Colleton State Park in South Carolina

Our next stop, Colleton State Park, was a little over two and half hours from St. Mary’s. We stopped here because our intentions were to go to Savannah, GA one day then Charleston, SC another day and this campground was almost in the middle of the two.

However, when we arrived at the campsite we decided neither one of us was very keen on driving the hour or so to each respective place so we stayed put. We’re terrible that way. Neither of us do well in crowds and we typically tend to shy away from cities so where does that leave us? Content at our campsite or checking out small towns and the treasures they hold.

Colleton SP is located in Walterboro.

It’s another quaint little town whose slogan is ‘The Front Porch of the Lowcountry’.

We checked out a couple of antique stores and visited the water tower.

The tower has an interesting story. The following excerpt about the tower is taken from the town’s website… “The tower (built around 1915) is built of reinforced concrete and is 133 feet high. The tank section above the windows holds 100,000 gallons of water. At the base of the Tower are three jail cells where travelers, if stranded here many years ago and not able to pay for lodging, were allowed to stay here.” Is that not too funny? Did you notice the bed frame in the ‘room’ on the right?

The very first thing I noticed about the town were the sidewalks made out of oyster shells…

It had me wondering where all these shells came from and why did the town decide to use them in their sidewalks. Which is kinda funny that I should wonder about such things. As a child I never asked questions. As an adult it seems that’s all I do.

On our way back to the campsite we ate at Duke’s Barbecue – an all-you-can-eat buffet. Our waistlines really didn’t need a buffet but the food was delicious and reasonably priced. Ronnie had the fried chicken saying it was done perfectly and I had a sizable vegetable plate.

Colleton State Park is a smaller campground and backing into one’s spot can be tricky because of all the trees. I’m so glad Ronnie is an excellent backer. They also had the cutest bath house I have seen so far…

We stayed three nights but had to change campsites after the first night because no spots were available for three consecutive nights when we booked. Moving was OK but the people in our spot didn’t leave until the last minute (I can’t blame them) which meant our morning was gone. That’s another reason why we opted to forego trying to get to Savannah and Charleston.

The campground is on the Edisto River and is a favored spot for canoeists and kayakers. We saw many people (both locals and campers) heading down to the water either in bathing suits or with fishing poles. When we walked down to the river we found a few people fishing but no one was swimming. We’ve declared it to be a secret swimming hole as we never found anyone swimming in all the areas that we walked.

Speaking of walking, there was a nice boardwalk to the river’s edge where people could launch their canoes…

… but once you left the boardwalk one had to watch where they were going so as to not trip over a cypress knee…

We noticed as we were walking along the swampy edge of the river that at one point the river had been up quite a bit. You can see the water line on the trees…

All those cypress knees would’ve been well under water.

The river was flowing rather quickly so we really weren’t sure where people might be swimming but it was a nice river and popular with motor boats.

There was a canoe rental across the river and there are a couple cabins for rent in the campground.

We enjoyed our short stay at Colleton. With leaving to only tour the town I had plenty of time to actually FINISH the cross stitching on the Christmas Bell Pull. YAY!!! I still have to get some fabric for the back, sew it together and find some hardware to hang it.

I’m just glad it’s done. This one was tricky with lots of blended colors to create the intricate shading and the use of various colored filament for some sparkle in each motif. The picture doesn’t do it justice but it sure is pretty and was worth the tediousness.

Now on to another adventure. Till next time friends!

Our final days at Salt Springs

We love the campground at Salt Springs Recreation Area. We’ve camped here in the past with friends when we lived in Florida and we’re happy to report that it’s still a great campground. The lots are roomy with plenty of space between you and your neighbor. Most of the lots are surrounded by mature trees which offered some much welcomed shade from the hot Florida sun.

During our two week stay we went to the spring quite often however we quickly learned our first weekend there that the spring was a bit too crowded and noisy for us so we enjoyed it during the week instead and left the weekends for the day visitors.

That’s more like it!

The first time we went to the spring I could not make myself get in all the way no mater how hard I tried to psyche myself up to handle the sting of the 72 degree water. Nope, couldn’t do it. The next time we went there was another lady standing with me on the steps three quarters of the way in. We stood there for the longest time – both trying to muster up the nerve to get the rest of the way in – when all of a sudden she just dove in. When she came up I said “you DID it!” and she said “for my son”. Well if that don’t beat all, now I looked silly standing there all by myself looking exactly like someone who wasn’t able to muster up any nerve. Not being one to intentionally look silly I blocked the impending sting to my body from my brain and dove in. The cold water literally took my breath away for a few seconds as my head and body succumbed to the sting. Thankfully it wasn’t long before I either got used to the temperature or rather more likely I was numb. Either way eventually it began to feel refreshing and I was able to join Ronnie in checking out the springs.

We saw the biggest and most beautiful blue crabs hanging out deep in the rocks and crags of the springs. One even bumped into my heel as it was scurrying along to get to the springs. It startled me but thankfully it scurried around my foot rather than latching on with its enormous claw.

Seeing those crabs increased our desire for more tasty seafood so Ronnie grilled some shrimp and scallop kabobs.

We also checked out a favorite seafood restaurant from previous camping trips, Bass Champions, just down the road. I was nervous about going because it seems restaurants just haven’t been the same since Covid but we went anyway and I’m glad we did. It was just as good as we remembered!

The wildlife within the park kept us entertained with hawks perching on a limb a mere few feet away, squirrels staring at us and snatching sips of water from LizzieBelle’s water bowl and buzzards hanging out at the spring waiting for people like me to turn into a skeleton while mustering up the nerve to get in the water.

Our first week there we were informed that a bear trap had been set in the park. We never heard whether or not the bear was captured but thankfully LizzieBelle and I never met up with one on our nightly ventures outside so she could do her business.

There were several mornings and evenings where it was cool enough for a campfire.

And what times we weren’t at the springs or sitting by the campfire we sat in our camp chairs and watched the happenings around us. I spent many hours reading and cross stitching and occasionally we’d watch a movie.

Salt Springs is off of Lake Kerr. Many boaters would anchor their boats and wander over to the spring for a cool dip in the water.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Salt Springs but alas it’s time to move on.

From here we went to Ocala where we parked the trailer and stayed with family for a couple nights. It was great seeing them all one more time before leaving Florida. Now on to the next adventure!

Celebrating 95 years of a life well lived

Towards the end of April we had the privilege of celebrating my Dad’s 95th birthday with the family.

I owe much of who I am today to him.  Dad is a man of faith who loves God and his family.  He has served his country and has worked hard providing for his family.  He’s traveled to many parts of the United States and many places abroad and has many stories to tell.  In his younger days he enjoyed racing across the open waters in a sailboat and later took my friends and me on many water skiing trips in the days of my youth.  He loves his plants and gardening and has always had the nicest yard in the neighborhood.  He has stood by the Cleveland Browns through thick and thin. He is always ready with a big smile and an encouraging word. He has a goal to outlive his Mom who lived to be 101 and to this day he is as active as his 95 years will allow and is healthy for which I am grateful.

I could go on and on but suffice it to say that I am proud and honored to call him Dad.

Happy Birthday to the greatest Dad a girl could ever ask for!!!

Renovations – wait, what?

Thursday, March 24

Howdy folks! It’s been a while since my last blog post. We’ve had several family members wondering about our whereabouts these days and one sweet reader even messaged us on Facebook to see if all was OK. All week I’ve been wanting (needing) to take the time to sit down and write a post and since people were starting to wonder about us what better time to do it then on this rainy, muggy day.

We left Lake Yale a few weeks ago and drove a whopping 30 minutes or so to our next location – the front yard of some friends who had just purchased a house on a lake in the Ocala National Forest.

It’s a peaceful area and the view from the back porch and deck are serene.

Besides hanging out and catching up our main reason for being here is to help them with some renovation projects. The main project is adding a master bath with a built in closet however, the first order of business was to change the toilet in the existing bath to a taller toilet and to remove the vanity that was dated and too large for the space which made the already small bathroom even more challenging to get into. So… our first order of business was to demo the vanity (which was done before I could even grab my camera!) and to install the new toilet.

With the installation of the taller and elongated toilet there was very little room left for sitting (or standing) to do one’s business. There was also the fact that once the vanity was removed we had to come up with a solution for the bare floor since a pedestal sink was going in rather than a vanity. Ronnie figured while he was at it he would demo the dated paneling to make way for new paneling that matches existing paneling in the house and lower the ceiling which allowed for a flush mount light (where there originally was none) which, overall, makes for a cozier, well-lit bathroom.

So, what started out as a few simple changes quickly escalated into something more. Don’t they usually?! We’re getting close on finishing up the changes in the first (and only at the moment) bathroom then we’ll wrap our heads around the new bathroom.

While Ronnie made a mess of the first bathroom, hahaha!, I did some painting in the master bedroom, the foyer, and the bottom kitchen cabinets.

The master bedroom was adorned with paintable wallpaper so it went from a sea foam greenish blue color (above bright green carpet, oh my!) to gray…

The gray turned out really nice. The bright green carpet is gone and will be replaced with waterproof laminate in both the bedroom and the master bath. The chosen flooring is going to coordinate nicely with the wall color.

Our friends are living in the house during the renovations and are primarily living out of boxes so we hope to have the first bathroom finished and the master bedroom put together hopefully as soon as next week. We did manage to get most of the kitchen stuffs unpacked and put away so that we could eat cuz ya’ll know we love to eat!

Speaking of eating, we have taken every opportunity to savor all the fresh seafood we can get our hands on. So good! However, we’ve also eaten at some mighty tasty Italian and Greek restaurants that had the best Greek salad and salad dressing. I managed to find a recipe for the dressing so tonight we’re having my version of a Greek salad – thinly sliced lettuce and lean ham, kalamata olives, tomatoes and feta cheese drizzled with the salad dressing I made this morning which is basically red wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, dijon mustard, minced garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Easy peasy. You can find the recipe I used HERE. Ronnie will bake some chicken to go with the salad. MMmm good!

Now back to the story… I know those of you that followed along on our farm journey and renovations are thinking exactly what we’re thinking – ‘I thought they sold the farm to get away from renovations and upkeep’ – and you’re right! We did do exactly that but we are at it one more time for our friends’ sake. We’re looking at it as a mission trip and we’re all being blessed in different ways for it.

While here we’re also working on getting another opinion on Ronnie’s current cardiovascular situation. I know we’re both curious to see what the doctor has to say and praying for a simple solution.

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There are several sandhill cranes in the area and these two (the one on the left is sitting on the nest) just had a youngun’ and are waiting on a second to hatch (according to the next door neighbor)…

Hopefully it will hatch soon and they’ll both be safe from the grunting gator I hear in the middle of the night when taking LizzieBelle out. Yep, just when we finally stopped looking for alligators in every body of water in Kentucky it’s time to keep an eye out once again.

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In between reno projects I’ve been cross stitching. I finished the second motif on the Christmas Bell Pull…

This one kicked my hind end. Maybe I was more tired than I thought when working on it because I think I ripped out as many stitches as I was able to leave. Anyway, it’s done and I love it! Two down,

… one to go. However, I will postpone starting on the third motif as I have been commissioned to crochet a gender neutral baby blanket. I’ll be going to Hobby Lobby this weekend to get the yarn I need and will begin work on it immediately. Stopping midway through a cross stitch piece is no problem but re-starting it is difficult for me so I’ll wait to start on it after I’m finished with the blanket. I usually like to have a couple projects going at one time but lately I’ve been focused on finishing up the many cross stitch pieces I inherited from my Mom. Ones that she had started and never finished as well as ones that I had started and put down for one reason or the other. Having limited space in a 30 foot travel trailer is also a catalyst for only doing one project at a time. At any rate, bit by bit these UFO’s (UnFinished Objects in quilting terminology) are getting worked on one stitch at a time and I’m never at a loss for something to do during the moments we have to chill.

So, that’s what we’ve been up to. Not a lot of chilling, definitely no traveling but we’re certainly enjoying the eats! Also, we are both well and thankful for a place to park until the gas prices become more reasonable. And, hopefully we’ll get some good news medically speaking. My next post should have some finished renovation projects for you and maybe even a finished baby blanket.

Stay happy and well my friends and thanks so much for reading!

A new adventure awaits

WELCOME to Eat.Travel.Chill!!! We’re a couple fifty and sixty something year olds leaving life on the farm and heading for the open road pulling our home behind us. It’s been quite the journey to pare down a two story old farmhouse chock full of stuff into a thirty foot travel trailer but we did it. Although I’m quite sure we still have too much stuff. Throughout that whole process of sorting, trashing, donating, storing or moving into the trailer my motto was “we’re doin’ it” and here we are – finally doin’ it!

We spent yesterday morning scrambling to get the last of our still-too-much-stuff into the trailer; walking the farm pointing out all the plants and trees to the new owners; and giving animal care instructions before heading to the closing at 1 o’clock. We made it but barely. After the closing and a few other stops to take care of paperwork our new adventure began.

We’re slowly heading south so our first stop was a KOA Holiday campground in Tennessee.

We arrived early evening and managed to get setup just before dark. After that we plopped down in the chairs and stared at the piles of stuff we had shoved here and there for travel mode.

It looked like a couple hoarders had taken over the camper. sigh. The above photo reminds me of one of those hidden items games we like to play on our iPads. Can you find the flashlight, diffuser, bag, stool, slippers, bottle, cleaning bucket, glass table top? hahaha!

After filling the diffuser with Peace & Calming II, ignoring the mess and celebrating our first night in the camper with a glass of Riesling given to us from one of our Airbnb guests (the day we had an offer on the farm – New Year’s Eve) we decided we would stay another night if a space was available. We wanted to take some time to find more permanent spots for some of the stuff before moving on. Why in the world do we need so much stuff?! Maybe during our traveling days we’ll be able to pare some of it down even more. Wouldn’t that be nice! We also wanted a day to just rest and relax.

We all slept like babies – LizzieBelle included. As soon as we finished our coffee we walked to the office to see if we could book another night. Thankfully we could and we could even stay in the same spot. That being settled we started the process of finding more permanent spots for some of the things strewn about. We made some progress but there’s only so much counter space and storage so we called it quits for now.

At least part of the table can be seen and there’s a lot less stuff underneath the table. I even hung a bunch of little Command strips in the bedroom for my necklaces and got them hung up. I had wanted to hang the wooden jewelry holder I had made but I felt it was just too heavy so I went with the smaller strips for just the necklaces. My rings and earrings would go in little wooden boxes I have stored in my closet.

While in the office this morning we learned there was a Walmart and even a Rural King in town. Rural King, yay! Seeing as we went off and forgot to grab LizzieBelle’s can of dry food we needed to pick some up. After a hearty lunch at the local Dinner Bell restaurant we went to Walmart for some more Command strips to hang up the vacuum cleaner. They didn’t have her dog food so we went to Rural King where I was able to get it. She didn’t eat much yesterday or this morning but so much has been going on and even though she can’t see or hear I know she senses change and might be why she didn’t eat. She had me a little worried today but once I added some dry food and a bit of water to her wet food she gobbled it up this afternoon and is acting more normal, thank goodness. A few hours later she was even looking for her supper. It shouldn’t take her long to get used to her new surroundings and our new normal. She’s been such an easy-going dog. Good thing since we’re always up to something!

I spent part of the afternoon on the phone with Airbnb. We had a couple guests booked for April & May and in order to be able to cancel them and remain in good standing as Super Hosts we had to show proof that we sold the property that the rental cabin was on. Once I get notified that all is well I will delete the listing. Again, bittersweet.

Now that we’ve had this day to get a few more things taken care of and to recoup from that crazy busy last week at the farm reality is setting in. We feel as though we are now able to begin the next adventure with clearer heads and more rested bodies. Tomorrow we’ll drive a few more hours heading south. We’re doin’ it!!!