Wilson, NC - One More Day

Here were are again, still at the Kampers Lodge....we were to move today, but we are at the red dot in the middle of the storm....we don't have to move, so we didn't.  One more day in no where land.  We were planning on heading north, but that would have kept us in the middle of the storm, so here we are.

Parkers BB!

Anyway, yesterday we went out for lunch to a placed called Parkers.  BBQ chicken, pork and/or fried chicken...we did the BBQ.  Everything was delicious and we had plenty to eat.

Sims Post Office

We then went looking for a post office to mail some things...these small towns and small PO are pretty neat.  There was one post master working and about 50 PO Boxes.  Kind of reminded us of home :-).

We did some shopping, more for killing time than anything, but managed to be by a Starbucks to get coffee.  We then came back to camp to pack up the outside stuff, just in case the storm missed us and would could leave.  We have been having trouble with our canopy rolling up crooked so it took us several tries to get it rolled up correctly, but we managed. 

 We had wraps for dinner (left overs) and did a couple of laps around the park, dodging rain drops.  Headed off to bed, waiting for the rain drops to start. 



Kampers Lodge Campground

Here it is Tuesday morning and most of the other campers have left yesterday.  There is one group packing up this morning and a couple from California that we talked with yesterday that are staying until Wednesday.

Saturday afternoon we had found the local grocery store, but we only got what we absolutely needed for dinner that night, burgers and chips.  Sunday we ventured out a little bit further.....not really much to see here, but we did find a shopping plaza, and walked around Target then in and out of the other stores.  There was also a  Harris Teeter Grocery store, so we got steaks, mushrooms and sweet potatoes for dinner on Monday.

In looking through the junk papers (advertisements) that we got from the campground I found this Whirligig Farm to try to find, so Monday we ventured out on the roads and actually found it.  Our guess is that at one time it was really something, now it looked a shame for being all grown over and not really taken care of, but we did manage to get a picture or two.  There were a lot more of the 'Whirligigs', but some of them were so grown over that you really couldn't get a good picture and others were rusted that they didn't move any more. 

We have planned our next move, up to Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia.  We are hoping that it is nice and we can stay there for a week to 10 days.  Let's just hope the rain isn't too bad in the morning that we can get on the road.

Thursday - Sunday

(br) Diane, Dad, Deb
(fr) Christine, Lynne, Karen

We here it is Sunday and I am just getting back to the blog.  We did manage to get the family dinner in on Thursday at a place called Snapperz.  It was pretty good, the staff was wonderful and very attentive to our table, keeping the food coming and drinks full.  There was a variety of food, steam pots, Sea Scallops lightly dusted & fried, Shrimp Quesadilla, Fried Green Beans and much more.  If you went home hungry, it was your own fault.  While we were there, we did manage to get a picture of us girls, one that included dad, another that included all the kids.....just none with the husbands/men in our lives...oh well, can't get them all.

Lynne, Rick, Brad and I played Euchre 2 or 3 evenings and then after that some of us played Uno with the kids.   Meghan just learned the game while there and by the end of the week, was quite the cut throat child.  We really did have a lot of fun playing with the kids and the last game was actually Friday night and I think was the hardest game between Aly, Weston and Meghan, they were hard on each other and never let up.

The 4 of us at the 'Front Street Grill'

Friday morning Rick left, so we planned a day to Beaufort that day.  We had all the left overs for breakfast, then we all got to the beach for some time.  We should have headed to Beaufort earlier, but didn't leave the house until about 3:00.  Brad, Dad, Lynne and I headed over....Brad to buy the hat he found earlier and the rest of us for nothing other than it is a neat, fun town.  The four of us had dinner at 'The Front Street Grill at Stillwater' and then headed home.  Having dinner with dad the last night, couldn't have asked for more.

 

Well Saturday, Karen and crew were on the road by 6:00 am, Deb and Jim and Chris and crew around 7:30-8:00, Lynne and Dad about 8:30 with Brad and I getting out of the house last at 9:00(the cleaning crew was pulling in as we pulled out).  Chris and clan stopped for the night, but then rest of them went straight home.  Brad and I drove a whole 2.5 hours and got to Wilson, NC.  The camp ground isn't bad, but not much here to do, no beach to walk, no bike path to ride....but we are only here a few days, so we can deal.

Tomorrow is 'Memorial Day', so thank you to all the Vets and hope you all have a Great Monday.

Diane and Brad

Emerald Isle, Sat-Thur.

Well here it is Thursday morning and I am just getting around to the blog.

Saturday, Brad and I got the keys to the duplex about 2:00 PM (3:00 check in), got our stuff carried in and by then Rick was here.  I started dinner, baked spaghetti for all, Brad and Rick went to the grocery store and about 4:00 the rest of the crew started showing up.  Karen and family showed up first, with Lynne and Dad coming in last.  We ate about 6:30 and just kind of vegged for the rest of the evening.  Christine and crew left about 10:00 PM Saturday night, arrived Sunday at 5:55 AM and called my cell phone to unlock the door, ugh, Deb and Jim showed up about 7:00 PM.  Now we are all here until Friday/Saturday as they all start to head home. 

It has been a crazy week, Big breakfast every morning, and then whatever the rest of the days.  There are 16 people in this house(duplex) and I wish I could record some of the conversations and put them on the blog!  I'm sitting here listening to them and realize that nobody can follow anything that is being said...:-) 

Brad and Diane with the head of the
Hoghead Snapper.

It has been a good week, fishing, sight seeing, shopping and lots of eating.  Last night Lynne, Rick, Brad and I went to 'Floyd's 1921' in Moorehead City.  Brad and Rick had the Hoghead Snapper, (no they didn't have the head).  We all had too much to eat, 3 appitizers, 4 meals and dessert.  It was delicious, and the chef actually came out to chat and brought us some samples....need to keep going back.  Actually the 4 of us haven't had a bad meal yet, McCurdy's Restaurant Sunday, Jordon's on Monday and a linner (late lunch, no dinner) at Finz on Tuesday.  So many restaurants and so little time.

Christine and crew are heading out this AM about 8:20, going to Sand-dollar Island and the rest of us are just hanging out.  Lynne and I are going to do some shopping, but other than that no plans.  The big discussion, is the family dinner tonight and where do we eat.  We have lots of choices and right now they are leaning towards Arby's.(ha ha).  We are trying to make dad pick, but now he stopped talking, (maybe not a bad thing, since he has been singing and dancing around all morning).  We'll see what the day has to bring.

Last Night Camp Lejeune

We had a nice breakfast today and then got ready to go to the commissary.  Now remember, it is a 20 min. ride there, so it takes about 2 -2 1/2 to go shopping and get back home.  We put the groceries away, had some lunch (leftovers) and then headed outside to pack-up a few things.  All the decorations, lights, chairs, and tie down straps get put away (sigh).

We got done with that and headed back inside....lots of RV/Campers pulling in and a bit of drizzle.  What is this motorcycle doing on out site, hey it Rick.  He left early to come to NC and has been touring around and decided to stop in and visit.   We sat and talked for awhile then Rick took his bike back to the Inn he is staying at, we picked him up and then headed off to dinner.  Brad and I had found this place early this week, 'The Bogue House Restaurant', a diner kinda of place out of the way...the food was great, I had shrimp, Brad had Sea Trout and Rick had the Oysters, all meals were Delicious. 

We headed back, dropped Rick off and headed home.  Vegged out for the night, I was to brown burger for dinner tomorrow, but it was 8:00 and Brad offered to do it in the AM.  We need to finish packing for the long 30 mile trip tomorrow.  That will be easy compared to cleaning out the RV and getting all the stuff down to the house for the week.  Dirty laundry, clean laundry.....life on the road, what a struggle (ha ha). 

The whole Angeli family will be down this weekend and here for a week, so I hope I manage to keep up the Blog.  If not I am apologizing ahead of time. 

Camp Lejeune

Well here it is Friday morning and another gray day....ugh. 

Wednesday we got up, had breakfast and headed over to Swansboro to their Wednesday Market....not much of a market there, so we drove up and down most of the streets of Swansboro and checked out some of the neat old houses.  There were plaques on a lot of the homes with the names and Circa dates.  When the sisters get here, need to go to Swansboro to learn some history and go through all the craft shops.  We headed up the Island and stopped at the drug store, (script and other things), then we drove around an old mobile home park, kind of unusual.  There were a few homes within, and side by side there was a home for $89k and the next one was $350K.....go figure.

Headed further up the Island and stopped at the 'Willis' Seafood Market.  The people there were real nice and told Brad how to make his own shrimp and to stop paying restaurant prices.  Then they recommended the 'Clam Digger' for a good, reasonably priced meal.  We did have to buy some crab dip before we left, and will probably go back for shrimp next week.  Well off we went to the 'Clam Digger' for lunch....very good and less then $20.00, we will have to go back. 

The weather is looking pretty nasty and the awning is out on the RV.  Back to camp, put the awning up and waited for the nasty weather.  Rain came, but not the 30 mph wind they were calling for, the worst of the storms are actually staying inland. 

Thursday, more gray.

About 8:30 the artillery started to go Boom.  It must just be over the channel from us because it shook the RV once or twice.  I did a load of laundry and and a couple of strolls around camp.  Talked with a couple of the fisher people, who weren't having any luck.  We had lunch then headed for the beach, we didn't care what the skies looked like anymore.  We walked down the beach and ran into a person who was looking for sharks teeth....guess what, we actually found a few.  We were there for about 2hrs and decided to head back to camp, skies are getting much darker.  Up the boardwalk over the dunes, yikes you can see the rain just past the RV and the sky is black.  We did make it back before the downpour, we showered and then headed over to Courtyard Cove.  Guess what, nothing there, back to camp and had Ribs for dinner.  I did talk with Karen and Lynne, we are all getting anxious for vacation.  2 days and they will all be here....yea.

Camp Lejeune

Well here it is Tuesday evening, and we just got done with dinner.

Monday....

We did laundry, walked around the cg, went for a walk on the beach and managed to get very wet.  How do those waves manage to sneak up on you, even when you think you are watching for them. 

 We did find an unusual item on base, something you don't see everyday.  Our younger viewers may not know what this is and we thought phone booths were a thing of the past!!!

After being here all day, we decided to head to Swansboro for dinner.  We were headed to Nicky's for a seafood dinner, when Brad spied a Pizza joint...sounded good.  After very, very slow service we got our not so in-expensive pizza, and were disappointed.  It was to be their special (gourmet) pizza and we had to look really hard to find the toppings.  The surprising thing is that this place was packed and with a lot of the locals....next time we'll go for the seafood. 

Tuesday....

I did forget to mention that the Honda has started to make a strange noise.  Sounds like it is coming from under the car and not from the engine, but we don't know anything about vehicles.  So off to the Honda dealer this morning.  Took them about 2 seconds to diagnose, a broken bolt on the catalytic heat shield, so it will last until we get back to PA. 

It is a gray rainy day, so what do you do....you go shopping.  Brad and I each got a new bathing suit and I got 2 new pair of shorts.  I hate this gaining weight thing.  You would think with the bike riding and walking we do, it would start to disappear.  We stopped at Applebee's for lunch and at as usual, it was way to much.  We ended up bringing half of it home and I still only had an apple for dinner.  Brad went for a bike ride and I did dishes, called Mel and cleaned up a little.  All in all, a good day. 

The Intercoastal Water Way is right at the end of the camp ground, about a 5 campsite walk, and this barge came through the draw bridge (which actually turns) and it just looked like it was going to hit the bridge.  The are large and go much faster than you think they should.  I guess they have been at this a lot longer than we have been watching them.

Saturday we had a nice breakfast then headed out to order our glasses.  After that we found our way out the gate that leads to Swansboro and Emerald Isle, (yea, less then a week until the family arrives).  We stopped at the cg on Emerald Isle and for $3.50 a day we can leave the RV there....OK, that issue is solved.  We rode around a little bit, not really having any plans then headed back to camp.  Brad wants steaks for dinner, but they are froze, so we settled on Burgers (beef anyway).  Just hung out, walked to the beach and around the cg a couple of times, not much going on.  I have finally heard from Shane (text) and it looks as if he is working up with the gas well companies.  Now I just need to talk with him to get some specifics.

Sunday, Mother's Day.

Melanie texted first this in the morning, Shari later in the after noon and about 9:00 I heard from Shane.  He is working for a company called Centrifuge and works from 6:00 pm to 6:am, so he called just before going to bed.  It was nice hearing from the kids.  Brad took me out for a brunch at the local VFW, not bad and the people were very nice.  Then we decided to head around Camp Lejeune and go up through Jacksonville, NC just to see what is here (looking for good restaurants).....and we find nothing.  There is really nothing to do, or no where to eat once you get off the base until you get upto Swansboro. 

We headed up towards Emerald Isle and decided to play a game if mini golf, it was fun, but they don't have many challanges on the courses any more.  We stopped at a coffee shop and had a cafe mocha and then went and walked around Lowe's.  It's about 2:30, so back to camp, via a side road or two on the way.  We did manage to find a restaurant, on a back road right out side of Camp Lejeune and when we looked up the reviews, decided we might have to go try it.  We got back and set the steaks out to thaw and then went for long walk on the beach, still a lot of people around for a Sunday afternoon.  We had a nice dinner and another walk around.  Back inside by dark.

Happy Mother's Day to all!!

Fort Fisher to Camp Lejeune

I did change the plans on Thursday and we headed back into Wilmington.  We were in a shop Wed. and I saw the perfect gift for somebody and had to go back to get it.  Something little, but you just can't pass them up when you find them.  We did some walking around town and then went to Elijah's for lunch.   We shared a Portabella Mushroom stuffed with spinach, onion, sun-dried tomatoes in a 3 cheese sauce, wonderful, Brad had seafood chowder and shrimp and I had a spinach salad with grilled shrimp, both were good, Brad claims the better meal.  We walked and then stopped at the Front Street Brewery for a drink, then headed home about 4:30.  We weren't real hungry, so we just had the rest of the tuna on crackers....actually hit the spot.  We walked up to the fishing dock to watch the sun set, which actually was quite nice.  It was a beautiful evening and they are having a big blues festival that starts tomorrow evening.  No wonder they had no room for us and we have to leave tomorrow. 

Sunset on Cape Fear River



Friday

We left Fort Fisher about 10:00 this morning and headed for our long 70 mile trip to Camp Lejeune.  An uneventfull ride until we got on base...the first sign "Warning, artillary firing over roadway, day and night" and the second sign was "Tank Crossing"...we were beginning to wonder what we got ourselves into.  We got checked in, found our site and got set up, nice size sites.  We are close to the ocean and we can see the intercoastal water way from our site.  We left to find the commassary and the PX, which we did. Walked around there and found a place to order glasses.  We got our eyes checked in Florida and haven't been in one place long enough to get new glasses....I'll be able to see again.  The PX and Commisary are the largest we have been to yet, and of course we had to walk through both.  Headed back to camp and yes we managed to get lost.  OK, this place is huge. 

I did forget to mention that when we crossed the bridge the bridge to leave the CG there is a field and this is one of the half dozen tanks that was there, a training mission I guess.

Charleston to Fort Fisher

Ft. Fisher

We planned on being out of Charleston by 9:00, 10:30 we finally pulled out of the gate(we aren't good with schedules).  We took Route 17 the whole way up, nicer than the 95, but a lot of red lights in some areas.  We pulled into camp about 3:00, got checked in, found our spot and settled in.  OK, no cooking for me tonight, we headed up the road and found this place called 'Big Daddy's'.  We had the steam pot (clams, mussels, shrimp, kielbasi and a large crab leg cluster all with a garlic seasoning), which was o.k., but probably the most expensive place we have eaten to date, and the food was just o.k.  We walked across the street to the fishing pier where the pelican's were trying to steal peoples catch.  Back to camp to figure out what we are going to do on Wednesday.



Wednesday we got up and decided to head up to Wilmington, it is a cool, gray day and not much of a beach day.  We headed up the road and found our way out come Friday, then headed into Old Town Wilmington.  We went to a place called 'The River Landing Restaurant' for lunch, and sat on one of the little patio's on the second floor.  We walked around the old town area and hit a lot of the little shops.  It was about 3:00 when we headed out of town and I made Brad drive down as many of the old cobble stone streets as I could....they had the neatest old building.  We took our time heading home, had to stop at Wal-Mart for somethings for the RV....of course they didn't have any of the things, so off we go again.  We get back to camp and are thinking about going for a walk, but here comes the rain.  OK no stroll tonight and it looks like tuna melts for dinner.  More tomorrow, beach plans for tomorrow.  Diane

Last Day in Charleston

Not much going on today, heading out tomorrow.  We did go for a 4 mile bike ride, and I think I might have pushed the one hill a little to hard, now just need to walk and ride to keep it from getting stiff.  We got back and opened up the Weber Q stand we bought yesterday, doesn't fit in the storage bin we wanted to put it it.....I guess we'll just stick to using a table. 

I did get on the internet in the mean time and looked up the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives web site.  I found this restaurant, not that far away for us to try, not in a part of town you would normally venture to, but recommeded so after the trip to Lowe's

We went to the Tattooed Moose.  The food was great..I had the Lucky #1" Sub: BBQ Braised Port Belly, Seared on the Grill, Topped with House Made Kimchi, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Crispy Onions, Cilantro, Wasabi Mayo, & Sweet Red Chili Sauce, All on a Roll!                   Brad had his normal Reuben.....needless to say mine was much better!!!!  All that stuff together on the sub just went together great.

Back to camp, more laundry and start to pack up.  We are headed to Fort Fisher, Kure Beach, NC tomorrow.  I'll be back to let you know how the new camp is.  Diane

Charleston AFB

Saturday we decided we are going to look for the 1,000 acre park for hiking, fishing, etc. on one of the other military sites.  We do manage to find it, there is a small park with picnic tables and a playground, 1 boat launch, a fishing pier and the rest of it just looked like an over grown woods and the bugs were so bad, we couldn't even get out of the car or keep our windows down.

Oh well,we took a different way home and found a place called Cypress Garden.  It has a butterfly house and a few other tour things, but it is 4:30 and it closes at 6:00, not enough time to do the whole thing, so back home.  We stopped at the commissary and picked up a few things (lemon juice being one of them) then back and made dinner. 

Sunday was a do nothing day....but I did go get a much needed pedicure.  We stopped at Lowe's on the way back, got a Weber stand for the Q120....then to Home Depot (across the street) and Brad got a brush for scrubbing the RV.  We ended up stopping at a Denny's to eat, since we missed lunch and it was 4:30....early dinner, late lunch which ever you want it to be.  Back to camp, some bike rides, strolls and laundry.  Talked with some of the neighbors, then headed inside for the night.  Oh well, what a lazy weekend.

Charleston AFB



USS Yorktown

Thursday we headed over to Patriots Point to tour The USS Yorktown.  I never climbed up and down so many ladder/steps in one day, an air craft carrier is rather large.   It was very educational walking around with Brad, I got a lot of stories about the ship and how it compared to the ships he was on.  The USS Laffey was there, but you really couldn't get through too much of it and then there was a little Vietnam Memorial that we also walked around. 





Vietnam Memorial



 

We got done there and headed home for dinner.  We both called it an early night.

Friday May 4



A lazy day planned after Wednesday and Thurday, so what do we do.....a 4-5 mile bike ride.  Back to the RV for breakfast, shower and we are off again.  We are looking for the 2 other military campgrounds in the area.  The first is 'Foster Creek', an older park that looks as if there are more full timers than part timers.  There is a 'river', swampy, but fishable according to Brad .

Tent Site

We left there....now off to 'Short Stay Navy Rec.' OK, beautiful campground, just the kind of place we are looking for. Right on Lake Moultrie, boats to rent, fishing docks and mostly shaded sites.....



RV Site

Oh no, something is missing.....no sewer.  Now what do we do, I guess we need to learn how to camp with no sewer hook-up.  It seems from the peole that we have talked to, that seems to be a norm for full-timers. 



OK heading home.....hey there's a Camping World, so we pull in, about an hour and $20.00 later, we head out, this time to home.  Ham steak for dinner....no lemon juice, ok we settled on hot dogs...off to the store tomorrow...Ham Steak tomorrow for dinner.



Charleston, SC

We went back to Charleston again today with no plans, but to park on Battery Street (the only free parking) and then walk through town.  We walked around the White Point Gardens, up on the raised river walk area and down through the rainbow house street (very colorful).  We walked around until about 1:00-1:15 then it's time to have lunch and ate at the 'Fleet Landing'.  Good food and brought back a lot of old memories for Brad.

The food was good, we both enjoyed our lunch, I had a salad with grilled shrimp and Brad had Shrimp and Grits (I liked mine better). 

We planned on doing a couple of tours today, but we got distracted walking 'Market Street', and then all the other streets, reading the history plaques, touring cemetaries and walking into the old churches or buildings that were open.  The next thing we knew it was time to think about heading home.
 

We did go to the 'Roof Top' bar/restaurant for a drink and then headed to the car.  OK, one more stop.  We actually decided we were going to have Tapas (Appetizers) for dinner.  Dinner consisted of  "Gargonzola Fig Terrine with fresh fruit" and "Portobello Mushroom, Ham and Cheddar Cheese Quiche with a side salad", a little different for us, but we enjoyed them both.

View from the 'Roof Top Bar'

We finally got home about 7:00, long day of walking but that will never hurt either of us.  Be back later.