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:
On our long trip out to Iowa for the 2016 DockDogs World Championship, our first stop-over was at Shawnee State Park in Schellsburg, PA. Shawnee State Park is a 3,983-acre Pennsylvania state park in Juniata and Napier Townships, Bedford County, Pennsylvania ans is absolutely gorgeous!
Our site (#69):
View from our site:
Morning walks before continuing on our way to Iowa:
Lager
Hooch
Limoncello
Margarita
At each stop, we changed our “Miles-To-Iowa” sign!
Although we were only here for a short one-night stop-over, what we saw of the park was absolutely gorgeous! I hope we get to come back to this state park for a weekend camping trip sometime soon!
All of our camping trips revolve around the pups’ dock diving competitions, except the holiday camping trips we take on Easter and Thanksgiving. We very rarely catch a free weekend – let alone one that matches up with another camping buddy. However, this particular weekend in October we were able to make it happen!
This was only our second trip in the new RV. I decided to ride on the couch with the pups for a little bit to help get them settled.
All settled in and ready to roll!
It was a very chilly weekend, but we enjoyed every minute at Pomona RV Park and Campground!
You would never know this campground was just 10 minutes away from Atlantic City Casinos, boardwalk, and beaches, as it was very quiet and peaceful!
We stayed on site C3:
Campground map:
Lager just loves his new GLAMping window!
We spent quite a bit of time indoors getting a break from the cold, and enjoying getting to know our new camper. We could relax for sure knowing Lager and Limoncello were on patrol!
Hooch and Rita decided to let Cello and Lager do all the patrolling while they soaked up the GLAMping life!
We did get some warmer temps where we were able to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air – Rita seems to be more of a cold-weather kind of gal, as she enjoyed every minute sitting outside!
It was a wonderful weekend (not too far) away! We appreciated time with friends, we were delighted to spend some time figuring out all the buttons and controls on the new RV, and enjoyed the campfires each night!
Those of you who have been following our adventures from the start, know that we started out tent camping, moved on to a travel trailer, and then a 5th Wheel. Even though we enjoyed all of our camping methods, once we adopted Margarita, we discovered that we needed to travel in a way where all of us could be a little bit more comfortable while on the road. We decided to trade our 5th Wheel in for a Class-A RV!
We enjoyed this campground very much – one of the days was very rainy, which gave us some time to get acclimated to our new RV!
First time the pups are all riding together on a couch! (safely clipped into their seat belts of course!)
Rita got settled right in! She said she can drive a Big Rig – no problem!
We had to put runners down in the new RV since Hooch thinks slippery floors are made of lava!
Lager discovers the “Doggie Window!”
Lager claiming “his spot” by the Doggie Window
Relaxing on a rainy day with my Reet!
Our new RV was safely guarded!
Guard Dogs on Duty!
Once the weather broke, we were able to enjoy the outdoors at our great site!
Friends of ours live nearby the campground, and were nice enough to come by with some Lancaster favorites that we have never had before!
Chicken Pot Pie like we’ve never had it (We’ve only had it in “pie” form!) Delicious!
Hand-made pretzels – not sure I could ever had another kind of pretzel after these… YUM!
Whoopie Pies! …These were amazing!
Farmers Cheese – my new favorite cheese!
We had a fun (and most importantly – SAFE) first trip in our new camper – during one of the very, VERY few camping trips where dock diving was not involved!
Beautiful views… the campground backed up to the golf course.
Rita and Lager officially touching ground in New York to stay the night! Now we can officially add New York to their States Visited Map! Click HERE to see Lager’s Map… and click HERE to see Margarita’s Map!
The food we ordered from the restaurant was great too! … A perfect stop-over !
Fort Monroe served as a key defensive site of the Chesapeake Bay from Native American’s use before the settling of Jamestown, to its most recent mission as the US Army’s Headquarters for Training and Doctrine Command until 2011.
Rita is finding Glamping to be fun, and is exploring all over the camper! Here she is in the shower:
View from our camp site:
Around the campground and fort:
The fort
The fort
Fort Monroe Quarters Number 1
Old Point Comfort Light
Inside on of the buildings
The campground was very peaceful, and the pups were able to rest well in the camper after each day of the event!
This year’s Easter camping trip was at Old Mill Stream Campground in Lancaster, PA. We had a great view, and a wonderful weekend with friends!
Our campsite (Site 125):
View from our campsite:
This campground is located at Dutch Wonderland and offers discounted tickets for the amusement park. The amusement park was closed during our Easter visit.
Old Mill Stream is also very close to many area attractions and shopping in Lancaster, PA. For those who would rather stay-put in the campground, there are lots of amenities such as:
Two Laundromats
Country Store – selling a limited selection of groceries, sundries and camping supplies including ice, wood and propane.
Two dump stations
Free Wi-Fi
Game Room
Playground
Half-Court Basketball
Horseshoes
GaGa Ball Pit
Unfortunately, Rita had to stay with a friend for this trip since she had just gone into heat, and Hooch is still intact. However, we still made sure the Easter Bunny took care of Rita in our absence!
The Easter Bunny always leaves great treats for the pups in the camper:
Lager
Hooch
Cello
The Easter Bunny left his gifts on the couch of the camper.
Every Easter camping trip, we let the pups have an Easter egg hunt in the camper:
The Pups finding their Easter Baskets:
The pups on Easter Morning:
(Hooch, Limoncello, Lager)
When we were able to pick up Rita, we gave her the rest of her Easter Bunny goodies:
Our first non-dock diving camping trip of the year all by ourselves! This was our annual Anniversary Camping Trip. This year, we decided to camp at Black Bear Campground, located in the Village of Florida, New York.
We stayed on site 55:
Black Bear Campground is located in Orange County, about one hour Northwest of New York City.
Amenities here include:
Full Hookups
Free Wi-Fi & Cable TV
Rental Units
Mini Golf
Swimming Pool (Memorial Day – Labor Day)
Playground
Basketball
Shuffleboard
Volleyball
Badminton
Pavilion / Game Room
Arcade
Pool Table
Fishing Pond
Hiking/Nature Trails
Picnic Tables
Fire Rings
Camp Store with Inventory of RV Parts
Dump Station
Laundromat
This Campground is also close to many attractions – lots to do in the surrounding area! Here are just some of the things to do/see (click on the attraction to read more):
You can see by the campground map, this place was pretty big! It was also right on the water, and although we weren’t able to secure a waterfront site, we had a water view from our campsite:
With just a short walk to the water’s edge, we had a wonderful time walking the pups!
This campground offers cabins, cottages, on site rental trailers, and campsites. Cherrystone also offers many great amenities:
Little Neck Cafe
General Store
Farm Stand
Bait and Tackle Shop
Laundry Facilities
RV Services
Rental Golf Carts
ATM Machine
Free Wi-Fi
We wish we had more time to explore this great campground. We hope to be able to take advantage of some of the great amenities mentioned above at our next stay!
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.
The water views around the campground are gorgeous!
This was Hooch’s first-ever Easter! It was exciting to make his basket for the first time!
Cello’s Easter basket:
Easter morning – the Easter Bunny has arrived to the 5th Wheel with toys and treats!
Cello and Hooch had a great time opening their Easter baskets with the help of their Pop!
After Cello and Hooch opened their Easter baskets, they had an Easter egg hunt in the 5th Wheel! …see if you can find all the “hidden” eggs!
Yay! Hooch found his first bacon-filled Easter egg!
After each egg is found, the pup who found the egg gets the bacon inside of the egg – Hooch thought this was LOTS of fun, and waited patiently for his bacon reward!
Hooch enjoyed all his Easter treats and toys – and, of course, stole Cello’s bunny toy!
Overall, we had a great trip, and Hooch enjoyed his first-ever Easter!
We decided to take a break from dock diving, and visit Annapolis since we had never been there. We decided to stay at the Washington DC/Capitol KOA.
This campground was well taken care of, the bath house was super-clean, AND they had a great doggie play area with agility equipment!
The campground staff could not have been nicer – and every employee that rode by on a golf cart stopped to say hello to the dogs, and give them a treat! The friendliness towards dogs here is unbelievable! The drive to Annapolis was about 15-20 minutes.
Although we were at the dock diving event all day and didn’t spend much time at the campground, we did observe that this campground was clean, and that the staff were very helpful and nice.
Holiday Travl-L-Park is situated very conveniently near many historical attractions, and outdoor activities.
This campground boats a theme park, water park, crabbing docks, arcade, restaurant (with excellent food!!), saloon, miniature golf, horse back riding, water park, and a “High Ropes” obstacle course suspended in the air in the trees!
05
We stayed on site “Red 14” (Z 16) – and it was AWESOME! The only other site we saw that was slightly better view than ours was Z 16.
Our site, Z 14:
The site was on the water, was very large, nicely landscaped, and had a very nice stone fire pit.
View from our bay window:
Around the campground…
This is the first campground we’ve been to that had a Saloon!!
Inside the Saloon:
Jail Birds:
No, Brian, no one is coming to bail you out…Cello, maybe…!
Real Jaws movie prop at the campground!
This is the view just a few steps away from our site:
“High Ropes” obstacle course in the trees:
This campground was fun, beautiful, and just minutes away from SO many great places like Ocean City, Assateague, and the quaint town of Berlin, MD!
Both Lager and Rita camped here as well the following year!
For Cello’s Codorus Blast Dock Diving Event, we camped at Codorus State Park in Hanover, PA. Located in York County, this park boasts a gorgeous 1,275 acre lake, where many come to fish and picnic. Codorus State Park also offers many other recreational activities such as horseback riding, swimming, scuba diving, boating, hunting, and disc golf.
This park was big, clean, gorgeous, and the staff was more than friendly. The sites were level and spacious, and included a fire ring. The facilities were very clean, and within walking distance to our site.
This campground has paved sites, restrooms, shower houses, laundry facilities, a playground, and a pool. There is even a Giant chess/checkers game in the campground!
The bathrooms were extremely clean, and the staff was more than friendly. If you stay at this campground, be sure to ask about fire rings – some sites have them, and others do not.
We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at Killens Pond. The campsites were arranged in small loops. We stayed on campsite D5 (loop D, campsite 5), and had a nice sized private space with a view of the pond from our living space, and a wooded scene out our rear bay window.
View from our living space:
View from our back bay window:
The campground was clean, and have several campground hosts located throughout the campground. We had an issue with our electric during our stay, and the campground host on our loop couldn’t have been more helpful.
The campground had a pretty hiking trail that ran along the pond and through the park. The trail was very flat and well-maintained.