Santa Loves Camping

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

Friday, April 7, 2023

We left for the KOA Holiday Lynchburg / Blue Ridge Parkway Kampground from home at about 4:15. We had to hook up in the pouring rain, but I did not care, just wanted to go camping. We took 29 North to Madison Heights, turned left on 130 and the campground was on the right about 20 minutes from Madison Heights.

By the time we got there, the rain had let up considerably and we were able to set up camp with no trouble at all. The staff were very helpful getting us checked in and even escorted us to our site and gave us some advice on where to park. I extended the awning and began to cook while Amy finished setting up inside. We had breaded flounder, broccoli tots and coleslaw. It was nice to eat inside where it was warm and dry. I finished outside and got a fire going.

We caught up on our social media and made some smores for dessert. We just sat around the fire until bedtime.

Saturday, April 8th, 2023

I was up early on Saturday and I let Amy sleep in. I had coffee and read my devotion for the day. I wrote in my journal and went to take a shower.

These bath/shower rooms were extremely nice. They were individual rooms and very clean. Shower was a 36" stall, elongated commode, chair to sit in, paper towels and sink with mirror. I have stayed at several KOA's but this is the best bath/shower room I have ever seen at a KOA.

After I got back, I started on breakfast and Amy was getting up. We had scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, avocado, apple and butter toast.

We tried out two new items on this trip, an insulated mug and air fryer. We purchased two insulated coffee style mugs from Belk's during Christmas of 2022. They worked really well and kept coffee hot for at least an hour, with the lid on. If you take the lid off, it will cool down but not as fast as a ceramic mug. The air fryer we purchased from Hamrick's in Greensboro N.C. We were shopping there for something else and we ran up on this small air fryer for $25. It was perfect for our camper and we purchased it. We used it 3 times on this trip and it is now a staple in our gear.

We only had a short time to venture out this morning, so our first stop was the James River Foot Bridge. This spans the James River and connects to the Appalachian Trail on both sides.

Our next stop was the Lower Otter Creek Overlook. This would be a nice place to have a picnic lunch with your family, but there are no grills.

The last stop was Otter Creek Falls. We walked down to the creek, crossed it and looked at several rock formations. Really cool place and there is a hiking trail as well.

On the advice of a good friend, we drove to Woodruffs Pie Shop on Elon Road in Monroe, VA. We purchased a pecan pie, a slice of coconut and peanut butter pie. The shop has been around a long time and has a rich history. Below is a video of the pie shop and HERE is the spot on the Today Show.

We PEAK Chicken Teriyaki in a wrap with Dollar Tree Chips. I had coconut pie from Woodruffs and Amy had peanut butter.

After lunch Matthew showed up and we spent time catching up with him. Soon after, Nicole, Daniel and Ruth stopped by.

While the kids played on the playground, I cooked dinner. We had hash browns, chicken and baked beans.

After dinner Amy and Matt washed dishes.

We spent the rest of the evening around the campfire eating smore's, pecan pie and enjoying each others company.

Easter Sunday, April 9th, 2023

We spent Easter Sunday at New Hope Baptist Church in Goode VA. Rev. Tom Gilliam was the guest speaker and we enjoyed the service.

We had lunch with my daughter and the whole family was there. We had a wonderful meal and we were able to witness our granddaughters first Easter Egg Hunt.

After lunch and the egg hunt, we left to go back to the campground. We saw Matthew off and then laid down for a short nap. We spent the evening on the playground playing games of ladder golf, corn hole and Amy even jumped on the jump pad.