Dang RV

Everybody told me I had to see Charleston while in South Carolina so I gave in and went to a Passport America Park there, Lake Aire RV Park. The sites are large pull-thrus on grass and fairly level. It has a laundry room and free wifi though I used my aircard instead. The pool is tiny. Again, this place is more about location. It is very close to Charleston and all the best beaches.

I drove into the Visitor’s Center in Charleston to get the lay of the land. One thing you should know about Charleston is you have have to pay big bucks for parking everywhere unless you have a handicapped parking tag. For handicapped, you write your name, tag number, and tag state on the back of the parking stub and they let you park free everywhere. From the Visitor’s Center, you can catch a bus tour of the city which is quite extensive and I am sure very good. However, the buses are enclosed with tinted windows so if you are a shutterbug like me, the open horse carriage tour while less extensive is a better choice. And hey, I love a horse carriage ride!

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Trying to waste some time in South Carolina before heading to Florida, I went to Big Water Resort which is a C2C park. I heard it had a Lazy River tube ride and was on a lake. The sites are pull-thrus and level. The bathhouse and laundry room very nice. My aircard worked there. The cabins there are very nice for renting and many are down on the beach.

I had hoped to make use of the lake or pool. Unfortunately, the lakefront beach leaves a lot to be desired with too much brush near and in the water. The pool was open but the Lazy River only ran for one day and by the time I noticed it that day, the sun was already dipping. The next day I started battling a small cold so I missed out entirely.

The clubhouse and other amenities were closed. I guess you have to camp there in season only. Too bad. I’m sure it is quite something during the summer and very popular.

I checked out the state park nearby which is also good camping on the lake though more rustic. it does provide 30 amp electrical at sites and wifi at the park office.

Ah my second visit to Myrtle Beach. This time I got to stay at the Briarcliff RV Resort. Tell anyone you are going to Myrtle Beach, and they always seem to ask if you are staying at the Briarcliff. It is very popular and a C2C park as well as Passport America. It is a very very nice place to stay in North Myrtle Beach. The pads are all concrete and the streets paved. Free cable TV is provided and the aircard signal is just fine. After a lot of more rustic camping, I was ready for some pampered city camping and no ants. The clubhouse seems to be well used and the pool is large. The bathhouse and laundry facilities are excellent. There is access to Barefoot Landing shopping and dining next door if you are up for a good long walk. I got a kick out of the storm sewer action nearby, particularly at high tide. The water shoots up through the drain and you can hear the waves (I’m easily amused obviously). I did have to ask someone how to get in and out as this is a protected gated community. You come in through one minor gate when registering but normal in-out is through massive gates with a security card. I would love to go back there again.

I went back to Broadway at the Beach in hopes of finding a second set of lights for my awning to match the first set I bought there previously at Tiki Jims. No luck. I did however discover The General Store with lots of great tropical, island lifestyle decorations for my trailer. I got a metal sculpture of sailing boats, a life preserver welcome aboard, several plaster and wood tropical birds, and a message in a bottle lamp for the picnic tables. I made use of the rocking chairs on their porch as well.

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Time to get out of the north before the snow comes or the campgrounds close. I needed a place to stay for a week on my way to Myrtle Beach. Wilson seemed as good a place as any. Kampers Lodge of America is a Passport America park. It was nice to have a pull through site for a change and the spot was very level. It had a cement pad and good table. There is a laundry room and propane. Nothing special about the park but the other campers were friendly and I enjoyed a chat with the horses and goats they keep.

I didn’t do any siteseeing or anything special there. I did finally fix my Satellite TV there. I thought I was going to have to replace the dish but it turned out to be a bad cable connector. I just had to twist it on a bit more to get a good ground on the shield or keep the center conductor from grounding out. That was a big relief. TV may not seem important to weekenders but when your RV is your home and you have been without TV for quite some time, you care about it. I had been stuck all summer among too many trees and when I finally got in the semi-clear, it had no signal. I keep a lot of DVDs on board but there is a limit to how many times you want to watch the same movie in the same week. EESH!

I have decided I made a big error in removing the TV antenna to install the dish on the roof. First, most places actually do receive several local channels over the air even in the trees so it would have been a nice backup. Second, having my satellite dish mounted permanently on the roof severely limits its functionality. I have to be parked exactly right to get a signal through a hole in the trees. A total pain in the arse! While it is easier for one person to align it inside, the installation is just too limiting. There are numerous places where it would have worked if I could have moved it farther down the site, over to the right or left, etc. I am also using a Winegard dish rather than one from Dish Network, my provider. It only receives one satellite at a time hence I am only getting half of my channels at a time since Dish Network uses 2 satellites evenly distributed. Direct TV puts most of their channels on one satellite I am told. So, I either need to switch providers or I need to buy a Dish Network dish that can be moved around. Ebay here I come!