MURRELLS INLET: Another Fine Day!

The perfect fall weather added to the enjoyment of the day.  We had another leisurely start to the day with sausage/egg English muffins for breakfast.  Mid-day brought a short nap.  Selene went walking with two others on the nature center boardwalk over some of the salt marsh at low tide, spending about 45 minutes watching the remaining water and surrounding area for birds and fish.  After returning to the campground, the ladies rested in the shade enjoying the quiet and nice breeze.

Several couples went  kayaking this afternoon.  After they returned, we had a pizza supper around the campfire and enjoyed the leftover desserts from last night.  That was followed by more conversation around an even larger campfire which lasted until late evening.




Today, the work at the house continued.  The removal of the broken patch of drive way concrete was completed and the area was smoothed over.  The carpet was cleaned in all of the carpeted rooms, except the bonus room, which will be done tomorrow after Mike moves his things back into his bedroom.  The man from the fairgrounds flea market returned to haul another load of "stuff" away with one more trip to come soon.  Only a couple of more jobs to be done and the house will be on the market. 

MURRELLS INLET, SC: Another Beautiful Day!

Today started under clear skies with a soft breeze and pleasant temperatures.  The morning passed doing chores and Selene made Dump Cake for this evening's dinner.  Hank again sorted through items and reorganized.  This afternoon, Selene spent two hours sitting on the beach with a few friends, watching the ocean, birds, other people and a fisherman. Only a few hardy soles were in the water as a cool breeze blew. It was a beautiful autumn afternoon.  However, winter is definitely on the way as we saw group after group of geese flying south.

Our friends gathered at 4:30 P.M. for a swap fest of items that people no longer needed.  Then we enjoyed a hot dog cookout over the campfire and many delicious desserts.  The evening brought another campfire as we shared stories and laughter.  It was a cool walk back to the RV under a star-filled sky with the sound of the surf in the background.

MURRELLS INLET, SC: A Busy Monday

Monday dawned cloudy, and there were a few raindrops during the day, but nothing heavy enough to drive people inside.

Our day started slowly, but then that's how most of our days will  start since neither of us likes to jump right into a day's activities.  Hank started going through a couple of boxes and drawers in the RV.  Eventually we headed out to get the car washed, and go to the post office and Food Lion. After returning, Hank continued to reorganize some of the outside bays.  Selene started chili in the crockpot, worked on laundry and  reorganized a few of the kitchen storage cabinets. 

Three more couples arrived mid-afternoon, which brought most of the us out to welcome them, then to make a quick plan for the evening.  Two of the guys left to get a load of firewood for our campfires, and eventually the rest of us returned to our RVs for dinner.  Last night we enjoyed campfire conversation under a star-filled sky where evening meals were planned and laughter prevailed until the cool evening air drove us inside about 11 P.M.

Murrells Inlet, SC: Carolina Clan Rally

After a very leisurely start to the day and a fond farewell to the owner and manager of the Dickens RV Park in Moncure, NC, we drove for 4 hours to Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, SC. and set up on site 95, one of the few full hook-up sites in the park.  (See last year's post for more details)

 We are here for a week with the RV-Dreams Carolina Clan gathering - all participants have been to at least one RV-Dreams Educational Rally, and many are full-time RVers. This year there will be 11 rigs and 22 people present with most arriving today.  The main activity will be enjoying each other's company, although I'm sure some plans for semi-organized activities may develop.  We plan to just enjoy the beautiful surroundings, with the sounds of the ocean surf in the background as well as getting to know the others a little better.   This year, Howard and Linda Payne, who founded RV-Dreams, have surprised us all by attending. 

MONCURE, NC: The End of a Good Day

The past week has been a busy one as we continued to empty the house of its contents and determine the destination of those left.  Now all of that is done!!  Mike has generously agreed to be our project manager for the next couple of weeks, before he moves on to new quarters.  We had a setback when the carpet cleaner's truck was damaged in an accident, so the cleaning has been delayed to this week.  The driveway repair has been started with the job to be finished on Wednesday.  The plan is to have the "For Sale" sign out by next weekend if the last few jobs get done. 

We are off to SC tomorrow for a long-reserved week at Huntington Beach State Park.  Whether we return to the Raleigh area on Nov. 3 will be determined as the week, and the work progresses.  The realtor is ready to move forward as soon as the property is ready for visitors.

It's been 2 1/2 years since we made the decision to become full-time RVers. We've lived in the motor home for the past 16 months which has cemented our belief that this is the lifestyle we want.  This week,  we realized that we were shed of the the weight of all that "stuff" we no longer needed or wanted.  Oh, what a relief that is! (and it is without any plop plop fizz fizz)

MONCURE, NC; Back Again!

The 2 hour drive from Rural Hall, NC to Moncure, NC was a pleasant one under Carolina blue skies and  with temperatures we in the 60's.  After getting set up, we headed to the house to see what needed to be donel..  Mike had all of the carpeted rooms, except the bonus room, ready for the carpet cleaner.   We went to old Fuquay for dinner at El Dorado's, then back to the house to finish a few chores.

Tomorrow the landscaper will finish trimming the yard, the carpet cleaner will start his work, some more furniture will be picked up, and we'll take care of some other items.  We'll be in this area until next Sunday.

RURAL HALL, NC: Final Night

It was a dreary day with occasional rain, but by suppertime, the sun was breaking through.

There were a couple of activities we opted out of today - the dog show, for example. (Most RVers travel with one or more dogs).  We had another free lunch of hot dogs, chips, slaw and chili topping, and drinks.  We bought a couple of needed items in the dealer's store at a discount, and returned there for prize drawings. Our luck continued today......we won two camping chairs with a price of $50 each, and received a couple of sample items as well.

 Dinner was "chicken stew" although in reality it was more like chicken soup (shredded chicken in a flavorful white broth) with crackers and drinks.  This dinner was free for the CampIn attendees, and open to the public at $5 per head - all you could eat - with various cakes for dessert.  The repair bay building had been emptied and cleaned, and there was seating for about 400 people with a stage set up on one end.  Apparently, chicken stew events are big news around here, and this particular event goes back many years. They cooked over 400 gallons of stew and just about all of it was consumed or taken home.  The events' proceeds went to charity.  After dinner, there was a concert of mostly gospel music performed by about 25 different people, including the dealership owner.

All in all, it was well worth our time to attend the Chicken Stew Campin.  Yes, we drove a few miles out of our way to get here, but the prizes we won were worth about $170 and we had free camping Thursday to Sunday, one free lunch, three free dinners, and entertainment. Tomorrow morning there is a very early free pancake breakfast. We also met some interesting people.

On Sunday, we'll return to Moncure one more time.