Continuing our journey south, we passed through a small town and campground nestled near the Smokey Mountains called Pickens in South Carolina. We camped there so Sue could visit with one of her BFF’s, Julie Jacobson, who she had not seen in over 15 years. The two of them truly enjoyed each other as they reminisced about the good ole’ days.
At the time, Hurricane Joaquin and heavy rains caused flooding throughout the state of South Carolina. There were so many road and bridge closures, that our original plan of going to Myrtle Beach and Charleston was completely out of the equation. We decided to head south toward Georgia, and were lucky enough to get an RV site at the beautiful Stone Mountain RV Park near Atlanta. We spent one day in a rowboat out on the lake enjoying the beautiful scenery.
Another day was spent at the attractions at Stone Mountain Park. The huge carving on the mountain (bigger than Mount Rushmore) depicts three Confederate figures during the Civil War: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis. We rode the tram called Summit Skyride up to the top of the Granite Mountain, walked through the Antebellum plantation and farmyard, the Stone Mountain Museum, and rode on the 7 mile train around the mountain. To Sallie’s delight, SkyHike, where she traversed the quarter of a mile 40 foot high Ropes Course.
We couldn’t be near Atlanta and not visit the World of Coca Cola where the tour was very interesting, full of trivia, old Coke commercial movies, information and interactive displays. Sallie wrote a personal story in the “feedback” room about having TAB in her house from when she was a small child and drinking it for 40 years. The CNN building was massive and the tour took us through 7 stories of the newsrooms and different studios. Unfortunately for us, Anderson Cooper was not to be found.
We decided to return to one of our favorite campgrounds, Camp Gulf, in Destin located on the Florida Panhandle. We were there 4 months earlier and loved the white soft sand and beautiful waters. There is a reason they call it the “Emerald Coast”! We could not resist cooking up some delicious oysters while there!
On our way to south Florida we decided to go to St. Augustine again. The last time we were here, 2 years ago, the government was shut down and we were unable to visit the Castillo de San Marcos Fort. This time was different though, and very interesting.
We decided to camp oceanfront, at Flagler Beach on the Atlantic Coast between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. We did our part to make a difference and picked up trash two days in a row. We picked up so much in such a little time. It was the end of turtle nesting season, so we felt like we did our part to help the babies make it out to sea.
We detoured into the center of Florida to check out the retirement community called “The Villages”. At one of the centers, there were more golf carts than cars. There are over 33 public and executive golf courses to play. Looks like an ideal stop for Sue’s sister Sandy, who lives for golf!
We stayed at the Grand Oaks RV Resort & Museum near The Villages. There was a Reining Competition that took place while we were there. We got to meet the beautiful Clydesdales Bud & Weiser that pull a carriage through the park for guests.
On to our winter destination, the luxurious RV park Aztec Resort in Margate Florida. More to come…
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