderate spring weather.

The park was alive with blooms of azaleas and other flowers, so Patsy was busy expressing her artistic side, trying to capture the essence of every bloom in America! It really is a beautiful campus. There are lots of things to see at Charles Landing, but one of our favorites is a recreation of a 17th century trader boat named Adventure. The boys were recruited by the interpreter to hoist the anchor, pump the water and steer the ship. This type of craft was a small merchant ship from the era, with a crew from six to ten. Not exactly pirates or John Paul Jones, but fun and educational still.

Jekyll Island

This post has been deleted because it is in our new book entitled Napkin Dreams. It can be found on Amazon.com

We also camped at the Jekyll Island Campground, here is the review:

Staff - 7 - Campground hosts and employees were helpful and professional.

Natural surroundings - 8 - Lots of trees and close to beach. Plenty of squirrels and unfortunately lots of gnats! 

Facility Fun - 5 - Planned activities, bike trail, bike rentals, fire rings at each site.

Facility usefulness - 9 - laundry, propane, exchange library, camp store and decent wifi for free.

Cleanliness - 7- Had a state park feeling mixed with a snowbird campground. Clean yet rustic.

Nearby attractions - 8 - Plenty to do on the island.

Value - 8 - Paid $32 a night for a back-in dirt pad site with full-hook-ups including cable.
 
Overall - 8 - We really liked this place but the gnats stunk. I do not suppose they are on site all year long!

Kidology to Go - Pinellas Park, Florida

Sorry, but this post has been deleted because it is a part of our new book called Napkin Dreams!

Big Oaks RV Communuty

The first thing you notice when you pull into Big Oaks RV Community in Spring Hill, Florida are the huge oak trees at the front of the park, draped with Spanish moss and home to lots of little song birds. The name certainly fits!

Staff - 7 - Friendly, but not super knowledgeable, since regular staff was absent quite a bit!

Natural surroundings - 9 - of course there were lots of trees and birds, and some nice floral bushes and palm trees as well.

Facility Fun - 8 - Heated pool, shuffleboard courts, club house with pool and ping pong tables, planned activities.

Facility usefulness - 7 - propane, exchange library, laundry, Sunday church services.

Cleanliness - 7 - Country shabby, but not dirty.

Nearby attractions - 8 - with an hour to all Tampa Bay stuff and closer to beaches and preserves.

Value - 7 - Paid $30 a night for a back-in grass site with full-hook-ups.

Overall - 7 - We took full advantage of the pool all three days we stayed here! Loved the birds as well.