Virginia’s Beach Campground – North Springfield, PA
For the last few years, the idea of making a trip across the country was mostly just table talk and something we hoped we would be able to do someday. On our morning walks to coffee or afternoon walks with Sato, we would often fantasize about all the amazing places we could go, and we would share our top 10 lists with each other for inspiration. As each day passed key events would start to materialize and this dream began to morph from fantasy to reality like a slow-motion movie happening right before our eyes. The first of those events happened when Kandace was visiting Cape Cod in June of 2021 and she booked our first reservation for September 2022 in Cape Cod, a full 18 months in advance! This is the moment things got real and we started putting our plan into motion. A few nights a week we would plot out our path and once we had a good idea of the route we wanted to take, we started making reservations one by one until we filled in all the blanks leading up to being in Cape Cod by September 1.
Eventually that itinerary made it to a google sheet so we could keep track of our reservations and have a working document at our fingertips that we could reference anytime we needed it. The point of this story is that a ton of planning went into this journey, and it wasn’t as simple as just hitting the road and going where the wind blew us. We literally had every day booked from April 5 to September 20 before we hit the road. As much as we would have liked to just wing it and be spontaneous the reality is that many campgrounds can book up 6 months to a year in advance, so we felt it was in our best interest to lock everything in to give us peace of mind. Although it is possible to make last minute plans, we didn’t want to take the chance as it could result in either not finding a place to stay or opting for a less desirable location, especially during the summer months.
When it came time to book Erie Pennsylvania, the first two places we had researched were sold out despite calling 6 months in advance! Although Virginia’s Beach Campground wasn’t our first choice, it turned out to be a beautiful campground with the bonus of being right next to Lake Erie. The campground has a huge lawn area for transient RV travelers, a serene wooded area for tent campers and a couple of sections for full timers who pay an annual fee to have access to their seasonal lakeside mobile homes. Each RV site comes with full hookups, fire pit and partial view of Lake Erie. The beach is rocky and lined with a huge cement block retaining wall, so it isn’t a pretty beach by any means, but we did enjoy having our morning coffee and listening to the waves crash on the shore. This was our first time exploring the great lakes and it was amazing to see how incredibly huge they are. To put it into perspective, Lake Erie is 3 times the size of Lake Tahoe and despite it being the second smallest of the great lakes, we weren’t able to see Canada on the other side. It was literally like staring out into the ocean.
One of the most fascinating things about escaping the bubble of the Bay Area has been seeing how the rest of the country lives and some of the quirky things that are common for the locals but a bit perplexing to a couple of native Californian’s. One of those things was an interesting sign we kept seeing. “Fresh Oil and Chips” the sign read. After passing many pop-up farm stands, the first thing that came to mind was that there were some tasty tortilla chips made with fresh oil maybe? We were thinking where the heck are these amazing chips?! After asking one of the locals, we learned that the sign is posted when the roads have been recently covered with fresh tar chips and oil to fix potholes and to seal and restore friction to the roads…. Not quite the chips we were thinking of but great to learn something new. 😉
We thoroughly enjoyed the Lake Erie region of Pennsylvania and had a great time exploring the area. Here are some of our favorite experiences while we were there:
This 50’s style drive in restaurant came highly recommended by a few friends so we had to give it a whirl. The restaurant is in Ohio just over the border from Pennsylvania and about a 12-minute drive from camp. My low cholesterol diet had already flown out the window a few states ago, so why not indulge in some more fantastic junk food right? YOLO! The specialty is their Turkey Sandwich, but other tasty gut bombs include the Large Marge, Big Ed, Super Ed and Chubby Chucker! Kandace went with the Turkey Sandwich, and I had the Big Ed with a side of onion rings and washed it down with a root beer float. And in case you are wondering…..yes it is as amazing as it looks:
Reminiscent of Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Waldameer Amusement Park is filled with fun rides, carnival games, arcade, bumper cars and traditional boardwalk type food like corn dogs, popcorn, hamburgers, cookies, deep fried twinkies and the like. Admission is free to the park and the rides are pay as you go. We loaded up $20 on a “Wally Card” and went on a few rides. We beelined it to the Ravine Flyer II, a wooden rollercoaster that puts all other wooden roller coasters we have ever ridden to shame. This coaster has a steep, loose-your-stomach drop and is so fast it will rearrange any hairdo no matter how much product it has to keep it in place. So-much-fun! If you ever find yourself in Erie PA, this is a must do experience. We also rode the “X-Scream” – you know the ride that raises you about 100 feet in the air buckled into a seat with your feet dangling below then it drops you into a freefall…. Not my favorite ride but we had such an incredible view of the Presque Isle peninsula it made my white-knuckle-fear-of-heights-heart-pumping experience worth it.
This is a beautiful park with a one lane road in a tunnel of trees that runs through the middle of the skinny peninsula. There are a few beaches to explore along the road which all have soft white sand and great views of the lake. Totally worth taking the short drive just to take in the view.
Erie – State Street Harbor
This stop was about enjoying a few drinks near the water. There is just something different about having a cocktail near water and boats. It’s a fun vibe and I’m pretty sure the drinks taste better too 😉 We stopped at Smugglers Wharf and sat at the bar then walked over to Rum Runners. We waited around at Rum Runners for at least 10 minutes without being acknowledged so we left and went next door to Woody’s Backwater BARge and Grill. Fun spot for a drink with great boat life décor and live music playing making for an enjoyable stop. This is one of those bars that has dollar bills stapled to the walls and ceiling, so we decided to add one to the mix. A few weeks later someone saw our dollar and sent a picture of it to us on Instagram – people actually read them – who knew! The last stop was to Oliver’s Beer Garden. Fun outdoor setting with tons of seating, great beers, perfect weather, and a live band rocking out on the stage. It was a fantastic way to round out our day in Erie PA.
If you have any questions for us about any of our stops or have any suggestions for readers visiting these areas feel free to drop a comment below.
Cheers,
-Tiny Trailer Trip Crew
There’s some great birding at Presque Isle! Well, if the birds are in the mood, that is. 🐦