Trip report and lessons learned
Returned home yesterday after 6 great days at Baker's Creek State Park in South Carolina, near McCormick, SC. What a great State Park.
We made reservations several months ago, just to arrive and find there were only 3 others camping there, and looks like 2 of them were campground hosts. Through the week a couple tenters came in over night, and one or two RV came and left. But for the most part, we were the only ones there.
Baker's Creek ... curvy, twisted roads to get to the camp ground, and the camp ground is even tighter, but our 35 foot TT navigated OK, just VERY slow.
Campground is on a peninsula, and with the trees and weeds not in full bloom right now, from our site, we could see water on 3 side all around us! Absolutely spectacular sunsets and sunrises! Campground was pitch black at night, and stars bright as spotlights in the sky, reflecting off the perfectly still waters, was absolutely breath taking!
Never had to put the dog on a leash as no one was around. He tried to chase that same darn squirrel, but the squirrel was just too fast for that short legged fat little weiner dog!
And ... regardless of our best intentions, the cat did escape one morning! But that little dog headed him off and steered the cat back to the camper. (did I say that little weiner dog is part sheep dog at heart!)
Lessons learned! During Spring Break season, go to campgrounds that are NOT tourist attractions. St. Andrews in Panama City was nice last year, but we'll never do it again during spring break! To enjoy a nice restful vacation without all the stress of crazy young kids around, pick a campground inland from the Gulf or the Oceans! Your sanity will thank-you!
We learned we enjoy trees more than sand! And shade more than intense sun. And since we no longer have satellite television, it's really OK to park under trees again! Television is over rated anyway. Over the Air stuff if perfectly fine. Local stations came in just fine, and we were able to keep up on all the national news, and judging by what we saw, we really didn't miss much this week anyway!
Local mom-and-pop restaurants are the way to! We REALLY enjoyed the local food, but were disappointed we couldn't find a good BBQ place open. But those that were, .... oh yummy!
Another lesson learned, you don't have to spend money to have a good time. We spent less than $100 cash, and most of that was local food eateries. Fuel was a reasonable price, we used 104 gallons of diesel for the entire trip, and lost of site-seeing.
No agenda is also the best! We really needed the down-time. So we had no plans, other than arriving at the campground and leaving the campground 6 days later. In-between.... we had ZIP plans. We went by what felt good at the moment. So, that meant a lot of walks, skipping rocks on the water, and watching that crazy dog sit there an drewl over that crazy squirrel. I'm not sure what we laughed at more, the squirrel teasing the dog, or the dog teasing the squirrel. You see, it was the simple things that brought the greatest pleasure.
We also had our faith in humanity restored! People are really good at heart! We ran into all kinds of very friendly people that just loved to talk! and talk! and talk! Local culture!
And we also found out that WALL MART is NOT the place to visit... I think anywhere on earth. Seems every WALL MART we went to while en-route were just busing full of rude people. When talking to some of the locals, they just laughed and say, "Yep! That way Wall Mart is!"
I averaged 11.5 mph driving 60 mph with my diesel dully 3500, towing that 35 foot TT. The truck handled marvelously! Through the mountains of North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee! It purred like a kitten, and never missed a beat! With cruise control on and the exhaust break engaged, I very seldom had to touch any peddles.
And ... DOGS will tell you when it's time for a potty break when traveling. We had to stop almost every hour for that little guy! I've never seen him pee so much! But it gave us an opportunity to stop and stretch also.
And it really is nice having lunches in the camper when on the road! We brought lunch meats and snacks and spent $0.00 at eateries when in route! Sure was nice!
Another lesson learned, fuel prices are pretty consistent everywhere. I don't think there was more than a penny or 2 different in prices along the entire 600 (plus) miles one way we traveled.
Also, truck by-passes and truck detours are really OK to take. They do make life a bit easier.
To plan a route with Tom Tom, we learned to put all our destination points in, then just hit the first one and go. Once there, hit the second one and go! I think I finally figured out how to trip plan using that thing.
And yes! I finally encountered my VERY first low clearance overpass on Highway 10 outside McCormick, SC. At 7 and 1/2 miles there was a sign that said 10 feet 6 inches 7 and 1/2 miles ahead. It caught the corner of my eye. I stopped at a church parking lot and attempted to pull up the stats on my camper to verify the height! NO internet! So got into the camper and pulled out my paper work. I'm 10 feet 11 inches. So went back and took a different way.
A few days later, (without trailer in tow), we found that over pass, and it was an arched overpass, no way would the trailer have fit. No way!
Lesson learned! Know the height of your camper and don't second guess the road signs, even if they don't seem plausible.
And last! You don't have to drive like an idiot to get there! Slow down and let the dog smell the poo! He sure had fun sniffing grass every hour!
It was a great trip! We've been married 31 years on March 10! We're now trying to figure out where we'll go next year during this same week!
We made reservations several months ago, just to arrive and find there were only 3 others camping there, and looks like 2 of them were campground hosts. Through the week a couple tenters came in over night, and one or two RV came and left. But for the most part, we were the only ones there.
Baker's Creek ... curvy, twisted roads to get to the camp ground, and the camp ground is even tighter, but our 35 foot TT navigated OK, just VERY slow.
Campground is on a peninsula, and with the trees and weeds not in full bloom right now, from our site, we could see water on 3 side all around us! Absolutely spectacular sunsets and sunrises! Campground was pitch black at night, and stars bright as spotlights in the sky, reflecting off the perfectly still waters, was absolutely breath taking!
Never had to put the dog on a leash as no one was around. He tried to chase that same darn squirrel, but the squirrel was just too fast for that short legged fat little weiner dog!
And ... regardless of our best intentions, the cat did escape one morning! But that little dog headed him off and steered the cat back to the camper. (did I say that little weiner dog is part sheep dog at heart!)
Lessons learned! During Spring Break season, go to campgrounds that are NOT tourist attractions. St. Andrews in Panama City was nice last year, but we'll never do it again during spring break! To enjoy a nice restful vacation without all the stress of crazy young kids around, pick a campground inland from the Gulf or the Oceans! Your sanity will thank-you!
We learned we enjoy trees more than sand! And shade more than intense sun. And since we no longer have satellite television, it's really OK to park under trees again! Television is over rated anyway. Over the Air stuff if perfectly fine. Local stations came in just fine, and we were able to keep up on all the national news, and judging by what we saw, we really didn't miss much this week anyway!
Local mom-and-pop restaurants are the way to! We REALLY enjoyed the local food, but were disappointed we couldn't find a good BBQ place open. But those that were, .... oh yummy!
Another lesson learned, you don't have to spend money to have a good time. We spent less than $100 cash, and most of that was local food eateries. Fuel was a reasonable price, we used 104 gallons of diesel for the entire trip, and lost of site-seeing.
No agenda is also the best! We really needed the down-time. So we had no plans, other than arriving at the campground and leaving the campground 6 days later. In-between.... we had ZIP plans. We went by what felt good at the moment. So, that meant a lot of walks, skipping rocks on the water, and watching that crazy dog sit there an drewl over that crazy squirrel. I'm not sure what we laughed at more, the squirrel teasing the dog, or the dog teasing the squirrel. You see, it was the simple things that brought the greatest pleasure.
We also had our faith in humanity restored! People are really good at heart! We ran into all kinds of very friendly people that just loved to talk! and talk! and talk! Local culture!
And we also found out that WALL MART is NOT the place to visit... I think anywhere on earth. Seems every WALL MART we went to while en-route were just busing full of rude people. When talking to some of the locals, they just laughed and say, "Yep! That way Wall Mart is!"
I averaged 11.5 mph driving 60 mph with my diesel dully 3500, towing that 35 foot TT. The truck handled marvelously! Through the mountains of North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee! It purred like a kitten, and never missed a beat! With cruise control on and the exhaust break engaged, I very seldom had to touch any peddles.
And ... DOGS will tell you when it's time for a potty break when traveling. We had to stop almost every hour for that little guy! I've never seen him pee so much! But it gave us an opportunity to stop and stretch also.
And it really is nice having lunches in the camper when on the road! We brought lunch meats and snacks and spent $0.00 at eateries when in route! Sure was nice!
Another lesson learned, fuel prices are pretty consistent everywhere. I don't think there was more than a penny or 2 different in prices along the entire 600 (plus) miles one way we traveled.
Also, truck by-passes and truck detours are really OK to take. They do make life a bit easier.
To plan a route with Tom Tom, we learned to put all our destination points in, then just hit the first one and go. Once there, hit the second one and go! I think I finally figured out how to trip plan using that thing.
And yes! I finally encountered my VERY first low clearance overpass on Highway 10 outside McCormick, SC. At 7 and 1/2 miles there was a sign that said 10 feet 6 inches 7 and 1/2 miles ahead. It caught the corner of my eye. I stopped at a church parking lot and attempted to pull up the stats on my camper to verify the height! NO internet! So got into the camper and pulled out my paper work. I'm 10 feet 11 inches. So went back and took a different way.
A few days later, (without trailer in tow), we found that over pass, and it was an arched overpass, no way would the trailer have fit. No way!
Lesson learned! Know the height of your camper and don't second guess the road signs, even if they don't seem plausible.
And last! You don't have to drive like an idiot to get there! Slow down and let the dog smell the poo! He sure had fun sniffing grass every hour!
It was a great trip! We've been married 31 years on March 10! We're now trying to figure out where we'll go next year during this same week!
