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Beach Days and Sunrays at Hunting Island, SC: October 2024

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 Hunting Island State Park, Site #169 October 25-28, 2024 It felt like EONS since we had camped when we took off for this sorely needed trip.  We had a trip planned at the beginning of the month to go to Table Rock State Park and meet Steve’s brother and sister-in-law there, but ended up having to cancel it due to Hurricane Helene who swept through the mountains of GA, SC, NC, and TN with a ferociousness no one expected.  So many homes and businesses damaged, so many parks closed.  It was intense.  So getting to head out to Hunting Island and go on what seems to be becoming our annual Halloween trip was something we were really looking forward to. We pulled into Site #169, which is a pull-through, and were set up in less than an hour!  Grace took off on her rollerblades almost immediately while Kaety helped me get dinner going.  Grace must have skated over 10 miles on those rollerblades this trip! Since it was such a quick trip, we wanted to spend most of our time at the beach.  And th
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Grace’s Birthday Tubing Trip: Labor Day 2024

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Hartwell Lakeside KOA, Site #28 August 29 - September 2, 2024 Grace really wanted to go to the lake and go tubing for her birthday, so we took the girls out of school for two days and extended our Labor Day weekend and headed to Lake Hartwell.  We have stayed at this KOA, which used to be Lake Hart State Park, before, but we didn’t get to choose our site this time - and the one we got was even better than the first! We loved Site #28.  It was quiet, spacious, lots of trees and had shade when needed in the heat of the last of summer! Once we got there and set up, Grace immediately got in the water and Kaety headed to the hammocks to read her National Geographic Animal books.  How I LOVE her reading!                 We did have a rainstorm come through across the lake on the second day.  It’s fascinating to watch it roll in.  We sat under our awning and let it pour around us.  I got some painting in and Steve read while the girls hung out inside the camper. After the rains, the lake was
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Tugaloo Times - Our Last Trip of Summer 2024

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Tugaloo State Park, GA August 1 - 5, 2024 Site #73 We set out on our last camping adventure of 2024 after Kaety’s freshman registration and schedule day.  It was a whirlwind of a morning and we were glad to head out to Tugaloo State Park in GA on Lake Hartwell in the early afternoon.   It was a quick trip to the park, and we had a great site - right on the water! This trip was all about relaxation prior to heading back to school.  Sitting right on the lake, we couldn’t get a boat this time, but we spent a LOT of time in the water, swimming, relaxing on floats, and hanging out on Daniel (the T-Rex float!). The campground is really nice but some of the sites are really close and it is a TIGHT fit getting in there with a 40’ rig.  I can’t say there are other sites we would want to stay at.  This one was great and gave us more privacy than others. There were a LOT of boats on the water over the weekend, so we were grateful we actually didn’t get a boat - this was the weekend before GA scho
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Steve’s Retirement Trip to Tennessee June/July 2024: Part 6: The End

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The Last Days of Fun - Tennessee to SC Sasquatch Farm, Site #17  Friday, 7/5 Sadly, our time in Tennessee was done and it was time for our two day trip home.  Checkout at Sasquatch was 11am, but we were picking up slowly and dreading leaving.  We were in the last part of picking up and the sky turned BLACK and we realized we were in for a HUGE rainstorm.  Steve and Rachel began to fervently pull as much in as they could as the winds picked up and the sky got blacker.  Just as the last items were stowed, the rains came!   We were not yet hooked up and we called the front office to make sure if we weren’t out by 11 we wouldn’t have an issue.  Thankfully their response was - STAY SAFE.  No one was coming in that day, so we sat for an hour and a half as the rains came in and absolutely DUMPED on us. When we left, we placed a Sasquatch Farm rock at the entrance next to the Sasquatch ironwork.  We loved this place and would like to come back when it is not SO hot!  The fall would be…divine!
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Steve’s Retirement Trip to Tennessee June/July 2024: Part 5 - FUN & FREEDOM!

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“Lazy” Day, Independence Day, and the Tennessee Aquarium Sasquatch Farm, Site #17  Wednesday, 7/3 After the MANY excursions yesterday, we had a “free” and “lazy” day planned.  One of the reasons we wanted to come to Sasquatch Farm was the many hiking trails to waterfalls and amazing nature the property boasted over 195 acres.  After Auntie’s foot fiasco, I was left to hike and explore on my own.  The one thing I had NOT counted on was the summer heat in Tennessee. I did one hike, the yellow/red combination “easy” hike and only a total of 1.5 miles, but I was OVERHEATED.  The views were GORGEOUS and the signs were neat, but I really wanted to enjoy this far more than I did!     That said, I did find two geocaches on my little trek.  Grace would have LOVED to find these.  They were really fun!  Gorgeous - but HOT! Back at the campsite, because I was so overheated, I ended up falling asleep for over an hour in the air conditioning of the camper.  Steve took advantage of my slumber to head
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