From Wilmington we headed north toward Norfolk, VA.  The plan was to stop at yet another Air Force Family Camp just an hour or so up the road outside Goldsboro, but it is a first come, first serve facility and they could not give us a firm idea of availability until we were very close to the base.  It turned out they were completely full, so punching our Frequent Camper passport at Seymour Johnson AFB will have to wait for another day.

A rainy ride through North Carolina to our one day stop at Lake Gaston.  

We took a roadside pause to do some quick research for other options, and I found a Passport America park a little outside of our path, but it seemed like the type of place we would enjoy, even for a short stay.  Lake Gaston RV Resort in Littleton, NC, just south of the VA border, offers lakeside camping in a pine forest with a variety of hook up options.  Since it was just for one night, we chose the last pull through site available in the electric and water only section for $29, all in,  With a short stay and plans to be on the road at a reasonable hour the next morning, we were not able to take advantage of the swimming and boating options, but the steady drizzle through much of our stay would have prevented that anyway. 

Nathaniel’s daughter Linda Rose

We could not find a short term storage lot for our five day stay, so after calling around the multiple navy bases in the region, we settled on taking a full hook up site at Sea Mist Campground on Damneck Naval Station.  We don’t have a lot to report about the place since we spent the majority of the time at Linda’s, so it was effectively a $25 a night storage lot with power.

Our site at Sea Mist on Naval Station Dam Neck 

While there it was food and family, every day.  Linda’s youngest son, Chris, is deployed, but his wife was frequently at the house, usually with her boys Elijah and Jude.   JuneJune and his wife Kaytarra are regularly at the house as they assist with Linda’s care, which means their son Nasir is around a lot of the time as well.

PKM puts up with so much, including kids running their hot wheel cars across her head.  To his credit, Nasir was particularly gentle with kitty.  

Nathaniel’s full time work and large family limited his visits, but he came by a couple of times during our five day stay, and we, were able to swing by his house to see Jasmine and three of the kids: Malakai, Linda Rose, and newborn Baby Jayson.  Between their kids, her children from a previous marriage, and two big puppies, I don’t know how they do it!

With our presence adding to the crowd, we tried not to decimate Jayson’s fridge and cubard too much.  Other than springing for pizzas for the assembled masses, I also made another whole Turkey.  That’s right, yet another overnight brining and spatchcocking process on a 14 pound bird.  It was more than sufficient to feed six adults and three kids with plenty left over for Jayson, Nathaniel, and me to have some future meals.

Taking a less than enthusiastic Precious to her beauty salon for some nail clipping

We helped, or rather, tried not to interfere too much, as Kaytarra got Linda ready and loaded in the van for an outing to a very large Dollar Tree where everyone purchased more than necessary because Dollar Tree.

Nathaniel filling up the kid pool for Malakai and Linda Rose

Thanks again to Jayson and Linda for hosting us during our stay, it was great to see the extended family, especially all the children.

Of course there is room in the box for all the kids. 

The newest addition: Jayson Rome