Well - it's been about 10 days since we left NH and it's been quite an adventure....Here's the story as it's happened so far..........
Our first night in Sturbridge, with 3 hours behind us, was long overdue. It was great to be on the road with so much adventure before us.....we had a "cookout" that evening and Shannon encountered her first Halloween trick-or-treeters. We had a peaceful evening with our sights on a 6 hour ride the second day.
The second day we were up early - around 6 and hit the road early. We traveled through Mass, CT, NY, NJ and finally hit Pennsylvania just before 3:00pm. When we arrived at our campsite, we set up, took Shannon for a nice walk and had our first campfire of the season. Here too Shannon got to experience more trick-or-treaters. (Campgrounds usually have Halloween themed weekends the 3 weekends before Halloween)
Sunday morning we were up early again...knowing that we only had a short 3 hour driving day. And knowing that once we arrived and settle in (in WV) we would be spending the afternoon with our friend Cynthia and her 2 kids.
We were very excited when we arrived at the campground to discover that it had it's very own "doggie park". A large fenced in area where Shannon could run around, play catch, chase her tail and otherwise "sew her oats" for a bit. We were delighted at the opportunity to let her release a bit of pent up energy. And boy did she have some.....
We spend that afternoon with Cynthia and kids doing a small hike near Harper's Ferry, WV. It's was about an hour long. We walked over battlefields and through woods. Later we drove into the town of Harper's Ferry (Much like Bow Street in Portsmouth) and walked around a bit and had lunch. The place we ate was "pet friendly" so Shannon was allowed up onto the second floor balcony with us, where we all ate outside. She loved looking through the railing at the people below. The waiter even treated her to dog biscuit treats.
Harper's Ferry is located down on the river where Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia come together. There are some great hiking trails and even the Appalachian trail going through part of the town. It's really spectacular.
Next day (Monday) we departed about 9:00am and headed south. We didn't have any definite plans as to where we were going to stop for the night - just knew that in 2 days we would be at Myrtle Beach, SC.
We ended up calling it quits about 4:00 and pulled into a very convenient campground just off 95 in Selma, NC. The place was pretty nice, and new, however if I must say (and I must say....) the girl in the office had the manners and personality of an overcooked turnip. (Not sure the "overcooked turnip" tells you much - but it sounded good when I made it up)
She had been on her cell phone when I arrived in the office and she had as much interest in me as she did in her job - which was none........
When we woke on Tuesday is was time to high tail it to Myrtle Beach. We were only about 3 hours away. The drive was easy and we pulled into our sight just around noon. Our feet were in the sand in a matter of minutes. And Shannon was finally in her element. We put her on a long 20 foot leash and she ran after birds, but shells in her mouth, and tried to chase the foam of the ocean. She had a blast.
We were at Myrtle Beach for 5 nights. (Elaine and Ted, friends of ours, were there too) Most of our time was spend walking on the beach - and just hanging out. The weather was beautiful and we had no cares in the world. On the 3rd (full) day, Russ and I took a drive around and found a (another) doggie park. This was one huge!! Shannon had a blast chasing around the other dogs. She befriended this "ridge-back" puppy who was only 5 months old - but almost twice as big as her.
We had a fabulous dinner out one evening with Elaine and Ted. We went to a place that was basically an "all-you-can-eat-meat-buffet." There was a "salad bar" with all the fixings, plus some staples like rice, potato's, broccoli,etc. But then the waiters (and there were several) would come around to your table with slabs of meat on a skew and cut you off a piece. Lamp, pork, sausage, chicken, steak, tenderloin, fillet Mignon, and every other kind of red meat beef you can think of. It was outrageous!!! Quite the place.........It was Elaine's b-day too so of course the waiters sang her happy b-day......
On Sunday we packed up camp and headed south again - and just in time I might add. The weather in Myrtle Beach was turning chilly and would get worse in a few days. Our destination was Charleston, SC. A county park: James County Recreation Park.
As I write this - we are still here - about to depart tomorrow. And I must say this place is AWESOME. The campground is great - just the right size - about 100 sites. The entire "Park" is 643 acres in total. It has lots of facilities: in addition to the campground, it has a kids playground, climbing wall, boat rentals, 3 ponds to fish in, 3 biking trails - each over 1 miles long. Lots of hiking trails, pavilions and more. And of course a "doggie park." And WOW - this is a great park. Puts the place in Myrtle Beach to shame. It's surrounded on 3 sides by water and the last by woods (and of course the fence). The area is probably about 5 acres large. Lots of dogs and lots of room to run. Shannon has been spoiled here as we take her on a bike ride to the park, let her play in the dog park, and then bike with her (she runs beside us) on the way back home again. And what they say is true: "A tired puppy makes a happy owner". We are thrilled when she is tired.....no mischief from her.!!!
Oh - how can I forget this story.......the big "oh shit" of the trip.........
When we arrived here we had to "detach" the car. Our campsite was one that we had to back into so this was necessary. While I checked into the campground, Russ did the car thing. I then jumped into the car, started it up and Russ followed me to the site in the motor home. HOWEVER, when I arrived at our campsite, I pulled the car over and tried to turn it off.......it wouldn't shut off. The key was locked in the "on" position and no matter what I did it would not turn off. So,....we got the motor home parked (in probably one of the worst spots in the campground.....the site really isn't big enough for our rig - although we made it fit any way) and then started to fuss with the car. Russ had to take out a fuse in order to turn it off. We ended up dropping it off at a dealership yesterday in order to have the key and ignition replaced.....to the tune of....TO MUCH MONEY TO EVEN MENTION!!!!!!!
We did however, have a great day yesterday. We went with Ted, while Elaine dog-sat, to an Air Craft Carrier (the Yorktown I think) here in Charleston. It was a fabulous day. We were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and got our own personal tour of the flight deck from a gentleman who worked the flight deck of a carrier back in 1965 - 1969. (He was 17 at the time) There was probably 10 or so airplanes on deck and he went around and told us about each one. Then talked about the landings and take-offs of the airplanes and how it all worked. Really fascinating. We then toured (on our own) the rest of the vessel. We ended up in the engine room via the galley, bunk rooms, doctors stations, captains quarters, the bridge(s) (both captain and admiral). It was really cool!!!
This evening Russ and I went out for dinner at a great seafood place. Had shrimp and crabs of course. (What else does one eat in SC??) Ted and Elaine left today for Savannah....we will probably meet back up with them in about 10 days.
So - that's our travels from the road so far. Tomorrow we leave here - a 6 hour drive but we will finally arrive in Florida. We will stay at a campground we have stayed at once before. A state park about 50 miles west of Jacksonville. (Stephen Foster State Park) We stayed there on our trip home in 2009 and liked it so much we decided to return. I believe we even have the same campsite: #11. It's a great place to ride bikes and do some hiking. We weren't able to last time - but hopefully will get to tomorrow or the next day.....provided the weather cooperates....
Anyway - that's it for now....
