Nothing will keep a grandparent from seeing their newest grandchild! Especially when he is the Cutest. Baby. In. The. World!!!
We had planned this trip for months to go from our home in Central Texas to our son’s house in Pennsylvania. We were going to be gone about 3 weeks, and follow the “3/30 rule” (go no further than three hundred thirty mile, and stop by 3:30 pm). With this as a plan, we reserved overnight stays near Texarkana, Memphis, Monterey TN, and Roanoke, VA.
Then COVID-19 happened. Two of our reservations were cancelled. One at a Corps of Engineer park near Texarkana, and one at a Virginia State Park. Still, I held out for trying to complete the trip. We were going to leave on May 1st, and be gone about 3 weeks, taking 5 days to arrive at our son’s house on his birthday.
As the time to leave approached, we were seeing the first indications of relaxing the stay at home rules, and decided to make a break for it. I reserved a private park near Texarkana, and we stayed at a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Virginia. (more on that later).
This was our first stop near Texarkana, TX at the Shady Pines RV Park. It was a good overnight stay.
Our second night brought us to West Memphis, Arkansas, and the Tom Sawyer Park right on the Mighty Mississippi River. We enjoyed watching the barges pushing their loads up and down the river.
Our next stop was a nice campground near Monterey, Tennessee. It was rather hilly, with trails and caves and a pond… but we just slept overnight and continued the trip.
And then we entered Virginia – the only state that was Completely Closed. They would not even let the private RV Parks accept overnight guests. We were forced to boondock, and did so at a Cracker Barrel. It turned out great with good meals for dinner and breakfast.
And on the fifth day, we arrived in Pennsylvania! We stayed at the Pinch Pond Family Campground. It was a very nice stay, though most of our time was with Jerry, Olivia, and little Evan.
And now, what you’ve been waiting for: Evan Asher Knight! He really is always happy.
And then we said our farewells to Maisy and her family, and headed south to Alabama.
One more night at a Cracker Barrel before staying near Athens Tennessee at the Overnighter RV Park. Small, but adequate.
And then on to Athens, Alabama to see Steve and Michelle Olney, our long-time friends from Frank’s Army days. He is the Pastor of a Cowboy Church!
After going to church with the Olneys, we headed west toward Texas. Since we were leaving later in the day, it was a short trip over to Tupelo, Mississippi, and the Browns Crossing RV Park.
Our last night before reaching home was at a gorgeous park in Louisiana, the Lincoln Parish Park. We hope to return to this one some day.
Not to mention the beautiful drive through Louisiana…..
But it is always good to get back into God’s Country: TEXAS!!!
We’ll do it again, it was a wonderful trip for our first Casita trip of any real distance. Safe travels, and Godspeed to all.