April 22-25 Waynesboro, VA

We drove 250 miles to the North 340 Campground in Waynesboro VA.

The first order of business the next day was to get a new safety inspection sticker. While we were at the gas station, we were intrigued with the passengers in a motorcycle sidecar.

On Sunday we went to the races and I snapped this picture of one of the drag races. Note the advertisements in the background.

Back at the campground, Ray met another dog—Diesel. What a sweet boxer mix! He made it easy to stay at the campground and relax.

April 19-22 Statesville, NC

Our next stop was a KOA in Statesville NC that was experiencing an epidemic of carpenter bees.

Our campsite

Just one of the many carpenter bees--you had to watch where you were sitting

Ray was able to take the following picture of a bee wanna be.

It's actually a moth!

We were in the area to visit Ray’s cousin Bob. The first day we went to his home, walked down to the nearby dock and then visited with his neighbor’s dogs.

The dock is in the background

Ray and the neighbor's dog

The next day, after driving through fields of rape flowers (which yield canola oil),

we toured Fort Dobbs, an historic site of the French and Indian War.

Then, back at the trailer, Ray had play time with our neighbor’s dog.

Columbia SC April 16-19

We camped under tall pines at Susquicentennial State Park in Columbia SC.

We pretty much stayed in the park for the entire 3 days, renting a tandem kayak there for $5 an hour (a bargain!).

Before getting out to take the above picture, I was seated where the black bag is.

We wandered around the lake looking for wildlife and found Canada geese, turtles and a green heron.

The remainder of the time we simply relaxed.

April 12-16 Savannah GA

Skidaway Island State Park in Savannah has a gorgeous campground. The sites were private and huge.

On the first night we were told about Pearl’s Saltwater Grill and we became regulars.

This is the way we drove each night.


Here I am in the parking lot.

Our sightseeing (done on several days) included the Savannah History Museum , a walk on River street, touring two cemeteries, driving around the Isle of Hope with its fancy homes and spanish moss-draped streets, touring Fort Pulaski, and visiting the Nature Center at our campground.

The waving girl statue on River Street

Colonial Cemetery

Two-way streets on the Isle of Hope

Fort Pulaski still damaged from the civil war

The inner structure of the fort

Cannon pointing at Tybee Island

Giant sloth skeleton at the nature center

As for wildlife, I was fascinated by the birds at Fort Pulaski and managed to snap this picture. Double click on it and look under the arch.

Ray in turn was fascinated by the squirrels at our campsite and decided to feed them grits. One especially enjoyed the treat--it attempted to break into the trailer!

April 8-12 St. Augustine, FL

We set up camp at the St. Augustine KOA

and found a relaxing place for drinks--The Conch House

The seats

The view

We toured the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument

and the St. Augustine lighthouse. (Yes we climbed the 219 steps to the top.)

We also went kayaking at Anastasia State Park.





We saw quite a few egrets (Ray got close to one but another took flight)





And lots of oysters and one heron.





Each night when we got back to the campground we were greeted by ducks and ducklings. Ray was in his element!

April 4-8 Melbourne Beach, FL

We camped at Sebastian Inlet State Park in Melbourne.

adjacent to the Gold Coast where eleven Spanish ships sunk in the 1700’s.

Our camping experience here was all about the beach, the birds and other beasts.
The beach:

The birds:

Note the fish in the egret's beak.

These pelicans were waiting for a handout at a fish cleaning station.

This woodstork got its handout.

The beasts:

Fish caught at the pier.

A manatee floating off shore

A fiddler crab on the beach

The rare white footed Ray Beast (showing off his tan)

Seriously we had a wonderful time soaking up the sun and watching an abundance of wildlife. There was only one bad weather day, but on that day we were thoroughly entertained watching the storm come in.

And after it was gone, watching a beautiful sunset in stages.

Sebastian Inlet State Park was lovely.