As lockdown continued through the spring we realised our summer holiday flights and plans weren’t going to happen so we moved to plan B and rented an RV for 2 weeks using RVShare.com. Pick up was local so it was great to be able to drive it to the house and load up with our clothes & bedding, food for the first week, our bikes (on the bike rack I’d requested from the owners) and other essentials before starting our journey.
First stop was Manatee Hammock Campground not far from Titusville, Florida. Pick up time for the RV is usually 3 pm so we didn’t want to plan on too long a journey that day, plus I discovered that night was perfect timing with the new moon for seeing the seasonal bioluminescence at Merritt Island. We booked our guided kayaking experience for 8.30 pm. This was really fun and the bright blue as you dipped in your paddle was so pretty. One thing we hadn’t been expecting were the leaping fish! Mullet racing through the water and jumping into the kayaks definitely added to the experience.
The following morning we checked out the great view from the campsite across the water to Cape Canaveral and learnt that a rocket launch was scheduled for 5pm. We couldn’t stay this time but have added a trip back here to our future plans. For now we had to set off to Savannah.
I had read that overnight parking was possible for RVs at the visitor centre so we went straight there late afternoon. To be so central seemed too good to be true, and it was! But still, easy parking for novice RV drivers to use to explore the town was still a good find. Instead, we made a couple of calls and found a site with a space 20 mins away – Savannah Oaks RV Park. A pretty campsite on a river with shady trees full of Spanish moss.
The following day we went back into Savannah, parked and wandered through the streets and squares, including Chippewa Square, featured in Forest Gump, and had lunch sitting by the river watching the paddle steamers. River Street Sweets had been recommended so we called in to choose dessert. By then we were hot and ready to move on. Tonight’s destination was Whippoorwill Farm – an organic pig farm I had found through the Harvest Hosts site. We were able to park the RV next to the pigpen along with one other RV. The farmer was out feeding the pigs and was happy to talk to us about her farm and the work involved with the goats, chickens, rabbits and veg patch. There is a trail around the woods, where the pigs she breeds are kept, which we walked and the children were able to cycle around – a lot. We were happy to buy sausages to barbecue that evening and fresh eggs for breakfast, together with some tomatoes and a melon from her pay-what-you-can produce stand at the entrance to the farm.
Next was a relatively short journey to Charleston. Again I had read about RV spaces at the Mary Street car park, that could also be used overnight; we parked there for the day but decided we wouldn’t feel comfortable at night. A walk again to the water, down King Street, White Point Garden, historic downtown, ice creams and back. Too hot once more we made our move out of town to Camping World. We knew that Walmart & Cracker Barrel often allowed RVs to stay in their car parks and we read that this Camping World did too – so something we had to do it at least once! Once the store closed we set out our chairs and my husband cycled to fetch us some dinner – all quite surreal. The next day was my daughter’s 10th birthday, one to remember!
Our first stop today was at Boone Hall Plantation one of the only indoor activities we were considering at this time. Temperatures checked at the gate, hand sanitiser handed out and plenty of RV parking on the current owner’s polo field. There was restricted viewing in the main house for the moment but beautiful grounds and interesting stories about the Gullah people in the outdoor mini amphitheatre and a tour of the working farm on the open tractor and trailer. After our morning there it was so convenient to be able to make a quick sandwich in the RV and continue on our way.
We wanted to use a mix of campsites, mostly smaller places to avoid the crowds at this time, but also needed a couple of our stops to have more facilities. We chose Myrtle Beach KOA for 2 nights with the full hook up, laundry facilities and spacious pitches. There was fishing, a jumping pillow, swimming pool and, most popular, a variety of go-karts to borrow. We had intended to get to the beach but everyone was happy relaxing at the campsite so we stayed put.
Friday we had a longer drive, inland through South Carolina and just over the border to North Carolina and another Harvest Host location, Russian Chapel Hills winery. The owner was there to meet us and we tried some of his wines, including a Honey Mead and Kagor, a Russian dessert wine. He was welcoming and encouraged us to wander the grounds and visit the wooden chapel. We had a beautiful view over the vineyards, watching the sunset and the fireflies come out as we barbecued; just us.
We left earlyish the next day to get to Chimney Rock State Park which was about an hour away, passing Lake Lure where Dirty Dancing was filmed! There are several trails to choose from starting at the main car park, where there is also a shuttle option to take you to the base of Chimney Rock. We started on the Four Seasons trail, nice and shady through the forest then up the 494 steps of Outcroppings trail to Pulpit rock, then finally more steps up Chimney Rock itself. Great views from the top! Another trail continued on but it was hot and busier than we’d hoped so we started back down. The ranger tempted us with the idea of a dip at the Hickory Nut Falls so we followed that trail, but again, with the current circumstances, there were more people than we liked so we took a quick picture and headed back down to the RV. And on to our next destination.
Justus Orchard, another Harvest Host location. One other caravan was parked when we arrived so we chose our position with a view of the apple orchards. The owner came down to say hello and let us know about the farm shop and bakery and that blackberries were ready for picking. We picked a punnet full, bought some apples and, as it was coming to the end of the day, were gifted a bag of doughnuts. 3 more RVs arrived to stay the night; a popular spot. There were quiet country hilly roads leading from the orchard which the children, now used to flat Florida, loved cycling up and racing down so that kept them busy until the sunset.
Sliding Rock looked like a unique attraction that we’d enjoy, so we set off early to try and beat some of the crowds and get one of the limited RV parking spaces. The water was freezing, less than 13C (55F), and cold water is not my favourite thing, but we all did it, some of us more than once! We got there around 9.30am but it’s a popular place and soon filled up so we decided to move on. Grateful again for the RV where we could get dry and change. It was a lovely road through the Pisgah national forest with waterfalls and plenty of roadside laybys along the way. We pulled over for a spot of fishing and paddling before heading north, stopped off on the Blue Ridge Parkway for lunch and passed through Little Switzerland, before arriving at the other bigger campsite of the trip, Bear Den Campground. Up high in the Pisgah Forest, we had a nice shady pitch and some steep hills to keep the children busy on their bikes. The campground had a lake for fishing and swimming so before that night’s BBQ we had a dip then hiked back up the hill to the RV. It’s a big campground, covering a large area, 56 miles away from the previous night’s orchard location and yet we ended up camping next to the same family! So it was fun to have a drink around the campfire with them and hear their tips for the area. Several trails started from the campsite and we decided to try the Cascades circular route. Great to be able to do this without needing to drive in the RV and once we were back there was time for more cycling and the last bit of laundry to see us through to the end of the trip.
Some more travel the next day on the Blue Ridge Parkway back south towards Nantahala Outdoor Center for white water rafting. This was a good first experience for us (only my husband had been before) – fun rock spins, rapids with plenty of cold water spray and no one lost overboard. Onwards from there into Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains and our campsite at Cades Cove. No hook-ups and the generator was allowed only until 8pm so we had prepared food which we could warm up quickly in the microwave, hoping not to heat up the whole van too much for sleeping. A small river runs by the campground where we saw a deer, then a bit more fishing and dam building before it got dark (and the bears come out!) We stayed here Tuesday night because on a Wednesday during the summer the 11 mile Cades Cove loop road is closed to cars and is just used by walkers and cyclists. Also very popular! We started the ride around 9am and already the visitor’s car park was full. A great ride with beautiful scenery and rolling hills, more deer spotted and after hearing a bear and her cub amongst the trees we finally caught a glimpse!
We had to leave the campsite by 12 so loaded up the bikes and drove just a few miles down the road when my husband was tempted again by a river for fishing. We pulled in to a layby, rustled up some sandwiches and scrambled down the rocks for a refreshing dip. These spontaneous pit stops were probably some of the favourite times for the children. After a couple of hours, we continued on our way to Smokemont Campground. Another peaceful campsite right on the river, with hiking and a nature trail. A relaxing afternoon and barbecue here ahead of tomorrow’s longest drive of the trip back south.
Initially, we planned to use another couple of Harvest Host sites for our last 2 nights but the temperatures do not cool down much in Florida at night and we found we could sleep more comfortably with the a/c hooked up to the electricity rather than using our generator – so we changed our plan. For our first night, we booked into Ichetucknee Springs Campground, arriving early evening, with just enough time to barbecue dinner but then revert to eating inside to avoid the heat and mosquitos. We chose this location because tomorrow morning’s plan was to go tubing in Ichetucknee Springs State Park. Usually, tubes can be rented from our campground but the owner wasn’t available that morning to attach them to our vehicle so instead, we drove to the park’s south entrance and rented from there. We took the tram to the midpoint launch then enjoyed the relaxing float downstream for a couple of hours. Beautiful clear cool water and pretty forest either side with plenty of turtles sunning themselves on fallen tree trunks at the water’s edge. Then back on the road for the final push south.
A long afternoon’s drive down the west side of Florida to Chokoloskee Island. We arrived around 7.30pm, luckily in time for a gulf coast sunset and our pitch had a great view overlooking the marina. So one last barbecue got going whilst we watched the sunset on the final night of our trip.
What an amazing holiday! 🙂
Sounds like heaven! I ran that same Cades Cove loop with my cross country team back in high school!