I am back...a short dash to a mall.
I have noticed with seniors since my husband has retired...there is a major activity we all do...shop!! I am not talking about spending tons of money....please....I am talking about the simple action of 'shopping'...getting around the stores...reading ALL the labels...checking and rechecking the shopping list...and then the let us say having 'drifting ' moments...where I am caught up in going down one aisle and then my attention gets diverted and when I pause to consider what I am doing I have forgotten what I wanted to pick up in the first place...NOW you would think that shopping with a partner and a list would help! Hah! But it does end occasionally with a delightful purchase.
Thank you for listening to my rant.
Catch cont' in Mexico Beach FL about late Feb:
One walk along the beach was very full of loud waves crashing on the sand. We were told that that is a good time to collect shells...so we went back to the beach a bit later and collected shells. We had our rubber boots on...it felt fun to walk along the water with the boots on...though my husband got intrigued with some shells under the water and a wave came up and said 'hello' into his boot! He scooped and I picked...then I cleaned and sorted the shells back at the camp ground. Some neighbours came over to talk to me because I'd been 'sick' and not socializing very much. It was a lovely aft...and great fun to learn about the shells.. One kind gentleman who collects many shells gave me a special type of sand dollar shell...so fragile and beautiful.
We had pizza with our friends and shared stories and travel information. It was so good to be with them again. Then there was laundry, the Oscars and more rain. Our friends gave us a wonderful final dinner ...fab home cooking...before we left for Charleston. We will be seeing them back in Canada later in the spring.
On Feb 29th...Leap day...we departed Rustic Sands heading toward Jacksonville taking hwys 71 then 20 and then 10...at Jacksonville we took the bypass and then got onto Hwy 95 and when we crossed into Georgia we took exit 1 to County Oaks Campground( a Good Sam park). A lovely camp...very dog friendly and restful. We had camped there last yr over night...we got a pizza (brochures in office)..an excellent pizza and watched a movie.
On March 1st we headed north on Hwy I 95. We stopped for lunch in Savannah. This city had been recommended as a stop by many people. We knew it was a short stop...but we managed to tour of the Owens-Thomas House and then went to see the Jepson Museum. The town squares are enchanting...old treed oasis (es) within a busy city. The sidewalks are OLD thus very uneven...every building oozes stories. I got a story 'fix' buying "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"...it is a LOL book that tickles all the senses so far. It is a place I have to see again. Oh and on the way back to the car (we did not tkae the rv downtown!!)we saw a gallery: Liquid Sands Glass Gallery http://www.liquidsandsglassgallery.com/ A feast for the eyes and the heart! Of course we had to go inside and explore.
We then drove north...oh and as we departed Savannah...I see a small black thing bouce out from under the rv ahead of me.... the road was bumpy... and we just could not stop so I told my husband over the cb we have and we kept driving. We took a smaller road for a while then the hwy and then we took hwy 17 to Charleston. We got to the bypass here when traffic was increasing near the end of business day....then our GPS was sending us one road...then it said to turn around and go back on the bypass...we pulled over and had a right 'fit'. Made a decision...at times making any decision gets you down the road...we did drive what seemed a long long way...but we came out to another busy road and recognized where we were in Mount Pleasant and the KOA had good signs and we were close. Arrived at KOA about 6 ish pm! Warmly welcomed by staff and friends we had met last yr!
First day here , I rushed off to the Gullah event at Pinckney park and then in the evening there was a potluck for our friend who isn't staying in camp this year but she visits. We have kept in touch all year and it was so so good to see her again! It was good to catch up on news with many others at the camp as well. Great night was had!
We met a Canadian couple staying for a week...so many things to share and laughs. The night of the full Moon we all went to a local restaurant recommended by the manager here at the KOA..it is called the See Wee Restaurant. We liked it very much. I had shrimp seasoned the way they like to do it. Spicey (mmm) but so good and collards and red rice! It was a great evening.
As we settled into camp, planning our next moves and researching places and things to see...I checked out John McCutcheon's site ..he is a fab musician and storyteller...and wow...he was doing a concert at the Beaufort Intergalactic Storytelling Festival!! It was the city's first story festival and it was happening on Sat Mar 10th! So we ordered tickets for the day so we could take the workshops and see all the tellings. Beaufort SC is about 1hr and a half's drive from where we are camped. It was a long day and the forecast was rain...but I so wanted my husband to see John McCutcheon LIVE! We went... weather was cold but sunny...saw/heard Natalie Daise who is wonderful teller of Gullah stories and she tells other stories as well. She made that stage hum with life. Dolores Hydock performed a truly marvelous show called "In Her Own Fashion" about Ninette Griffith who led a wonderful life. Dolores Hydock interviewed Ninette and then wrote this show. Then we heard John McCutcheon play many instruments such as the banjo, Hammer dulcimer, fiddle, autoharp, guitar and himself! His personal stories were hilarious and moving. His songs were from many sources and brought alive folk singers long gone to be heard again. It was a great day...tired but happy we drove back to Mount Pleasant ..through this beautiful Low Country as it is called...The very bright moon was shining on the water...the tide was high...there were a couple of groups of deer along the roadside. A magical evening drive.
We are now in Daylight savings time so I am totally confused...I lost an hr then gained an hr and lost it again ...I think.
Monday...which is yesterday, I took off with a new rv friend to go shopping. We both wanted to look at a grocery/market attached to the Boone Plantation...so we left and ended up going to Isles of Palms to just see the sea...wandered along the street looking into stores and I was treated to lunch at Coconut Joe's...a beach restaurant another friend loves to stop at. So we enjoyed the view and food and company. This rv friend is from Canada and the four of us have been sharing stories and info re parks to see. On our way back to camp, my friend wanted to stop at a drugstore and we noticed a Sweetgrass basket maker with her stall at the edge of the parking lot. Note: there is massive construction all along the Sweetgrass hwy...there was last yr as well so I wonder how the sellers can get their custumers to stop! Anyway we went over to talk to the weaver of baskets. Mary Rouse is her name. She was so interesting to talk to...I loved the baskets but I had no cash available. I do want a basket to take with me...so I will return to her stall.
That evening we shared a drink with our friends who left today for further north when another Canadian came to say hello...he and his wife were invited to have a drink and LOL they were going to the same camp today...and they have connections of neighbours back in Canada...it was fun to listen to the info come out and connect. A fun evening.
This morning we went over and said good bye. We have exchanged info. Great to meet them and talk of our adventures and families. There is some rain today and after hot sun this aft...it is getting very very grey out there. As we drove around this aft...the flowering bushes are so colourful! The small insects are out early too.
Our daughters are fine and in touch via the net when they can.
The birds are calling ...the leaves are opening...Life is good.
Sunshine & Laughter
Anne
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