First full day on the island. Took a ride into Chapin, SC, to do some shopping at the local Publix (I do like Publix) and do a quick once over of the park and the surrounding area.
A lot of folks have packed up and headed home making the campground a bit more serene. The sites are close together and not a lot of undergrowth to tuck you into the site, but the trees are large and diverse and with spring underway, budding and bursting with color. The lake surrounds the campground, and a big lake (reservoir) it is. Judging by the number of boats I’ve seen being towed down the road since getting here, this lake is mega popular with fisherman. The park is big, taking up a large peninsula of the lake, and has two campgrounds. After checking the other campground out I think it provides sites that are a bit more secluded but hey, I can live with where I’m at.
Chapin, SC, is a nice place. It’s more an extension of Columbia than a stand alone town these days. I get the feeling that it sits on the line between exurb and rural and judging by the growth of housing and commercial in the area, it won’t be long before that line will be gone and Chapin will become just another suburb of Columbia.
It’s nice coming back into the park, you really feel like you can escape the encroaching development and get back to where nature is still the boss.
Slept in late this morning, while the room was as I pointed out a kind of dive, the bed turned out to be comfortable and along with the TV, were the best things about my Motel 6 experience. Checkout time was 11:00 am and since I hadn’t heard yet from Gander RV, I didn’t leave until the last minute. I emailed the service advisor at Gander when I left and thankfully, she emailed me back letting me know things were coming along.
Before going to the RV place, decided to stop for lunch. Stopped at a place called the ‘farmhaus’ and had a decent burger and fries (far and away better than a fast food place). I do prefer patronizing local spots and this ended up being a good one.
I didn’t do any roaming around Augusta which I kind of regret. It’s a big city and combined with the overall situation, I was feeling out of synch and somewhat lost. I guess my interest and motivation had become temporarily zapped.
After lunch, made my way over to Gander RV and hung out in the truck waiting for the service to be completed, I was more than ready to finally be on my way. The delay now was not in getting the work done but rather, letting the caulking cure (dry), which takes four hours.
As I was waiting, I decided to do some research into the caulking (sealant) on trailer roofs. What I found out didn’t make me feel much better. It seems that the warranty on roof sealant is only for ninety days. I checked the owner’s manual (online) and yea, that’s the case. Also found out that this is considered normal maintenance and should be inspected at the very least once a year. I’ve had the trailer for just under a year and not sure how long it sat before I bought it so it wasn’t unreasonable that the leaks occurred. I guess one could consider this a lesson learned (the hard way) in the life of owning a travel trailer.
Finally, at around 2:30 pm the job was done and all that was left to do was pay the bill ($546.45) and I could hit the road once again. While the experience was certainly not a positive one (to say the least), the folks I worked with on this were decent and helped make it a little less painful. They seemed to have looked out for me (as best they could) on this issue.
Back on the road with my newly sealed roof and I gotta say, it felt good. Drove a little over an hour and half and made it to Dreher Island State Park.
Checked in with the ranger and proceed to my sight. After setting up I noticed that the trailer again had a bit of a lean to the right. I could have, and in hindsight should have tried to adjust it, but I was lazy and fooled myself into thinking it would be alright. Time would prove me wrong.
I was ready to spend some time here in South Carolina.
Woke up to light rain and got the trailer ready to hit the road. The plan today was to first go up to Augusta and stop at Camping World (Gander RV) to have the leaks checked, and then proceeding on to the next stop in the journey, Dreher Island State Park outside Chaplin, SC.
On the road by 8:30 and the trip up to Augusta took a little over an hour drive time. I noticed as I got closer to Augusta the terrain began to become more hilly, along with the foliage bursting with life (so green) it made for some nice vistas along the drive.
Pulled into the Gander RV lot by 9:30 am and they opened at 10:00 am. I was able to get the service advisor on it right away. That was a positive start and I thought this might be just like the experience with the water heater, in and out in just a couple of hours.
At around 1:30 pm having not heard from the advisor, I began to suspect that this wasn’t going to be a simple fix. Went in to the building and found the advisor, it seems that they were short technicians (out sick) and they had to get new deliveries ready before they could check my unit out, hence the delay…ARGH!!! A couple hours later, the advisor emailed informing me that they had looked at the unit and determined that the entire roof had to be resealed, that is what was causing the leak. What, no way I thought, the damn things not even a year old. And it just got better, not only did it need to be resealed, the warranty would not cover the cost.
After arguing the warrantability of the work required, and after the service advisor tried to contact Keystone (the manufacturer) and getting no response since the offices had already closed, and given it was Friday and Keystone could not be contacted until Monday at the earliest, I opted to have the work done and I would have to pay for it and see if I could get Keystone to cover the costs after the fact (good luck with that I thought).
The next concern was how long would it take, I didn’t really want to hang around Augusta for days waiting for the work to be completed. Fortunately, they could start the work today and it would be finished tomorrow. This meant only spending one night in Augusta, I could handle that.
The cost of doing this? $550.00 (major ouch), plus the cost of a motel room for the night. Not having much choice, I gave the go ahead and they reassured me it could be completed by tomorrow. I was being tested, big time.
I found a Motel 6 not far from RV Gander and proceeded to book it online. Getting there it looked pretty good on the outside, and the lobby and person working there impressed so I thought, this might not be too bad. I got up to the room and oh oh, things changed quickly. The room lacked a table/desk/chair to sit and the floors were of a cheap looking faux hardwood. The room looked out over the pool (which actually looked pretty good) but the window had a permanent haze to it. The walls and doors looked to have taken a few beatings in their lifetime, and while the bathroom was OK, I forgot my flip-flops and I wasn’t going to stand in the tub barefoot to take a shower, I didn’t want to take any souvenirs from my stay here (like fungal infection). The bed looked alright and the TV was the highlight of the room. Of course, soon after I laid down on the bed, I began itching, was it bed bugs or just my imagination? luckily for me, it turned out just to be my imagination.
I must have been pretty bummed out because all I did was sleep, hell, I even slept through the whole night.
Today I drove into Savannah to see the historic part of the city. The drive took about two hours and gave me the opportunity to see a little more of the Georgia countryside. The roads were good and the traffic surprisingly light and while not looking much different than that around Millen, it still was a pleasant and satisfying drive. One thing that’s becoming apparent is the growing dislike of being in urban areas, it seems the more time I spend away from it, the less tolerance I have when in it.
The port of Savannah.I’m told it’s the second busiest port on the East Coast.It’s located approx. twelve miles upstream from the Atlantic.Downtown Savannah.
I arrived at the start point for the 90 minute mini bus tour with plenty of time to spare which was a good thing because it was a little confusing finding just exactly where to board the bus, and where I could park. As I started to feel a growing anxiety, I reminded myself to just relax and it will work out and you know what, that’s exactly what happened,
After getting on the bus (along with three other couples) we began our tour. It only took me a few minutes to realize that there is just so much to see, and the tour at best would give only a glimpse of the historic part of the city.
Sit back and enjoy the ride as we see some of the sights of historic Savannah, Georgia.
Savannah’s history goes back to 1733.Savannah was built around twenty-four squares.
To properly see old Savannah, you need to give yourself one and better yet, two full days of walking around, that’s the ideal way to do it.
Another of the twenty-four squares.Old Savannah with the new in the background. Really no comparison is there.
The last part of the tour brings you down by the river where cotton was loaded onto ships. It was an interesting area not done justice by the few photos that follows. I really regret not getting more photos of this area.
It was such a super nice late morning outside (the tour started at 10:00) and from what I was able to see, this is one very cool place to spend time. I’ll be back and next time do the town right.
From Savannah, I crossed the bridge and headed for the Hilton Head, South Carolina area. Since this would be the last time on the journey to spend some time near/on the ocean, I booked a dolphin cruise that would take me out into the Atlantic for a ninety minute trip.
Specifically, I needed to go to Sea Pines Resort on the island to get to the dolphin cruise which was out of a place called Harbor Town. The ride from Savannah was along two lane rural highway and took a little over an hour to get to the destination. It was a nice drive even with heavy traffic. Crossing over from the mainland to Hilton Head Island required paying a toll ($1.25) and as I crossed, the makeup of the area went from rural/moderate to poor, to developing/affluent in a snap. I will say that the development was done in a tasteful manner. most retail and commercial was tucked back away from the road and screened by trees.
Entering Sea Pines Resort cost $8.00 to enter and really surprised me, I wasn’t expecting to have to pay and especially that much (ouch). But pay I did, and proceed I did to Harbor Town. Once there, I found the place packed with no place to park. I wasn’t too happy about the situation but I was able to take it stride and remain calm (score one for me) as I continued to and finally found a spot to park. After paying $8.00 to get in and then being so close to the cruise, I wasn’t going to just give up and head back (although I briefly thought about it). I had to take a bit of a hike to get to the pier but in the end it turned out to be worth it, besides I certainly couldn’t complain about getting some exercise.
At 2:45 pm people began to board the boat and get ready to head out to open water. The ship was relatively large and carried at least 100 people. The weather that had started out so beautifully in the morning, was carrying over into the afternoon.
We left exactly at 3:00 pm and as we pulled away from the dock you could see the rental jet skiers and parasailers in the distance, this was an aquatic playground that’s for sure.
The Island and the resort while being a really nice place, was for the most part out of my league. As I was waiting for the cruise to board I asked a women working one of the kiosks how working class people could afford to live in the area. She told me that was one of the biggest problems businesses had, they couldn’t hire enough people because of the lack of affordable housing. People were now coming from the mainland but even there, housing was becoming more and more expensive as the area continues to develop. This was definitely the place to be if you can afford it.
It didn’t take long before dolphins were sighted. Nothing gets you excited like a sighting of dolphins, they are so cool.
While not stunning photos, they give you an idea of the experience.
We continued out towards the Atlantic where I was able to take one long last look at the water, I’m really going to miss not being able to go to the oceans edge.
A sandbar was causing these wavesLooking out at the Atlantic Ocean.
As we made our way back it was pointed out that this island named Daufuskie is where the movie Conrack took place. There are only about 300 permanent residents, and the only way to get on of off is by boat or plane. What a dichotomy, either your very rich (and white) or very poor (and black).
The sky’s had somewhat cleared up and more importantly, the temperature had warmed up so I decided to do some meandering around the area.
What better place to start than the park. Magnolia Springs State Park was the site of Camp Lawton, a confederate POW camp. There isn’t anything left from the original fort other than some earthen berms.
Let’s start with the spring that the park derives its name from. Compared to the springs in Florida, this one’s pretty small but it’s home to fish, turtles and even an alligator which I only saw one time, the rest of the time I’m not sure where it was hanging out.
Can you see the fish?
The park was on the small side but offered a couple of nice looking trails (that I didn’t check out), there were lots of trees separating the camping area from the day use area. One thing that was so cool to see were the trees budding, oh yeah, springtime is alive and well in Southeast Georgia.
What I’m about to show has never before been seen. You may want to take the kids out of the room before viewing.
See what the inside of a Georgia State Park bathroom/shower looks like.
Really, you posted this? Must have been a slow news day.And now you know.
After leaving the park, just wandered around in no specific direction.
I think that photos of buildings/homes give a glimpse of the history & the evolving culture of the area.
In its day a Coca-Cola bottling facility.An old school house.Jenkins County Courthouse.A bit surprised to see this display of Confederate Flags & statue.
Traveling through the countryside, came across a grove (?) of pecan trees.
Not all trees, there are a few fields here and there.
Behind the park ran a dirt road that was interesting to drive down. It was so cool, while driving down this road, I came across five (yes five) cardinals. They are such pretty birds and having seen all of them, wow, I’ve got a lot of folks looking out for me.
If anyone ever asks you what the soil in Georgia looks like, now ya know.
The dirt road brought me to Perkins, Ga where I saw this building, kind of unexpected.
There were a couple other buildings similar to this one. Kind of neat seeing them in the middle of nowhere.
As I was heading back to the park I came across this church hidden away along a heavily forested road. It’s history goes back to the 1850’s and included a graveyard across the road that looked to be long forgotten.
This grave is from 1856.
A couple of things I’ve noticed since coming up to this part of the state. There are lots and lots of trailer houses in various states of condition, and I know I’m back in the south, what with all the churches everywhere and anywhere.
It was an enjoyable day seeing glimpses and flashes of history of the area. I do love the south.
Today was a washout. It was rainy and cold (relativelyspeaking). It was a good day to just sit around and watch TV as it faded in and out, and to go online with my poor Verizon service. Damn verizon, I noticed even in town that the strength of Verizon’s signal was weak, geez we’re not that far out in the sticks.
Even these guys were asking what’s up with the weather.
One concerning thing that I noticed from the rain, was water coming in around the vent in the bathroom. This time it was leaking from the other side of the vent edge. I wiped it up and and the leak stopped. I also noticed water leaking in from one side of the slideout (just great). I did some checking and came to the conclusion the water was getting around the seal because the trailer was at a bit of a slant to the right (at least that’s what I was hoping). They didn’t seem like major issues but the leak around the vent was reoccuring. I did some checking and found a Camping World in Augusta, GA, that hopefully would check the situation out and put an end to the water leaking. I Gave them a call and after a bit of phone tag, was able to set up an appointment on the way to the next destination. Going to Augusta would not take me out of my way and I was hoping this could be a quick fix.
I tend to be a very impulsive person. Today I brought the truck and trailer to Billy Bobs consignment and BBQ in Downtown Millen, to see how much they’d give me. After some back and forth negotiations, they offered $25,000 + a full rack of ribs and three sides. I decided to take their offer after they threw in three bags of pork rinds (bigbags), and now I’m heading to Costa Rica to start a new life, including changing my name (howdoesDonHope sound). This means that first I’ll have to max out all my credit cards and perhaps take out a couple of get as much as I can loans. If your going to burn bridges and start a new life, need to burn them all.
Oh yeah!
Once set up, I plan on starting a new blog, of course it will be in Spanish. Adios USA, hola Costa Rica.
APRIL FOOLS !
Ended up doing very little today, Other than going into town and picking up some chicken from popeyes (Iliketheirriceandbeans), just hung out around the campsite in a catatonic state.
Oh yeah I forgot, did go into town and happened upon this building, who knew.
Didn’t do much today. I did take a drive up to Waynesboro, GA which is only 15 minutes away, and checked out the local Walmart. I must be getting spoiled, I’ve become so used to Walmart Supercenters that going to a just a plain old run of the mill Walmart is somewhat disappointing. It doesn’t have the bakery and deli selections which I’ve come to rather enjoy.
On the ride back, I got off the main road which was a four lane highway and took the back roads to get a feel of the area.
Noticed the topography of the land changing from flat to slightly rolling hills and while the harvesting of trees remained widespread, more and more fields (farming) began to enter the picture. I did notice that the type of pines were a different variety from what I’d seen throughout Florida and around the Okefenokee.
Time to leave Fargo, Stephen C. Foster State Park, and the Okefenokee Swamp. As I had mentioned, the Okefenokee was someplace I had always wanted to visit and after my time here, I wasn’t disappointed. What’s stayed with me the most from my time at the park, was the few hours spent meandering through the swamp (see I told you it would be fun once safely back on dry land).
Time spent on the road getting to the next destination was about 3 1/2 hours, and a nice mellow drive on state highways it was. This part of Georgia remains flat and mainly covered by trees (pines). Timber looks to be the main source of income for the area. It also was very rural which I really liked. It made for a quiet and laid back setting (atleastforme).
Pulled into Magnolia Springs State Park and after checking in went to the campsite.
The site was not bad. Not a lot of foliage between sites so you didn’t have that feeling of solitude but they were large enough that you had ‘your space.’ Setting up went without a hitch (I’mgratefulforthat), and I was at my new home for the next week.
With all the photos of the trailer, the truck was feeling left out.
OTA TV was decent in number of channels available, and the selection of stations was fairly diverse in its programming. I did notice that there was a tendency for the stations to fade in and out, which would prove to be frustrating. Verizon strength was week but useable.
One thing I noticed after setting up, the ground wasn’t as level as I thought so I had a bit of a lean to the trailer, not bad enough to undo everything and jockey around but still noticeable
The Journey. 