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!