Edisto Beach Spring Trip

We just returned from our early spring trip to Edisto.  It is the kind of place you can enjoy over and over.  The beach campground is our favorite.  Actually we have never stayed in the Pines campground; if you are going to the beach then we want to be on the beach.

Thursday was rather cold and rainy.  It was raining and in the mid 50s when we left home, and although the rain cleared up a bit, it was very windy at the beach.  We were on site #22 in the beach campground with a view out the door at the ocean and a view of the salt marsh out the front window.  Nice!

Friday saw a beautiful sunrise and a clear blue sky, with lots of wind. We spend some time on the beach but it was a bit chilly.  During the afternoon we decided to explore the island.   Edisto Island has a very interesting history.  It was originally settled by very independent and wealthy planters.  After the Civil War, many of the freed slaves stayed on the island.  Families of both are still in the area today. Many of he descendants of the enslaved Africans still maintain their Gullah culture.

We had dinner out Friday night at the Dockside Seafood Restaurant.  This place overlooking the waterfront at Edisto where the shrimp and fishing boats dock,  is in its 4th generation of operation by the same local family.  And they also operate the fishing boats so the food is absolutely fresh.

Saturday was a beach day.  Warm and sunny, temps in the 80s made for a lazy day, and pink faces and legs!  We stayed at the campground Saturday night, strolling around, watching the stars and listening to the ocean waves a few feet from our RV. 

We did have to move to another campsite Saturday.  SC uses Reserve America as their reservations system and sites can be booked 11 mos in advance.  This sometimes leaves various sites unbooked for a day or two as people book for a week or two at the time.  We were able to get the nice beachfront sites by booking one site for two nights, and the third night on another site.  

I didn't even take any pictures this trip. If you want to see some pictures of Edisto Beach State Park look at our dotphoto.com link in the menu on the right side of this page and see the Edisto pictures from 2 years ago.

Back home, RV cleaned up (almost), back to work on Monday.  And thinking about Key West in May. 

Spring 2011

Spring is almost here!

Wow, spring is right around the corner.  I cannot believe it has been nearly 7 months since I last posted something on this site!  Last year seems like a blur at this point.  But  hopefully things are going to be a bit different this year.

As you can tell from the lack of writing we did not do much traveling last year at all.  Due to a lot of reasons, most of our travels were very close to home.  We did make it to Edisto Beach last spring for a long weekend, and we have plans to be there again this spring.  In fact, in only a couple of weeks.  We are looking forward to that.  

 Another trip back on the books for this year is a return to our all time favorite spot, Bluewater Key near Key West, Florida.  We currently have that little trip planned for mid May of this year.

About the most exciting thing travel wise that has happened this year, is not with us, but with my cousin Debbie and her husband Herman.  They were able to take a Trip Around the World by Private Jet.  This trip sponsored by National Geographic Expeditions, was a 24 day whirlwind trip to some of the most exotic and ancient of locations on the planet.  You can read their story and see some of their pictures at this link:  Around the World in 24 Days.

Charlotte RV Show 2011
We did manage to make it to the Charlotte RV show a couple of weekends ago.  Not much has changed in the past year, other than even fewer motorhomes to walk through and oggle over.  Most of the dealer inventory seemed to be focused on younger families.  Many light weight trailers that can be towed behind an SUV.. all with bunk beds or plenty of sleeping accommodations for the youngsters.  The toy hauler category seemed to be much more substantial that last year as well. 

Our favorite quote was from a retired couple that we were talking to in one of the newer design motorhomes that had a set of bunks for additional children.   He said "My requirement is that an RV can entertain 6, feed 4 and sleep 2!"   I couldn't have said it better myself.

Our show favorite was the Tiffin Allegro RED.  (RED short for Rear Engine Diesel.)  Kind of an odd name I suppose, but we really liked the layout options.  We will likely go to a diesel pusher at some point when we can be assured of using it much more than we use our gas powered Bounder now.  However as much as we like it, now is not the time.  But I think we are hooked!

The Tiffin we like is the 36 foot model.  Not too big - we do like the state parks and some of the smaller campsites we have visited -  yet it is big enough.  And the ride is awesome.  Folks have told us how much quieter the diesel pusher is than a front engine gas RV.  And now I believe it.  The Tiffin is the first diesel pusher we have ever driven.   And it was like driving a golf cart!  Push the accelerator and off you go. No noise, no groaning, no racket of any kind.  Simply moving forward.  As I said, I think we are both hooked.

I hope everyone is looking forward to the spring and the new RV season.  Or I guess it is maybe the season for us folks that are still working for a living.  Anyway, I will try to be more diligent about posting on this site.

Hope to see you on the road!

weekend trip to Asheville

It has been quite a while since my last entry, and it has been a long hot summer. We decided to take a quick trip in the RV to the beautiful NC mountains. We spent the weekend in the Asheville area staying at Mama Gerties Hideaway Campground in Swannanoa.

Charlotte RV Show

We decided to check out the Charlotte RV show last Saturday. It turned out to be a beautiful day to get out and we really enjoyed the afternoon poking around the various types of RVs, accessories, and other vendor at the show. LOTS of people were there, most with smaller children. Or so it seemed to us.

We arrived about 1:30 PM, and were lucky to find a parking spot close by. Tickets this year were $10. I don't know, maybe its just me, but it seems a little excessive for a show that I'm sure charges a fortune to the RV dealers and vendors, then wants you to buy stuff as soon as you enter the door.

Having been to most of the Charlotte RV shows for the past 10 years or so, it was apparent that there were many less motorhomes on display than in past years. Some of the bigger dealers were there with a few coaches. But the Convention Center was primarily filled with travel trailers, fivers, and pop ups.

It is really amazing what can be done in the confines of a 21 foot travel trailer. It is obvious that they are able to focus on specific customer segments. For example, very small travel trailers that were great for a traveling couple. Or one that had multiple bunk beds for the travelers with smaller children.

Speaking of travelers with small children, the motorhome manufacturers are on the verge of turning their back on their bread and butter business; traveling couples. The floor plans of the few motorhomes we did see seemed to have lost all sensibility in trying to do "new and innovative" things in the small space and loosing sight of common sense.

Most of those we saw with full wall slideout rooms, tend to block off the rear of the coach while underway with the slide in. This means that the designers have to accommodate the owners while underway with a half bath that can be accessed with the slide in. What a waste of space for anyone that would like more kitchen counter or storage.

But it was a lot of fun to watch people, browse through the RVs, and run into a few old friends along the way. Comming home with a renewed appreciation of our 2005 Bounder may have just been worth the $20 price of admission.

Spring (trip) is just around the corner!!??

It was a cold day in Lake Wobegon. Oh, wait. That is from Garrison Keillor.

It's been a cold month in Monroe. This has been one of the colder winters in recent memory anyway. I can't wait for it to warm up some, soon. We were planning a trip to south Florida and the Keys for mid February, but that just didn't work out; too much going on at work and too much going on at home.

The recent passing of a close Aunt of mine after a long illness put another damper on this winter. While she will be missed, we have come to realize what a strange and debilitating disease Alzheimer's is.

On top of that, the Lutherans are having their share of problems as well. And, no that is not a quote from Garrison Keillor. Well, it really is, but I'm saying it too. The recent decisions and actions of the 2009 ELCA Church Wide Assembly has caused our congregation to think twice about remaining a member congregation of the ELCA. The real problem is that there is no other good organization for us to join at this time.

But unlike Garrison Keillor's Minnesota Lutherans in Lake Wobegon, I am really, really ready for a vacation in a more southerly clime. Someplace warm. Someplace quiet. Someplace relatively devoid of Lutherans for a couple of weeks. (Pastor Fink if you happen to read this, please take it as intended.) I think Key West pretty much fits that bill.

We currently have reservations at Blue Water Key RV Resort, MM 14 Highway 1 for the last week of April.

I really do not want to wish time away. Time comes and goes much too fast anyway. It seems not that long ago that a bunch of us boys were playing in our yards. Playing in the woods. Playing. Not playing video games, or personal music devices, or Twittering, or DVRing something to play later, but just playing. We would play in the sandpile and in piles of leaves. It seems like we always had a good time. Parents scheduling "play dates" for kids was not something anyone had even thought of at that time. I don't think we even had much in the way of so called organized athletics. Maybe the boys in Monroe had Little League or something, but not us; that was for city kids. A Pee Wee Football team was eventually organized at our elementary school, but that was after I was already gone from there. Yet, without all that "parenting" (if that is even really a word) we did manage to develop social skills, and friends, and learned how to behave, and got our exercise, and came in for supper, and in the summertime went back out again after supper to play until way past dark.

And last Monday, standing in the sunny chill of a February afternoon, most of those that I had played with were nearby, their sons standing next to me in the pallbearer line at my Aunt's funeral. So I really do not want to wish time away. But I sure wish it was warm and we were with the cat in the RV on the way to Key West.