Twin Lakes Campground, Pendleton, SC – September 30, 2012

Dave was so excited to arrive here….finally, somewhere other than a beach destination! Twin Lakes Campground is a great park, very peaceful with lots of trees and a lake view from our site. We had a little taste of cooler weather here and it was nice!

We got the campsite set up, took a short walk, then headed out towards Clemson just to see what was around. We drove past the university and went downtown. It’s not a big college town, but seemed nice. We ate dinner at Brioso Fresh Pasta, walked around town a bit then back home to chill.

It poured while we were here but thankfully only at night while sleeping. For the most part, the sound of the rain on the RV roof was nice, but every once in a while, these huge acorns would drop on the roof and it would sound like golf balls hitting it!

It was overcast and misting rain the next day but it didn’t stop us from getting out and exploring. We spent quite a while at the South Carolina Botanical Gardens in Clemson. We actually loved the weather because it made it really feel like fall or winter. We checked out the gift shop which also is a bit of a museum and has a small art gallery in it.

The next day we needed to be packed up and on the road by 2:00. We headed out to Greenville, SC even though it was a 45 minute drive. I’m so glad we did! What a great town! There is a historic section but even the part that isn’t considered ‘historic’ kind of is. There are beautiful old buildings, lovely plants and flowers everywhere, tons of shops and cafes and an amazing park called Falls Park on the Reedy. I could not stop taking photos, this place is so beautiful! We would have loved to stayed longer (we will be back) but needed to go check out at Twin Lakes Campground and head onward to NC.

I will be posting more photos on FB in a couple days. Onward to River Bend RV Park in Lake Toxaway, NC!

Blessings~

Misi and Dave

Hilton Head Island – September 28, 2012

Dave and I are so excited to be heading out on our first out of state RV trip! The house is in order, the kitties are being watched by our friend Amber, and the RV is packed.

We even got the tow package hooked up so we could take the car. We opted to go with all four wheels down as opposed to a tow dolly. When towing a Honda Element, there is a very specific sequence in which you shift through the gears before you leave it in neutral. It has worked great for us, you just have to follow the instructions carefully!! If anyone out there wants to tow an Element (four down), talk to us!

Here is our ‘home away from home’ ready to rock and roll!!

We start each trip with two things: prayer and then we must play ‘On The Road Again’ by Willie Nelson. We are not so much country music fans, but this is a classic song and really gets us pumped up as we are starting our next adventure! Our first stop will be Hilton Head Island, SC.

We are in the third hour of our trip now which is further than we’ve gone one way on any other trip. What a record, lol!

We just stopped for gas and it’s already an adventure. We are only stopping at places that are supposed to be ‘RV friendly', but this place was still a tight squeeze. We got up to the pump fine and even the Honda wasn’t sticking out too bad and blocking other cars, but leaving was fun (note sarcasm here!) We cannot back up with the Honda hooked up and I was sweating bullets as I saw how little room we had to turn the corner leaving the pumps. It looked like we would surely hit the cars parked in front of the convenience store. Dave is so calm, cool and collected though. We made the turn! I am amazed at how sharp Winnie can turn! I don't think I'm exagerating when I say Winnie has a better turning radius than my PT Cruiser!

Wow, we are arriving into Hilton Head now…..it is so beautiful! Everything is so clean and well manicured! It is the type of place where all the stores and restaurants look similar and are painted colors to blend into the surroundings. There are trees everywhere! They preserve as many as they can from what we’ve read. I think we’ve passed at least 20 golf courses so far!

Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort looks like our kind of place! Well, 95% of the rigs in here are WAY more expensive and luxurious than our Winnie, but that’s ok! It is beautiful here! Here is our spot, number 97 (the one on the right).

Camp is set up and we’ve explored the resort, now to find a place for a good dinner. The office gave us some guides and it is hard to believe how many restaurants are here, seriously, it’s like 150 or 200 on this 12 mile island.

Black Marlin Bayside Grill at Palmetto Bay Marina is where we chose. We chose well! Blackened Cajun Salmon with fruit salsa and crab cakes, plus yummy drinks and to share, maybe a petite key lime tart.

Day two we are on our bikes and exploring. Cute shops and cafes are everywhere! The beach is wonderful and again, so clean! Here are a few photos.

It is warm but overcast so not bad. For lunch we stumbled upon a place called the Frosty Frog.This is perhaps the best chicken salad EVER! This is the flipside of the food menu! Wow, look how many frozen drinks they have! Ok, I might have had one small one.

We chilled for a bit back at home base, played horse when we found the basketball hoop and the tennis courts, now we are off again. We are in the car and exploring every nook and cranny that looks interesting. We are at Harbour Town, a village within the planned community of Sea Pines.

After purchasing our Hilton Head Island t-shirts (we are such tourists!), we walked around, took photos and grabbed a BBQ sandwich at the BBQ festival there were having.

We drove around just looking at houses in Sea Pines, and we are in love. We are thinking of moving here. Well, maybe not, but it sure is nice!

Time to bid farewell to this lovely coastal town and move on to the next adventure!

Anniversary Trip – August 2012

We took a short RV trip to Disney’s Fort Wilderness for our anniversary weekend. We had our niece, Gina, and her husband, Kage, over one evening for dinner and games. We had fun catching up with them, having dinner and playing games. They killed us at ‘Stop Thief’ even though the game was new to them! We had a great time though!

On our actual anniversary, the 19^th, we had dinner at Epcot’s Canadian restaurant Le Cellier. It was fantastic! Fabulous food and cool atmosphere. Lot’s of stone and wood with iron chandeliers. You must try the cheddar cheese soup!

We had a great time celebrating our 2 year anniversary! We feel very blessed to have each other!

How Many People Can You Fit In A Winnebago?

The answer is six. Well, more can 'fit' but six can sleep, lol. We took a quick one-nighter trip over to Fort De Soto to hook up with Dave's brother Rob and his family who were on their summer vacation.

Here we all are (back row, then front row, left to right): Matthew, Rob, Dave, Michael, Shari and Misi

We were fortunate that we got a great site at the last minute. Site number 170, on the water.

We hung out by the water and did a bit of fishing...and relaxing. We tried to catch a small crab....and came close, but he wouldn't cooperate.

We headed over to the beaches with Dave, myself, Rob and Shari on bikes and the boys running. It was fun, but SO hot. We stopped at a couple of the piers and went to the Fort, but headed back before we made it to the farthest beach because it was just too hot on the bikes/running.

You can read a bit of history about the Fort De Soto cannons by clicking here.

We arrived back at our campsite and Shari and I fixed dinner. It may be a small kitchen, but it has everything we need! It was a beautiful evening with a great breeze so we dined outside. After a yummy chicken dinner we made a fire and Michael and Matthew told stories while we made smores....they were fantastic! Michael and Matthew are the masters of roasting marshmallows exactly how you want them...thanks boys!!

What better way to cap off a great day than to cozy up together inside with a fun game? Dave and I introduced Rob, Shari and the boys to Stop Thief, one of our favorite board games.

Here is Winnie 'before' sleep mode then 'in' sleep mode:

We got up the next morning and ate some breakfast....I obviously am not an experienced camper! I walked away from my breakfast for a minute and a bird made off with part of it, lol!! Dave and I had to work, so we powered up the computers and turned on our phones while Rob, Shari, Michael and Matthew headed out to the beach for a swim. We hooked up with them at lunch to say our farewells and let them continue on with their journey.

We love making memories with family and friends! Here are a few more photos:

Ok, Dave has really itchy feet to head out of state. He wants to replace the beaches with some mountains. The question is, do we head to Georgia and North Carolina now or wait a bit so we can see the leaves change? Hmmm...what a quandary! Well, I'll take this type of 'dilemma' any day! We thank God often for the opportunity to do this type of traveling now.

Until next time ~

Blessings,
Misi & Dave