Photo of the Day

Tuesday, 29 January 2013.  Here's another shot I took the other day with the Canon 35-105mm lens.  At first I wasn't sure what I was looking at and actually had to get closer to make sure what it was.  I think the Willow Tree campground is attempting to deter the Canadian geese from using their 36-acre lake as a stopover on their journey back north.  I've only seen two geese since we arrived and only a few ducks.  As with any campground trying to keep things clean, neat and well-maintained, keeping geese poop off the grounds is a primary concern.  We've been at several campgrounds during our travels where the geese poop is a REAL problem.  Anyway, the campground staff appears to be trying to "scare" any geese/ducks away with these fake animals. I'm assuming this is a fake "fox" with a snarl on its lips, but it could be something else.  A wild dog?  Any guesses?  From a distance you have to take a second look -- as you get closer you can see its a fake.  Must be working, though, since the staff has placed several around the lake and at the beach.  We'll see as it gets warmer.

More on Willow Tree...35-105mm lens a success!

Tuesday, 29 January 2013.  Greetings everyone!  Well, Lynette is currently over at the campground’s game room playing Mah Jong with her buddies – every Tuesday 10-12am like clockwork.  Lynette and one other lady are the only ones who’ve ever played before, so these first few weeks have been a struggle.  But Lynette says they all seem to be having fun and keep coming back to play again.  Anyway, thought I’d take this time to come outside – beautiful morning, about 68 degrees today – and update the blog.  Our weather is supposed to be very nice today and tomorrow – near 75 on Wed, but with some rain/wind as a cold front moves thru – before returning to more normal temps down here for this time of the year.  And that means highs in the upper 50’s to low 60’s and lows in the mid-to-upper 40’s and maybe even the low 50’s at night.  Very nice and we’re loving every minute of it!

I decided to try and get outside the other day and take some additional photos of the Willow Tree campground and share on the blog.  We’re really enjoying our time down here and would highly recommend this campground to anyone looking to come to the Greater Myrtle Beach area, or Grand Strand as the locals call it, and spend some time.  I also wanted to try out the 35-105mm lens on my digital Canon EOS Rebel XT.  I got a great deal on the Canon, along with several lenses and additional equipment from my good buddy, Jon Kuntz.  Thanks, Jon – all the pics in this blog entry were taken with that 35-105mm lens (I hadn’t tried it out since I got it from you as the other two lenses were doing such a great job).

Anyway, the weather outside the other day was overcast but the temp only required a light jacket.  There was also just the right amount of sunshine that I didn’t have to worry too much about which direction I was trying to shoot.  Believe I got some great pics – the 35-105mm lens did a great job.  I was very pleased with the results.  I’ll try and attach a brief description with each photo.

Before posting the photos, a word or two about the Willow Tree campground. They have 107 large, paved RV campsites.  Depending on where you’re located the site is either a pull-thru or you back into it.  Their “Signature” (the most expensive) sites are located right on the 36-acre lake here at the campground, so you most likely want to view the lake when parked.  We opted for a site that is located one row off the lake; still a very nice site but costs a bit less.  If you have a motorhome and want a site right on the lake that most likely means pulling into the site; with a fifth-wheel or trailer you’d most likely back into the site.  It also depends on which side of your rig the water/sewer and electric hookups are located. 

Willow Tree also has four cottages located on the other side of the lake from the RV campsites.  Two 1BR and two 2BR, all located in a cul-de-sac that sits right on the lake.  The campground is also currently putting in three more cul-de-sacs near the cottages that have been designated for park models (think small single-wide trailers but fancier).  Willow Tree will sell you the park model of your choice that you can customize to suit your needs/desires.  The campground has two park models on display and we walked thru one the other day.  Very nice, but small – about 450 sq. ft.  If desired, you can add a screened-in deck later once you’re set up on your site.  The park models are going for anywhere from $50k up into the $60k range, depending on how fancy you get with your customization.  The sites themselves will rent for either $5000 or $6000 per year depending on your view of the lake.  The better the view, the more expensive.  I thought the annual rent was a bit pricey, but maybe that’s the going rate for this Greater Myrtle Beach tourist area.  You can also rent/lease them out, so that might make it more appealing to any potential buyers. After we are “done” with our full-time RVing, this park model option is something we’re considering.  Lynette’s folks had one in Yuma, AZ, for several years and would “winter” there and then travel back to Washington State during the late spring and stay thru the fall.  We visited them once in Yuma and I have to say I came away impressed and tucked the experience away for later reference….and here we are.  Who knows what we’ll end up doing after our “traveling” years, but the park model is certainly an option.

Enough with the chit-chat: let’s get to those 35-105mm photos I’ve been promising.  I’m really proud of a couple of them (don’t worry, I’ll make sure to make a point of it) and am using them in my screensaver slideshow.  I’m getting better, Jon – Jon’s my photographer hero!

View across the lake with the long-needled (about 5-6 inches) pine trees that surround the campground. Believe this is one of the better photos I've taken with the Canon.  Think I got the contrast just right with the 35-105mm lens.

 

Another view of the pine trees here at Willow Tree.  Virtually all of the them are very tall, very straight, with almost all the needles located in the top third of the tree.  Interesting to say the least, but impressive nevertheless.

View of the cottages here at Willow Tree across the lake from us.  

The two in front are the 1BR, with the 2BR units in the back.

View of the two park models on display.  We walked thru the one on the left.

This shot is looking back at the entrance to the nature walk here at the campground, with the lake in the background.  Another of my favorite shots with the 35/105mm lens -- I love how the shadows play into the trail.  I'm getting better, Jon! 

Below are a couple more views of the nature walk trail.  Sometimes it's a very narrow, one-person-at-a-time trails, while at other times it joins a service road so you can actually ride your bike around the far side of the lake.  Quite a pleasant, quiet walk -- and well-maintained.

Crafty Rooster, Conway, South Carolina

Sunday, 27 January 2013.  It's been much colder here the past couple days and that's limited what we can do outside as far as exercise.  We did manage to get out for a 20-minute bike ride yesterday, just around the campground and the lake.  The brisk, cold breeze was just enough to give us both the chills, and a hankering for something warm for lunch.  We both enjoy checking out the "local" restaurants wherever we're staying and this part of SC was no exception.  So far we've been trying various places in North Myrtle Beach or Myrtle Beach itself, and even points further south (check out the blog entry on our day trip to Murrells Inlet and the Dead Dog Saloon).  So, I hopped on the Internet and looked for any reviews of restaurants in Horry County.  I found a couple places that looked rather interesting over in the county seat, Conway, which is due east of us on SC Route 905, and about 20-30 minutes from our campground.  Originally named Kingston, Conway was founded in 1732, making it one of the oldest towns in SC.  With a population of just over 16,000, Conway turned out to be the quintessential small town. We drove around the town and found it very typical of the small towns in this part of SC.  We finally decided on the Crafty Rooster in downtown Conway on 3rd Ave as our lunch destination.  The Crafty Rooster was advertised as a "beer mecca" for the Grand Strand (a local tourist label for the greater Myrtle Beach area) -- and its selection of draft beers on tap did not disappoint. As an example, their Beer of the Week was something called Lips of Faith Biere de Garde by New Belgium Brewing out of Fort Collins, CO.  If interested, check out their website for their full selection of beers. While I eventually decided on something else to drink (a Hefeweizen) with lunch, this brew sounded interesting in its description of a slightly tart, intentionally dry beer with hints of bergamot citrus that pairs perfectly with French cheeses.  Hmmm.  That almost sounds pompous and the Craft Rooster is anything but pompous.  Anyway, here's an artistic poster advertising the Lips of Faith Biere de Garde.

The restaurant turned out to be something akin to the famous Cheers sitcom, with plenty of local flavor.  There was a small group of guys playing darts -- and having a great time -- as well as several small groups strung around the oval bar area chatting and laughing, enjoying the company of friends -- and of course, sipping on one of the many beer offerings -- both on-tap and in bottles.  The current list of beers on-tap appears on the all-too-common, overly-large chalkboard that lists a dozen or more beers at any given time.  As the restaurant says, it has an ever changing draft beer list. When one keg blows, we replace it with something different!  

After stepping close enough to read the list -- while at the same time trying very hard not to stand out among all the locals -- I decided on a beer called Mom's Hefeweizen, a Belgian style blonde ale brewed by Rogue Ales out of Newport, Oregon.  Turned out to be quite good and paired really well with my lunch, something called Bowl O' Bog, a delicacy in the Coastal Carolinas made with with chicken, sausage and rice. The dish was very tasty, although a bit thicker than I like; I was expecting something more along the lines of a red beans and rice dish.  Still, though, it was quite tasty and the serving size (I ordered a large bowl) was ample since I brought about half of it home.  Since the Mom's Hefe lasted only halfway through my meal, I decided to try something else, this time a chilled bottle of Fox Barrel's Blackberry Pear cider.  Fox Barrel, out of Colfax, CA (about an hour NE of Sacramento off I-80), brews only gluten-free pear ciders.  This was the first one I'd ever tried and won't be the last.  Considerably sweeter than the Hefeweizen, it was a very nice way to finish off my Chicken O' Bog.

Lynette ordered a sandwich called the Chant-I-Bull Sub, an original shredded chicken and homemade roast beef mixed with peppers, onions, and mayo then topped with provolone.  Since the Crafty Rooster focuses on beer, the wine list was limited to say the least.  With a such small selection to choose from, Lynette  opted to accompany her meal with couple glasses of the seemingly ubiquitous Sutter Home white zin. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention our appetizer -- something we had never tried before: Fried pickle chips.  The lightly breaded dill chips were served with Ranch dressing and were surprisingly quite tasty -- and went together amazingly well with our two meals and drinks.

All in all, our venture to sample the fare at a local restaurant turned out pretty good.  Decent pub food, excellent brews (the white zin of course was satisfactory at best),  very friendly staff, inviting environment ---and the total bill came to only $34.53, excluding tip of course.  Believe we got our money's worth. 

At the Crafty Rooster with my Mom's Hefe and their list of beers on-tap.

Obidiah enjoying Willow Tree Campground

 Sunday, 20 January 2013.  Our traveling companion, Obidiah Longbeard,Traveling Lord of LynDen Haus, has been not-so-quietly "urging" us to take him for a tour of the Willow Tree campground.  He dutifully sits in the center of the dashboard of our Winnebago motorhome day-in and day-out, surveying all who come before him.  However, he really doesn't get out very much, so with today's beautiful weather beckoning, we took Obi -- our nickname for him -- for a bicycle tour of the campground and the surrounding landscape.  As is usual with Obi when he's out, he loves to have his picture taken, most often with the entrance sign to whatever campground we're currently staying -- in this case, Willow Tree RV Resort & Campground in Longs, SC.  Obi's "tour" on this bright sunny day included our usual bike trip around the small lake here at Willow Tree (about a mile around), then out to the main entrance of the campground (about a mile and a half round-trip), and then around the perimeter of the camping sites.  All told, maybe a three mile tour.  We took a couple pics of Obi with the entrance sign, another one of him atop one of the many rest stops/benches for walkers who are out and about the park, and another one or two of him sitting on a spit-rail fence that lines the road into the park itself.  This is a very beautiful setting here at Willow Tree and we're anxious to see the park flora and fauna bloom as spring approaches.  Anyway, hope everyone enjoys the following pics of Obidiah as much as he enjoyed getting out and about on such a fine South Carolina day!  Cheers to all!

Obi posing in front of the campground's entrance sign.  What a ham!

Willow Tree campground is located at the end of Southern Sights Drive, just off Old Buck Creek Road, which is about two miles off SC Rte 905, which is a couple miles north of SC Rte 9.

Obi atop one of the many benches scattered around the park.

Obi astride the split rail fence that lines the Southern Sights Drive -- quite a charming feature. 

A Bazillion Stars, a glowing fire, and the Four Seasons

Thursday, 17 January 2013.  Well, its raining tonight (Ugh!) and the temps are supposed to drop, but last night, well, last night was absolutely wonderful.  I grilled some burgers for our supper and we ate outside with a glowing log fire burning away nearby in our fire pit.  As the night enveloped us, Lynette got chilly and scampered off into the warmth of our motorhome.  Me, I was up for was some "sitting by the open fire" and watching the night sky unveil itself to me.  I was most assuredly not disappointed.  Wanting to make this moment as magic as possible, I ran inside to grab my iPod and Travelocity earbuds -- the latter a gift from my granddaughters.  As I snuggled up around the fire, poking a stick here and there amidst the glowing embers, I was treated to a most magical display of the night sky.  Accompanied by a fairly full moon, wispy grey clouds drifted slowly across the night sky.  At first all I saw were one or two far distant stars.  But as the night grew darker and darker -- and the cloud cover moved on up the Atlantic coast -- I was treated to a wonderful display of the universe as its best.  My canopy soon became a bazillion (if that's not a real number it should be) bright, glittering stars across the night sky. It is so dark at night in our campground that the night sky becomes almost a mystical scene of glitter far, far away in the dark sky.  I found myself wondering about that age old question whether mankind here on earth is really alone, or like many earthlings, think there are "others" out there somewhere.  Remember Jody Foster in Contact?  One of my favorite movies.  Every once in awhile, ya' just gotta believe, right?  There's a scene in that movie where Sparks (Jody Foster's character) asks her Dad if there's people on other planets.  His answer:  I don't know, Sparks. but I guess I'd say if it is just us, seems like an awful waste of space.  What a great line!

Anyway, so I'm grooving away on my iPod music and sipping my red wine cooler, feet propped up and rocking back-and-forth in my lawn chair rocker when all of a sudden I hear the Four Seasons coming thru my earphones.  I immediately pump up the volume to max and for the next 30 minutes or so just listen to "Walk Like a Man," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)," "Rag Doll," "Let's Hang On," "Dawn," "I've Got You Under My Skin," and "Working My Way Back To You."  The only thing missing was "Sherry" (one of my favorites....I know a real cute Sherry), but I know it's on the iPod somewhere.  Like I said: a magical evening under the stars.

While I didn't take the following photo, I found it online and it comes very close to what I remember last nights sky looked with the grey clouds and the bazillion stars glittering above me.  The moon is just slightly larger in the photo than mine was last night, but still very close.  A most magical night. A glowing fire, a tasty drink, a full tummy, wispy clouds floating above, and a glittering starry universe above me.  Dang, its good to be alive -- and retired!  Cheers to all!

  

Dead Dog Saloon comes to the rescue

Monday, 14 January 2013.  We've been here in the Myrtle Beach area for the better part of a week now, and we still have yet to find a seafood restaurant.  Now, one might think seafood eating establishments would number in the dozens down here, but NO, not this time of year.  Either they're closed for the season or they're shut down for renovations.  January and February appear to be the time of the year when all this happens down here.  We've been looking and looking for just about any seafood restaurant we could find that was open -- not counting seafood buffets -- and have been unable to find one.....until today.

We had an errand to run at the local Camping World in Myrtle Beach and asked the clerk if she had any recommendations for a seafood restaurant.  She pointed us down the coast, past Myrtle Beach, past Surfside Beach, and on into Murrells Inlet, the "Seafood Capital of South Carolina" and home to some of the State's finest golf courses.

One place in particular the clerk suggested was Captain Dick's Marina and its co-located Spud's Waterfront Dining & Tiki Bar. Alas, while the Marina was open, Spud's was closed for renovation.  The young lady at the front desk was very apologetic and even recommended a place just down the street, the Dead Dog Saloon.  Before leaving Captain Dick's Marina, I did manage to purchase -- at a nice discount -- a very nice T-Shirt.  While the one I bought is a nice blue, here's what's on the back.  Believe it should go quite nicely with my new Phat Skullz cruiser bike!

We eventually made it over to the Dead Dog Saloon and had a very nice lunch on their outside deck that featured a wonderful waterfront view.  Here's a couple pics so you get an idea of the place. One of the restaurant from a water view perspective and another that looks out on the water scene from their deck. If you check out their website their menu is available for viewing.  We ordered some lobster bites as an appetizer and they were very good -- excellent flavor.  Oh, and we immediately received some bite-sized hush puppies at our table (their version of rolls/bread, I guess) and they were also very tasty.  Lynette ordered a "usual" for her: fish and chips, and washed it down with a Bahama Mama.  I opted for their fish tacos, which were excellent.  I've been trying fish tacos at several restaurants during our travels and have to say the ones today are the best yet.  Bite-sized grouper in a soft taco along with tomatoes, lettuce, guacamole, and sour cream.  A Fat Tire on draft enhanced the overall flavor!  As I said, our food was quite tasty and we weren't disappointed at all; in fact, we felt rather lucky to have finally found a seafood restaurant in this Myrtle Beach area --- even if we had to drive an hour to Murrells Inlet to find it.  We ended up partaking of a very filling lunch in a quaint and quite scenic waterfront setting.

Enjoying South Carolina Weather -- and fixing flat tires

Sunday, 13 January 2013.  The weather right now in this Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina is terrific -- with a capital "T."   Temps today are supposed to get up into the mid-to-upper 70's, and more of the same is forecast for tomorrow.  I was very anxious to get out yesterday morning for an early ride on my new Phat Skullz cruiser bike, but, alas, my rear tire was flat.  Can you believe it?  Man, was I ever mad and frustrated.  Managed to get the inner tube off the rear tire without too much bother and discovered a small hole -- just enough to not hold air properly.  And to top it off we had no air pump.  Kudos to some fellow campers who loaned me an air compressor, making the whole process much easier.  A quick trip to an Ace hardware store in North Myrtle Beach (about 15 minutes south on SC Rte 9) was now in the mix to buy a bicycle tire repair kit and a small air pump.  Mission accomplished and in short order I repaired the offending tire.  It seemed to hold air overnight and after a 20-minute bike ride around the campground, the tire still seems to be holding just fine.  Guess I haven't lost my touch repairing bike tires.

Some blog readers already know this story, but years ago -- and I mean YEARS ago -- in the mid-70's, Lynette and I, along with another couple, took a bicycle trip out into then West Germany while we were stationed in Berlin.  We put our bikes on the Army Duty Train and took an overnighter from Berlin to Frankfurt.  Once disembarked at the HauptBahnHof in Frankfurt, we headed south on our bikes for Darmstadt and then on to Heidelberg where we picked up the Neckar River. We followed the Neckar as long as we could -- much easier riding for everyone and very scenic, to boot -- and then proceeded cross-country to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, north to Wurzburg, Aschaffenburg and finally back into Frankfurt.  A circuitous route of about 350 miles over the course 10 days.  One of THE best vacations I've every had!  We traveled the back roads, off the beaten path, so to speak, staying at small B&B's or small hotels in whatever small village we ended up in at the end of the day's riding.  Anyway, the point of this story.  Over the course of this 10-day bicycle vacation, I repaired 17 flat tires on Lynette's bike.  17!   And it was the very same 10-speed bike the other couple was riding (I rode a 3-speed Schwinn for the trip).  Never could figure out the why and/or how of all those flats, but Lynette rode that bike back into Frankfurt on the very same inner tube she stared with.  Guess one could say I became very good at fixing flats.  Let's hope my skills are still good enough to ensure my new bike tire repair job will last.

Anyway, here's a pic of me after this morning's ride.  The Phat Skullz is one very easy-riding bike, at least for fairly flat, level roads/bike paths.  Which is probably exactly what we were looking for in buying our bikes.  We hope to enjoy them for many years.

Bonus pic:  My lovely wife relaxing, reading a book on her Kindle, and just plain enjoying this wonderful SC weather!

Photo of the Day

Saturday, 12 January 2013.  Ben's drawing of an airplane for his PaPa.  I think this is quite good, quite good indeed.  I'm hoping Ben will add some comments about his drawing using the "Comment" option at the end of this blog entry.  Thank you again, Ben, for sending me this EXCELLENT drawing.  It's really cool, and I really like it!  Love and hugs to you from PaPa!

Exploring Myrtle Beach area, buying new bikes

Wednesday, 9 January 2013.  In the last blog I believe promised some additional pics of our Willow Tree campground, so here they are.  While Lynette was watching her soaps, I took a walk around the campground, looking for some opportune viewpoints of our campsite.  The Willow Tree campground has a small lake with a paved bike trail that encircles the lake; I think the staff told me the the total trail around the lake is one mile. So I did one mile, plus a little bit more walking in and out of various side roads.  Here are a couple of the better pics I got today.

Bonus photo:  As I was coming back from my walk around the lake to the main part of the campground, I met some campers who were playing horseshoes.  They invited me to join them, but since I'm sure I would have kicked their butts, I declined but said I'd love to join them on another day.  Parked right next to the horseshoe pits was this beautifully restored '55 Chevy Bel Air 2-door coupe.  Cherry little car. Had to have a couple photos, just as a memento. Enjoy -- it really was a cherry car!

Different subject.  Lynette & I have promised each other that we were going to buy a couple bicycles and actually ride them at every campground we stay at that has some decent bike/walking paths/trails and/or roads.  So, this past Tuesday we set out for Myrtle Beach to locate a bike shop and look at bikes and a bike rack for the Saturn.  I've been looking at the various bike racks that I've seen on other vehicles in the various campgrounds we've visited these past six months.  I had more or less settled on a Saris Thelma rack and that's what we ended up ordering at the bike shop.  Per internet searches and reviews, it got high marks all around.  According to the salesman at the bike shop, next to a Yakima bike rack (which was out of stock for awhile, so we couldn't order it and receive it in time to do some serious riding over the next few weeks), the Saris is a close second.  Here's a stock photo of the Saris Thelma two-bike model that we'll be using. The young lady in the pic was an optional package --- and Lynette said "No!"

While at the bike shop we naturally talked about our full-time RV lifestyle and that we were also in the market to buy a couple bikes.  The salesman turned us on to the Phat Cruiser style bike.  One speed, coaster brakes, very comfortable seat.  Nice feel to the whole experience as we road the bikes around the block.  My bike was a "return" but in excellent condition, and the shop knocked off quite a bit off the list price.  I've included a couple stock photos of my version, the Skullz, and the one Lynette will ride, the Zoe Heart.  When looking at the photo of her bike picture a purple basket on the front that matches the purple sidewalls.  Very chic, very chic indeed.  My model, the Skullz is much more macho looking, of course!  We should be able to pick up the bike rack and bikes on Friday and then start doing some serious riding.  Will include additional pics of us in action later. We can't wait to start riding!

Willow Tree RV Resort & Campground ~ Home for the next 10 weeks!

Monday, 7 January 2013.  Arrived safe and sound at the Willow Tree campground early afternoon on Sunday, 6 January.  We traveled as far as Roanoke Rapids, NC, our first day out of MD and had an overnighter at The RV Resort @ Carolina Crossroads, just over the state line from VA.  After checking in and getting set up for the night, we did some scouting around and found a nice place for dinner at Logan's Roadhouse.  Good steaks and wonderful, very HOT rolls.  Some of the best I've ever had.  Smothered in butter, of course.

Had some minor issues with our leveling jacks the next morning (they didn't want to retract) that cost us about 30 extra minutes to resolve the issue before we could hit the road again.  Always seems to be something that gets us off our schedule.  Still, we made good time driving straight down I-95 -- and even with light rain we were soon turning onto I-74 just past Lumberton, NC.  From there it was a fairly straight shot -- although not much interstate -- on several different state routes until we crossed into SC and picked up State Route 9 that took us into Longs, SC.  The Willow Tree RV Resort & Campground sits on a small lake just a few miles northeast of Longs.  A very nice park (check out their website), well-maintained, with loads of amenities.  We'd definitely consider staying here in the future.  Very friendly staff, too.

This morning brought us one more issue to deal with; this time it was a dead battery in our Saturn.  A call to AAA brought a quick response from a local garage.  The tech determined that our 7-year old battery was completely dead and we would need a new one.  Fortunately he had a brand new one for our Saturn VUE with him, and for only $160 installed, it could be ours!  Such a sweet deal!  Sigh.....  We've discovered over this first 6-months of full-time RVing that there is always something we have to deal with and it usually costs us money.  But as the AAA guy told me: we have a 3-year full replacement warranty in addition to a total of 6-years warranty on our new battery.  Wow!

Anyway, we're here for the next 10 weeks and are anxious to venture out and "discover" this Myrtle Beach area of SC.  Believe there might be a couple seafood restaurants in the area.  You think?  Here's a shot of the Willow Tree campground from their website; will post more pics as I get out and start taking some pics myself.

Bye-bye Maryland, so long COLD!

Friday, 4 January 2013.  Well, here it is the New Year and we're still in MD.  But not for long!  We head south tomorrow morning and will be in Longs, SC, by Sunday afternoon.  We'll be at the Willow Tree RV Resort & Campground for a couple months.  Then we'll come back up to MD for a minor knee operation (scope job) on me, followed by a few weeks of rest and re-hab before we hit the road again in 2013.  We've had a wonderful time over the Christmas and New Year's holidays, especially with our two sons and four grandkids.  Just oodles and oodles of fun, laughter, and good food and drink.  And Santa was pretty good to us on top of that!  I notice my last blog posting was 9 December when we were at the Camp Meade RV Park.  We stayed there thru Christmas and then tried to head back to the Lost River campground in WV, but they were pretty much snowed in.  And it was also several degrees colder out there!  Instead we opted to stay at the Candy Hill Campground in Winchester, VA, just off I-81, and only about an hour from our oldest son, Kip's, place in Mathias, WV.  We had stayed at Candy Hill in the fall of 2011 and found it a very friendly place.  Still cold, which meant we couldn't hook up to water.  Filled up the fresh water tank in the RV and used that while we stayed there.

Our family holiday get-together / gift exchange took place at Kip's and included his wife, Tina -- our WONDERFUL hostess this year -- and their two daughters, Skye and Rayne; our youngest son, Jamie, his wife, Lisa, and their two sons, Ben and Luke; Lisa's mom, Susan and her friend, Tom; and Tina's cousin, Rick and his daughter, who live just across the road from Kip & Tina.  We had so much fun over those four days from 29 Dec thru New Year's Eve and New Years' Day playing board games, watching movies, and just enjoying each other's company.  We have ONE GREAT FAMILY! Oh, did I forgot to mention all the food?  Seemed like we had plenty of food always available.  It's always so much much to watch the four cousins get together.  You can tell they miss seeing one another more often.  Does a PaPa's heart good!l

Lynette & I said our goodbyes and drove back to Thurmont, MD, on 2 January, and dropped off our Winnebago motorhome for some periodic maintenance and some other work at Beckley's RV Sales and Service just outside of Frederick, MD.  We knew they would most likely need the motorhome for a couple days, so we checked into a nearby hotel in Frederick and hunkered down against the suddenly very cold and windy Maryland weather.  Beckley's finished up this afternoon, and after shelling out a "few" hundred bucks, we hooked up to their electricity and are spending tonight in their backyard.  As I mentioned earlier, we plan to hit the road for Longs, SC, tomorrow morning.  Hope to make the VA-NC border for an overnight stay before pulling into the Willow Tree Campground sometime Sunday afternoon.  And the sooner the better!  Its darn cold right now in the mid-Atlantic states!

Thought I'd close this blog entry with a few pics that we'd taken over the past several weeks.  We had a wonderful holiday season with our two sons and grandkids, and friends.  And we're looking forward to hitting the road again to see more of this good ole USA.

Snow at Camp Meade -- only about an inch or so.  But very COLD!

Took Luke & Ben out to feed the ducks at Ft Meade's Burba Lake.  Fun but was it ever cold!  That was the day when I began feeling poorly.  The things we PaPa's do for our grandkids!

Jamie, me, and Kip getting the gift exchange off to a festive start!

Amid the predictable gift exchange chaos, Skye tries on her new cowgirl boots, while Ben looks for some help from his Daddy with a new toy.  And believe me, it was chaos!

Our grandkids -- Rayne, Ben, Skye and Luke -- bowling over the holidays.  We were celebrating Luke's 5th birthday (12 Dec), and while a tad late, it was what Luke wanted to do and everyone seemed to have a really great time.  Ben -- Next time open your eyes!  Gosh darn, it's so hard getting a good photo of ALL FOUR grandkids.  Anybody else have that problem?

Well, I guess that's about it for this blog post.  Will pick things up again when we get to Longs, SC.  Meanwhile, we send our best wishes to everyone for a safe and healthy 2013.  May God bless and protect.