The end of the road!

Clem got back from getting a new tire in good time to rearrange some things and have some lunch, and get out by the late check out time we had asked the office for.  I was certain we would have to spend another day, and we were both pleasantly surprised to be able to leave on schedule.

 
We had stayed overnight in Ormond Beach, near Daytona, at a very unique campground that was actually arranged in circles!  Probably built before the Big Rigs came into favor, the roadways and turns were a bit tight for me, but the place overall was very pleasant.  Quiet at this time of year, I bet in season it gets pretty full.  We have now of course crossed into the land of hot and humid summers,  where we are OUT of season, as opposed to those that get busy during summer!

Wonder if I should consider one of these?......

My walk around the campground turned up a couple of these cute  little places along the back of the property.  

As we drove toward Jupiter, the sky took on greater dimension, as the trees and foliage along the way grew shorter.  No more towering pines, which had still been evident in the upper peninsula and at the campground we just left.  Clem always says he likes the big sky in Florida, and it becomes that!  I also saw a return of the white egrets that are so familiar to us, but have been absent, and replaced by colorful songbirds.

Gassing up with the big boys!  Filling it up close to home so we have a full tank to store and set out  next time. 

We had never seen this before, but Clem chatted with the driver while gassing up, and they were moving the trucks for UPS.  A third was following, the driver hired by the trucking company, and not a UPS employee.  

My personal gas station attendant!  Hey....look up so I can get  your face!  Its a long way down there!  

We pulled into Jonathan Dickinson State Park, plugged the coach in for AC,  and without even putting the slides out,  loaded the cats and groceries and clothing I had packed up while waiting for Clem to get a tire.  There will be more to collect when we return and clean the coach for storage, but it was still quite a bit of work, and then of course unloading once we got to the house!  We used to drive the coach  to the house when we were taking long trips, but the new neighborhood will not allow it, so it makes double work!   Load one delivered and put away, the kitties checking out the house and Loki following me around like my shadow, we ordered dinner in, and went to bed early!

Sas is a good rider in the car, enjoying sitting on the console and looking at  cars .  I do believe he recognizes our neighborhood as we enter, as he becomes very alert and looks around, and he can't wait to get out when we pull in the driveway! 

I had to include this, because it was just so funny!  Refrigerator at home was on vacation mode, and we dump the ice just in case there is a power outage while we are away......things you think about in Florida!  Anyway, I had turned the ice maker back on, and that evening when I opened the freezer to see if we had any ice yet, this is what I saw!  Had to take a picture!  

Sunrise back at home.  Clem says the best view of any place we had been.  Wellllll.......

A few shots of her closed up....

....and a nice campsite, if it were not so hot, and we were staying!  Site 25...nice privacy for the patio area. 

Tuesday morning, back to JD, opened it up so I could clean and change the sheets while Clem did the tank maintenance.  He got the worst part of it, since it was hot already, while I was at least in the AC. It was amazing how much we yet had to load!  We had made some purchases which I had stowed, and we bought wine and bourbon, and clothes that were hanging in the closet, most of which were never worn!  I brought cool weather clothing, and trust me, we did not see one day of cool!  Odds and ends, and stuff from the freezer.....just like moving!  So another car load full, and then unloading at the house.  Then lunch and a nap!  

For people who don't drink, we sure bought a lot of booze!  You do get caught up in the tastings, but we also thought it would be fun to have a party and let our friends taste and compare! 

Its funny how in two months time you become accustomed to a place.  I have to remind myself where things go in the kitchen, reaching first where they were in the motorhome!  I saw Florida plates on the road and my first instinct was , oh look!   Somebody from Florida!  Oh wait....we're in Florida now!
When we went back in the morning, I looked for the cats when I went into the coach, and Clem admitted he did the same .  Funny.

Purchased at the Salt and Pepper Shaker museum, and just like the sleeping bear we saw in the tree!
A great remembrance!  

Everything is finally put away now,  I have a load in the washer, and it's time for my final entry for our 2018 trip.  It was a great trip, with lots of places and experiences, and  I am glad to have the blog to look back and help remind me of all we did!  And like always, I was so glad to have those reading this along for the ride!

Sunday .......it all worked out in the end!

Sunday, Aug 19

A long days drive on Saturday by RV standards, which started out with the slalom course leaving the mountains, and I was in no mood to hurry or push on Sunday morning!   I told Clem we should take our time, and make one more stop before home, and he agreed.  That resulted in a leisurely morning of watching Sunday Morning on TV, making us a nice breakfast of my favorite omelet with sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, and greek olives, and of course catching up on the blog!  

Pretty wet out there from last night's storm.

I had hoped when we pulled in that puddle at the end of the site would be dried up by morning, but is now bigger, and accompanied by several large puddles on either side! The one on the left is more like a little pond! 

Clem  researched some camp sites, and made a call, and we left just before the 11:00 check out time, with a 4 hour drive to go.  We hit one of those southern downpours about 2 hours in, where you can barely see through the windshield, and traffic is crawling and the flashers on the guy in front of you is about all you can see!   I was about ready for a break and some lunch anyway, and conveniently a rest area was a few miles ahead, so we pulled off when we got to it, and made lunch.  It had passed by the time we were finished and we went upon our way.  

Having lunch at the rest stop with the coach still closed up, and as the rain passes. 

We had noticed Loki riding up front, tucked in the corner between the cabinet , chair, and stowed  ottoman,  abandoning his corner on the bed, so I had of course put a towel down to make it more comfy for him, and it has now become a regular spot for him to ride.  Totally relaxed, head upside down, ready to go.  :-)

We crossed the border into Georgia, and then into Florida, reminiscing about the first trip we made across country with the rented coach, and how elated we were to see the Florida line.  It was so much fun, and we had made it!  We had stopped at the welcome center and I took a photo of Clem by the Florida sign for my very first blog.  Great memories.

Around Jacksonville, the traffic came to a sudden halt, and I told him to hold on, but luckily was able to stop without sending anyone or anything sliding!  A load of what looked like mostly cardboard was strewn on the highway across two lanes, and everyone was trying to get into the left lane to avoid it.  What a mess!  At least one car was amazingly courteous to allow me to merge in, and I got over for the most part.  I wondered afterward if I had gotten all of the car over, or if we were dragging anything, as I saw bits of cardboard here and there deposited along the road for some miles ahead.  

Traffic was heavy and I didn’t think much more about it, when, as we were about 20 miles from our destination, some cars came whizzing by, flagging me down and over.  Uh oh....Something’s wrong.  I pulled over to the shoulder immediately, and went out to inspect, and found a tire on the car completely shredded away, and down to the rim!  Oh yay.  

This truck moved over, but many drivers did not, and we were rocking and rolling!  1 mile to next exit. 

We debated our options, and I refused to drive it farther, even though there was an exit a mile away, to spare the rim, in case it was still ok.  I also refused to have us change the tire, as it was the left back, and we were on a narrow shoulder.  We have a service, and a call to them assured us they could be there within the hour to change it for us, so we unhooked it and waited for them in the AC in the coach.  Let me just say, most people did not pull over, as you are requested to do, and we rocked and rolled to the point that I was nearly motion sick as especially the big trucks whizzed by!  Our relief arrived in good time, less than an hour, and put the “donut” on, which instructions say not to drive more than 50 mph or for more than 70 miles.  The repairman assured us there was little tread on the thing, and it would blow if we did not follow directions!  So we decided to tag team down the highway, with Clem driving the car, and both of us with  blinkers flashing away in the right lane at 47mph, while the traffic moved by on the left.  I  felt like I was standing still, and the 20 miles to our destination seemed an eternity!  At one point it occurred to me that he should have flags on the car, and a big banner warning “wide load”!  We were on our cell phones to stay in touch, and I shared my thought with him, and we got a much needed chuckle!   But we were all good, and pulled safely into our campsite for the night, ready to deal with it on Monday, when things would be open for business.  We will never know if the debris on the roadway was the cause, or if we had picked something up earlier and had a slow leak.  I do know that if we had been driving it, we would have known we had low pressure, or a flat, but towing it, I never felt a thing!   At any rate, I felt a  nice glass of wine was definitely in order! As well as a big thanks to the good samaritans who flagged me down.  

 We saw this BBQ place as we limped by on the way to our campsite, and Clem decided we could drive on the donut enough to go for dinner after our wine!

So here I am Monday morning, and Clem  is at a local tire store, who after saying we would be lucky to find the right tire, actually found one in their warehouse!  It is being mounted as I type this, and it is only 10:30 AM, so we will be able to leave today as planned and head to Johnathan Dickenson State Park, where our adventure began, and plug in and unload with the benefit of the AC.  

Bidding farewell to the Mountains

Saturday, Aug 18         ( photos to be inserted)

Leaving Mountain Lakes Resort required returning via the same  zig zagging  narrow road, and though challenging, wasn’t quite as harrowing, I assume due to having spent the last several days driving the car around, though of course the car is much easier to maneuver.    We had discovered that  the stretch between our location and Cashiers was maybe even worse, since on many turns, the rock walls along the road protruded.  It was no wonder they had said NOT to use the GPS, but to follow their instructions to get there.  I did have a line of four of my best new friends following me, as I adhered to the speed limit on tight turns, but drove a bit slower than the other limits posted.  I could just hear them grumbling.....these people with their big Motorhomes! 

Our last couple of days in Lake Toxaway turned out to be rather relaxing, as Clem extended our stay, and we had the coach roof polished, after having had it detailed the day before while we were out with Cori and Bill,   and caught up with things, figuring we could explore using  the extra day. But the next  day we found ourselves still not much in the mood for  a lot, so I did a load of laundry and we took a drive around the local area and stopped at a gift shop, where “Suzanne” introduced herself and her husband Tom, and then proceeded  share her life story and try to get ours!   I looked around at the admittedly lovely, albeit expensive merchandise, while Clem was cornered talking to her.  

One of the neat fences with twigs on some of the stores we stopped to check out. 

We stopped again at the Farmers Market looking for ice cream.....odd that such a vacation area has no ice cream shops!  They could take a clue from Maine, where it is on every corner!  No ice cream, but packed with folks coming in for the weekend, and we made a small purchase and left. 

The lot owner where we were staying had said the state park nearby was a good place for a hike or other activities,  and I read the visitor center was very nice, so I thought a visit there and a short hike to one of the many waterfalls  would be a nice way to spend the day.  We enjoyed the visitor center and a film about the varied ecosystem there,  however, the weather was threatening and Clem was grumbling, so we skipped the hiking part!  As it turned out we got back just in time for the rain to move in, so I guess it was a good choice. 

View from the large back deck of visitor center, where rocking chairs and picnic tables bid one to relax and enjoy the view. 

We discovered we are in a temperate rain forest, and the state park receives around 90 inches of rain a year on average, and this year is already over 86 inches!  Cashiers does not get quite as much, but still plenty.  I was also surprised to learn they get very little snow.  At that elevation, I just assumed it would be substantial, but I would be wrong! 

We took a walk after dinner once the rain subsided, as I wanted Clem to see the wild terrain that is the golf course behind us and we could hear the evenings entertainment, a blues band up on the ledge, which surprisingly went on well into the night.  

I had walked behind our site and UP the hill the previous night, but thought it better if we walked up the road, and DOWN the hill for Clem!  I snapped a few shots of some of the empty sites as we walked....pretty amazing.

At the bottom of this, Clem reached his limit, and we came up through the grass to the back of our site, rather than follow the rest of the cart path....

....which is where I left him to go for a longer walk around the area! 

This was probably my favorite site of the ones I saw, with such a nice  outdoor area, and lots of privacy created  between them and the neighbors.  

The gated entrance. 

 I think one could have a very good time here, once you meet your neighbors and get involved in the many activities.  There were activities every night except Saturday, and on Thursday night, a cart drove around with free wine and cocktails!  What a hoot!

I sure hated to leave that lovely  air, and those beautiful mountains, and we have definitely returned to reality, with 90 degrees, and feeling like 96!  

Walterboro, South Carolina......"the rocking chair on the front porch of the low country”, the sign proclaims.  I can’t quite figure why that would be, except perhaps it is a quiet little town, and  maybe the entrance to the area described as low country?  We have stayed at this spot before, but always as an overnight, and never ventured away from the campground, which is right off 95, so perhaps it is charming.  While the campground has lots of big trees, and huge sites, both long and wide, I would not describe it as charming!  Rutted dirt roads, and a few long term campers with disheveled sites make it less than appealing for much more than an overnight.  But the easy off, easy on,  quiet spot makes it good for layovers,  and it was just easier to do it again. Though on the approach  I noticed a road sign for a KOA in Beaufort, where I had hoped to stop.  My navigator and camp ground reservationist had said there were no acceptable sites near Beaufort!  I obviously was not committed enough to double check him, as I sometimes do when I am determined, so I will have to chalk that one up, and return another time.  Lou and Roberta were staying there in a lovely B&B, so we will have to follow suit! 

I'll just take a little nap here on the back of the couch  while you get dinner

Some standing water when we pulled in made me  think they had gotten more rain than just the few sprinkles we had encountered on the road there, and I was hoping the puddle at the end of our site would dry up enough to not muck up the  coach when we pulled out the next morning.  Well, chalk that up!  We had dinner....inside, between the soggy grass and humidity....and settled in with a Netflix movie, as the skies became dark and threatening.  Was that thunder??  Oh boy was it!  We had a thunder and lightening storm that blew and brought things crashing down on our roof, and prevented us from hearing the audio of the movie!  We were suddenly surrounded by water.  So much for drying up the puddles! 

 It turned dark and  came down in buckets, creating very limited visibility, and making it hard to hear the movie!

The exit is really flooded now!  So much for that puddle drying up!

Along our right side, where picnic table stands! 

Clem felt warm and  went to adjust the AC, and discovered we had lost our electricity.  Our “house” operates on batteries, but the AC requires more power, and that was now gone due to the storm, and the whole campground was dark.  Luckily the air had been cooled and the rain had stopped, so we opened the windows and turned on fans, and hoped it would not be too uncomfortable to sleep.  He turned in but I read for a bit, and just as I turned the lights off, the AC kicked in.  Good timing, as a we have another travel day tomorrow, and a good nights sleep was in order.  

*A note about “low country”:  the term refers not only to the marshy land, but a most distinctive element of South Carolina and Georgia low country architecture, developed in late 1700s and still constructed today, which is  efficient for the hot subtropical climate of the south east.  The raised first floor to remove it from the often swampy environment and high water tables, and tropical cyclone flooding, large covered front porches accented by columns or pillars providing shady sitting areas, and large windows to allow air flow are common.   The cultural roots, most notably the Gullah,  influence the cuisine of the area, which varies from, but includes, the southern cuisine, and reflects the abundance of shrimp, fish, crabs, and oysters from the rich coastal estuary system.