The Final Days of Summer Oct 2 - 4

We invited John and Penny to the driveway for oatmeal and fresh baked muffins in the morning before our planned departure of the day.  We were excited when they agreed to join us that evening for a bbq and a taste of RV living at the campsite we hoped to secure just under an hour’s drive down the highway.

The plan was to arrive early enough to secure a first come first serve site at Croatan National Forest.  The park had not answered their phones all morning so we said a quick good bye and see you later to John and Penny and hit the road.  It was a quick drive and we arrived right on time for checkout.  Despite half the campground being empty, I was unable (a first!) to convince the campground host that he could find us a site for the night.

Being that John and Penny had agreed to come join us at our campsite for dinner and get a taste of our life off the grid, we couldn’t go much further away.  The only real option we had was at Goose Creek Campground, a commercial RV park and certainly not the “natural” setting we had hoped for. 

We checked in and picked our site along a nice little stretch of water.   It wasn’t as bad as we had envisioned really.  Being a brutally hot day, the gleaming pool didn’t seem like a bad option nor did the power we hooked up to!  We got ourselves settled, took a stroll around the campground finding a peaceful area along the intracoastal waterway and then put our suits on and headed for the pool.

John and Penny arrived and we gathered under the shade of the awning as the sun took its leave.  After a filling barbeque complete with fresh baked key lime pie, we wrapped up our amazing time together feeling thankful that, once again, this journey had allowed us another long overdue re-connection.

Having moved far enough south and with the high temps refusing to give way to fall, we woke the next morning knowing we were close to home.  Not taking time for much else, we packed up our campsite and started the final stretch south.  We crossed the border into South Carolina before noon and battled our way through the still congested traffic around Myrtle Beach as the sun continued to beat down.

Figuring it was best not to officially arrive back at the end of a day, our final destination was just a stone’s throw from home.  We had camped at Buck Hall plantation just north of Charleston before, using it for a short weekend breather in the last RV.  Thankful to have hookups with the unusually hot weather, we got ourselves set up and the a/c on full tilt. 


Being that this journey truly WAS being measured in friends, not miles we had invited our good buds from Charleston to come up and spend the evening.  Why not?!  They must have been excited to see us, arriving mid-afternoon despite the heat! 

We had had intentions of a solid hike before the day was over.  No chance!  With good friends to catch up with, we wasted no time with healthy habits!  The wine was opened, the snacks brought out and we enjoyed the shade of the awning and the breeze as the day marched on.

It wasn’t long before I started looking at getting dinner ready and we all realized that there was too much fun being had to rush anything.   With the beverages continuing and plenty more to talk about, Dick and Karen accepted our invitation to spend the night.  We shared a momentous last dinner on the road, played some cards and made an all around great adventure of our final night out.