Introduction: We had hopes of traveling to the northeastern US during 2017 but instead, it turned out to be our last year of RV’ing with us mainly staying in the southeastern US. Maggie, our adopted rescue dog of 10 years, began having severe travel anxieties during the last few months of 2016 and even with some extended stops in early 2017, her issues continued to grow worst. Therefore 2017 travel was curtailed and by the time we returned to our home base area of Charlotte NC late in 2017, we had to face the reality that we just couldn’t do it any longer if we kept Maggie. So we stopped RV’ing and sold both truck and Fifth Wheel Trailer.
Below you will find:
- a map of our travel;
- a list of our stays as well as our general impression of the parks/places; and
- photographs taken during the year.
| Date | Stop Location | Miles: 1768 | Rating/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016/12/22 | Ocean Lakes Family Campground, Myrtle Beach, SC | 0 |  This is a huge tourist resort with RV sites (859) and homes along the shore of southern Myrtle Beach. The management of the resort is top notch with lots of rules. I imagine in the summer when the place is packed the rules are all needed. Almost everyone has a golf cart and the resort has hundreds to rent. So cart traffic is heavy and has to be watched for. Over-all it's a great resort but just not our style. Too much, too developed and not peaceful enough. Lots to do and lots to see in the surrounding Myrtle Beach. We were in site "4013," a couple of blocks back from the beach Maggie so enjoyed. RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/01/22 | Willow Tree Resort, Longs, SC | 40 |  Everyone has their own list of things that either make a park great or not. This RV Resort checked off almost everything on our list. The site are laid out on an angle and widely spaced so that you're not even aware of you neighbors. The FHU's are good with paved sites and cement patios. There's a beautiful lake with a paved walking trail around it as well as nature hiking trails in the woods so walking Maggie is a treat. The park is very dog friendly and the management staff are very helpful. We will revisit this resort for sure. RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/01/31 | Camp Lake Jasper RV Resort, Hardeeville, SC | 217 | Quite, well laid out campground beside Jasper Lake. Good connections and very friendly hosting staff. Close to Savannah and Hilton Head Island. Wifi is the "normal" from fast to full stop depending on time. This is one you want to be sure and have a water pressure regulator with...very high water pressure. Also some of the sites are not terribly level and may require a few extra leveling blocks. RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/02/06 | Fair Harbor RV Park, Perry, GA | 188 | Our experience at Fair Harbor was mixed but over-all it was favorable. The park has a large long-term population of both retired people and local workers. However, the park is well run and people in general seemed friendly and considerate. We had a good site (#162) in a lightly wooded area with a wide nature space in front of us. There was also good areas where Maggie could walk. There were also dog parks but they were of the standard fair offering little but a small space to be off leash. I would certainly stay there again but perhaps not for longer then a week or so. RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/02/27 | Suwannee River Rendezvous Resort, Mayo, FL | 191 | This park was a real find. The sites are laid out well and the dog parks are the best we've seen. There are five pens two of which are large and three a bit smaller with a central area joining them together. This allow separate areas for different dogs with common fence lines for seeing each other. They large dog parks offer lots of room to run and each one has their own clean water supply. The park is very quiet and the people who run it seem to really care about making it better. Would definitely stay here again. We stayed in site #168 and loved it. RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/03/15 | Cedar Key RV Resort, Cedar Key, FL | 71 | Two years ago this park was one of our favorites and it has held up well over time. It's very well laid out and maintained. The staff are top-notch, friendly ad they even deliver your mail to you. It is a very quiet park that is very busy during the winter months. The town of Cedar Key is a nice little Florida fishing village surrounded by nature preserves and parks. Our stay was in site #98 on this trip. Would visit again but would prefer to do it a little earlier in the season to avoid some spring bugs. RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/04/15 | Carrabelle Beach RV Resort, Carrabelle, FL | 180 | We were at this park in 2015 and it was one of our favorites. On our return this year it was still a good stay but honestly the thing we like best was the white sand beach where Maggie could run and play. It was a nightly walk destination for us and Maggie never got tired of it. There are two sections to the resort. The older section which has more landscaping but a little tighter sites and the newer section, lacking some landscaping but with a bit more space. We were in the newer section...actually the exact same site as we were in in 2015. Wifi at best of times is a little slow and becomes almost unusable during peak periods. It's a very non-commerical area requiring a 40 minute drive to get to a major shopping area. Water pressure is low...at least in the newer section. It seems the resort is focused on selling Park Models which are being set up on RV sites. In a few years there may not be many RV sites left in the new section and fewer in the older section...I hate to see it go this way but I guess it's like they say...follow the money. One special thing was that we got to visit some with RV friends of ours, Kathy and John Hester and of course their dog Sadie. Great time. RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/05/15 | Walnut Creek RV Park, Troy, AL | 179 |  First about the park. The park is easy to find and get into. There are two RV site locations in the park…those with a lake view or those nearer the office. Some of the roads to and around the lake view sites are a little rutted and potholed from rain. The lake view sites are also where the majority of long term guest are located. The owner called all sites “pull-throughs” but those near the office have no clear exit path. From observation, many 5th wheelers chose to back out while Class A’s with tows pulled through, did a tight loop and then pulled back through an open site to exit. This works if there are open sites in the right place but if the park was near full it would create a problem. The site connections are good with water, electric and sewer being located center of each site. Water pressure is good, no pad, no picnic tables. The sites themselves are tight for many RV’s. A larger 5th wheel or Class A with slides on both sides consumes all but about 3 feet of the site width. The sites are grass and dirt, or should I say sand. We found it all but impossible to keep this “sticky sand” from tracking into our RV. The park owner is in the process of setting up new furnished mobile homes to serve as student housing for Troy University. These mobile homes are adjacent to the RV sites near the office. We departed the park three days earlier then our originally planned date. I won’t go into details but after three years of full time RV’ing this was the first time I’ve ever had park management angrily threaten me with, “You’d better not leave me a bad review or I’ll come back on you.” Now I ask you, isn’t that like admitting you deserved one? RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/05/27 | Wills Creek RV Park, Fort Payne, AL | 236 | A quiet small park with easy access to/from of I-59. Level, gravel pull-through sites with picnic tables and some with small concrete pads. Site length was long enough to allow easy parking of our tow vehicle and width was okay with green areas between each site. We parked not too far from the office so WIFI was available. Electric, water and sewer hook-up were in good shape and easy to access. We didn't use but park rest room/shower was a little walking distance from the sites. Park was very clean and well maintain with good green areas for walking dogs. Management was very friendly and checked the park regularly. A great stop over. There was a great deal of rain while we were here and the park/sites drained very well. RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/05/29 | Holiday Travel Park, Chattanooga, TN | 60 | A busy but nice park not far from Chatanooga, TN. Most sites are pull-thru with acceptable access from the park roads. Connections are functional but at some sites may require extension cables or hoses. Sites are close together but most have small green areas and picnic tables. We were here during a rainy period and there were some site and common area standing water issues. We would visit this park again. RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/06/15 | 4 Paws Kingdom Campgound and Dog Retreat, Rutherfordton, NC | 282 | A small wooded RV Park which caters to dogs and dog owners. Most sites are level and well designed with a mixture of pull-thru and back-ins of various lengths. There are also a number of cabins and RV trailers that can be rented. Seven different dog park areas allow different size dogs and support activities. There are also many managed activities on the weekends for both dogs and their owners. The park owners are very nice and caring people...so much so that we ended up work camping here for the summer and much of the fall. Would certainly return here. RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/11/01 | Cross Winds Family Campground, Linwood, NC | 124 | We have used this nice park each of the previous two years...please refer to those reviews. Would recommend and visit again. RV PARK REVIEWS |
| 2017/11/19-2017/12/15 | Charlotte/Fort Mill KOA, Fort Mill, SC | 63 | We've used this well-positioned park for the previous two years when in the Charlotte area. Would use again. RV PARK REVIEWS Sadly, we must stop RV'ing due to Maggie's anxiety condition. Luckily we were able to sell both our RAM 3500 truck and our Vilano 5th Wheel while here. |