Cordele GA - The first night out.

We are officially on the road! The Florida basecamp is secure, and Patches completed her final security sweep before departure—you can check out her full report in the previous post for all the details on her 24-chicken audit.

The First-Day Rhythm

The first day out on a big trip is always our "warm-up" drive. The humans keep it short—around five hours—which gives us all a chance to settle into our highway legs. Our target for Night One was a familiar favorite: the Love’s RV Stop in Cordele, Georgia.

We’ve spent many nights here over the years. The humans love it because it’s a quick off-and-on right along the I-75 corridor. The RV stop area has dedicated pull-through slips with full hookups, which means setting up camp takes less than ten minutes. No unhooking the tow vehicle, no fuss—just pull in, plug in, and kick back.

Water Parks and Sniff Networks

While the humans appreciate the easy setup, Patches and I have our own priorities:

• The Dog Park: After sitting in the passenger area for five hours, my first stop is always the fenced dog park. I like to spend a good ten minutes doing a thorough "smell audit" of the perimeter to check the local ledger and see which four-legged travelers passed through before us.

• The Walking Path: Cordele has a great walking path around the facility. The air changes the moment you cross into Georgia—less humid ocean breeze, more red-clay soil and sweet pine. My nose was working overtime.

• The Splash Pad Situation: The site actually features a small doggy water park setup! Patches was marching over there ready to make a splash, but unfortunately, it wasn’t turned on for this stop. That meant no aquatic maneuvers for her—and more importantly, no "towel drying time," which is usually her favorite post-swim ritual. She gave the dry nozzles a disappointed sniff before settling for a grassy walk instead.

🍉 Watermelon Capital of the World

For the humans, Cordele isn't just a convenient fuel stop; it’s known as the Watermelon Capital of the World. If you travel through here in the summer, you'll see fields and farm stands everywhere celebrating the harvest. It’s a classic slice of rural Georgia right off the interstate, nestled in Crisp County.

🐾 Shadow’s Night One Rating: 4/5 Paws

Easy parking, rich walking path scents, but dock one point for the deactivated splash pad.