Key Largo

Key Largo John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park December 1

Our planning for this long trip included finding warmer places to visit over the Winter months. Neither Cindy nor I had ever been to the Florida Keys so we looked into Key West first. A year ago, the state park was booked as were most of the private campgrounds. (Turns out this was a good thing for us as these places were devastated by the hurricanes this Fall).  Looking a bit further North, we spotted John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park I read up on it, and we were able to book a site for the beginning of December for one week! Then as we continued on building our itinerary, we knew we had a warmer place for that time period. Then came the storms of September with a direct impact on the Florida Keys! We waited to see how the park did as the news reported great damage to the area. If the park was not able to open, we’d need to do some scrambling to find new sites until our swing westward by Christmas. The park website kept reporting for weeks that they were working on getting things cleaned up after major storm damage. Finally in mid November, we called and YES!! They were once again able to offer camping! (We were later informed that one state park farther South no longer has its camping area that was right on the beach- it doesn’t exist)

JPSP boat channel - you bring your own or rent

observation area

Beach restored for swimming

Delightful temps of high 70’s during the days with blue skies and a nice breeze were shorts and t shirt  weather all day and night. Great for biking, kayaking and of course - dog walking.

warm and sunny - hat a must

Friday night we walked around and saw the massive effort that was made to clean up the park and get things moving towards normal. The concessions- scuba diving, snorkling, kayaking and boat rentals were on line but operating from temporary offices brought in til permanent repairs can be completed.

visitors center and canteen still getting renovated

Our first full day we opted to take the glass bottom boat tour over the only coral reef on the East Coast! Corals, Barracudas, Star Fish and even a Sea Turtle (at a distance) were observed. Our guide, Cathy, did a great job (a Dramine helped as well). She was very passionate about the reef and shared that her dad was a commercial spear fisherman!

only coral reef  on the East Coast

Glass Bottom Boat - nice tour

Sunday we took the Ranger Nature Walk. We learned about the 3 kinds of Mangrove trees - red, white and black that can filter out salt water, the Mahogany Tree and the Poisonwood Tree- even the bark, which has bumps and a shiny surface can give a severe reaction like our Poison Ivy does, and of course Palm Trees. The Ranger, when asked about the damage in September, shared that they were out of the area for 6 days, and due to the damage to their home, living in their RV ever since. They are working at the park all week and gutting and rebuilding their house at night and off days! Paradise has its rough edges.


Trips to the library for faster internet access, a trip down US1. To see the impact of the storm there and patching a rough spot on the roof of the RV were things that took time as well.

mile after mile, they scoop it up and large trucks haul it away, 3 months later!

still working at it - saw a boat on its side in a yard

wait to work on roof til it dries off

The first several days had constant 15 mph winds, so we held off on Kayaking. Then on Wednesday they subsided and we took a 1 hour paddle in a double yak through the natural Mangrove area. Very interesting how they keep sending shoots out to spead into the saltwater. We thought we were doing really well until a couple came by on Paddle Boards. they were 80 and 82 years old!

nice paddle through a Mangrove area

We have reached the end of our stay here and shortly will be heading up the Gulf Coast.

Pilot House - featured on Dinners, Drive ins and dives

Thanks for reading.

take care

Cooper and CJ

Titusville Fl

Titusville Manatee Hammock County Park November 27

Departing Skidaway Island State Park bright and early Monday morning, we drove out to Dorsey Tire to have a valve stem extension added to the inner rear wheels. After trying several items on my own, we were in need of air and no easy means to reach the factory valve stem (very, very frustrating). The people at Dorsey were prompt and added the extension to the right wheel where needed, added air and we were on I95 South in two minutes. (Unfortunately, they did not add an extension to the left side as expected-this will be addressed later).  We had approx 280 miles to our next stop in Titusville Florida- Manatee Hammock Campground. We had made our reservation at MH last December as a place in the general area, but the more we checked into it, the more we were looking forward to staying there. With the devastation caused by the back to back hurricanes this Fall, we weren’t sure if they would be open. We had received a call from them several weeks ago stating that our site had been damaged by the storms and we could get a refund or another site. We went for the other site and WOW!! What a change. We were placed in the row closest to the water with gorgeous views of Indian River and miles away - Kennedy Space Center (the huge Vehicle Assembly Building clearly seen). A large portion of the park is still closed due to storm damage, including the water front, pier and multiple sites unavailable, possibly permanently. Pleasant temperatures both day and night were ours to enjoy.

sunrise at MHCP - Indian River

view from our campsite - NASA visible across river

First on our list of interests was to visit NASA - Kennedy Space Center. 11 miles away, 15 minutes of driving and we were looking at items from the beginning of the space age to the present. We upgraded to the guided launch pad tour and our guide was very knowledgeable, and included many interesting side notes. The bus trip took us to the launch pads where the Apollo and Space Shuttle launches took place and the Vehicle Assembly Building (the doors were open and the tractor and mobile launch platform clearly visible). A good bit was said about the Mars mission, they are working on the rocket now and if you know any 7 -17 year olds who want to go to Mars in 20 years, have them get their applications in. We also saw a Saturn V rocket, lunar rovers and.... touched a piece of moon rock as well as saw the Shuttle Atlantis. A great day.

Kennedy Space Center Visitors entrance - early rockets and capsules in background

Vehicle Assembly building in background - stripes in flag are 8 ft wide!

tractor taking mobile launch platform out to pad

launch pad for Shuttle, Apollo and future Mars missions in background

Shuttle Atlantis

Titusville is Manatee country, and the next day was devoted to Nature. The next day we drove through Canaveral National Seashore-  Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Our campground neighbors (they have been Wintering there for 18 years) had mentioned that we should be sure to take the Black Point Wildlife drive. There we saw many interesting species, including a close up of the Roseate Spoonbill.

Roseate Spoonbill- color comes from eating shrimp!!

several Spoonbills along with Egrets, 

This is not something you could easily overlook. Many interesting birds and alligators were viewed closeup as well. From Black Point, we continued on a few miles to Manatee Observation Deck, overlooking a canal where manatees hang out on a regular basis. At first we weren’t seeing any, and then, rocks slowly started moving- Manatees! They slowly moved to a small inlet and there were over a dozen, mostly young ones hanging out.

look closely - those blobs in the water are Manatees!

Our stay here was rather short, only four days and we are off again!

take care

Cooper and CJ

Savannah

Skidaway Island State Park November 18

Our journey continued with a rather short drive from Charleston SC to Skidaway Island, GA home of  Skidaway Island State Park near Savannah. Based on recommendations from several people and neighboring RVers, we used Hwy 17 until it blended with I95. Hwy 17, often passing under a canopy of Live Oaks, was a scenic, non-hectic yet 50 mph route to our next home. We had pleasant drive and arrived at SISP mid afternoon. The staff indicated which sites were available to pick from (a different approach from having a specific site assigned, here they reserve a type of site and you pick yours from the available ones at arrival). Until the 1970’s, Skidaway Island was only accessible by boat and at this time is rather natural. Wetlands, marshes, Spanish Mosh, Live Oaks, alligators, Herons, Civil War earthworks and moonshiner stills can be seen walking or biking the trails within the park.

Our Site - #44 very nice

Palmetto and Live Oaks abound

The staff at the park office suggested the trolley ride by Old Town as a good way to see Savannah and we took this advice and headed into the city. The GPS took us right into the historic area and soon we were riding the trolley and getting Savannah History 101. Sitting on a high bluff over the Savannah River, the city was founded in the 1730’s by James Oglethorpe as the center point of a new type of colony. Built according to a well laid out plan, Savannah survived the Revolutionary War, Civil War, fires and disease to offer a beautiful look at earlier times. Many houses, ornate with wrought iron gates and balcony railings, join numerous parks created at the founding at the city. 

many fine older homes can bee seen downtown - notice the  wrought iron railings -a sign of prosperity

Jones St, considered the prettiest street in America, was enjoyed by us when we took advantage of being able to hop off and on the trolley at designated points.

Jones St - one of the prettiest street in America!

In the midst of the historic area is the church where the  song "Jingle Bells" was composed in the 1850's.

interesting place for the  creation of an all time classic!

The water front, in spots untouched for many years, offers great views and many dining choices. We chose the Boar’s Head Grill and Tavern (a restored cotton warehouse on the river front) and enjoyed the lunch special.

many fun places to eat along the waterfront

Needing a Wifi fix (SISP doesn’t have it), we ventured over to Barnes and Noble the next day. There we enjoyed a hot beverage, did some downloads and a bit of shopping. Back at the campsite we enjoyed a walk later followed by some RV maintenance items and it was time to call it an evening. 

Tybee Island lies 28 miles away by car (or Jeep) and offers a restored Lighthouse and Lightkeepers’ cottages, nice beaches, museum and coastal artillery fort. The light house, standing over 190’ tall,  stands on a nicely restored campus the includes 3 Keeper’s cottages (the head keeper’s cottage would make a really cool house) and the first 60 or so feet of the tower stands on the original 1773 brick base. At the top, a 1st order Fresnel lens, 9 ft tall and 6ft in diameter, still operates to guide ships. 

Lightkeeper's station - since the late 1700's

Thanksgiving Day began with a steady rain, but the plans of the day revolved around watching the Macy’s Parade followed by the Purina dog show. That evening found us joining the crowds at Target. Our mission to get a 3ft artificial, pre-lit tree for the RV was successful and combined with the beach theme snow globe, Santa floormat and outdoor signs, we are now decorated for the holidays.

a little touch of the Holiday

Friday and Saturday were worked on the RV (which included a trip to Camping World to pick up two LED twin light fixtures for the main living area, replacing the  dimmer original units) , cleaning house, walking dogs, exploring more of the local area. 

Sunday we visited the nature center at SISP, and viewed their Giant Sloth, followed by walking the nature trails back to the campground.

SISP has over 4 miles of great trails

We wrapped up our last day by driving a few miles over to Wormsloe Historic Site. You may recognize the long driveway with the Live Oak tunnel from several Hollywood movies

Wormsloe Driveway , over 1/2 mile long - used in many movies

All said, Skidaway Island State Park is a very nice place to stay.

take care

Cooper and CJ

South Carolina

Charleston James Island County Park November 12

After a smooth trip down I26 we arrived at James Island County Park. This was our home for the next 5 days after Morrow Mountain. JICP came highly recommended by several of our RVer friends and we were not disappointed. The park is very well maintained, offers numerous activites such as swimming, dog park, bike and walking trails, fishing and this time of year- Winter Wonderland a fabulous display of over 750 Holiday light arrangements and a beautiful Holiday theme sand sculpture made from 50 tons of sand. This years theme was 1960,s cartoon Christmas shows!

Sand sculpture at JICP, other sides include Charley Brown, Frosty and Rudolf

Winter Wonderland lights even on Palmetto trees!

The sites were well spaced and had full hookups. The office/camp store staff were very friendly and helpfull. This will be a definate place to stay if you are in the area and able to get a site. They stay quite full here.

Our first full day had us feeding the history buff in me. We navigated back across the river over the cool Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge to Patriots Point, home of the WWII aircraft carrier USS Yorktown CV10. Very cool, lots of supporting items as well, anti-aircraft guns, a WWII destroyer and submarine are all available to visit. A Vietnam War museum and a monument to Cold War Submariners are also located at this site.

USS Yorktown CV10 

However, these were not the focus of this visit. Also located at this site is the boat that takes you out to the mouth of the harbor to Fort Sumter, where the opening shots of the Civil War took place in 1861. Having been a student of the Civil War since grade school, I was eager to set foot there and look around.

Fort Sumter - start of the  Civil War

flag that flew during the battle

While there, I was also able to look South across the harbor to the area where Fort Wagner stood during the Civil War. This fort was made of sand and palmetto logs and was washed away by the 1880’s. Made famous a few years ago in the movie ”Glory”, my great-great grandfather Hugh Calvin McKee fought there with the 76th Pa Vol Infantry. The park rangers give a nice talk and the museum has the original flag that flew over the fort during the bombardment.

Life on a journey like this has its days of routine stuff and our second day was just that. I had several maintenance things to do to both the RV and the Jeep and Cindy needed some laundry time. With that in mind and wanting to get the dogs to the dog park, we filled up our day by going to the Holiday Light display.

JICP Dog Park - lots of fun!

This area is quite different from Lancaster County in many ways, palmetto trees, sandy soil, marshes, tidal flats and swamps are abundant. Our third day we drove over to Caw Caw Interpretive Center at Ravenel.

swamp at Caw Caw- those things sticking up are Cyprus knees

This nature center/preserve is on the site of several colonial era rice plantations and today provides habitat for numerous waterfowl, raptors, alligators, otters, deer and others. You may walk the grounds on several designated trails and we chose the combination that took us through the forrest out to the tidal marsh, across the rice field dikes and back along a boardwalk through the swamp and fresh water swamp.

colonial era rice field - now wildlife habitat

Yes, we did see alligators!

young alligator in center

A trip was laid on to spend the day in downtown Charleston. JICP has a shuttle service available that drops you at the visitors center downtown for pretty much what it would cost you to park there. With the traffic in Charleston being rather heavy and the reports of parking being an issue we didn't want to deal with, we opted for this service. The visitor center staff were friendly and informative and we took their advice to tour the historic old city section via horse drawn carriage.

retired Amish farm horse took us through the historic city with a well informed guide - old dungeon ahead

Charleston real estate gets quite pricey as you approach the old town and water front. Here houses start at $1 million and go up in proportion to closeness to the water!! Houses in the historic area must follow strict codes as far as maintenance and outside appearance.

door leads to the veranda!

Rainbow row is a block near the waterfront where all the houses are pastel colors and must stay that way!

We enjoyed touring the  old market, eating at Fleet Landing restaurant where we had delicious She Crab soup, seafood stuffed hush puppies and boiled shrimp - all served to us by our waitress from....Pottsville PA! (this came out when I ordered a Yuengling Lager to go with lunch) We walked cobblestone streets brought over in the late 1600's as ballast, looked at the beautiful architecture and thoroughly enjoyed our day. Cindy's Fitbit showed over 15000 steps and we were very glad when the shuttle driver offered to drop us off at our campsite at the end of the day.

fountain at waterfront

US Customs House

Our last full day in the Charleston area saw us head over to the only tea producing farm in the Northern Hemisphere - Charleston Tea Plantation. There we took a brief factory tour and a half hour trolley ride through the only tea producing fields in the USA. We never knew tea comes off a woody shrub, similar to a boxwood (in appearance only) and they can live for hundreds of years. The climate and soil of the Charleston area is perfect for the Tea plants and the farm is producing and shipping to 17 states as of this time under the name "American Classic Tea" and others.

Tea plants - they get trimmed about 8 -10 times a year by a special machine

Cindy and Waddy

On our way to the Tea Plantation, we stopped to see Angel Oak an enormous 400 yr old oak tree.

look at the people near it for scale!

We have kept quite busy this week, trying to utilize the few days we had in the area to our utmost advantage. Next stop will see a bit more down time, but still things to report on.


Cooper is ready to turn in now.

Good Night

Cooper and CJ

North Carolina

Morrow Mountain State Park November 9

After relocating from central Kentucky, and spending a night at a Walmart in North Carolina, we arrived at our camp site in Morrow Mountain State Park near Albemarle, NC. This turned out to be a a real gem - electric hook up, spacious sites, nice view and well kept. The weather was unseasonably cold, dropping down into the upper 20’s at night. On the plus side, the sun shone all day for the first time in over a week! If you ever go there, be sure to check out the scenic vista - you can see for well over 10 miles from the summit.

crisp Autumn sunrise at Morrow Mountain State Park

Our travels to this area were fueled by the goal of visiting Guilford Courthouse, site of a turning point battle in the Revolutionary War. My ancestor, Isham Sellers, fought there and we were able to stand in the area where he and his fellow North Carolina Continental Soldiers fought the British under Lord Cornwallis. Quite stirring. The National Park staff have done a great job with the visitor's center and battlefield tour. You can even walk the battlefield and use your  smart phone to get audio lessons at designated spots.

We would also like to report that we had an amazing burger at the Village Tavern, just a half a mile down the road from the battlefield. Highly recommend stopping by there if you visit Greensboro.

Our stay in North Carolina was cut short due to the repairs on the RV slide out so not much to report on from there.

More coming in a few days from our next stop!!

Cooper and CJ