We made our way from Lake Lanier to Charleston crossing Georgia into South Carolina along the Atlantic coast. While in  Charleston we parked our bus at James Island County Park. The park has many bicycling, hiking, walking/running trails that meanders through lush vegetation and around a large lake. It just minutes from downtown Charleston. 

We hopped a ferry at Patriots Point to visit Fort Sumter National Monument, the site of the first shots of the Civil War.

To see more of Charleston we elected to ride as they did several hundred years ago: by carriage. The Old South Carriage Company offered a great tour of the old town. Their website says,“ We have been owned and operated by the same family since 1983. Owner David Compton started tours with just three horses and one small carriage. Today we maintain a herd of 30 horses and over 20 carriages. Old South Carriage Company is now a large family of personable ticket sellers, a knowledgeable barn staff, and engaging tour guides who share the stories of Charleston with hundreds of thousands of guests a year.”

To top off our stay, we had dinner at the world famous Hanks Seafood Restaurant, a classic Charleston Fish House. The food created by Executive Chef Tim Richardson was fantastic. We sat next to a group of people who frequently travel from Mackinac Island to Charleston and make Hanks’ a key part of their stay. We found out they own the Mission Point Resort on the Island and live their year around. … even winter!

We wished we could have stayed longer but had to move on.

North Myrtle Beach, SD

Next stop; Myrtle Beach. We heard so much about this area but felt like we were in the southern version of Gatlinburg. Tourist hell. We picked the Myrtle Beach KOA since it was centrally located. The park is old and needs work. They have renovated a few sites to accommodate big rigs. We did not find this accurate. We tried to get into three separate sites with no luck. The last one had freak gravel so deep that our front wheels sunk about 18”. While trying to back out and free ourselves we tapped a tree causing damage to the rear corner driver’s side. Hence a scheduled future stop in Red Bay!

We left and found a new campground in North Myrtle Beach, a much nicer area in our opinion. We found a gem, Barefoot RV Resort, to stay. We became grit with our neighbors from Raleigh Durham. Several days of rain kept us in, however we enjoyed Barefoot Landing, a shopping and restaurant complex situated on a lake. We celebrated Joe’s birthday at the Legends in Concert show. We saw live tributes of Donna Summer, Dusty Springfield, the Blues Brothers, Annie Lennox, Freddie Mercury and Elvis. The tributes were quite good and enjoyable.

Deer Creek Motorcoach Resort in Galax, VA, is our next destination.

Galax, VA

We met up with friends and MOSN neighbors at Deer Creek Motorcoach Resort and we’re instantly welcomed like old friends. DCMR is a deeded class A only motorcoach resort located in Galax, Virginia just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We attended several get togethers and a scavenger hunt! We looked at several properties for future consideration for a summer “home base”.

We traveled to Mt. Airy, aka Mayberry, home of Andy Griffith’s birth. We heard of a restaurant famous for their hamburgers and found The Loaded Goat. The hamburgers were fantastic and the live country music entertaining.

We rode our bicycles on the New River Trail State Park. New River Trail is a 57-mile linear park that follows an abandoned railroad right-of-way. The park parallels the scenic and historic New River for 39 miles and passes through four counties and the city of Galax. The trail is not paved but the hard ground made for easy riding.

Mark and Valerie, folks we met at Red Bay last year, drove us into Galax for lunch. Later we visited the Blue Ridge Music Center and we’re entertained by great Bluegrass musicians. We walked through the museum’s “The Roots of American Music” exhibition which tells the story of the region’s rich musical heritage.

A group from Deer Creek caravanned to Sparta, NC, to have dinner at the Muddy Creek Cafe and Music Hall. We enjoyed the company of our new friends and had a great dinner.

We had a fantastic time at Deer Creek and will be back for longer summer stays.

Three quick stops: 2-days in Argillite, KY, and 1-day each in Greenfield, IN, and Palatine, IL will take us to Sturgeon Bay, Door County, WI.