Next: July 21 - Mystic

We had heard there was a gigantic campground on the coast of Rhode Island that was strictly first-come-first-served.  With over 700 sites, we figured that Burlingame State Park was a sure bet for us to get in on a summer weekend, so that was our destination, only 100 or so miles away.

We left Hammonasset on the 20th, and after doing a bit of shopping, drove East on US 1 along the coast of Connecticut, until we hit Rhode Island.  Just a short distance across the border was Burlingame.  We pulled in around 1:30 PM -- early for us -- and immediately knew something was amiss; there were people sitting in lawn chairs all over the parking lot, and they looked like they were planning on a long stay -- right there on the pavement.  At the office, I found out that the last of their 755 sites was handed out at 11:00 that morning, and the parking-lot sitters were on a waiting list.  We were S.O.L., as they used to say in the Navy, and looking hard at a night in the nearest Wal-Mart parking lot.

We have with us a nifty piece of software that is essentially an electronic campground finder: you just draw a box around the part of the US that you are interested in, and it shows you all the RV Parks in that area on an electronic map.  You can zoom in and out, find directions and prices, and other such gimmicky stuff.  Needless to say, I fired it up right there in the Burlingame parking lot, and drew a box about 20 miles on all sides of Burlingame State Park.  I saw that I had about 6 parks to choose from.   The first 3 places I called -- on or near the beach -- were full, so I tried inland, and bingo! Greenwood Hill in lovely Hope Valley RI had a spot for us.  Located only 15 minutes from Mystic, Connecticut, this was as good as it was going to get -- plus, it had a pool.  We were sold, and soon installed there.  It was actually quite charming, and more than adequate for the 2 nights we needed to 'winter-over' the busy summer weekend.

The girls swam, and Jody and I read.  Mostly, we just stayed hunkered down, grateful to have a spot to stay near the ocean.