2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 22

Day 22, Sunday, November 8 - Cherry Hill Campground, College Park, MD, Day 3 -  0 Miles for the Day, 1,286.9 Miles for the Trip

44°F this morning and 48°F for my morning walk.

After my walk & breakfast I did some on line reading, then turned to my Kindle. Current book is 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. 

Around 11:30 I headed to Karin's. Little traffic and arrived a little before noon. We sat around and talked throughout the afternoon. Around 4:00 I headed back to the campground. Heavy traffic with lots of stop & gos at the exits.

Karin & Brian

I stopped at the cafe for another Crispy Chesapeake Chicken sandwich & curly fries dinner, but they were closed. 

Dinner was an Amy's Mushroom Risotto Bowl.

Until Tomorrow - 

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 21

Day 21, Saturday, November 7 - Cherry Hill Campground, College Park, MD, Day 2 -  0 Miles for the Day, 1,286.9 Miles for the Trip

48°F this morning and 50°F for my morning walk.

After my post last night I headed to the showers in the bathroom next door. The build is just about the same in all three bathroom buildings with about 5 showers, one disabled. Well designed with a large shower with soap dish & a dressing area with 3 double hooks & a bench. A shower curtain between the shower & dressing area. 1" fine spray shower head with adjustable temperature. I took over 2 minutes for the water to get hot and adjustment was difficult because of the limited volume produced by the shower head. Still, once it was hot, plenty of hot water. I rate it an A.

While the interstate traffic ran all night, in the trailer with the windows closed it only sounded like a mild wind. A bit louder in the morning as traffic picked up (although probably louder on a work day), and noticeable as I walked around the campground. I've been here in July & April - November is the least populated I've seen. Entire rows are mostly empty.

I did some reading during the morning, then around 11:30 headed to Karin's for a visit. 

We hung out & talked at Karin's; Brian had band practice in the basement, and Noah made brownies. A little before 4:00 I headed out with a stop to fill the gas tank in the F 150.

Dinner was a Crispy Chesapeake Chicken sandwich & curly fries at the snack bar here at the campground.

Until Tomorrow - 

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 20

 Day 20, Friday, November 6 - Cherry Hill Campground, College Park, MD -  181.3 Miles for the Day, 1,286.9 Miles for the Trip

55°F this morning and for a shortened walk. It hit 73°F during the drive, and was 67°F when I arrived at Cherry Hill. 

A typical interstate drive on I 81 & I 66 with the final 30 miles on I 495 (the outer loop) which was the usual stop & go at all the entrances. I'd do better getting in the left lanes, but with the trailer I worry about getting back to the right lane for my exit. Of course at least once the right lane becomes an exit so I still need to change lanes. I really hate big city traffic. It started a light rain as I arrived at Cherry Hill. Not heavy enough to put off setting up the outside stuff with the trailer.

I arrived at Cherry Hill around 3:00. I'm in site 121, a back in full hookup site next door to one of the bathrooms & the entrance to the tent sites. The site is on fine gravel, has a picnic table & fire pit, and goes for $105.00 per night. I'm here for 3 nights. Like most of the sites in the campground, there is traffic noise from the interstates. 

Site 121

After setting up I checked the internet speeds: AT&T 10.62Mbps down & 8.46Mbps up, Verizon 52.33Mbps down & 0.77Mbps up, and the campground WiFi (Tengo Net) 251.58 down & 158.69Mbps up. The problem with Tengo Net is it comes & goes so I stuck with my unlimited AT&T. 

After setting up I did some reading. Current book is Greg Bear's Eternity, the third book in the Eon series. I'm listening to P. D. James' The Black Tower. I'm inside the trailer since there is still light to medium rain. My definition of medium rain is when you can hear it on the roof.

Since Karin is working until 5:00 & I don't want to drive in the DC traffic after dark, I'll wait to visit until tomorrow.

Dinner was a P. F. Chang's General Chang's Chicken.

Until Tomorrow - 

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 19

Day 19, Thursday, November 5 - Day 19 -Stoney Creek Resort Campground, Greenville, VA  237.3 Miles for the Day, 1,105.6 Miles for the Trip

Anywhere from a mist to light rain overnight and the same for most of the trip. I arrived at Stony Creek around 2:30 & it was misting. Most of the drive was on I 77 & I 81. I'm in site 76, next to site 74 where I was last year. Site 76 is a bit more level but I still needed 3" side to side and a 2.5" lift on the tongue. At least this time I didn't need to unhook. The site is on a mix of gravel, grass & dirt, with a fire ring & picnic table. A medium walk to the bathroom which has one toilet, urinal, and shower. I didn't use the shower, but checking back to my last visit I rated it an A, although after looking at it today I must have been in a kind mood. 

Site 76

While they call the place a Resort, it is a long way from a place like Cherry Hill. Of course at half the price, some limitations can be expected. While I found the road to the site a bit rough & narrow, a 40' Class A towing a toad pulled in next to me so the roads are not as bad as I suggested. In any case, I remembered that the food was very good at the on site restaurant so I looked forward to a "Cooked by someone else" dinner. Unfortunately, the restaurant does not open until tomorrow. 

After setting up I sat in the trailer and read until dinner.

Dinner was a Marie Callender's Chicken Fried Rice Bowl.

Until Tomorrow - 

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 18

Day 18, Wednesday, November 4 - Day 18 - Lake Norman State Park, Statesville, NC, Day 10, 0 Miles for the Day, 868.3 Miles for the Trip

Thanks to all for their concern for my daughter.  She starts chemo next week.

54°F this morning and about the same during my morning walk. Even more of the campground has emptied. While about 1/2 the serviced sites are still filled, there are only a few tent campers and one Airstream in the dry sites. 

After breakfast I finished canceling the campgrounds for the remainder of my trip, and booked the trip home. I'll be leaving here with 3 days left so I can hit Cherry Hill and my daughter's house in Takoma Park on the weekend. Since she is still working, the weekend is the only time I would get to see her. After that a couple of stops on the way to Oswego. I checked the weather in Oswego, and almost wished I was there today. The predicted temperature is 75°F, warmer than it is here. While it will still be above freezing, rain is predicted for my homecoming.

Around lunch time I drove out of the campground to Troutman for gas. $3.39 per gallon. 

Back at the campground I sat outside in 66°F and cloudy weather and read. Since I'm leaving tomorrow I started packing up the stuff that I didn't need for the remainder of my stay at Lake Norman.

I sat outside for a bit but a very light rain, more like a mist started. So light that it was no problem sitting out, but when I noticed that the outline of my chair was showing on the asphalt I decided to move inside. Eventually, the mist on the leaves & branches over the trailer reached the point where drops fell. Around 4:00 it actually started to rain hard enough that you could hear it on the roof. It rained on & off until after dinner.

Dinner was a Delimex Char-Grilled Chicken Fajita Bowl.

Until Tomorrow -