Little Red Retro


Our blog is all about
life as seniors, our love of camping and so much more. It's named after our sweet little red Riverside Retro RV - our very first camper. We hope to share ideas, campground info, recipes and just thoughts and feelings. At this stage in life we are going through so many changes and we hope to share our journey and learn from others as we navigate this time in our lives.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Little Red's Fifth State Park

This past weekend we traveled to Cheraw State Park and Campground and it was awesome!  We found out that this state park is one of the largest in the country with a little over 7 thousand acres!  This wooded campground sits on Lake Juniper which provides a beautiful view and great fishing as well as space for canoeing and kayaking.   We would definitely recommend putting it on your list of must see SC State Parks!

This was also another dog friendly park.  They are welcome everywhere with the exception of the cabins.  Lucy loved it and enjoyed walks and scoping out other four legged friends and there were lots.
The picture above was taken up by the park office which is very
nice.  During peak months there are canoes and kayaks for rent.  They also have a loaner program for fishing - something we had not come across before.  If you don't have rods and such they will loan them to you for use on the lake.  There is a beautiful walk between the office and campground which takes you across the spillway and we estimated it to be a couple of miles total there and back.

This was our set up and we had a nice level space on site 4.  We could access the lake through a short walk through the woods to put the canoe in and Greg really enjoyed a paddle across the lake and back.  The campground is in a circle shape with only about 17 sites - very cozy.  It was fairly full for January and we loved that.  We walked through and checked out the sites and most were level and a good size with fire rings and picnic tables with gravel.  No Wifi here but we were fine and got fairly good reception with air TV during this stay.   There is a hot spot up at the camp office if you need to do any quick checks.  There are picnic sheds and tables scattered around.


One thing we would caution is to be careful when following your GPS to find this campground.  There is a Cheraw State Park Road which is the back side of the park and a very locked gate.  We were told this was the old entrance but since we arrived after dark we thought the park was locked up for the night and we wouldn't be able to get in. Lucy and I got adventurous and stepped over the gate and started walking while Greg was making phone calls.  We got a good ways down the road when we saw a sign facing away from us and when we got to it, it read "For Park Staff Only".  Okay that freaked us a bit and it was getting darker by the minute so we hoofed it back to the car quickly!  After making calls to the park ranger and local sheriff's office we found out that the real entrance was a few miles down the road and was not locked at night.  Some state parks have locked gates and require a code to get in which they will give you if you are arriving after dark.  We have found that a phone call to request the code in advance usually takes care of that problem and saves an argument upon arrival.  πŸ˜€  .

As I mentioned in my previous post about Cheraw, there is a beautiful golf course within this state park.  When Greg went up and talked to the golf pro he actually offered a free golf cart to tour the course.  We ran into quite a few groups golfing during our stay.  The guys are planning a trip back to check out the course.

Another lesson learned - don't use your expensive cell phone as a flashlight!  I really can't see well in the dark and I was trying to make my way to the bath house before we set up. I had Lucy on her leash and when she bolted to catch up with Greg I ran smack into the picnic table which I absolutely could not see.  Not sure what actually transpired but I looked down to find my five month old phone on the ground face up with a hole right through the screen and a spider crack all across the face.  Bummer!!  Luckily I have insurance but getting a refurbished replacement was not cheap.

We had a short but very enjoyable visit to this state park and we definitely give it a big ole 5 out of five campers.  It hit all of our important points and we would absolutely recommend it and we will return.

We are still definitely enjoying our Little Red Retro and the more we use it the more we love it.  It is just the perfect size for us and Lucy of course and she feels very at home in it.  If anyone out there has any questions about it or wants to see anything specific, just let us know.

I apologize for the spacing in this post - I just could not get it to work right.  Hopefully next time. πŸ˜‰


Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Peppy's First Trip in Little Red

We are planning Trip Number 5 in our Little Red Retro this weekend.  We are pretty excited to visit Cheraw State Park.  We had hoped to travel down to Edisto but that campground filled up pretty quickly.  We are thrilled to visit this very unique site on our quest to hit all SC State Parks and surrounding areas.

According to Google Cheraw is ( /tΚƒΙ™rɔː/ chΙ™-raw, local /ΚƒΙ™rɔː/ shΙ™-raw) is a town on the Pee Dee River in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,524 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 9,069. It has been nicknamed "The Prettiest Town in Dixie."  More info is available on the SciWay website.

This will be our Camper Elf Peppy's first ever road trip.  We are excited for him to travel with us and hoping that Lucy Loo will allow him to survive the trip.  Maybe they will decide to get along.  She is very fond of removing the face of his kind (stuffed toys...shhhh don't tell Peppy)  and chewing it into non-existence.  Silly girl...  His job is to watch over our little camper and it's inhabitants.  

 Cheraw State Park is unique in that it also has a golf course on site and it is quite popular.  Hubby is going to bring his clubs along and check it out.  It also sits on the beautiful Lake Juniper and fishing is popular there as is boating and kayaking.  We will probably take the canoe along too and see how it goes.  Lucy still needs to try out her little life jacket.  She won't be happy about that.  Temps are supposed to be up this weekend so hopefully we can go out for a little canoe ride.

We will keep you posted on our visit and let you know how this campground stacks up.  Lucy and Peppy are quite excited.  πŸ˜‰

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Happy New Year and Gifts for Campers

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year around here and we received some awesome camping goodies!!  Most of our family members are well aware that we love camping....probably because we talk about it all the time and there is this cute little red camper in our drive way and all.  The kids were so thoughtful and really set us up for our next trip.

This is the gas grill that we had hoped for and of course it's red.  It folds down and you can actually pull it along like a wagon.  I don't know if we will be able to wait to use it.  We had seen one of these in action several years ago and knew it would be perfect.  They gave us the converter so we can hook it right up to the extra gas bottle we travel with.  We love it!!!  You can find them here.

Also on our wish list was the portable black water collector or as we affectionately call it "the Pooper".  In a small trailer having extra holding space for black water really helps out if we're camping more than a few days.  That way we don't have to take the whole shebang down to the dump station or worse, risk an over flow.  Not fun by the way.  The only color I have seen these in is usually a poopy brown so I was pretty excited that our son found this blue/grey one.  It has a nice strong handle for pulling and he also grabbed a neat box of gloves that has a dispenser that adheres inside the storage area.  This guy is going to make for less trips to the bath house.....and believe me old people have to go a lot.  πŸ˜€  These are located here.

Next up were warm Snuggies for us both.  In our small space we try not to take anything unnecessary inside the trailer and big coats stay out in the car.  I would never have thought of these but we just love them and they are lightweight and easy to carry and just perfect for hanging out in our camper during colder months.  They even have a little pocket up front which is perfect for the remote or any needed snacks. So much fun at home too.  You can find them here.

I also received the most wonderful socks.  I wear socks all the time in cold months and try to take my shoes off whenever I'm in the trailer.  Two types that I completely recommend are the Cuddle Duds pictured here and also the Fireside Socks which are aloe infused and lined with fleece.  They are super comfy and it doesn't hurt that really cute too! 

We also received our little Camper Elf, Peppy, and we are excited to see what he and Lucy will get into on our next adventure.  We are hoping to get down to Edisto Beach Campground sometime in January.  It's a beautiful area and beach and should be be peaceful this time of year.  Our wish list for trips this year include Tybee Island, Asheville, some upstate campgrounds and hopefully some along the North Carolina coast as well.  Wishing all a Happy New Year and many wonderful camping adventures.