2016 Big Truck across the SE, Day 8

Ok, lots to catch up on. The fancy campground referred to yesterday is apparently a big deal. When I was looking for a place somewhat close to Cuyahoga Valley National Park but still a day's driving distance from OBX, this was in a very small selection. When I mentioned it to Kimberly, there was a fair amount of commotion about it being a Good Sam 10/10/10, which is apparently fairly rare. Given some of the campground bathrooms I have seen, I would have to agree.

So, without further adieu, I give you Shenango Valley RV Park.

Note the finely manicured lawn (that you are not allowed to place a tire on - I kid you minimal). It is kept this way by the park authorities not allowing you to your site without a golf cart (more on that in a moment) escort, who also guides you onto your perfectly level concrete slab and watches you hook up your rig properly.

This looks like few campground drives we ever see. Jordan had been poring over the campground map last night as they have no less than 3 playgrounds here.

Attention span of 1.5 seconds - on to the basketball court (this particular shot was nothin' but chain)

Then over to the volleyball court. You will notice a conspicuous absence of other humans, mostly because it was super freaking early and she was going stir crazy from the 13 hr ride yesterday.

Ok - let me preface these comments with the fact that this is one of the nicest campgrounds we've stayed in, the staff is friendly and very helpful, and the patrons (this isn't the Masters, but campers doesn't seem fancy enough), well - here's deal. You know those golf cart dealers you see every now and then selling lifted golf carts with flames, baller rims, etc? The ones that you wonder how a dealer like that could ever stay in business? This is how.

Nearly every site had their own pimped out golf cart, and since most of the sites here are seasonal, my research led me to this conclusion. There is a distinct area within the intersection of a Venn diagram of mustaches, muscle shirts, jorts, (carpenter jorts!) giant white tennis shoes (think Dan vs Dave era) that contains the residents of not only this park, but all of western Pennsylvania. I realize that comes across as a sweeping generalization, but I am only basing it on every single person I have seen in the Pittsburgh area over many years of travel. I'm sure I've only seen the outliers.

Ok, next up - the surprise destination.  A water park! Wait, after 4 days in the actual ocean, now we go to a water park?!? Yes. My wife's favorite thing ever is a wave pool, my daughter loves few things more than the lazy river and some splash pad goodness, and I hate crowds of people (especially the aforementioned people). And knowing all of these things, this place was my idea. I'm always dragging these guys to national parks, state parks, hikes, etc - I decided it was time for a day of good old Walley World-style traditional family vacation.

The anticipation was killing her.

Lest you think I did any sort of pre-planning, they put this up after we reserved it on site.  This next shot does not do the hordes of people justice.

At the risk of offending even more people, I am going to fast forward to the end of our waterpark experience. Every year we go to Great Wolf Lodge back home and have a great time. And every time I am conducting a social experiment, of which I am a part. I am somewhat convinced that your propensity for visiting a waterpark is directly proportional to the number and severity of poor life choices you have made, specifically in regards to amount, quality, and placement of tattoos (mine included).

Anywho, we had a great time, rode nearly every waterslide in the park, watched Kimberly elbow out her own territory at the front of the wave pool, and turned our child into this after 5 hrs of chaos.

I had reached my limit of exposure to the hordes, so we worked our way to the exit. Just as we were leaving, I saw this. I'm not one to name photographs, but I like to call this one "The Zenith of Western PA or Anywhere in Ohio". I defy you to focus on any one feature as the highlight.  Jorts - yep. Giant blinding white dad shoes - yep. God awful gold corvette with white letters & era-specific wheels - yep. Admirers of said corvette in background - yep.  I could keep going, but my work is done here. This may be a portion of the country that drops down a few priority levels going forward.

During a somewhat quiet ride home, we pulled over to put the top up on the Jeep as the sky we were racing looked like this.

As the thunder started to appear, note the tiny hand sneaking its way out of the Jeep to grab some raindrops. 

Since our campground is in the middle of nowhere, it lended itself pretty well to views like this. Some great back country farm roads, just beautiful country.

Crazy cloud formations

Oh, and after we arrive back at the site, since it was a Sunday evening at the end of the summer, it felt like an episode of the Walking Dead, or a much better take on the zombie genre - Shaun of the Dead.

Everyone was gone, and for the few seasonal trailers around us, they were shuttered and silent. Couple that with the calm before the storm, and it was quite the eerie feeling. At least we could start packing up without fear of being judged for walking on the grass.

Tomorrow - heading for home, with a quick stop in Cuyahoga Valley National Park on the way. Starting to feel like the end of the trip. More to come...