The icing on the cake was when she called me Baby

Friday Nov 29, 2013
Walkabout Camp and RV Park
Woodbine, Georgia

 

 

 

Today, on our last day at Walkabout it was again windy and  cold.  So that cancelled the Cumberland Island trip for sure.  Although we did drive over to the visitor’s center and gaze out longingly.

But before that David has to go out for breakfast.  It’s cold outside doncha know.  Gotta have some  warm grub.  Actually any excuse or no excuse will do.  I’m amazed that even after that giant Thanksgiving dinner just yesterday afternoon, he’s still  thinking about food and Steffens is the place. 

 

Steffens has been in Kingsland Georgia at this same spot since 1948 which makes it nearly as old as David.  He seems to really like things that are his age.  He has serious nostalgia.  Just put out old pictures of buildings or people and whether he knows them or not he’s all  over it.

 

 

He’s thrilled that it looks just about the same.  Well  except there are a lot more cars and trucks in the parking lot this morning and no gas pump.

 

 

 

There are even 3 logging trucks parked outside today.

 

 

 

 

Steffens is his kind of place for other reasons too.  It’s a down home diner where Miss Helen has been  making famous homemade biscuits from scratch for over 30 years.  You can get chicken and biscuits.  Biscuits and gravy.  Biscuits any way and with any thing.

Now David makes a GREAT biscuit but he always likes to compare.  He orders 2 eggs over easy, hash browns, Wainwright’s local sausage and Miss Helen’s biscuits.   Just your basic vegan breakfast of course.

 

He declares Miss Helen to have one up on him.  I admit the breakfast is mighty good and  those biscuits are flakey and rich.  I don’t even want to know what is in them.  Certainly not spelt flour.

It’s true this place is a blast from  the past and chocked full of Southern charm.  The waitress even calls me baby.  Me, baby?  I laugh out loud.  She’s 20 years younger than I am.

 

 

They have a Hoosier Cupboard and REAL butter served  in a unique really old style short canning jar and real sugar served in a you pour it.  No packets here please.

 

 

 

Check  out their weekly specials like Fried Chicken Livers with black eyed peas and strawberry shortcake on Monday or or Smothered Pork Chops with Fordhook Limas and Banana Pudding  on Wednesday among others. 

 

 

We feel right at home, have a great breakfast and a sweet little waitress.  Bless  her heart!  So if you are ever in  Kingsland or at Walkabout, and this is your kind of place too, then stop on by Steffens.   It’s on Route 17, South Lee Street.  

 

This sign on the wall sums up my feelings.

 

Walkabout Days

Monday-Thursday
November 25-28, 2013
Walkabout Family Campground
Woodbine Georgia

 

 

Here’s a flyby view of our past 4 days at Walkabout.  We’ll be here one more and leave on Saturday for Florida, FINALLY.  Sure hope they have warmer weather planned for us!  I’ve definitely learned my lesson about November anywhere north of Florida or the desert in Arizona or California.  Any suggestions for a warm November next year, please send them on.

 

MONDAY

 

   

It is 33 degrees when we wake  up this morning to prepare to leave Hunting Island.  The palms are thrashing  around as is the ocean.  Pretty cold  to be outside packing  up. 

Luckily we did most of it yesterday but given the sandy and piney conditions we still  have to clean  the roof, the slide toppers and  the jacks as well as unhook the water and  electric before we can leave.   We wait for a while for the temperature to get up to at least 40 and then after a stop at the dump station we are off down the road for 158 miles to Walkabout Family Camp and RV Park in Woodbine Georgia just north of the Florida line.

 

 

 

On the way, we stop to do some grocery shopping and look for a couple  of specific holiday gifts for my 93 year old father.  If I don’t want to pay a fortune to send them to Colorado I need to have them in the mail the first week  of December.   One thing leads  to another and it is 5:00 by the time we pull  in where Bill and Nancy Mills have been parked since noon having come 300 miles.  Makes me laugh at the difference.  They came from Port Lucie today on their way north.  Guess cold weather wasn’t a factor in their start time.

 

They are here for an overnight on their way back to South  Carolina after some glorious weeks in the Keys.  Yes they are definitely going  in the wrong direction.  

It is too funny when they get get of their rig to say Hi.  David and I are dressed in sweatshirts and fleece and  they are in short sleeves, shorts and sandals.  I’m so sorry I don’t get a picture  of the 4 of us in our opposite attires before Nancy gets too cold and goes in to change.  But in the dinner  picture, you can see Bill still in his shorts and  short sleeve  shirt while Nancy and I have on long sleeve sweatshirts and I have on fleece pants.

We get together for dinner at Nancy’s kind invitation to share some of her delicious potato soup.   Just the right food for this weather and it is yummy.  We have a great time catching up on  all  their fun in the Keys and sharing elderly parent reports.   Nancy’s mother and my father are in their 90’s and in assisted living homes.  There are some pretty funny stories about both of them.

Nancy and Bill will leave early in the morning no doubt so we say our good byes  early knowing we will see them again in Florida in January.

 

 

 

TUESDAY

 

 

 

The rain starts just after we leave Nancy and Bill’s at about 8:00 last night and goes on for pretty much the entire day today.  So what do you do in the rain?  Oh,  pay bills, do the laundry, change the bed, clean the house.  All those same chores everyone else  does.  

 

 

 

You can see how I feel about it all  from my sweatshirt which says “I don’t wanna”.

 

 

 

Walkabout is a Passport America  park which was purchased about 5 years ago by a young  Australian Couple,  thus the name.  They are the greatest  people and have 4 wonderful  children.  The oldest daughter Kaitlyn who  is now 14 has been managing the desk like she was an adult since they bought  it.   She checked us in the first time we ever stopped  here and I was sold immediately.   Her dad Troy says she’s not so keen on it any more.  She’d rather play softball.  But today when I need more change for the washers, Troy and the boys were gone and  Kaitlin was in the office.  It was good to see her again.  She also gave me the wifi password.

 

 

There are a dozen free range chickens picking up the bugs all around.  A dozen delicious fresh eggs is $3.50.   It’s a great place to stay.

 

 

 

 

 

The rains  let off for about two hours between 3:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon and then come back with a vengeance all night long.  There was a tornado watch and  predictions  of up to 50mph wind  gusts.  Time  to bring in the slides.

 

 

WEDNESDAY

 

I think I have shown a picture of our slide maladjustment in a previous blog.   David got the fix-it instructions from Winnebago but wasn’t able to get them to work so I talked him into calling a mobile tech, who also comes highly recommended but couldn’t get it despite over 2 hours of effort and multiple calls to HWH and Winnebago.  Apparently the adjusting screw just WILL NOT TURN.  So our $200 buys us a shim and he reinstalled the bushing on the Ram cylinder which had again come out.  He tells us that shimming is what he would do if it was his rig and is sometimes the only way to make them level again.  Makes me nervous.  What do you all think? 

Where is one to go to get things like this fixed?  We’ve had some questionable experience with Lazy Days and we sure aren’t going to Forest City Iowa in December.  David fears we would have to have the Ram Cylinder removed in order to replace that screw and make it work again.  So he’s liking the shim idea.  The tech also tells us that according to the manual with motor homes you should have your slides adjusted every couple of years.  No one has ever mentioned this before.

Whenever something mechanical is going on, despite the 20mph winds and low 50’s temperatures there are guys who want to find out about it.  The fella in the short sleeves is from Wisconsin. :-)

 

While they were outside freezing, I was inside nice and warm and seeding a pomegranate.  I love the seeds and this is the season.  Are they a gorgeous color??

 

 

It went down to 31 here tonight.  I just don’t know what to say about this continuing deep freezing in southern Georgia and Northern Florida in November.  Climate Chaos!   What are we doing and why are we not more worried about it?

 

 

THURSDAY

 

More cold weather.  In fact it’s cold enough to freeze my feathers off when we wake up this Thanksgiving morning.  27 degrees in south Georgia.  Here’s how we’re dressing as we hang out for the morning waiting for it to warm up.

 

 

We hope you are all enjoying a wonderful WARM holiday with family and friends and not TOO much food.  Most of you know that Carrie will not be with us this year for the first time ever.  But that’s what happens when you have a new job, not a ton of vacation yet and want to come at Christmas which is only 3 weeks away. 

We are missing her and hope this will be our only Thanksgiving without her. 

We have  our dinner this year with the folks in the park at the potluck put on by Troy and Suze and their children Kaitlyn, Liam, Cameron, and Savannah.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the boys helps Troy set up.  

Elegant wine glasses and decanter befit the occasion.

 

 

 

Our young enthusiastic host and hostess welcome everyone.  We think there were between 40 and 50 people in attendance.  It is a tad depressing that this lovely woman has 4 children and the oldest is 14.  That’s about how old she looks. :-) SIGH………

 

 

One of the two tables of food.   Everything any Thanksgiving table could want.

 

A third table for all the deserts.  Cherry, pecan, pumpkin and apple pies.  And two cakes.  Enough for even my sweet tooth.

 

 

 

David is enjoying one of his TWO plates of food.  Just beyond  him is my plate. We both have dessert too of course.   We love our partitioned pot luck plates.  We can easily sample a dab of this and a dab  of that. 

 

 

 

David thanks Troy and Suze for putting the gathering together.  Everybody had  more than enough to eat that’s for sure.

 

 

We’re here  for one more day and then we will be stopping at Anastasia State Park for a 3 day look around and visit to St. Augustine before heading down to Sebastian Inlet State Park.  If you have any suggestions for must dos or must sees please let me know.

 

Hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving !!

She gives us the cold shoulder

Sunday November 24, 2013
Hunting Island State Park
South Carolina

 

 

It’s a freezing  sunrise.

 

Yes this morning the temperature is in the low 40’s  but the the wind is in the mid 20 mph.  The wind is biting.  I nearly freeze my fingers off watching the sunrise and taking these pictures.  There are actually a few other diehards with me today.  I’m pretty surprised.   I’ve been avoiding getting out my winter coat and hat.  I’m  on my way to Florida for heaven’s sake.  But I sure wish I had worn my gloves out here this morning.  I feel like I have frostbite on my hands by the time I get back

But of course the sunrise, despite the weather, does not disappoint.

 

 

 

As a result of this low 30’s windchill factor which doesn’t let up all  day, we spend almost no time  outside. 

We will be leaving tomorrow so we do a little bit of packing up outside .  Kayaks on the car, bikes on the car, mat, chairs and tire covers put away.  ENOUGH!  Too cold!

Tomorrow morning they are promising temperatures below freezing here.  And if the wind doesn’t diminish that may well  feel like the teens.  Better to do what we can in the low 30’s WITH gloves on.

 

 

 

 

I make some soup for lunch.  It turns out to be more of a garlic, vegetable, red lentil stew.  Eating it feels wonderful; it is warm and hits  the spot.  We do the Sea Island Scene Crossword Puzzle and decide we really want to get out for a walk of some sort.  We will try a hike on the beach. Surely things  have warmed up. We can see the sun shining.  But we can also see the waves bashing. 

When we get out there, it feels just like  this morning so we make those silly attempts at selfies just to remember this moment.  We’re bundled up like we are back at Churchill Manitoba with the Polar Bears.  That’s where David’s heavy duty hoodie is from.  Mine is from  Hunting Island. I guess the fact that they sell such a thick heavy hoodie here should have given me a clue. 

 

 

 

After nearly laughing ourselves silly and freezing we change the afternoon stroll to one around the back campground loops where the wind isn’t so strong and thus it isn’t QUITE as cold.

 

 

 

 

When we return it is great to just sit inside and look out our big front windows at the surf being blown all  over the place by the wind.  So wonderful to have heat at our fingertips. But we sure have gotten the cold shoulder from Hunting Island on our last day here.

We’re off to Georgia for few days tomorrow.  I’m beginning to wonder if we’d better just beat feet to Florida if we don’t want to keep dressing in heavy layers like this.  :-))

A very fine day indeed

Saturday November 23, 2013
Hunting Island State Park
South Carolina

 

 

It’s a lovely sunrise this morning at the civilized hour of 7:00.

 

 

  I am  up for sunrise each morning.  David is not.   He joins me later, we read  or walk on the beach.  We return for breakfast and then noodle around inside or out, reading or doing chores.  After lunch we take  another walk  on the beach and then it’s time for dinner in the dark.

 

 

 

 

Our days are all beginning to run together.  Each one mostly like the other one.  I think this is island time and I’m not complaining.  Being so near the beach for sitting or walking  is dandy with me.   My back  is feeling better but the weather really hasn’t been conducive to biking or kayaking.  It’s either been too cold  or too windy.

 

 

 

 

 

Today the tide is out at sunrise and the beach seems to stretch on and  on and on.  

 

 

The ocean side section of the campground is rustic and somewhat helter skelter but it’s right on the beach. 

 

Some of the sites are actually  right on the edge of the sand.  Or they are until the sea takes  them away.  The original road closest to the beach and  those campsites along its water side have already disappeared and every year when we return  we wonder what will we find has been lost.   I guess they just readjust the numbers and reprint the map.  

The sites further from the water  in the maritime forest are much larger and much safer than those 70 or so nearest the water.  On the ocean side, 15 sites for tents and smaller RVs are in “the front row” and would be the first lost.  This morning with the tide out the beach is huge and the danger looks small.

We  spend  the  morning sitting on the beach reading.  The temperature is nice but the wind makes long pants and a warm jacket necessary.  They say it will  go up to the mid 70’s today.  Sounds great.

 

 

Our afternoon walk is really wonderful.  And for most of it, we have  the shore all to ourselves.

 

 

After lunch it has warmed up a lot and we set out to walk all the way around the upper tip of the island to the wetlands if the tide is out far enough.   Both extreme ends  of  the island are less visited since they are much further away from the camping and day use areas.  But today it appears as though no one but us and  a few others with 4 feet have walked through this way.   We recognize the deer  and raccoon tracks but aren’t sure who the small feet with no claws belong to.

The dunes here are among the tallest on this side of the island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as we reach the marsh and run out of shore, we find this large  colony of tiny little crabs who appear to have balled up the sand in very small little balls and somewhat larger pellet looking balls.  No idea if these are from their excavations or from keeping their houses clean.  We stand around  for  a while making no noise and soon they begin to come out.

 

 

 

I have not brought my camera on  purpose so I could see the day other than through the eye of a lens.  David has brought his and all of the pictures from this walk are ones he took.  But his zoom lens  isn’t working well enough to get a picture of these tiny crabs about 3/4” in size.  I assume they are some sort of fiddler crab but they are even smaller than ones I’ve seen previously.   It is  fun to watch them.  They certainly are worried about us and many just will not come out of their numerous holes while we are there.

The marsh is looking particularly fine and I wish my back hadn’t been a problem  earlier in  our stay  before the weather began to work against us for paddling.

 

 

 

 

We do the necessary about face and  the walk back  is just as lovely.

It’s especially so as we round the tip where the shore  is the widest.  The dunes, the pools and sand art are breath taking.

 

  

 

 

Much easier to do in the daylight.  DUH!

 

By the time we get back, the sun has warmed it up to 75 degrees.  WHOO HOO!   Even with the wind, this is more like it.

We’ve built up an appetite and know that we don’t want to be shucking in the dark again.  So we turn our minds to dinner.

David wants to try their shrimp so he drives just across the bridge to Gay’s Fish Company and brings back a 1/2 pound  of  shrimp for himself and gives me all the oysters.  YES!!

Here’s how it goes with better pictures in the daylight.  Clean, steam, shuck, and then whatever you want to do with them.  I’m not a raw oyster eater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the results are…………..

Succulent oysters braised in their liquor with onion and garlic.  Served with kale sautéed in mushroom broth.

 

Steamed Sweet shrimp served over rice with a side of steamed broccoli some of which is hidden under ALL THAT SHRIMP!

 

     

It doesn’t get better than  fresh seafood right off the boat.  You can see the boats pulling up to the back  of Gays’ while you are in there buying whatever you want.  Prices are good and the seafood is GREAT.  We give them 10 thumbs up!!

In the previous post, several people said throw them on the grille which is next on my list of ways to cook Oysters.  Others asked how I fixed them this time.  I like them any way but raw.  Yesterday and today  I   had them braised/sautéed.  For my birthday I ALWAYS have scalloped oysters.  YUM!  For Thanksgiving I always have Oyster dressing.   Another YUM!