On the Road with Bob

The Angel Oak

In 1976, when I first drove my coach into the Southland, I was captivated by the live oak trees and the beautiful magnolias that appeared along the road as I drove into the Carolinas. The approach to Charleston, SC on this trip, was south from Florence, SC, and as we motored along, we began to drive through overhanging branches of huge live oaks (called oak allees).

It seems impossible that the outstretched limbs can support the tremendous weight of solid oak, but there they are…reaching out for the sunshine….and old!

I remember consulting an AAA Tourbook of the area, and described therein, was a listing for a point of interest called The Angel Oak. It was out-of-the-way, on Johns Island, south of the city of Charleston. We camped at a small campground called Oak Plantation, and the name said it all. We were one of less than five other RVs staying among the big trees. Roaming free at this site was a small herd of cattle!

Route US 17 (The Ocean Highway) was little developed in this area at the time. The next morning, after departing the campground, I inquired at a small convenience store just down the road about The Angel Oak. Sure enough, the proprietor knew of it, and directed me down the adjacent road, and after a few miles of travel east, we came upon a small park, and before us was this TREMENDOUS behomouth of a tree, the likes of which were simply hard to imagine. It was one tree, not several trunks together, and it spread its branches a good 60 to 70 yards.

We took a lot of pictures that day, so long ago. It was damp and rainy and cold. This was late January, but we were astounded by this huge living thing. A rustic sign indicated that it was old enough to have been growing at the time Jesus lived. I doubted that it could be that old, but who knew?

Last year, as I was traveling down US 17, I passed the Oak Plantation Camping Resort. It has become a very popular place to stop, with a gatehouse/office just off the highway….and no more cows. I wondered about our little diversion almost 35 years before, and on a whim, I took the next left turn at at traffic light. It was Main Road. The convenience store had become a large gas station with a market. I was pretty sure it had been this turn I took in 1976.

A few miles down the road (a well-paved two-lane, now) I came upon the Angel Oak Shopping Center. This must be the place, I thought…duh.  A sign just past this intersection pointed to the big tree. It is now surrounded by a chain-link fence, and there is a small attended store on the premises. Nothing else has changed. The Angel Oak (named for a family that once owned the property), spread out before me, and I was again humbled by this natural specimen. The picture above really does not do it justice…if there had been another visitor there, he could have stood near the trunk, and he would have been dwarfed by the height and girth of the bole. If he had lain on the ground,and if he was tall, he might be long enough to stretch across its width.

Now that it is protected, I suspect it will be still more immense in 30 more years. I hope you will stop to marvel at this sight.

Some of the most interesting things for RV’ers to experience on the road are the many events held all around the country dealing with American history.

I have toured many battle sites for instance; from the Boston Tea Party and Bunker Hill in Charlestown, to Lexington and Concord. Places that help us remember the price of freedom, like Fort McHenry and Fort Sumter, or the many battlefields of the Civil War. Places of infamy such as Andersonville, and sites dipicting the Trail of Tears, when the Cherokee Nation was forced into the West. Little Big Horn.  We celebrate great victories in Yorktown and Washington’s raid across the Delaware.There are docked naval vessels of all conflicts,  from the Constitution (Old Ironsides) to the Nautilus atomic submarine.

All across the United States, whether your family were Confederate sympathizers or Yankee die-hards, there is a panoply of history in myriad locations, in every state;  places and things that interest most of us.

Old west mines and ghost towns like Virginia City, Nevada, Deadwood, South Dakota and Langtry,Texas where Judge Roy Bean dispensed the law west of the Pecos River. Wherever you travel there is something to remind you of the way things were, and often how far we have (or have not) progressed.

Museums abound in all parts of our nation that memorialize the progress of our industries, our arts and all aspects of our culture. The struggle for equanimity, for civil rights….you name it. Every sojourn in your RV can find you in a place of rich enlightenment for the whole family. The privilege of being able to bring your kids to the actual places is something we, with recreational vehicles don’t think of as a luxury…but it IS truly  that!

This week found me in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, where their second annual Living History Event took place on Saturday and Sunday. At four distinct sites around this town, which dates back to 1735 and is located north of Manchester and west of the capitol city of Concord, volunteers and townspeople remembered the 14th president Franklin Pierce, who was born here. There was a French and Indian war re-enactment and encampment true to the ways and customs of that time. A mounted cavalry performed a Civil War drill. The old center of Hillsboro (as it is often now known, thanks to the U.S.Postal Service) boasts an old schoolhouse, historic architecture, an old cemetery, and a work shop operated by a second- generation pewterer of great skill. His facility is like stepping back to another time in many ways, as well.  Downtown, in the section once known as Hillsboro Bridge (There were mills along the Contoocook River), stands an old firehouse which has been converted to a Heritage Museum, with artifacts from the town’s colorful history, including theater screens from the old movie house. Incidently, this town was also the birthplace of B.F. Keith, who built theaters across the country, and with his partner E.F.Albee, presented the country’s first moving pictures at their Bijou Theater in Boston. They went on to become the fathers of vaudeville, which captivated the American audience for fifty years (and until Ed Sullivan).  They took over the Orpheum  chain of ornate theaters and vaudeville circuit, and later, with Radio Pictures, became RKO (Radio/Keith/Orpheum). For many, Hillsborough is most famous for it’s stone arch bridges. Both single and double arches! There are six in all,  along Beard Brook and the Contoocook River (one is submerged, but still intact),all built originally without mortar.

Lots of activities for young and old marked this wonderful two days in just another New England town (but……NOT just any other….for so many) !

A Living History Event

Hillsborough NH - Beard Brook

I often stay in New Hampshire until the first part of October. There are some real cool nights after Labor Day, but I don’t heat the RV…I prefer for it to be cool for sleeping, anyway. I generally head south to Boston. I pass Manchester on I 293 and join I 93 for the first leg of the journey. I time my departure with a last doctor’s appointment in Beantown, a last dinner with friends and a stop to see relatives before departing the area.

The first choice for a route depends on weather, and can take me down I 95 to Rhode Island, and on to the Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun Casinos. These are good places to spend a free night, and there is great dining as well. Otherwise, I will go west on the Mass.Turnpike, or the slower U.S.20, to Springfield. My sister lives in Suffield, CT, so I pick up I 91 south, and after a visit there, my second choice intervenes. At Hartford one can break for the Hudson River by continuing on I 91  to the Connecticut Turnpike (joining I 95 at New Haven), or go west through Danbury, CT on I 86,  to I 686, just inside New York state. You’ve got to get into Jersey somehow (SORRY), and these are my default routes.

Both routes lead to the Tappan Zee Bridge (FREE going west!) and the Garden State Parkway, the best way to circumvent the metropolitan NY-NJ cities, and around to my next choice of stops: the Walmart at N.Brunswick, NJ.  Get off the G.S. Parkway at Edison, US 1 south (Gas-up here, cause you won’t find it cheaper). You might go farther on US route 1, to Trenton, re-joining I 95 there.  You’ll  cross the Delaware River near where the first George W  did it, standing- up in a tippy boat. Don’t get out to throw a coin across the river or you’ll never make it to the warmth. (This bridge is FREE) It isn’t far to Philadelphia Park, just off I 95, for my third night, at this stop north of the city.  There is track,and a new casino with acres of parking.

My fourth day brings me along the Delaware river past the Philadelphia skyline on I 95, and into Newcastle, Delaware (Don’t head into Wilmington by mistake). Join US 13.  Just past the airport ,I turn west (right turn) and head for Delaware Park, still another casino and raceway with free parking.Follow the signs…you will go under I 95, but you’ve avoided another toll!

My personal selection for the succeeding leg of the trip:  back to US 13 in Newcastle,  and down the state of Delaware and the eastern shore of Maryland and Virginia. The Delaware Turnpike is inexpensive, and congestion-free. Jump back onto US 13  just above Dover.  You can park at the Dover Downs raceway and casino, or the Walmart/Sam’s Club just north, near where you exit  DE route 1 . Just beyond Dover you will find a Walmart Supercenter at Camden. My next stop is in Harrington,though, at the state fair location there. There is a raceway there, and a 24/7 casino. I slow down even more on this route since I like to stop at Salisbury, MD. There is a Walmart Supercenter/Sam’s Club with a gas station there (usually the best gas prices until the Tidewater area), and good outside dining choices, too.I like the Chinatown Buffet. There are also Supercenters at Fruitland ,Farmington,Seaford, and Pokomoke City, MD.   I go over and under Chesapeake Bay using the bridge/tunnel complex. and arrive in Virginia Beach.There is a newly renovated rest facility before you pay the toll for the bay crossing where you can overnight if you choose. On the mainland again, you can stay at the Walmart on US 13 ,Veterans Highway in Norfolk, or continue to Battlefield Road in Chesapeake, to the Walmart/Sam’s Club there (w/gas station). Another Walmart Supercenter is found in Chesapeake, off US 13 south,  just before Dismal Swamp, and the North Carolina line. We’re headed for the Ocean Highway. You want to go a little farther, you say? Okay, proceed through farming country on the Elizabeth City by-pass, and you’ll come to  Route NC344, Halstead RD., and still another  Walmart Supercenter with fuel. Then we are headed for Ablemarle Sound. Side trips to the Outer Banks, anyone?

For years I followed the other good possibility from Newcastle, DE. You go south on US 13 to the curving  right turn onto US route 50, for a few miles to US 301 South. Bang a left!  For decades, until I 95 was completed, US 301 was the alternative to going south via US 1 all the way ( Maine to Key West!) and seemingly  through every population center east of Chicago, and it’s still a good way to go. You cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (you gotta pay in this direction) and continue to Waldorf,MD.( I have stayed overnight, without incident, at the K Mart near Kent Island, just before the bridge, or in Waldorf at the shopping plaza behind Wendy’s).  301 is a nice drive. It goes through Annapolis, the Capitol. Don’t bother stopping at the Walmart in Waldorf,as overnights are verboten.          ,

You like traffic? You can continue on toward DC and the Beltway on US 50,  where you join I 95 south to Fredericksburg, VA. There’s the  Central Park shopping area there, where I95 meets VA route 3. You’ll find a Supercenter with good gas prices, and many shops and restaurants. History abounds in this area for Civil War buffs,too.  Keep on I 95 to E.Parham Road (VA 73)  and the Northgate Shopping Center (Walmart Supercenter, of course) at the US 1 intersection. Or take the I295 by-pass to Petersburg to avoid city traffic.  This fast way south is good for making time and distance. At Colonial Heights there is Southpark Shopping Area . Again…all the stores and restaurants and a Walmart and Sam’s Club. Petersburg National Battlefield is close by. Crossing into North Carolina this way,I always head for Dunn, NC.  Ernie’s Restaurant is there! It’s a buffet-style presentation of some terrific southern cooking. There is whole -hog pulled pork to die for, greens, corn bread,  fabulous spicy sausages, and all the favorites you would expect, including fresh fried chicken with all the fixin’s.  You won’t find closer to home cookin’ !  Need RV fuel, too? There is a Walmart gas station at Dunn, just west of town on US421.

If you had stayed on 301, you’ld cross the Rappahanic  on the narrow and scary Nice toll bridge, and west into Fredericksburg on Route 3. This area figures prominently in the early life of George W (the smart one).  Or keep on truckin’ 301 to Richmond. Either on the by-pass I295 or south on I 95 from the smokin’capitol of the country to Petersburg, and Colonial Heights,and Southpark,  where you find those good parking and eating choices. A Sheetz gas station on the other side (east) of Southpark has good prices.

Back to the Ocean Highway from Chesapeake, VA. The little-traveled US 13 beyond Elizabeth City, NC  is a fine highway now. It is joined by US 17, and continues to these NC  Walmart locations:  Williamston,  Washington, New Bern, Jacksonville  and Wilmington,  where you can find gas at the  Market Street location.  There is also gas at the Sam’s Club on College Ave., a few blocks away.

I am a fan of buffet-style restaurants, mainly because of the variety in choices. I probably dine out more than most, because I am single, and don’t find cooking full meals-for-one an easy thing to do without dealing with  tons of left-overs.  Good Chinese buffets are my personal favorites, and there are many on this route (Google ‘em, they’re easy to find). All the Golden Corral restaurants on the Delaware stretch have closed! But you find them again when you get farther down the peninsula. Sure, you’ll probably eat too much; it can be difficult not to.

I like to stay overnight at the Walmart Supercenter in Leland, NC. It is just over the bridge from Wilmington in a new shopping area. It is quiet and uncongested, and also has fuel. Unless I go on, to stay at Shallotte;  this is the last night in NC. The next will be in Myrtle Beach, SC. Stay at the Walmart in North Myrtle Beach, at King Road where there is an outlet center, a Golden Corral and gasoline at the Supercenter, and on the US 17 Bypass, at  Sam’s Club at 10th Street,and a few other locations along the highway.  After I have “done” the ” Grand Strand”, it is on through Pawley’s Island, to Georgetown. As you approach Mount Pleasant you begin to see the roadside stands offering sweetgrass baskets that are woven by the native Americans of this region. They are quite elaborate or charmingly simple, but each is unique. I hope that you’ll consider buying something; help sustain this wonderful tradition (they are NOT inexpensive,however).

One can spend lots of time in Charleston. If you’ve got to just pass -through, stay on the highway and over the elegant Ravenel Bridge. But be advised…..there is a heap of history in this area, and before you head up and over, you can stop to see the USS Yorktown moored in Charleston harbor at Freedom Park, and take a ferry tour out to Fort Sumter. If that tempted you to stop, you’ll have to go downtown to the Battery, where the guns of the bombardment of the historic island are placed. The bayside homes will have you marveling at the antebellum architecture preserved there. Also lots of other historic sites nearby; the French Quarter and Waterfront Park.You can stay overnight in North Charleston, near the airport.From I 26 take Exit 213B. From I526 take Exit 16B onto International Blvd. to Colluseum Drive (Opposite the Colluseum )There is a terrific chinese buffet there, next to the Dollar Tree, and near the Supercenter/Sam’s/gas station/outlet center/convention center/fire museum. Whew!  It’s all just off the interstate. From I26, continue on Montague to International Blvd. and Mall Drive (at the Starbucks).  If you are drawn to tools and Harbor Freight, there is one within a mile, guys!

I get back onto US 17 south toward Savannah. The “low country” doesn’t get any better than this part of SC, and a side trip to Beaufort is worthwhile. This lovely spot can be toured easily in your RV. Many bridges to many pretty islands. Parris Island is also here, with its Marine base and a Marine airbase.  You can cross the Savannah River (after your side trip to Hilton Head) by heading for the clouds on the steep US 17 suspension bridge. It brings you right into the picturesque city, where  myriad city ” squares ” abound. Stay on US 17, or better, follow Abercorn Blvd. all the way to GA route 204. Get off onto US 17 south here, toward Richmond Hill, and you find  a Walmart Supercenter with fuel, and a night’s stay if you choose.

After Beaufort and/or Hilton Head, you can do what I do, as a rule. I go through Hardeeville,SC and through the GA wildlife preserve to Garden City, and then Savannah. If passing through, I get back onto I 95 and pass by to the west. There are truck stops just beyond the Richmond Hill exit, at the re-joining of the Ocean Highway US 17. The newly -widened I 95 is super from here to Florida. Wait a second!…I didn’t say I was taking that road!  No, I roll at a leisurely pace on US 17 with LITTLE or NO company, to Brunswick. I go out to I 95 on the Golden Isles Highway, Route 25,(Walmart here!) and head south to  US 17s (AGAIN), thereby avoiding another hummungeous steep bridge on US 17 from the city.  I follow that little traveled, mostly forgotten artery, to Kingsland. Left on E.King Ave (GA40) to Saint Marys. and more less-expensive gas. There is a nice State Park here near the Submarine Base. Yes, there is a Walmart with fuel, as well.  Git yer petrol afore y’cross the river into the Sunshine State.

I have spent innumerable days and nights in private, state and federal camping areas, and for the most part it has been enjoyable. When you have young people in your entourage, the facilities offered by the typical family campground are perfect to connect with their usual activities back home. And to relieve any boredom they might feel travelling…particularly for long distances.

My first choice for “camping” will always be the state and federal forests. Second comes the state and federal parks. The facilities offered by the private campgrounds are terrific if you need electric and water hook-ups. Maybe you want to be connected to the sewer lines. Perhaps a camp store is on your list of camping requirements. A swimming pool, on-site laundry, air, cable, computer plug-in?

My vehicle is equipped with a bank of golf cart batteries that supply all my electrical needs. House current (115 volts AC) arrives on-line throughout the RV via a sizable inverter, that changes the automotive current (12-15 volt DC) to power any small appliance in the kitchen. Everything else is low voltage, that is to say, all lights and fans in the kitchen, lighting throughout the interior are powered by those batteries. If I need to use the microwave, or to make the morning coffee, I fire-up my small Honda 2000 watt (quiet-running) generator. The coffee could be done through the inverter power, but the electric draw is high. The solar panel on the roof keeps the source topped-up for most of my needs. So much for electric hook-ups.

If you have sufficient holding tank capacity for a short duration, you do not have to be connected to a sewer umbilical. And all RVs have pretty good tanks for fresh water (filtered, of course). There is a commercial laundry nearby almost everywhere (within a week’s travel), and I can find a library, or connect to the internet at myriad hot spots around the country. My satellite TV dish provides perfect reception even in the desert. And I do not need air conditioning for the few uncomfortable nights I might have to experience in a typical year, since I travel to Florida or to the southwest for the winter, but head north to visit my daughter, son-in law and his Mom,in the late spring, until the early fall.

That FINALLY brings us to WALMART. Sam Walton, when he was still with us, held that travellers were good business for Walmart, and that he would never disallow an RV owner a parking space for overnight. When I am on the move, and do not require any of the aforementioned amenities…look for me at the nearest Supercenter!

To date I have spent the night at well over 180 Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs. They get my business for groceries and neccessities; I buy my gas there (hard to find in the northeast,though), have purchased tires, oil and filters and some RV supplies there. Sam was right….it is a transactional arrangement that makes good sense.

Okay, now that we’ve generalized on that subject, if you are one of the Walmart haters, you can move along….no hard feelings! Most supermarkets,that have the room in their parking lots, will allow one night. Just be sure to check it out with the manager. Sometimes there are specific restrictions. More often now, there are local ordinances prohibiting sleeping in a vehicle at night.They are probably unconstitutional… but just move along. I do not want to be where I am not welcome. My business sense doesn’t want to reward anyone who cannot appreciate that millions of RVs are out there. Even if everyone wanted to spend every night in a campground, there simply is no room!

Today’s self-contained RVs are equipped with all the comforts, and needn’t impinge on anyone’s sensibilities….as long as the owners are reasonable, do not overstay their welcome, do not spread out across multiple sites unneccessarily, do not tie-out their animals or fail to pick up after them, or themselves. Don’t even talk to me about esthetics. There are very few Partridge Family psychedelic buses out there, and the majority of the RVs are pretty good looking, and certainly do not detract from the street scene.

Most Walmarts make you welcome. What I have said previously is what most of the managers expect when you arrive to stay over. Just stay back out of the way of shoppers’ spaces (most stores are, or are converting to Supercenters that stay open 24/7), and try to be UNOBTRUSIVE. That isn’t asking much, and if when the morning arrives, you are not on your way, you should be. There are some exceptions…check out the local rules, but move around, or move out!

There are circumstances where a Walmart management does not make the rules. I stopped for three years running, on my way through New Jersey , at a Walmart at Hamilton Shops. It was very convenient to major highways,Trenton, restaurants and services of all kinds. This year I was met coming out of the store by a new security officer. After a friendly chat with this gent, he informed me that the owners of the property no longer allow overnight parking at any area there. Walmart does not own the property, Same is true just north of Jacksonville, Florida, and at many places where you might expect to be welcomed.

The most effective way to save yourself ,and the security service, any embarassment, or a knock on the door at 1 AM, is simply to ask. Every year I buy the Walmart version of Rand McNally’s Road Atlas. In the back you will find a listing of all the Supercenters, smaller stores, Walmart neighborhood grocery stores, and Sam’s Clubs throughout the entire North American expanse. I keep track of where I have stayed, notes about the location, comments about unusual features, and proximity to points of interest. My personal rating system employs words like “GREAT!”, “LOTS OF ROOM “,”POSTED-NO PARKING OVERNIGHT”.

Often, the reason signs have been posted in the Walmart lot is to keep TRUCKERS out! There are also an insufficient number of truck stops, I’m sure, but these large commercial rigs,that are not even delivering to the store,certainly don”t belong. Even with the diesel prices in the stratosphere, many of these truck drivers run their engines all night, drop their trailers to go elsewhere for food, drink…even accommodations. Do you blame Walmart for trying to control this practice?