Last evening we gathered at Bill and Elaine's T@B to watch The Big Chill on their galley TV. Popcorn and other treats were passed around as we sang along to the good old songs and laughed at our favorite parts of the movie. We thoroughly enjoyed our movie under the stars . . . with no bugs I might add! The big chill is a pretty good description of our day too. We had folks drift in and out with coffee and breakfast, chatter and computers. It's the perfect way to start out a day on the caravan. After breakfast, everyone scattered to the four winds. Becky and I headed out with no real agenda except to get lunch, hit some of the shops, and grab some grub for supper. We ran into Lois, Rich, and Sue and all went to lunch over at The Rah Bar near the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. After lunch we strolled around the Jekyll Historic District that is on the National Register and did a bit of shopping. Becky and I dropped in the GA Sea Turtle Center to get a decal for Splash and a jacket for Bec. From there we drove around the island and eventually stopped at the IGA for supper stuff. Our big chill will continue with a community supper at 5:30, sunset at the pier around 6:30, and an evening campfire. Thanks for dropping by and I'll chat with you tomorrow when we will all be donning warm clothes for a chilly day.
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Today was a pack-em-up travel day. Since we didn't pull out of Hunting Island until 10, I had time to say goodbye to Kevin, my new Podding friend. It was so great getting to meet him and spend camping time with him, not to mention his assistance this morning with adding air to our T@B tires. Thanks buddy!! Folks were doing last minute strolls, checking on departure times and routes, taking out garbage, and dumping water tanks...all quite necessary before pulling out. Deb, Judy, and their pups stopped by our site. Our long caravan of twelve hit the road by 10:15. It wasn't long before we were on I-95 south and making our first stop at the Georgia Welcome Center. Most everyone, including dogs, made a pit stop and then grabbed a bite of lunch. Today was the cloudiest day of our Caravan thus far. We hopped off of I-95 onto Highway 17 for a scenic route. Driving under sunny, then cloudy, then sunny again skies, it was only an hour down to Jekyll Island. We were checked in pretty quickly. Everyone found their sites in the G section and with the exception of Chela in her T@G and Bill and D'Nise on the end of the row, we are pretty much close together in little groups. Setting up, gathering in groups for supper, and watching the movie "The Big Chill" at Bill and Elaine's rounded out our day. I will show you movie photos first thing tomorrow. Nite nite from Jekyll Island y'all. Today all my Coastal Caravan peeps were Beaufort Bound. Some went junkin', some went shopping, some went sight-seeing, some went to lunch, but at 2:00 we all sailed on the Prince of Tides out of the Marina! Becky and I did a little bit of all of the above. We stopped at an antique mall, shopped along Bay Street, and found a couple new Life Is Good t-shirts. We strolled around looking at some of the huge houses along the Beaufort River before deciding on lunch at Panini's. There we dined on Crab & Shrimp BLT Paninis that were fabulous! At 1:30 we started gathering at the marina to pay for our boatride, get our tickets, and board the Prince of Tides for an hour and a half trip along the Beaufort River. We sailed past many large homes, saw dolphins, and got lessons on the history and ecology of the area. After our boat ride, Bec and I headed back to the campground to get Splash packed up and ready to pull out in the morning. The last two mornings we have had heavy dew and we do not relish packing up wet. We knocked out our chores quickly and had a bit of time to relax before meeting the gang for supper at Gullah Grub Restaurant. They normally close at 5:30, but they kept the restaurant open for 20 of us who arrived for supper at that time. We were greeted on the front porch by Jery Taylor, basketmaker and artist. Becky ended up buying a basket from her and it is truly beautiful! We dined on everything from ribs and potato salad to collards and gumbo. Peach cobbler and sweet potato pie topped off the meal for many. Tomorrow we hit the road for the last portion of our Coastal Caravan. We will be leaving at ten o'clock for Jekyll Island Campground. Talk to you Thursday evening!
My day here on Hunting Island was pretty much split into thirds. Part one was my early morning stroll on the beach and exploring the park. Part two was checking out some local shops and having lunch with Bec. Part three was chillin' on the beach with my Caravan peeps. Here's part one . . . Here's part two . . . Here's part three . . . Boy do we have a fun day planned for tomorrow. I guess you will just have to come back and see what we are up to on our mega-fun Coastal Caravan!
We spent our first full day here out and about on the islands . . . Hunting Island, St. Helena Island, and Lady Island. I started my day out on the beach watching the sun come up. While it wasn't the most glorious sunrise I have ever seen, it was pretty enough. I strolled down to the portion of the beach littered with driftwood before coming back to shower and visit. The morning portion of my day was filled with delivering Coastal Caravan happies and strolling around the campground visiting with my peeps. For lunch, Becky and I drove up to the Shrimp Shack to dine with Rich and Sue, Bob and Susan. We all got shrimp salad and it was divine! We had some key lime pie too. Our next destination was Fort Freemont, a remnant of the 1898 Spanish-American War fortifications on St. Helena Island. Just up the road about six miles was the Penn Center, an African school from the mid 1900's that helped preserve the Gullah culture of the island. We toured the museum, watched a SC ETV movie, and later drove across the street to see the Brick Church that was built by slaves. Bec and I made a run up to Publix to restock some groceries for the rest of the week before heading back to Hunting Island. On the way back, I had her turn into Gay Fish Company in hopes of finding a cooler that was a bit more efficient than the old one we have. Talk about camping karma striking in a big way...the young fellow working there was selling his Yeti 45 for an incredibly low price and I didn't even hesitate in buying it! After supper this evening at the Luke Compound, we'll head over to the nightly campfire at Crystal's to wrap up our day hopping around the islands. Talk to you tomorrow!!
Greetings from Hunting Island State Park . . . buggy Hunting Island. We have been lucky in so many respects on this Coastal Caravan. One such area has been the lack of flying, biting critters thus far. But here on the island, they are a menace! My Verizon MiFi does not work here, so I will be sitting in the car each evening outside the office borrowing a signal to be able to send you a Postcard. The lengths I go to for my readers...LOL. We pulled out of James Island Country Park this morning around 10:30, but promptly stopped around the lake to stage and snap some caravan photos. Nine of us parked along side the road and we drew a crowd of onlookers from the lake while there! Once we cleared the traffic of Charleston and got out on Highway 17 South, we had smooth sailing. While going through Beaufort, we got stopped while the bridge was letting some boats through. Of course I hopped out to capture another caravan shot. Becky and I shot right past the turn into the campground, so we had to go down the road a ways to get turned around. Instead of being first in line to check in, we were the cow's tail. But guess what? That just gave me a chance for another photo os T@Bs in a line. The volunteers working the check in were definitely on island time. As we waited our turn sitting with the windows rolled down, we experienced our first encounter with the bugs. We got Splash settled into site 96 in record time despite swatting and slapping no-seeums constantly! Lucy is a couple sites down and Daisy is across the street. The rest of my beach peeps are scattered all over the campground. The path to the beach is just out back and is a short walk away. Sandy had already claimed her spot with a good book. Several of us drove to the Foolish Frog for supper and despite being kinda pricey, it was quite good. I was able to take a few photos of the sunset from the deck before the bugs carried me off. I have no idea what the plans are for tomorrow, but I will be back here sitting in the car at the office tomorrow evening to give you the full report. See ya then!
Just when I think we couldn't possibly have any more fun in one day, we have another that tops it. Our days just seem to get better and better! I had a little hiccup last night with my photos and for some reason I didn't get three to load. So here is the one from the Folly Pier Thursday night and a couple of the testing of the Festival of Lights. Today can be divided up into sections of fun, each different and unique. First thing this morning nine of us drove out to Boone Hall Plantation. I was expecting to see an original Charleston plantation, but instead learned that Boone Hall is actually the fourth structure to sit on the property since the 1700's. Even though the house was interesting, it dates back to the 1930's and is currently in use so we only got to see the first floor. What I really did enjoy was the avenue of live oaks leading up to the house, the actual slave quarters on the property, and the fabulous garden shaped like the wings of a butterfly. Just up the road from Boone Hall, sitting on Highway 17 is one of my all-time favorite hot dog joints . . . Jack's Cosmic Dogs. I have eaten there a couple of time with camping buddies and that was our lunch destination today. I had their signature Cosmic Dog with blue cheese slaw and sweet potato mustard. Yumm-O!! Our tour group split up after lunch, but Becky and I, along with Rich and Sue headed over to Sullivan's Island to visit Fort Moultrie. It's been quite awhile since our last visit there, so we updated our Passport stamps, watched the movie, walked through the museum, and then strolled all around the fort across the street. At five o'clock, the fellows (Andrew and Andrew) from The Smoking Pot in Folly Beach arrived to cook supper for us. I booked a Low Country Boil for twenty of us and it wasn't long before the pot was boiling and the smell of Old Bay-like spices was filling the air. I will share only a few of the photos from our dinner because I want to have a special Smoking Pot Postcard for you when I get home. Wow, this was a long Postcard and now you see what I mean about the day having multiple parts. Tomorrow morning around 10:30 we hit the road again and head south down Highway 17 to Hunting Island State Park.
We will be saying goodbye to Beth and Pete as well as Len and Pam in the morning, but meeting us at Hunting Island will be Lois, Deb, and Judy. Nite, nite from Charleston . . . see ya tomorrow!! I want to share some photos from last evening before I tell you about our Friday in Charleston. Fourteen of us went into Folly Beach for supper at Rita's. It's famous for its shrimp and grits as well as their burgers. We had a great supper and I'm here to report that their shrimp and grits still top my list of favorites! After supper we walked down to the Folly Pier before heading back to the campground. When we arrived at the campground we found, to our delight, that they were testing the lights for their November and December Festival of Lights. We were treated to a magical display for free! Today there were a half a dozen different plans for a fun Friday. Some went to Fort Sumpter, some did a walking tour of Charleston, some took a carriage ride, some went shopping, and some did a little bit of everything. Several of us met for lunch at Tommy Condon's before striking out again. Becky and I did a bit of shopping, explored some back streets, had lunch, then drove to Folly Beach for yogurt and a visit with my dear friend Kathy. Our evening plans include a community supper at six with a campfire to follow. If your day is half as much fun as our Charleston day, then you had a good one! Today is a travel day for me and my Coastal Caravan peeps! Bill and D'Nise from NC joined us at the State Park about 15 minutes before we were ready to pull out for Charleston. Chela decided to take a field trip to Brookgreen Gardens and catch up with us later. Our Caravan of nine left at 10:15. We hardly got down the road one mile when Crystal told us on the walkie talkie that her T@B keys were not in their normal place. So I found a convenient place to pull off where everyone could follow me and we stopped for her. Guess where her T@B keys were...on her bumper!!! We soon settled into our trip and made a stop for gas and a parking lot picnic in McClellansville. That's just another fun thing we like to do when caravanning. Even though we got separated in the traffic going over the Cooper River Bridge, everyone maneuvered the lane changes and turns and we pulled into James Island County Park at 1:30! We are pros at setting up camp quickly and in no time flat everyone had chairs pulled out, awnings and rugs in place, and bikes hit the trails. Supper tonight will be down at Rita's in Folly Beach and I see a big dish of shrimp and grits in my future! Thanks so much for traveling along with us and I will leave you with some photos from last night's community supper and campfire. See ya tomorrow!! I saw a little sign today after lunch that simply said "how sweet it is" and I thought that was the perfect description of our day and the caravan so far! After a leisurely morning that included breakfast and a walk, 13 of us headed for downtown Myrtle Beach for lunch at the Sea Captain's House where we dined on everything from Parmesan-crusted flounder, jambalaya, shrimp and grits, to she-crab soup. It was a big hit with my beach peeps. Afterwards we gathered for a few group photos. Next we strolled down the Boardwalk, popped in the arcade for some skee ball games, and had a whole lot of laughs. Six of us braved four revolutions on the Skywheel and were treated to magnificent views north and south on the Grand Strand. Back at the campground you could hear the thuds of corn holes bags and laughter up and down the street. Tonight we will gather for a community supper and a campfire. Tomorrow we pull up stakes and hit the road for Charleston and the second leg of our Coastal Caravan as we set up house at James Island County Park. Thanks for stopping by and please enjoy my Myrtle Beach slideshow! |
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