Finally, we have departed the Sunshine State. This is the
latest date for our summer exodus and I was beginning to wonder if we would
ever get off. The reasons are multiple and include visiting family, (we enjoyed
the two weeks with Beth, Aaron, Leon and Silas), doctor appointments, wrapping
up a kitchen remodel and, oh yeah, finally getting our motor home back from the
dealer.
I have to confess our start has been rocky. Kathy’s back has
been out and I have been suffering extreme fatigue which has greatly hindered
our packing routine and getting the house closed up. In addition, there have
been numerous issues with our new land yacht. Originally we were going to leave
on June 3rd but that didn’t work out. Our next selected date was the
tenth but it was the twelfth before we eventually got on the road. Fortunately
I made reservations the first night for St. Augustine for that was as far as we
could get the first day. It was late morning before we pulled out the driveway,
but we couldn’t leave town without stopping at Camping World to iron out
several issues, the main being the refrigerator didn’t cool while going down
the road.
Checking in at the St. Augustine at about 5:30 we were quite
worn out. Our trip there was plagued by horrific noises coming from the slide
which we erroneously attributed to the awning. Also, the next morning when I
dumped the tanks I discovered that the grey water valve was pouring water into
the affected compartment. Thank goodness it was the grey water valve and not
the black water – what a nasty mess that would have been.
This resulted in our visit to the St. Augustine Camping
World for more repairs. We got everything pretty well settled (thanks to the great
crew @ St. Augustine CW) and left there around 2:00 p.m.
Neither of us has ever been to Hilton Head Island so we
planned a two night layover here. We arrived late Thursday afternoon where we
checked in to the Hilton Harbor RV Resort & Marina. Backing in to our
waterfront site about six we were very happy to be off the road. Watching the
sunset from an air-conditioned window table in the Sunset Grille at the marina helped
to ease some of the rumples of our trip thus far.
I am so over the South right now as the temperature reading
on the coach display has steadily read between 100 and 107 degrees. These
extremes really whip me down; taxing my energy levels and leaving me without
much motivation to do anything. I will be much happier when we reach a cooler
climate.
Today we visited Harbor Town and enjoyed the harbor front
restaurants, shops and sights as we walked around. It is really the first
opportunity we have had to do any sightseeing and touristy stuff. We also rode
around this beautiful RV resort on our bikes (one of the nicest we have
visited).
In the morning we are again heading north. We have no idea
yet as to our route or destination for the day. Will we hit the interstate and
beat a rapid retreat from South Carolina or will we continue up the coast
toward the Outer Banks and leisurely enjoy the slow route along the ocean? I
have no idea; yet. We’ll figure it out in the morning.
