TRAVEL DAY: HANOVER, PA TO LAUREL, DE.
Day 11 – We’re actually going to leave Pennsylvania today. This time we decided our route beforehand! It was 54 degrees at 7:15 a.m. We didn’t relax much this morning, preferring to get on the road earlier since in leaving PA, campground check-in times become earlier which is just fine with us.
We departed Codorus State Park at 9:30 a.m. after dumping tanks. It was 57 degrees and sunny. We had originally intended to spend a couple of nights in Lancaster, PA in Amish country, but when searching for State Parks around there to camp in, we could only find private campgrounds which are not our first choice of accommodations. It was only 5 miles before we crossed the state line into Maryland. We missed the “Welcome to Maryland” sign but got the county sign instead. We drove south through a series of roundabouts, which can be challenging in a large vehicle, through some small towns, heading towards Baltimore. Then we got on to the major interstates, heading around Washington DC and Baltimore, approaching the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
Traffic, traffic, traffic. Big cities. We were looking forward to crossing the Chesapeake to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The Chesapeake was beautiful. Once across, the traffic decreased and we drove through the flat farmlands seeing pumpkin fields, fields of watermelons, horses and goats. The farther we got from the sprawl of DC, the more serene and “farmy” it got. We crossed from Maryland into Delaware – lots more flat farmlands and lots of farm stands offering fresh produce, chicken and dairy farms.
We stopped for gasoline in the RV (prices MUCH cheaper than PA) and had lunch in a shopping center parking lot on DE Route 13 south. Shortly thereafter we arrived at our destination, Trap Pond State Park, southeast of Laurel, Delaware. It was 1:20 p.m., 77 degrees, and sunny. There was a line-up at the ranger station to check in. Glad we’d made reservations!
Eventually, we got checked in and headed to our site, #D8, with water and electric hook-ups. Sight unseen, we got lucky once again. It was an excellent campsite and Loop D was not crowded. At least, not at that time. We were four campsites from the water and could see the water from our site. There was a boat launch right there. We could walk to it. The site was large and there were plenty of trees. Behind us, instead of the row of campsites you normally find, there was a stream which led from the river. Nice! We unpacked and Rob set up the tent. We had some privacy. The only drawback was the barking, howling dogs from the campsite across from us. Their owners just ignored them. But this will pass. These campers leave tomorrow. We will be here for 3 nights.
The girls did great. They settled in without complaint, both when we traveled and when we arrived at their new “home”. They also frowned at the barking dogs, but being cats, they felt superior and didn’t bother to fret.