Rollin' Past NASCAR in Dover, Delaware - Sunday, May 5, 2019

Today we're moving from Lanexa, Virginia, to Bear, Delaware. Our Google Maps told us the fastest way was I-95. We didn't want to deal with all the traffic around Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, so we opted to take a more leisurely route up the Delmarva Peninsula on US 13 and SR 113. (For those of you not familiar with the East Coast, the Delmarva Peninsula is made up of parts of three states: Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia: Del-Mar-Va.)

Rain was in the forecast today around 8:00 a.m. Therefore, we were up at 5:00 a.m. to get ourselves over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) as early as possible. We didn't want to be stuck if high winds kicked up and they had to close the bridge. High winds weren't in the forecast and we didn't have any trouble with the crossing. The toll one-way for our truck and 5th wheel was $24.00. The rain started while we were on the bridge and stayed with us all day.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is an engineering marvel. Opened in 1964, it is a 23-mile-long combination of bridges and tunnels that cross the Chesapeake Bay where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. After it opened, it was selected "One of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World" in a worldwide competition that included more than 100 major projects. In 1965, it was chosen as "The Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement" by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Our drive on U.S. 13 and SR 113 was lovely. The roads were beautiful with lots of room. It was four-lane, divided highways all the way. However, when SR 113 hooked up with Hwy. 1 south of Dover, Delaware, the roads got much more congested. There were more towns with lots of stoplights, construction, and NASCAR traffic.

That's right, the NASCAR Speedway is right in the heart of Dover, Delaware, and we drove right past it. Luckily, the traffic by the Speedway wasn't too bad. We weren't sure they were going to run the race because it was raining quite a bit.

When we arrived at Lums Pond State Park and got to our site, it was flooded on my side of the truck and the grassy area around the site was quite mucky. A man from across the road came over and told us he had just been in that site and it had been a lot worse. He advised us to move to a different site and explained that sites 1-4 were walk-in sites and if they were available, we could take one of them.

Site 2 was huge and perfect for our 5th wheel and truck, so we moved there. I called the state park camp host to let them know we moved. They said that was fine and we could stay here until our check out on Wednesday. Yay!

Site #2 at Lums Pond State Park

Lums Pond State Park

The drive took us from 6:30 a.m. until we pulled in at the park around 2:30 p.m. As I said earlier, this was the slower route. Bob drove for 2-1/2 hours, and then I took over at 9:00 a.m. It seemed that my portion of the drive went very smoothly. There was very little traffic and I got most of the traffic lights green. I only had to stand on the brakes at one light (going 45 mph when it changed). Bob took over again at around 11:00 a.m. and ended up with the worst of the driving. It seemed like he had a lot of construction and many little towns where he hit almost every light red. It was a frustrating drive as we approached and went through Dover.

We have decided when we change campgrounds on Wednesday, we will take the toll road to lessen the aggravation. As it was, today the road took a toll on Bob.

Tonight, because we don't have cable TV at the state park, Bob drove about five miles to a sports bar to watch the Portland Trailblazers. Unfortunately, they lost. 

Tomorrow, we plan to Volksmarch in Trenton, New Jersey. If we feel like it, we may stop in Philadelphia on the way back to the campground. There are also two trails here at the campground that circle Lums Pond: one is 8 miles, the other is 6.4 miles.

Goodnight all.

I Was A Homebody Today; Bob Wasn't - Saturday, May 4, 2019

Here is a more current blog since I'm a few weeks behind. 

Bob was gung-ho to see the brand-new American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia. Saturday was the day to do it. In fact, Saturday was the grand opening, ribbon-cutting ceremony.

I, however, was done with Civil War History and opted to sleep in, clean the 5th wheel, and do laundry. To me, it seems like no matter where we go in the East and Southeast (even in Arizona at Picacho Peak!) there is yet more Civil War history. It was a battle that raged on, pitted brother against brother, killed thousands, and broke up families. On the other hand, it granted freedom to the oppressed slaves. It needed to happen, but it wasn't pretty. Bob says, "It's complicated." He'll explain later in another blog.

Anyway, Bob loved his day. Even though the new museum didn't live up to his expectations, he also went to Chickahominy Bluffs, Beaver Dam Creek, Gaines Mill, Cold Harbor Visitor Center, Petersburg (did a driving tour of Petersburg including the site of the crater), and City Point where Grant had his headquarters for the campaign. (And he says I schedule days tightly!)

At Cold Harbor Visitor Center, Bob talked with a Park Ranger for an hour and a half about the war. He said he really enjoyed that conversation. (It was a slow day at that visitor center.)

Meanwhile, back at Rockahock Campground (don't you love that name?), I did five loads of laundry because our next two campgrounds don't have laundromats (one state park, one fairground). With all the walking we've been doing, the laundry was a must.

Rockahock Campground in Lanexa, Virginia, is about half-way between Richmond and the Newport News area. We used it as a base for our explorations for six days. I thought you might like to see photos of it. 

A major fishing destination!

The dock at Rockahock Campground.

Some huge bass and catfish have been pulled out of the Chickahominy River here. They have photos posted in the campground office.

The docks to nowhere.

Beautiful cypress trees line the river here.

Campground office.

Walker's Dam Grill Restaurant next to the office.
We never had time to eat there.

Covered "amphitheater" for group events.
A Good Sam Virginia rally was happening this weekend.

There are yurts.

Their propane tank has seen better days!

Kid's rock climbing wall and playground.

A children's bounce "pillow."

Beautiful cabins for rent.

The pool looked like it hadn't been open for
quite some time.

Our site is in the front row, middle.

Our neighbors looked long-term with lots of junk in their site. The photo below shows our hook-ups for water, sewer, electric, and cable. Our site is on the right. You see the firewood and the picnic table? Those belong to the neighbors on the left. They are usurping "our" site. The picnic table is supposed to be on their brick pad to the left. I don't know why their firewood is on our site. Bob had to navigate around it to do our hookups.

Laundry room.

Clubhouse.

Sunset over the Chickahominy River.

So, we each had our own time and both of us did what we wanted (or needed, in my case) to do. Personally, I would love to go see "The Avengers: End Game," go to an art museum, and spend more time at gardens. 

Tomorrow, we drive to Lums Pond State Park in Bear, Delaware. The fastest way to get there is supposed to be I-95 around Washington, D.C., and Baltimore; however, we decided to take the longer, slower way up the Delmarva Peninsula.

That's it for Saturday.