Mar 6, 2013 - Maiden Voyage II

First trip with the new camper "Taj Mahal" named thus due to it's size compared to the pop-camper we traded in. It has a 3+ slide that just makes the inside look enormous! It has all kinds of things that we just love about it but I"m sure they are pretty much standard stuff. So about the trip. I had been on the Keystone forums about pulling this 29 foot trailer with my Tacoma V6 Prerunner TRD. One of the posts, from a senior member, had me scarred to death to pull it with the Tacoma. Even though it pulled just fine from the dealer in North...

Jan 4, 2013 - Dec. 29th 2012

We woke this morning an the two back driver side rear tires were low. About 35 psi and they should have 90psi. We had air added to them at the Wal-Mart tire and lube area. We made it as far as Columbia SC where we spent the night at the Wal-Mart. We traveled 272 miles today On the way we saw a pet pot bellied pig at a rest stop.

Dec 2, 2012 - Checking out Columbia

12/2/12 We closed out the Rally Thursday, 11/29 with breakfast in the activity center to say our goodbyes and collect some new email addresses. Tom and I had no idea what to expect but it exceeded ALL expectations and hope to do it again. Packed up and headed out to begin our search for a new home. Since then we have been in a campground outside Columbia, SC touring the area. We started with the Chamber of Commerce and the visitors center, both helpful. 250 miles later having cris crossed the City and haven't found anything remarkable. We...

May 25, 2012 - Laurel & Hardy, Columbia, SC, The State House and Museum

First stop today was the little town of Harlem, GA to visit the Laurel & Hardy Museum. The town is really small and so is the museum. It is a little off the beaten path. These two comics are part of our american history, but I would not have gone out of my way. This town is trying to stay alive with the fact that Oliver Hardy was born here. His father died the same year he was born. Soon after, mother and son moved to Milledgeville and never returned to Harlem, GA We stopped for lunch in Columbia, SC. We only had an hour which barely gave...

May 25, 2012 - Weston Lake, Fort Jackson, Columbia SC

Our dear friends, Carla & Nick Dudek (we were neighbors when we lived in Rocky Mount, NC) came over for dinner, we had a great time catching up on news, common friends and just having a good time. We did have a fire even when it was in the 80s, just the thing to do.

May 24, 2012 - Weston Lake, Fort Jackson, Columbia SC

We headed out to Ft. Jackson near Columbia SC, will stay the Memorial Day weekend, since we have to pass through Charlotte NC where NASCAR holds its longest race, 600 miles and all the RV parks are full and the traffic will be extremely congested. We are staying at Weston Lake, Fort Jackson's Recreational Area. A very nice RV park nestled in the woods.

Apr 17, 2012 - Columbia, SC - Dreher Island State Park

Our trip from Brunswick, GA to Columbia, SC was 248 miles and took about five hours. We prefer not driving on Interstates and we had an opportunity on this trip to cut the corner, so to speak, and take US 321 between I-95 and I-26 from just North of Savannah to just South of Columbia. It took us through a half-million small towns (one about every five miles, sometimes closer) and the scenery wasn't really that much better than staying on the Interstate. Doris took a picture from each of the two largest towns, Estill and Fairfax. Almost all...

Jan 11, 2012 - December 29th

December 29 We had a good day of traveling today. We pass through the mountains today with no snow, like we had last year. We traveled 275 miles and stopped at a Walmart in Columbia South Carolina. We had Carolina BarBQ at Maurice,s. Carolina BarBQ has a mustard based sauce. It was good but not as good as I remembered it.

Nov 11, 2011 - Columbia State House...

Today we visited the State House in Columbia. As I mentioned in the last post, we stopped by last evening to check it out & decided a tour would be nice. Guided tours are available or you can walk through on your own. We viewed a short film before opting for the guided tour. The building houses the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Until 1971, it also housed the Supreme Court. It is in the Greek Revival style and has 130,673 square feet of space. We were impressed with...

Nov 10, 2011 - 'Busted Plug Plaza'...

We arrived in Columbia, South Carolina on Monday after an easy, pretty drive. We stopped at a beautiful Rest Area/Visitor Center & picked up information about the area. The young man working there was friendly and very helpful, arming us with brochures and coupons. After getting settled into Mr. Z's, our Passport America park, we looked things over & decided to make a trip into the city to see the country's tallest fire hydrant and a couple of murals done by Blue Sky. We also stopped by the state capital building to decide if we were...

Nov 4, 2011 - 13th & Final Update

Saturday, October 22, 2011 – Got on the road to Amarillo, TX (275 miles) by 11:00 AM and arrived at our destination at 5:30 PM (after loosing an hour when we entered the Central Time Zone). We stayed overnight at the Oasis RV Resort (recommended by the USA RV Park in Gallup); this was the second commercial RV resort we were impressed with. The overnight cost was very reasonable, and then we had pizza in their restaurant for dinner. Also, very good. So, we also decided to have breakfast there. Betty’s biscuits-n-gravy wasn’t very good, but...

Mar 27, 2011 - Columbia

Thursday another very long drive to Lexington near Columbia (244 miles 4.5 hour journey) we are having to get up at 5.00am so we can get on the road by 6.00am. While here we walked around Columbia City visiting the State Capitol building where the Governor holds office. Then we strolled along the Cayce River Walk which was peaceful, watching all the turtles piled high on the rocks in the river, saw the American Robins here as well. Early to bed as up again early tomorrow to do another very long drive.