Let’s Relax a Bit

We love to travel in our RV. Travel offers the opportunity to explore new places, try exciting food, make new friends, and see our family on each coast of America. Admittedly, travel is an active pursuit, but Helen and I want to do it while we can, and for as long as we can.

Travel is different from vacation, and when we feel the need for a break, we go to Edisto Beach in the low country of South Carolina.  That’s where you will find us today.

We drove down to Edisto towing Dora, our new fifth-wheel with two goals, and only two goals, in mind. First, we wanted to spend some time with our son and his family in nearby Charleston. Our precious granddaughters were going to spend at least two nights with us and, if that didn’t happen soon, their grandmother was going to explode.

The second objective was to give Dora a complete “shakedown” and place all of our “stuff” in an appropriate home. We had started this task on the church camping trip, but we felt we could get the job done in the three weeks’ ahead of us.

After leaving Cherokee, NC, we drove to Charleston for a one-night stay at Charleston Air Force Base. Eager to see the family, we went to our son’s home to hug the girls and share a superb pizza with everyone before returning to Dora for the night.  Almost as soon as we entered Dora, the sky opened up, and rain fell in buckets…all night long. The rain assured us of one thing–Dora has no leaks.

Check-in time at Edisto Beach State Park is 2:00 pm. We pulled in at 2:30 and went through the set-up process smoothly.  After four years of RVing, we’re getting pretty good at this.

Over a year ago, we reserved campsite 36 for this visit. The site is situated for an easy back-in and sits right on the marsh with a fabulous view of the setting sun. We didn’t have to wait long to take advantage of our location.  Now that Daylight Saving Time has ended, sunset arrived quickly, and Helen and I both caught good images from the edge of the marsh.

A couple of relaxing days later, Helen and I drove to a meeting point, halfway between Edisto and Charleston, to pick up the girls.  The oldest granddaughter played in two soccer games earlier in the day, and the younger one practiced for a ballet performance.  In other words, they were eager to join the grandparents in relaxation mode. Helen took them for a beach walk. Later that evening, we sat around the campfire, cooked hamburgers, and made s’mores.  The girls were asleep before we were. The parents arrived the next day for a lunch of Low Country Boil before returning home.

The remainder of our time here, until today, has consisted of bike rides, organizing Dora’s storage areas, and one trip to the weekly Edisto Beach Art Market, a fun experience.  The Market attracts vendors from the area who set up booths at the marina on the island’s western end.  On the day we visited, the attendance was sparse because a cold front had moved in.  All of the vendors wore heavy coats (and masks). We enjoyed perfect weather until that day, and perfection was in the forecast for the day after. I felt sorry for these hard-working artists. Helen took it upon herself to brighten the day for one of them.

To one side of the display booths, a table contained objects I refer to as “yard art.” Seated behind the table sat a vendor snugly wrapped in a heavy coat.  His mask covered his face completely. Helen approached and asked him about his art.  He proudly told us how he made his Egrets, Ducks, and Flamingos out of PVC pipe. He spoke in a thick, Carolina accent. Helen was intrigued.  She thought it over as the gentleman sat one of the egrets on the sidewalk. Five minutes later, the Egret, nicknamed Mortimer, sat in the truck.  Mortimer, now perched on our picnic table, will soon have a new home next to Helen’s frog pond.

I’ll close this week’s post with some pictures from our beach walk this morning.  If possible, I never miss a sunset, but, since retirement, I’m rarely energetic enough to take in every sunrise.  I saw many of them during my Army and construction days. Nevertheless, Helen and I were up early today and went in search of whatever the morning offered.  We had the beach almost entirely to ourselves.  A thick cloud cover kept the sun from view, but the morning air was clear, temperatures were warming, and enough color aloft to make the sky picture-worthy. I felt invigorated.

So far, our week has defined the term Easin’ Along.  Thanks for joining us…it’s time for my nap.