Chef And The Farmer

Itinerary

Written By Dale Libby

I was bitten by the RV bug at a very early age. The day my dad brought home that 12′ pull behind camper my world changed. Tent camping was fine but this rig had running water, toilet, shower, beds and a small stovetop. Times have changed but my love for RVing never dieded.

May 31, 2019

 

 Chef & The Farmer Tour

 

Overview

Mileage:1,467

Nights:15

Diesel Fuel & RV Parks Daily Average: $83

Overview

This trip turned out to be a very pleasant surprise for both Ginny and me. We were not sure what to expect given the new RV resorts and such. Below you will find a brief recap of the Itinerary. Visit the Love To Wander Resort Reviews below for complete details regarding the location and their various amenities, restaurants, and attractions.

Itinerary
  • Heritage RV Park – 3863 Wrightsboro Rd, Augusta, GA

Nights: 3

This would not be a holiday or vacation location in our opinion. However, if your looking for a short stay to visit with a family member that might be stationed at FT Gordon and you are not military this is minutes away from Gate #1.

Maybe you are headed east on I-20 to the beaches of GA or South Carolina, the perfect spot to overnight is right here.

If you are lucky enough to come into some Masters Tickets this would be the closest and only RV park to stay at. They do have a Masters Package, just visit the website for details.

 

Link To RV Park: Heritage RV Park

Link to MAP: Directions

Link To LTW Review: Heritage RV Park

Cost: $35 per nite

  • North Myrtle Beach RV Resort and Dry Dock – Little River, SC

Nights: 3

NMB Entry SignWe have always loved the shoreline of South Carolina near the NC border. We spent many a summer at Holden Beach, NC renting an oceanside home. The crowds you find in Myrtle Beach are not there. It’s quiet, great beaches and there is plenty of fresh seafood. We wanted to find something similar in an RV park. There are many relatively close to the ocean, some right on the beach. However, the summer rates, congestion, golf carts, and just general packed-in feeling were not for us. Toss in the daily rates of over $100 plus and it just was not worth it.

North Myrtle Beach RV Resort is on the Intracoastal near Little River, SC, and a 15 min drive to the public beaches. This seemed like a perfect location for us. You have the inter-coastal, quick access to the beaches, and a short drive to some of our favorite spots in NC and SC.

Link To LTW Park Review: NMB RV Resort

Link To RV Park: North Myrtle Beach Resort Dry Dock and Marina

Link to MAP: Directions

Full Hook-Up June – Aug – $72

  • New Bern KOA – 1565 B Street New Bern, NC 28560

Nights: 4

Sometimes you just pick a winner. We have stayed at several KOA locations during our travels. This location by far has been the best on any we have stayed at. Shortly before our arrival and prior to me booking this location we got a notice from KOA that this was the KOA 2019 Campground of the Year.

Our first reaction was, this should be interesting, what are the makings of Campground of the Year? I hope my review of this location begins to describe why we were head over heels about this RV park. This will be our benchmark for future stays at KOA Holiday locations.

We decided to book a Patio site for our first visit. It did not disappoint.

Link To LTW Review: New Bern KOA

Link To RV Park: New Bern KOA

Link to MAP: Directions

Daily Cost: Patio Site – $76.50

  • Greensboro KOA – 1896 Trox Street, Greensboro, NC
    • Journey Location – Overnight ( Would Not Stay Here Again)

Note: This KOA is suited for overnight stays and that would be it in our opinion. I would highly recommend sites 77 – 89 only as they are flat, easy access, and large enough for bigger rigs. They are tight, you are on top of your neighbor. We could not put out our awning. Our main complaint about this location is the staff. They apparently do not like what they are doing and take it out on you.

  • Bear Creek RV Park – 81 S. Bear Creek Rd., Asheville, NC

Nights – 4

This RV park is conveniently located directly between I40 and I26. That might be good news for some and bad for others. You are minutes from downtown Asheville, Blue Ridges Parkway, Farmers Market, and grocery shopping.

The Park continues to get a bad rap for its highway noise level and pull through proximity to a local road. I will attest to the latter, but it is far outweighed by its convenience and access to all that Asheville offers. If you are looking for a Smokey Mountain wooded retreat, look elsewhere.

 

 

Link To LTW Park Review: Bear Creek

Link To RV Park: Bear Creek RV Park

Link to MAP: Directions

Full Hook-Up June – Aug – $46

Sight Seeing, Attractions, and Restaurants

Ginny and I are big fans of Asheville and the surrounding area. There are fabulous restaurants and numerous attractions around the area to visit and enjoy. Here are but a few we have visited. Tie that in with good friends Terry and Matt Clark living in the area and this area will continue to be on our itinerary for years to come.

Restaurants

Mary’s Burritos 

1939 Brevard Rd, Arden, NC 28704 Map

Web Site: Marys Burritos and Beer

Matt and Terry took us to this rural Mexican restaurant slightly Latin leaning off the beaten path. What we found was great authentic reasonably priced eats. The people who run this place are super friendly and efficient. Everything is made to order and tastes wonderful. There is no table service, your order is made right in front of you. Beer lovers will enjoy the wide selection of very cold beers.

This is about a 15 min ride from downtown Asheville. It’s a bit out of the way but if you happen to be headed to Sierra Nevada Brewery for a day trip and now your hungry and you find there is a wait at Sierra. I would suggest heading  up the road to Mary’s to grab a few more beers and some great food

Buxton Hall Bar.B.Que

Web Site: Buxton Hall Bar-B-Qu

Location: 32 Banks Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 MAP

Located in the heart of the south slope district of Asheville this is a must-stop for Bar-B-Que lovers. You can smell the smoker as you approach the restaurant. This place can be busy so be sure to get there early during dinner and lunch hours. We arrived around 2 pm and got immediately seated.

We both had the pulled pork platters, me with mac and cheese, and slaw Ginny with the potato salad and slaw and cornbread. You have a choice of three sauces from the sauce bar. Mustard, Vinegar based and Sweet. We settled on the sweet and found everything we ordered to be delicious.  Check out this review by Bon Appetit it gives you some great background and their take on the restaurant. 

Once you finish the main course be sure to order up one of their homemade desserts. If you now can move away from your table head out the door to check out all the street art and murals in the area.

Attractions 

North Carolina Arboretum

Location:  100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville, NC 28806 MAP

Web Site: NC Arboretum

Okay, we will admit it if a city, town or burb has a garden, arboretum or museum you will find us in it. This Arboretum may be the most relaxing place you can find anywhere. Ginny and I headed over without Zoey and we regretted it. This is a dog-friendly park with plenty of areas to exercise them and still enjoy the gardens. The Parking Fee of $14.00 dollars seemed high at first but then felt like a bargain once we started exploring the park.

As we made our way around. the garden area of the park you felt the stress of the day or trip just fall away. The quiet beauty of this park is just breathtaking. There are over 400 acres of garden, fountains, hiking, and bike paths. Here is a great overview of Arboretum in Romantic Asheville

 

Sierra Nevada Brewery

Location: 100 Sierra Nevada Way, Fletcher, NC 28732 MAP

Web Site: Sierra Nevada

 

We got the call from our friends that we would be meeting at the Sierra Nevada Brewery to catch up. Ginny and I have never visited so this seemed like a great place3 to meet. Upon pulling up to the facility we were instructed to park in the lower lot a take the shuttle to the brewery. We frankly did not know what to think of that. Why was this place so crowded? What was going on?

We get on the shuttle and head up the long winding road to the Brewery. Much to our surprise the campus as we now know was enormous. We meet Mark and Terry and head upstairs to order a few beers. Beers in hand we head to the balcony to sit outside. Once we rolled out onto the balcony the campus unfolded before our eyes.

 

Music was coming from the bandshell at the end of the property. This is a free show that goes on every Saturday night at the amphitheater. The place was hopping with dogs, beers, and plenty of corn hole games going on. We could see folks playing and walking the gardens

We had a great time catching up with Terry and Matt as we enjoyed this amazing sustainable facility.

Again here is a great overview of the Brewery and all that is offered. Romantic Asheville

 

 

 

Our Favorite RV Parks

Cherry Hill Park

Cherry Hill Park

Camping in a large metro area always seems like a crape shoot. You are either in a small cramped space with very little green space or the entire park is concrete or blacktop it seems. Typically the rates are high for this precious space. We were not sure what to expect when we arrived at this RV Park. The rates were high, running a little over $105 a night for a premium pull-through. We were pleasantly surprised when we pulled into this location

North Myrtle Beach RV Resort

North Myrtle Beach RV Resort

Updated – April 25, 2021 – New Construction – We have always loved the shoreline of South Carolina near the NC border. We spent many a summer at Holden Beach, NC renting an oceanside home. The crowds you find in Myrtle Beach are not there. It’s quiet, great beaches and there is plenty of fresh seafood. We wanted to find something similar in an RV park.

LazyDays KOA

LazyDays KOA

I do not believe that we will ever find another KOA like this. We had our reservations about staying in this location. Reviews were mixed ranging from outstanding to concerns about its inner-city location. Rest assured from our perspective this is one of the finest KOA’s we have ever stayed at. Snowbirds take note, you could not ask for a better location to spend time away from the cold temps and snow of the north.