The End of the School Year 2023 Trip
Skidaway Island, GA ~ 6/2/23 - 6/6/23
Site #6
(Other good sites with FHU: 8 & 10…but 6 is best! :))
The school year has ENDED! *Well, almost…there are 1.5 days left, but my kids are done…they are going to play and hang out and have turned in their Chromebooks and have all their grades in. Why would I send them back for a day and a half of tomfoolery? Nope. We’re going to go have FUN!*
We’ve been to Skidaway once before - in October 2021. That time we hiked a little, saw a squirrel fall out of a five-story tree and LIVE, but didn’t fully explore. This time, we’re excited to see everything!
We booked one of the “new” sites in the loop near the entrance (Loop #1), which has full hook ups (YAY). This site is SO GOOD y’all! I think Site #8 and #10 are also great sites. But I like this one because the camp side is really large and while you see #8, it’s pretty private. AND… it’s a pull-through!
6/2/23
We left Charleston around 2:30 and got to Skidaway around 6. We started a little rough because pulling out of the driveway, we almost took a yew out/pulled ALL the bikes off the back of the camper as we pulled out due to a collision between the two. It did break one of the bike rack’s securing straps, but we were able to re-secure everything with some bungee cords and then move on our way.
We were behind where we thought we would be and Skidaway staff called to make sure we were coming (the office closes at 5)…I LOVE this about GA parks! But we were able to grab a map and details about the campground that were ready for us upon arrival (way better map than at Jellystone!).
We were done with set up by 7 (Steve and I had the camper off the truck and leveled in the time it took Auntie and Kaet to walk to the bathhouse!), which, given, we are still learning with this camper, seemed pretty awesome! The temperature wasn’t bad, which meant the bugs weren’t bad. All the things set up (chairs, rugs, electric, water, awnings, tables, etc.) and started dinner. It was late, but allowed us to sit outside and listen to the bugs hum and the owls talk to each other amongst the trees (they were AWESOME!). We heard a couple Eastern Screech Owls and saw three Barred Owls playing in the trees and hooting to each other, which was actually kind of magical. SO THRILLED with this site!
We had spaghetti/zoodles & meatballs & salad for dinner, which took a bit and then we immediately needed to put the girls to bed. Kaety was even ready and FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, at 13, she said, “Mama, I need to go to sleep.” And put herself to bed. It was AMAZING and I need to make it happen again and again! Maybe this was the best part of our trip!
At the end of the night, the most disturbing thing was the intense smell of cucumber around our campsite. We knew that a Copperhead Snake was nearby around 10 pm, so we decided to stop the campfire chatter and go inside. No one needs an encounter with a Copperhead especially after dark…and with that strong of a smell, he was close!
6/3/23
Today, Grace and Auntie and I did a LOT of biking. We saw an armadillo (our camping mascot!), a few deer, and got out in nature. Skidaway is on part of Georgia’s intracoastal waterway and there are tons of trails that wind through the forest and a salt marsh. We saw a ton of fiddler crabs, egrets, deer, and other wildlife. We were able to bike to the Observation Tower and then “hike” out onto the marsh and play with the fiddlers, while taking in a gorgeous sunset.
As a family, we went to the park and then started to hike the “Sandpiper Trail,” but didn’t get more then .25 miles down before Kaety had to go to the bathroom. We learned about “peeing in nature” that day! (*Sorry to anyone who might have walked by afterward!*)
Back at the camper, we made dinner and decided the snakes weren’t going to scare us, so we sat by a great campfire and listened to the bugs play their nightly tunes. We were sad not to hear owls again!
6/4/23
First off, it is our oldest daughter, Megan’s birthday…she is 31! I wake up and simply cannot believe she is in her 30’s. I had the privilege of gaining my first daughter when she was 15. This seems surreal to me. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MEGANINSKI, MEGGIO, SISSY, MEGAN!!!
Upon exiting the camper this morning, we had deer walking by our campsite - a doe and a buck. They were undisturbed by us. We sat out and had a great breakfast, then decided to go on a family adventure for the day.
We headed out to the playground, which abuts the Sandpiper, and ultimately the Avian Trail. We managed a 2 mile walk (with Kaety!) around all the trails and found two haphazard geocaches in the process! Grace is hooked and so we need to do an all-Geocache day-all the time while we are here!
While on our hike, we heard (and SAW!) a Clapper Rail. These are marsh birds, who are super private. They are loud when you are near! We saw one run across the trail to get away from us, but SO COOL!
We also saw an Eastern King Snake, who slithered quickly off into the reeds and bushes when there was MUCH squealing and to-do from our “front walking” crew (Grace and Rachel!) :). Fortunately, these are not poisonous snakes, but they do look fairly ominous and to our non-snake lovers (let’s be honest, that’s all of us), it was not as “fun” as it was “scary.”
We got back to the camper and decided we needed to do more, so Steve, Grace, and I headed out on a 5 mile bike ride. We rode to the Observation Tower and did the Big Ferry Trail, which was awesome. While on our bike ride, we rode over a bridge over Confederate Earthworks and stopped to read about them. During the Civil War, off-duty gun crews rested within the V-shaped earthen works (man-made “hills). Truly a great learning experience. We also stopped at the old Liquor Still area - they have metal remains of an old liquor still from the 1930’s to learn even more history. This is one of 31 liquor still sites on the park property! While there, we saw an entire family of Armadillos (4 of them!!!) digging and playing around the ruins. It was amazing. I’ve never seen a “Roll of armadillos” together before. And the babies were SOOOOO cute! What a great find!
Back at the campsite, Grace and Kaety built a chalk hopscotch and “obstacle course” on the road out in front of the campsite. Kaety and Auntie played some “shoot the rocket” (with air … to see how high they could go) and “stranded” a couple of rockets, but had the best time!
6/5/23
Our morning started with everyone sleeping in. Even the girls! It was DIVINE! I don’t think any of us was up before 8!!! Kaety wanted to play a game right off the bat, so she pulled out “Train of Thought” and we sat down to a great game where we answer questions amongst each other and build a “train” while asking questions and learning fun things about each other and playing some challenges. It was a lot of fun. Gracie “won” (she got the first “train”), but Kaety came in a close second!
The morning started out relaxing. We made breakfast. We saw more deer. We relaxed at the campsite. The girls played more rocket launch, hopscotch, and “racing”.
As we neared afternoon, Steve and I decided it was time to start putting some of the decals we had bought onto Geraldine. We *painstakingly* put a really cool decal on the back and added some fun decals to the doors… “We travel not to escape life, but so life doesn’t escape us.” And “Follow Your Arrow Wherever It Points.” And Steve’s favorite…a compass… his “symbol.” It looks GREAT!
Finally, we decided we needed to get the girls out and so we went back to the park and played a bit. Afterward, Auntie, Grace and I headed out from there to go geocaching. This park is awesome in that it has over 15 geocaches within a 6 mile area in the park. We found all but one of them *that one was in such a muddy area, NONE of us wanted to go back and look for it!*. We had THE BEST TIME finding these caches. From awesome clues (“a walk amongst the palms” and “watch out for trolls!”) to fun locations (tree stumps, under palm fronds, within downed trees), it was simply an amazing time. We finally stopped when my phone was about to die - we were using it to find the caches!
The only downside of all of this is that I got eaten alive by chiggers. I’m not sure how Auntie and Grace didn’t get eaten as badly, but I was COVERED. In spots that should NEVER be bitten. :( It was worth it for the fun we had!
Back at the campsite, we made dinner and sat by the campsite. The raccoons were aggressive this night/day. They went after the garbage by the outside kitchen with us sitting at the campsite before it was even dark! And then, after dark, we were overtaken by a strong cucumber scent once again and determined it was safer to go inside than step on a Copperhead.
For the first time, we turned on the inside TV and streamed an Elton John concert! It was a LONG show and was great right up until the time Auntie and I fell completely asleep on the couch (to be fair, it was after midnight … LONG after our bedtime!). What a fun day!
6/6/23
The Last Day. Packing Up. Heading Home.
No one wanted to leave. Not Kaety. Not Grace. Not Auntie. Not Steve, or me. NO ONE. It’s been a GREAT trip.
After getting about half of our “close up/move day” list complete, Auntie, Grace and I decided to go for one last bike ride. We took off and did a quick 3 miles. We saw some deer. We breathed the salt air. We rode and I remembered what it was like to experience the freedom of a bike as a kid. I needed this. This place, it’s MAGIC.
Skidaway… We Will Be Back! :)
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