Through the tangles

Mount Pleasant, SC -- We are just north of Charleston, the South Carolina city where the first shots were fired in the Civil War. It's a place we've been before, so we recognized some of the sights as we drove through. We are at a lovely KOA campground, complete with a lake, wide, open sites and plenty of amenities. The blurb says it is situated on an old plantation.

It was a fresh morning when we set out from Jekyll Island Campground. We had spent a good session the night before mapping out our route for the day, because we didn't want to spend the whole time dodging transport trucks on the interstates. Our chosen route was along Highway 17 pretty well the whole way. There were two parts that made me a bit nervous; those were the parts where you could see the little "17" on the map on one side of the big city and on the other, but there was a whole mess of other highways in the middle with no clear indication how our little red line got through them all. The two cities were Savannah, GA and Charleston.

So, off we went, Val at the wheel and me with copious maps spread out on my lap and in the door pocket beside me. Full of optimism and confidence that we'd get out the other end none the worse for wear.

After crossing the bridge off the island, we turned northward on Highway 17 to a second more impressive bridge that took us over the Brunswick River and past the city of Brunswick. The Sidney Lanier Bridge is Georgia's tallest cable-stayed suspension bridge, and soars above the river. It replaced a vertical suspension bridge that had been twice struck by ships.

For much of our route, we followed a straight line with tall trees on either side and only a few glimpses of the marshes and waterways to the east of us. But the traffic was light and the weather was fine, and the two big cities were way off to begin with.

I confess that my level of anxiety did augment somewhat as I looked at the map and our GPS screen and saw that Savannah, our first hurdle, was nearing. With no fewer than three maps, I'd sort of seen how Highway 17 worked its way through, but we've had surprises before. My eyes were glued to every signpost on the roadside, and each time that lovely number 17 showed up I smiled inwardly. Yay! As the big city faded into the distance behind us, with not a single glitch or wrong turn, I rejoiced.

Shortly after Savannah, we crossed the state line into South Carolina. When the urban sections had thinned out, we stopped to have lunch and gas up. Our only other objective was a grocery store. We passed a couple of Piggly Wigglys (love that name!!) on the wrong side of the highway before using the GPS to find us a Publix store nearby. The one it found required a U-turn, but we made it with little difficulty and soon were back on good old Highway 17. That was the only time today that we had to hear the GPS lady drawl "recalculating"!

Besides the highway signposts, there were plenty of other signs with odd street or town names. We saw a Rude Dog Lane in one town, and passed another town called Ashepoo, next to the Ashepoo River! Another one I saw the other day was Horse Stamp Church Road. How about that.

A couple of times, our highway joined up with the Interstate 95 for a few miles, so we got to see the wisdom of our choice to avoid it. We were soon back onto the road less traveled -- though it was a four-lane for much of the way with a decent surface.

Charleston was approaching. Another tangle of incoming highways and city expressways! By this time we'd engaged our GPS lady full time, and her calm tones kept us on the right path throughout. Our final destination was only a few minutes beyond Charleston -- or so we thought. As our turnoff to Highway 17 approached, we saw an electronic sign that said "Incident on Ravenel Bridge. Expect delays." We were in the thick of rush hour traffic by this time, headed for...the Ravenel Bridge. A long line of cars snaked up ahead, and we had to squeeze sideways three times for police, ambulance and fire trucks to struggle past with sirens ablaze. When we finally got abreast of the incident there was no sign of a crash, so we fear it must have been a jumper.

As soon as we passed the emergency vehicles the traffic flowed freely and in no time we were at the KOA. Whew! Not quite: our reservation could not be found. Finally, the staff lady checked with another employee and realized it was under Vanin instead of Zanin! Next time I reserve over the phone I will say ZED instead of zee when I spell our name!

The cycle of life

Jekyll Island, GA -- First thing this morning, we were at the campground office door in order to register officially, since we arrived after office hours yesterday, and to see about renting a couple of bicycles. We'd been told there were only about five bikes to rent, but our promptness gave us the entire fleet from which to choose. Since they were all identical, it wasn't too difficult! And fortunately they were quite comfortable coaster bikes, with a heavy frame and fat wheels.

The island has a network of bicycle paths, most of which are smoothly paved, and we had a map to help us find the local highlights. We set out northward to the tip of the island, under a wide canopy of live oaks festooned with Spanish moss, which filtered the morning sun and dappled the road ahead. We passed a corral where one could rent horses for rides on the beach, and then arrived at the pier at the northern tip. The path continued in a southeast direction through flat, open marshland before opening onto a sandy trail leading to Driftwood Beach.

Craggy, weatherworn branches of felled trees clawed the sky from the wave-washed sand, and large rolling waves the colour of coffee curled in from the ocean. To our left and right as far as we could see, more fantastic driftwood branches dotted the beach, throwing crooked shadows on the sand. Val discovered a small jellyfish that had beached itself, and started chatting with a woman who had a long-lens camera around her neck. She took a picture of us with my cellphone, and we ended up conversing for some time with her about her horses and her travels. One of the fun things about traveling to new places.

The next leg of the circuit was more citified, with residential houses on either side of the road. By the time we reached Tortuga Jack's seaside restaurant, we were ready to get off our saddles and have a tasty Tex-Mex lunch and a chilled drink.

Sufficiently refreshed, we hopped back on to the trail, turning inland along the expansive golf course and toward the town. We had hoped to visit the Jekyll Island museum, but discovered that it was in transition to a brand new facility that will open three days from now. Where it was moving from was not clear! So we continued along the path, which took us past a series of enormous mansions with manicured gardens, pillars and porches where the rich folks had lived in bygone days. We also saw the massive Jekyll Island Club Hotel, set back from the road, a venue in times past for folks like the Rockefellers to get away from the winter.

By this time we had crossed to the east side of the island and were heading northward toward the campground. Across the water we could see the bridge to other nearby islands, and a wide swath of marshland in between. It was a pleasant vantage point for the Horton House, the island's first building in 1753, overlooking the mainland. The ruins of the house still stand; the building material is called 'tabby', a mixture of crushed oyster shells and other materials that clearly have stood the test of time. In its earliest days, Jekyll Island had been a plantation with cotton as a major crop. It changed hands several times between the Spanish, the French and the British.

We were very glad to see the campground entrance at last, having nearly circumnavigated the whole island! The temperature hit the mid-80s today so we felt we'd earned the ice cream bars that we picked up at the camp store on the way to our site.

Hiding on Jekyll

Jekyll Island, GA -- We are on the move again. Tonight, our little home on wheels is nestled under a canopy of live oaks dripping with Spanish moss on a tiny island off the coast of Georgia. The crackle of campfires and the scent of wood smoke evokes camping memories from way back, but the setting is completely new to us. Tomorrow we will have a better look at this historic spot, but for now we will rest from a long day's drive.

Our day started very happily with breakfast at Emily's Restaurant just north of the Dunedin RV Park with our friends Paul and Karen -- one last opportunity to trade stories of bygone escapades with an interesting couple! There wasn't much for us to do to ready ourselves for the trip, since most of the wrapping up stuff happened the night before.

There was a slight mishap last evening. We've been parked on an RV site that belongs to our friend Anna, and she asked us to leave the keys to her storage shed with a permanent park resident till she returns in the fall. They've been hanging on a nice key rack we installed on the wall just behind the driver's seat in the RV. I reached up to get them and somehow I didn't grab them firmly enough and they fell -- not handily on the floor. Oh no. They slipped down a narrow crack behind the driver's seat against the bathroom wall -- to a resting place visible by flashlight, fortunately, but well out of reach of my fingers in a space only a centimetre wide! However, I managed to fish them out with a plastic hook I'd thought might come in handy some day, wired to three twist ties hooked end to end. I coaxed the hook down to where the keys were wedged and looped the ring to our great relief. It was like a scene from a sit com!

We pulled out of our site at about nine this morning and headed north following the west coast. We followed Highway 54 eastward till it joined the Interstate 75 and turned north again towards Ocala. This route took us past Bushnell, where we'd spent a couple of very pleasant winters at the cottage of our late friend Carl. When we got to Ocala, after a quick lunch in a mall parking lot, we turned east again on Highway 50 till we reached the I-95, and followed it northward, circled Jacksonville and crossed into Georgia. The weather was fine and, while there were plenty of large transport trucks, the traffic flowed well.

The landscape changed from jungly pines, tangled with vines, and scrubby palmettos, to wide open flatlands as we approached Jekyll Island. There were Turtle Crossing signs every mile or so, but the only thing we saw was a racoon that quickly turned back from instant death when he saw us coming.

The campground literature said to follow their signs rather than our GPS directions, but their signs were not in evidence when we crossed the bridge from the mainland. So we ended up approaching the campground at the northern end of the island the long way around on the beach side instead of the more direct river side route, but it gave us a chance to see some residential and resort areas along the way. We're looking forward to seeing more.

[Note: Having trouble uploading my photos. Will try again later.]

You sleep in that?

Dunedin, FL -- Yesterday we had errands to run, and just out of curiosity, I timed our getting-ready steps, from hooked up and stationary to on the road. It took us all of six minutes.

There was a big sale at Beall's this weekend, and we had some coupons to apply even better discounts to the already-marked-down items we had in mind, so that was our first destination. We were very pleased to find things we liked, and even more delighted when we walked out having saved over $100!

Out in the parking lot, as we climbed aboard, a couple of senior citizens came over to chat. They'd owned a Roadtrek RV in the past and were interested to see what we thought about this new model. We had a nice conversation, comparing places we'd visited and sharing ideas about places yet to see. They wished us well, and off we went.

Next stop, the grocery store for a few items, and then on to the beach for a brisk walk. On Friday we'd had some stiff winds and rain, so we were curious to see how that affected the sandy shore. It was still pretty windy, and refreshingly cool, and the surf was high. Great foamy crests rolled in and splayed on the packed sand, then raked back to start over again. For a holiday weekend, there were surprisingly few people on the beach, and barely a handful braving the churning water. It was low tide, so we had lots of width to stroll on, and the sand was firm underfoot.

Before we pulled away for one last shopping errand (had to pick up some Easter chocolate!), a gentleman came up to Val's window to ask about the RV. "Can you sleep in this?" he asked. His eyes widened when we told him we could also make meals, shower and watch TV!

Yet again, in the parking lot of our last stop, Val left the store ahead of me to start up the RV, and as I came out, there was a young couple in conversation at Val's window with more questions about our mode of transport. We don't usually get that many encounters in one day, but we do get waves and curious looks as we drive around. It's a great way to meet people!

A beautiful sunny morning greeted us on this Easter day, and there were even bunnies outside nibbling the grass -- not to mention the two dark chocolate versions Val and I exchanged after breakfast. That, plus an Easter service with glorious music, bells and trumpets, and a special brunch afterward, made for a pretty nice celebration.

A rare event

Dunedin, FL -- A fresh, cool breeze is wafting through the park today; a welcome relief from the steamy, oppressive heat of yesterday. I suppose I'm not meant to say words like "oppressive" regarding the Sunshine State at any time, but it sure felt that way when the mercury hit 90 in the shade and my forehead dripped with perspiration even while sitting quietly in my lawn chair in the shade. I confess I did repair to the air-conditioned clubhouse for a half hour at the worst of it, and worked on the lovely puzzle of Birds of Florida that's laid out on a table for passers-by to enjoy.

The park is quieter these days. A number of residents have packed up to go back north. Those who are still here are busily scrubbing RV walls, stowing stuff away, pulling in slides and covering windows with reflective foil to protect their winter getaways from the punishing heat of Florida summers. There are a few permanent residents, some of whom kindly oversee their absent neighbours' properties. Townspeople admit a sense of relief when the traffic congestion of the high season finally abates. We've never been here this late, so it's interesting to see what it's like when snowbird season comes to a close.

Val's brother John and Fawn are in the battening-down phase, and we'll be driving them to the airport on Thursday morning. It will be our first test of the rear seatbelts in the RV, that feed through the back of the convertible bed-sofa and seat three passengers. It's been a bit of a tough winter for John and Fawn, who've flown home twice for several weeks each time to see to Fawn's mother, in poor health. She's doing much better now.

A silver lining for them has been the fact that they have finally witnessed an event that happens only once every year: the lovely potted cactus that decorates their lot bloomed! Two days ago, a glorious flower opened its delicate pink petals, revealing a pale yellow crown at its centre. The appearance lasts only one day -- by evening, when we left their place after supper, it was already curling inward and turning brown at the edges. In all the years they've been coming here, it's the first time they've been here to see it with their own eyes. Beautiful.

Despite their long list of chores, they found time to go with us to Honey-moon Island beach for a stroll on Saturday. It was a special event day -- or so the banners said at the park entrance -- and the beach was full of sunbathers, sand diggers, wave jumpers, kiddies, mums and dads, sweet young things and old guys looking at sweet young things -- the whole nine yards! It was neat to see all the different ways one venue entertained its visitors. I especially liked the artistic display of beach rocks in tall piles and some pretty ingenious arched structures, plus a giant Fred Flinstone one fellow sculpted with great care.

Fawn also found a pair of bikes for us to use till our time comes to leave. We'd borrowed theirs in their absence, but they need to stow them away now. A neighbour with tons of grandchildren has a stash of bikes of all sizes and vintages, and kindly let us borrow a couple when Fawn asked. We tried to rent at a nearby bike shop, but he had none to spare. Val washed the bikes and oiled them, and they will do quite nicely for the next little while.

Tan lines, chow lines & laugh lines

Dunedin, FL -- Now that we've been down here for a couple of weeks, and despite my attempts to prevent it, the sun has made its mark on the few exposed parts of my tender white skin. Those parts are on the tops of my feet, where the sandal straps are not, a V-shaped spot where my open collar exposes a bit of neck, and my hands and wrists. So, when I take off my footwear, one can see three tan-coloured stripes, and my watch's usual spot on my left wrist is now clearly visible when I set my watch aside for the night.

On days like yesterday, when we walked on the beach, I regularly violate the dress code of skimpy bathing suits or shorts, strolling along as I do with long sleeves, long pants and my ever-present Tilley hat. But it's been a long time since I've had to nurse a painful sunburn, so I don't mind looking comparatively freakish. And yes, I've heard of sunscreen, but it would take entire tubes of the expensive stuff daily to accomplish what I do with clothing, plus I'd reek of chemicals and my eyes would smart and run for hours if the slightest speck of the goop got near them.

We've had a busy time in the RV park -- hence my silence on BlogSpot. On Saturday everyone gathered at the clubhouse for the annual farewell party, since many residents are packing up and heading north again. "When are you leaving?" is the mantra of the day. Tasty pulled-pork sandwiches were doled out along with chips and pop, plus cake for dessert, and we all trooped outside under the palm trees to eat and tap our feet to the golden oldies performed by the talented duo known as SPF40.

Later that afternoon, we were invited to the Cuban fest, held on Quail Street. We are on Sandpiper, but were honorary residents of Quail for the occasion. Ladies came in flowered dresses and gents in Hawaiian shirts, and we lined the street with lawn chairs. The Alvarez family served up delicious Cuban pulled pork, rice and black beans, followed by rum and cigars, while wonderful music played in the background.

Val and I had to sneak away early to participate in Trivia Night at the clubhouse to close out the evening. Who knew that Doritos came before Pringles, or that the winged Mercury hood ornament belonged to Saab? "Everybody!" was the standard answer! Our team didn't win, but we had a good time and lots of laughs.

Sunday we had an early-morning mission: to pick up Val's brother John and wife Fawn at Tampa Airport, back from snowy Canada after a family emergency. They got a hero's welcome when we returned with them to the park -- and this evening we got a second helping of the Cuban feast when they shared the care package that the Alvarez family kindly set aside for them!

While we enjoyed the meal, outside the skies opened and the wind blew and the rain came down in torrents. Lucky for us, by the time we headed back to our site, the rain had stopped and the air was lovely and fresh.

A shady spot and a good book

Dunedin, FL -- It was a fresh-washed morning today, after on-and-off rain showers through the day yesterday, so visiting the beautiful Honeymoon Island State Park beach held top billing for our busy social calendar. It took very little time, now that we've done it once or twice, to get the RV ready for driving, and in a matter of minutes we were strolling along the white sand in a pleasant breeze. We spotted a couple of dolphins out in the water, plus a great flock of pelicans winging overhead in a line that looked like migrating geese!

I'd already made a large five-bean salad and stowed it in the fridge to chill and mellow for the day, in preparation for tonight's potluck supper. Earlier this year, park residents had collected favourite recipes into a spiral-bound cookbook that they sold in support of park activities and local charities, and tonight was a community supper where contributors would prepare their recipes for everyone to sample. I wasn't around to provide a recipe, but I could still bring a dish to share.

Before settling back on our site for a leisurely afternoon, we topped up our RV's fresh water tank. The park owners are installing water meters at all the sites this week and next, so every day between 10 am and 2 pm the water is shut off for the whole park. The RV owners are the least affected, since they can be self-sufficient for that length of time -- as long as the tanks are full. I have a feeling the laundry building might get a lot busier in the early mornings and late afternoons for the next little while, however.

A tall live oak tree stands at the northwest corner of our lot, and provides a nice shaded area in the afternoon so we can sit out and enjoy the fine weather and delve into a good book. Which is what we did to while away the time before the potluck supper. Very pleasant.

Well before the appointed supper hour, people had gathered in the community hall to set out their offerings, scope out the dishes, and find a good spot to sit. Our hosts very wisely appointed servers at the tables to restrain the hungry hordes at the front of the line from cleaning out the bowls and platters and leaving the back-of-the-line crowd empty handed. So, when our table was finally called, there was still plenty to sample -- and what a feast! A wide array of appetizers, salads, casseroles, and desserts covered tables on either side of the room, and everyone ate heartily! And, if there was a dish one really liked, it would be easy to find the recipe if one had purchased the cookbook, which we did! Yum.