Jan. 16-18, 2021

We are taking some short vacations from our vacation. While we have the camper with us, we might as well use it. Our first weekend excursion was to Little Pee Dee State Park in Dillon, SC, about 2 hours away. We arrived around noon on Saturday and took a walk around the small lake. There’s a nice picnic area, kayak rentals and a small dock for fishing. A few families were enjoying the nice day, fishing and metal detecting.

Then we made our way over to the campground and found our site waiting for us. It was chilly, so we fired up the heater, made some tea and relaxed in our cozy nest.

Being a long holiday weekend, there were quite a few campers. But given the cold temps, folks stayed mostly inside and it was very quiet. We took advantage of the extremely clean – and warm – bath house, but once we tucked in for the night, it was nice to have our own bathroom. We haven’t de-winterized the camper, so no running water. We can make do with minimal use of the toilet, and that will be easy to winterize when we head north again.

We’re still figuring out what meals are going to be “camper friendly”. Each trip we learn something that works and something that really doesn’t. Hot tea is a staple, although we wished we had hot cocoa on this trip. Put that on the packing list! On our way out of town, we stopped at the local fish market and picked up a red drum fillet. I wrapped it in foil and we fired up the Coleman oven on the stovetop. It took about 10 minutes to reach 300 degrees and the fish baked nicely. Served over some veg stew that we brought made for a tasty dinner. Another thing to add to the packing list – spices! The oven works, but it’s big for our small stove. We’ll get an outdoor kitchen set up and it will be easier to use there. We’re looking forward to testing out some of our regular baking recipes while camping.

The next day was spent relaxing with books and knitting, taking a walk on the nature trail, spotting birds and napping. A lot of the campers had moved on by Sunday afternoon, and our immediate neighbor had left for the day, so there was no one nearby. The campground has firewood for sale and several campers had fires going in the evening. We were being wimps and stayed toasty inside. As much as I love a good fire, sometimes I like being warm better. Maybe if we had s’mores fixin’s…

It’s so easy to hook up the camper (and unhook back at home) that a 2 hour trip to a campground for the weekend is a piece of cake. Backing into the spot under the house is the hardest part – and we’re getting better at that! Now to plan for the next excursion…