April, 2006 - Bridge Coast to Coast Saga

April 1-5, 2006
The last few days have been spent getting the motorhome ready for travel; cleaning inside & out, oil change, emptying holding tanks, checking tires, buying necessities, making reservations for the next few weeks, etc. We are ready to move on, although we will miss our dear family and friends in this area.

Saturday, we went out for dinner at Logans Roadhouse with Jonnie, Marty, and Colton. Had a great time and the food was very good, would certainly go there again.

Tomorrow, we meet Pat & Roger at the airport in Sanford, then head to St. Augustine for the next few days.

April 6-11
Thursday, April 6. Traveled to Sanford, FL to pick up the Hooverson�??s at the airport. Their flight was to arrive at 3:45 but they didn�??t get in until 4:30. After that, we headed north to St. Augustine and to the Beachcomber RV Resort, (less than $10/day with the AOR membership), arriving around 7:30 pm. The place is a long, narrow strip of land with beach access across Hwy A1A and on the back side, a 1,000 foot pier that extends out into the Intracoastal Waterway. Its great to see Pat & Roger again. We had a few drinks, then had shrimp and salad for dinner and sat around talking until near midnight.

Friday, April 7. Needless to say, we all woke up feeling poorly this morning. Pat & I took Lucy to Cindy�??s Retreat for Dogs, then we headed for the beach, then the pool, then into town to the Conch House for dinner, recommended by the gal in the office. The dinner was excellent and it was a nice, quaint location on the St. Augustine inlet. A 3 piece band entertained us with tropical music. The Suzuki was acting up again, so we will probably have to take it in for repairs tomorrow. We played Farkel after dinner and had a great time and lots of laughs. When Mike took Lucy out before bed, he noticed the ring around the moon once again. It had 2 stars inside the ring which, in the old days, folks said there would be bad weather within 2 days (see Saturday).

Saturday, April 8. Pat and I took a nice, long walk along the beach. When we returned, the guys had decided to rent a car. When they went to pick up the car, they dropped the Suzuki off at a garage recommended by the man at the car rental agency. In the afternoon, we went the historic district and walked St. George St., saw the oldest wood school house in the counry, and had a snack at the Mill House Restaurant. In the evening, we went to Harry�??s for dinner, Louisianna cuisine. Storms went through the area overnight and brought some much needed rain �?? its been 41 days since the last.

Sunday, April 9. Another nice, brisk walk along the beach. I found 3 starfish. The wind was gusting and the waves were huge! We went for a drive and found the Vilano Beach Marina to be a great spot for brunch. Bloody Mary�??s and Mimosa�??s did us in �?? we went back to the motorhome for naps, reading and relaxing. Mike cooked some great tenderloins on the grill and we had salad and cheesecake with it. After dinner, we walked out on the pier and watched the sunset. It was cold and windy, so we were back at the motorhome and we played Farkel again. Pat was the big winner both nights.

Monday, April 10. Got up early and took the Hooveys back to the airport in Sanford. When we got back to St. Augustine we returned the rental car and picked up the Suzuki. The problem was a seal on the carburetor ($170 for parts & mostly labor). Again today, the winds are at 18 mph.

Tuesday, April 11. Today was a very relaxing day, starting out with a nice walk along the beach, then progressing to laundry, house cleaning, emptying tanks, reading, relaxing, and getting groceries. Mixed in there were visits with neighbors and having a great dinner.

The park thinned out and yesterday was really empty. We were beginning to wonder why nobody wanted to park near us because there were empty sites on both sides of us. Then this afternoon there was a lot of activity; motorhomes, trailers, and 5th wheels were coming and going like crazy, mostly coming. Its quite entertaining, watching folks maneuver their rigs. The folks to our left are in a 36�?? rig, towing a jeep, and the woman does all of the driving. On the other side, a mother and son are traveling with 2 large cats. We�??ve met lots of different dog breeds and 2 Maine Coon cats.

April 12-13
Wednesday, April 12. Rudy, Sonja, Andy, Ingrid, Alex, and Nina arrived at about 10:30. We sat around the campsite for a while, then headed to the beach where we spent the next couple of hours getting acquainted with Andy�??s family, walking the beach, collecting shells, playing Frisbee, flying the kite, and relaxing. After the beach, they all came over for lunch; ham & turkey wraps, marinated veggie salad, and cookies. We all got along well and now look forward even more to our trip to Switzerland.

After that, we went into town and walked thru the historic district visiting some of the shops and having a beer. Then we all went to the Conch House and got a table in one of the huts right next to the water. The fish were jumping, egrets feeding, boats coming and going to the marina, and we were wining and dining with a view of the lighthouse in the distance. It was a wonderful time, we think St. Augustine is such a beautiful place. Our visitors spent the night at the motel next door.

Thursday, April 13. I woke up to discover that I overdid it at the beach yesterday and have tan lines where I don�??t want them. Guess I should have been more careful and applied sunscreen earlier. Our delightful Swiss friends joined us for a breakfast of scrambled eggs with ham & cheese, fruit salad, juice, coffee, and biscuits. We visited for a while, then back to the beach for a couple of hours. After a light snack, they all left to head back to Dunnellon.

St. Augustine to Savannah, GA (215 miles)

April 14-17
Friday, April 14. Today was a good day, starting with a walk on the beach after some coffee. Took a drive north along A1A and saw the many gorgeous homes on the beach, very decadent. Except for some of the parks along the way there wasn�??t much open space. We stocked up on groceries when we got back to St. Augustine and spent the afternoon and evening chatting with neighbors in the park �?? and spending $$$. Mike bought an Autoformer, a gadget that keeps the correct voltage coming into your RV so that your appliances don�??t get damage from insufficient power.

Sunday, April 16. Easter Sunday. Lucy and I started the day with a nice, long walk along the beach, then prepared to leave this campground when we got back. By 10:30, we were on the road, heading north along US1 and I95 toward our destination of Hunting Island State Park ($23/night), just south of Beaufort, SC. The countryside is beautiful, lush plant life and many bodies of water.

Mike was enjoying the drive and didn�??t stop for a break until we crossed the Savannah River and the South Carolina state line. We pulled into the 1st rest area and information center in SC. After stretching and gathering maps and info, we were ready to move on. Unfortunately, the motor home wouldn�??t start. Turned the key in the ignition and nothing happened. We were stuck for the night.

Called our roadside assistance with our insurance company and they sent someone out to try to jump start us, but the problem wasn�??t the battery. We called Coach Net, the roadside assistance plan that we got with the motorhome. They said we were stuck for the night, they would dispatch a tow truck in the morning. One thing nice about being stuck in the motorhome is that we had everything we needed right with us. I talked to the folks that work here and they told me that there was no overnight security, but there was maintenance crew 24 hours. Mike called the State Patrol to let them know we would be here for the night.

Monday, April 17. Woke up at about 7:00 and were both surprised that we actually slept during the night. We were surrounded by semi trucks with their engines running, motor homes that had stopped for the night, and lots of car traffic. We heard back from Coach Net at 8:00 sharp and were told that we would be called as soon as a truck was dispatched. At 9:30, after not hearing anything, Mike called back and they were working on it at that time.

Wilbur and his Golden Transport Tow Service truck arrived just after noon, hooked it up and took off down the road - with Mike's Suzuki key in the ignition and mine hanging on the hook in the motorhome. Couldn't believe it. Thirty minutes later, Wilbur shows up again, we followed him to his house where he had stopped with the motorhome, then we followed him to Dan Vaden Chevrolet in Savannah, GA. Wilbur was a pretty colorful character, a hard working black man about our age, born and raised about 100 miles from here. He joked with Mike about forgetting the key, especially when he asked if we had everything we needed out of the motorhome before he left. We were also informed that there would be an additional $100 charge for his return to the rest area. When we got to the garage, we talked about our families and lifestyles. He had a nice home in the country on an acre or so lot. We didn't have quite $100, so he took what we had and said that if we had "one of those" motorhomes, then we had $$$. Mike assured him that we probably couldn't afford his tow truck and he got a good laugh out of that.

The service manager told us that things move slowly in the south, but he thought it might be done tomorrow.

We will be spending the night at a nearby motel. More tomorrow.

April 19-23
Wednesday, April 19. The motorhome was finally finished, to the tune of $1100, only $395 of it covered by our extended warranty because of the predetermined allowed time for labor �?? 4 hours, and they spent 8 hours repairing it. Now I will have to dispute the coverage with the insurance company, but it probably won�??t do much good. When Mike went to start it, he noticed the the parking brake light wasn�??t working and we wanted to make sure there wasn�??t a problem with the brakes. The mechanic was on lunch break, so we had to wait for him to return and check it out. A bulb had worked its way loose.

We left there and headed for Anderson, SC where we would be spending a few days with Tom & Karen, old friends from Wisconsin. I knew Karen from Hazleton and Tom has been a canoe builder for as long as we�??ve known him. It was a 6½ hour trip from Savannah, north on I95, then west on I26 through Columbia, then south on I85 to Anderson. The countryside changed once we got away from the coast and became much hillier, with dense forest along the roadside. We no longer saw palm trees, but did see a lot of kudzu and beautiful dogwoods and azaleas in bloom.

After arriving at Tom & Karen�??s house and getting setup, we chatted for a few hours. It didn�??t take long to become reacquainted. It seems that once you are friends, even though it has been many years since you�??ve seen each other, you kind of just pick up where you left off.

Thursday, April 20. After coffee, we walked down to the lake to admire the views. Several folks were paddling canoes, most were built by Tom. He is working with a father & son from Michigan who are building a child�??s canoe, seems like a wonderful experience for both of them, especially with Tom�??s patient guidance.

This evening, we went in to Anderson for dinner at the Uptown, a very nice little restaurant where they had barbequed pork for their special. It was served a little differently than any I had ever had, the sliced, tender pieces of smoked pork with the BBQ sauce on the side.

Friday, April 21. After breakfast, Lucy and I walked to the lake and around the 2 ponds. I saw bluebirds, thrushes, Canada geese, a blue heron, cardinals, and could hear a bullfrog and woodpeckers. It�??s a really calm and beautiful place. After lunch, we watched Tom put the clear plastic shrink wrap covering on the kid�??s canoe. It was fascinating, a heavy plastic, heated with a heat gun that made it be a tight skin around the canoe.

Karen, Anita, and I went to town to the art center and checked out the display of paintings, pottery, and other art there. When we returned, the little boat was ready for its maiden voyage and was taken to the lake and paddled. In the evening, we went to a nice Mexican restaurant for dinner. During the night, we had some good thunder storms and they continued into the morning.

Saturday, April 22. Mike and Tom went to the Lake Hartwell Antique Boat Festival where Tom had a vendor booth with 6 of his canoes. Karen and I went to lunch in the small, historic town of Pendleton at the First Farmer�??s Hall. I tried a local favorite, shrimp and grits that was pretty good �?? kind of like shrimp scampi but with grits. After lunch, we went to the Botanical Gardens in Clemson and walked around until it started to rain.

Shortly after Mike & Tom got home, we picked up pizza for dinner. The neighbors and friends came up for dinner and Steven, a friend from Boston arrived to spend the week working on his canoe. We had a great time, talking & laughing.

Sunday, April 23. The day started with a trip into town to The Sweet Tooth for breakfast. On our return, we joined up with several folks to paddle on the lake. I was in Karen�??s boat with a double bladed paddle and it was a very comfortable ride down the Broadway Creek. There was a lot of bird and butterfly activity, the mountain laurels were ready to bloom, and there were dogwoods and other flowering shrubs and vines along the way.

I fixed Ben & Jill�??s pasta for dinner in the evening. After dinner, we walked the property to look at possible home sites.

April 24-
Monday, April 24. We unhooked and were headed down the road by 10:00. The drive was beautiful and we made it as far as Bowling Green, KY to spend the night in the Walmart parking lot (their free parking cost us about $50). Not much to write about.

Tuesday, April 25. Today was a long day of driving, starting at 8:00 and arriving at Pat�??s house at about 7:30 pm. Once we got out of Kentucky, the terrain changed to much more open and flat so there wasn�??t a lot of visual stimulation. I also underestimated our travel time because of rain, high winds, and construction. I figured about 8 hours but it ended up being almost 12.

This area is in very early spring and the temperature dropped considerably, down to the low 30s expected tonight. It is very nice to see the tulips, daffodils, lilacs, and flowering crabapples again. The green is really green.

It is so nice to see Pat, Tracey, and Savana once again. We probably stayed up a little too late, but sure feels good.

Wednesday, April 26. The afternoon was spent visiting Mom at her new home in Wyocena. The place is nice and there seems to be a lot of activity and interaction among the residents and staff. She has a nice view of the Duck Lake, a small lake in the back of the property. After a walk along the lake we listened to some local entertainers playing old time country music and playing fiddle, guitar, banjo, and mandolin.

Thursday, April 27. A nice, relaxing birthday and a wonderful dinner with Pat and Tracey.

Friday, April 28. Met Dan at Mom's and had a nice visit. Dan and Mike picked up sandwiches for lunch and we strolled around the lake and visited on the patio. It just wouldn't be right if we didn't go out for fish fry in Wisconsin. The Hooveys, Pat and Tracey met us at Barbers and the lake perch was delightful.

Created on 04/03/2006 02:06 PM by bridge
Updated on 04/29/2006 08:19 AM by bridge