Jan. 30, 2014: We have been on the road for just over six weeks and we are still searching for warm weather. However, it was good that we decided to stop on Jekyll Island and then even better that we decided to stay an extra week; the winter storm that hit the southeast with snow, ice, and freezing temps this week caused all kinds of problems:power outages, bridges closed because of ice, and cars abandoned on highways, some of the communities don't even have a plow. None of these conditions affected the island; all we had was cold rain. One couple told me that they have been staying at this campground during the winter for fifteen years and have never seen the temperature and conditions this bad.
Jekyll Island is in what is called the Georgia Bight; it is the most western part of the east coast, almost directly south of Cleveland, Ohio. It has seldom been hit by hurricanes, and seldom, if ever, sees snow. We can see why so many northern retirees have moved here or spend four to five months here during the winter.
Close to the campground, we visited the ruins of a house built in 1743. It was the second house built by William Horton, the first settler on the island,after his first house was torched by the Spanish forces from Florida in 1742. They attacked this area in an attempt to drive off the English settlers on St. Simon Island across the inlet. The Spanish were driven off, but destroyed Horton's house during their retreat.
The material used to construct the house was a mixture of mortar, lime, sand, and oyster shells. The walls of the two-story house are still intact. This mixture was used for construction in this area until the late 1800's.
Jekyll Island was purchased by a small group of northern millionaires in 1880 from the plantation family that owned the island. These millionaires were the same ones that had "summer cottages" in Newport, RI. They formed an exclusive and private club to build a "winter retreat" on the island. They built a large hotel, a few of them built their own cottages--not quite as elaborate as their Newport homes--an infirmary, and other buildings to provide for their sport and hunting activities.
The island was turned over to the state of Georgia in 1947. Many of the buildings used by the millionaire's club are still in use. The hotel still operates. As a matter of fact, I asked the valet at the front door about the hotel's pub, but because of his attitude we decided not to eat at the hotel. It may have been our casual dress, or the fact that the pub did not open until 5:00 PM, that made him act a bit rudely. B said she wouldn't eat there in any case. A group of people were playing croquet on the large, well-groomed lawn in front of the hotel. They were all dressed in white outfits, which indicated to us a certain amount of snobbery exists amongst the hotel's quests.
We walked the grounds to look at some of the buildings and then our plan was to find a nice place for some seafood. Near the hotel, a pier extended out over the water. It had a sign for a restaurant so we headed there. The restaurant did not open until 5:00 PM also, but at the end of the pier, two women, standing near some tables and chairs, waved to us to come out to the end of the pier, which we did. Here we found a very small restaurant-bar called The Rah Bar. One of the women was the bartender and the other the cook. This was a casual dining place at its best. Instead of sitting outside, we ate inside at the bar. We had a nice conversation with the bartender while we ate two excellent seafood platters: B had shrimp, mussels, crawdads with hot-sauce, I had a low country boil-- shrimp, crawdads, dungeness crab, sausage, potatoes, and corn. The shrimp were fresh local wild-caught and cooked just right.
The bartender told us that earlier in the day she had seen a large group of white pelicans on a sandbar, just off the pier. She showed us a photo she had taken of them. While we were eating, she suddenly said that two of the white pelicans were on the railing outside, behind us. I had my camera, but because what we were eating was "finger food," I couldn't, or wouldn't, pick up my camera to get a picture. White pelicans are not usually seen up in this area.
After our great meal, we continued our walk. We watched two helicopters land in another nearby grassy area. They were police helicopters. B found out from the pilot of the first helicopter that they were attending a conference for police pilots from the region during the next two days.
The only building we went into was the club's infirmary, a two story building, which is now a bookstore. The building now contains three less books and three less jars of local style preserves.
We continued our drive around the seven mile by one-and-a-half mile long island, looking at some of the well-taken-care-of homes--many of them owned by retirees from up north. Quite a few of the homes had "For Sale" signs--a result of nature's retiree recycling program, most likely.
Our last stop was at the Seaside Shops, a cluster of "trailer-style" buildings containing among them: a small grocery shop, a liquor store, a bank, a gift shop, a variety store, hairdresser shop, and a real estate rental/sales office. All of this right at the beach front.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Jan. 25, 2014: Like everyone back home, we are just doing what we need to do. The weather here, although not as extreme as back in NH, has been cold. Each night since our first night here has been near the freezing mark. Temperatures in the nearby city of Brunswick have been at or below freezing, but the waters around the island have helped to keep us slightly above. It is times like this that we miss our wood stove.
During the time here on Jekyll Island, we have learned quite a bit about some of the "long term" campers that are "crowded" around us. [This campground is in a state park--actually I think the whole island is a state property--therefore, the maximum number of camp sites are put into a minimum amount of space, without removing trees.] For example, we had a problem with our TV cable connection on the first day. The office sent a man right out to look at it. He told us that he is a retired union electrician from Atlanta. He volunteers as a "camp host," which gets him a free stay here in the park for being available a few hours per week to work on simple maintenance calls--such as our cable connection. He told us that he stays here three months in the summer, and is now spending six months during the winter.
Other people we have talked to say they have been coming here for at least three months, during the winter, for a number of years, booking the same site year after year. One couple, from Ontario who have been coming here for about ten years, has their site booked up to 2017. Another person we spoke with told us that she and her husband have been doing this for a number of years; first with a motor home and now with a smaller van-type camper. Both she and her husband have serious cancer conditions, but neither one of them want to give up the life-style and friends that they have come to know.
Friends of campers who come here have tried to book a space, but have not been able to because there are only so many spaces available to handle large motor home or fifth-wheelers. We were lucky with our rig to get in because we fit into one of the smaller sites. As a matter of fact, our cable repair was made by connecting to the box in the site next to ours which is even smaller. One of our "long term" neighbors said that the smaller site has never been rented out because it is so small--although, if someone with a small tent shows up...
B and I have been amazed at the number of people who do this type of residence camping in large motor homes and fifth-wheelers during the winter months. With our rig, we feel like a little tugboat sitting amongst a harbor full of yachts. Each campground that we have been to so far has had a large number of sites being used for three or more months. This campground has 206 sites and over 50% of the sites are being used for winter residence. Walking through the campground, we see license plates from Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, Vermont, and, New Hampshire. There may be other states, but we have not walked over all the camp's roads. This reminds me of the seasonal migrations that the Native Americans did before the white man came and stole the idea along with the land.
B & I have tried to do some walking each day. One of our first walks was out to the ocean side coast near the campground called Driftwood Beach. It is about one mile each way. The walk took us along a bike path, across a tidal marsh, through a short wooded section, onto the beach. Coming out of the woods, we were amazed to see the beach covered with the dead, wind and water shaped remains of trees. Some of the trees, still upright, were in the ocean. Some were on their sides, with their roots exposed, forming giant, twisted, massive circular sculptures. Others were partially buried in the sand with only twisted, gray branches reaching up. It looks like a battle ground between the ocean and the forest--with the ocean winning.
B and I will stay here for an additional week; hoping to see some of the warm temperatures and sunshine that we expected when we migrated down here for our winter campground.
During the time here on Jekyll Island, we have learned quite a bit about some of the "long term" campers that are "crowded" around us. [This campground is in a state park--actually I think the whole island is a state property--therefore, the maximum number of camp sites are put into a minimum amount of space, without removing trees.] For example, we had a problem with our TV cable connection on the first day. The office sent a man right out to look at it. He told us that he is a retired union electrician from Atlanta. He volunteers as a "camp host," which gets him a free stay here in the park for being available a few hours per week to work on simple maintenance calls--such as our cable connection. He told us that he stays here three months in the summer, and is now spending six months during the winter.
Other people we have talked to say they have been coming here for at least three months, during the winter, for a number of years, booking the same site year after year. One couple, from Ontario who have been coming here for about ten years, has their site booked up to 2017. Another person we spoke with told us that she and her husband have been doing this for a number of years; first with a motor home and now with a smaller van-type camper. Both she and her husband have serious cancer conditions, but neither one of them want to give up the life-style and friends that they have come to know.
Friends of campers who come here have tried to book a space, but have not been able to because there are only so many spaces available to handle large motor home or fifth-wheelers. We were lucky with our rig to get in because we fit into one of the smaller sites. As a matter of fact, our cable repair was made by connecting to the box in the site next to ours which is even smaller. One of our "long term" neighbors said that the smaller site has never been rented out because it is so small--although, if someone with a small tent shows up...
B and I have been amazed at the number of people who do this type of residence camping in large motor homes and fifth-wheelers during the winter months. With our rig, we feel like a little tugboat sitting amongst a harbor full of yachts. Each campground that we have been to so far has had a large number of sites being used for three or more months. This campground has 206 sites and over 50% of the sites are being used for winter residence. Walking through the campground, we see license plates from Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, Vermont, and, New Hampshire. There may be other states, but we have not walked over all the camp's roads. This reminds me of the seasonal migrations that the Native Americans did before the white man came and stole the idea along with the land.
B & I have tried to do some walking each day. One of our first walks was out to the ocean side coast near the campground called Driftwood Beach. It is about one mile each way. The walk took us along a bike path, across a tidal marsh, through a short wooded section, onto the beach. Coming out of the woods, we were amazed to see the beach covered with the dead, wind and water shaped remains of trees. Some of the trees, still upright, were in the ocean. Some were on their sides, with their roots exposed, forming giant, twisted, massive circular sculptures. Others were partially buried in the sand with only twisted, gray branches reaching up. It looks like a battle ground between the ocean and the forest--with the ocean winning.
B and I will stay here for an additional week; hoping to see some of the warm temperatures and sunshine that we expected when we migrated down here for our winter campground.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Jan. 20, 2014: We have now gone down the coast as far south as we want to go: Jekyll Island, GA. We left St. Helena Island this morning.
Our stay in St Helena was primarily a stop made to get cable TV. It would have been better if we didn't have it on Sunday; watching the Patriots play-making was painful. Oh well, half way through the season we did not think they would even make it to the play offs.
While we were on the island we did drive around the island. It is a very different scene than what we are use to seeing in NH--large live oak trees draped in spanish moss creating tunnel-like enclosures over the road. There are large tidal marshes that cover very large areas. Along the ocean edge, there are large long-needle pine and palmetto forest--almost jungle like--and really great white sand beaches.
We also visited a National Historical Landmark, the Penn Center. It was the site of one of the first schools to teach freed slaves to read and write, established during the Civil War. It developed into a school to teach vocational skills, along with educating children from grade 1 though 12. It is now a museum, since becoming an Historical Landmark in 1973, but also provides community services. The museum tells the story of the slaves who worked the rice plantation on the low country islands and how, because they were isolated from the mainland, they developed a unique language called Gullah. The descendants of those slaves still live on these islands and called themselves Gullah.
When we left the island and crossed into Beaufort, we made a turn onto a roadway that would take us south. The traffic came to a slow crawl. At first we thought there was accident or fire ahead of us, but we soon found out that it was neither of those things; we found ourselves at the back end of a parade for MLK Day. A large ladder firetruck and two police cars were ahead of us and the last police car made a stop at every side road to remove cones to stop traffic from coming out onto the parade route. We felt sorry for the policeman, he was the driver of the car and he had quite a large number of cones to move. We figure he was the low man in the station or had really ticked off a higher up.The slow drive was not upsetting to us because it gave us a chance to get a good look at the really magnificent homes that lined this road that ran along a bay--with large spanish moss trees lining the bay side of the road.
We continued south; again through marshes, rivers and waterways with high- rise bridges, along US 17, until we arrived at the cutoff to go east to Jekyll Island.
The island is a state park--as a result we had to pay a ten dollar fee to cross over to the island--because we are considered an oversize vehicle. Getting off the island is free. The Jekyll Island campground is at the north end of the island which we easily found since there is only one road looping around the island. We had called the campground earlier in the day to check on the availability of sites. I thought the woman who answered was "play acting" somewhat because she took some time checking her list. When we got here, we were surprised to see how many campers were here--and how close together the sites are.
We have decided to stay here for a week. Hopefully, we will finally get to experience a warm southern climate. Maybe even for a few continuous days. Today, when we arrived here, the temperature was 65° and sunny. Nice start.
Our stay in St Helena was primarily a stop made to get cable TV. It would have been better if we didn't have it on Sunday; watching the Patriots play-making was painful. Oh well, half way through the season we did not think they would even make it to the play offs.
While we were on the island we did drive around the island. It is a very different scene than what we are use to seeing in NH--large live oak trees draped in spanish moss creating tunnel-like enclosures over the road. There are large tidal marshes that cover very large areas. Along the ocean edge, there are large long-needle pine and palmetto forest--almost jungle like--and really great white sand beaches.
We also visited a National Historical Landmark, the Penn Center. It was the site of one of the first schools to teach freed slaves to read and write, established during the Civil War. It developed into a school to teach vocational skills, along with educating children from grade 1 though 12. It is now a museum, since becoming an Historical Landmark in 1973, but also provides community services. The museum tells the story of the slaves who worked the rice plantation on the low country islands and how, because they were isolated from the mainland, they developed a unique language called Gullah. The descendants of those slaves still live on these islands and called themselves Gullah.
When we left the island and crossed into Beaufort, we made a turn onto a roadway that would take us south. The traffic came to a slow crawl. At first we thought there was accident or fire ahead of us, but we soon found out that it was neither of those things; we found ourselves at the back end of a parade for MLK Day. A large ladder firetruck and two police cars were ahead of us and the last police car made a stop at every side road to remove cones to stop traffic from coming out onto the parade route. We felt sorry for the policeman, he was the driver of the car and he had quite a large number of cones to move. We figure he was the low man in the station or had really ticked off a higher up.The slow drive was not upsetting to us because it gave us a chance to get a good look at the really magnificent homes that lined this road that ran along a bay--with large spanish moss trees lining the bay side of the road.
We continued south; again through marshes, rivers and waterways with high- rise bridges, along US 17, until we arrived at the cutoff to go east to Jekyll Island.
The island is a state park--as a result we had to pay a ten dollar fee to cross over to the island--because we are considered an oversize vehicle. Getting off the island is free. The Jekyll Island campground is at the north end of the island which we easily found since there is only one road looping around the island. We had called the campground earlier in the day to check on the availability of sites. I thought the woman who answered was "play acting" somewhat because she took some time checking her list. When we got here, we were surprised to see how many campers were here--and how close together the sites are.
We have decided to stay here for a week. Hopefully, we will finally get to experience a warm southern climate. Maybe even for a few continuous days. Today, when we arrived here, the temperature was 65° and sunny. Nice start.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Jan. 16, 2014: Tonight, we are in St. Helena Island, SC, in a campground by the name of "Tuck in the Wood." It is about 165 miles south of Huntington Beach.
B and I were having such a good time in Huntington Beach that we forgot what day we had to leave. We thought it was on Friday, but it was actually Thursday, Jan. 16. Last night as I was making an entry in a travel log that I keep, I suddenly realized that we had to leave our site in the morning.
We had a couple of things planned for today, but since some of it involved eating seafood, it was no problem to postpone it to a different day or to a different place.
We left the campground at 10:00; on the side of the road, as we approached the causeway, a brown pelican stood, as if to say goodbye.
On the way here, we made a stop in North Charleston at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center where the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley is on display. The only problem was that it is only on display Saturdays and Sundays.
Finding this location proved the value of OnStar. Without it, there was little chance of finding the building where it is kept on the Old Charleston Naval Base.
We returned to US-17 toward Beaufort, SC. The road passes through flat pine forests, swamps, past long deserted businesses, and over some wide waterways on some fairly high bridges--B's favorite thing. The road in some places, just outside Charleston, was lined with empty stalls that advertised the sale of sweetgrass basket. We imagine during the summer that these stalls are stocked and open. Today we only saw one stall with baskets being offered. We are not sure how they get people to stop since there was no parking area at the side of the busy two-lane highway.
We crossed onto the island of St. Helena and stopped at the first non-fast food franchise place to eat that we came to. It was about 2:30. It was called Blue Dog Cafe, in the town of Frogmore. The signs outside also offered locally made crafts and furniture. The eating section was at the back of the shop.
B and I both had low country gumbo; shrimp, andouille sausage, okra, tomato, peppers, and other stuff, over rice. Very spicy and very good. With our bellies full, we browsed the shop. B talked to the couple who own the shop to find out how to cook okra without it being slimy. She got the info she needed. The man had been a pilot of Braniff Airlines and he used to operate Manchester Air in NH. His wife's parents lived in Portsmouth, NH and her sister lives in Keene. It has been amazing how many people we've talked to that have connections to NH.
B and I were having such a good time in Huntington Beach that we forgot what day we had to leave. We thought it was on Friday, but it was actually Thursday, Jan. 16. Last night as I was making an entry in a travel log that I keep, I suddenly realized that we had to leave our site in the morning.
We had a couple of things planned for today, but since some of it involved eating seafood, it was no problem to postpone it to a different day or to a different place.
We left the campground at 10:00; on the side of the road, as we approached the causeway, a brown pelican stood, as if to say goodbye.
On the way here, we made a stop in North Charleston at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center where the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley is on display. The only problem was that it is only on display Saturdays and Sundays.
Finding this location proved the value of OnStar. Without it, there was little chance of finding the building where it is kept on the Old Charleston Naval Base.
We returned to US-17 toward Beaufort, SC. The road passes through flat pine forests, swamps, past long deserted businesses, and over some wide waterways on some fairly high bridges--B's favorite thing. The road in some places, just outside Charleston, was lined with empty stalls that advertised the sale of sweetgrass basket. We imagine during the summer that these stalls are stocked and open. Today we only saw one stall with baskets being offered. We are not sure how they get people to stop since there was no parking area at the side of the busy two-lane highway.
We crossed onto the island of St. Helena and stopped at the first non-fast food franchise place to eat that we came to. It was about 2:30. It was called Blue Dog Cafe, in the town of Frogmore. The signs outside also offered locally made crafts and furniture. The eating section was at the back of the shop.
B and I both had low country gumbo; shrimp, andouille sausage, okra, tomato, peppers, and other stuff, over rice. Very spicy and very good. With our bellies full, we browsed the shop. B talked to the couple who own the shop to find out how to cook okra without it being slimy. She got the info she needed. The man had been a pilot of Braniff Airlines and he used to operate Manchester Air in NH. His wife's parents lived in Portsmouth, NH and her sister lives in Keene. It has been amazing how many people we've talked to that have connections to NH.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Jan. 13, 2014: Yesterday was a perfect winter day; the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky, and the temperature was in the mid-50's--and the Patriots beat the Colts: 43 to 22. (We got to watch the game on our laptop on Saturday night. The three hour game ate up almost all of our scheduled monthly data usage on our Verizon plan, on the first day of the plan's new month. I contacted Verizon on Sunday morning to increase the data plan--otherwise I couldn't be doing this, the blog.)
We returned to Brookgreen Gardens to view the grounds and sculpture gardens in more comfortable weather than we had when we first visited the site six days ago. We were in the parking lot at 10:30; we didn't leave until 3:00. During that time we walked about three and a quarter miles--without even realizing it. Even though it is winter, it is still a spectacular place to walk. We imagine in the spring, the flowers must be out of this world--we could see huge beds of daffodils and tulips already sending up green shoots. We did see two flowering trees already blooming; one was a camellia, the other I'm not sure what it was, except that it was pink. This park covers many acres, but the paths are easy to walk in--and they provide strollers for people who have difficulty walking.
Besides the gardens, fountains, and outdoor sculptures, they also have a section telling the history of the low country plantations. There is a large rice field, the site of the plantations slave quarters, and a small museum which we found very interesting. The floor of the museum in covered with an aerial photograph of the low country in this part of South Carolina, between Myrtle Beach and Winjah Bay. Also, in the exhibit was a story about a southern lady, Rachel Allston, who once owned Brookgreen. She was married to a William Allston, who died, leaving her with six children and a plantation. She ran the plantation for three years. She then married a Dr. H. C. Flagg of Rhode Island. He had moved to South Carolina with the Continental Army. When her family objected to her marrying a northerner, she replied that she had married William Allston to please the family, now she was marrying Dr. Flagg to please herself. The card said she lived at Brookgreen until 1800. The card did not say how long Dr. Flagg survived in the marriage.
On the grounds, there are two zoo sections; one showing farm animals that would have been kept on the plantation, the other showing animals native to area. In this section is an aviary built over a cypress swamp. Inside the netted enclosure, a large number of wading bird are free to fly within the area, or to walk on the walkway provided for us humans. It is an opportunity to see these birds up close--and almost personal. Some of the birds we saw in the aviary were: Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Heron,White Ibis, Great Egret, and Cattle Egret--one of these came up to a woman standing ahead of us and picked off a small insect that was on her jeans.
Near the zoo area, there is also a unbelievable children's playground with a large number of amazing things for them to play on: among them a pirate ship, small playhouses, and a castle.
We stopped for a nice lunch, sandwich, beer/wine, and pecan pie, at the "Old Kitchen," on the grounds, near the sculpture center.
B and I would recommend that anyone visiting this area of South Carolina stop at this Garden. The price is reasonable and the tickets are good for seven days.
Today was B's birthday--a nice quiet day with a great lunch at a seafood shack, in Murrells Inlet, called Graham's Landing. She had grilled oysters, littlenecks; I had low country stew--a spicy mix of chicken, shrimp, rice, tomato, and andouille sausage--crab cake. But this wasn't enough, so we shared a pound of low country shrimp boil.
We returned to Brookgreen Gardens to view the grounds and sculpture gardens in more comfortable weather than we had when we first visited the site six days ago. We were in the parking lot at 10:30; we didn't leave until 3:00. During that time we walked about three and a quarter miles--without even realizing it. Even though it is winter, it is still a spectacular place to walk. We imagine in the spring, the flowers must be out of this world--we could see huge beds of daffodils and tulips already sending up green shoots. We did see two flowering trees already blooming; one was a camellia, the other I'm not sure what it was, except that it was pink. This park covers many acres, but the paths are easy to walk in--and they provide strollers for people who have difficulty walking.
Besides the gardens, fountains, and outdoor sculptures, they also have a section telling the history of the low country plantations. There is a large rice field, the site of the plantations slave quarters, and a small museum which we found very interesting. The floor of the museum in covered with an aerial photograph of the low country in this part of South Carolina, between Myrtle Beach and Winjah Bay. Also, in the exhibit was a story about a southern lady, Rachel Allston, who once owned Brookgreen. She was married to a William Allston, who died, leaving her with six children and a plantation. She ran the plantation for three years. She then married a Dr. H. C. Flagg of Rhode Island. He had moved to South Carolina with the Continental Army. When her family objected to her marrying a northerner, she replied that she had married William Allston to please the family, now she was marrying Dr. Flagg to please herself. The card said she lived at Brookgreen until 1800. The card did not say how long Dr. Flagg survived in the marriage.
On the grounds, there are two zoo sections; one showing farm animals that would have been kept on the plantation, the other showing animals native to area. In this section is an aviary built over a cypress swamp. Inside the netted enclosure, a large number of wading bird are free to fly within the area, or to walk on the walkway provided for us humans. It is an opportunity to see these birds up close--and almost personal. Some of the birds we saw in the aviary were: Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Heron,White Ibis, Great Egret, and Cattle Egret--one of these came up to a woman standing ahead of us and picked off a small insect that was on her jeans.
Near the zoo area, there is also a unbelievable children's playground with a large number of amazing things for them to play on: among them a pirate ship, small playhouses, and a castle.
We stopped for a nice lunch, sandwich, beer/wine, and pecan pie, at the "Old Kitchen," on the grounds, near the sculpture center.
B and I would recommend that anyone visiting this area of South Carolina stop at this Garden. The price is reasonable and the tickets are good for seven days.
Today was B's birthday--a nice quiet day with a great lunch at a seafood shack, in Murrells Inlet, called Graham's Landing. She had grilled oysters, littlenecks; I had low country stew--a spicy mix of chicken, shrimp, rice, tomato, and andouille sausage--crab cake. But this wasn't enough, so we shared a pound of low country shrimp boil.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Jan. 11, 2014: This will be a recap of the last few days. It has been a series of changes during that time: in the weather, in our camp sites, and in the camper.
Six nights ago, Jan. 6, was our first night without having the heat on in the camper; the temperature stayed in the 70's! We did some housekeeping in the morning. Then, we disconnected the hoses and power lines to the camper, made sure everything inside was secure, and drove off the site to go shopping down the road in Pawley Island. First stop, an Ace Hardware for a propane refill--done by a former Mass. retireree who moved here five years ago to escape the snow. Then, some food shopping, at a Food Lion Store, with very helpful clerks. Next, a stop at a laundromat--location given to us by the checkout lady--young, formerly known as "girl"--this job took a bit more than an hour, but the machines were large capacity--very important--clean, and not over-priced. From here, we went to find a WalMart located in Murrells Inlet, up the road a ways. When we got to the area, we saw the W/M sign, but couldn't find the entrance. It took a couple of turns into adjacent lots before we found it. Then we had a strangely laid out parking lot to contend with. We got the one item we were looking for to help with our "closet" layout and left the store. While we walking back to the camper, a car slowed down along side of us. The driver called out to us. He said that he and his girl friend--who we assumed was the girl sitting next to him--had just been robbed of their "stuff"--he started to give us a list--but I "nicely" said: "Sorry for your loss, but go tell a cop." We must have looked like easy marks.
We were back at the campground at 4:15.
Today, still Jan. 6, I ordered an item for the camper which we hope will alleviate a problem we are having with condensation in the "bedroom." The product, HyperVent, was suggested by two persons in the NorthernLite Owners group when I raised the question in their forum a few days ago. The company is in Marysville, WA. I spoke to them by phone and then placed the order online, with the item to shipped here to the campground--the office accepts packages for campers. I also contacted the Mail Service company in Florida that is receiving our mail and requested they sent us the mail that has been forwarded to them from Hebron.
Now, the next day, Jan 7, was a very different day. Last night the temperature went down to 19°! The first thing we noticed was that there was no water coming out of the faucets. The water hose outside was frozen, as well as the outside faucet handle. I could not even disconnect the hose from the faucet. I put a heating pad, which we brought with us for other purposes, over the faucet and hose connection and connected it to the electrical box. About twenty minutes later I was able to disconnect the hose and bring it inside to thaw.
While that took place, we had breakfast. Then, to take up some more time, I placed a call to FairPoint Communications, our telephone provider at home. I sent them a "required form" to set up an auto-payment using Visa at the very beginning of December. I never received any word that it was received or accepted. Because I couldn't remember my account number, the agent wouldn't answer my question, The agent asked if I could give the exact amount of my last payment. This took a little time but I was able to find it by getting my computer out, turn it on, then search through my checking records. With this done, the agent now said, in answer to my question, that he would have to transfer me to the financial department. However, he was nice enough to give me my correct account number because, he said, they would ask for it. Transfer made--with an opportunity to listen to some FairPoint commercials telling me how good they were and how important their customers were--account number provided--now, the new agent said they don't confirm the receipt applications for auto-payments. That would come, by mail, when the first bill is to be paid. Also, the first auto-payment wouldn't take place until the current bill is paid--which was sent out after we left NH. I was able to take care of this loose end on this call--with a transfer to another department.
By now, the water hose was thawed. Outside, the faucet was still frozen; the air temperature had not warmed up very much. We decided to leave the site and visit Brookgreen Sculpture Gardens nearby.
On the way, stopping at the office to report the frozen pipe at our site; they said the water was turned off because of repairs going on near our site. We drove out to the Gardens.
Brookgreen Gardens was owned by Archer and Anna Huntington; she was a famous sculpter and he was just wealthy. He purchased four former rice plantations to create these gardens in order to display her sculptures. In 1931, they turned it into a public museum. The gardens, even in winter, still had a great deal of green, even some flowering trees, Camellias. However, we did not linger very long outside; it was windy and cold. too cold to appreciate artwork. We did have one building to enter, a sculpture center exhibiting works by many different artists. We watched a film showing one sculptor, Richard McDermott Miller, showing him creating a piece and then how it was cast in bronze. It was an interesting film. A large number of his pieces and studies are on display in the center. He was--he died in 2004--an excellent sculptor of the human form, especially of women.
We left the Gardens to return to our site. We plan to return here again, on a warmer day, to complete the tour of the gardens; the tickets are good for seven days.
It was 3:00 PM. The water faucet for our site was still out. A call to the office brought a young lady park ranger to check. She called maintenance. They sent out a crew of three men, one with a propane torch. Another problem; none of them had matches or a lighter to light the torch. One of them drove back to the office; when he returned, he indicated that he had to buy the box of wooden matches. The first match failed to light the torch before it went out. This caused the "buyer" to say; "There goes five cents." Once it was lit, the torch flame was applied to the faucet, the fittings, first with one man holding the torch, then he past it to the second man to do it for awhile; water still did not come out of the faucet.
The park ranger at this point decided that we might have to move to another site so she called the office to see if there was another full-hookup site available. There was, but we would have to come into the office to get a new vehicle tag before moving into it. Furthermore, we could only stay in this new site until the 10th, we would then have to return to our current site. They assured us that the faucet would be up and running by then.
We packed up our wagon, picked up the tag, moved to the new site, and were setup at 4:00 PM. B made supper: Cornish Game Hen with roasted potatoes and vegetable--very good. With clean up finished and an early shower completed, I brought in the hose to keep it from freezing again--it was predicted to go down to the mid-twenties--and we went to bed.
The next morning, Jan. 8, after our first cup of coffee, I went out to reconnect the water hose. The faucet was frozen; I couldn't turn the handle. I used the heating pad again to try heating the faucet but it wasn't working--again. It just happened that two of the maintenance men from yesterday were doing their morning chores, cleaning bathhouses, and they parked their truck next to out new site. I told them my troubles. They said they would go a get the torch. I didn't expect to come back right away, but they did--with torch and matches. We soon had water. A short time later, as B was doing dishes, the water was off again. A call to the office told us that the water was turned off in order to work on a nearby leak. It seems that the cold snap has caused many water problems throughout the park. A short time later, the water returned to our site. One of the maintenance men even came to the camper to make sure we had our water. We certainly can't complain about the service here in the park.
I was in such a good mood that I decided to call Verizon to have them explain the high amount of my first bill--much higher than I was led to believe when I signed up for all this technology. The call actually went well; they explained the cost and there will be some credits applied to the next month's bill. We shall see.
To finish up the morning, we took a walk out on the walkway into the salt marsh, even though there was a cool breeze. We did get to see large groups of plovers and dowitchers feeding, and a Glossy Ibis doing a basking routine. From here, we went to the entrance causeway, which separates the salt water marsh from a fresh water marsh. We got to see a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret up close. Our next stop was a viewing platform, located a short distance from the causeway, out on the fresh water marsh. Now we an even better view, and photos, of an Great Egret. We also saw brown pelicans, buffleheads, and species of ducks that we are not familiar with. B saw a wood stork. The cold was getting to us so we started back to our site. We were near another attraction in the park that we had not seen yet. It is called Atalaya, this was the winter home of the Huntingtons. It was not much to look at from the out side; B thought it looked like a prison. At the entrance, we learned that there are no furnishing, or exhibits of Anna Huntington's sculpture or of her studio in the building and they wanted two dollars for the privilege of walking through the empty building. We declined the privilege.
Back at the camper, B made dinner: salmon with linquica--everything tastes better with linquica.
The next morning, now, Jan. 9, as we were preparing to drive out to go to a CVS to get some cold medication for B, she noticed a note under our windshield wiper; it said we had a package at the office. On the way out, I stopped to pick up the package, thinking it was the mail service delivery of our mail from Florida. It turned out to be material I ordered from Washington state. It was too large; I said I would pick it up when I returned from shopping.
We got the cold meds at CVS, then went to Food Lion again for a few things: comfort food, Krispy Creme Crullers, Krispie Kreme Cherry Pie--individual serving size--and beer. The store has a beer section where you can fill up a six-pack with any beer of your choice--a nice way to try some new microbrews.
We returned to camp, picking up our package on the way in, and got it open to see what it looked like. It is a stiff, plastic, loosely-laid, fiber mat about 3/4" thick, 39" wide, and 15' long. The manufacturers website said it could be cut with scissors--it didn't mention that they should be heavy-duty scissors. I had a pair of Chinese scissors with a 3" blade. Fortunately, these scissors had large finger loops. I managed to cut the length in half. Each half filling one side of the sleeping platform. The width was more than the platform. I had to cut some notches in order to fit each strip in and fold it at the sides. The idea behind this product is that the air will circulate under the mattress, to prevent condensation and mildew. Again, another, we shall see.
It is now Jan. 10. We have to move once again, back to our previous site. I went to the office to get my new vehicle tag--I now have a tag collection hanging off the rear-view mirror. Because of the road layout and one-way directions, we had to drive six-tenths of a mile to move to the previous site, about 50 yards away.
In our previous site, all set up, and using the new faucet and fittings, we decided we actually like it better than the other one. For one thing there are a couple of large trees next to the camper that the birds seem to like and there are clusters of trees around a clearing behind us that screen out the view of other campsites. We have only one camper next to us; we have to be outside to see it.
It was mild last night, so we did not get to check the condensation reducing qualities of our new sleeping mat. A still future: we shall see.
After breakfast, we went back out to the fresh water marsh. It was a nice warm day. It was what we expected to find in South Carolina in the winter. We watched large flocks of ducks for awhile from the viewing platform, but there was a large flock of large professional, or semi-professional, looking photographers on the platform with us, so it was a bit crowded. We returned to our site.
At the site, very near to our water pipe, at the edge of the paved road, I could see a large puddle of water--and the water was flowing. A closer look showed a small bubble of water raising out of the ground. I called the office to let them know the good news. They sent two maintenance men out right away. Our friend, the ranger, also came out. She said she couldn't believe it when she heard the call on the radio--that site 50 was having a water problem. The men dug down to the pipe, about two feet, but the hole just filled with water. They went to turn off the water. When they came back, the man in the camper next to us came over to find out why the water was turned off and for how long. It seems that his wife had decided to take a shower shortly before the water was turned off. He suggested that the maintenance men might want to consider running away if it was going to take too long. Luckily, it did not take long. It was a plastic pipe that they could cut and repair with a nipple and two clamps.
B was cooking dinner while the repairs were being done. She came out as they were completing the job to tell me that dinner was in five minutes and to find out if we had to move to another site. This time: we did not have to.
Six nights ago, Jan. 6, was our first night without having the heat on in the camper; the temperature stayed in the 70's! We did some housekeeping in the morning. Then, we disconnected the hoses and power lines to the camper, made sure everything inside was secure, and drove off the site to go shopping down the road in Pawley Island. First stop, an Ace Hardware for a propane refill--done by a former Mass. retireree who moved here five years ago to escape the snow. Then, some food shopping, at a Food Lion Store, with very helpful clerks. Next, a stop at a laundromat--location given to us by the checkout lady--young, formerly known as "girl"--this job took a bit more than an hour, but the machines were large capacity--very important--clean, and not over-priced. From here, we went to find a WalMart located in Murrells Inlet, up the road a ways. When we got to the area, we saw the W/M sign, but couldn't find the entrance. It took a couple of turns into adjacent lots before we found it. Then we had a strangely laid out parking lot to contend with. We got the one item we were looking for to help with our "closet" layout and left the store. While we walking back to the camper, a car slowed down along side of us. The driver called out to us. He said that he and his girl friend--who we assumed was the girl sitting next to him--had just been robbed of their "stuff"--he started to give us a list--but I "nicely" said: "Sorry for your loss, but go tell a cop." We must have looked like easy marks.
We were back at the campground at 4:15.
Today, still Jan. 6, I ordered an item for the camper which we hope will alleviate a problem we are having with condensation in the "bedroom." The product, HyperVent, was suggested by two persons in the NorthernLite Owners group when I raised the question in their forum a few days ago. The company is in Marysville, WA. I spoke to them by phone and then placed the order online, with the item to shipped here to the campground--the office accepts packages for campers. I also contacted the Mail Service company in Florida that is receiving our mail and requested they sent us the mail that has been forwarded to them from Hebron.
Now, the next day, Jan 7, was a very different day. Last night the temperature went down to 19°! The first thing we noticed was that there was no water coming out of the faucets. The water hose outside was frozen, as well as the outside faucet handle. I could not even disconnect the hose from the faucet. I put a heating pad, which we brought with us for other purposes, over the faucet and hose connection and connected it to the electrical box. About twenty minutes later I was able to disconnect the hose and bring it inside to thaw.
While that took place, we had breakfast. Then, to take up some more time, I placed a call to FairPoint Communications, our telephone provider at home. I sent them a "required form" to set up an auto-payment using Visa at the very beginning of December. I never received any word that it was received or accepted. Because I couldn't remember my account number, the agent wouldn't answer my question, The agent asked if I could give the exact amount of my last payment. This took a little time but I was able to find it by getting my computer out, turn it on, then search through my checking records. With this done, the agent now said, in answer to my question, that he would have to transfer me to the financial department. However, he was nice enough to give me my correct account number because, he said, they would ask for it. Transfer made--with an opportunity to listen to some FairPoint commercials telling me how good they were and how important their customers were--account number provided--now, the new agent said they don't confirm the receipt applications for auto-payments. That would come, by mail, when the first bill is to be paid. Also, the first auto-payment wouldn't take place until the current bill is paid--which was sent out after we left NH. I was able to take care of this loose end on this call--with a transfer to another department.
By now, the water hose was thawed. Outside, the faucet was still frozen; the air temperature had not warmed up very much. We decided to leave the site and visit Brookgreen Sculpture Gardens nearby.
On the way, stopping at the office to report the frozen pipe at our site; they said the water was turned off because of repairs going on near our site. We drove out to the Gardens.
Brookgreen Gardens was owned by Archer and Anna Huntington; she was a famous sculpter and he was just wealthy. He purchased four former rice plantations to create these gardens in order to display her sculptures. In 1931, they turned it into a public museum. The gardens, even in winter, still had a great deal of green, even some flowering trees, Camellias. However, we did not linger very long outside; it was windy and cold. too cold to appreciate artwork. We did have one building to enter, a sculpture center exhibiting works by many different artists. We watched a film showing one sculptor, Richard McDermott Miller, showing him creating a piece and then how it was cast in bronze. It was an interesting film. A large number of his pieces and studies are on display in the center. He was--he died in 2004--an excellent sculptor of the human form, especially of women.
We left the Gardens to return to our site. We plan to return here again, on a warmer day, to complete the tour of the gardens; the tickets are good for seven days.
It was 3:00 PM. The water faucet for our site was still out. A call to the office brought a young lady park ranger to check. She called maintenance. They sent out a crew of three men, one with a propane torch. Another problem; none of them had matches or a lighter to light the torch. One of them drove back to the office; when he returned, he indicated that he had to buy the box of wooden matches. The first match failed to light the torch before it went out. This caused the "buyer" to say; "There goes five cents." Once it was lit, the torch flame was applied to the faucet, the fittings, first with one man holding the torch, then he past it to the second man to do it for awhile; water still did not come out of the faucet.
The park ranger at this point decided that we might have to move to another site so she called the office to see if there was another full-hookup site available. There was, but we would have to come into the office to get a new vehicle tag before moving into it. Furthermore, we could only stay in this new site until the 10th, we would then have to return to our current site. They assured us that the faucet would be up and running by then.
We packed up our wagon, picked up the tag, moved to the new site, and were setup at 4:00 PM. B made supper: Cornish Game Hen with roasted potatoes and vegetable--very good. With clean up finished and an early shower completed, I brought in the hose to keep it from freezing again--it was predicted to go down to the mid-twenties--and we went to bed.
The next morning, Jan. 8, after our first cup of coffee, I went out to reconnect the water hose. The faucet was frozen; I couldn't turn the handle. I used the heating pad again to try heating the faucet but it wasn't working--again. It just happened that two of the maintenance men from yesterday were doing their morning chores, cleaning bathhouses, and they parked their truck next to out new site. I told them my troubles. They said they would go a get the torch. I didn't expect to come back right away, but they did--with torch and matches. We soon had water. A short time later, as B was doing dishes, the water was off again. A call to the office told us that the water was turned off in order to work on a nearby leak. It seems that the cold snap has caused many water problems throughout the park. A short time later, the water returned to our site. One of the maintenance men even came to the camper to make sure we had our water. We certainly can't complain about the service here in the park.
I was in such a good mood that I decided to call Verizon to have them explain the high amount of my first bill--much higher than I was led to believe when I signed up for all this technology. The call actually went well; they explained the cost and there will be some credits applied to the next month's bill. We shall see.
To finish up the morning, we took a walk out on the walkway into the salt marsh, even though there was a cool breeze. We did get to see large groups of plovers and dowitchers feeding, and a Glossy Ibis doing a basking routine. From here, we went to the entrance causeway, which separates the salt water marsh from a fresh water marsh. We got to see a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret up close. Our next stop was a viewing platform, located a short distance from the causeway, out on the fresh water marsh. Now we an even better view, and photos, of an Great Egret. We also saw brown pelicans, buffleheads, and species of ducks that we are not familiar with. B saw a wood stork. The cold was getting to us so we started back to our site. We were near another attraction in the park that we had not seen yet. It is called Atalaya, this was the winter home of the Huntingtons. It was not much to look at from the out side; B thought it looked like a prison. At the entrance, we learned that there are no furnishing, or exhibits of Anna Huntington's sculpture or of her studio in the building and they wanted two dollars for the privilege of walking through the empty building. We declined the privilege.
Back at the camper, B made dinner: salmon with linquica--everything tastes better with linquica.
The next morning, now, Jan. 9, as we were preparing to drive out to go to a CVS to get some cold medication for B, she noticed a note under our windshield wiper; it said we had a package at the office. On the way out, I stopped to pick up the package, thinking it was the mail service delivery of our mail from Florida. It turned out to be material I ordered from Washington state. It was too large; I said I would pick it up when I returned from shopping.
We got the cold meds at CVS, then went to Food Lion again for a few things: comfort food, Krispy Creme Crullers, Krispie Kreme Cherry Pie--individual serving size--and beer. The store has a beer section where you can fill up a six-pack with any beer of your choice--a nice way to try some new microbrews.
We returned to camp, picking up our package on the way in, and got it open to see what it looked like. It is a stiff, plastic, loosely-laid, fiber mat about 3/4" thick, 39" wide, and 15' long. The manufacturers website said it could be cut with scissors--it didn't mention that they should be heavy-duty scissors. I had a pair of Chinese scissors with a 3" blade. Fortunately, these scissors had large finger loops. I managed to cut the length in half. Each half filling one side of the sleeping platform. The width was more than the platform. I had to cut some notches in order to fit each strip in and fold it at the sides. The idea behind this product is that the air will circulate under the mattress, to prevent condensation and mildew. Again, another, we shall see.
It is now Jan. 10. We have to move once again, back to our previous site. I went to the office to get my new vehicle tag--I now have a tag collection hanging off the rear-view mirror. Because of the road layout and one-way directions, we had to drive six-tenths of a mile to move to the previous site, about 50 yards away.
In our previous site, all set up, and using the new faucet and fittings, we decided we actually like it better than the other one. For one thing there are a couple of large trees next to the camper that the birds seem to like and there are clusters of trees around a clearing behind us that screen out the view of other campsites. We have only one camper next to us; we have to be outside to see it.
It was mild last night, so we did not get to check the condensation reducing qualities of our new sleeping mat. A still future: we shall see.
After breakfast, we went back out to the fresh water marsh. It was a nice warm day. It was what we expected to find in South Carolina in the winter. We watched large flocks of ducks for awhile from the viewing platform, but there was a large flock of large professional, or semi-professional, looking photographers on the platform with us, so it was a bit crowded. We returned to our site.
At the site, very near to our water pipe, at the edge of the paved road, I could see a large puddle of water--and the water was flowing. A closer look showed a small bubble of water raising out of the ground. I called the office to let them know the good news. They sent two maintenance men out right away. Our friend, the ranger, also came out. She said she couldn't believe it when she heard the call on the radio--that site 50 was having a water problem. The men dug down to the pipe, about two feet, but the hole just filled with water. They went to turn off the water. When they came back, the man in the camper next to us came over to find out why the water was turned off and for how long. It seems that his wife had decided to take a shower shortly before the water was turned off. He suggested that the maintenance men might want to consider running away if it was going to take too long. Luckily, it did not take long. It was a plastic pipe that they could cut and repair with a nipple and two clamps.
B was cooking dinner while the repairs were being done. She came out as they were completing the job to tell me that dinner was in five minutes and to find out if we had to move to another site. This time: we did not have to.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Jan. 5, 2014: Yesterday morning, I walked over to the Park's office/gift shop to let them know that we had arrived. I asked about getting a full hook-up site. The woman at the desk said it would not be possible to change sites since we were already in a site. Luckily, a park ranger, in the next room, heard the conversation and said that if full was available, we could get it by paying the difference in cost. After a brief search on her computer, the woman found two full hook-up sites available. I selected one of them. The cost to change was only an additional $18 for the seven days that we are to stay here. Then the woman casually mentioned that the site I selected was open until Jan. 16. I decided that we would take the additional days. We are now staying here until then.This will give us time to relax and to explore the attractions in the area. The woman said that we didn't have to worry about leaving the site empty when we go out with our truck for the day.
I went back to the camper, told B the good news, packed up and unhooked to move to the new site. When we backed into the new site, which was just the right size for the truck, I went into the camper to check on the levelness inside. It was nearly perfect in two directions. That is a first! We were quickly hooked up to water, electricity and sewer.
With everything in place, B and I went for a walk, going first to the office/gift shop--B managed to find a couple of necessary things for herself. It is actually a nicely stocked shop, with clothing, gifts, books, and food items. We then went to the Nature Center, located at the nearby salt marsh. Although it is small, it was a good exhibit of live fish and snakes inhabiting the area. We got to see a horseshoe crab, live, and out of the water. It was the first time either one of us had seen one live--it was quite active. We also learned that there are alligators in this area, in the fresh water marshes. They are in a semi-hibernating state at this time of the year.
We also walked out to the beach front. Very few people were out on it. It is a long, white sand beach. B was happy to be hearing the surf and smelling the ocean.
Back at our site, I decided to pull out the awning over the entrance to the camper for protection against the rain predicted for tonight, tomorrow, and Monday. I hadn't done this since August, when we picked up the camper from the dealer. The awning pulled out easily enough, but I noticed one of the brace arms was not properly engaged; the sliding end had come out of a tubular track. Since the track was closed at each end, the slide was out when it was at the dealers, put not noticed by me then. I found the spot where the the track had opened slightly, allowing the slide to come out, and managed to get the slide back in. Now, I tried to retract the awning's spring-loaded roll to get it set properly over the doorway, in order to be able to open the door. However, the roller spring mechanism would not move. I got out the product manual that was provided. I found that the manual description and drawings did not show what I had in front of me. I called the dealer in NH to find out what I needed to do. I had to leave a voice mail. I continued trying to free the mechanism. After some time doing this, a man from a site across the field came over to offer some help. His extra hands and knowledge of a similar type awning led to us finally getting the spring to free up and allow the awning to retract back to the top--with a bang.
I thanked the stranger, a man from West Virginia. I had been told by the owner of the Colonies campground at Fort Monroe that if you stand outside of your camper and scratch your head, someone will come over to find out if you need help. He was right.
Later that night the dealer did call me back. We discussed the problem and he described what I should look for the next time I pull the awning out. Needless to say, the awning will stay up, rain or no rain, while we are on this trip.
Today, Sunday, we didn't wake up until 8:00. Last night we had some very heavy rain and the temperature overnight stayed in the 60's. The rain died off in the morning and we had some sun. Not much was planned for today; I paid bills online, which was a new experience for me, and seems to have gone well.
We did manage to take some time off for a walk out on the beach again. There was fog, heavy overcast and hazy sun, all at the same time. We watched the shore birds working along the edge of the surf. We also found an interesting shell--which some lady on the beach said was a fan-tail clam; B couldn't find it on Google--but it still an interesting shell. We kept it.
Back in the camper for wine, crackers, and cheese.
I went back to the camper, told B the good news, packed up and unhooked to move to the new site. When we backed into the new site, which was just the right size for the truck, I went into the camper to check on the levelness inside. It was nearly perfect in two directions. That is a first! We were quickly hooked up to water, electricity and sewer.
With everything in place, B and I went for a walk, going first to the office/gift shop--B managed to find a couple of necessary things for herself. It is actually a nicely stocked shop, with clothing, gifts, books, and food items. We then went to the Nature Center, located at the nearby salt marsh. Although it is small, it was a good exhibit of live fish and snakes inhabiting the area. We got to see a horseshoe crab, live, and out of the water. It was the first time either one of us had seen one live--it was quite active. We also learned that there are alligators in this area, in the fresh water marshes. They are in a semi-hibernating state at this time of the year.
We also walked out to the beach front. Very few people were out on it. It is a long, white sand beach. B was happy to be hearing the surf and smelling the ocean.
Back at our site, I decided to pull out the awning over the entrance to the camper for protection against the rain predicted for tonight, tomorrow, and Monday. I hadn't done this since August, when we picked up the camper from the dealer. The awning pulled out easily enough, but I noticed one of the brace arms was not properly engaged; the sliding end had come out of a tubular track. Since the track was closed at each end, the slide was out when it was at the dealers, put not noticed by me then. I found the spot where the the track had opened slightly, allowing the slide to come out, and managed to get the slide back in. Now, I tried to retract the awning's spring-loaded roll to get it set properly over the doorway, in order to be able to open the door. However, the roller spring mechanism would not move. I got out the product manual that was provided. I found that the manual description and drawings did not show what I had in front of me. I called the dealer in NH to find out what I needed to do. I had to leave a voice mail. I continued trying to free the mechanism. After some time doing this, a man from a site across the field came over to offer some help. His extra hands and knowledge of a similar type awning led to us finally getting the spring to free up and allow the awning to retract back to the top--with a bang.
I thanked the stranger, a man from West Virginia. I had been told by the owner of the Colonies campground at Fort Monroe that if you stand outside of your camper and scratch your head, someone will come over to find out if you need help. He was right.
Later that night the dealer did call me back. We discussed the problem and he described what I should look for the next time I pull the awning out. Needless to say, the awning will stay up, rain or no rain, while we are on this trip.
Today, Sunday, we didn't wake up until 8:00. Last night we had some very heavy rain and the temperature overnight stayed in the 60's. The rain died off in the morning and we had some sun. Not much was planned for today; I paid bills online, which was a new experience for me, and seems to have gone well.
We did manage to take some time off for a walk out on the beach again. There was fog, heavy overcast and hazy sun, all at the same time. We watched the shore birds working along the edge of the surf. We also found an interesting shell--which some lady on the beach said was a fan-tail clam; B couldn't find it on Google--but it still an interesting shell. We kept it.
Back in the camper for wine, crackers, and cheese.
Jan 3, 2014: We are now in Huntington Beach State Park, SC, just below Myrtle Beach. Getting here was a tough 300 mile drive. This was one of our major destinations for getting to a sunny and warm southern climate. Even thought it was sunny all day, the temperature never got above 37°, and the wind was strong and steady for most of the day. I had been curious about how it would be to drive the truck and camper in the wind. Well, today I got that curiosity satisfied--not always a comfortable experience. We drove on US 17 for the most of the day. Almost the entire length of this highway went through wide open-farm land--mostly cotton fields--and over some long bridges, giving the wind a clear shot at us.
When we crossed into SC around 4:00 and stopped at the State's Welcome Center. It was a good thing that we did. When I ask about the Huntington Beach campground, I was told that we still had a distance to go. The Center telephoned the park office and I was able to book a site over the phone. The Center then gave me directions on how to avoid going through the Myrtle Beach area on US 17, which has a large number of traffic lights and heavy traffic at this time of day. We followed the directions for getting to the Parkway that bypasses Myrtle Beach, and once on it, we were able to drive 65 and 70 mile per hour without encountering any traffic lights. We arrived at the State Park entrance about fifteen minutes before the park gate was scheduled to close.
We found our assigned site and hooked up to electricity and water; there was no sewer connection at this site. The campground has a limited number of full hook-up sites, but because it is the weekend, all those sites seem to be filled. We hope that we will be able to move to one after the weekend crowd leaves.
The temperature is forecast to go down to the mid-twenties tonight. Around 7:30 our water hose started to freeze up so I disconnected it and brought it inside. We will be using propane to heat tonight because the furnace will also heat the holding tanks to keep them from freezing, and possible damage, we hope.
The campground is on the Atlantic shore. It has a beach, nature center, trails and a boardwalk into a saltwater marsh--all of which we hope to explore while we are here.
When we crossed into SC around 4:00 and stopped at the State's Welcome Center. It was a good thing that we did. When I ask about the Huntington Beach campground, I was told that we still had a distance to go. The Center telephoned the park office and I was able to book a site over the phone. The Center then gave me directions on how to avoid going through the Myrtle Beach area on US 17, which has a large number of traffic lights and heavy traffic at this time of day. We followed the directions for getting to the Parkway that bypasses Myrtle Beach, and once on it, we were able to drive 65 and 70 mile per hour without encountering any traffic lights. We arrived at the State Park entrance about fifteen minutes before the park gate was scheduled to close.
We found our assigned site and hooked up to electricity and water; there was no sewer connection at this site. The campground has a limited number of full hook-up sites, but because it is the weekend, all those sites seem to be filled. We hope that we will be able to move to one after the weekend crowd leaves.
The temperature is forecast to go down to the mid-twenties tonight. Around 7:30 our water hose started to freeze up so I disconnected it and brought it inside. We will be using propane to heat tonight because the furnace will also heat the holding tanks to keep them from freezing, and possible damage, we hope.
The campground is on the Atlantic shore. It has a beach, nature center, trails and a boardwalk into a saltwater marsh--all of which we hope to explore while we are here.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Jan. 2, 2014--Tonight we are in Williamston, NC, in a combination mobile home and RV Park. It is actually neat, clean and inexpensive--this may be the least costly one so far: $22.00 for the night with full hook-up.
It is raining, with the temp at 54°F--very comfortable compared to what I see online happening in New England. It appears that we picked the right year to do this trip. We hope that all our friends and neighbors stay warm--and safe.
Today. like all the other days, we did not travel on an interstate; it has been on older highways, US-13 and US-17, through small towns and interesting countryside. It does require a great deal of concentration while driving because much of the roadways are just two lanes. Hardly allows for dozing off.
One of our big stops was at "the WalMart" for supplies--W/M has become the modern day replacement for the old general store. We bought some food, some wine, some wine glasses, toilet supplies, and a ceramic heater. The last item is now in use inside the camper, it is much better than the propane furnace that came with the camper. It will cut down on the amount of propane that we use. The heater also seems to do a better job of heating the camper evenly.
We had lunch in the town of Edenton, NC. The owner of the Colonies Campground told me this morning that we shouldn't miss seeing this town because it is historic and has a great old-fashion hardware store. The town is historic, but lacks that historic look because all the store fronts have been cleaned-up and modernized. The hardware store is big. We didn't bother going in because, from the outside, we saw a combination Ace, Gift, and Hobby Store. I used to work in an old fashion hardware store in the 50's that had loose items stocked in drawers up to the ceiling and reached by using a track-mounted ladder. I was hoping to see that type of hardware store.
We did get to see two bald eagles near Fort Monroe this morning as we drove out of camp.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Happy New Year to all our friends in the colder north from not so cold Fort Monroe, VA.
This is our last night at the best campground that we have been in. Any others in the coming days will be measured against this one. The campground is The Colonies RV Travel Park. They have a website: thecoloniesrvandtravelpark.com. The facilities available to campers include a store with a large selection of items, a kitchen stocked with high quality equipment, such as a KitchenAid Mixer, CrockPot, an exercise room, a game room, a TV viewing room, a large reception area with tables and comfortable office style chairs, a free jukebox, and two large shower/toilet rooms and laundry.
The owners, Patrick and Patricia O'Connell, are experienced RV'ers, friendly and well-liked by people from the area, judging from the attendance at the New Year's Eve party that they gave.
The campground is in an area that has been recently designated as a National Park. Fort Monroe, about two miles south of the campground, was an active Army base until 2011. It is the largest stone fort ever built in the U.S. It is also the only one with a water moat. It is the site where, in 1619, approximately twenty Africans were brought into the English colony. During the Civil War, it was here that General Butler declared that slaves, because they were considered to be property by their owners, could be also considered "contraband" of war. Jefferson Davis was confined here after his capture at the end of the war.
Robert E. Lee was stationed here in early 1800's and, while on leave from the fort, married Mary Custis. Their first child, Curtis Lee, in 1832, was born here.
President Lincoln visited the fort during the war.
B and I visited the fort today--just to add to its history. One thing,not mentioned in the information sheet, that we saw during our visit was a pet cemetery. It was located along the top of the ramparts; the earliest stone marker that we saw was set in 1937.
This is our last night at the best campground that we have been in. Any others in the coming days will be measured against this one. The campground is The Colonies RV Travel Park. They have a website: thecoloniesrvandtravelpark.com. The facilities available to campers include a store with a large selection of items, a kitchen stocked with high quality equipment, such as a KitchenAid Mixer, CrockPot, an exercise room, a game room, a TV viewing room, a large reception area with tables and comfortable office style chairs, a free jukebox, and two large shower/toilet rooms and laundry.
The owners, Patrick and Patricia O'Connell, are experienced RV'ers, friendly and well-liked by people from the area, judging from the attendance at the New Year's Eve party that they gave.
The campground is in an area that has been recently designated as a National Park. Fort Monroe, about two miles south of the campground, was an active Army base until 2011. It is the largest stone fort ever built in the U.S. It is also the only one with a water moat. It is the site where, in 1619, approximately twenty Africans were brought into the English colony. During the Civil War, it was here that General Butler declared that slaves, because they were considered to be property by their owners, could be also considered "contraband" of war. Jefferson Davis was confined here after his capture at the end of the war.
Robert E. Lee was stationed here in early 1800's and, while on leave from the fort, married Mary Custis. Their first child, Curtis Lee, in 1832, was born here.
President Lincoln visited the fort during the war.
B and I visited the fort today--just to add to its history. One thing,not mentioned in the information sheet, that we saw during our visit was a pet cemetery. It was located along the top of the ramparts; the earliest stone marker that we saw was set in 1937.
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