Landed Safe and Sound in SC

 

Site A8 at Bass Lake Campground, Dillon, SC – same spot we had four years ago

We got an even earlier start this morning, pulling out of the park in Emporia, VA at about 9:30.  Folks,  that’s early for this crew.  It was raining moderately when we rolled out of the Jellystone park and made our way to I-95 South.  Today was a straight shot down I-95 to Dillon, SC.  It rained lightly off and on the entire trip,  but really wasn’t too bad. 

November 2010 at Bass Lake

We had one fuel stop at a Pilot in North Carolina and it was again a smooth in-and-out.  Even being Monday, it wasn’t really busy.  We were able to park away from the pumps to walk Maggie.  Dave scored a coffee while I was fueling our truck, so he was a fairly happy camper.  Right around the time we crossed into South Carolina, the rain kicked up a notch and started coming down at a pretty good rate. 

There is something comforting about returning to a place you’ve been before.  We know where Bass Lake is, so getting here was easy; it also is a very easy on-and-off from I-95.  We got set up fairly quickly, including water and sewer since we will be here until Wednesday. 

We ducked out to Walmart for a couple of things and then I indulged in a small personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.  Only ate two of the four pieces; haven’t eaten anywhere near a huge meal (not that we routinely do, anyway) in the last few days, so two pieces just hit the spot.  I have two for tomorrow.  Yay! 

We have walked around this 53-site park a few times in the light rain, just because walking feels good after riding for several hours.  We also enjoyed some catch-up time with Guy (he and his wife Julie are from England and are the owners), trading highlights of the four years that have passed since we were here.

This is not the fanciest park by any means and certainly not a resort, but the facilities are clean and it is peaceful.  There are a few permanent residents, others who return to winter here every year and others who stop on their snowbird flight South.  Guy told us that last year he had to turn people away, as he was completely booked. 

Tomorrow we’ll stock up on provisions and I’ll do what laundry there is in the hamper.   Who knows?  I might even get a nap.  Dave might even sneak in a bike ride.  He has been remembering his rides in the area from our previous time here in 2010. 

All in all, not a bad day.  I am so very proud of our truck for getting us here from NJ with not even a hiccup.  It ran very smoothly and strongly, pulling our RV behind it like the true champion workhorse it is.  Good Truck, I’d tell it every day.  Good Truck!

We have TV reception!  No cable, just off our antenna.  Several channels to choose from, and right now I’m watching one of Michael Palin’s travel documentaries in which he was watching Life of Brian on DVD.  How funny and almost surreal is that?  He is visiting the site where it was filmed.

Maggie again was the ultimate full-time dog, traveling contentedly in the truck, reveling in the smells and sights during her walks and now tuckered out in one of the recliners.  If I want my hoodie, I’ll have to arouse her.  I can do without the hoodie.

Although it’s still early in the evening, I am rather tired and think I’ll bid you good-night.

Thanks for stopping by!

Today Was Smoooooth

 

First of all, a very happy birthday to my beloved Scotsman, my best friend, my partner in adventure and my husband.  We have known each other for 10 years this month.   My birthday rolls around in 10 days, so we may try to have a meal out  at some point to celebrate both events.  We usually do that.

That extra day and night at the KOA in Broadway, VA really helped.  We were on the road at about 10:30 this morning, which is very reasonable for us.  Yes, we remembered to make sandwiches for today, and our snacks hit the spot as we cruised along.  I also remembered to charge up my MP3 player and put it in the truck.  I have a playlist of “plane music” which I compiled years ago of songs which give me good vibes during our flights back to Scotland.  They are also good “road tunes,” and we both enjoyed the almost two hours of hand-picked songs.

Our route today was Interstate 81 South, Interstate 64 East, the 288 loop around Richmond, VA, and then south on Interstate 95 to the Jellystone park near Emporia, VA.  We take our time when we travel, so we arrived around 3:30 this afternoon.

Coming through the Blue Ridge Mountains was absolutely beautiful, especially that long downhill run which ended (thankfully!) at a rest stop. 

Perfect day for traveling.  View looking back from the rest stop.

There were no mishaps or stressful incidents today.  We stopped once to fuel at a Pilot and it was a positive experience.  There were hardly any big dawgs at the pumps, I’ve got the fueling procedure down to a science now and Dave didn’t really object to stopping there after yesterday’s experience at the wee convenience store fueling the truck. 

Dave had mentioned earlier that, since it is his birthday, he wouldn’t mind picking up a few beers if we had the opportunity.  He is, after all, a born and bred Scotsman.  When I went in to get our receipt for the fuel, I noticed a small cooler of . . . beer!   I was really surprised, as I had never seen beer sold at truck stops before.  When I went back out to our rig, I told him to go inside and get his beer, which he did!  Since we are not unhitching for a one-night stay, this was a nice surprise.

We have had several walks around the park here, but I forgot to take a photo of our setup.  Perhaps in the morning, although the forecast is for rain all along our route into Dillon, SC.  We’re parked in between two huge Class A rigs, but over on the other side of the park there are all sorts of rigs from Class A’s down to two tiny teardrop-type bumper pulls. 

There are quite a few dogs here, and Maggie had a nose-to-nose meet-and-greet with a wee Yorkie on one of her strolls.  She was so going crazy with all the new smells we at one point thought she would just explode and “there would be puppy everywhere.”  Ha!  She is such a good traveler!  Oh, she was disturbed when the park cat came over and sat on the picnic table bench with Dave for a while earlier on.  He sat outside with his laptop for quite a while, catching up on emails and Scottish futbol scores.

We even managed a wee dinner here at home this evening of pasta and bourbon-BBQ ham steak.  Very simple and very yummy.  Well, Dave is having a wee snack of a kolache, toast and cheese right now. 

All in all, a day on the road as I envisioned . . . beautiful weather, gorgeous scenery, upbeat tunes, snacks and easy conversation peppered with laughter between us. 

Indeed, a very smoooooth day.

Total States:  One, Virginia, from just inside the northern state line to just inside the southern state line.

Mileage:  209.6

Thanks for stopping by!