Stephanie's Birthday

Happy 20th Birthday to Stephanie! (pictured here with our exchange student Kwan, who was with us in 2005). Congrats to Stephanie also for officially being accepted into the Nursing Program at Colby-Sawyer College!
Congrats also to Ashley who has received her acceptance letter from the Peace Corps! I am very proud of both my daughters! (sniff, sniff)!
But enough sniffles! We have found the worst laundromat ever! It is located in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Out of 20 washers, about half worked and then I wasn't sure I wanted to put my clothes in them! But all came out well. We found a WalMart much closer to Edisto Beach than we knew. It is about 1 mile from the turn to Edisto off Route 17 (Edisto beach is still 37 miles off the turn from the main road).
Yesterday we were priviledged to watch dolphins feeding about 20 yards off shore! There were about 2o of them churning up the water! They must have found something good to eat.
The weather has been exceptionally beautiful here, in the 70's. We are headed for some cold weather, highs in the low 60's. (Sorry to rub it in!)
We hope that everyone has a Happy New Year! We will be quietly celebrating with something cooked over the fire and an early night! We know that this year will bring more adventures for all of us and we hope that all are good! Happy New Year!

Edisto Christmas Boat Parade

We went to
the Edisto Christmas Boat Parade which consisted of 4 decorated boats and 3 kayaks.
This is my first attempt at night pictures. We haven't been doing much but raking the camp ground and walking the beach. We actually had to put on long pants the past couple of days because it got down to 40, but the next couple of days are suppose to be back in the 70's. It doesn't feel much like Christmas around here with the weather so warm. There are a few RV's with trees in them, and a few houses in town that are decorated. I dare say I almost miss the snow! We are working on a picture album of our travels that we'll pass along when it's ready. We hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas!

So the full moon is really awesome tonight. We took a walk after dinner and took some pictures to share with you. Hope you northerners are surviving your weather.

EDISTO BEACH, SC

Ok so its been a week since I've wrote anything on this site. I have been playing with the set up of this site and listing on e-bay (tis the season).
So let me tell you about Edisto Beach. It is a very small island with one small Piggly Wiggly, about 4 restaurants and a couple of gas stations. There are many seasonal houses that are not occupied at the moment, so it makes for a very quiet island.
Our site is about 45ft x 45ft, grass and sand. We can hear the ocean roar when we open our windows, as we are about 50 yards from the beach on the front side. The back side is a salt marsh that starts about 10 feet off our back side. When it storms around here you wonder if you may get washed away. But anyway, we have palm trees, electricity and water (if you like salt water). We have to drive 2 miles to the fire station to get 5 gallons of drinking water a day. (I hear you chuckling, Jan) We do have hot showers (which are also a little salty).
We met with the Senior Ranger Brandon the other day and start work tomorrow. Mainly cleaning sites, for here and Live Oaks (which is the other half of the State Park). When we spend more time there I will let you know what it is like. There are some hiking trails over there that we have spent a little time on.
Yesterday we went to Charleston to do laundry and grocery shop. Can you imagine driving 45 miles to do laundry? We drove around Charleston some, and checked out some of the old houses (pretty nice). We did drive past a sign that offered fresh coon meat for sale (we passed).
Jimmy Buffet says "Salt air ain't thin, it will stick right to your skin" and I'm beginning to believe that is very true. It feels like there is a coating on everything.
Sam & Riley are doing well. They are adjusting well to their daily walks on the beach. We see dolphins almost every day and the beach is loaded with shells. If anyone wants some, let me know, I'll collect them for you.
For all you northerners, it was 75 degrees today! Very foggy and we are expecting lots of rain tomorrow. I am looking for a link to the weather so you all can stay warm with us through the winter.
Well the tide is out and its time for a walk. So everyone stay warm and stay safe!
http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/park-finder/state-park/1298.aspx

NOVEMBER 28, 2008 - 7:00 AM

We got rousted out of Walmart at 4:30 this AM. Note: don’t ever park in a Walmart on Thanksgiving night, black Friday comes at midnight! Of course we are having alternator troubles and can’t run with headlights, so we parked at the gas station for awhile and then venture down I81 and stopped at the welcome center in WV (maybe a better place to sleep).

Took I66 from I81 to 495 outside Washington. A very interesting experience. Did you know you cannot make an RV smaller? There were a couple of times it would have come in handy. Now hopefully a nice leisurely drive to Myrtle Beach (about 6 hours).

I had my first krispy kreme doughnut at the Wilson gas stop. Alas, it was not hot, but still very good. I can see a bad habit forming if I find them hot!

We made it to Myrtle Beach last night and are cozy in our 19 x 51 ft campsite. (boy, are we spoiled at CB!). We can't put out our awning because it would be over our fire pit, which has the picnic table on top of it. The flight path for the airport is right above us. We are however about 200 yards from the beach and we had to run our a/c last night. After we figure out how to get out of heRE (all the sights are back in, but wrong way with the road) we are going to our new home. Sam is happy to be back in the woods, but is still trying to figure out the ocean. Riley of course just goes with the flow.

http://southcarolinaparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/Myrtle_Beach/r/campsiteDetails.do?siteId=3725&contractCode=SC&parkId=10120

NOVEMBER 27, 2008- 8:00 AM

So we finally are on the road! The weather is great and of course warming up in Claremont today. The boys seem to be adjusting well, sleeping on their couch. The house on wheels is running good and I believe the car is still behind us.

Whew! Just went through Hartford at 65. It takes some getting use to, being up above everyone else at that speed. Way more traffic than expected.

Beautiful red sunset in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Stopping in Hagarstown MD at the Walmart (6b) for the night. (5:30 PM)