Chippokes State Park

 Friday, June 16 2023

Travel Days are always an adventure with this wonderful woman. The trip was about 3 hours and 45 minutes from home to the park. We made one stop in South Boston VA to fill up and grab lunch at Bojangles. 

When we arrived, we could hear thunder in the distance, so we wasted no time setting up. It started raining about 5 and it rained for two hours. One of the bands that moved through had marble sized hail in it. Once we had wind hit the camper so hard that it rocked, we are just thankful that it did not roll. 

 

 

We decided to cook inside due to the weather. We had beef sausage, mashed potato and cheese vegetables with garlic muffins on the side. We enjoyed our meal and were thankful we had not arrived and had to set up in the storm.

 

After dinner and a little reading the rain finally stopped. We went outside and finished setting up and lit a fire. We roasted some marshmallows and made some s'mores and they were good. We also had a family from Portsmouth, VA visit, and they brought their own sticks and made s'mores with us. We enjoyed the conversation we had with them.

Saturday, June 17 2023

 

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, we walked out on the beach area of the James River. It was a very nice morning to drink coffee and watch the river.

 

 

After signing up for the Tram Tour, we went to the Farm and Forestry Museum to start looking while waiting for the Tram. 

 

    

The Tram Tour took us all the way around the property and there is much to see.

 

 

 

After the tour, we went back to the museum to finish looking around, there is a lot to see.

We left the museum and went back to camp to have lunch. Amy made us chicken sandwiches with Sharp Cheddar Cheese, lettuce and tomato. We had some fresh cantaloupe as well. After lunch, we went to the Mansion to tour the grounds.

 

In the gift shop, there is the 1941 Packard that Mr. Stewart was driven to Petersburg everyday in. This is the only original of its kind, no restoration.

 

 

 

Our camp hosts were the tour guides through the home and there was a lot of information. Here are just a few pictures of the rooms.

 

 

 

After leaving the mansion, we went to the kitchen where there was original cooking utensils on display. They were not cooking due to the heat, but the lady there was full of information and answered all our questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked the grounds and garden, just admiring the beauty of the place.

 

We left and on our way back to camp we stopped and looked at the garden and animals.

 

For supper we made camp pan pizza with tossed salad, it was delicous.

 

This evening we used Samoa cookies to make our s'mores and they were excellent. 

Sunday, June 18 2023

 

We had blueberry pancakes and sausage for breakfast and then went to Sunday service at Community Baptist Church in Surry. After service, we decided to take the Jamestown Ferry to Williamsburg Market Square to eat and shop.

 

We ate a nice meal at Berret’s Seafood Restaurant where I had the chicken and Amy had salmon. We shopped at several different stores including, The Christmas Shop, Everything Williamsburg, Scotland House and Wythe Candy & Gourmet Shop. Furthermore, we had ice cream at the Secret Garden and enjoyed every bite. On the way back, we were able to see the Jamestown ships as we left on the Ferry.

We enjoyed a quiet evening around the campfire.

Monday, June 19 2023

 

I always enjoy me early morning walks while camping. This morning I met a Fiddler Crab and a Gold and Black Millipede. 

 

I also journal when we camp or vacation so we will not forget anything. This pen is one I purchased from the gift shop at the Chippokes mansion. This morning I had a simple bowl of oatmeal and blueberries.

Our Review

This was a very clean campground and easy to navigate. All the roads are paved and there is plenty to do. We were at site 5 in Loop B. The site had a paved drive and parking area for the camper and was level, and we did not have to use our leveling blocks. Nice area around the picnic table with a pea gravel base and fire pit. There was plenty of room and the privacy was not bad either. There is so much to do and see here, we loved it.

• 2 bath houses available and both were fully operational. 3-4 showers in each house and fairly clean.
• Very easy to bike, walk or drive to what you want to see or do.
• Playground
• Gift store at the Visitor Center and the Mansion

Our Tips

You are only 10 minutes from the Jamestown Ferry, 25 minutes from Surry. In Surry you can get gas at the 7-11, and shop the Family Dollar or Dollar General. Be sure and visit the Williamsburg Market Square for excellent shopping and food. If you want to attend worship services on Sunday we highly recommend the Community Baptist Church.

Twin Lakes State Park

We left home on Thursday, May25th, at 1:30 PM and drove 100 miles to Twin Lakes State Park. We stopped at the Park office and chatted with the Ranger for just a few minutes and then headed to our site. We were at Site 21 and had no trouble getting into the site, we did not have to use any leveling blocks because the site was so level. 

  

We spent the next hour setting up our site, not hard work but necessary. We added a Christmas tree to the pole this year to help “decorate” the tongue of the camper. Like most campers we have a system and a layout that works for us. This is the first time I had to use the extension on our water hose due to the hookups being at the front of the site and not the rear. 

 

After we had set up outside and in, I started on supper. Amy had brought some precooked steaks, tossed salad mix and a potato. We used our new 3 quart InstaPot to cook the potato and dinner was good. 

 

After dinner, my wonderful helper washed the dishes and put on a show. We are often asked, why don’t you use the sink in the camper and that is a valid question. We still want to have the feel of “camping” and cooking and watching dishes outside gives us that. Besides, less mess in the camper to clean up!! About the only time we spend inside is to sleep, change or if the weather is bad outside. After dinner we enjoyed some time around the fire.

Friday, May 26th, 2023 - High Bridge Trail State Park

 

After a breakfast of sausage and eggs, we went to High Bridge Trail State Park. We parked at the Camp Paradise parking lot and they had a bathhouse there that you could use before hitting the trail. They are also building a Visitor Center there that should be complete. By 2024. We met one of the park rangers just before we got to the bridge and we later learned his nickname is Ernest Borgnine. He had souvenirs there and I purchased my hiking medallion and sticker. 

 

We walked out on this bridge and it is high! I spotted birds flying under the bridge and over the tree line that was under us. It crosses the Appomattox River and it has several “alcoves” for you to rest or just relax and enjoy the view.

 

Here are a couple of shots of those trees and the Appomattox river that were under the bridge.

 

We only walked a short distance but with more planning this would be a great place to ride bikes. Downtown Farmville has the LOVE sign and placed to eat and shop.

 

I will have to admit we did not hike to Farmville, but we did visit on Sunday after morning service. 

Saturday, May 27th, Sailors Creek Battlefield State Park

 

On Saturday we visited Sailors Creek Battlefield State Park. We we thrilled to meet Zach, the park Ranger we had met at Staunton River Battlefield State Park earlier in the year. He was participating in the ceremonies there that day. 

 

Before the ceremony, we had time to walk around the museum and read the placards on the wall and view the artifacts found on the battlefield. This was an important battle at the end of the Civil War, that I had never heard of until my visit. It is worth your time to take a day and visit.

 

At noon they held a special Memorial Day ceremony. The Halifax County JROTC was there to be the honor guard and they did a marvelous job. They stood at attention for over 30 minutes during the speech and hardly moved at all!! I learned a lot about the battlefields history during the speech and it was an honor to witness this ceremony. 

 

After the ceremony we had lunch at a food truck that was set up here for the occasion. We both had the pork chop sandwich and then walked around and looked at some of the trucks. 

 

After lunch we headed out back of the Visitor Center for the trails. We took the Stagg Trail and then merged on to the Kershaw Trail. This broke off to the Seymour Trail that took us down through the woods and by the creek the battlefield is named for. We finished off my catching the last leg of the Custis Lee Trial before taking the Stagg Trail back to the parking lot. 

 

Lots of history here and I just stood and admired the beauty and wept for those who died there.

Sunday, May 28th

 

 On Sunday we had rain, but we do not let that get us down. We went to worship service at Heritage Baptist Church in nearby Farmville. Afterwards, we had lunch at a local spot called “Country Grille” and we ate well. I had a cheeseburger with bacon and Amy had a sandwich. Hamburger was fresh and cooked to perfection and Amy loved her sandwich. We visited Belks for a bit and then watched the Little Mermaid at the local Theater. We spent the evening reading and watching “Cheaper by the Dozen” on DVD. 

Twin Lakes Campground Review

 

 

 

4 Candy Canes

• Sites were nice gravel sites and fairly level. We did not have to use our leveler at all.
• All the sites included a fire ring
• All the camper sites had water and electric, I cannot say for the tent sites.
• Pay close attention to the site length, they are spot on! 
• Our site (21) had the hookups on the front end of the site so were were not able to park our vehicle correctly, we had to basically block the site with the truck. Most of the sites were NOT this way, but a few were.
• All the sites are within walking distance of the bath house. 
• 1 mens room 1 ladies room and 1 ADA room
• 3 shower rooms
• 2 were out of order during our visit
• Takes a few minutes for the water to get hot
• This is the reason for the 4 rating instead of a 5
• They were cleaned daily.
• Activities
• Playground for the kids (young and old)
• Waterfront
• Fishing
• Boating (BYOB or Rent)
• Nice beach area
• Trails to walk
• Check in/out
• Our paperwork was on the post at our site
• Camp host drove around several times a day
• Camp office open from 9-4 and very informative staff
• Close by 
• Farmville VA
• High Bridge Trail State Park
• Sailors Creek State Park
• Fruit and Vegetable Stand on 360 about 1/2 mile from camp turn off.
• Gas on 360 and 460
• Burkeville (we did not visit this trip)
• Hamden Sydney