Moved south today in more ways than one

After visiting the North Carolina Baseball Museum and one other place not really worth mentioning yesterday, I returned to the rig to begin preparations for heading out this morning.  Later in the afternoon, I got to meet some blogger friends in person.

After some email correspondence, I finally got to meet Mike and Terry Young.  They are fellow fulltimers that write the FOREVERYOUNG blog.  They’ll be staying at Kampers Lodge Campground a few nights before heading to the coast.  We had a great time chatting it up for a couple of hours.  Some of you know how it goes with meeting blogville friends… instant report. 

I made it on the road shortly before ten this morning to continue my journey south towards Okefenokee NWR in Georgia.  Thankfully, it was a pretty uneventful drive of about 165 miles to the Swamp Fox Campground outside of Florence, South Carolina.  Uneventful except that when I turned on my right turn signal, the outside passenger’s camera showed a message of ‘no signal’ instead of a view of the right side lane of traffic.  I’m hoping Paul, the guru of Winnebago maintenance , can give me some suggestions of what to do about this little defugalty.

I had called ahead yesterday to make a reservation at this Passport America campground.  Upon arrival, the office was closed, but there was a sign on the door saying I was assigned site #416.  After a very friendly and personalized arrival a few days back at Kampers Lodge, this was a bit of a let down. 

Sites are pretty well crammed in behind a Ramada Inn, and while they are pull through, there was no way I’d be able to fit the rig and the toad in the site.  Luckily, I had the forethought to check it out on foot before driving in to my site. 

I unhitched the toad at the entrance, drove it to the site, walked back up to the rig, and then brought it down.  Besides literally heading south today, the accommodations also took a turn south, and the price/night is $22.40.  That’s almost $5 more each night than my nice spacious site at Kampers Lodge.  I only have this much room because I’m on an end lot.  Also, notice that the electrical box hookups for the campground are what’s in my front yard.  I did talk them into allowing me to stay for three nights at the Passport rate rather than the two normally allowed.  I got to do that since the day I leave, a couple will be coming in from Canada to spend the season at this site.

Really??  I guess I’ve been spoiled by my locations on National Wildlife Refuges because I sure wouldn’t want to spend five months in this site.  But it’s been my experience that that’s how it goes with PA campgrounds.  Some are beauties, and some are less than ideal.

This is my view if I sit outside at the picnic table… dilapidated tennis courts behind the Ramada Inn and almost within spitting distance of I-95.  I’m staying here three nights because there are a couple of interesting, to me, things I want to see in the area.  I can’t believe anyone would pay $40 to stay here overnight.

I always try to find something positive about my circumstances, so late this afternoon I took Emma over to those unusable tennis courts.  It was a large enclosed area where I could let her off leash to burn up some of her energy.  Another lady came along with her little pup, and I’m happy to report that due to her time at Alligator River playing with her boxer friend, Princess, Emma behaved herself and didn’t crush the little dog as they ran and played together.  I guess that’s the silver lining to this rather cloud of a campground.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy