Wednesday, 4/15/26

Location: Campground at James Island County Park

Packed up the truck, hooked up ChILL and prepared to head out. Skip noticed that the front marker light on the passenger side of ChILL was flickering. Unfortunately it is a difficult light to remove and replace. Fortunately the repair can wait until we return to St Augustine without causing any travel issues.

Trip started out with me as the driver as Skip helped me navigate the Charleston streets including the cable-stayed Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge that spans the Charleston Harbor. The bridge’s design is similar to the Dames Point Bridge in Jacksonville, Florida. Our route was mostly on US17, changing to US17 Business Route for the last leg of the trip which has convenient access to our campground. US17 is more relaxed than the interstate with less traffic, all good things. Long stretches with no places to pull off to change drivers can be challenging but the Georgetown area had a few good choices for us.

Along the way we saw a couple of signs that said Wildlife Viewing Area. I asked how all the wildlife know they are supposed to go to that area? Skip had a completely different take saying that is where all the wildlife go to view us! He’s a crackup!

In an empty parking lot in Georgetown we opened up ChILL and our lunchbox and enjoyed the sandwiches I prepared before we left Charleston along with very tasty grapes.

Location: Myrtle Beach State Park Campground, site 301, full hookup

What a wonderful campground with easy access to the Atlantic Ocean! It is heavily wooded making most campsites comfortably shaded. The roads are one-way and somewhat narrow with enough room for even the largest rigs to maneuver. Some of the sites require the tow vehicle to park across the site which can make backing the Airstream into and pulling out of the site more challenging. Skip did a fantastic job of backing into the site even though the neighbors’ truck made it a tight situation. Apparently it was good entertainment for our chatty and somewhat distracting neighbors who were sitting outside with a group of their friends. The show continued since the neighbors’ site was on the utility side of ChILL and our water, sewer and electric connections were very close to their site making Skip the main event for a little while as he hooked up our connections. 

Skip has a good routine to get us setup, connected and level at the campsite and disconnect the truck. My role is much easier than his as I unload the perishable items such as bread and chips from the truck and setup inside ChILL. Together we can have everything done in 30 minutes or so. We relaxed outside in our Strongback chairs enjoying the gorgeous weather and our nature view.

Laundry is part of the plan for this location so we walked around the campground to find the laundromat, located across from site 229. The washers and dryers look decent and cost $2 each per load, using quarters to pay.

Our campsite is located just a few sites away from a walkway to the bathhouses and dumpsters. The walkway provides an easy shortcut to the loop that has the closest laundry facility to our site. With the folding wagon, which Skip typically uses to transport his EC12 sailboat, equipment and chair from the truck to the pond, taking the clothes to and from the laundromat is much easier.

It was another tasty freezer dinner night after we microwaved some spaghetti pie that I had made for us before we left St Augustine and rounded it out with some raw veggies and dip. Another successful day!

After the sun came up Skip checked the solar panel output and found that it was not performing as expected. He discovered a loose connection that was probably the result of his troubleshooting efforts last night in the dark. He repaired it and we proceeded with the normal take down routine.

As planned I drove the first stretch. Because I needed a major refresher course on towing, I wanted to begin on roads that were familiar. We made various rest area stops to tighten the lug nuts, a recommended safety practice after getting new tires on an RV. We also found that the porpoising on the highway had caused our dinette table to fall down, thankfully causing no damage to the table or the Airstream. Skip wisely recommended that we travel with the table in the down position, great advice since we encountered many more sections of bumpy highway.

Upon arrival we were surprised to find a police cruiser blocking the entrance into the park. He explained that an unauthorized senior skip day had caused some issues until an hour prior to our arrival. His presence was just to make sure no one decided to come back. He waved us through and wished us a pleasant stay.

Location Bohemian Bull, James Island, SC

Our travel day was longer than we anticipated. Megan and Indy agreed to meet us at Bohemian Bull for dinner at 6:30 where we all enjoyed burgers and good conversation. The restaurant was less than 15 minutes from the campground and 10 minutes from their house. Indy surprised us by picking up the check for all of us. They are such a wonderful couple and we enjoyed having some one on one time with them.