South Carolina

Oct 20th

Off to South Carolina! We are staying at a big RV resort on Myrtle Beach. I didn’t know how big it really was until we arrived. There are almost 900 RV sites, and just as many rental houses and condos. This is a vacation destination for many people. Oceans Lakes RV resort, has its own RV sales center, RV repair center (that will come to your site for repairs), 8 small lakes for fishing, concierge services, pools, a water park, 18-hole mini golf, restaurants (some with delivery to your site), golf cart rentals/sales/repairs, laundry rooms (with laundry service at an extra charge), on-site propane refill, and much more. They even have a massive RV storage facility, and they move your RV to the resort for you. The only reason that we stayed here though, was the beach. We have access to Myrtle Beach, which is gorgeous. The sites are kind of cramped together, and the large number of people is a little overwhelming. We set up our trailer and immediately walked to the beach. It is a white sand beach, that stretches as far as the eye can see in either direction, and the water is not freezing. On our walk back to our trailer, I realized that there were very few people actually walking around in the resort. They all had golf carts and would drive everywhere, even if it is less than a hundred yards. Mia was very excited, because quite a few of the campers had set up huge Halloween displays.

Oct 21st

Kathy and I were awake early this morning, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic. We left Oreo with the still sleeping Mia, filled our coffee cups and walked to the beach. There were about 40 other people lined up on the beach when we got there. It was spectacular (see the attached pictures). While Mia had school this morning, I walked to the RV service center and was able to purchase most of the parts I needed to fix things in the trailer. After lunch, we went to the beach. Mia ran straight to the water and started playing in the waves. As Kathy and I watched her, a pod of 30 or more dolphins swam by. They were only about twenty yards from where Mia was playing. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach. The resort is getting more crowded, and the golf carts are now starting to become a nuisance. Mia wanted to ride her bike to the playground, but it is too unsafe with the number of golf carts zipping around. As it got dark, the parties started, and the golf cart situation got down right dangerous. There are so many, that you have to wait for an opening, and then dart across the street.

Oct 22nd

The propane guy came this morning, and filled our tank. It was pretty nice not having to take the tanks out and drive them somewhere. We promised to take Mia to the water park today after school, but when we got there, we found a sign saying it was closed for the season. She wasn’t too upset, because the alternative was to go to the beach again. The waves were much higher today, and Mia and Kathy played in the surf for hours. They walked back to our trailer exhausted. It is Friday, and the parties and golf carts have reached a crescendo. People drive their dogs in the carts, to the beach just to walk them. About half of the carts have stereos, and as they go by, the music is blaringly loud. Parents are letting their kids drive the carts around, without the parents present. It is mass golf-cart chaos, and we have almost been hit several times. We stayed at our site all night, listening to the parties and carts go by. The resort must be strict about the noise curfew, because I woke up at midnight, and it was fairly quiet. The beach aside, I’m looking forward to leaving tomorrow.

Oct 23rd

This is the first morning, for this entire trip, that I am anxious to leave. Writing this now, I know I sound like an old grumpy man. I realize that we are in a different situation than the other campers at this resort. We are living in our RV full time and not here to party, and they are here on their yearly vacations, trying to enjoy themselves. We are just not RV resort type people, and will avoid them from now on. Kathy found a Harvest Host on a farm close to Hilton Head for us to stay at for the next couple of nights. We will be visiting Kathy’s second cousin Peter who live on the Island tomorrow. The farm we are staying at is a regenerative pig and chicken farm. There were three other RVs at the farm, but they had us all separated very well. At 5:30pm the owner gave us all a tour of the farm. All of their animals are free range in sections of the forest. The idea is to make the forest healthier. The native trees and plants are being choked out by invasive species. First, they put cattle or goats on a piece of property, to eat the vegetation. Then they switch to pigs, which dig up the roots of the plants, and finally chickens, which eat the seeds of the invasive plants, and leave a layer of fertilizer. After the chickens are done, the owners go through and cut out invasive trees, and scatter native seeds. As we walked around the farm, we could see the different stages, from tangled jungle to healthy forest.

Oct 24th

We drove to Hilton Head Island this morning to meet with cousin Peter Ovens. He met us at the visitor center, and took us on a tour of Hilton Head. Peter was a friend of the man who developed Hilton Head, Charles Fraser. As a developer, he was very environmentally aware. Lawns and pools were not allowed, and yards had to have native species. They even built around all of the old oak trees that were on the island. The communities consist of mainly wealthy people. Peter took us to the island museum, and there Mia finally got to see live carnivorous plants. There were pitcher plants and Venus fly traps. Unfortunately, she stepped on a red ant hill, and her foot was swarmed with ants that stung her. She had little red welts all over her foot and ankle. We said goodbye to Peter and went back to the farm we are staying at. Kathleen and Mia helped the owners collect eggs this evening.

Oct 25th

Today was mostly a driving day. We left South Carolina and drove through Georgia, and into Florida. We are staying at a city campground in Orlando. The park is very nice. The sites are all spread out, and there is a lake and hiking trails. Kathy is not impressed by the warning signs for alligators though. There was a rain storm after we arrived. 85 degrees, and torrential rain. Mia loved the warm rain. She played in the water, and was very disappointed when it ended 10 minutes later. During dinner we revealed to Mia our true reason for stopping in Orlando (to visit Universal Studios which has the World of Harry Potter). She was so happy she started crying.