A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 111 miles from Wake Forest, North Carolina to Emporia, Virginia.
Travel from Wake Forest, North Carolina to Emporia, Virginia
We drove our coach 111 miles, about two hours of driving, from Wake Forest, North Carolina to Emporia, Virginia.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:
An interactive map:
Leaving the campground; a nice view:
Falls Lake:
Route 1 North:
I-85 North:
Welcome to Virginia:
Welcome center:
Rest area lunch stop:
Route 58 East:
Brodnax water tower:
Fun with zoom:
I-95 North:
Exit to KOA:
Arriving at KOA:
Guided to our site:
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:
An interactive map:
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 sunrise over the lake from our site:
A peek of our site from the swimming beach, and a goose:
Geese on the beach:
Boat on the lake:
Swimming beach:
We used the dump station via the tote in the back of the truck three times:
Dumpsters at the dump station:
On the flight path, 10 miles from Raleigh-Durham International Airport:
Bathrooms:
Lakefront:
Boat on the lake:
This trailer was backing itself into the site, not hooked up to the car:
Tent sites:
Other sites:
Many not very level:
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.
Video: Charleston, South Carolina to Wake Forest, North Carolina motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 301 miles from Charleston, South Carolina to Wake Forest, North Carolina.
Travel from Charleston, South Carolina to Wake Forest, North Carolina
We drove our coach 301 miles, about five hours of driving, from Charleston, South Carolina to Wake Forest, North Carolina.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:
An interactive map:
Preparing to leave our site:
Nice looking but mildly concerning trees overhanging the road:
Approaching Charleston:
Roadworks:
Exit to I-95 North:
Rest area, unusual in that truck parking is through the car parking:
Paladin looking at Lake Marion bridge:
Petro fuel stop:
$206.27 for 57 gallons of diesel before discount:
Iron Skillet lunch:
Back to our coach:
Hello fellow Tiffin Allegro Bus:
Welcome to North Carolina:
Sleepy Paladin:
Rest area:
An interesting building:
Arriving at Holly Point Campground in Falls Lake State Recreation Area:
Entrance station:
Arriving at our site:
Loose mudguard above rear wheels
I noticed that a mudguard panel above the driver-side rear wheels was loose, falling down onto the tire. Not ideal. It looked like it was only held up by one bolt, buried in foam insulation, which had come loose. So I reattached it. I also got some more bolts to better attach it, though I haven’t bothered to do that yet, since that one bolt seems sufficient. But I’ll keep an eye on it.
Fort Moultrie National Historical Park
We visited Fort Moultrie National Historical Park in Charleston, South Carolina.
Visitor center:
The fort:
Underground command post:
View of the fort from a deck on top of the visitor center:
Nearby, a funky-looking lighthouse:
Fort Sumter National Historical Park
We visited Fort Sumter National Historical Park in Charleston, South Carolina.
The fort is on an island, so the only way to visit it is via a ferry operated by Fort Sumter Tours; best to book a few days ahead:
Aircraft carrier across the harbor, part of a museum:
Approaching Fort Sumter:
Entering the fort:
The first submarine in history to sink an enemy ship, in 1864:
Model of the fort:
Back to the ferry:
Fascinating.
Melvin’s BBQ
We ate at Melvin’s BBQ in Charleston, South Carolina. We wanted to try Carolina-style BBQ, which is more pig- and vinegar-based than Texas BBQ. I think we prefer Texas style, but should try more Carolina style someday.
James Island County Park
We stayed at the James Island County Park campground in Charleston, South Carolina. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A nice county park.
Dates:
- Check in: 2025-03-16
- Check out: 2025-03-23
- 7 nights
Weather:
- A mix of rain and partly sunny
- High temps 63-73°F, lows 45-54°F
- Some wind, gusts to 33 MPH, but sheltered by trees
Noise:
- No road noise
- No train horn noise
- Little neighbor noise
- Occasional plane noise
Site:
- #29, pull-through, gravel
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
- Somewhat level site; high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
- Gravel driveway about 110 feet long by 12 feet wide
- 50 feet to neighbor on passenger side
- 25-50 feet to road on driver side
- Tall trees between sites
- Picnic table
- Fire pit
- Clean site
- Elevation 10 feet, front facing NE
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located
- 75 PSI water, conveniently located
- Unthreaded sewer connection, somewhat conveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- Starlink: 50 Mbps down, 6-13 Mbps up, 30-45 ms ping
- Campground Wi-Fi: 6 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 90-160 ms ping
- T-Mobile: 13-23 Mbps down, 0.25 Mbps up, 70-130 ms ping
- AT&T: 30-270 Mbps down, 0.1-0.3 Mbps up, 100-220 ms ping
- Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 45 ms ping (our SIM has 5 Mbps max)
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters and recycling
- Water park
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Nice park close to Charleston
This campground is in the middle of a large county park and close to everything Charleston offers. Our site was unlevel side-to-side, but not too bad. The tree cover made getting Starlink reception tricky but not impossible, and it was the best coverage of any of the cellular networks. The roads to the park were a bit dicey for a big rig–very narrow and with lots of big trees close to and over the road. We camped at Campground at James Island County Park in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
Park map:
An interactive map:
Our site, a very long pull-through amongst trees:
Utilities:
Other sites; there was an Airstream rally going on, so there were a lot of them around:
Games:
Bathrooms with outside laundry:
Bike hire:
A nice park. We’d be happy to stay here again.