NZ: family time in the Bays

On our second day in NZ, Nev and Karan took us to Pie2Go, a pie shop in Browns Bay, where we grabbed some lunch:

Pie2Go

Then we headed to Long Bay Regional Park, where we saw several pūkeko, our favorite NZ birds:

Pukeko

Baby pūkeko:

Baby pūkeko

Plus an Eastern Rosella parrot:

Eastern Rosella parrot

And ducks:

Ducks

Pōhutukawa, the NZ Christmas tree:

Pōhutukawa

We went to Long Bay specifically because that was where Jenn and I got married. We stopped by the shelter where we had the reception, and the nearby grass area where we held the ceremony:

Shelter where we got married

By Long Bay Beach:

By Long Bay Beach

That evening, N & K’s kids Michael and Deanna, her boyfriend, Karan’s mother, and Gavin joined us for dinner:

Dinner with fam

NZ: family time in Magawhai

Our first day in New Zealand was Sunday November 9th, 2025. As mentioned yesterday, we arrived at Auckland International Airport very early, were greeted by my brother Gavin, plus my brother Neville and his wife Karan, then went back to N & K’s place to take a nap, where we would also stay for the next two nights.

A couple of hours later, we were feeling a bit more human, so N & K took us up to Mangawhai, about an hour north of their place. They have a cozy cabin in a holiday park (aka campground) there. They took us to a favorite chocolatier called Bennetts for a second breakfast:

Bennetts

Jenn, Neville, Karan, David:

Jenn, Neville, Karan, David

We enjoyed toasted sandwiches and coffee; our first of many flat whites, favorite coffee of Kiwis:

Toasted sandwiches and coffie

Afterwards, we sampled some chocolate shots in Bennetts’ shop:

Chocolate shots

And bought several things in their shop:

Shopping

Then we headed to the Mangawhai Heads:

Mangawhai Heads

Neville, Karan, David, Jenn:

Neville, Karan, David, Jenn

We were greeted by a dolphin (actually about three of them):

Dolphin

On the way back south, we stopped in Warkworth for lunch, where we had some Kiwi foods I’d been missing: a meat pie, a sausage roll, and a caramel slice — the first of many:

Pie, sausage roll, slice in Walkworth

And more flat white coffees:

Flat white coffees

That evening, Gavin joined us for a BBQ dinner:

Dinner; Jenn, David, Gavin, Karan, Neville

That’s it for our first day. Stay tuned for more.

Thousand Trails San Benito

We stayed at Thousand Trails San Benito in Paicines, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our second stay here. Our first stay was our very first experience of a Thousand Trails park. Not a super great experience, but not bad enough to put us off TT. (Which we have some misgivings about, but it has been mostly worthwhile.)

This time, the campground was in the midst of a much-needed major improvements to their electrical system, with new 50/30/20 amp pedestals on all of the sites. At the time we stayed, only about the third of the park was open.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-10-20
Check out: 2025-10-31
11 nights

Weather:

Mostly sunny
High temps 65-82°F, lows 48-54°F
Little wind, gusts to 17 MPH

Noise:

No road noise
No train horn noise
Little neighbor noise

Site:

#C-010, back-in, gravel
Needed to disconnect toad, parked beside coach
Somewhat level site; a little high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
Gravel driveway about 60 feet long by 12 feet wide
75-95 feet to neighbor on passenger side
32 feet to neighbor on driver side
Just grass between sites
Picnic table
Fire pit
Tall trees
Somewhat clean site
Elevation 720 feet, front facing north/east/south/west

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
60 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 76-108 Mbps down, 22-44 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
RoamLink: 50 Mbps down, 3-5 Mbps up, 125 ms ping (RoamLink uses whichever is best of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile)
AT&T: 101-145 Mbps down, 1-5 Mbps up, 70 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Pool

Campground map; much of the campground was being renovated at the time of our stay:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

The tree next to our site:

Tree

During our stay the electricians needed to make some modifications to the pedestal; replacing one of the breakers:

Electrical pedistal

And installing a ground rod:

Electrical pedistal

Can’t get packages at the campground, so we used Amazon lockers in Hollister (30 minutes away):

Amazon lockers

And the nearby post office in Paicines (9 minutes away):

Post office

Pool (and ex-hot tub):

Pool

While there, I added a Pokémon Pokéstop at the playground:

Pokémon Pokéstop

Other sites:

Other sites

New big solar array over storage area:

New big solar array over storage area

A big stump with a bird box:

Stump with bird box

Lots of gnomes around the place:

Lots of gnomes around the place

Cat:

Feral cat

Deer:

Deer

Birb:

Birb

A mostly peaceful campground. We’d be happy to stay here again.

Yellowstone Artists Paintpots area

On our last day in Yellowstone National Park we visited the Artists Paintpots area, then completed the lower loop, with a picnic dinner at a secret picnic area:

A bison swimming across Yellowstone River:

Bison swimming across Yellowstone River

Bison:

Bison

Artusts’ Paintpots:

Artusts' Paintpots

On the way home we had a picnic in a “secret” area that seems to have mostly fallen into Yellowstone Lake:

Picnic area

Custer Wildlife Loop drive

Another scenic drive: the Custer Wildlife Loop drive, where we saw hundreds of buffalo aka bison.

An interactive map of our route, starting from the campground (and including the visit to Wind Cave, which we did first):

A coyote:

Coyote

Lots of buffalo:

Lots of buffalo

Buffalo

One-lane bridge:

One-lane bridge

Another one-lane bridge:

Another one-lane bridge

Bridge:

Bridge

Prairie dogs:

Prairie dog

Prairie dogs

Buffalo hiding behind a sign:

Buffalo hiding behind a sign

Dirt road:

Dirt road

Sun rays:

Sun rays

More buffalo:

Buffalo

Iron Mountain and Needles drive

We did one of our all-time favorite scenic drives, along Iron Mountain and Needles Highway.

An interactive map of our route, starting from the campground, and going counter-clockwise:

A buffalo on the road:

A buffalo on the road

Tunnel clearances:

Tunnel clearances

Scovel Johnson Tunnel:

Scovel Johnson Tunnel

A peek of Mount Rushmore through the trees:

A peek of Mount Rushmore through the trees

More tunnels:

More tunnels

Tunnel to spiral bridge:

Tunnel to spiral bridge

Another tunnel:

Another tunnel

Another peek of Mount Rushmore from the tunnel:

Another peek of Mount Rushmore from the tunnel

Another pigtail spiral bridge:

A pigtail spiral bridge

Passing Mount Rushmore:

Passing Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore side view:

Mount Rushmore side view

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Hood Tunnel:

Hood Tunnel

Sylvan Lake:

Sylvan Lake

Popular jumping spot for kids:

Sylvan Lake

Needle Eye:

Needle Eye

Needle Eye Tunnel:

Needle Eye Tunnel

Sun over rocks:

Sun over rocks

Another tunnel:

Another tunnel

Such a fun drive.

Thousand Trails Hershey RV Campground

We stayed at Thousand Trails Hershey RV Campground in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. (Campground Reviews listing.)

If you don’t mind the occasional farm smells and being woken up by geese, this is a delightful campground. And convenient to Hershey. You know, the chocolate place.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-04-20
Check out: 2025-05-03
13 nights

Weather:

Partly sunny, a little rain
High temps 65-75°F, lows 44-56°F
A little wind, gusts to 25 MPH

Noise:

No road noise
No train horn noise
Some neighbor noise (dogs, a few kids)
Lots of bird noise (mostly geese)
Not noise, but an unpleasant smell sometimes, probably from nearby farms

Site:

#B97, back-in, gravel
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
Somewhat level site; high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
Gravel driveway about 55 feet long by 15 feet wide
25 feet to neighbors on both sides
Just grass between sites
Picnic table
Fire pit
Tall trees
Mostly clean site
Elevation 550 feet, front facing NW
Backing on to lake

Utilities:

50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located
70 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, conveniently located (less than 1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 25-64 Mbps down, 8-20 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
T-Mobile: 10-12 Mbps down, 0.25 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
AT&T: 7 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 45-70 ms ping
Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 2-5 Mbps up, 30 ms ping (our SIM has 5 Mbps max)
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Seasonally closed pool
Small lake

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice park close to Hershey

This was a very nice park by Thousand Trails standards. The roads in the park are easily navigable, but the access roads are a bit narrow, so you’ll be fine once you get to the park. Our site was somewhat level, but the hydraulic levelers coped well. Utilities were all good, with 70 psi water pressure, so bring a pressure regulator. We enjoyed the view of the lake and the waterfowl wandering about. The Canada Geese are a bit of a hazard to navigation and sleeping in (better than an alarm clock), but seeing the goslings out and about was nice. This park no longer allows mail or packages of any kind, but the post office in Campbelltown accepts general delivery and was the cutest, friendliest, and most homey post office I’ve ever been to.

The most annoying thing about our stay was the check-in process. They took my TT membership card and held onto it until I trekked back and handed in the (unnecessary and redundant) paperwork where I had to give them my license and registration information for my RV and truck and any guests I might be expecting and pledging the soul of my firstborn child (or something to that effect), whereupon they deigned to give me my gate pass and return of my membership card. After a long travel day through the PA turnpike, dealing with asinine bureaucracy and being held hostage is one of the last things I want to deal with. I sure hope that once they get used to the assigned site situation, they sunset this ridiculous policy. Nevertheless, we’d be happy to stay here again. We camped at Thousand Trails Hershey RV Campground in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Nice view:

Nice view

Utilities:

Utilities

Ducks below birdfeeders on our neighboring site:

Ducks below birdfeeders on our neighboring site

Tortoise crossing the road:

Tortoise crossing the road

Geese and goslings:

Geese and goslings

Gosling

Geese and goslings

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Other sites:

Other sites

Cabins:

Cabins

Welcome center:

Welcome center

Closed swimming pool:

Closed swimming pool

Game court:

Game court

Mini golf:

Mini golf

Lake:

Lake

We’d be happy to stay here again.

Holly Point Campground – Falls Lake SRA

We stayed at Holly Point Campground – Falls Lake SRA in Wake Forest, North Carolina. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A very nice lakeside campground, but the spring tree pollen was horrendous.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-03-23
Check out: 2025-03-30
7 nights

Weather:

Partly sunny, a little rain
High temps 62-77°F, lows 37-55°F
Little wind, gusts to 23 MPH, but sheltered by trees

Noise:

No road noise
No train horn noise
Little neighbor noise
Regular plane noise (on the flightpath of Raleigh-Durham International Airport, 10 miles away)

Site:

#69 (loop 2), back-in, gravel
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
Mostly level site; slightly high on front driver side; used hydraulic leveling
Gravel driveway about 60 feet long by 10 feet wide
About 30 feet to neighbor on passenger side
About 50 feet to road on driver side
Trees between sites
Picnic table
Fire pit
Lantern hook
Tall trees
Mostly clean site (one bit of trash)
Elevation 290 feet, front facing North

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
70 PSI water, conveniently located
No sewer; we used our tote and the dump station

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 30-35 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 30-100 ms ping
AT&T: 49-60 Mbps down, 0.25-0.75 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 100 ms ping (our SIM has 5 Mbps max)
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Lake
Dump station

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Beautiful park, but beware the pollen in spring

It turns out that camping in the middle of a hardwood forest during the week the trees come alive in the spring is a fantastic way to find out if you have terrible allergies. The pollen in this part of NC is no joke. Besides the trees trying to kill me, this was a beautiful campground. Our site was plenty long enough for our 40-foot motorhome and tow vehicle. However, some sites looked like they would have been too sloped to work, so be sure to check the details of the specific site you’re booking. Site 69 had a great view of the water through the trees and was close to the small beach/picnic area. We camped at Holly Point Campground – Falls Lake SRA in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Falls lake state recreation area map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

View of the lake out our window; fortunately the intervening site was empty most of the week, and only used as a day-use site on the weekend (which I have mixed feelings about, taking a site from an overnight camper):

View of the lake out our window

View of sunrise over the lake from our site:

View of sunrise over the lake from our site

A peek of our site from the swimming beach, and a goose:

A peek of our site from the swimming beach, and a goose

Geese on the beach:

Geese on the beach

Boat on the lake:

Boat on the lake

Swimming beach:

Swimming beach

Geese

We used the dump station via the tote in the back of the truck three times:

We used the dump station three times

Dumpsters at the dump station:

Dumpsters at the dump station

On the flight path, 10 miles from Raleigh-Durham International Airport:

On the flight path, 10 miles from Raleigh-Durham International Airport

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Lakefront:

Lakefront

Boat on the lake:

Boat on the lake

This trailer was backing itself into the site, not hooked up to the car:

This trailer was backing itself into the site, not hooked up to the car

Tent sites:

Tent sites

Other sites:

Other sites

Many not very level:

Other sites

A very nice campground, other than the pollen. We’d be happy to be back, in the same site, at a different time of year.

Crooked River State Park trails

While staying in Crooked River State Park in Saint Marys, Georgia, we enjoyed frequent walks in the park.

Trail map:

Trail map

Info sign:

Info sign

Alligator country:

Alligator country

River:

River

Trail:

Trail

Tortoise:

Tortoise

Another trail:

Trail

Nature center:

Nature center

Boardwalk trail without a boardwalk:

Trail

The trail was somewhat flooded, but we did it anyway:

Flooded trail

Observation tower:

Observation tower

Swampy:

Swampy

The boardwalk has been removed:

Boardwalk removed

Flooded trail

Pond:

Pond

A nice park.

Crooked River State Park

We stayed at Crooked River State Park in Saint Marys, Georgia. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A pleasant stop on our way north.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-03-09
Check out: 2025-03-16
7 nights

Weather:

Partly sunny, some rain
High temps 62-76°F, lows 48-62°F
Some wind, gusts to 32 MPH

Noise:

No road noise
No train horn noise
Little neighbor noise

Site:

#62, back-in, gravel
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
Mostly level site; a little high on rear passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
Gravel driveway about 70 feet long by 20 feet wide
30 feet to neighbor on passenger side
75 feet to road on driver side
Trees and shrubs between sites providing good privacy
Picnic table
Fire pit
Lantern hooks
Tall trees
Clean site
Elevation 20 feet, front facing due West

Utilities:

50 amp power, fairly conveniently located
45 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, somewhat conveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 28-38 Mbps down, 9-10 Mbps up, 32 ms ping
AT&T: 115-127 Mbps down, 13-20 Mbps up, 50-85 ms ping
Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 35 ms ping (our SIM has 5 Mbps max)
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
River

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Lovely state park

Not all campsites here have full hookups, but we were lucky enough to get a reservation for one. Our back-in site was plenty long enough for our 40-foot motorhome and tow vehicle. All the connections were good, and the campground hosts were on the ball, cleaning sites as soon as they were vacated. The campground is peaceful, with lots of nice, easy trails to enjoy. Note that the boardwalk has been removed from the loop behind the nature center, and we had to hop around some very large puddles to get around. Despite signs warning of snakes and gators, we saw neither, but we did see an armadillo, which was exciting as I’d never seen one that wasn’t roadkill. We camped at Crooked River State Park in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Jekyll Island (Driftwood Beach) and Fort Frederica National Monument are both worth a daytrip. Locals Dockside had excellent seafood, and historic St Marys is a cute little town.

Campground map:

Map