Easin' Along

Wow! December has barely begun, and I miss November already. November is always a wonderful mix of family, food, and fun for Helen and me. For six years, we have started the month with two weeks of beachside camping in Edisto Beach State Park, about an hour south of Charleston, SC. Our son, Collin, and his family live in Charleston, and being close allows us to be with them before, during, and after our time in Edisto.

Our trip begins when we park Dora, our fifth-wheel trailer, in Collin’s driveway and open the mother-in-law’s suite.  Several years ago, Collin installed a 50-amp outlet beside his garage door to provide electricity for us during our visits.  The water connection is nearby, and once I have the antenna for Dish TV connected, we’re ready for family fun with minimal disruption to Collin’s household. It’s an excellent setup for us.

After a two-day visit, we drove to Edisto and were greeted with perfect weather. The temperatures hovered in the low 70s, with a light breeze coming in from the south. We have enjoyed good weather almost every year since we began this tradition—the exception was two years ago when cold, windy weather arrived early, and we spent much time around the campfire.

The popularity of this campground means that reservations for some of the better campsites can be difficult to obtain. Thirteen months out, to the day, I stay up until midnight to submit a request for a choice site for the following year’s visit, and I am usually successful. Our location for this year was lovely, overlooking the marsh. The sunsets were beautiful, and there were always waterbirds and songbirds in our view.

We spent our days walking the beach, looking for shells and shark teeth, and taking Mortimer for long walks at low tide. Mortimer seemed to enjoy the visit as much as we did. During our second week, Sandy and Tina, long-time friends from Knoxville, visited during their vacation at Kiawah Island. The remainder of our stay involved nothing more than pure relaxation, and it ended all too quickly.

We returned to Charleston for three days after our beach trip to spend time with our granddaughters and cheer them on during the James Island Invitational Soccer Tournament. Both girls play on competitive teams, and this tournament brought teams from throughout the south to compete for the championship.

Cason, our youngest, plays goalie for her team and plays well.  I’m always impressed with her leadership and toughness.  She does an excellent job of directing her teammates in front of her and blocking soccer balls headed her way.  Unfortunately, the breaks did not go well for her team during the Saturday games, and they suffered two close losses. Cason was frustrated and angry, but a big win in the Sunday match erased some of the sting.

Our thirteen-year-old, Bennett, is an outstanding soccer player who plays on a team with an impressive championship record.  Most of the girls on her team have played together since age seven and know each other’s playing strengths well. Ultimately, Bennett’s team fought hard and came away with another championship against some stiff competition.  I enjoyed watching soccer as much as I enjoyed our time at the beach.

Thanksgiving with my family is always special. We’re blessed that my mother, at age 95 and going strong, is still around to celebrate with us. My brother, Jim, opened his lovely home to us, and his daughters came home from Washington, DC, and Southern California to join us. Emily, his oldest daughter, brought home a friend who fit right in and did more than her share of kitchen duty. A highlight at the dessert table was some Cocoa Crispy Turkey legs.

Our children did not make it home this year, but we enjoyed our time with our nieces and nephews. Including my Mom and my niece, there are three Helens among us, and I made sure to get a picture of them before we broke up. With the passing of each year, I continue to thank the Almighty for the blessing of a wonderful and loving family, both near and far.

Although I continue to say we’re just Easin’ Along, November blew by in much the same way all months seem to at this point in our lives. Thankfully, we have the time and the health to enjoy them. Nevertheless, I’m still wondering—where did November go? It was delightful.

I’ve been a bit lazy with posting lately, but we’re on the road with many distractions. Nevertheless, I wanted to catch our readers up on where we are and what’s happened over the last few weeks. Our current road trip began on a three-day outing with a group from our church. In October of every year, we join this group for our annual camping trip in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area on the Cumberland Plateau near Oneida, Tennessee.

Being the oldest by far, Helen and I are the tribal elders for the event. We wouldn’t miss this gathering. It is a great way to meet the young people in our congregation and their beautiful children, and Big South Fork offers splendid scenery in the fall. I’ve posted some pictures below–I took a few, and several were sent to me by Robin and Allison with permission to share them with Easin’ Along Readers. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the weekend.

After a Saturday hike, we had a sing-along around the campfire that included a message from Pastor Ben. When the evening activities concluded, Helen and I invited everyone to our campsite to watch the Tennessee Volunteers football game. We attracted a good crowd of Vol fans…and Tennessee won.

On Sunday, Ben led us in an inspiring service in the campground, and then, it was time to say goodbye. We shared hugs with our very good friends, the Blackwells, before packing up and leaving for Edisto Beach, SC.

We departed Big South Fork and drove to Charleston, SC, to spend a few days with our son and his family, then moved on to Edisto Beach for two weeks of camping on the beach. Please join us in the next post for details. Thanks for stopping by, we’re Easin’ Along.

Helen and I returned from our trip to the Outer Banks in early October and hit the ground running. The first few days after an RV trip always is a busy time. There are appointments and meetings, family matters to take care of, and the chore of unloading and cleaning the RV. After this trip, Helen and I even gave Dora a much-needed bath. Once we had everything under control, We rewarded ourselves by accepting two invitations from friends for overnight outings in their lovely vacation homes–one in the Foothills of our mountains and one on the lake. Both occasions helped to make our October special.

Blair Branch is a community of mountain homes adjacent to the world-class resort of Blackberry Farm. Our hostess and dear friend, Anne, has a lovely home in Blair Branch with access to Blackberry Farm and its facilities and grounds. Helen and I joined Anne and our friends from our first neighborhood as a couple for two days of fun and food. The highlight of that gathering was a hike through the grounds and gardens of Blackberry on a glorious day. We stopped at the heirloom seed garden, where the Blackberry Farm Naturalist gave us a presentation on the heirloom seeds grown at the farm and their uses as either foods or garden plants. We stood in rapt attention to his presentation but had to move on before his paying customers arrived for their tour and presentation. We thanked him profusely for his time. The pictures below give a glimpse of that day, the beauty of the surroundings, and Helen’s find of the last pumpkin of the growing season.

A couple of days after visiting Anne and our friends, Helen and I joined our wonderful, life-long friends, John and Judy, at their lake home just south of Knoxville. Also joining us were Steve and Catherine from Brevard, NC. Steve served as an interim minister at our church for almost two years and did a fantastic job leading us during that period. Catherine has an incredible singing voice and added another dimension to our choir. Together, they are a delightful couple, and Helen and I are blessed to call them friends.

Although the conditions on the lake were ripe for a boat cruise, John’s boat was a bit cranky that weekend. So, rather than spend time on the water, we enjoyed each other’s company. Catherine prepared a superb breakfast meal for us to enjoy each morning. Judy, Catherine, and Helen worked through a puzzle in record time, and the guys solved the world’s problems in casual conversation. To walk off some of our delicious meals, we took a long walk along the lake and around some of the nearby farmland. At the horse farm near John and Judy’s house, a nosy zebra walked over to welcome us. His horse buddies kept their distance but appeared interested in us nonetheless. It was a great day and a very relaxing visit.

Not to be left out, Mortimer needed his share of attention as well. While we were visiting our friends, we checked Mortimer into an animal hospital to have some surgery on his eyes. The problem involved inwardly turned lower eyelids, irritating his corneas from hair and eyelashes constantly in contact with them. He needed surgery to correct that. I’m happy to report that the surgery was successful, and his eyes are clearing up nicely.

During the third week of the month, Helen and I gave a presentation on the joys of the RV lifestyle at the monthly community luncheon held at our church. I prepared most of the presentation before our trip to the Outer Banks using pictures from our seven years of RV trips. When asked to do this, I was convinced that we would have no more than three attendees–Helen, myself, and the lady selling tickets. Surprisingly, more than thirty folks arrived to hear us speak about the lifestyle we enjoy so much. I can’t be confident that I persuaded any of the attendees to join us as fellow RVers, but we did get them interested enough to ask great questions!

October is not yet over. As I write this, we’re camping with church members in the Big South Fork National Recreation Area. We’re leaving on Sunday for a trip to Charleston (grandchildren :-)), followed by two weeks at Edisto Beach, SC. Retirement is a great gig! We’re blessed, we’re grateful, and we’re Easin’ Along.