April 25 - Myrtle Beach
So good to have the truck serviced and know that nothing is wrong with it. Main concern always with a camper are brakes and tires and all were well within limits. Beach Ford in Myrtle Beach was very welcoming, professional and fast. Since the camper was off we decided to take a ride down along the small beach towns south of Myrtle Beach. Locals know the trick of turning left off of main roads into side roads. It was rather daunting to first timers but we eventually figured it out without injury to us or locals.
Surfside Beach is supposed to be one of the oldest planned resort communities. Lots of new pods of buildings, all in bright colors and up on stilts - way up on stilts, almost tall enough to put a truck camper under. I kept wondering even up that high, how many of those cottages would survive a
major hurricane.
The landscaping is lush and well cared for. We stopped and watched a crew installing 20' tall palm trees down a center divider. Cranes lifted the trees which had the smallest root ball I've ever seen. The roots looked about the same size as the trunk. Someone later told us they are extra heavy trees due to the water they hold and the weight alone is enough to keep them upright in storms. We've seen dozens of varieties of palms from tall to ground huggers. The smells from the flowers in bloom especially the Confederate jasmine is always around.
Managed to once again get back on Route 17 without injury and continued down to Murrells Inlet looking for seafood for lunch. "River Ratz" was excellent, a local hang out with fresh local seafood. We split a plate of oysters, shrimp and drum with hush puppies and had some left over. I'd remembered the normal size portions of southern food so glad we split a plate. After, we took a long walk down the river boardwalk, enjoying seabirds including pelicans and the rafts of huge pleasure boats.
Back at MB State Park, we relaxed and talked with a retired Army man who gave us a lot of local tips for our trip across the Florida pan handle. Like any good camper, he gave us his phone number and address in case we had any trouble along the way. Campers are good people. I kept my feet up on the picnic table the whole time we talked having just seen a sign up the camp office to beware of copperhead snakes. !!
April 26 Beaufort, SC
Route 17 is under construction - a lot of construction all the way from Georgetown to the south side of Charleston. It is being widened to two lanes both ways. Slow going but it gave us a chance to really enjoy the forest views along the way. Charleston has exploded with new malls, traffic stops, and lots and lots of traffic. Since we have been many times, we skipped going into old Charleston this time in favor of heading on to Beaufort. Our goal in coming here was to visit a Maine friend who has moved to Beaufort and to camp on Hunting Island. We met him in the Beaufort Waterfront Park and walked along with him as he gave us a guided tour of some of the hidden gems of the city. Four big tour buses had just pulled in and rather than fight for a place at one of the waterfront cafes, we walked back to a new farm stand/bistro in the library complex.
We're currently at Hunting Island State Park. First person we talked to while setting up was another truck camper owner and Truck Camper Warehouse customer with a Arctic Fox 1140. We are tucked into a camp site 100 yards from the ocean, behind a dune and under some of the tallest palm trees. Here's what it looks like out our back camper window. We lucked out on a walk in site and got a really good one.
It's been fascinating to see the long line of pelicans fly back and forth. Here's the view out of our dinette window. Hard to take, feet up resting from trekking, strong wind to keep the bugs away and an endless supply of iced tea.
Tomorrow we'll drive over to the Hunting light house for a visit and then head south. Don't know where but south.
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