2017 Sparking Life into a Dream...

Welcome to Lora and Erics RV Trip Across America.

Hi we're Eric and Lora Benz

     Please read our "About Us" page to learn more about our life and time camping over the past 30 years.

Eric retired in November 2015 after 26 years as a Mechanical Engineer in Aerospace and Automotive companies.  Lora retired in July 2017.  Together they decided to fulfill their dream of traveling across America in a RV.  Flash back to 1997, Lora and Eric joined Travel Resorts of America, Sycamore Lodge.  TRA was a new concept of RV timeshare living.  Joining provided us a home resort to relax and have fun recreation with the kids in our pop up back then.

 Moving to 2017, Eric purchased a 2017 Kodiak Travel Trailer and a used 2016 Ram 1500 in April 2017.  With the new purchase we began weekend trips back to Sycamore Lodge Jackson Springs, NC. 

2017 Kodiak Ultimate

From the beginning the Kodiak was plagued with problems. We had linoleum replaced where there was a scratch after purchasing. Of course they told us at the time of picking up. We made a few weekend trips to Bluegreen Vacations Shenandoah Crossing in Gordonsville, Virginia and Sycamore Lodge, Jackson Springs. About 5 weeks of the time it was in the shop to repair the linoleum.

Over Memorial Day we visited a Travel Resort of America property Gettysburg Battlefield Resort in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Our friend Linda B came with us. We had booked our trip before buying the camper, so we stayed in a cabin for three nights.

In July 2017 Lora retired after 7 years with Church of the Good Shepherd in Rocky Mount, NC. Thursday before Labor Day weekend we set off for a 3 week adventure. We first visited Jackson Springs, NC with the Phillip, Jonny, Daniel, Amanda, and Harriett and the grandchildren. They stayed in a cabin while we stayed in the camper. Our touch-pad in the camper cracked making us not able to close the slides. We were in panic mode. Lora found the number to the manufacturer and we were able to get after hours help. The service tech gave us an alternative way to unlock the system to work the slides. Luckily we had the app to open and close the slides on the phone, so as long as we can unlock the system the phone will work. We called Bill Plemmons RV World on Monday and they need pictures to check on the warranty. The touch-pad manufacturer denied the claim, but Kodiak approved. It would take 2 weeks for it to come.

On Tuesday we dropped of Daniel at UNC Charlotte and headed to Franklin, North Carolina. Franklin is south of Asheville. Our friend Linda B, from Tarboro, North Carolina, was going to meet us in Franklin. Franklin is in the Nantahala National Forest. We panned for Rubies at a local Ruby Mine and visited some local attractions. The waterfalls were the best to see. There are many to see. Within 1 hr is the Whitewater Falls which is one of the largest falls on the east coast.

Our next destination was Greenville, Virginia. We did not want to drive 6 hours in one shot, so we made a stop halfway in Hillsville, Virginia.

Greenville is south of Waynesboro where Lora and I were married and also given birth to our 2 children. We enjoyed visiting The Free Methodist Church where we were married, Love Gap where I proposed to Lora, and Waynesboro Park where we parked while waiting for Lora's contractions to become more intense before heading to the hospital.

After our 1,500 mile adventure we stayed home. One reason was we were going to Boone, North Carolina with friends and lastly because the touch pad was not here yet. The Service Tech called and apologized he did not submit the paperwork properly. We did not get the touch pad to till September 10. We were supposed to head to New England for the fall colors, but Lora broke her rib in a freak accident. It set us off for 4 weeks.

On the October 11th we were headed to Skyline Ranch in Front Royal, Virginia. We were hoping to see the start of the Fall Colors. We were able to see some beautiful attractions and colors. We wanted to see the Cedar Creek Battlefield reenactment. It was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday we headed to the event. Upon arrival we noticed the parking lot was scares. One of the people dressed in Civil War times said the event was cancelled. We found out later there was a bomb scare the night before. Some one left a pipe-bomb on the confederate side. So sad.

A short 2 nights at the house, we were off again to Sycamore Lodge for Halloween.

We were being invaded by flies everyday. We did some google research and found hanging a bag of water will deter flies. Some articles suggest adding a penny. We did just water by the door. Surprisingly it does work, but the bag needs to be in direct sunlight. They come back if there is no glare coming from the bag of water. We used gallon size Ziploc bags.

While at the Lodge one side of the awning failed. We were pissed because there was no wind that day and light rain. We managed to remove the broken rail and role up the awning and secure it. On Monday we called the Service Center. They were not able to see us till December 7th.

While staying at Sycamore Lodge they are a few attractions worth visiting. We suggest The North Carolina Zoo and Pisgah Covered Bridge in Asheboro; Sandhills Horticultural Gardens on the campus of Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst; Reservoir Park in Southern Pines, and the Rankin Museum in Ellerbe. There are also many great places to eat in downtown Southern Pines.

From Sycamore Lodge we headed to Briarcliffe RV Resort in Myrtle Beach for the first time. Briarcliffe RV Resort is between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach on Highway 17. The resort is a retirement community. The shareholder residents are the owners, after the original owner defaulted on the property. The cost is very reasonable for snowbirds and we were told they are never full throughout the year. What is nice, next door is Barefoot Landing home of Alabama Theater and House of Blues. There are great restaurants and shops. There is a private entrance from the park so with a golf cart you can be there in less than 2 minutes. You can also drive from Barefoot Landing, cross-over highway 17 and to the beach in less than 10 minutes via golf cart.

We fell in love of the area and decided to bounce between Sycamore Lodge and Briarcliffe Resort for the winter. While in Myrtle Beach we decided to visit Campers Inn. They were exclusive sellers of Grand Design RV’s in Myrtle Beach. We looked at a 2017 Solitude 5th wheel. They provided us a quote and trade in for the Kodiak with all the existing issues. We did not take the offer because we would have to replace the truck too.

We headed home for 2 days for a dentist appointment; then headed back to Sycamore Lodge. The fall colors were in full color.

The lodge had a Sycamore Lodge Thanksgiving the weekend before Thanksgiving. We attended with our friends Tara Lee, John and the kids. On Thanksgiving we ate with Tara Lee, John and Andy's family parked next to John and Tara Lee.

We left directly from Sycamore Lodge to Plemmons RV World to drop off the camper to repair the awning and a few other items found since the awning.

We book a week at Peppertree Resort in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina as part of our membership benefits with Travel Resorts of America. We spent a week at the beach and visited some local attractions and seen some great sunrises and sunsets. Atlantic Beach is unique in that how it lies on the Atlantic Ocean. You can see both the sunset and sunrise over the ocean. So cool. Peppertree Resort was positioned perfectly. We visited the North Carolina Aquarium, Waterfowl Museum on Harkers Island, and the town of Beaufort.

Are next camping adventure was Briarcliffe Resort in December. In our prior visit we discovered Brookgreen Gardens. We bought an annual membership to the garden and booked tickets for the The Night of a Thousand Candles Christmas Celebration. It turned out the camper was not ready, go figure… We got a hotel room on the beach for 5 days. We had such a good time. The Night of a Thousand Candles Christmas Celebration was amazing. If you ever have a chance please visit.

We went back to Campers Inn, but this time to see the Reflection Travel Trailer. We looked at a 2018 Reflection 315RLTS. The unit we seen was sold, so we were bummed. They told us they would honor the original trade-in value and have a new one for us. We took the bait and sign the paperwork. We were scheduled to pickup the camper on December 27th.

We spent Christmas at home, and then we headed off to Myrtle Beach with the Kodiak in tow. Bill Plemmons did not warranty the awning and the drawer needing fixing was on order. Campers Inn still took the camper and we picked up our new Grand Design Reflection 315 RLTS. We headed to Briarcliffe RV Resort and spend next 2 weeks there.

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