Dec 9, 2012 - Army/Navy Game

Saturday is to be a short day in order to get safely to Charleston and seated at a sports bar for the annual service football game. Over the years, we can remember where we were in the transit when this game came up during the first Saturday in December. Usually we were in Florida, but last year it was Coinjock, up in Virginia. This year we would be in Charleston at the City Marina and the remembrance here was that the place was run by a crew of teenagers without adult supervision. Our memory was soon confirmed. After being directed to a...

Dec 7, 2012 - On to South Carolina

The Carolina Beach anchorage for our sixth night on the trip found us with two at anchor, two in marinas and two on free docks. The morning departure thru Snows Cut and into the Fear River caught a nice down current that sped us quickly to the river mouth. We passed trainloads of tanks waiting for shipment and dodged a couple of big barges coming down from Wilmington. Rather than turn into the ICW at Southport, we headed outside on the same falling tide. By mid afternoon we entered at Little River along with a couple of their gambling boats...

Dec 3, 2012 - Days 20 & 21 with Bare's in Charleston, SC

We arrived at Vickie & John Bare's house in Charleston, SC for lunch and they took us to California Dreaming on the water. Brad & John taught together in Crown Point for 18 years and we all got to be good friends and Vickie invited me on a cruise last Spring with 2 of her other friends. We went to the Market to shop. Brad bought a new billfold and I bought hats for me, Jenny & Karen. We met Vickie & John's daughter, Jamie, and her daughters Ashlynne & Brooke at a Mexican restaurant for lunch. Grandma & Grandpa Bare are a big part of their...

Nov 28, 2012 - Day 4 FROG Rally - Magnolia Plantation and Hyman's Seafood

11/28/12 Do some housekeeping chores. At 10 we meet at the office, Bob has arranged for those interested to go to the shed and meet Rick who started designing the light decorations on display in the park 22 years ago. It's a year round operation for 4 employees plus dozens of volunteers from September on. They take meticulous care to make sure every light is working and the correct color, etc. All but 3 displays come down at the end of the season and are stacked on flatbed trailers for storage. What an amazing operation. This afternoon we...

Nov 27, 2012 - Day 3 FROG Rally - Visited Patriot's Point

11/27/12 Pancake Breakfast at Edisto Hall. The rest of the day is unscheduled. Tom and I drive to Patriots Point to tour the Naval and Maritime Museum. We board the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier who played a significant role in the Pacific offensive which started in late 1943. It had a crew of 3,500 and held 90 planes. We also toured the Medal of Honor Museum. In downtown Charleston we ate at our favorite BBQ restaurant, Sticky fingers. YUM! Back at the campground we took chairs over to our hosts campsite for a fire and s' mores. We got...

Nov 26, 2012 - Day 2 @ FROG Rally

11/26/12 Day 2 at James Island County Park. Sunny warms to mid 60's After a continental breakfast at Edisto Hall, we are assigned to 1of 2 12 passenger buses. They take us on a tour of Historic Charleston, Glen our driver is also our guide and very knowledgable. Drops us off at the Charleston Boat Dock where we have a box lunch. Board the boat for a tour of Charleston. Harbor and Fort Sumter. Some believe this is the location of the beginning of the Civil War. The weather couldn't be better! Return to the bus about 2:30. The rest of the day...

Nov 26, 2012 - OTRA - SC - Charleston 2012

11/26/12 Humph. Can't find our "trip route" from Tabor City to Charleston but I do remember we took Route 17 the whole way down. And we did pull into the Lake Aire RV Park about 17 miles northwest of Charleston SC sometime in the early afternoon. And I don't remember having any trouble on the way down. And I do know that we have a nice lot here, out in the open (which would be great if we had a satellite dish!) so we do have the sun to help warm us up a bit. 11/27/12 Well, we have a problem Houston. Our black tank (sewer) is clogged up...

Nov 25, 2012 - James Island County Park, SC - FROG Rally

11/25/12 James Island Country Park, Charleston, SC Joining 24 other RVs made by Forest River for 5 days of touring Charleston and seeing an awesome light display right here in the CG. We started with a great dinner of BBQ brisket and chicken, baked beans and corn bread, dessert was banana pudding. We took a shuttle around the grounds to see the Christmas decorations that started 23 years ago with a couple snow flakes. After that we walked about and then took the train around the lake for another view of this beautiful display. The weather...

Nov 21, 2012 - Georgetown, SC to Charleston, SC

November 21, 2012 Georgetown SC (ICW MM 403.0) to Charleston SC (ICW MM 469.3) Left: 6:30 am - Arrive: Miles Traveled: 66.3 High 62/Low 37 – Winds N 10-15 mph – Sunny to Partly Cloudy Hi All! We have had three days of overcast, cold, and rainy weather. We usually don’t usually do many marinas but with this weather it’s a way to keep warm at night. We anchored in Georgetown SC harbor last night. It was very nice…calm and quiet. Georgetown is a cute town that is trying to spruce itself up but it has to overcome the industrial side of the...

Nov 16, 2012 - Charleston, SC

Therese had vacationed in Charleston, SC with a girlfriend back in the late 70's and has wonderful memories of the area. We were really looking forward to spending some time here. We based at the Mt. Pleasant KOA RV Park because it's close to the RV repair facility that we had chosen to install the new window assembly in the trailer to replace the one that was broken in our mishap in Asheville. The window had already arrived at the shop so, less than 24 hours after our arrival, our home was once more intact and no worse for the wear. For...

Nov 12, 2012 - Beginning of the Low Country

Today the internet connection is quite weak, so there will be no photos--but do not worry, that only means there will be more tomorrow. However, I have prepared a laundry list of some of the waterways we either past by or in on our way today. Honestly though--the first was yesterday in NC--Lockwoods Folly. This is a small inlet recommended for small boats--but not Mr. Lockwood. Back in the 1800s somewhere, Lockwood built a wooden boat that he intended to launch through the inlet. But the boat's draught was too deep, forcing Lockwood to...

Oct 27, 2012 - Charleston, SC

Today we drove in light rain to Charleston, SC. Heavier rain and a lot more of it is predicted. We would like to get to camp and set up, and then we will wait it out. We met a couple hauling a travel trailer 2 days ago on the ferries from Hatteras to the mainland, and since we had 2 ferry rides of 40 minutes and 2+ hours, we talked a while. Today we passed a state park here in SC and they were just pulling out. We waved and drove along the same road for an hour or so. Janet and I laughed about what a small world it is. This is the second...