Day 29 Friday October 2, 2026
Today is travel day and yea, it is not raining. We waited to leave until most of our group had departed since it was a little congested getting out of the campground.
When we turned right out of the campground we heard a crash in the kitchen area so Lena got up to check. Something shifted in the cabinet and pushed a door open but nothing fell out. Then when we turned left at the next light my GPS fell off the dash and onto the floor. It is not permanently mounted and the suction cup had released. I try to remember to check it before travel day but forgot this morning.
In a few miles we were supposed to exit off I495 to get on highway 301 but the trees and bushes along I495 in that area were covering over half of the road sign for the exit making it hard to see and what we could see said our exit was a quarter mile past the sign but it was nowhere near a quarter mile past the sign so we missed the exit.
I found a safe place to pull over on the emergency lane so I could remount the GPS. We decided to just continue on I495/I95 since I95 was going to sync backup with our trip log anyway near Richmond VA.
When we synced up with the trip log we had only driven 3 miles father than if we had followed the trip log. We stopped at a Loves truck stop to fill up with some liquid gold before we got to Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Camp Resort. Like most campgrounds that use the word “Resort” in their name this one also was overly generous with the word Resort. It is a good place for families with young kids because they have a lot of amenities for kids.
The group tries to space out our arrivals at the campgrounds but sometimes that just doesn’t work out. Today was one of those times and this campground had a small parking lot in front of the office and the entrance was in a curve in the two lane road so there was quite the traffic jam when we got there.
The Wagonmasters and the campground crew were rushing around trying to get everyone to their sites. We soon got an escort to site 408. Our site didn’t even have a site number on the post so the escort had to use his campground map to find our site.
When we went to unhook the Jeep so we could back into our site the key fob would not work to unlock the doors, so I got the spare out of the motorhome and it would not work either. Well that is weird. So I got the emergency key out of the fob and unlocked the door and had to use the backup method of pushing the start button with the fob to start the Jeep.
We got setup in our fairly nice but tight site. Then I changed the battery in the key fob and it still would not work. Well that is weird. Gregg and Judi are in a site right across from us and they were having trouble with their key fobs also. They also have a Jeep Cherokee. Gregg changed his battery and the fob still didn’t work. Well that is really weird now. Four key fobs failed at the same time.
I searched the internet for a solution and tried everything that I found and still didn’t solve the problem. Gregg and I discussed the issue and we believe there is some electrical signal interference coming from the electrical power transformer near our sites. Tomorrow when we drive to Old Williamsburg we will see if the fobs work there.
The Wagonmasters/Tailgunners had a campfire get together at 6pm and asked everyone to bring their favorite “rv/camping gadgets” to share with the group. Lena was doing laundry so she didn’t go but I did and took my two favorite RV gadgets that I made. Several people had some very useful things they use around their RVs.
Day 30 Saturday October 3, 2026
Today the group visits Old Williamsburg but we drive our vehicles since we will not be using a bus to transport the group anymore on this tour. It is just a few miles from the campground. We drove our Jeep and Gregg drove theirs and when we got to the parking lot we checked all four key fobs and all four worked perfectly. That made us feel better.
We went into the Visitor Center and watched a movie about the events back in the 1700’s when the colonists declared their independence from the British government.
Then we boarded a hop on/hop off bus that drives around the perimeter of Old Williamsburg. We got off near the Governor’s House and took a guided tour of the house. There are several docents dressed in period costumes in Old Williamsburg providing house tours, etc.
The lady docent in the Governor’s House was very informative. She has been a docent for several years. The Governor’s House was reconstructed because the original house burned down. Several of the buildings in Old Williamsburg are original. They all are very well maintained. Fantasy had gotten everyone tickets so we could go into any of the buildings that were open. If they were open there was a flag flying out by the walkway.
We toured several of the buildings including the Capitol building. Some of the buildings had people in period clothing doing demonstrations like blacksmith work, engraving, sewing, etc. There were also a group of re-enactors in period clothing demonstrating how they cooked in a dirt/clay oven. Also a group of fife and drum re-enactors were playing music. Several women in period clothing were sitting around a large tent.
We stopped at one of the buildings and got some Brunswick stew for lunch. It was good but the cornbread was a little dry.
Some of the buildings that were businesses back in the day had a similar business that was open and selling their merchandise. We stepped into Charlton’s Coffeehouse to look around and price a few items. A ham biscuit was $11. That pig must have been a prized pig for the ham to cost that much.
When we had seen all we wanted to see we got back on the bus and returned to the Visitor Center to look at the homemade quilt display for the America’s 250th anniversary.
We returned to the campground and our fobs are not working again, neither is Gregg and Judi’s, so that confirms our belief that there is electrical power interference in our area of the campground. Also I have a remote temperature sensor in the generator compartment that displays inside the motorhome and it is not working either even though I changed the batteries.
Day 31 Sunday October 4, 2026
Today is a free day so we didn’t do much. I got up early and did some computer work and checked on the route for our drive tomorrow. Then we had breakfast.
I guess that electrical interference we are having was effecting my brain this morning. When I was making my latte this morning I didn’t get my cup all the way under one of the two spouts where the coffee comes out, so part of my latte ended up in the drip tray. Then later I was making a pitcher of tea and didn’t get the top put on correctly and over a third of the liquid ran on the counter and down onto the stove top and rim around it before I realized it. What a mess.
I needed fuel for the Jeep so we drove out to a gas station to fill up. We decided to drive to Yorktown about 15 miles away to see what it was like. It is one of the historic towns in this area that was prominent during the colonial days.
They had a couple of museums but we are about “museumed” out so we drove down to the water front but they were having some kind of event and the street was blocked off along most of the area and it was raining and we would of had to park about a quarter mile away and walk back in the rain so we decided to return to the campground and have some soup for lunch.
The rain finally ceased just in time for our Fantasy provide campground meal in the pavilion. They cooked a good meal followed by cake for dessert. Then we had a driver’s meeting for tomorrow travel to OBX Campground on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Day 32 Monday October 5, 2026
We had breakfast and slowly got ready to leave. We will be glad to leave this campground. As I noted above both our key fobs for the Jeep don’t work here but do when we leave the campground, our remote temperature sensor that is mounted in the generator compartment doesn’t work here, the tire pressure sensors on the passenger side of the Jeep weren’t working this morning and the motorhome driver side front tire pressure sensor was not working until I removed them, then reinstalled them.
We waited until almost every one in our group had departed. The spacing here between sites is tight and the campground roads are tight so by waiting until almost everyone had left we had more room to maneuver. We pulled out about 10:45. We only have 134 miles to go and we aren’t supposed to arrive before 2pm at the next campground.
We had to travel through the Monitor Merrimac Bridge Tunnel. Sure glad we were headed South because the North bound lanes were closed down due to an accident in the tunnel. The traffic was backed up probably 5 miles.
We needed to delay our arrival about 40 minutes so we saw signs for a produce stand that welcomed RVs and big rigs so we stopped. One other RV from our group was there. They had a very large selection of produce, jams, pumpkins, etc. We got some fresh strawberries, blueberries, apple cider and some blackberry bread. We went back to the motorhome and sliced a couple pieces of the bread, heated it slightly and spread some butter on it. Yummy.
We arrived at the campground exactly at 2pm which is the checkin time. We setup in site 30. The sites here are LARGE compared to where we just left. It sits beside Colington Creek. You don’t have to go far to find a body of water here in Kill Devil Hills. We are just over a mile from the Wright Brothers Memorial. We will be going there tomorrow.
After we got set up Gregg, Judi, Jerry, Claire, Lena and I went to the Blue Moon Restaurant for a late lunch. Very good food. We tried something new. Lena had She Crab Bisque and I had Buffalo Shrimp.
Today’s drive was the most pleasant drive day we have had on this trip so far. No rain, good roads (or at least better than most), light traffic, no big cities, except the bypass around Norfolk VA and we are back in North Carolina. Yea!
Oh, all of our electronics are working here, yea.
Day 33 Tuesday October 5, 2026
We had a great day today, beautiful weather and lots to see and do here.
We had a lite breakfast because we knew we would be eating a large lunch about 12:30.
Our group went to The Wright Brothers National Memorial about 2 miles from the campground. We got in free with our National Parks Pass. We were here probably 19 years ago while on a trip with a PT Cruiser Car Club trip.
It seems they have really improved the displays that tell the history of the Wright Brothers and all they accomplished with becoming the first to have a powered air plane flight in 1903. They had a lot of set backs but finally accomplished what no one before them had accomplished.
And what is almost as amazing was in just 66 years we would land a man on the moon. At 11am one of the staff gave a really good talk on the Wright Brothers and their accomplishments.
The glider that is displayed here is a replica. The original is in the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC and we saw it just a few days ago.
The group left and met at Basnight’s Lone Cedar Cafe for lunch. I thought that name sounded familiar. We ate here in 2007 when we were here on a PT Cruise Car Club trip. Just a few days after we ate here on 2007 it burned to the ground on May 1, 2007. They rebuilt it and reopened on August 29, 2007.
I had fried shrimp and Lena had fried flounder. We also had Hersey bar cake for dessert. The food was very good.
Then we had our drivers meeting for our next drive day after we finished eating.
Gregg and Judi were riding with us. We left the restaurant and went a few miles down the road to see The Mother Vine. It is estimated to be over 400 years old and believed to be the oldest known grape vine in all of North America and is still producing grapes. It is a scuppernong grape which is a member of the muscadine species.
Then we went to the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site to see the stage where The Lost Colony outdoor drama is held and the stone historical marker for Virginia Dare the first English child born in the Americas. She vanished along side 115 other settlers from the Roanoke Colony.
Our next stop was the Bodie Island Lighthouse. It is open now for climbing but none of us wanted to climb it. Another couple (Gregg and Trisha) from our tour was there and Gregg climbed it. It has 200 steps to the top. The Keepers house was under renovation so we could not tour it.
On the way back to the campground we stopped for some ice cream. We had a wonderful day. I think everyone in our group is enjoying our stay here.
Day 34 Wednesday October 7, 2026
Today was our free day here on the Outer Banks. 23 from our group booked a Corolla Wide Horse excursion with Wild Horse Tours. We arrived at 10am, signed in and crawled up into a converted Humvee 4 wheel drive vehicle. It looked like something that the military had worn out and then was converted to carry 12 passengers on a beach excursion.
Jamie was our driver/guide. She drove to where highway 12 ended and pulled onto the hard sand beach. We could immediately see where the recent N’easter had seriously eroded the sand dunes and even the beach, exposing numerous old tree stumps on the beach. Jamie said 2 weeks ago there would have been at least 12 feet of water where we were riding.
She said there were over a hundred wild horses in the herd and there has been 14 new colts born this year. We saw about a dozen today scattered around the houses along the beach. I was really surprised to see how many nice beach houses there were along on the dunes where we were riding. There was not a road in this area, just a sand path among the houses. They use the beach as a road to get from their house back to the paved highway. It was the first time we have ever seen a speed limit sign posted on the beach. Jamie pointed out the beach house of the CEO of Dollar Tree.
We saw one protected sea turtle nest. We road almost to the North Carolina/Virginia state line to an area named Carova (Carolina/Virginia) on the sand paths between the beach houses looking for the wild horses before turning around and riding back on the sand beach. We were gone 2 hours.
Gregg, Judi, Jerry and Claire road in the back seat and didn’t enjoy the trip as good as we did. We were in the row of seats behind the driver. They said it was really bumpy in the back row of seats, couldn’t hear the driver talking on the speaker very good and the exhaust fumes from the Humvee was rather bad. We could smell it some. The company really needs to fix the exhaust on this vehicle.
After we got back to our Jeep we went to a nearby shopping area to a Mexican restaurant that was just okay. Then we drove to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. It is the last of five Outer Banks Lighthouses before you reach Virginia. It is a red brick lighthouse and is not painted like all the others. It is also under renovation. There was a crew of five working to refurbish the mortar between the bricks.
This was our last stop so we returned to the campground for the day to prepare some for our 305 mile drive tomorrow. It will be the longest drive day of the tour.
Day 35 Thursday October 8, 2026
Today’s drive was 305 miles from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to Myrtle Beach for a two night stay. The longest days drive of this tour.
We departed at 8:45 and arrived approximately 2:45. We only stoped for fuel in Plymouth NC. It was a nice drive through some pretty farm land and a few small “towns”. Jacksonville was the biggest town we had to drive through or actually around the edge on the bypass. Hampstead was a mess as we expected with all the road construction going on. They have been working on a bypass that will tie into the bypass around Wilmington I think. We were amazed at all the new apartments, houses, etc. they have and are being built around Hampstead and between Hampstead and Wilmington.
After we passed Holly Ridge we had one driver that veered into our lane and almost hit us on the passenger side. I let him hear our air horns and he quickly got back into his lane. My guess is he was playing with his cell phone.
After we got setup in site 164 in Briarcliffe RV Resort we decided to get some lunch at a nearby restaurant. Barefoot landing is just across a fence from our campground. There is a locked gate in the fence and we were given a key card to open the gate so we decided to walk there rather than driving the car out into traffic just to go a short distance.
As we were walking I was holding my phone and letting the map app direct me to the restaurant that where we were planning to eat. I heard someone ask us what we were looking for. We turned around and another camper told us to come over to his site. We told him where we were heading and he said get in my golf cart, so we did. He took over to Barefoot landing and drove us all around the complex, pointing out the shops, restaurants, etc., then took us right up to the entrance to LuLu’s Restaurant where we were going to eat. That was really nice of him. He wanted to know where we were from and told us he was from Lumberton NC.
We asked to be seated out on their covered patio right by the water. We enjoyed our meal and just before we finished we thought we were going to see two senior citizens have a fist fight. One accused the other of putting something in his boat that was docked at the restaurant but the other guy denied it. Then the accused guy told the boat owner he needed boat driving lessons and that really set the boat owner off but they never did throw any punches.
We walked back to our site and enjoyed setting outside in the nice weather and relaxing for the rest of the afternoon.
Day 36 Friday October 9, 2026
We had the morning and part of the afternoon as free time today. We walked down to the rear of the campground which borders The Intercoastal Waterway which is roughly a 3000 mile waterway. Mile marker 0 is at Norfolk VA and it ends in Brownsville TX.
Later we went to Walmart for a few groceries. About all we are buying is eggs, milk and bacon on this trip since a lot of our meals are included with what we paid for the tour and sometimes we are eating out to try the local restaurants.
On the way back Lena wanted to go to the Purple Store in Barefoot Landing. Yes, the Purple Store. Everything in the store has purple on it and that is her favorite color. And of course she came out with a small bag full. I sat outside on a chair. When I walked in the store all the purple was a little overwhelming so I turned around and walked out.
The weather is really nice today, we better enjoy it today because tomorrow will be much different. We sat outside for a while, then had a little snack for lunch because we will be having a large meal later with the tour group.
The Duplin Winery in North Myrtle Beach is just 4 miles from us so we picked up Gregg and Judi and went to check it out. All the winery production facilities are in Rose Hill NC. This is a sales location. They have a nice facility, they have wine tastings, sell their wine and lots of gifts, fudge, etc. here.
Judi wanted to see the Purple Store. So we stopped there on the way back to the campground.
We rode with Gregg and Judi to Angelo’s Steak and Pasta for our group meal. This is another big restaurant that is deceiving looking at it from the front. We had a 16oz ribeye steak with baked potato. The steak was served on a very hot flat cast iron plate. It was still sizzling when the waitress set it down. It was good perfectly and very tender and so was the potato.
Our next stop for the group was the GTS Theatre for an Adult Magic Show. It was supposed to be just adult comedy with magic acts. The “magic” acts were amateurish, the language was crude and he was not near as funny as he thought he was. We were surprised that Fantasy had booked this show for us and that will be included in our tour critique. Myrtle Beach has lots of theaters that have really good shows but this was not one of them.
Day 37 Saturday October 10, 2026
Well as predicted it started raining last night and is still raining this morning and this is a travel day. This will be our fourth rainy travel day but we should not complain since we missed the N’easter when it went up the coast and we missed the bad part of Hurricane Isaias.
The rain is the remnants of the Hurricane Isaias that came in from the Gulf.
We all walked down to the Clubhouse this morning for our drivers meeting and a little morning pick me up snack. We only have 95 miles to drive today and we are hoping the rain has cleared by the time we leave about 12 noon or so.
We departed just after 12pm, after almost everyone had departed. We timed it right the rain stopped for about 15 minutes so we got to hookup the Jeep to the motorhome without it raining on us.
There was a lot of traffic getting away from the Myrtle Beach area for over 20 miles, then it was a fairly nice drive in a light steady rain. We got to the Mt. Pleasant KOA campground about 3pm and was escorted to site 19 by an employee on a golf cart.
After setting up we had our left over ribeye steak from last night. It was good but of course not quite as good as it was last night. Later we took a walk around part of the campground. This is a nice KOA campground, probably the second best KOA we have stayed in. There is a very large lake for catch and release fishing and a lot of activities for kids.
We got our chairs out and was going to set outside for a while but a shower of rain came through and run us inside. The weather looks better for tomorrow.
