Trip 1 – Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Day 1 – Happy Valentine’s Day! Woke up to NO WIND, clear and sunny, 17 degrees. Checked the weather for the forecasts South of us and nothing storm-wise was expected. For some reason, even with all the previous preparations, it took us 4-1/2 hours to be ready to leave. Part of it was the cats refused to cooperate. One by one, as Rob tried to round them up and take them out to the RV, they played hide and seek, disappearing in the most tiny, out-of-the-way crevices for us to find. For weeks their lives had been turned upside down with us rushing around, moving things from the house to the RV, and the change in Rob’s regular schedule which had him working from home with at least one on his lap at all times. Now we dared to up-end them again! Click here  “About The Cats”  for an introduction to our furry travelling companions .

We departed home (Highland, NY) at 10:25 a.m., pulling the Honda filled with trash bags behind us. We had 2 kayaks on top of the Honda and 2 bicycles hitched to the back. As we were doing our final checklist, we discovered the right front RV headlight for brights was not working. Too bad; we’re leaving anyway. Lots of snow on the ground, downed trees and big branches on the ground everywhere. Destination – Houston, DE.

We’d looked for campgrounds situated near Vicki’s stepmother, Gail, who lives in Easton, MD. The closest one we could find that was open this early in the year was G & R Campground in Houston, DE. According to Google Maps, 262 miles from Highland, 4 hours and 41 minutes without stops. I’d called them and sent an e-mail the night before to check availability and had not heard back. This campground was supposedly 48 minutes from Gail. We did have a couple of backups to try but they were over 1 hour from Gail. I called the campground again from the road and waited to hear back. Because it was so cold at home, Rob ran an electric heater all night in the RV to keep the pipes from freezing below the sink. Good thing he did that, because even with the heater, the water was slow and slushy this morning!

Talked to Gail on the phone and she had found Martinak State Park closer to her house which was closed (which is why we didn’t call it), but would accept visitors anyway. No water and sewer though because of the freezing temperatures. We decided to check them out in case G & R wasn’t available – this would extend our drive but would give us an additional alternative. Turned out G & R had called (we had the phone turned off, DUH), and they could accommodate us for the 3 nights we desired. Full hook-ups, so we would have electric, water, and sewer.

Went to the State Park which was lovely but decided to stay at G & R because of the water situation. Arrived at Houston, DE at 5:10 p.m. The trip took 6 ¾ hours with the trip to the State Park and a few potty breaks on the way. The high today was 44 degrees; it was 39 degrees when we got to the campground. Sunny and calm. We set up quickly, had leftover sandwiches for dinner (no cooking), and went to bed early. Java and Luna adjusted immediately; Pixie and Grace were a little apprehensive.

G & R Campground, 4075 Gun & Rod Club Rd., Houston, DE 19954, 302-398-8108, GNRcampground.com.  We have Site 54, pull-through, full hookups, but water & sewer are upon request this time of year (due to low night-time temperatures, water is turned off at night to spare the pipes).  This is a large, 35 acre campground which fills over 330 sites in season.  In February, only a few people camping, therefore very quiet.  Some seasonal campers and some storage of RV’s.  Perfect for our purposes, but probably very crowded and noisy in the summer with sites fairly close together.  The campground is in a farming neighborhood, not too far from the Delaware shore.  It’s on one of many typically small roads surrounded by small towns.  The man I dealt with was extremely nice and accommodating.  Would stay again, off season.