Our First Boat Shopping Stop – Elk Neck State Park (MD) and Lums Pond State Park (DE)

We were sprung free from our round of bus maintenance in Vineland,NJ at US Coach later in the afternoon than we were expecting.

We had reservations waiting for us in Maryland for the weekend, and an appointment in the morning to meet our boat broker for our first boat shopping stop (super excited!!).

We hit the road, topped up the fuel tank for a very reasonable $2.09/gallon in New Jersey and headed westward.

This post covers October 6 – 11

First Stop – Elk Neck State Park –  Northeast, Maryland

The Cheasapeake area, on the Great Loop route, is a boaters mecca. We thought it prudent to take advantage of the plethora of boats while in the area to start triangulating on our boat preferences.

We had picked out a few contenders we wanted to start our search with, and our broker booked a flight to meet us in the area to kickstart our shopping.

Which meant, we had better find a place to stay!

There were two campgrounds relatively close to the marinas. One had no openings over the weekend, but Elk Neck State Park (our review) did in their dry camping loop.

We got in just after dark (always makes arrival ‘fun’), got parked and got some dinner in us after a hectic day.

Ironically, the marina that had several of our contender boats was only a couple miles away as the crow flies – but on the exact opposite site of the inlet between the mainland and our little peninsula.

It would have likely been quicker to get out the kayak and paddle across.

We met our broker, and started a long day of touring boats along all ranges of our current search criteria. It was highly educational to get abroad so many and really start to feel the spaces and range in condition.

It rained heavily all the next day due to outer bands of Hurricane Matthew, which was fine by us – it forced us to have an at home day, and start recovering after a crazy week being over the pit and soaking in the boats we had seen.

Which pretty much meant we didn’t get out exploring much more of the area or even the park itself.

The rain let up on our departure morning giving us just enough time to make the 1 mile hike out to Turkey Point Lighthouse – which was lovely.

Second Stop: Lums Pond State Park – Bear, Delaware

We were really craving a longer stay than just a weekend in one spot.

And while our spot was available to extend at Elk Neck – the entire campground is forested. Which meant solar wouldn’t be too useful there, and we really don’t like relying on our generator.

We can usually get by without any generator use in such locations for 2-3 nights off our lithium batteries and some conservation. But longer than that – we prefer either sunny conditions or at least a minimal electrical plug-in.

The other park with full hook-ups just a few minutes away – was Lums Pond State Park (our review) in Delaware. They were completely booked over the weekend, but wide open during the week.

As a bonus, we’d also get to overnight for the first time in the state of Delaware (we already considered ourselves having ‘been there’ – as per our own criteria. Ahem.)

So we moved over on Sunday for a few nights before heading down to Assateague to meet up with Nina & Paul.

Lums Pond is right along the C&D Canal (also on the Loop –  notice a theme?), and was the water supply for its operation. Pretty cool.

We absolutely loved the campground, especially mid week when it was only at partial capacity. The sites are well spaced, and the location just super chill.

It’s also pretty close to amenities – so we were able to take a much needed chore day by finding a laundromat near a grocery store & Thai restaurant.

But mostly we stayed at camp, as us homebodies normally do. There were ample hiking trails to keep us entertained and active, while we focused on knocking out projects.

We really could have enjoyed staying at this park a few more days .. but we were also super excited for our next stop!

What’s Up Next?

We’ve been working our way south, and continuing the boat shopping as we go (one reason we selected our brokerage, is they have offices all down the coast – which makes them ideal for an RVer on the move).

I’ll of course be getting the blog caught up with our fun stop at Assateatue with wild ponies and a delightful & restful stop in New Bern, NC.

We’re presently inbound to Charleston, SC for the week – where we’ll be hooking back up with Nina & Paul (who just suffered an unfortunate towing incident – be sure to read their post and check your tow bar!).