# 3600 Mile, 19 Day "shakedown" Trip



## MrCanoeHead (Jul 3, 2006)

I apologize for such a long post but it was a pretty long trip. 
We started out on this trip with only three nights reserved in Myrtle Beach and then the intention to go through the Smoky Mountains, maybe to Mammoth Caves, KY (didnâ€™t make it), to Churchhill Downs and back into Virginia without a lot of specific destinations in mind. We had no problems getting into campgrounds with the exception of the Trav-L-Park Campground in Virginia Beach for a Sat./Sunday stay (we called about 3 days in advance so not exactly unexpected).

The Outback was great! Weâ€™re really happy with the layout and size of the 25RSS and had only a couple of minor problems with the trailer (sticky doors, a bit of A/C condensation , rear slide stiffness and a tire leak). Thank goodness for the A/C. It was hot and humid pretty much the whole trip, hitting 100 degrees (without humidex) a couple of times.

The Expedition did a pretty good job too. Itâ€™s a comfortable vehicle and the DVD unit kept the kids entertained with movies and GameCube (I wouldnâ€™t order this option but when you buy used, you take what you get). We spent about 82 hours in the truck and Iâ€™d swear the kids were probably hooked up to it for over 75 of these hours. Weâ€™d have to get them to shut it off to see some of the outstanding scenery of the mountains, etc..

On average, I only got about 9 mpg but I wasnâ€™t exactly taking it that easy and there were some pretty good hills/mountains along our route. It towed the Outback pretty well along with the Equal-i-zer hitch. I had reset-up the hitch before leaving and it was OK but I added another washer on the 2nd night which made it behave better on the Interstates with all those semis.

Hereâ€™s a run down of the trip.
1st stop, Lackawanna State Park in northeastern Pennsylvania - only an overnight stop but a nice looking park and canâ€™t beat the price of $16 (electricity only)
2nd night, Enfield / Rocky Mount KOA - only an overnight stop - not much to it but hey, it had the requisite pool

Myrtle Beach State Park- 3 nights on a full service site, 2 on an electric/water site - for a busy area, I thought this park was pretty good. Both sites were in the more crowded area of Loop 1 that is closest to the beach but compared to the sites our friends were on in Pirateland they were downright roomy. Enjoyed the beach a lot, did some shopping (Camping World included), even got in a game of golf (pretty hot though, even early in the morning)

Two nights in/near the Smoky Mountains - one at Table Rock State Park, SC (water/electric) and the other at the Smokemont campground in the National Park (dry), just outside Cherokee, NC. Both parks were nice and not very busy although our closest neighbours at Table Rock were a bit annoying. I couldnâ€™t keep track but I think there were about 5 or 6 adults and about 6 kids all staying in a 10 x 10 tent (maybe a couple stayed in the van). Lots of swearing and yelling. Saw an outdoor show, â€œUnto this Hillsâ€ put on by the Cherokee Indians in, uh, Cherokee. Quite interesting. Theyâ€™ve been influenced by white people for so long (since 1600s) that they really donâ€™t know what their culture was really like before then so theyâ€™re using what they do know and borrowing from other tribes. Went on a couple of short hikes to waterfalls/lookouts, etc.. Very nice area and could have spent more time in this National Park. 
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Two nights at the Kentucky Horse Park just north of Lexington. We had planned to go to see Churchhill Downs in Louisville but the guy at the travel info center off the Interstate recommended the Horse park and its associated campground (my DDs love horses and really liked the stuff in Saratoga, NY last year). This was a great decision. Itâ€™s a working horse farm, so besides all the museum type stuff there is horseback riding and quite a few horse breeds (thoroughbreds up to the big working ones) to see. There was also a horse jumping event going on while we were there (it was a big place). The campground (water/electric) was nice with large well spaced sites and the pool close by.

Two nights in Pocahontas State Park just southwest of Richmond Virginia. For being so close to Richmond this is a nice park and wasnâ€™t very crowded (they think it was because of the heat). There was a great little water park inside this park. 3 pools, numerous fountains, a couple of small water slides. Admission was included with the camping, which was equivalent to I think $20 of the $24 camping fee. This park just happened to be pretty close to a golf course I could play for free (its associated with my golf course at home) so I just had to play.









Two nights at the Virginia Beach KOA (water/electric). As mentioned earlier, we had tried to get into the Trav-L-Park Campground based on someoneâ€™s recommendation but they were full. We found the KOA to be fine. Our site was a pretty good size (I thought we might be in something like we saw at Pirateland) and it had a couple of pools and gameroom, etc.. Maybe the Trav-L-Park offers a few more things but going through it on the shuttle bus from the beach, it looked, if anything, a little more crowded than the KOA. Iâ€™m sure both are comparable. We enjoyed the aquarium (including 3-D Imax movie, â€œSharksâ€) here and of course the beach. The beach is bigger here then in Myrtle but the waves/shoreline was more fun in Myrtle. Maybe it was the time of day or something, i.e. tides. I also liked being able to walk to the beach in Myrtle compared to having to take the shuttle or drive in VB.

Two nights at Cherry Hill campground in Washington, DC (full service) - I wanted to stay at Pohick Bay Regional Park Campground (mentioned in another thread) but the pool was closed on Monday and Tuesday (government cost cutting) so we went up to CherryHill. A bit expensive for my taste but it is well run and maintained and the bus/Metro combination makes it easy to get down to the Museums where we wore ourselves out.

One last night in Watkins Glenn State Park, NY (dry, electric available)- A group on another website, Popupexplorer, have organized a rally here the last two years so we stopped here to see what it had to offer. Itâ€™s quite a nice park and the Gorge is quite interesting. The area was gearing up for the NASCAR race on the weekend so we got out before the crowds started to arrive (although there were a few well dressed up sites in the campground with banners and lifesize cardboard cutouts of their favourite drivers, etc.). Weâ€™ll likely go back to this area since its not that far from home.

We saw a number of Outbacks on the trip and talked to a few of the owners and told them of this site. Maybe theyâ€™ll check it out. Sounds like the Niagara rally was a good time and would have been reasonably close for us but we had this trip planned (well, loosely planned) for awhile. Maybe weâ€™ll make a future rally. Hmmm, thereâ€™s the one in NH in October.

Thanks for reading about our trip (if you lasted this long) and happy camping.


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

Man, you don't mess around do you? That's some shakedown cruise. Glad the Expedition performed well and the kids behaved in the car. That makes such a difference to a good trip.


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Maybe long , but well written







Sounds like a good time was had by all even tho I do not know what I would do with the golf course info







, Some people I hear like it tho.

Besides N.H. , there is also a rally in Pa in Oct, going to one of these will be enjoyable for the whole family. Doing both........well, the fun factor would be over whelming










John

PS...not bad for the 4 th post on your part, so if I did not say it earlier...WELCOME


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## MrCanoeHead (Jul 3, 2006)

tdvffjohn said:


> Besides N.H. , there is also a rally in Pa in Oct, going to one of these will be enjoyable for the whole family. Doing both........well, the fun factor would be over whelming
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yep, I saw that one also. Looks like it will be a good one. Unfortunately, DW is a teacher so she really can't take days off during the school year to let us get away for extra long weekends. For the NH one, I think its on our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend so would give us 3 days.

You never know though, I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind missing some school so I might consider heading down to PA with them.









Also depends on the sports schedule. Both girls play indoor soccer and ringette (it's on ice like hockey). I'll know better later in September.


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Boy that sure was some shake down








Sounds like you all had a good time
Glad the TT and TV perform great for you

Don


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## happycamper (Jul 26, 2005)

Good summary. Thanks for the valuable info!!

Jim


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## willie226 (Apr 4, 2006)

MrCanoeHead
Glad things went well and you had a great trip

willie


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Hi MrCanoeHead









What an amazing trip for your shakedown cruise. I'm glad to hear that everything went well and that you all made it back home safely. Thank you for all of the information









Dawn


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I to think I was proud of my first 2 night shake down trip. Wow...you really take crown for this one.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Man! Now that's what I call a maiden voyage!
Well done!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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