Jordan Lake State Recreational Area, North Carolina

These are my kids on our first camping trip with our '87 Volkswagen Westphalia camper. Jordan Lake is about 25 miles from our home. Camping is open year-round, but obviously swimming is not very inviting in March--when we made this trip. The campsites and facilities are clean and spacious and particularly crowd-free in the off-season. More on Jordan Lake...

Pettigrew State Park, North Carolina

We're camped in a cypress forest--the natural vegetation that used to cover all of eastern North Carolina. It was a deep, dark forest, but now much of it has been cleared for agriculture, housing, industry, and transportation.

In 1968 they found 4000-year-old Indian dugout canoes here that were buried and preserved in the mud under neighboring Lake Phelps. Apparently the artifacts were uncovered when the lake was partially drained to fight a nearby forest fire.

At night, lightning bugs flew in front of the silhouettes of the tall trees. There were so many that they looked like Christmas decorations. That was some sight.

Assateague Island State Park, Maryland

We're right on the beach. That's our VW Camper in the background. Since there are 5 of us, I had to sleep in the little tent while my wife and kids slept in the camper (which only accomodates 4).

We had a big storm one night. I thought for sure the tent was going to blow over. I spread out my arms and legs to hold it down, but it held its position on its own. It's a pretty good tent.

Assateague Island has wild horses that walk all over the place. People are warned to stay away from them because they may bite. We saw lots of pelicans, too. Pelicans flying over water are a magnificent sight. When they get over objects on land you can see how big they are. Their wingspans are around 6 feet! We also spotted deer in the low-lying trees and brush at night. More on Assateague Island...

Falls Lake State Recreational Area, North Carolina

This campground is about 20 miles from our home. It was very hot when my son and I went (96 degrees and high humidity, too). We went hiking and swimming, and then cooked steaks in the evening. Almost no one else was there, but at night it got very cool and comfortable. We slept well that night, and the next morning was beautiful and pleasant. More on Falls Lake...

Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, North Carolina

This picture was taken by Trang's sister, Hoa, who takes pictures of people instead of VWs. Imagine That! Anyway, these kids are on standing on the top of a unique geological feature of the usually flat coastal plain of eastern North Carolina. The "cliffs" are 90-foot high bluffs rising over the Neuse River outside of Goldsboro exposing layers of ancient geological eras.

We saw many kinds of birds, lizards, salamanders, and several [friendly] snakes on our hikes throughout the heavilly-wooded park. And we watched a number of canoes make their way down the river. The weather was warm, so nocturnal wildife was out in force. Noisy insects (very few mosquitoes, though), frogs, and especially loud birds kept waking us up through the night. It was worth it, though, because the Cliffs make a pleasant, uncrowded camping trip in a scenic area convenient to home. More on Cliffs of the Neuse...

Falls Lake State Recreational Area, Group Site

This was a second trip to Falls Lake. On this trip the weather was cool, even though it was deeper into summer than the Cliffs trip, so there was very little noise from wildlife during the night. We had much of Trang's side of the family with us. Although we had about 30 people at the campsite for supper, only 19 stayed all the night in these tents plus the VW camper. Can you believe 5 people slept in the little tent in the middle? I know they slept well, though, because I heard them snoring! More on Falls Lake...

Doughton Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina

We finally made a trip to the mountains. While it was hot (95 degrees) and humid in the Piedmont, it was pleasant, clear, and in the 70s above 3000 feet. It reminded me of a pleasant summer day in upstate New York (near sealevel).

We arrived at the campground kind of late, so we didn't get a choice campsite. We were on a slope. We pitched 3 tents, and the next morning everyone complained that they woke up all bunched up on the lower edges of their tents! But we'll all gladly do it again for the weather and the beautiful mountain scenery. Doughton Park has nice hiking trails and is convenient to a scenic coffee shop on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Along the way we saw groundhogs, wild turkeys, and deer.

Kerr Lake, Virginia

Ted finally made a return trip to Kerr Lake after making many trips there 20 years ago, but none since. The lake was much as it was then. The only difference was bringing all the kids this time and meeting Ted's sister Cathy and her husband Michael, who live in Virginia. The picture shows our kids in Cathy and Michael's Jeep--ready for a ride in the fresh air. By the way, this was Tommy's first camping trip: September 26-27, 1998. More on Kerr Lake...(By the way, "Kerr" is pronounced like "car")

Linville Falls, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina

This is an early October mountain trip--about 3 weeks before the peak of the leaf season. The campground is conveniently located in the middle of a beautiful area that offers lots of hiking, picnicing, and other mountain recreation. The scenery includes waterfalls, a wilderness gorge, mountain brooks and streams, thick forests, misty mountains, and green meadows. Outside of the park there are commercial operations offering train rides, amusements, mountain crafts and music, apples and honey, skiing (in season), and a local-animal zoo. More on Linville Falls...

Shackleford Banks, North Carolina

This was island camping on a barrier island on the Atlantic Ocean. This is an early morning scene while everyone (except me) was still sleeping in their tent. There are no facilities here. You have to pack everything in, including your own fresh water, and then pack everthing back out again. ...No lights, no motorcars, not a single luxury... More on Shackleford Banks...

Pilot Mountain, North Carolina
Pilot Mountain rises 1400 feet out of the Piedmont north of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The unusual formation has served as a landmark for centuries among Indians and early settlers. Today it's a very nice state park. You can drive to the summit (but not to the top of the pinnacle) and hike around and enjoy the view. Have you ever heard of "Mt. Pilot" on the Andy Griffith Show? Mt. Pilot was the city the residents of Mayberry were always talking about. (By the way, Mt. Pilot, the city, and Mayberry, the town, are both fictitious). More on Pilot Mountain...