We took a trip north, making stops in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. Each spot has its own post. In this post, we’ll talk about the places we stayed and things we did during the New Jersey phase.
To learn about the next two phases of this trip, check out the blog posts on the Philadelphia phase and the Washington, D.C. phase.
To make our posts easier to navigate, we’re trying out a table of contents. If you’re only interested in a specific part of a post, getting to it should be easier from here on out.
Table of Contents
And We’re Off! (Getting to NJ)
The real destination was a campground in New Jersey. We left around 3:30 and immediately drove through a few storms.
See all of that white stuff on the ground and along the road? It’s hail.
Fredericksburg Washington, D.C. South KOA
We got here around 7:30 or 8:00. The late check-in process was easy. There were signs on the building directing me to the paperwork with our name and site on it.
We were at this campground for about 12 hours. It was raining and almost dark when we arrived, so I didn’t think to get any photos. The next morning, we packed up, walked the dogs, and left, so we didn’t get a good look at all of the amenities. However, what we did see looked pretty nice.
| Campground Name | Fredericksburg Washington, D.C. South KOA |
| Location | Fredericksburg, VA |
| Dates | April 11-12, 2025 |
| Site Number | Site 93 |
| Site Surface | gravel |
| Hook-ups | Full hookups |
| Cost | $75.09 per night (including taxes and fees) |
| Water Pressure | 40 psi |
| Voltage | 120-125 V |
| Verizon Speed Test | 324 Mbps down; 29 Mbps up |
| T-Mobile Speed Test | 37 Mbps down; 1.23 Mbps up |
| Campground WiFi | Oops, forgot! |
It wasn’t super easy to get level on this site, but we managed it. If the truck and trailer were any longer, I think it would have been a problem.
There were several trash cans around and a few grassy areas for the dogs to smell.
Early in the morning, we were up, packed, and ready to move on. Next, we headed to New Jersey for a visit with Jesse’s parents.
New Jersey Phase
Adventures with Grandparents
New Jersey was pretty exciting for the dogs. Corona and Aiken got to see their grandparents’ house. They’ve met their grandparents before, but they’ve never seen the house. I was impressed with how quickly they settled in a new space. They also met Jesse’s sister and her husband. Aiken was delighted to have so many people to pet him and throw toys.
Eventually, Aiken made himself comfortable on the dog bed they have for when Jesse’s sister’s dog comes to visit.
Corona found a cozy cave in the back of a closet that she liked. Later, she found herself an even better spot.
That evening we did a bit of an experiment. Instead of taking the dogs back to the campground, we let them stay in the house when we went out to dinner. I was a little nervous about how they’d do, but they surprised me. No accidents in the house; nothing torn up. What good dogs!
Tip Tam Camping Resort
Tip Tam Camping Resort was our base camp during our New Jersey visit. I’d like to see this campground in the summer. During our visit, it was wet and cold and kind of dreary. There was basically no grass, just a fine, sandy gravel that reminded me of cat litter.
All that said, it wasn’t a terrible place. Amenities included mini golf, swimming pool, playground, bocce ball, horseshoes, shuffleboard, and an RC track. There were trash cans for dog poop in a few spots.
The site itself was fine. It was mostly level, but the trees in front of it made it really tricky to back into.
| Campground Name | Tip Tam Camping Resort |
| Location | Jackson Township, NJ |
| Dates | April 12-14, 2025 |
| Site Name | Dove Creek |
| Site Surface | unpaved, fairly level |
| Hook-ups | Full hookups |
| Cost | $55 per night (including taxes and fees) |
| Water Pressure | Oops, forgot! |
| Voltage | Oops, forgot! |
| Verizon Speed Test | 41 Mbps down; 5 Mbps up |
| T-Mobile Speed Test | 64 Mbps down; 4 Mbps up |
| Campground WiFi | 0.41 Mbps down; 0.28 Mbps up |
Between the small size and the lack of grass, I quickly got tired of walking the dogs around the campground. Fortunately, the road the campground is on has a sidewalk on one side. One day, we ventured outside the campground and walked around a couple of neighborhoods across the street.
Ever Heard of Shabbos Goy?
The area around Tip Tam has a growing Orthodox Jewish population, as evidenced by this flyer for Shabbos Goy services. Jesse and I had been talking about Orthodox Jewish traditions, and it was really interesting to first hear about these traditions and then see a sign like this. If you’re not familiar with the phrase, a quick Google search will get you more information than you probably want on the subject.
From here, it was only an hour and 15 minutes to the next campground.
To follow the adventure to the next stop, check out the Philadelphia Phase blog post.
Where We Ate
Mrs. Walker’s Ice Cream Parlor
The appeal of Mrs. Walker’s is they always have at least one or two sugar-free flavors, so your diabetic family and friends don’t feel left out. Today they had three sugar-free flavors: coffee, vanilla fudge, and cherry vanilla. The regular ice cream was also delicious.
Ricardo’s Pizza and Italian
Ricardo’s has 4.9 stars on Google. We went with people who had been there before and enjoyed it.
My advice is to stick with their name. While they offer other things, pizza or Italian is the way to go. The fries were good, but we were unimpressed with the burgers. It looked like a Bubba burger to me. If we ever eat there again, I would get something else.
Others in our group ordered pizza and cheesesteaks, which they said were very good.
Lakehurst Diner
The Lakehurst Diner gets 5 stars from me. I got French toast and bacon and was not disappointed. It was amazing! I also tried some of the salad, fries, and chicken tenders that Jesse got. I thought the salad and fries were delicious. The chicken has panko breading which isn’t my favorite, but was still good. Jesse’s dad ordered the corned beef sandwich and said it was good.
The portions were large portions and the prices were decent. We would absolutely come back again.
Wildlife
There’s a strange, seemingly abandoned golf cart near the entrance to the campground. This little chipmunk hopped onto the tire (which is halfway consumed by dirt) and waited for me to get a photo.
Happy travels!
