April 17-20 Williamsburg, VA

We drove via a circuitous route to Chickahominy River Front Park in Williamsburg VA.  We found a lovely site overlooking the water—three bodies of water in fact:  the James River, the Chickahominy River and Gordon Creek.

Our campsite at Chickahominy

 

We were in Williamsburg to visit Hal and Ann Fulk who brought us to Yorktown to eat lunch at a waterfront restaurant and to visit Yorktown National Park.

We watched naval maneuvers from our Yorktown restaurant.

Ray, Hal and Ann at Yorktown

The Yorktown National Park

We had a wonderful time eating good food and trading travel stories.  A special thanks to the Fulks for renting War Horse and showing it to us in their beautiful new theatre room.

April 14-17 Apex, NC

We arrived at the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area in Apex and after a strenuous effort to level our trailer, settled into a very nice site.

Our site at Poplar Point in the Jordan Lake State Rec Area

We did no touring except to visit the local Del Webb, Carolina Preserves, in nearby Cary.  Ray fell in love with the Copper Ridge there—it had all the options we would choose--but we both agreed that the Del Webb in general had no wow factor.  We will continue our search for a retirement home.

Ray in the kitchen of a Copper Ridge model

April 11-14 Statesville NC

We drove to the KOA in Statesville NC so we could have some quality family time with Ray’s cousin Bob.

Our KOA campsite

We had dinner at Bob's home, walked down to the dock, then went downstairs to see the model train and village that he's building in his basement.   

Bob's pontoon boat at dock

Bob with his work in progress

A closer look at the train set and village

The next day we toured the Carolina Raptor Center and the Duke Power Explorium.   We had a fine time. 

Bob and Ray at the Carolina Raptor Center gift store

A vulture displayed his wings for us

Duke Power was a combination of high tech exhibits natural beauty.

Touching this was eerie

This scene of Lake Norman outside the Explorium

April 8-11 Rock Hill, SC

Our next stop was Rock Hill, SC, about 21 miles from the Sun City Carolina Lakes Del Webb in Fort Mill, SC.  We had a spacious site at Ebenezer Park with a view (from afar) of Lake Wylie. 

Our campsite at Ebenezer Park

Another view of our campsite with Lake Wylie in the background

There wasn’t much to see at water’s edge, except the occasional duck.

A mallard swimming in Lake Wylie

We visited Del Webb twice.  The first time was to look at resale homes.  We didn’t find anything suitable, but we did enjoy catching sight of the model sailboat club.

The second time we visited we looked at new homes.  Ray’s cousin Bob joined us and was extremely helpful sharing his knowledge of construction materials and real estate.  Thank you Bob!

Me and Bob Wessmiller

April 5-8 Ridgeville SC

We drove about 90 miles and camped at Givhans Ferry State Park in Ridgeville SC.  This place was isolated--no phone or internet despite being 33 miles as the crow flies to Charleston.

Our campsite at Givhans Ferry State Park

We visited another Del Webb retirement community about 45 minutes away. It was actually our favorite until we learned they do not allow fences. (Ray wants a dog and a fenced back yard is a necessity.)

We want this sunroom to look out into a fenced yard

The trip to Del Webb Charleston was not an entire loss. On an excursion to Cypress Gardens we took a boat tour of the Cypress swamp and viewed animals in their natural habitat. We also toured the swamporium and butterfly house.

This bridge was built for The Patriot, a film starring Mel Gibson

We rowed right by this alligator

I'm not sure why I find turtles so photogenic

See if you can spot the mother alligator and baby.  (Click on photo to expand)

We almost didn't see this frog

A catfish in the swamporium

One of the butterflies in the butterfly house

I was expecting a whole garden in bloom but we just missed the azaleas. We did, however, catch sight of other blooms.

A lemon scented water lily

Is this an hibiscus?

April 2-5 Hilton Head Island SC

Our first stop in South Carolina was at the Hilton Head Island RV Resort. We picked our site via golf cart! (When we parked our RV to register, they handed us the cart keys—a first in two years of traveling.)



Our chariot awaiting



Our shaded site--welcome in unseasonably warm 90 degree weather.



We visited two Del Webb communities but eliminated both from our list of retirement possibilities. We did affirm that the Copper Ridge was our home model of choice.





The small but sweet Copper Ridge.  We'd jazz up the exterior.



Back at the campground we enjoyed having a drink at the on-site restaurant and returning to the RV via the adjacent dock.



The restaurant is above the pool



The view to the west was magnificent



The view to the east was less peaceful but still pretty

The dock through the trees

March 30-April 2 Flovilla GA

A little over 60 miles and we arrived at Indian Springs State Park in Flovilla, GA. Because we arrived early we got one of the best sites in the campground.



Our campground at Indian Springs State Park

The next day we drove to Griffin GA to tour the Del Webb there.

Here I am in front of a Del Webb model home

Del Webb does landscaping right

On Sunday morning the camper next to us suggested we visit Dauset Trails Nature Center which was only 3 miles away. It was well worth the trip. Inside the center Ray and I watched with wonder as a turtle propped himself up on the head of an alligator. (The overhead lamp must have been warm.) The lizards were fascinating.

The fearless turtle at Dauset Nature Center



Getting a picture of this lizard's tongue was a challenge

Outside the center we enjoyed feeding a snapping turtle and watching the yellow belly slider turtles sun and the otters swim.

This snapping turtle has a face only a mother could love.

These slider turtles were really relaxed.

This river otter just emerged from the water.

On the way back to our campsite we stopped at a neglected cemetery and read a few headstones.

The cemetery, although on state park land, was not maintained by the park,

We also joined other tourists enjoying the water at Indian Springs.



Our RV crossed the bridge in the background.



One of those tourists let me take a picture of her kitten. Too cute.

March 26-30, Bishop GA

We arrived at Pine Lake RV Campground and set up camp in the woods.

Our campsite at Pine Lake

With Bishop as a home base we visited two Del Webbs on two different days, Deaton Creek and Lake Oconee.



The entryway to Del Webb Deaton Creek



The entryway to Del Webb Lake Oconee

The following day we went into downtown Bishop and crossed the Elder Mill Covered Bridge (our only sightseeing excursion).



Me in front of the Elder Mill Covered Bridge (built in 1897)



The bridge was constructed using a lattice design

When we returned we took a walk on the campground’s nature trail to see some of the local flora and fauna.

Ray and unknown berry bush



A well camouflaged squirrel



A fork-tailed lizard



Me toward the end of our nature walk

We ended our stay at Pine Lakes playing Euchre with fellow campers Frank and Arlene--great cards and conversation.

Frank and Arlene