Our next stop in our SC Adventure was a two week stay at Sesquicentennial State Park in Columbia. This park also had a lake and had lots of walking trails. On the one rainy day that we had, we ventured into town to the SC State Museum (which had been recommended to us from one of our buds from Little Pee Dee). This was a great museum and we were really bummed that we only had a few hours to meander through (as we had to get back to Penny at the campground). We also had another planned day in town (other than the usual food shopping etc...), and that was for BOTH OF US to give blood! Yep, I did it - despite my years of flunking the iron test I committed to trying and pounded down those steaks and ate tons of Frosted Mini Wheats*, in addition to my daily iron supplements and I passed the test and was able to donate. (A proud post-donation picture is included with this post!)
One of the highlights for me was an amazing experience I had with Mother Nature on one of the first afternoons here. I went down to the lake for a walk and, as I approached, three ducks flew off and gave me a pretty concert with their departure. I watched them fly across the lake and felt a little guilty for having disturbed them with my presence. However, to my amazement, they soon circled back and in what felt like frame-by-frame slow motion, they flew over my head, in formation, and landed in the lake, right in front of me, with their cute webbed orange feet stuck straight out in front of them for an impressively graceful landing! I was breathless and looked around me - being jealous for all who hadn’t just witnessed this amazing moment. I almost felt like I was having an out-of-body experience in which I was right smack dab in the middle of a Museum of Science IMAX movie! Truly breathtaking…
We got some good exercise in while here at “Sesquie” and got to witness a 30HOUR ROAD RACE that took place during our final weekend. The campground was full with folks for this event as some ran 100+miles; some aimed for 50 miles; some intermittently ran and walked (between naps or beers etc); and some ran & walked til they couldn’t no more…!!! Some of the participants were obviously amazing athletes some were NOT “obviously athletic“ but were steadfast in their determination; it was both mind boggling and downright impressive!
The next park on our schedule was Dreher Island State Park in Prosperity, SC. (Cover photo on this post ). This campground was, in fact, an island! We had to drive out on a causeway to get there, during which Penny got all excited and was sticking her head out of the window smelling the air. Although that's typical dog behavior, Penny usually keeps her cards much closer to her chest, so her enthusiasm was pretty significant! Most of the campsites were ON the water and it was scenic and relaxing to be here. We had a bunch of fires in the fire pit in the late afternoons and it was easy for us to get our 10,000 steps a day in as we would take Penny for a walk around the campground loop in the morning and afternoon and we would take turns getting some exercise in - as it was a safe and scenic place to go walking off on our own. We were happy to be here two weeks and only left the campground when we needed something. Chapin was the nearest town and where we did our food shopping, coffee bean buying, post office stops etc... Karl took the opportunity to wash and wax the truck AND trailer at the campground (big job - big stud of a hubby) and he even had a blue heron (pictured) hanging out in the water at our site being impressed!
One of our next door neighbors for a couple of days was a nice guy from the area (originally from England and with a great accent to prove it) and he gave us tips re: our upcoming campgrounds. He also mentioned that this park had a lot of armadillos and encouraged us to keep our eyes out for them, especially at dusk and dawn. ARMADILLOS? In South Carolina???!!!!... Well that little tidbit got me all sorts of excited and I made it a mission of mine to spy one! Well on February 23rd around 4PM (which is NOT sundown time in SC) I saw one! I was out for my afternoon power walk and as I was walking down the road I heard some scurrying in the leaves and grass and glanced over expecting to see a squirrel. But...NOOOOO.... it was a nine-banded armadillo!!! I was beside myself with shock and excitement. I whipped out my phone and tried to get a picture. However that sucker was moving up the embankment pretty quickly and he was so well camouflaged that I decided to forget about capturing him on film and just be in the moment and watch him go! He went went up the hill and hopped up on a log and over it and then out of sight. It was amazing! Who knew that those things were so agile? Very impressive indeed...I went home (aka back to the trailer) and was so excited to share my news that I felt like I'd won the lottery!!** And then a couple of nights later, around 8:30PM, I took Penny out for her before-bedtime-pee and I heard rustling in the leaves again and when I beamed my flashlight on it, there was another armadillo! He had his snout in the ground and appeared to be chomping away on some insects. Penny started to get a little excited and interested in him, but he was far enough away that Penny couldn't quite reach him. I was surprised that me, the dog and the flashlight beaming on him didn't interrupt his snacking focus; but was grateful for the experience regardless.
Our next stop after Dreher Island was one week at Calhoun Falls State Park in, (you guessed it), Calhoun Falls, SC. This place was gorgeous as well and we had a really large campsite right on the lake with awesome sunset views and, actually, awesome 24/7 views. The weather got to be in the high 70's-low 80's and it was shorts weather! The highlight of this campground was the very cool group of Happy Campers who invited us to hang with them for the weekend. Karl went out for a walk on Friday and came back and told me that we had been invited to "dinner tonight and breakfast and dinner tomorrow"!...When I asked him what they had chatted about to obtain such an invite he told me "Nothing! A group of them have gathered for the weekend and they invited us to join them!" Yep - another heartwarming “people are good” moment! We had a good time with this fun group of about six families - some with really nice kids and some with adorable dogs. Good food, good Jell-O shots, good roaring fire, good corn hole, good humor and good memories…
And then our last hurrah in South Carolina was at Paris Mountain State Park in Greenville. This Park had the best hiking trails out of the bunch; which is truly saying something! Gary, our neighbor from Dreher Island, had made a passing comment of "maybe I'll see you there - we go hiking there a lot". And, wouldn't you know it, one day we took our family stroll and then after returning Penny to the trailer for a nap, Karl and I set out together to get some exercise. And who did we happen upon at the base of one of the MANY (and I mean many) trails to chose from? Gary and his adorable dog, Jake! We had a wonderful time meandering through the trails together and he showed us an awesome new trail that hadn't made the park maps yet - the Sassafras Trail. It was great fun, great company and great exercise - as we walked over 8 miles that day! And I've got to say, the more we walked the more I was amazed that we had not only actually bumped into Gary - but at the perfect moment to be able to partake in the amazing trails with he and his pup. I love it when the world gives you gifts like that....
Wintering in South Carolina was BRILLIANT. The weather was warm (mostly) and not hot. The state parks were quite exceptional. The people we met were warm and welcoming. Hanging out for 2 weeks at a time was relaxing. I saw me an armadillo. I saw my nephew and his family. In summary; we done good!!
Editor's Notes:
*Kelloggs Frosted Mini Wheats provide 100% of your daily iron allowance - this was a tip years ago from a worker at a blood drive that has actually helped me a couple of times. So for the few days leading up to our donation appointment it was my breakfast and/or snack during the day!
**You really should look up the nine-banded armadillos on line - they're pretty cool!
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