Buck Hall, SC

Yesterday & today we camped at the Buck Hall, Marion National Forest campground. It's just off Hwy 17, about 30 miles east of Charleston,SC. Buck Hall is part of a pre-Civil War plantation. This place is a keeper. There are only 12 RV sites with water/electric, widely separated from each other and a dump station. $20/night or $10 with the Golden Age Pass, aka Old Age Pass/Geezer Card. The campground is adjacent to a canal which is part of the Inter-coastal Waterway. From our campsite we get a nice view of the water. There is a trail running through the woods; a part of which is accessible for Carol.
There's a troop of Boy Scouts from McBee, SC camped nearby. The scout leaders brought their boats & kayaks with them. Great fun for the kids. I suspect they're having more fun then the slaves that lived here 150 years ago. A few years back, I read a wonderful historical novel called Charleston by John Jakes. If you like historical novels, give it a try. He also wrote The Gods of Newport about the golden days of the obscenely wealthy during the late 1800's. Two great novels.
Tomorrow we continue the slow trip to Alex's house in Annandale,VA via the Outer Banks(OBX) of North Carolina.

Most recent tank of gas: Brunswick,GA, Flying J $3.499 less 2 cents Loyalty Discount.

Huguenot Memorial Park/Mayport, FL

We left home a few minutes after nine and arrived at Singleton's Seafood Shack about two.
For lunch we ordered the Mariners Combo For Two. It was a huge platter of shrimp, deviled crabs, oysters, scallops, clams, fish & hush puppies. We ate more then our fill for lunch and had leftovers for dinner that fed the three of us. As you come in the front door of the restaurant, there is a picture of the guy that hosts the Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives show.

The ferry ride across the St. Johns lasts perhaps five minutes, if that long. Reminds us of the Aransas Pass ferry in Texas which is about the same length.
The campground was mostly empty so we had our choice of spots. We're in site 60 which is on the bank of the river. We're just across from the Mayport Naval Station. There is a helicopter training facility at the base so most of the day, there are noisy helicopters doing touch & go's. Jacksonville is the port of entry for Toyotas for the Southeast Toyota dealers.
We had an enjoyable day watching all the activity on the river.
The campground was $16.95/night for a campsite with no hookups. There is water and a dump station on the property. We're really spoiled after spending last winter in the Southwest. Our there $6 would be a typical no hookup campground or you could simply park in the desert for free. We spent two weeks on the Texas coast for a grand total of $14!!.
We're just glad to be traveling again.

We're on our way again.

All's well around here. My mothers arm is on the mend & the house is all ready for a hurricane. Our fingers are crossed for another uneventful hurricane season but you just never know. A few years ago we replaced the exterior doors and all the windows with the new hurricane resistant products, has the roof structure brought up to current code, replaced the shingles, etc. We're as ready as we can be.

We leave in the morning. 56,856.5 miles on the odometer. The camper just turned three this past April; that's just under 19,000 miles per year. My goodness,how did we manage that many wonderful miles?
To date there have been no significant issues, either with Ford or Lazy Daze. Just your basic routine maintenance.

Our first stop this trip will be lunch at Singleton's Restaurant in Jacksonville. We first heard about Singleton's in a book we both read. The main character, a Navy captain stationed in Jacksonville, used to hang out at Singleton's. On our first visit, we kept looking for the captain. Never did see him. The restaurant has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives. It's not much to look at but the food is superior. Certainly among the best seafood restaurant's we've ever tried. It's right on the south shore of the St. Johns River, about a block from the ferry that crosses the river.

We'll stay the night at Huguenot Memorial Park, a City of Jacksonville campground about ten minutes from the ferry crossing. The campground is on the north side of the St. Johns River just across from the naval base. Most of the campsites have an unobstructed view of the river. A few years ago when we stayed there, we drove the camper onto the beach and spent the day a few feet from the ocean.

One of our daughters, Alex, lives in Northern Virginia near DC. She's having back surgery a week from Friday so we're going to her house for a while to lend a hand as needed. Alex lives on a large cul-d-sac so we simply "camp" on the street. There is an electrical outlet available so it works out real well.

After that, the only commitment we have is the family get together in Pennsylvania starting July 9th. Every year, our three daughters meet up someplace. This year it's at a lake house in PA.

The general summer plan is to just drift around the Great Lakes states. We've been through that part of the country twice before and really enjoy the area. Baring any medical problems with my mother, and assuming our house doesn't get blown away by a hurricane, we plan on staying out until mid-October.