Note: this post is back-dated. I am currently attempting to catch up on many missed memories that I failed to post over the last 2-3 years). I appreciate your patience as I attempt to bring my diary of “special moments with my dogs” up-to-date!
Note: this post is back-dated. I am currently attempting to catch up on many missed memories that I failed to post over the last 2-3 years). I appreciate your patience as I attempt to bring my diary of “special moments with my dogs” up-to-date!
Note: this post is back-dated. I am currently attempting to catch up on many missed memories that I failed to post over the last 2-3 years). I appreciate your patience as I attempt to bring my diary of “special moments with my dogs” up-to-date!
Note: this post is back-dated. I am currently attempting to catch up on many missed memories that I failed to post over the last 2-3 years). I appreciate your patience as I attempt to bring my diary of “special moments with my dogs” up-to-date!
April 3, 2021
During my last Spring Break as a Special Education teacher in 2021, I realized just how grateful I was to have a camper….Not that I wasn’t thankful to have one pre-Covid, but now more than ever I am so appreciative that we could take a trip and still remain safe and self-contained in our own “home” during Covid times. On the way to our 2021 Easter Camping trip, we did an overnight stay at Quattro Goombas Winery/ Brewery/ Pizza Kitchen (a Harvest Hosts spot) in Aldie, Virginia, and it did not disappoint!
All safety precautions were in place and they provided curbside pickup for beer, wine, and Pizza for those who were not comfortable dining/drinking indoors … everything was delicious and there was plenty of room to walk the dogs on the grounds!
Tom’s Cove Park, located on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, overlooks Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Assateague Island National Seashore Park.
This was our first time camping in Chincoteague. We enjoyed the views, and the dogs very much enjoyed bird-watching all weekend!
Margarita LOVED being on the pier and watching the boats and birds!
Margarita and her main-man, Mr. Spock, did some bird watching together on the pier!
Camping in Virginia also allowed Porter to add a state to his “States Visited Map!”
We stayed on site P65 with a great view of the water (light pink sites closest to the waterfront sites).
Sunrise views from our campsite:
Hooch at our campsite:
Limoncello enjoyed “hunting” golf carts down all weekend from our campsite!
We found out that Porter loves riding in a golf cart!
It was a pull-through site and had a deluxe patio and private campfire/sitting area.
This campground had so much to offer – they even had a wine store with a tasting room featuring local NY wines! You can check out their other amenities HERE.
Although this site was directly across from the campground’s service center, it was a perfect site for us, as it had a very roomy grass area to walk the dogs.
We arrived much later than expected and it was SO dark that we missed a turn. People at this campground were so nice – before we knew it we had a whole crew of people helping us back up (NOT an easy thing to do where we ended up!) One of the campers even drove in their golf cart to lead us to our campsite. I don’t know what we would have done without their help that night!
There was plenty of space to walk the dogs. All the campers were so excited to meet the “dock dogs!”
This was our first time staying at this campground – but we liked it so much that we already booked it for the 2019 Hopkinton Fair!
We had a nice end spot with room to walk the dogs.
When Rita and I went for our first walk, look at what we saw at someone’s campsite! I was hoping we’d get to see the GSP, but we didn’t. Maybe next time!
Margarita found a friend! This bull is actually a smoker! I was hoping we’d get to see someone using it during our stay – I bet it looks so neat when the meat is cooking and the smoke is coming out of the bull’s nose!
Margarita
Margarita
Whiskey enjoyed the scenery too
Whiskey noticed a friend off in the distance – but was too afraid to go closer!
Hanging out around outside our camper and enjoying the weather!
Whiskey
Limoncello
We love playing Scrabble – and the dogs love helping their Pop!
Hooch
Lager
Margarita
Whiskey
Hooch wants to play the winner!
Mojitos, beer, and Scrabble – our kind of summer day!
Another great camping trip – and another year in the books – Happy 11 Years to us!
Another visit to Crystal Springs in 2019 for Easter:
This campground had been hit hard by a tornado in 2011. They are still working to recover from the tragic losses that ensued from that disaster. However, the owners could not have been nicer, and despite what the campground had been through, it looked great and was very enjoyable.
Our campsite was private and had a HUGE living space…perfect for letting the dogs out!
Even though we stayed at the Holiday Inn in Downtown Dubuqe with all the other competitors, we had driven our motor home out to Iowa, and needed a place to park it for the week. Swiss Valley Campground was the perfect place! Once we saw this beautiful 62 acre park, we wish we had camped for the week instead of staying in the hotel!
Our campsite (site #4):
Immediately after arriving, we had to pack up all of our dock diving gear, and head over to the hotel in our rental car!
The two “Princess and the Pea” gals “helped” us pack:
Princess Margarita
Princess Limoncello
We said goodbye to the camper for the week – but got to stay the night here at beautiful Swiss Valley Campground on our last night in Dubuque, IA, before heading back home to New Jersey.
Our 2019 Stay:
We stayed here for the week during the 2019 DockDogs World Championship.
Our Campsite (site #4):
Limoncello and Margarita walking on the nature path:
Porter, Lager, Whiskey, and Limoncello playing in the creek:
Woodlands Camping Resort is a semi-private camping resort with mostly seasonal sites. They have 5 sites available for transient campers, like us, and also have two cabins available for renting.
Woodlands is totally surrounded by Elk Neck State Forest, and is is only a short drive away from many other Chesapeake Bay area attractions.
We stayed on site 120:
Our site was right at the Veterans Memorial, which they were working on the weekend we stayed at the campground.
Around the campground…
2018 Update
We stayed at this campground again – but this time with our Class A camper – and this time on site 47. Site 47 is my new favorite campsite!
Brian and Whiskey
Site 47 was so spacious, and perfect for walking the dogs!
What a large living space for a campsite!
Brian and Whiskey taking a walk through the campground.
Looking at the AAA magazine one evening, an article caught my eye about a small town in Virginia ranked one of the top 20 small towns in the United States…Staunton, VA. After doing some research, and having never stayed at a KOA before, we decided to give Staunton/Walnut Hills KOA a try for our annual Easter camping trip. Not only was Staunton/Walnut Hills KOA in close proximity to the town of Staunton, it is also located between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountain ranges on the site of a former walnut plantation…pretty awesome!
Our campsite was right on the lake, and was spacious and clean.
Around the campground…
We are the third camper in from the left.
The campground had a fenced-in dog run, so of course we broke out the “Chuck-It,” and let Cello run like the wind!
The sunsets we saw from our campsite were amazing!
We got to see and do some really incredible in and around Staunton, which you will see in upcoming posts!