Nearing Home

While at a campground last summer, a lady told me about this campground in North Carolina that catered to dogs.  We decided to stopped there.  It was a nice place, with about 8 off leash dog areas. Ripley had a blast. While in the area, we visited a friend (Kayla) living in Hickory. After our stay at Four Paws Kingdom, we went north to Carolina Crossroads from there to Pasadena, Maryland. Thus ending our marvelous 6 month road trip.  We clocked over 22,000 miles. We visited national parks, monuments, and seashores. We went to big cities and little towns and into the boonies. We saw bison, bear, dolphins and more. We met with friends across the country.  It was a dream trip. We had so much fun.  We now have a new list of places we hope to see some day.

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  each campsite was numbered and named

all the signs had been painted by the owner. She had a cool painting of Corgiritaville,
A tiki bar scene featuring dogs

all the tennis ball Ripley found on the dog park. He is a little OCD about balls.
Watch the video below

Ripley tried to pick this ball up but couldn't, Guy had a hard time kicking it
Hurt his toe

Ripley liked chasing it too

Amos and Howard's  in Hickory where we met Kayla

 

we ate in a barrel.  how's your head Kayla?

leaving are last stop of the trip

Guy kept the record of our stops. we stayed in 28 states, passed through 2 states and missed the rest
We still have 10 states that we have never stayed in. So, I haven't been everywhere.  yet 

 

 

At The Sturgill's

We couldn't go through North Carolina without stopping to see Guy's sister.  The trailer was in the driveway, we stayed in the back bedroom.  Linda and Tom's place is beautiful. They are great hosts. We had a great deal of fun. We never made it to the ocean. It was a bit to chilly for that. Instead, we went shopping at some little antique type shops and then ate lunch at one of the restaurants in the area where we were shopping. In the evening, we played Mexican train and cards. Thanks for everything Linda and Tom. 

Italian night at the clubhouse

farmers market in Wilmington.

the battleship North Carolina

the Cape Fear River

on board the coast guard ship

it was the 50th anniversary of the coast guard ship and they were giving tours

getting down with Coastie, he talks and blinks his eyes

sitting on the dock of the ...Cape Fear River

we sat on the patio to eat lunch

the riverwalk area was not very crowded for a Saturday

loved this sign on The George patio

dinner party at Linda's shrimp scampi yummy 

Linda and Guy who's younger? (on going joke)

one of the places we ate lunch at

                                                   

fried green tomatoes 3 likes 1 dislike (me)

Taz didn't like Ripley, he avoided him, he barked at him, especially if
Tom was playing with him, but they walked together every morning 

R Rip Roarin' Ride had a break while at Tom's

Linda and Tom's house

are those smile because we are leaving?

bye sis

 

Charleston

Further north in South Carolina is the charming historic town of Charleston. We did a carriage ride of the bay area and historic town. We thought it sounded more fun than it was. Still it wasn't that bad and I enjoyed it for the most part. After the carriage ride, we walked around the area and down to the waterfront, then on to lunch/supper (it was 3:45). That was about the witching hour. The restaurants stopped serving lunch at that time.

the lottery machine used to determine the tour your carriage ride takes

a bed and breakfast on State St, pretty 

the front door open onto the side porch, if  the door was open you were welcomed

our horse Dee Dee  gives us the evil eye

Sally is sorry to see us go

the red barn housed the Carriage business

the Circular Congregation Church has been worshipping since 1681

Washington Square Park, it also has a statue of George Washington

there are many old above ground cemetery

beautiful flowers still in bloom

this chandelier and the lead windows in the door were spectacular 

ivy covered steps on another mansion

looking down the street

cobblestone streets are not fun to drive or walk on

one of the fountains at the Waterfront Park

Rainbow Row

along the Cooper River, the city of Charleston lives

Waterfront Park is a great placed to spend a sunny afternoon

notice how shiny the glass is. The waiter in the background
Is polishing the glasses and silverware

we left Magnolia's and headed out of Charleston

 

North on the East Coast

We made one more stop in the Florida Panhandle then started heading up the east coast.  We stopped in Georgia to see the national seashore, Cumberland Island. A short ferry rode to the island, a tour of the island including a walk on the beach then back on the ferry. Then it was on to South Carolina. Here we went to Hilton Head Island.

the tall pines at the campground, they had a haunted
house which they did a great job on

 

in them old cotton fields back home

I was amazed by the color of the far side of the lake

on the ferry to Cumberland Island

there are wild horses on the island

the east side has dunes, the black and white pole is a marker so you know there
Is a path through the dunes



in St Mary's at the dock

occasionally you see the ghost crabs, if you are looking for them

many things on the island are protected by law, items brought in by the
Ocean may be collected

Guy was my pack horse, he carried my pack and 2 jackets

we were surprised to see an armadillo

there was a lot of Spanish moss

sunset the mainland

we picked a good place to eat

I don't know if it was a pet or escapee
This campground was setup with no rhyme or reason

I teased Guy to pose for me in the water fountain

headed for the beach at Hilton Head, this park had showers and changing rooms
There were chairs and swing to sit on

people where on the beach at Hilton Head

didn't see any people in the water but we did see dolphins and pelicans

we ate at Steamers, not too crowded this time of year but during the
Season expect to wait