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.
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.
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.
The campground is on the beach and we had one excellent day in the sun. The water was warm, but a bit rough. Glorious!
We also had an opportunity to enjoy the lazy river. It was such a relaxing day with clear skies and perfect temperatures.
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!
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.
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.
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.
We walked around the lake on another beautiful day. The weather at Vogel was great except for rain on the last night.
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?
Shelia, one of the group members, made really nice teardrop masks for those in attendance. We love ours!
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.
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!
