Edisto Beach

We stopped in here on our way home on our last trip south in 2018. Its a really neat out-of-the-way spot, with miles and miles of beach, lots of interesting shells, pelicans and ever present dolphins.
Edisto is a small town with all the usual small town conveniences. A fillin' station, a Bi-Lo grocery store, two bar/restaurants and a Subway.

Today is American Thanksgiving. The campers here are displaying everything from pumpkins and scarecrows to laser light shows. 
Many are smoking/grilling/BBQing everything imaginable. Go BIG or go home.

We spent most of the day on the beach, actually using the beach umbrella for shade instead of as a windbreak.

It is supposed to cool off a bit tomorrow, Friday, so beach time may be at an end here.

This was Edisto Beach this morning.

Today, Saturday, we move to Skiddaway State Park, just south of Savannah.
Another easy drive of only a couple of hours.

OK, its time to pack things up and get ready to leave. Going to miss this place.

Myrtle Beach .... a pleasant surprise!

Myrtle Beach. 
We were expecting the worst. Crowds, traffic, noise and line-ups for restaurants and a beach full of......beach-goers.
We found none of the above.
Come here in November. The temperatures are in the mid to high teens, and the place is practically deserted! 
Nearly all the restaurants and shops are open.
This is Ocean Blvd (the Strip), bumper to bumper in season.

The Boardwalk. They call it the Strand.

We had a great "late lunch", more like supper.
Coconut shrimp and fries. What is considered an appetizer here, is dinner for two for the us. 
First food pic, I know. Many more to come.

Myrtle Beach State Park was a real unexpected treat. 300 acres of pristine wilderness surrounded by hundreds of beach wear (t-shirt) outlets, fast food restaurants and condos. 
Our site was nestled in a forest with scarcely a neighbour in sight. Only a few minutes to the largely deserted beach.

They ride horses on the beach here. I brought an e-bike. More fun and faster. (and it doesn't crap on the beach!!)
Tomorrow we head to Edisto Beach, near Charleston SC. An easy day of driving, only 150 miles.
Thanks for coming along, lots more to come.

Three days of Nasty Weather and a Near Show Stopper

I really wanted to have a picture of the Port Grocer as we left. 

Sheena and Darlene in front of the legendary establishment.

On the day we left we managed to stay ahead of the rain until the last half hour coming into Saint John. It rained hard that night and pretty much for the next two days. Cold, windy and wet. Not pleasant driving.

Cold November Rain. Most of it looked a lot like this.

Crossing the border at St. Stephen was a gift. A young guy, very polite, asked to have a look inside. When we told him we were headed to Texas, he kept asking if we were going anywhere near Brownsville. I know what goes on in Brownsville TX, he, he, but I played dumb and told him were weren't going there (and we're not).  I believe more weed crosses international borders in Brownsville than any other place on earth.

So, other than the crappy weather, mostly an uneventful ride. 

Until last night. Coming into Scranton, PA there was a major traffic backup. The GPS suggested an alternate route to get around it, about 15 miles, so we took it. Well, we ended up on some pretty dark, wet, winding and hilly streets, some of the finest the Blue Ridge Mountains have to offer.

As we were careening down a long slope I see a sign flash by "No Vehicles over 10 tons ahead, Last chance to turn around". We are 14 tons. Well, turning around was even less of an option than stopping. A long line of headlights behind us.

So I figured, how bad can it be? An old bridge maybe? Surely it could support us for a few seconds. No worries.

As we rounded a slight bend, there it was, a small trestle. But we weren't going over it. We were going under it! I don't recall the writing on the rusty old thing but Darlene assures me it said something like "Danger, Low Bridge".

I was on the brakes hard but we were going through regardless, no question about it.

I fully expected something very loud and "expensive" sounding.... but nothing. We never were able to find out the clearance of this bridge, but we are exactly 12 feet tall and I doubt we had more than a few inches to spare. 

For some hilarious entertainment, well, not so hillarious for the driver, check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USu8vT_tfdw

There but for the grace of God go we.

Lesson learned. The GPS probably thinks we are a VW Golf. We're not! No more detours. We'll tough it out as in the good old days, before GPS.

We're in Roanoke VA tonight, our last Walmart stop for a long while, yay....not that we're unappreciative.

Last night's accommodation, Walmart parking lot in Wilkes Barre, PA. Not very picturesque but had a Liquor store, Subway, and a Starbucks. Checks all the boxes, no?

Tomorrow, Charlotte NC and the day after that......THE BEACH!!

One More Time...

Darlene and I have been very busy getting things ready for what may be our last RV trip. Its not that we haven't thoroughly enjoyed every mile and destination over the past several years, but we've been thinking it may be time to explore some other more distant places in the future. This trip will be the longest yet, about six months.

For those of you who are new to this blog, the most recent posts are at the top, older ones below. Keep in mind there are 3 trips here dating back to 2015, so if you don't want to read ancient history, click on the posts from 2019 and (soon) 2020.

We will be visiting a lot of our favorite  destinations from previous trips and a few new ones. I'll try not to dwell on things you may have seen before. I'll also try not to dwell on how hot it is, and how spectacular the food is.....well OK, maybe a little.

The plan is to go south along the east coast as far as St. Augustine, and then follow the Gulf Coast west to Texas. Our final destination will be near Terlingua, TX. Google it or check out the older posts. Terlingua is the definition of eclectic. We are taking it easy this trip, we will be taking 3 months to get to this area. That works out to an astonishing average of 36 miles per day. This, I can do!

As usual, our first 4 or 5 nights will be Walmart parking lots, drive, eat, sleep, repeat. The first "non-Walmart" stop will be Myrtle Beach State Park. We have never been to Myrtle Beach, hopefully its not too cold and I doubt it will be  crowded.

Today is Nov 14, 3 days before we leave, depending on the weather as always. It snowed last night and it's getting cold. With perfect timing the brakes on the CR-V packed it in yesterday so that needs to be repaired before we leave.

We will really miss all of our friends here in Port. We will miss dumping day (lobster season opening, the day they dump the traps in the ocean), and missing out on a lot of lobster. Six months without the Port Grocer on Friday night Pub Night. Ouch!
There should be 2 weeks left in lobster season when we return so we'll make the most of that.
The cold damp weather, not going to miss it so much.

We checked into what we can bring into the USA food wise.  Pretty much nothing! No meat, no fruit or veggies, no dairy. So we're packing the freezer with salmon, scallops and shrimp. And I'll drink my coffee without cream for a day!

And of course, my blog policy is "no post without a pic", so I'm going to have to come up with something soon....

OK, not exactly a picture but a Google Maps  screenshot of about the first two weeks of the trip. I'm thinking a ferry from Yarmouth to Savannah would really do well. 

I'll post again a few days after we leave. Anyone up for pictures of Walmart parking lots? Or.... how about a fine digital reproduction of a  MacDonald's Big Breakfast, suitable for framing..??
Thanks for coming along.
Stay tuned.