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RV Camping Between 01/15/2020 & Present
The Breeze II < Back to RV Camping Main Here are some trip logs and images of places that I have RV camped between 01/15/2020 and present: 01/15/2020, Prince William Forest RV Campground, Dumfries, VA. Visited one of my basecamps today. The weather was great for January. The Breeze performed flawlessly as usual. The only issue was that the park WiFi did not work very well. It was super slow and I didn't get that much done computerwise. I think that this campground needs some infrastructure work. But it was great to be camping in The Breeze again! Sorry but I forgot to take some images on this trip. -MBC Rating:  04/28/2020, Mike Calabrese' Driveway, Manassas, VA. I had not been able to RV camp since January, 2020 and was going stir crazy. I had reservations at two campgrounds that I had kept pushing forward in hopes that this COVID-19 lockdown would end. I had enough! So I decided to RV camp in my driveway! Around mid day I drove the RV around the block to keep everything mechanical in working order. We call our RV 'The Breeze'. Then I set up and, after dinner, I went out to the RV to enjoy the rest of the evening. I am lucky that I can park my RV next to the house. Julie opted to sleep in a nice comfy bed that night. I had all the conveniences of home: Heat, water, electricity, internet and 42 over-the-air TV stations. All that I lacked was a sewer hookup. But that was easilly overcome by either running into the house, using the woods or using a 'pee bottle'. Later on I watched some TV, 'geeked' a bit on the computer, read a bit, listened to my NOAA weather radio, then went to sleep. I kept the insde RV temperature around 60 degrees. It got down to 47 degrees around 4AM. The next morning I got up at 6:00 AM, went inside and started my daily routine. It was nice to do something different during this COVID-19 lockdown but still stay at home. I can't wait to go to a real campground and camp again. Hopefully, that will be this year. -MBC Rating:
06/09/2020- Outlanders River Camp, Luray, VA. I was supposed to join the Good Sam Potomac Dogwoods here in March, 2020. But COVID-19 got in the way. So I kicked that reservation forward to June, 2020 and went solo. The trip out west to Luray, VA went well. Gas was $1.68 a gallon in this area so I filled up on the way home. There was road construction near the campground. I had to go past it, then turn around and go back. On Tuesday, 06/09 I set up, relaxed, ate and had a nice campfire that night. On Wednesday, 06/10 early in the morning I fished the Shenandoah River. The current was strong. I got a few nibbles but my line kept getting swept downriver, then over to the shore. There was a lot of seaweed along the edges of the river. My line would get caught in that seaweed. I would then pull on the line. It would break and I would lose my sinker and hooks. This happened even with the largest sinker that I had. So after I lost everything three times I said 'Enough!'. I then went back to the RV and ate breakfast. Then I tried fishing in the campground fishing pond. I didn't even get a nibble. So I went back to the RV, ate lunch, took a nap, showered and just chilled the rest of the day. It was very hot on both Tuesday and Wednesday. The RV air conditioner condensation port was clogged. Water kept coming through the AC return duct. I had to place a big bowl under it and empty it every hour or so. It rained Wednesday night and cooled things down a bit. On Thursday morning, 06/11 I packed up and headed home. This was a rustic but very nice campground. They have remodeled the bathhouse and added camping cabins since I was here last time. Water pressure was good. Electricity was OK but did go out for a second or two on Thursday morning. The staff was very friendly at this campground. AT&T cell service had only 1 bar. OTA TV reception was poor. No cable or Wi-Fi. It's amazing that wherever I go to RV camp the one OTA TV channel that always comes in perfectly is QVC. I had a nice trip. It was great to be RV camping again! -MBC Rating:
06/19/2020- Candy Hill Campground, Winchester, VA. This is the third time that I have camped here. And the second time with the Good Sam Club Virginia Dogwoods Chapter. This is a very nice, yet not too expensive campground. I was apprehensive about being in a group setting for the chapter meeting because of COVID-19. About half of us wore masks. And we did practice social distancing. I didn't do much activity wise on this trip. I really wanted to eat lunch at a Sonic Drive In close by. So after walking about a half a mile to get there I was shocked to observe that it had become a Dunkin Doughnuts. I then started to walk to the Walmart in this shopping center because I figured that they may have a McDonalds inside. When I almost got to the Walmart entrance I looked back towards US50 and noticed a Bojangles Restaurant. So I went there. The restaurant was closed but the drive through was open. So I walked up to the drive through and ordered some chicken which I then walked back to my campsite and ate. I bet that this restaurant changes it's name in the future. So I did a lot of reading, napping, geeking and just lounging around on this trip. It was a nice weekend. If you want to learn more about camping with the Potomac Dogwoods, please visit their website at: www.thepotomacdogwoods.org . -MBC Rating:
rvwaterfilterstore.com water filter and hooked it up for the first time. It worked great and the water tasted fantastic. I will be doing a product evaluation on this water filter on my blog Here. OTA TV reception was good, 39 channels, AT&T cellular reception was poor, 1 bar or less and there was no cable or Wi-Fi. But we had a very nice weekend staying at Cozy Acres Campground in Powhatan, VA. -MBC Rating:
12/01/2020, Lake Fairfax Park, Reston, VA. This was the 4th time that I have RV camped here. Nice campground even though the sites are electric only. I stayed at the same site as I did last time. There were 2 reasons why I went RV camping in December: 1) I hadn't been RV camping since October, 2020; 2) I wanted to re-recon some trails at Lake Fairfax Park because we got lost on a POPUMC Hiking Group hike in October, 2020 and ended up hiking only 2.5 miles instead of 4. It was COLD during this trip. My RV called The Breeze performed well as usual. I got 60 OTA TV channels. AT&T cell service had between 2 and 3 bars. No cable or wi-fi at this park. The only problem on this trip was that the 120 VAC outlet on the power pole was broken and I couldn't use my ceramic heater. Thankfully, I had enough propane on board to keep me warm for 2 days. I explored the trails that we missed in October and I think that I can keep us from getting lost next time. IMO they need to better blaze, have better signage/informational kiosks and better trail maps for this park. At least I got to go RV camping 5 times in 2020 (6 if you count 1 night spent in my driveway). 2020 will always be remembered as the year of COVID-19. -MBC Rating:
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03/19-21/2021, Bull Run Regional Park, Centreville, VA. I've lost track of how many times that I have camped here. This time Julie and I RV camped here with the Good Sam Club Potomac Dogwoods Chapter. 22 of us on this campout. This one was hosted by the Moores. We got to hear from our new president Steve Fox for the first time. We voted to remain a Good Sam Chapter and they accepted my proposal to rescue their website, which was abruptly taken down by the previous webmaster in January, 2021. The present URL for the site is: Rating:
04/16/2021- Ramblin Pines Campground, Woodbine, MD. This was the start of a one week, three campground event for me. Julie & I hadn't been here since July, 2014. This time we were with The Potomac Dogwoods chapter of the Good Sam Club. The trip here was stressful due to US15 being closed at Point of Rocks, MD. So we had to take I66->I495->I270->I70 and some back roads to get there. Our site (TR4) was way too small. It was cold and windy around the campground on Friday night, 4/16. We had a charity hike for CASA on Saturday, 4/17. My cousin Ron Calabrese and his wife Sherry came by for lunch. We also fished (I caught 1 small sunfish!). Julie went home on Sunday. I stayed until Monday. Then it was onto... Rating:
04/19/2021- Little Bennett Campground, Clarksburg, MD. I also hadn't been here since 2014. I left Ramblin Pines Monday morning, 4/19 and drove to the Clarksburg Outlet Mall. Got some Lindt chocolate. I had a tough time finding a place to eat afterwards. Found a Mexican food truck and had some great shredded meat fahitas. Got the RV setup. Only myself and wagonmaster Ray Michael and his wife Linda at this Good Sam Potomac Dogwoods outing. Had a great campfire each night. We did a nice 3.6 mile loop hike on Tuesday, 4/20. Went home on Wednesday, 4/21. Then, 2 days later I went to... Rating:
04/23/2021- Candy Hill Campground, Winchester, VA. This was the third leg of the three in one week for me. I met my son Andrew at the campground. We drove around Front Royal, VA, got a great pizza to go from the Melting Pot in Front Royal, returned to the campsite in Winchester, ate it and then had a nice campfire that evening. On Saturday, 4/24 we fished the Shenandoah River where US 50 crosses it near Millwood, VA. Nice place but each of us snagged our lines and lost our hooks and sinkers 3 times. So we caught nothing here. We went to the Shen-Valley flea market near White Post, VA, drove to West Virginia, got some ice cream, then waited out the rain. It was fun camping with my son Andrew. Sunday we said our goodbyes and went home. There was an issue with the entrance stairs on my RV called The Breeze. I'll have to get an estimate for fixing them. The Breeze has been very costly to operate lately. I think that it's time remaining is limited (like mine!) -MBC Rating:
05/21/2021- Small Country Campground, Louisa, VA. New owners, some improvements. Did this one with the Good Sam Club, Potomac Dogwoods Chapter. Got here on Friday, 5/21/2021, had campfires on both Friday and Saturday nights. Played mini golf on Saturday. They have a nice course. It didn't get as hot as it was supposed to. Went home Sunday. Had a nice time. 3 maintenance issues: wi-fi did not work, not all cable channels worked, the restrooms had broken locks and toilet seats, the owner would not let us take the site closest to the lake. And it sat vacant all weekend. So only 3 stars this time. Rating:
08/21/2021- Kings Dominion KOA Camp Wilderness, Dosewell, VA. More than 300 sites here. It took us 2.5 hours on I95 to make the 1 hour trip. But we made it, got set up, saw some of our fellow Potomac Dogwoods and then ordered a pizza from pepicellis.com . First time that I ordered food via grubhub.com . It was fairly easy. We had a campfire on both Friday and Saturday nights. It didn't rain like it was predicted. We thought about going to Kings Dominion but elected to just stick around the campground and chill. Had a nice time. I have to start thinking about what I am going to do as far as replacing The Breeze or just getting out of RV'ing. -MBC Rating:
09/17/2021- American Heritage RV Park, Williamsburg, VA. About 150 sites. 2nd time here, again with the Potomac Dogwoods. We didn't 'toad' this time. Went to Brewsters for ice cream on Saturday, very good. I was told that we have one of these in Manassas, VA so I'll have to check it out. We had a great fire and gathering on both Friday and Saturday nights. Weather was good. We mostly just chilled this trip. The awning fabric needs to be replaced on my RV called "The Breeze". Not sure about my RVing future. The bathhouse was being remodeled last time that we were there. It still wasn't finished 2 years later. So only 3 stars this time. -MBC Rating:
10/03/2021- RV Boondocking at Burke Lake Park Campground, Burke, VA. I had tent camped many times at Burke Lake Campground but I had never RV camped there. So I decided "What the heck!" And I spent a Sunday night there. I arrived at around 1:00 PM just as the Wash Foot Team / Atlanta Falcons football game was starting. I listened to the game on a portable radio. I didn't see any other tents or RV's there that afternoon. I did see a 35 foot travel trailer come in to use the dump station. But no one else. It was a muggy 80 degrees out. I had two small D battery powered fans that kept the air circulating inside the RV. I lived off of a large peparoni pizza from a new Marcos Pizza location in Manassas for most of my time there. I caught up on alot of paperwork, read and then retired. Washington won! On Monday morning I hiked this 100 site campground, packed up and went home. BTW, there were only three campers here last night: a family in a pop-up, a guy in a tent and me. If you have a pop-up, travel trailer, class B or class C RV that is 25 feet or less in length, this is a nice place to camp in the spring or in the fall. No hookups but they have a dump station. And at $30 to $35 a night (these are 2021 prices), it's a good deal. - MBC Rating:
11/17/2021- Greenville Farm Family Campground, Haymarket, VA. 4th time here, 1st time in 5 years. This was the best day weatherwise in November to camp. On Wednesday, highs in the 60's, low of 51, Thursday, highs in mid 70's. It's great RV camping during the week. No crowds, no traffic, no crowded campgrounds, no clowns. I camped in the forested area this time. Verizon cell coverage was 2-3 bars, picked up 30 OTA TV channels. This area could use some maintenance. 2nd campground I've been to this year that still has telephone hookups (and I doubt that they work anymore). -MBC Rating:
12/15/2021- Shenandoah River/Guest State Park, Bentonville, VA. Returned here after 7 years. What's amazing is that the night time temperature last night dropped to 48 at 10:30, then it was 52 at 1:30, then 50 when I got up at 6:00 AM. Highly unusual for December in VA. I had a very nice weekday stay at this park. About 10 of the 31 spaces were filled. 3 or 4 by tent campers! Here are my pros and cons for this campground: Pros- Most site parking areas are up to 60 feet long; Lots of space between sites; Quiet at night; Well laid out design; Lots of trails. Cons- No full hookups; No Verizon cell service; No OTA TV reception. -MBC Rating:
03/18/2022- Bull Run Regional Park, Centreville, VA.This was the first campout in 2022. Julie and I joined the Good Sam Club Potomac Dogwoods Chapter and spent the weekend at Bull Run Regional Park. We didn't do alot activity wise. We just chilled. The weather was perfect! We didn't use any air conditioning all weekend in my RV called The Breeze. We only used the heat on Sunday morning. I made pigs in a blanket and cheesy bread for the pot luck dinner. Had a bunch of good conversations with people that I had not seen since last fall. 39 channels OTA, Verizon cell coverage was 2 bars, fair. This was a good weekend. -MBC Rating:
04/01/2022- Camp Cardinal RV Resort, Hayes, VA. This campground has had three different names in the last year. But the new owners were very nice to us. A lot of construction projects going on at this campground. Due to certain circumstances we did not go to the daffodil festival. But we did go to the new Machicomoco State Park which was only about 10 minutes from Gloucester, VA. This state park pays tribute to the various Native American tribes that inhabited various areas of Virginia. They have about 9 miles of trails, a very nice campground and an old mansion on the property that is being restored. It was a cool weekend but the Good Sam Club Potomac Dogwoods Chapter had 8 rigs turn out. Verizon cell service had two bars and 5G. OTA TV reception had 44 channels. We "toaded" home for the first time in about five years. -MBC Rating:
Pros: Great price, friendly staff, 30 and 50 A electric, hiking opportunities, Verizon had 4 bars, AT&T had 2 to 3 bars, clean rest rooms, grounds were well taken care of, Wi-Fi available. Cons: Shared water spikots, no OTA reception, not certain but no full hookup sites observed, not much to do in Buena Vista, the full timer percentage was close to 50%. Even with these shortcomings we had a nice stay and I think that this would make a nice stopover while traveling through the area. -MBC Rating:
05/19/2022- KOA Campground, Natural Bridge, VA. Been about 8 years since I last stayed here. They have expanded and improved this campground a lot since I was here before. Temps were in the mid 90's both Friday and Saturday so we laid low and only did the Natural Bridge Caverns. They were OK but not as good as Luray. Lots of nice class B RV's here. I like them but do not like the wet bath in them. So I guess I'll stick with a class C. I only have about 25 more blank pages left in my RV trip log. Once it's filled up, I believe that the RV journey will be over. -MBC Rating:
06/22/2022- Prince William Forest Park RV Campground, Dumfries, VA. I've lost track of how many times that I've RV camped here. But I made my annual pilgrimage here today. At $40 the price was right. The campground was about 75% full. About half of these were full timers. The middle of the week is the time to RV camp! I survived a bad storm last night. And my RV called The Breeze kept me high and dry and did not get blown away. I'm going to write the superintendent of Prince William Forest and complain about the Wi-Fi not working properly and the website for the campground which still has broken Flash images on it. These have been issues for a long time. The campground employees tell me that the park service has to fix these things. So I will ask them to. -MBC Rating:
09/09/2022- Madison Vines RV Resort & Cottages, Madison, VA. Over 100 RV sites and 14 cottages. Good Sam rate was $53. Both AT&T and Verizon had 3-4 bars. Julie wanted to get away for the weekend. So we made a list of 5 or 6 campgrounds and this one won. Third time here for me. New owners that have invested a lot of $$ into this place. And they have done a great job. The campground office, which they call the resort reception center, has an interior that looks like my credit union. And the bathrooms look like they should be in a five star hotel. Here are my pros and cons: Pros-So while it was a good rv camping weekend, there were a few shortcomings. But we had a nice time and this campground has improved a lot since the new owners took over. -MBC Rating:
09/29/2022- Dogwood Acres Campground, Newville, PA. 92 RV sites, 5 cabins, 2 trailers and 4 tent sites. We had never been here before. Good Sam Rate was $59, Passport America rate on Thursday was $28.50. Camped with the Potomac Dogwoods Chapter of the Good Sam Club. Very nice owners. AT&T and Verizon only had 1-2 bars. Knowing that the remnants of Huricaine Ian would cause issues on Saturday and Sunday, we did our activities on Friday. Went to the huge Walmart in Shippensburg, hiked a small portion of the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail and fished in the pond at the campground. I caught three sunfish and Julie caught one. Sure enough, it rained all day Saturday and Sunday. Here are my pros and cons on this campground: Pros-As usual the Potomac Dogwoods group had a nice pot luck dinner and breakfast. Most of the area activities were cancelled because of the remnants of Ian. Overall we had a pleasant stay and I would consider staying here again if in the area. -MBC Rating:
More information about the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail, PA
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