Gordonia Alatamaha State Park, Reidsville, GA.

It was a long ride from our last stop at Amicalola Falls to our next stop at Gordonia Alatamaha. It was 282 miles to be exact, and that is further than we normally travel in a day. What made it seem especially long was all of the time we spent in the Georgia mountains before we actually began heading south. All those twists and turns and ups and downs made me feel like I was on a rollercoaster. We arrived safely and without any problems, and that's all that matters. There are some really odd named towns in Florida, but we passed through one in Georgia that rivals the funniest of names we've ever seen. Just west of Reidsville where the park is located, is a community called Ohoopee. It's too small to be a town, so they call it a community instead. They didn't even have a stoplight! Not long after entering and leaving the community of Ohoopee, we crossed the Ohoopee River, so I got to laugh at that funny name a second time. I needed a good laugh after the tiring day on the road. Once we arrived at the park, we soon found out that the park office is closed for the season. Check-in is now at the pro shop on the golf course here in the park. We didn't know where it was, but the camp host pointed us in the right direction. After check-in, we drove through the campground like we always do, and picked out campsite number 7. We could have had a spot a little closer to the lake, but a good view of the lake and the close proximity to the restroom made the campsite we chose the overall winner. Gary walked all over the park, taking pictures along the way. I don't think he walked the entire 662 acres, but he sure was gone a LONG time. Besides the 29-site campground and the 18-hole championship golf course, this nice little park has lots of other amenities that apparently make it popular with the locals. There was a wedding going on in the two-story group shelter. It is the fanciest group shelter that we have seen in any park. There is a mini-golf course, paddle boats, a basketball court, and another first for us: something called "The Fitness Zone" with six outdoor exercise machines. There are some nice looking and well-kept cabins here too. It is a quiet and relaxing atmosphere in the park, and I did my share of relaxing and then some. The temperature hovered around 80 degrees, and I usually can't sleep if it's too warm, but I had no trouble here. I saw a few squirrels, but couldn't coax them over for some peanuts. Oh well, their loss. TV reception wasn't great, but the internet and cellphone reception was perfect. Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Gordonia Alatamaha (say that three times fast....impossible!) and wouldn't hesitate to come back anytime. It's just a few miles below Beaver Run RV Park where we stayed earlier this year, and it's centrally located in an area that has some good antique stores, if you like that sort of thing as much as Gary does. It lacks the breathtaking scenery that Amicalola and some of the other parks have, but it's still a great little place to hang out. I approve!