North Topsail Island, NC To Myrtle Beach, SC, The Apache CG and Plotting A New Course

Myrtle Beach, SC

61 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to occasional showers during the afternoon. High near 70F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Tuesday morning, about 10:05, we left the Surf City Family CG on Topsail Island and headed back to US 17 on NC 210. It wasn't far and soon we were heading in a Southerly direction on 17. There was quite a bit of traffic and I'm guessing that ti was because it was Veterans Day and quite a few folks had the day off of work. The traffic moved along nicely though and soon we were crossing into South Carolina and going through North Myrtle Beach.

I watched for Vanna White as we drove through the town, but didn't see her. ;-)

Soon we were in Myrtle Beach and turning off of US 17 onto Lake Arrowhead Road which brought us to the Apache Family Campground. It was 12:20 when we pulled up in front of the office, so we drove the 106 miles down here in about 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Not too bad considering the heavier than normal traffic and the 10 miles of city driving in SC before we arrived here at the park.

We've been to the Apache Family CG before and like before, it didn't disappoint. Like I said Tuesday, Jim had reserved one of the new "premium" sites and I do believe that it's worth the extra cost.

This is the view out of Nora's door! 

Looking to the left

Looking to the right

View from the dune looking back at our site.

A couple beach photos.

As most of you know, there's a cold front sweeping across the country and it's supposed to get here to Myrtle Beach today, so, Tuesday afternoon and yesterday, Jim and Linda didn't do anything but enjoy the great mid 70's temperatures and sunny skies that we were having. Part of the time they were inside of Nora, looking out of the windows and door and part of the time they sat outside under Nora's awning, enjoying sound of the surf, the gentle breeze, clear skies and warm temperatures, not to mention the great view!!! ;-)

Oh, and at night? Well, there's a restaurant out on the big pier that is part of the park and they light the whole thing up. Here's a couple photos taken at different times of the evening. Sorry they're a little blurry but I think they're kind of neat.

Today, Jim and Linda have some shopping to do. They need to go to Walgreen's and pick up a few items, Jim would kind of like to swing over to the Camping World store here in Myrtle Beach, Linda would like to look for a few Christmas presents, and if it's not raining, they're planning on going out to eat.

Well, Jim has found that big eraser again. :-O  Being that the weather is supposed to turn really cold, he and Linda have decided that it may be wise to take a shorter, quicker route down to Florida from here.  So yesterday afternoon, he started erasing and plotting a new course. Now, instead of taking 3 days to get down to Northern Florida, we'll be down there with just a one night stopover and we'll probably be getting to DeBary on the 18th or 19th rather than on the 20th.

Did you know that The City of Myrtle Beach is in the center of the Grand Strand, a 60-mile crescent of beach on the South Carolina coast? In the last 25 years, Myrtle Beach has developed into the premier resort destination on the East Coast.

Oh, and just one more thing!!! Linda wants to thank everyone who commented on this blog or called or e-mailed to congratulate her for her achievement the other day. Thank You!!!!!

Woof!!!

Heading Further North, Crossing "The Bridge", and A Neat CG

St. Ignace, MI.

68 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 82F. Winds from the SW at 5 to 10 mph.

By 10:10 we were pulling out of the Everflowing Water CG near Williamsburg and heading West on Bracket Road. When we came to US 31 we turned North and followed it all the way up to just South of Mackinaw City, where it ended when it joined up with I-75.

Along the way, we stopped to get Bobbie T a drink of 87 octane in Elk Rapids. The highway wasn't too bad until we got up to around the Charlevoix area and then it got really rough!!! :-(  At times Jim slowed Bobbie T down to 45 mph, to try to make the ride better. I really don''t think it helped much though and we bounced along almost all the way to the Interstate.

Once on the Interstate, it was only a few miles before we came to "The Bridge"!!!!  I'm usually pretty brave and I usually don't have a problem crossing bridges, but I just couldn't make myself look out of the window as we were going across this one cause it's so high!!! So, I covered my eyes. :-{

At least this time, it wasn't windy, and there was some construction on the bridge so the speed was down to less than 45 mph and sometimes almost stopped.

Oh, anyone heading up this way that wants to cross the bridge,  ,  ,  ,  they charge you $5 per axle for the Motorhome and $2 per axle for your vehicle that you're towing. For us that meant $14.00!!!!!

Once across the bridge and into the U.P. we took exit 344B to US 2. We followed 2 for a couple miles until we came to Pte. LeBarbe Road where we turned left and followed it for another mile or so, until we came to the Lakeshore Park Campground.

It was 12:40 when pulled up next to the office,

so it took us 2 hours and 30 minutes to stop and get Bobbie T her drink and travel 103 miles.

Jim, Linda and I think this is a really neat campground. When Jim called up here the other day to make sure that they had a site available, he asked if they had a site with a view of Lake Michigan. Well, they did, and here's the pull-in site they gave us. ;-)

This is the view, from in front of Bobbie T, looking slightly off to the right.

Jim walked down to the other side of the road and took this photo looking back at our site.

From the road, there's a pathway going down to the shoreline. From there, Jim took this shot of "The Bridge" that we had come across. Do you see why I had to cover my eyes?????

Brrrrr!!!! I get the shakes, just thinking about it!!!!!!! :-{

I don't know if it's going to be the same every day, but when we got here yesterday, Jim and Linda just opened all the windows and vents and just let the cool lake breeze blow through Bobbie T. Jim and Linda talked to the couple in the site next to us for a little while, and I heard them say that it's like that most days, and that they hadn't run their AC in the last week or so, since they came here.

Don't know of any big plans for today. Jim and Linda are about out of some grocery items again, so they'll probably go find a grocery store. And, I'm sure they'll both be outside, enjoying the cool lake breeze and the great view.

Did you know that the height of the roadway of the Mackinac Bridge at mid-span is approximately 200 feet above water level?

Brrrrr!!!!!! There's those shakes again!!!!!!!!!!!

Woof!!!

A Nice Ride and Dinner At Mike And Gina's

Moncure, NC.

61 deg. mist / fog, no wind.
Forecast = Today: Partly cloudy with areas of fog. Highs around 73°F. Northeast wind to 8 MPH.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with chance of light drizzle. Lows around 57°F. Northeast wind to 8 MPH.

Not much happened Sunday, so that's why I didn't post. In fact, it rained a good part of the day, and no one was out and about. Yesterday morning, it finally quit raining, (after adding about 2" to the annual rainfall amount), and then, in late afternoon, the sun even started peeking out from behind the remaining clouds. ; )

After lunch, Jim asked Linda if she felt like going for a ride and to pick up a few things at a grocery store. She asked him where he wanted to go and he said he thought he like to take a ride over to Pittsboro, (a little NW of here), then head over to Jordan Lake, East of Pittsboro), and then take Pea Ridge Road back to Moncure, (making a kind of a triangle).

So, off they went. CLT says that the only place they stopped was at the Food Lion Grocery Store in Pittsboro for bread and some of Jim's adult beverage, but he said that the ride was really nice and relaxing. He also said that Jordan Lake really looked neat as they crossed the bridges over the lake.

Spring is is full swing here in North Carolina so everything is bright green with lots of flowers, trees and bushes blooming. Most of the roads that they traveled were small 2 lane roads where they could just take their time and take in the scenery.

I think it was about 2:30 when I saw CLT coming down the hill into the CG.

After they returned, Jim took a nap, and then, about 5:00 he and Linda took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's for dinner.

CLT says that the girls, (Brenna and Savanna), are really growing up. He thinks that both of them grew a few more inches since we were here last fall. : )

After hugs, Gina fixed a very nice dinner and then after eating, she, Mike, Jim and Linda sat out on the front porch and visited while the kids played outside.

By about 8:30, I saw CLT coming back down the hill into the CG again. ; )

Did you know that today is "National Honesty Day"?

Woof!!!