Crossing the Border

It was time for another day trip but first we entertained Jon and Kelly and the boys.  They drove out to our new campsite at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads which is near Chesapeake.  The Stewart Campground is a good find and we like it out here.

With the summer upon us, there are a lot more people out camping.  We were not able to extend our stay at Ocean Pines RV Campground (military) in Virginia Beach, so we came farther south to Stewart Campground.

Instead of the $50+ per night camping fees at commercial campgrounds in Virginia Beach, we pay $18 for this site.  It has a lot going for it.  Despite gravel roads at the campground, they are well maintained.  And the site is level.  We have room to park our car (though it is pictured at the next site while we got set up.)

The campground has 18 sites and all but one are full for the weekend.  We have 50 amp service and had no problem getting DirecTV satellite reception.  Cell phone service is OK and we are on our own for internet.   Our Verizon Jetpack works fine, though a little slow.

And we are out in the country!  It is a beautiful drive here and quiet and we can listen to the birds and frogs outside our bedroom window.  This campground is about 45 minutes away from Jon and Kelly but the roads to here are excellent and it is a beautiful drive out here.

On Saturday morning Kelly and Jon and the boys came to see us.  I went to escort them into the base (since I have a retired military ID card, I can sponsor them on base) and met them outside the gate in the parking lot.  Except I drove out there and left my wallet in the Roadrunner.  Yikes!  Now what to do...

The Security Police were nice enough to drive over to the campground five minutes away. Pam retrieved my ID card from my wallet and the Security Police drove out to meet me in the parking lot.  That was awful nice of them!  It was a slow Saturday morning for them I guess, but I really appreciated that!

Once at the campground we fields and played some.

Brooks had a snack and Harrison got fed and changed.  And we went over to a playground a while and they enjoyed their short stay with us.  They needed to get back by noon for naps.

We thought about taking a day trip across the North Carolina border and did just that.  We had a few hours and it was a beautiful day.  So off we went.  First stop was the drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A and then on down Hiway 168

Before we knew it we were across the border and into North Carolina.  I'll bet it wasn't 15 minutes.  We found the Information Center and went in for some maps and such.

We find it is always useful to see what we can find out at these places, so if we often stop and check them out.  It was a good choice.  The friendly folks at the desk were full of good ideas and very helpful.  We met Debra who is going on an RV trip later this summer with her husband along the Eastern Coast into South Carolina, down to Florida and over to Louisiana.

 That was fun!  And she gave us some good tips of what to see in town.  We found the local Sports store and picked up a couple of hats and such.  Next door was Skip and his chain saw sculpture/woodworking business.

 He was the friendly sort and does some nice work.

 He also has some great looking rustic cabin tables and furniture which were beautiful.

Debra told us we needed to stop in and get some 12 layer chocolate cake at Kevin's down the road.  It was another place that normally wouldn't catch your eye but we were on a mission.

Cindy's kitchen is next door but she has a lot of shelves in the gas station convenience store dedicated to her cakes and desserts.  We say the cake but thought those layers were a little thin and opted for the massive chocolate fudge brownie.  We saved it for dinner last night and it hit the spot.


We continued our drive around the area to see what we could see and found Bells Island Campground on the water.  It was a crowded place but there were a lot of people there for the weekend.  Not sure we'd ever stay there but there were a lot of folks who did.  RVs and tents.

Not far from there is the Currituck Ferry Terminal that goes over to Knotts Island.  Might be another fun day trip some time.

On the way back to our campground we stopped at a produce market on the highway.  This was a real treat!  The Morris Farm Market has a lot of great fruits and vegetables.  And it is an attraction with more that just the produce.

 We looked around and listened to some music for a bit at the outdoor bar and also took a minute to go to the restrooms.
They know how to do restrooms right at Morris Farms.  They have six individual he/she rest rooms that are private.  Once in there, you do your business but I couldn't help but admire how they have done things.

 Each rest room is an experience and well decorated and clean and just a nice place.  And its the first place anywhere I have seen where they put paper towels under the urinal (that gets changed every day I assume)to collect males that can't hit the urinal.  Nothing more grungy than seeing that all over the floor.  It made an impression.  It was very clean.

Next we took the 20 minute drive and before we knew it we were back at the campground.

Another memorable 'day in the life of a full-timer'.  It was a beautiful day for a short drive and we saw and met some interesting people across the border in North Carolina  We are going to enjoy this place for a few weeks.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles.