Our Next Big Adventure

 As many of you know, it has been quite some time since Bob and I have updated the blog. No, we haven't been at home all this time, we have been exploring. Some of the places we explored were Oklahoma, Arkansas (2020),  New England (2021), Hawaii (2022), cruise to New Zealand (2022), cruise to Bermuda (2023), trip to Quartzsite (2024) and a few other close to home trips. After much discussion, it was decided to continue the blog as we embark on our next adventure.....The Maritimes!

April 29, 2024, was the launch date for this adventure. Unfortunately, as we left home, we realized that one of Sol's rear air bags wasn't inflating properly. This was evidenced with an unusually rough, noisy ride, plus a lower ground clearance on the right rear passenger side. Our first scheduled stop was not far from home. O'Leno State Park is just off I-75 near High Springs, Florida. 

 To relax after that terrible ride, we hiked the River Sink Trail. The suspension bridge is closed as it  needs repair, so the trail was not very long.

The area has an interesting history. Much of  the park was built by the CCC  after many name changes for the small town.

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When we returned to Sol, we decided our next stop would be a repair place as we didn't feel safe driving all the way to Gaffney for the repair. Bob researched repair shops near the park and found one! The next morning, we drove 32 miles to Tom Nehl Freightliner/Oasis. They were able to get Sol checked in, diagnosed, and fixed that day! Our ride that afternoon was much nicer! 

It was late in afternoon when we got back on the road, but our next stop was only a few hours away--a Harvest Host in Ashburn, Georgia.  This was our second stay at Carroll's Sausage and Country Store, but our first as Harvest Host guests. The store also has a full hook-up campground. It wasn't too, too hot so we boondocked on the gravel area under their sign.

The store is always an interesting place to shop as it is truly a country store. We purchased a few items to snack on as we continued our travels the following day.

From Ashburn, we continued to Anderson, SC. We had reservations for another Harvest Host, but due to the heat we were really considering finding something with hook-ups. While we were pondering our dilemma, I received a text telling us there was a full hook-up host site available at the Harvest Host! Next stop, Green Pond Event Center and Boat Ramp. This was a county park for fisherman, no camping except for Harvest Host! There are frequent bass tournaments on the lake, thus 'event center' in the name. 

We watched a beautiful sunset from our site overlooking Lake Hartwell.

We took advantage of the full hook-up site and were glad we did---it was a scorcher! The next morning we drove into Anderson to collect a few geo-caches. There was no hurry to get on the road as we were just traveling 84 miles to Gaffney, SC, for Sol's yearly maintenance.

While Sol was in the shop, Bob and I deviated from our usual hikes at Cowpens National Battlefield or Kings Mountain National Military Park. This year we hiked the Overmountain Victory Trail at Lake Whelchel.

The trail was long (7.9 miles). We chose to walk the trail counterclockwise from a parking area on Concord Road. No, we did not walk the entire trail, but we did hike a total of 5 miles out and back. It was a nice trail and we were the only hikers. Mountain bikers love the trail and we saw a handful of those as we made our way around the lake. 

The tulip trees were dropping their blooms in the trail. It was the first time I had seen these delicate blossoms. They must not stay on the trees very long. 

The mountain laurel were also in bloom.

We enjoyed our hike around Lake Whelchel and will keep it in mind for our next visit to Gaffney.

Once back at Freightliner, we sat in the waiting area for Sol's checkup to be completed. Once Sol was back in her site, we made a trip to the store for a few perishable items. Saturday would be our next travel day....moving further north on our adventure.