2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 171

Day 171, Tuesday, April 7, 2026 - Cherry Hill Park, College Park, MD, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 7,212.2 Miles for the Trip.

44°F overnight, 47°F for my morning walk, 55°F at noon on the road, and the high for the day was 61°F.

While one of the nice things about Cherry Hill Park is it is only 4 1/2 miles from Karin's (a 25 minute drive on a good day) it has a lot of traffic noise from near by interstates & loops. It dies down late at night, but in some sites is loud enough during the day that talking outside is difficult. Site 1401 is about as far as you can get from the noise and is reasonably close to one of the bathroom buildings (#3) but a long walk to the Cafe. 

I finished listening to The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and started The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell. I'm reading And Then She Vanished by Nick Jones using the Libby app on my phone; it isn't available as a Kindle book. I booked a couple of campgrounds for my trip next winter. Only 2 more to go. So far I've been able to get the dates & sites I wanted. I was a little worried about the Florida State Park I wanted (3 Rivers) because Florida residents can book two months before non residents. Today was the first day I could book & most of the park was empty.

A little cool to sit outside - it is 50°F at 11:00AM. 

Around 11:00 Karin stopped by. A friend and former Oswego Technical Director Ken stopped by a little after 1:00. We sat in the trailer and chatted until 3:00 or so, then I drove to Karin's house. Typical busy roads, but traffic didn't come to a stop until I got close to the turn off for Carroll Ave

I left a little before 5:00 and headed back to the trailer. Again heavy traffic, but not as bad as it was on the way. 

Dinner was a Healthy Choice Pineapple Chicken Bowl.

Until Next Time - 

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 170

Day 170, Monday, April 6, 2026 - Cherry Hill Park, College Park, MD - 216.2 Miles, 7,212.2 Miles for the Trip.

34°F overnight, 45°F for my morning walk, 5t4°F at noon on the road, and the high for the day was 66°F.

An interesting start to the trip to Cherry Hill. First, it was hand numbing cold hooking up the chains, etc. When I finally hit the road at 10:00 I noticed that there was a Loves & a Pilot at the entrance to I 81. Since I prefer Loves, I drove by Pilot Drive, then, following my GPS for directions to Loves went on a 20 mile drive through some of the narrowest paved roads of the trip. Lots of cows, farms and, thankfully, little traffic. At the end I discovered that Loves is on Pilot Drive. Anyhow, I got gas for $3.69 per gallon.

Traffic was good until I hit the DC area where it was its usual stop & go, although better than many of my visits; we never stopped for more than a couple of seconds. I made it to the park around 2:30. I'm in sit 1401, a full hook up back in site on fine gravel with a fire ring & picnic table. I needed 1" side to side & the tongue was level although I unhooked anyway since I expect to use the truck over the next 4 days. $103.00 per night. The most expensive of the trip, but close to Brain & Karin and the grandkids. 

Site 1401

Karin, Brian & Noah came over & we played a round of miniature golf, then went to the cafe for dinner. I had a grilled chicken sandwich.

Until Next Time - 

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 169

Day 169, Sunday, April 5, 2026 - Stoney Creek Resort Campground, Greenville, VA, Day 4 - 0 Miles, 6,996 Miles for the Trip.

66°F overnight, 60°F for my morning walk, 58°F at noon, and the high for the day was 65°F.

Happy Easter!

A warm night that got cooler as the day went on. A light rain started around 6:00AM and continued throughout the morning that stopped around 2:00. I read sitting in the trailer. I finished William G. Tapply's Bradly Coyne #3 Follow the Sharks, and started #4 in the series, The Marine Corpse. I'm currently listening to The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho during my walks, and on the drive tomorrow.

Around 2:00 I made my usual Sunday phone calls.

At 3:00 I headed for a shower. One stall with a small drying area and a larger shower. The shower floor was 3"higher than the drying area floor with just a shower curtain between them, but the slope of the shower area was steep enough that the drying area floor stayed dry. A medium flow shower head with 3 different spray settings. Adjustable hot water. No shelf in the shower, and a bench & shelf in the drying area; no hooks. A oil filled electric heater kept the room warm. Overall, and A.

Dinner was ham, cauliflower & cheese, and a pasta & rice side.

Until Next Time - 

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 168

Day 168, Saturday, April 4, 2026 - Stoney Creek Resort Campground, Greenville, VA, Day 3 - 0 Miles, 6,996 Miles for the Trip.

56°F overnight, 67°F for my morning walk, 77°F at noon, and the high for the day was 79°F.

I took a break during my morning walk to do breakfast at the cafe. OK, but not as good as the dinner meals. The "home fries" were cubes of potatoes deep fried. While plentiful, not as good as real home fires or hash browns. And, the coffee was via Keurig. I've never had a good cup of coffee from a Keurig machine. I suspect that they put a mix of instant coffee & real ground coffee in the cups, but even if it is all real coffee it always seems to be watery even if you push the strong button.

After that I finished my walk, made a mug of real coffee & sat outside enjoying the comfortable morning reading. Current book is William G. Tapply's The Dutch Blue Error, book 2 in the Brady Coyne series. By late afternoon I finished The Dutch Blue Error, and started Bradly Coyne #3 Follow the Sharks.

I was hoping to get through the day with just the MAXX fan, but around 3:30 the med's thermometer hit 79°F so I fired up the AC. Lots of early spring flowers around the site:

Violet

Dandelion

Dinner was a personal vegetarian pizza.

Until Next Time - 

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 167

Day 167, Friday, April 3, 2026 - Stoney Creek Resort Campground, Greenville, VA, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 6,996 Miles for the Trip.

53°F overnight, 61°F for my morning walk, 73°F at noon, and the high for the day was 82°F.

I walked around a couple of loops on my morning walk, and I really don't know where the term "resort" comes from with this campground. It is large with almost 400 sites, but almost all are mixed dirt & grass with a little gravel thrown down. The roads are either gravel or deteriorated asphalt. Not that it is all that different from most of the places I've stayed (although the bathrooms are pretty small with one each sink, toilet & shower, and scattered far between). I guess I'm more bothered by the term Resort when compared to a place like Cherry Hill. Anyhow, it is fine for a couple of nights and they do have a restaurant.

After breakfast I sat outside and read.

Around 2:00 I headed to the Food Lion 15 minutes away. It actually was more than that because my GPS took me past it and into a housing development. I found it on the way back. By the time I got back to the trailer it was 79°F outside & 81°F in the trailer so I shut off the MAXX fan, closed the windows and fired up the AC.

I got a grilled chicken salad at the campground cafe. Excellent! Maybe the resort name refers to the food. So far it has been limited in choice, but very good.

Until Next Time -