Spring 2023: Charlotte, North Carolina then on to West Virginia and HOME

Wednesday 5/10:  252 miles and parked at Carowinds Camp Wilderness, Charlotte, NC

I-95 to I-26 to I-77

Site 199

The campground is actually part of the Carowinds Amusement Center next door.  An interesting feature here is that everything is cashless.  I bought a three dollar souvenir refrigerator magnet, and they would not accept cash.  Credit card only.  Safer, the staff said.  Makes me wonder, will cash become almost obsolete someday?  On the other hand, because of the convince fee credit cards charge, some businesses prefer cash?  🤔

I had arranged to meet old friends Patty and Dale.  We arrived at their house about 5:00 and had a great catch up visit and wonderful dinner.  I had not seen them in 12 years, and Judy had never met them.  We were back to the camper by 8:00.  Now, Charlotte traffic was not as wonderful.  The normal 30 minute drive to their place took us an hour during rush hour traffic.  The return trip at 7:30 took only 30 minutes.  Dale and Patty said you just have to learn how to avoid the traffic with timing and route selection.

Patty worked with me at Potsdam High School back in my teaching days.

Thursday 5/11:  150 miles, camped at the KOA in Wytheville, Virginia

I-77 all the way.

With only a short 3 hour drive today, we didn't leave Charlotte until 11:00, and we checked in at Wytheville right on schedule about 2:00. The warm and sunny weather is still holding, although as we go inland and uphill, the temps are cooling off. This campground was one of the ones that was one of our early stops on this trip, and now is one of our last few stops. It is very convenient right off I-77.  And to top it off, we purchased the cheapest diesel fuel of the entire trip here.

Friday 5/12: 220 miles and parked the driveway of Matt and Jaime Sipher, Shinnston, WV

I-77 to US 19 to I-79

This is one of our go-to family stops on our longer RV trips.  The other long distance family go-to stops are in Eugene, Oregon and Houston, Texas.

Venus setting over their home in West Virginia.

Monday 5/15:  258 miles, parked at the KOA in Westfield, NY

I-79 to I-90 to US 11

It was a smooth drive today.  I-79 to I-90.  The KOA is located right off I-90 about 10 miles into New York.  The campground had recently opened for the 2023 year and was not crowded at all.  I took Parker for a walk across the street to view Lake Erie.  There is no water access here because of the 10 foot cliffs along the shore line.   We ordered dinner from the onsite food truck, and I had the fried Lake Erie smelt.

Tuesday 5/16:  309 miles and HOME!!!

I-90 to I-81 to US 11.

Today was a long, but uneventful drive.  We backed in to our driveway just about 2:30.  The dogs were ecstatic to run free in the back yard, and we had 8 weeks of mail to think about.  Over the next several days we will unpack some daily necessary items, but we leave the power on to the RV all summer, so a lot of the refrigerator stuff will stay there.

As always, it fun to travel, but also great to land back home.  We are blessed to have the best of both worlds.  So to sum it all up, we traveled 5,326 miles over 55 nights and 56 days while camping in 12 states.  We connected with a lot of family and friends, and also met new friends.  Thank you for following along with us.  Sharing is a way for us to stay connected with our roots.

So, stay tuned for further adventures, and be well.