July 27, 2008 by steve.

Close to a year ago the CurbCrusher gang stopped in and looked at Suwanee River State Park while the campground was under renovation. This year the Florida Pop-up Camper (FPUC) group planned the July camp out here, and since we were on our way back from North Carolina, this made a good stop for the trip home.

We arrived on Friday afternoon, after a little over a week away from home. We checked in at the new ranger station that is located on the entrance road, and headed toward the re-furbished campground. The road to the campground, and the road through the loop are paved. The campsites are dirt, leaves and other assorted components that make up what is commonly referred to as ground. Our site was fairly level, a bit of a slope, but nothing that the levelers on the motorhome could not handle. It came equipped with Electricity (30 and 50 amp), water and sewer. The site was fairly large both in terms of depth and width, and had a good spacing over to the neighbors. This is not necessarily true of all sites in this campground. A number of them are small and much closer together. If you end up in most sites numbered greater than 20, there is a very wide road and shoulder that allow for plenty of maneuvering room while backing. Another thing to watch for is that on a number of sites the sewer is actually located up hill of where the RV will be parked, and may be at the front of the coach instead of near the plumbing area of the coach. We were on site 20, and everything was placed together, so there were no long hose or cord runs to worry about.

There are a number of trails in the park, but no real place to swim. There is a boat ramp, and a number of campers have their boats with them and spend the days fishing in the river. The playground is fine and Little CurbCrusher gave it her seal of approval. Because of the lack of place to swim, we visited two springs in the area.

The first was Falmouth Springs which is located about two miles from the entrance to the park. This is pretty much a hole in the ground. At Falmouth the spring comes above the ground, runs for a about 100 yards, and then goes back underground. The spring is deep enough to swim in and is fresh cold water. There is a rope swing over the water here, but no real beach to park yourself on when you’re at the spring. It is sort of a “You’re in the water” or “You’re out of the water” type of place. We went up here on Friday after we set up and cooled off for a couple of hours.

The real fun was at Madison Blue Spring, which was located about 15 minutes from the park. This is another state park, and so far the state hasn’t removed the fun from it. The spring head comes up in a pool that is about 60 - 100 feet across and the water is crystal clear. You can put on a mask and stick your head underwater and see clearly across the entire spring. The spring then has a short run to the Withlacoochee river. There is a small beach at the junction of the spring run and the river. You can wade across the river at this point with ease, and walk up and down the river a good ways. The real fun is a diving platform that sticks out over the spring. It is about 15 feet off the water and provides loads of fun and entertainment for the whole gang. As you can see in the pictures a lot of our group, even the adults, took a turn on the diving platform. Then to add to the fun, a short five minute walk down the river is a rope swing. I learned in a very short time on the rope swing that Mr. CurbCrusher had no business trying to swing over the river. After the second face plant into the river water, I left that activity to the kids.

All in all we had a great time as Suwanee. It was great to hang out with the FPUC group, and all the adults and kids had a great time diving and swinging at the spring. I’ve decided to try using Flickr as a photo sharing and storage site, so pictures of Suwanee and Madison Blue Springs are here.

Posted in RV Stuff, Travel Review, Campground Review | 1 Comment »

July 22, 2008 by steve.

As the CurbCrusher clan headed south to Suwanee River State Park in north Florida to meet up with Florida Pop-Up Campers group. We decided to split the trip into a two day affair, and stopped in Canadys, SC at a small park called Shumans RV Park. Located about four miles off I-95 at exit 68, this park is a small, mom & pop style campground.

There are about 20 sites at the park. They were level, and had water, sewer and electric. While there are signs at the front of the park, you sort of feel like you’re pulling into someone’s yard when you arrive. Mrs. Schuman came out to greet us and gave us instructions on where to park. As I was unhooking the car, Lady CurbCrusher went in to pay the $15.00 fee. The “office” is literally the kitchen table of the Schuman house. As we finished setting up, Mr. Schuman came over and offered us some fresh onions from his garden. A little later on, we were offered some fresh cucumbers from the garden as well.

It’s not fancy, but it is very functional and the Schuman’s are very friendly. This park is on our list of places we’ll remember when we’re on our way up and down I-95 in South Carolina.

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July 22, 2008 by steve.

As a base for our Outer Banks adventure, the CurbCrushers stayed at Ocean Waves Campground located in Waves, NC. We got there by traveling from Orlando to Rocky Mount, NC on I-95, turning right on US-64 and heading to Manteo, NC. Right outside of Manteo, you come to NC Highway 12, which runs the length of the Outer Banks. Heading south on NC-12 for about 30 miles you travel through parts of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and finally reach Waves. From this location, it is a 30 mile or so trip down to the ferry that will take you to Ocracoke Island, and about 60 miles from Corolla, which is where NC-12 becomes a beach.

The area around Waves has three campgrounds, Camp Hatteras, a KOA and Ocean Waves Campground. When Lady CurbCrusher was researching our trip to the Outer Banks, she had found that of the three Ocean Waves was the cheapest, and had the best reviews at rvparkreviews.com. Ocean Waves does not however have any online reservations. They are also closed from October through April of each year. So the reservation process involves mailing in an “application” for a space that can NOT be postmarked prior to January 1st of the year you are planning to stay. So we mailed our reservation form in back in January, and were rewarded with reservations.

The campground is very nice, and is run by a very nice couple. It is located between NC-12 and the dunes. All sites are level, paved, and there is well kept grass between the sites. There is full hook-up (water,electric and sewer) and all sites have cable TV for an extra $2.00 a day. A number of the sites have 50-amp service. There are four tent sites right before the dunes. There is a camp store, a pool and small playground. A number of the sites in the front loop area even have some shade. If we were to return to this area, we’d definitely ask for sites 19 – 21A as they had shade and more space. There was adequate spacing between sites, you didn’t have large empty spaces, but you could put out awnings and dining flies without feeling like you were right on top of your neighbors.

The atmosphere was the most unique thing about this campground. As we wandered between the pool, our site and the beach we talked to a number of our fellow campers. This is a place the people return to year after year. At the pool we met a fellow that had been coming there for twenty straight years. He had been in years prior to his streak, as he’d made the trip to this campground repeatedly as a kid. There was a whole group that traveled from their hometown to Waves each year during July and August. Another fellow camping closer to us said he’d been coming for over 30 years. As a matter of fact when I asked him how long he’d been coming his answer was “My first trip here my mom was pregnant with me, and I’ve been here every year since them.” What was sort of funny about this is that both of these folks asked us how we’d gotten reservations. Apparently this place has so many loyal return visitors that it is out of the ordinary for “new” people to show up.

All in all, Ocean Waves is a nice place to camp. It makes an ideal location to visit all of the Outer Banks attractions. If we head back up in this direction, we’ll definitely stay here again.

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July 16, 2008 by steve.

The CurbCurshers are on the road for their second week of vacation in 2008. This time we actually took the RV out the State of Florida for a few days and headed to North Carolina. Lady CurbCrusher has always been a fan of lighthouses, and of course I like aviation stuff, so the Outer Banks of North Carolina provide a little of both: Four easy to visit lighthouses, and the birthplace of powered flight.

But, the challenge is to get there. It’s about 800 miles from the CurbCrusher homestead to the campground we’re headed for in Waves, NC. That means we wanted to stop somewhere to break the trip up. Our choice was Rock Ridge Campground in Rock Ridge, NC. I couldn’t find a web site for the campground, so the link just shows you where it is. The campground is located about one and a half miles off I-95 near Wilson, NC.

I’m not sure of the total number of sites, but the place was fairly large. There are a number of pull through sites and 30 and 50 amp service and sewer hook up. We took a electric-water only site as we were just staying the night, and the cost was $20.00 with a AAA discount of $1.00. The site was a pull-thru, so the Saturn didn’t even have to be unhooked. The roads in the campground are dirt, and the sites are grassy and shady.

As far as amenities, they have a pool and playground so Little CurbCrusher took time to enjoy both in the evening after we stopped. The park is large and there is a pasture near the front that has some cows and an ostrich. There is a lake/pond on the site with a number of ducks that were calling it home during our stop over. The camping area was shady and comfortable with a reasonable amount of space between sites. In some ways the park had more of a state park feel than an RV park feel.

We would definitely stay here again as an overnight stop. If we had a reason to spend time in the Wilson, NC area, we would probably use this place as our home base as it was very pleasant. If we lived within a couple of hours, we’d definitely consider this as a place to go for a weekend.

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July 1, 2008 by steve.

Time for Team CurbCrusher to get out for the July triathlon. This month I traveled all of 20 minutes north of the CurbCrusher homestead to Baldwin Park in Orlando to swim 750 meters in a lake, bike 5 laps and 13 miles around Lake Baldwin, and then run once around the lake.

Pre-race

A much nicer drive this month. With a 7:30 start time, and a travel time of 20 minutes, it was almost like a regular morning. Since we are so close, I’d picked up my packet on Saturday so the only thing to worry about Sunday morning was getting body marked and set up in transition. Lady and Little CurbCrusher decided that they wanted to sleep in, so I packed myself up and left home around 6:15am. The only real concern I had was parking in Baldwin Park, but there was no reason to worry, lots of spaces were available at the Publix.

Once parked, it was easy to move through the line for body marking, getting a transponder and into transition. The racks were set up three deep on each side of the center aisle, and numbers were assigned to each of the racks. So I was in the middle rack, with eight other bikes. It wasn’t too crowded, but I like being up against the outside of the transition area, so I wasn’t thrilled to be in the middle. I was pretty much ready to go by 6:45, so I walked around an chatted with other folks. The only bad thing was I realized that I forgot my hat. I’ve gotten attached to running with the hat on but didn’t pack it, so it looks like a hatless day.

The Swim - 19:59

For the first time this year, I was not in the first wave. We watched two waves leave in front of us, the waded into the water. The lake bottom is mucky and it seems like the longer you stand there, the further you sink. Everyone was stretched out along the lake front, and the starter was very hard to hear. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure anyone ever blew the horn or said go, I think the mass of the blue swim cap wave just sort of got underway. The swim was touted as 750M, I think I swam a good bit more than that. You left the beach and sort of went around a dock and then turned right. Right into the sun. It was hard to find the first buoy, as you were looking directly into the sun while swimming toward it, so I just followed the folks in front. The waves weren’t too crowded, because as soon as we got around the dock, it seemed to spread out and you had room to swim without getting beat up. After turning the first buoy, it was easier, as you could see the second one without too much problem.

Turning the final buoy, you head toward land. There was plenty of room to swim by now. Although I breathed to my right and saw a pink cap, then to my left and saw another one. That was sort of bad news, as the that means the people in the wave behind me that started three minutes after I did had caught me. Then I almost ran over a guy in a white cap. Well he started six minutes before me, so I guess it all evens out.

T1 - 3:12

Out of the water you run along the lake walking/biking path to the parking lot the transition area is in. It was fairly close and easy to do. Little CurbCrusher had gotten me a bike jersey for Father’s Day, so I needed to wear it for the bike. I’ve never been a big fan of having different clothes for each leg of a sprint triathlon, but since I have a jersey, I figured I needed to give it a shot. So, its fairly easy, jersey on, helmet on, shades on, sit on the bucket and get the shoes on, grab the bike an go.

Bike - 42:50

You mount up and turn onto Jake Street. It is approximately 2.7 miles around Lake Baldwin, and you need to do it five times on the bike. This makes the race interesting because there are a lot of people on the bike course. I don’t think it would have been physically possible to enforce the no-drafting rule at this race. There were times on the bike that you felt like you were riding in the peleton. People were three wide passing each other, and sometimes four or five deep. It was fun, and I averaged a little over 18.5 MPH on the course, but it made for some tense riding. I’m not used to riding that close to other people. The course if flat, and there wasn’t really any wind to speak of, so it was great to just pedal your heart out.

I counted laps, and after the third lap switched my cycle computer to odometer. I figured if I lost count, I would just quit on the first lap I finished after it read 13 miles. I actually counted correctly and finished after five laps.

T2 - 1:26

Having the bike jersey added to this transition some. I racked the bike, swapped shirts and grabbed my race number belt. Then grabbed some water at the water station at the transition exit, and began running.

Run - 31:22

I probably shouldn’t insult the sport of running by calling what I did Sunday running. I sort of plodded my way around the lake at a very slow pace. It was disappointing as I’ve been running sub 10 minute miles training and the last race kept the pace under 11 minutes. Of course if you’ve read my other race reports you know how much I just love running. The first quarter of the course is in the sun, and I’m constantly thinking about how much I miss my hat. Should have listened to Lady CurbCrusher and written out a check list. Ouch, not only is the running hurting, now I’m admitting my wife is right, see this running makes you delusional. The shade comes and I feel better.

The shade doesn’t last long. Once back out in the sun on the other side of the lake, there is a water station. I’m weak and walk for a minute after sucking down some water and pouring another cup over my head. I’m really not having much fun at this point. After I start running again (ok, more like plodding) I hear some footsteps behind me. A man and a woman are running along and sharing life stories. It takes them a minute or so to catch up with me, and I hear the woman say “I really started running after my divorce. It was better than therapy.” As they pass me, I offered up “I started running after I got married, it was cheaper than a divorce.” It might have been mean, but the third guy in the group thought is was funny and had plenty of energy to laugh.

Post Race

Well, I was hoping for something less than 1:35 and ended up at 1:39 and change. I was really hoping for a run that would have been 27 minutes, a ten-minute mile pace. And I thought the swim would be more along the lines of 15 - 18 minutes. I think I biked about where I expected. I was also completely beat after the race. I’ve been less tired after the first two races of the year, this one just seemed like a struggle. But I’ve been doing these for close to 18 years now, so I know there are races that are like that, they just aren’t a lot of fun. I think the location is great, I liked the 20 minute drive, but the bike course was a bit too crowded and that may the thing that keeps from coming back here next year. However, this is a great race for spectators, as you get the chance to see the triathletes multiple times on the bike as they do the laps.

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