Hammocks Beach State Park N.C. 2/17-21/26

 Hammocks Beach State Park 

Day 1  Tuesday February 17, 2026

We have not used the motorhome since November 2025 and we don’t like for it to set unused for several months. We believe if vehicles are not used regularly things tend to not work properly. So we planned a short four day pre-Spring trip to take a break from our normal Winter routine and exercise the motorhome systems. 

We departed about 11:30 for Hammocks Beach State Park Campground In Swansboro NC which is only about 45 miles from home. This is a new state park campground with 23 campsites. 15 of the sites are full hookup, the others have no hookups except water hydrants are scattered among the sites. There is also a really nice baththouse and 4 cabins. The sites are all large, have a large setting area/tent pad, picnic table and fire ring and the parking pad and setting area is covered in nice small pea gravel. We drove through it a few months ago when we were in the area. 

We arrived about 1PM and setup in site 42.  We should have paid more attention to the sites when we drove through the campground a few months ago. We knew even before we setup that the parking pad for our site was not level but we put down our wheel ramps for the rear wheels and managed to get the motorhome almost level. It was almost 10” lower in the rear of the site than the front. 

After getting all the utilities hooked up, I setup our new Starlink Internet Satellite device(Starlink Mini). This will be our first time using it while on a trip. I had it setup at home on the building where we store the motorhome and have been using it to provide WiFi for the motorhome so I could remotely monitor the temperature, control the thermostats and monitor the power in the motorhome. 

The device is really simple to setup. It took me about 5 minutes to set it up. I mount it on an old camera tripod I had, set it outside the motorhome, plug in the power cable and use the Starlink App to align the device with the Starlink satellites. Later I setup one of the TVs in the motorhome to use the Starlink WiFi via our ROKU device. This is the first time we have used the Starlink WiFi for TV service so we weren’t sure how good it was going to work. We don’t usually watch much TV when we travel but sometimes we do. The system we had been using for WiFi depended on a cell signal from the nearest cell tower and we were not getting very good  service from it and it cost almost three times more per month. 

Then we had some lunch, took a walk around the campground to take a good look at the other sites for future reference in case we come back. The campground hosts are off today and tomorrow so we had to go to the Visitors Center to checkin and get our windshield site card for our Jeep. 

We needed some fruit for our breakfast so we drove about 2 miles to Walmart before returning to the campground and enjoying the peace and quiet. There are only 5 RVs in the campground tonight. 

Day 2 Wednesday February 18, 2026

After a hearty breakfast we drove to the Croatan National Forest in Cedar Point to walk the Cedar Point Tideland Trail. We have camped in the campground here many times and have walked the trail numerous times also but not recently. The trail is built with elevated walkways in several places so you can walk over the tidelands which are wet. This morning the tide was up so we didn’t get to see the usual little creatures that live in the marshes along the trail. The complete trail is one mile long if you take the outer loop and don’t take the short cuts. 

It was a nice walk so we decided to treat ourselves with a Latte and one donut each at Dunkin Donuts in Cedar Point on the return to our campground. 

I had to make a quick stop at ACE Hardware in Swansboro for a few screws for my woodworking shop. Then we returned to the campground. 

We had 5 campers again tonight in the campground. This is a really nice campground, very clean, large campsites and paved streets . Our only complaint is that sites 41, 42 and 43 are 10” or more out of level. 

Day 3 Thursday February 19, 2026

After breakfast we drove to Harbor Freight in Jacksonville so I could buy a couple of small power tools for my woodworking shop. I had a few dollars from Christmas gifts that was burning a hole in my pocket.

Then we returned to the campground so I could work on the ice maker in our freezer. It is not making ice. I thought the problem was that the water inlet was iced over and I was correct. We got it thawed out and for now it is working. 

We drove to Cedar Point which is just across the White Oak River past Swansboro for some seafood at Bogue House Restaurant. We have ate here a couple of times and it is always good.  It is not a fancy place but clean, quick service and good seafood. 

On the way back to the campground we stopped at Bicentennial Park on the banks of the White Oak River in Swansboro to take a walk and take a few pictures. It is amazing to us how much Swansboro has grown since we retired in 2002 and drove through here. And it is still growing. 

We relaxed and did some reading until about sunset when we walked out to the waters edge to get some sunset photos over the river. The wind coming off the water was rather chilly but we stayed until almost dark to get some sunset photos, but nothing spectacular but still pretty. 

Day 4 Friday February 20, 2026

We were lazy this morning and decided to go to a coffee shop for a latte and sweet roll. The first one we stopped at didn’t have much of a selection so we went to Sweeter Things Bakery Cafe. We have been here once before. They had a good selection so we got a cinnamon bun and a cream cheese pastry and lattes. 

We had to make another stop at Walmart for some fruit and something to take to Church Sunday for our lunch after service at the Church. 

We have had good weather all week and today we had the most sunshine except for about 15 minutes of rain midafternoon.

Day 5 Saturday February 21, 2026

We had a light rain again this morning just before daybreak.

After breakfast we packed up and headed home about 10AM and arrived about 11AM unhooked the Jeep from the motorhome and then got the motorhome stuck in the yard beside our RV Barn. There was a lot more rain here the last few days and the yard got wet and soft. 

This is the first time we have ever got the motorhome stuck. It has a powerful 450 horsepower engine but it is also very heavy, 37,000+ pounds but the tires are not for driving in mud or snow. I connected it to the power plug beside the RV Barn that our Boondockers Welcome guest use. That will provide enough electricity to keep the batteries charged and the refrigerator running until I can get the motorhome pulled out. I will let the ground dry for 2-3 days and then pull it out with the tractor. 

FRVA Eastern Area Rally November 4-9, 2025

 Day 1 Tuesday November 4, 2025

Another new adventure begins today. We are going to be attending a FRVA Eastern Area Rally for 5 nights in Myrtle Beach SC. FRVA stands for Family RV Association. It was formerly called FMCA for Family Motor Coach Association. When it was FMCA only motorized RVs could be a member. Then to keep membership up they allowed any self contained RV to join, so they changed the name to FRVA. 

We have been to several national FMCA/FRVA rallies in Perry GA but this rally is smaller and is hosted by the Eastern Area Association. There are 28 area RV clubs that make up the Eastern Area Association. We are not members of any individual RV club. 

We got everything ready and departed home about 10:15, filled up with fuel in Rocky Point and were on our way. It is only about a 140 mile drive to Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach SC. We have never stayed here. It has 859 full hookup pull through sites. It sets right beside the beach. Plus there are hundreds of beach cottages located on the property that is part of the complex. They have a variety of amenities onsite, four ponds, pools, huge laundry, hundreds of golf carts for rent, RV for sale, RV parts and service and a few places to get food, etc,

We arrived about 1:30, checked in and slowly made our way to site 2053. On first impression we are not impressed with the campground. The parking pad is concrete and it was easy to level but the sites are kind of short. I was able to keep the motorhome on the site and not encroach on the street in front and back of our site but we had to park the Jeep on the patch of grass between us and the next site. Most of the grass was worn away and was just sand and sand spurs, UGG. We have never been to a campground where our site was as close to the site in front and back of us. It is not unusual to have the sites fairly close side to side but not front to back. Our neighbor to the left of us said….”his wife felt almost claustrophobic”. 

When I went to plug in our power cord the 50AMP receptacle was not secure in the panel. It was basically just flopping around so I had to be careful when I plugged in. The site was littered with small pieces of trash from prior campers. It probably hadn’t been cleaned in a while. 

We needed to locate the building where we had to check in for the Rally. The emails we got from the Rally team said it was in the Activity Building.  Nothing on our campground map was labeled Activity Building. So I asked the man on the site behind us and he said it was in the Recreation Building which was a fairly long walk so we drove the Jeep there and checked in. Then went out of the campground to the nearby Walmart for a few items. 

We bought some ice cream so we sat outside when we got back and enjoyed the sunshine until the sun began to set and the temperature started dropping. 

Day 2 Wednesday November 5, 2025

We woke up this morning to the sounds of the ocean waves hitting the beach. After we had breakfast we went to the Recreation Building to play Bingo. We have never played Bingo like this. You don’t play with Bingo cards, you play with a deck of playing cards. Four people set together as a team and each person is dealt 13 cards. Then the caller calls out a particular card and the person in the team that has it discards that card. When a person doesn’t have any cards left they hollow BINGO and they are the winner. They weren’t giving out any prizes just having fun. We played for an hour or so and decided we had had enough “fun”. So we returned to the motorhome to fix lunch because we planned to attend two seminars this afternoon. 

After lunch we returned to the Recreation Building to attend the seminar on all the benefits of being a member of FRVA. We were aware of some of them but there were other benefits we have as members we were not aware of. Then there was a seminar on FRVA Chapters and how they operate. Most of the Chapters that are in the Eastern Area had tables/displays setup so we stopped at a few to get some information from them to see if we would be interested in joining. Usually the annual membership fee is less than $20. At time we have decided not to join any of the chapters.

After returning to the motorhome we walked out onto the beach. This was the first time we have been on a beach in many years. There were a few fishermen trying their luck and a few people out walking the beach. It probably is really busy on the beach here in June/July/August. 

Day 3 Thursday November 6, 2025

We normally have two kinds of fruit, bacon and eggs and coffee for breakfast but this morning we only had the fruit then went to the Recreation Building where the Rally team was providing Krispy Kreme glazed donuts and coffee. 

We attended 5 seminars today on different topics related to RVing. We have been traveling in a motorhome since 2011 but there is always something to learn, some new things and new products and some just refreshers to what  we think we already know. 

After the last seminar we returned to the motorhome until about 7pm. We returned to the Recreation Building for the entertainment for the evening. Carson Peters and Iron Mountain performed until 9pm. They are a young Bluegrass Band of five. We have seen them perform twice in the Galax Virginia area. Carson has been playing the fiddle since he was a very young boy. All of the group are good musicians and all of them sing. 

Day 4 Friday November 7, 2025

We had the same routine for breakfast this morning as we did yesterday. Then we attended two seminars that were very good. One was called “Co-Pilot Right Seat”.  For anyone that travels in an RV, especially a large RV similar to ours the person in the right seat (front passenger seat) is very important and has responsibilities just like the driver. For example having another set of eyes on the road is a big help to the driver especially in heavy traffic and in an area where the driver is not familiar with driving. Also when pulling into a campsite the driver needs someone outside assisting. Even with a rear view camera and large mirrors the driver can’t see everything. The presenter provided a lot of good information. And he was very funny. 

The second seminar was “Lessons Learned on the Road”. The presenter told the story of a trip he and his wife made from Raleigh NC to the West coast and back and all the problems they had. Most RVers have multiple checklist for such things as what to pack for a trip, what to do to prepare the RV, spare parts to carry, what to do to setup and breakdown a campsite, etc.  He said some of his problems were created by him because he didn’t follow his checklists properly. He had some serious mechanical problems on the trip that couldn’t have been foreseen but if he had followed his checklists and packed the tools on his checklist he could have possibly solved some of the problems before they got worse. 

The Rally team had made arrangements with the Alabama Theater in North Myrtle Beach to get us discounted tickets on their Annual Christmas Show that was today at 1:30pm. We had purchased tickets so we left the campground and drove to the theater. 

We wanted some seafood for lunch so we decided to try the River City Cafe right beside the theater. The food was very good and not as expensive as some of the restaurants in the area. A lot of the seafood restaurants in the Myrtle Beach area has a huge buffet that also has a rather large price. We just can’t justify spending $30-40 each for a buffet when we don’t eat large meals. 

We had good seats at the theater. We were almost center stage in row 17. The show was amazing. The best theatre show we have ever seen. The musicians and performers were all top notch. The theater must have spent a small fortune on the costumes the performers were wearing. They must have worn at least 10-15 different costumes. They also had a very good comedian/juggler that performed during the times they needed to reset the stage for the next portion of the show. He had worked for years at Disney World and on the Disney cruise ship.

Day 5 Saturday November 8, 2025

There wasn’t anything happening at the Rally this morning that interested us so Lena wanted to go to Hamricks to do a little shopping for some shoes and clothes. There was a Black Rifle Coffee Shop just past it so we went there first. We had heard about Black Rifle Coffee but have never been to one. I think they are a Veteran Owned Company and they offer a discount to Military and First Responders so we got a discount since I am a retired EMT. The Lattes were excellent and so were the Blueberry Muffins. 

Then Lena did her shopping before we returned to the campground. We stopped at the office to let them know about the problem with our power pedestal and to tell them the litter on our site was  there when we got here. We didn’t want them to think we had littered up the site. A few minutes after we got back to our site a maintenance worker came and repaired the power pedestal. 

After we had lunch we attended two seminars at the Recreation Building. Neither one of us got much out of these two seminars and the presenter was not very presentable in our opinion. He was a rather large man and his stomach hung out over his sweat pants and below his wrinkled pull over shirt. YUK! And what really hit us was his wife was also in the room and was neatly dressed. 

Then at 6:30 we attended the Rally closing ceremony and prize giveaways. Several retired military that were attending the Rally did the folding of the flag ceremony and as the flag was being folded a speaker was explaining the meaning of each of the 12 folds of the flag. We had never heard the meaning of each fold of the flag. 

Tonight’s entertainment was Too Much Sylvia. They are a group of four musicians that have been performing for many years. They are basically a Beach Music band. They performed music from the sixties and could sing and play and sound like the groups that originally performed those songs. They did some of their own original music also. They did a really good job. Near the end of their performance they did a really nice tribute to the military. 

This was a nice Rally. For a fairly small area rally it was well organized and ran. We heard there were 300 RVs that attended. They also had a 50/50 raffle and a $1000 was presented to a local charity that is building tiny homes for homeless veterans in the Myrtle Beach area. 

Day 6 Sunday November 9, 2025

One of the seminars we attended was presented by Kleen Tank. They specialize in cleaning the holding tanks and water heaters on RVs. The man that founded the company experimented with different products and methods to clean holding tanks. He came up with a good system and then sold franchises to people around the country to use his system. Holding tanks in RVs are not septic tanks like you would have at a house. Holding tanks only hold the black (sewage) and grey (shower/sink) water for short periods of time until they can be emptied into a dump station at the campsite. 

The problem most people have with their holding tanks is they don’t put enough water in them before they dump the contents and the “stuff” settles to the bottom of the tank and hardens. And over time the “stuff” builds up and becomes a problem. Jack, the man doing the presentation, said that a lot of the products sold for holding tanks did a good job of breaking down the solids but then the “stuff” combined with the products formed a slurry in the bottom of the holding tanks that is hard to get out when dumping the tanks. 

We scheduled them to come and clean our black and grey tanks this morning at 10:30. Our RV is 7 years old and has never had the tanks professionally cleaned. I think I do a fairly good job of keeping them properly flushed but have noticed some slow draining recently in the black tank. 

They came just before 10am and we watched them clean the tanks and they explained what they were doing and what we were seeing coming out of the tanks. They use high pressure water and run a small hose up into the tanks. They prepare a report card on what they found and grade the tanks condition from A to F with A being the best condition. Our grey tank was a B and the black tank was a C which is what I expected. They highly recommend using Calgon Bath Pearl Beads and Pine-Sol as the only thing to use in the tanks other than plenty of water to keep the tanks in good condition. So I will be changing to this method. 

Now wasn’t that something interesting to read about. 😂😂It is just part of the RV experience. 

We had the motorhome ready to depart before Kleen Tank arrived so once they finished we hooked up the Jeep and were on our way about 11am. 

We stopped to top off the fuel tank in Castle Hayne and at Bojangles in Wallace to top our fuel tanks before getting home.

Bojangles in Wallace has 4 large parking spots for big trucks and big RVs and one spot marked for Delivery Truck Parking only. These parking spots are on the opposite side of the building from the car parking spots. When we pulled in there was a car parked crosswise in the spot for the delivery truck parking and the rear of the car was hanging over about two feet into one of the big rig parking spots. For some people is it just “all about them”. There were numerous parking spot on the side for the car parking area.

 

We had a good week. This will be our last trip for a while. We normally don’t travel much in cold weather.