Hunting Island with SE T@Bs, T@Gs, and Friends

Hunting Island

Hunting Island State Park is a beautiful park with so much to offer.   Some  highlights are gorgeous beaches, a historic lighthouse, incredible marshlands, and a comfortable campground.  We were there for four nights with our Southeastern T@Bs, T@Gs, and Friends group.  There was a very large turnout and we really enjoy the people in this group.  Consequently, we had a great time!

Getting There Via Harvest Hosts

The campground was a seven hour drive for us, per Google Maps.  So, it was realistically at least nine hours with stops along the way.  Therefore, we planned a one-night stopover with our first Harvest Host, Lane Orchards near Macon, Georgia.   It was a good experience, overall because the store was unique and our lunch was good.  Lane Orchards is on a beautiful piece of property.  The only negative was a substantial amount of highway noise.

Lane Southern Orchards
Lane Southern Orchards

Hunting Island Campground

This was our first trip to Hunting Island.  We had a nice, large spot in the campground near several of our friends from the SE group.   Sites are equipped with electric and water.  The biggest negative was virtually no garbage cans anywhere in the park except for dumpsters at the exit.  This was also the case at the Florida campgrounds we visited last month.   It was very inconvenient, but a sign of the times.

Hunting Island Campsite
Site # 199

A little bird visited the campsites and seemed to have no fear of humans.  He would get very close.  He was a brave, little cutie!

A friendly little bird

This was the second camping trip for our puppy, Sophie.  She is adapting well to the campground environment.  Her trainer has us walking with her using cheese as an incentive.  It was working great, but not all the time.  She is very excitable.

Camping with Sophie

Raccoon Invasion

After time around a campfire with our friends, we were walking back to our site when I noticed movement near our car.  Suspecting raccoons,  I walked to the other side and shone my flashlight around.  To my shock, a raccoon was inside our car!   Inexplicably, I released a blood-curdling scream that was heard back where the group was assembled.  A couple of our friends came to check on us.  (It’s so good to know there are people who will look out you.)

We opened the car doors and the raccoon emerged.   He was able to get into the car because my husband had left the windows cracked because of a seafood smell that was in the car earlier.  The raccoon left footprints all over our interior and had unzipped a bag with some dog food.   He urinated on the seat and there was a wild animal smell.

It was very fortunate that we discovered the raccoon before we went to bed.  A park ranger told my husband that a raccoon got into a car through a sunroof the prior year and could not get out.  It completely tore up the seats of the vehicle and the headliner.

Hunting Island Attractions

There is so much to do on the island!  Trails abound for hiking and biking.  Several of our friends biked the island trails.  It has the only South Carolina lighthouse that visitors can climb.   I climbed it and was rewarded by spectacular views.  Though there are about 170 steps, many platforms with information about the lighthouse break up the effort.

The Lighthouse 

Hunting Island Lighthouse
Hunting Island Lighthouse
Hunting Island lighthouse
Friendly Volunteer snapped our photo
The Atlantic Ocean

It was just a short walk to the beach and it is a really great beach for two reasons.  Firstly, it was not at all crowded.  The area is a bit remote and I believe that part of the beach is just for the campground.   Secondly, a portion of the beach allows dogs.  So, it was a special treat for our pup.

Hunting Island Beach
The beach
Path to the Beach
Our puppy’s first beach experience
Marshland

The island has an abundance of marshland, which has its on special beauty.  The boardwalk was a really nice trail and we saw several birds.

The the boardwalk
Great Blue Herons on the Boardwalk
 Boneyard Beach

Because Hunting is a barrier island,  its landscape is subject to many changes.  Boneyard beach is an area of forest that has been reclaimed by the sea.   It is a very haunting reminder of what a force of nature the sea can be.

Boneyard Beach
Hunting Island Boneyard Beach
A walk among the “bones”

Creekfire RV Resort

South Carolina was a fairly long drive for us, so we tacked on a stop in nearby Savannah on our way home.  We camped at Creekfire RV Resort  for three nights.  It is a very nice campground!   One thing that was especially nice was the concrete pad—no rocks for our pup to put in her mouth and no digging.

Creekfire RV Resort
Creekfire Resort Site # 54

The resort has some awesome amenities.  For instance, it has a heated pool, hot tub,  store,  gym, and sauna.   There is also a lazy River.  However,  it was not currently operating.  We spent an afternoon at the pool and sauna and ended it with ice cream from the store.  So relaxing for a warm, sunny day in early March!

Creekfire RV Resort Pool
Enjoying the pool

Savannah was just a short drive away.  So, on one afternoon, we took our pup and had lunch with outdoor seating at Vic’s on the Waterfront.  It was another beautiful, sunny day.   Vic’s was amazing—delicious food and great service.  They were also very sweet to our pup.  On the way back to the campground, we purchased macaroons from a downtown store.  It was a very good day!

In Conclusion

This trip had so many wonderful things.   The campgrounds were stellar and  we had the opportunity to spend time with friends.  Our pup was still a handful, but is adapting well to camping.  We are so fortunate to have experienced this trip!   Lastly, if you would like to read another post about South Carolina camping, check out South Carolina Camping, First T@B 400 Trip.

Happy Camping!

Retired couple

Pandemic Camping with Friends

Pandemic Camping with Friends

Earlier, we did some camping after the pandemic began, but without friends.  It changes the dynamic a bit when you are with people you know.  For instance, it can be easy to get too close to friends.  What is safe and what is not must be considered in a group that typically has potlucks and games.  On this trip, we spent five days with another couple in one location and three days with a group of twenty or so at another location.  For the large group, we met in a very large circle.

Social Distancing

Fortunately,  we felt safe in both environments.  I must say, it was really, really good to spend time with other people.  My husband has been a remarkable companion through this crisis and I do my best, but an expanded set of people to spend time with was great for both of us.

Stopover in Augusta

The drive to  Myrtle Beach was longer than we like to make in one day.   So, we stopped at a municipal park campground, Diamond Lakes.   It was nice and relatively inexpensive  for full hookups.   Additionally, it was close to our route to the beach and our site was right on the lake. We will definitely stay there again if in the area.

Diamond Lakes Site #24
Diamond Lakes Site # 24

Pandemic Camping with a Friends at Myrtle Beach

We camped with our friends at Ocean Lakes Family Campground.  Originally, Panama City was the destination, but a hurricane nixed that plan.  Consequently, we booked the only two sites available out of 859 campsites.  I can safely say that we had the worst site in the entire campground.  The sewer hookup was at the absolute back of the unlevel site.  Additionally, there were so many large tree roots on our site, we couldn’t use our rug.  I called our little area the Root Room.

Ours was the only site that was terrible though, which might be why it was available.  Overall, Ocean Lakes was a nice campground.

Pandemic camping with friends at Myrtle Beach
Site # 4181, The Root Room

The campground is on the beach and we had one excellent day in the sun.  The water was warm, but a bit rough.  Glorious!

One lovely day at the beach

We also had an opportunity to enjoy the lazy river.  It was such a relaxing day with clear skies and perfect temperatures.

Fun times on the lazy river

Ocean Lakes has tons of golf carts for rental.  The place is so large that the carts are very popular with the visitors.  They were everywhere and often an annoyance as there was a lot of just cruising.  But, we went with the flow and rented one too.  It was fun.  The place has 300 rental unit houses. The resort owns the property and individuals own the houses.  It was fun driving through checking them out.  Some were rather shoddy, but many were very nice!

Golf Carts Everywhere

We had lots of rain for three of our days at Myrtle Beach, but we did share some meals and games outside.  On our last night, we actually ate together indoors.  It was great seeing our friends!

Another Stopover

Paris Mountain State Park was a break in our trip to the event in Georgia.  The campground is very nice with lots of beautiful trails and a very clean bathhouse.  We got the only site available.  It was an ADA, but we were able to stay with a phone call explaining our health issues.  Though the campground was great, there were very narrow, hilly, and winding roads.  I drove our camper to our site and it was stressful.

Pandemic Camping with Friends at Paris Mountain
Site # 29 (ADA)

We had two nights at Paris Mountain and one full day.  It enabled us to enjoy the park and the absolutely perfect weather.   I particularly enjoyed a hike around Lake Placid.   It was a great day and I highly recommend this park.

Hiking around the lake and reservoir

Vogel State Park with SE T@Bs, T@Gs and Friends

This was our second trip to Vogel with the SE group.  Several of the folks at the event we knew because we have camped with them before.   It was great seeing old friends and making new ones.  It is so much fun hanging out with this group.  Everyone was careful to maintain a distance and everything was outside.  Thanks to Jeff, our leader, we were fortunate to have a site at the center of most of the activities. 

Pandemic camping with friends at Vogel State Park
Site #31

We walked around the lake on another beautiful day.  The weather at Vogel was great except for rain on the last night.

Beautiful Lake at Vogel State Park

Recently, we have been discussing getting a dog.  My husband fell in love with Asher,  a Schnoodle belonging to Lisa in our group.  Doesn’t he look like a happy man?

Greg and Asher

Shelia, one of the group members, made really nice teardrop masks for those in attendance.  We love ours!

Pandemic camping with friends
Special Masks from Shelia
A Pandemic/Boondocking Option

Angie, another group member, brought a body wash spray that she requested someone formulate for her.  If boondocking or with limited access to water, this can be a good thing to have.  The bottle is $10.  If interested and on Facebook,  there is a FB page,  Shaysoaps.

Shay’s Special Blend

This was a very special trip because we were able to see friends at both places.  We have really missed other people!  I feel we were careful regarding pandemic risks and as long as we stayed safe, going camping was a worthwhile thing to do.  This trip had two stops in South Carolina and two in Georgia.  If you would like to read about our other trips, see States Visited, a Campsite Resource.

Have fun and stay safe out there!

Retired couple