1. Going South: Some Attractive Sights And Byways Along The Way

Day 1 - Tuesday, May 2

To the traveller who equates New Jersey with turnpikes and waste dumps, scenic beauty and New Jersey may be an oxymoron. But scenic beauty can be found.

My route today included a stretch on I-287 and the turnpike, but clouds turned to sunshine and ribbons of concrete became a scenic route once I left the turnpike at exit 7A and found CR 539 south. The drive through the Pine Barrens was a pleasure. Got lost a couple of times, but ultimately ended up at Cape May.

This historic little town definitely is worth a visit. Had a couple of hours to spare before the departure time of the ferry, so walked around and admired the gingerbread houses. Many of them, like the one below, are private residences.

The main street has been turned into a very attractive pedestrian mall, and there is plenty of parking available - so no excuse for not getting out of the vehicle and looking around.

Took the Cape May - Lewes ferry (expensive but pleasant) for the 70 minutes it takes to cross the Delaware Bay.

Yes, that's my Westy at the lower right of the photo

Took Delaware/Maryland route 1 to Ocean City. Some parts are quite attractive, but mostly it's on the tacky side.

My destination for the day was the Assateague National Seashore. There is a state park which charges $20 for a fully equipped campsite and hot showers. There is also a "primitive" NPS camping area where my Golden Age card got me a $5 site. Guess where I'm staying. While there are no hook-ups or hot showers, the setting is absolutely beautiful, and one of the famous wild horses came over to my campsite to say "hello."

My "primitive" site is beautifully level and paved, and comes with picnic table and grill. I really like the Assateague National Seashore. It consists of about 40,000 acres, 19,000 of which are land. The wild horses reportedly are descendants of a 16th century herd of ponies that swam ashore from a sinking Spanish ship. There are also some beautiful birds around - I have no idea what kind they are, but am fascinated by a mid-sized black bird that sports a yellow stripe above where the wing joins the body. When it flies off, it shows absolutely beautiful red markings under the wings

When I left home at 7:30 AM it was cloudy and 55F. The sun came out by mid-day and the temperature climbed into the low seventies. Travelled 250 miles, was on the road for 7 3/4 hours, including the ferry ride.

A good evening - warm, mild, bright stars. My neighbors are a very nice couple from Ontario - they travel in a Sportsmobile with a pop-up roof and just attended a rallye of Sportsmobile owners near Williamsburg. More than 50 Sportsmobiles showed up! As class B owners are likely to do, we compared vans - "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." I continue to think that my choice of the GTRV Westy was the right one for me.

Day 2 - Wednesday, May 3

An absolutely glorious day! Awoke to bright sunshine and a brilliantly blue sky. Nighttime low temperature was 45F, 57F when I got under way at 8:45 AM, in the low seventies for most of the day, and in the high sixties around sunset.

The first leg of my trip - to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Annapolis - mostly consisted of scenic backroads in Maryland and Delaware. Specifically, headed back to Ocean City (tacky), then SR 528 along the coast (not worth the detour), then SR 20 to Dagsboro (quite pretty in parts), US 113 to Georgetown, and then the scenic state roads SR 18 and SR 404 to Bridgeville, Denton and the junction with US 50, which is the bridge road.

The bridge isn't quite "white knuckle" driving - despite the somewhat narrow lanes one does sneak a peek at the beautiful views of the bay.

Took SR 450 to Annapolis and US 301 (nothing scenic about that one!) to Virginia. Then SR 3 (scenic) to the George Washington Birthplace National Monument, SR 214 to Stafford Hall Plantation (Robert E. Lee's birthplace) and then backtracked 2 miles on SR 3 to Westmoreland State Park, my destination for the day.

If you follow in my tracks and take SR 450 into Annapolis, be sure to stop at the scenic overlook just before you get into town. The view of the city, and especially the Naval Academy, is worth it.

Unless you are interested in naval history, skip the cutomary visit to the Academy. There is nothing particularly beautiful about the campus and the traffic is horrendous. Indeed, take nothing but a van, toad, bicycle, or tour trolley into Annapolis - the roads are narrow and the traffic is dense. But do visit the capitol area, it is absolutely charming.

My next sightseeing stop was the George Washington Birthplace National Monument. I was disappointed by the fake ("reconstructed") buildings that are meant to be "representative" rather than replicas of what was originally there. But the 10 minutes movie at the visitors center is worth seeing.

Much more interesting was Stafford Hall Plantation, the birthplace of Robert E. Lee. The Great House is authentic, as are the antiques used to furnish it. Even Robert's baby cradle is the real thing. Pleasant tour guides take you through the Great House and help you understand what plantation life was like in the 18th century.

Then backtracked a couple of miles to settle in at the Westmoreland State Park. $14 bought me a site without hook-ups. It is reasonably level, very clean, and has the usual picnic table and grill. Lots and lots af beautiful trees, and the leaves are out. Water/electric hook-ups are available at $18. There are just a few campers here, so one doesn't really notice that the sites are very close to each other. Inspected the bathhouse and it is modern and spotless.

Drove 240 miles and was on the road for 8 3/4 hours. Will spend the rest of the evening reading up on the histories of the Washington and Lee families.

Day 3 - Thursday, May 4

Another beautifully sunny day with daytime temperatures in the high seventies and low eighties.

Started the day at 6 AM with a good shower (not quite enough water pressure) and a leisurely breakfast. Then off to enjoy some scenic roads in Virginia's tideland region.

Took the very pretty SR 3 to the Rappahannock River and the village of Tappahannock. Then an almost deserted and mostly quite attractive US 17 to Hayes and Yorktown.

Did some sightseeing in Yorktown. It seems that every road in town is under construction, but the old houses and the waterfront are attractive. But it's definitely not a place for a trailer or any vehicle bigger than a van.

Took the Colonial Parkway to Williamburg. Despite the outrageous admission charge ($30/person plus $ 5 for parking) it's worth a visit. It's obvious that a great deal of work (and money) was expended on restoring/recreating the town. The reproduction of the governor's palace is excellent, as is listening to the "spiel" of the guide at the courthouse. At the capitol they seem to have a policy of slipping special tour groups in through a side entrance, so for us normal tourists the wait to get in can be discouraging. The governor's palace is a "must see" and the guides do a good job of moving he crowds through. It's interesting to note how "primitive" this palace is compared to European castles of the same period. No indoor sanitary facilities! Even the old Romans were more comfortable than that. However, when you consider that practically all decorative and convenience items had to be brought over from England in ships barely seaworthy enough to travel down the intracoastal waterway - one gains a different perspective.

Also, be sure to visit the various craft shops. Watched the cobbler for a while, the carpenter, the palace cook. OSHA would not have approved of working conditions in the 18th century.

All in all, there is much to see and learn. Considered staying on for a couple of days, but there didn't seem to be any good campgrounds nearby, so moved on.

Stayed on the Colonial Parkway to Jamestown, the Colonial National Historical Park. The island drive is very pretty, but they don't allow campers or trailers. Took SR 31 to the ferry and on to Surry and Wakefield. Then backroads (so narrow and small that they don't have center stripes) to SR 35. On to Courtland, Franklin, and the North Carolina state line. Using state roads, worked my way southwest and ultimately to Roanoke Rapids, I-95, and the Cattail Creek campground near Skippers, VA.

Got a site with electricity and water for $16.50. The bathhouse is spartan but very clean.

Drove 255 miles today, was on the road for 10 hours. Bought gasoline in Virginia at $1.299/gal.

Day 4 - Friday, May 5

Yes, it is possible to travel from Skippers, VA to Charleston, SC without using I-95 or US 17. It takes a lot more time and miles, but it is fun, if you enjoy backroads.

Started driving at 8:30 AM, after a long shower and a scrumptious breakfast. Headed for US 301 and followed it from Weldon, NC to Rocky Mount. There isn't much traffic (it parallels I-95) and it is quite attractive and rustic until a few miles before Rocky Mount. Then it becomes a semi-urban junk road - decided to leave it and find another way to go south. Headed for Greenville on SR 64 and SR 11. Stayed on SR 11 to Kingston, Pink Hill (didn't see a pink hill anywhere), and all the way to the South Carolina border. Then switched to US 76 to Mullins, SC and SR 41 (very pretty most of the way) to the outskirts of Charleston. I-526 helped me bypass Charleston. US 17 and local roads brought me to James Island and the Campground at James Island County Park. $22.18 got me a site with full hook-ups. The sites are quite close together, occasionally separated by shrubbery. The bathhouse looks clean and modern, the showers work well.

This campground is the closest campground to Charleston. They run a bus ($5) to downtown Charleston at 9 AM and back at 4 PM. Another bus takes you to Foley Beach. The county park offers many fun things to do, including rental bikes, miles of nature and bike trails, fishing, pools, and a rock climb wall.

Drove 440 miles today, was on the road for 10 1/2 hours. Bought gasoline in SC for $1.359. Averaged 18.2 mpg on the last tank. The weather was beautiful all day. The nighttime low temperature was 55F, at departure it had climbed to 65F, daytime high was 85F, and it dropped to 75F after sundown.

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