Highlights of Cedar Point

Lazy Days RV
Seffner, FL

That’s right…we’re still alive and we’re at Lazy Days getting some warranty items taken care of.  I didn’t want to publish our intent to come here for reasons to be disclosed in my next post.  Leave ya hangin’ on for more.

Our internet connection hasn’t been the best in the world lately but I want to share some highlights from our recent time with Nancy and Bill at Cedar Point.  Needless to say, we sat around discussing the world’s problems and came up with several viable solutions.  I just don’t know why the politicians and other powers to be don’t understand how simple the solutions are.  I bet they don’t spend any time chatting around a campfire or going camping for that matter.  We played cards, Sequence, Hand n Foot, and ladder ball.  Gin and I lost most of the time but enjoyed the friendly competition. 

There were a couple of day trip activities that were really the highlight of our time together.  We paddled on the White Oak River one day launching at Haywood’s Landing and another day, we went to Bear Island which is part of Hammock's Beach State Park.

First our river paddle.  Haywood’s Landing is about 11 miles from the campground off of Hwy 58.  You turn onto a forest service road which is gravel but in pretty good shape.  Travel another couple of miles into the woods and make a right at the stop sign.  (Yes, there’s a stop sign in the middle of the woods…for the educated deer ).  There is no road noise at all when you take this paddle.  After lending Bill one of our paddles, we launched our SeaEagles.  That’s right…Bill left their paddles at camp.  Nancy usually doesn’t paddle much due to her bad shoulder, but Gin got real lucky since Bill used her paddle.

 

Roamin never uses a paddle either and he really liked his spot up front between Gin’s feet.  Not a bad view of the tall grass growing at river’s edge.

 

As you can tell, there was only water and trees.  Beautiful day and very relaxing.  Not that much wildlife but there was the majestic Osprey looking for lunch and the typical turtle on a log.

 

Since we were well inland, we didn’t have to try and figure out the tides.  It was a very nice and relaxing paddle.  On another day, we went to Hammock’s Beach State Park in Swansboro, NC and took the passenger ferry boat ride over to Bear Island.  This was our first time there so it was an adventure indeed.  There is quite a bit of walking on the island when you get off of the ferry so I’m not real sure we would do it during the hot, humid summer.  We’re spoiled.  After a while, you approach the facilities.  There are several covered picnic tables, a bath house, and a concession stand that is open during the summer.

 

While Gin and Bill were surf fishing, Nancy and I walked towards the Bogue Inlet point of the island.  We all felt like we had the place all to ourselves.

 

It’s an unspoiled island but they do have about a dozen tent camping sites that are right on the dunes.  You would have quite a distance to go to get to the bath house but you are the first one to see the sunrise.

 

Seagulls were plentiful but we did manage to capture a few other shorebirds.  I know Nancy took many more pictures, but here’s an Oystercatcher and a Black-bellied Plover.

 

It was a wonderful sun-filled day at the beach that I would gladly do again.  Put on lots of sunscreen and keep the Springtime temperatures and breezes, and I’m there!

Thanks for dropping by, and enjoy your life’s journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

Croatan National Forest; Cedar Point NC

November 21-27, 2009
Croatan National Forest, NC
Cedar Point CG Site #15
$51 for 6 nights
271 miles round trip, 7.0 mpg

Saturday-Travel day.  We enjoyed watching a mating pair of Mallards on the pond at our house before we hit the road.  It was an easy drive with light traffic.  We had mostly overcast skies.  Dorothy and Chris are in the site across the street.  They are full-timers that we met here last year.  They plan to go to California after Christmas.  We rode our bicycles around the park and to the little boat launch.  Julie and Steve, the friendly camp hosts, chatted for a while.  She said the fish were biting on the White Oak River.  We played rummy at night.
Sunday-We went to the grocery store and Lowes to get a doodad for the CG water spigot so our hose will fit it.  Gin got a nice campfire going while I cut up veggies and put a roast in the oven.  We had Gin's brother Butch, his son Nick, and Nick's girlfriend Becca over for supper.  It was enjoyed by all.  It rained and we called it an early night.
Monday-It was a drizzly day.  Gin and Nick went to the shore to fish but it rained harder.  They came back and played video games.  We watched squirrels.  One of them stuffed a lot of leaves in his mouth and scampered up the tree to his nest.  I guess that was an extra blanket for the night.
Tuesday-Nick and Becca were both off work today so the four of us went to the shore.  They fished while I enjoyed walking the beach and watching the birds.  We saw fresh deer tracks in the sand leading straight to the waves and then back to the dunes.  I can't imagine what the deer looked like gazing out over the ocean.  Pretty awesome, no doubt.  Gin caught a fish and a rag.  Nick suggested shrimp at Golden Corral for supper since we didn't have any luck.  Gin's parents got set up in the CG while we all cleaned up.  The 6 of us went to Morehead City to eat.  We all played cards afterwards.
Wednesday-It was a rainy do nothing day.  Nick came over for a bit.  The lazy, stir crazy day was finished off by playing canasta with Gin's parents.
Thursday-Happy Thanksgiving!!  The sun came out and it was a beautiful day!  All the food was ready and laid out at Gin's parents at 12:30.  Nick, Becca, and Butch were there.  We invited Dorothy and Chris and Roger (camp co-host) to join us.  A good meal was had by all.  We enjoyed a bike ride around the park and to the water.  We gave our leftover firewood to Julie and Steve.  We packed up the outside stuff after Nick and Becca played Guitar Hero.  They're pretty good.  The squirrels were gathering fresh dry leaves for a cold night.
Friday-Travel day.  It's sunny, cool and quite windy.  That made for a long 3 hour drive.  I got a good nap before going to work night shift.  Sad to say that this was the last RV trip of the season.  We can't wait until next year.  It'll be so nice to visit Sylville on a more frequent basis.

Jordan Lake State Park; Apex NC

August 22 - September 3, 2009
Jordan Lake State Park; Apex NC
Poplar Point CG Site #E94
$276 for 12 nights
84 miles round trip, 7.6 mpg

Saturday-Travel day. Gin drove the Suki with the kayaks on top while I pulled the waverunners with the MH. Some folks were still on our site so we stayed at the boat launch parking lot for a few minutes until Gin's folks got there. I took Smudge for a walk down the amphitheater path and we scared up 3 deer. I looked one of them in the eye for a while. He was a young male with budding antlers only the size of my middle finger. It sprinkled some while we all set up camp so we decided to launch the waverunners and pontoon boat tomorrow.
Sunday-Squirrels can run with a hot dog bun. I saw one holding it in his mouth while he jumped into a small tree. We got the boats in the water but had a little trouble with the pontoon launch. The water is so low that one of the trailer tires dropped off the end of the ramp just as the boat floated free. Gin's mom Judy got in her Suzuki while Gin and I got in the water and picked up that side of the trailer. You can lift a lot more in water. All's well that ends well. We saw hummingbirds at our feeder that is mounted on the windshield. One has a yellow top knot.
Monday-It's a work day for me and Gin's dad Odie. I met the work camper at the gate at 4:45am. He works in the Public Utilities Department of Raleigh. Odie drove to Rocky Mount. His work day was shorter than mine. Gin and her mom worked around the campsites. It was very dark at 4:45am. I saw a deer along the roadside as I left the CG but Gin and Judy saw a herd of deer while walking the dogs. They also saw them at the end of the cove behind the MH eating green stuff. They witnessed an attempted theft too. A squirrel tried to steal a pack of nabs. I came home to a nice meal and bed.
Tuesday-Another long work day for me. Gin went shopping with her folks and vacuumed the MH. She saw crows eating the wild grapes at our site. I look forward to sleeping late tomorrow.
Wednesday-Some friends of Gin's folks came to visit for the day and I think they enjoyed it. We walked the dogs around the whole loop but had to stop to stare at some beautiful deer. It looked like a mom, last year's offspring, and this year's fawn. We enjoy our wildlife sightings. :) We rode the waverunners quite a bit. It was a beautiful day with the lake almost all to ourselves.
Thursday-We took the waverunners to the swimmin' hole close to the boat launch. Gin and I were bobbin' as a bald eagle soared over head looking at us as he flew down the cove. It was awesome to hear his wings flap. Gin's folks joined us for bobbin'. I took Gin's mom for a calm ride on the waverunner. We all played canasta in the evening.
Friday-No new neighbors yet. Next weekend is Labor Day so I hope people wait. We all went to Lowes in Pittsboro and Walmart in Siler City. Gin got a nice new water filter for outside and put it on. I did a $4.00 paint job on the Suki. We did the blue tank duties for both MHs. We played canasta again.
Saturday-We all just piddled around the campsites. It had rained overnight so it started off very humid and cleared up nicely. We just needed a day of relaxation.
Sunday-We tried the waverunners since we knew the next couple of days would be cool and rainy. The lake was just too bumpy for us old gals so we came back to camp. We had a neat visitor as we stood amongst the trees at the shore...a black and white warbler. He sang a bit as he perched on the trunk and limbs. We set up the tent top and mat to welcome the cooler weather.
Monday-Deer, deer everywhere. It was a cool rainy day so we hung out at camp. A doe and her twin fawns were on the vacant campsite beside us. She was only 10 feet from the driver's door of the MH! I saw another family of four while Gin and Judy went to get groceries. They said they saw them as they drove away. It was pretty special.
Tuesday-Gorgeous day!! It was in the mid 70's with low humidity. We kayaked and Gin's folks took out the pontoon boat. They didn't catch a fish but Gin caught a crappie. It was windy with whitecaps on the lake so we stayed close. I walked Smudge and had another deer sighting. Three of them jogged across the road. The last one had finger long antlers. We finished the day playing canasta again.
Wednesday-Another gorgeous day! All we wanted to do was lay around outside and relax but it was pack up day. We took the waverunners to the boat ramp. Gin's aunt and uncle visited. After they left, we loaded up the pontoon. I hooked up the trailer and backed it down the ramp all by myself. :) We came back to camp to put the kayaks on top of the Suki and put away both tent tops. Gin put away her computer stuff so we are quite tired. We plan to relax some in the morning before packing the patio stuff. We've enjoyed the hummingbirds and deer families.
Thursday-Travel day. We relaxed outside with our coffee and packed the dish and patio at a leisurely pace. We walked Smudge around the loop one last time and cranked up to leave at 1:30 just as the next camper pulled up for #E94. Hope they enjoy their time there as much as we did.

Cascade Lake Recreation Area; Brevard NC

July 3-9, 2009
Cascade Lake CG Site #B7
Pisgah Forest, NC
$135 for 6 nights

615 miles round trip, 8.2 mpg, $2.58 per gallon gas
Passport America discount during the week :)
Like Sites B8,B9,C7,C32,D19,P4, and P9.5 (sat tv should work on these too)

Friday-Travel day. We came to this CG last October to celebrate our 25 years together and knew we had to return. The traffic wasn't too bad. We stopped at the RV Super Store in Mocksville NC and test drove a Newmar Dutchstar MH. Very impressive (drool). As we arrived in the CG, we noticed our brakes smelled hot. We're in the mountains near Brevard. Transylvania County is known as the "Land of the Waterfalls". It's comfortably cool (79) here but crowded. Most of the people will leave on Sunday or Monday but the families are certainly enjoying themselves.
Saturday-Happy Independence Day!! We were tired so we just relaxed at the CG all day. It's very nice weather so we sat outside a lot. In the afternoon, we walked down to the kayak/canoe launch stopping to watch the kids 3-legged races. It was a lot of family fun time at the swim lake. After supper, we decided to take our bag chairs down to watch the kids sing karaoke and more family fun. We enjoyed watching but we certainly didn't sing. They held several prize drawings at the end of the evening and we won the Grand Prize!! It's a free 7 night vacation here next year. We are checking my schedule for June. When I call to make the reservation, I just need to remember to mention it. We like site B8 beside us. On the other side of us is a volunteer host who is a retired deputy from the area. His son is a trooper with NCSHP and has his family here this week also. We always meet fellow LEOs when we camp. They must crave positive interaction with people as much as I do.
Sunday-Boy did this place clear out in a hurry. It rained some in the early morning so it was humid all day. We went in to Brevard to get a few things and relaxed at the CG the rest of the day. We tried ladderball. It's not as easy as it looks.
Monday- We launched the kayaks in Cascade Lake and paddled upstream to Hooker Falls. While Gin fished a cove, I looked into the trees and saw a big owl silently float from one tree to another! The banks are steep and thick with green. There is mountain laurel, rhododendron with blooms all along the way, hemlock, mature white pine, scrub pine, and dozens of other kinds of plants. There are spent blossoms floating on the clear, cool, still water. We got out of our kayaks at Hooker Falls and floated in the cold water. Gin caught a bass on the paddle back. She released it of course. It started raining pretty hard so we paddled to some overhanging hemlock to stay dry. It was a wonderful day in Sylville. This is a pic of Hooker Falls in the fall of 2008.



Tuesday-We rode around the area and picked up a nice geocache at Connestee Falls. Highway 64 west of Brevard is way curvy. The MH is not going there! The Blue Ridge Parkway is nice. It's cooler (65) at 4500 feet elevation. We were planning to hike to Moore's Cove Falls and do some geocacheing but it was too crowded. Looking Glass Falls which is right beside the road, was too crowded also. We found a nice little turnout not far from Davidson River CG. You could easily walk to the river. Gin bought a winning scratch off ticket ($100) on the way home. Our luck continues. Here's us at Looking Glass Falls in the fall of 2008.



Wednesday-We enjoyed our last day here by kayaking the lake. We took the GPS and I crawled up the steep bank to look for "Get Hooked". My legs were too weak. The irony of it is that on Monday when it rained while we were paddling, this is the exact spot that we took shelter under the overhanging hemlock branches. We got back about 4:30 to pack up the outside stuff and finished just as it started raining. We got the most out of the day.
Thursday-Travel day. It drizzled during the first half of the drive. It's funny how the tension of traffic returns when we get closer to Durham. We love the Brevard area and this CG because there is so much to do. It is a Passport America CG that honors the discount several days during the week instead of just one day. The camp volunteers are nice and friendly. It is operated by the Cradle of Forestry in America. We will return next year.