Island Hopping....Edisto and Hunting ......

We had fun adventure last year and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  I never got around to writing this one up.  Greg made reservations for one night at Live Oak Campground at Edisto State Park and the following two nights on the beach side.  Reservations at Edisto are very hard to come by and we have tried many times so we were thrilled to get these even with having to move.  Now when I say Beach side - I really mean beach!!  It was amazing!!!

Our site at Live Oak was cozy and we really enjoyed being there.  There were lots of places to walk and enjoy the nature all around the campground. We were a little sad to move until we saw our site on the beach side campground.  It was amazing and literally right on the other side of the dunes with a walkway just near our site.  It was site #13 but it appears that it doesn't exist now as we checked on reserving it again and it no longer shows on the map.  It was really one of the best sites we have ever had and our only regret was that we couldn't keep it longer.  We stalk the reservation site hoping to find one similar there again. 

One other awesome find was Botany Bay - my brother had told us how amazing it was and we spent hours there.  If you ever get a chance to visit make time to ride through.  It's just beautiful and there is lots of history so take your time. We took the walk to the beach and it's a trek but totally worth the effort.  We saw so many shells and so much more.  Check out the link above to see more pictures.

Since we weren't ready to head home just yet, Greg checked online and was able to get a reservation at Hunting Island State Park.  We hadn't been back since the last hurricane hit there - I believe it was Michael.  This is one of our very favorite spots and as I have mentioned too many times, we spent a part of our honeymoon there 34 years ago.  I have to admit when we drove into the park it took my breath away just a little - it was just so different.  After a bit we realized that it was still a beautiful nature filled adventure it always has been.  When we got to our site we were surprised to find out the site we had reserved was the very same as our last visit.  Even with the storm damage and reduced shoreline it is still an amazing campground.  Most of the ocean front sites are gone but there is still a lot of work going on there to restore as much as possible. 

This view is from the lighthouse side and it's well worth visiting too. There are tables and places to grill and hang out on this side and it's just so peaceful there.  Tons of crazy birds hang out there too.

After a couple of days we headed home.  This was such a fun trip and it's so nice to be able to pack up and move on to the next adventure.  That was so much more complicated when we tent camped.  We have done this on a couple of trips and we really enjoy it.

We have our next trip planned in June.  We will be heading back up to Devils Fork for a few days and then on up to Bryson City!  I have wanted to go there for years and we are finally going to make the trip.  We hope to ride the train and see a few other sites while we're there.  We have reservations at Turkey Creek Campground.  We have heard so many awesome things about this campground and the couple who run it.  Check it out if you are ever in the area.  We'll post some pictures after our trip.  They also have an awesome Facebook page.

On another note, we are settling into our new normal as empty nesters and learning it's going to be ok.  We are still struggling with the thermostat but it seems we have the Google Home and wireless down.  Now if we could just get the Amazon Fire Stick functioning again.  Oh well....one day at a time.  See you on the road....

Hunting Island Update

We were so fortunate to have scheduled a visit back to Hunting Island State Park this year just before Hurricane Matthew rolled through there.  This park has always been one of our favorites and we are so saddened by the damage done by this powerful storm.  There are more links in the side bar about the damage and expectations for reopening which will be at least 2-3 months out.

This was our campsite setup with a tent added.  We normally bring this along for when our kids join us and this gives us a good bit of space.  This old Sears canvas tent is over 30 years old and has some wear.  At one point our dogs ripped out the back window so we sewed it shut - that was fun.  Anyway....it works and is great for Fall camping.  To me it is too warm for summer but the guys still seem to enjoy it.  The screened room is a K-Mart purchase....yep I said K-Mart.  It was on sale and matched the camper so we couldn't pass it up.  It worked great and hubby said it was easy to put up and take down.  We set it up in line with our little retro awning and so we could walk out right into it.  We had a good rain storm our first night on this trip and it worked great for that.

This is the set up from the back end of our site.  Please ignore the huge bag of trash - we were headed for the dump.  The raccoons will gladly handle it for you if you leave it out over night. We love that front big window on our unit and it really gives us a lot of light and visibility.  We are still working on a full walk through so that you can see all of the features of Little Red.

One of our favorite things about Hunting Island is the close proximity of the wild life.  They literally hang out with you and we so enjoyed that.  Below is a picture of one of our

regular visitors to our site.  It is against the law to feed them but it is so tempting because they come right up and lick your hands.  I'm pretty sure some campers are feeding them. (Smile)  This was my first experience getting up close and personal with a deer.  They look you right in the eye.  It was amazing! We didn't catch the raccoons on camera but they were so brave and were all around us most of the time.  They stole marshmallows on a regular basis. We are just hoping that all of the beautiful wildlife fared okay with the storm.  Lots of babies were there on this visit.

As we hear more and find out about the park reopening, we will visit and post more information.  This campground is just magical and the powers that be are committed to bringing it back to as close as it was.  Watch for more details as they are available!

Hunting Island State Park

For our second camping trip in our Little Red Retro we went down to Hunting Island State Park.  We had been here previously but it has been over 31 years.  We actually spent part of our honeymoon there and loved it.  This trip did not disappoint and we had an awesome time.

We spent 4 days there and really hated to leave.  Hurricane Matthew was getting ready to roll in so it's good we had to leave but it was grudgingly.  During our stay we had deer come right up to us and lick our hands.  I'm sure they thought we had food but its strictly forbidden to feed the wildlife...but I sure wanted to.  There were families of deer all over the campground and they would scamper in

and out of our campsite and watch us and walk right up.  Then there were the raccoons - they would scamper all about and were not afraid to take what they wanted.  They were always in twos or threes and every night we would forget and leave something out and they would swipe it.  They ate two bags of marshmallows and so much more.  We really enjoyed the critters and looked forward to their escapades every day.

This is a large park by our standards and if you camp there you can climb to the top of the Hunting Island Lighthouse free of charge.  There is a nature science center with all sorts of reptiles and you can hug a snake if you are so inclined.  I am not....not ever.  The sites vary in size and are roomy and include a picnic table, fire ring, electrical hook up and water.  There are also tent sites that are only accessible on foot and those are definitely for the adventurous types.  We loved walking up and seeing their setups but you really have to bring the super bug spray to stay in those areas.

This campground has wireless and it is connected at every bath house so if it is super important to you then you may want to check the maps when selecting your site.  On this visit we could not get access - we were about two sites down out of range.  However when hubby needed to do a little work he walked down to an empty site near a bath house and hooked right up.  We also got fairly regular TV antenna reception and enjoyed some old moves and such at night.  Cell service was excellent for us too.  There is a very nice camp store and we walked there everyday and got ice cream and anything else we needed.  They had boiled peanuts, coffee and cold drinks also.

This is another pet friendly campground and dogs are welcome as long as they are kept on a leash.  They can even walk right out on the beach and explore.  Lucy loved exploring the campground and walking on the beach.  There are lots of dooty bags and stations around the campground.  Be sure to pack your bug spray for you and your pups - this place has lots of water and some sights are buggier than others.

Of course the real attraction here is the long stretch of beach - it's natural and unspoiled with no commercialism here.  It is just beautiful and full of all kinds of creatures if you into that sort of stuff.  We glimpsed all sorts of crabs and such.  You can actually follow the beach all the way down to the lighthouse.  It is a hike but a beautiful walk.  There is a little gift shop and more trails and outdoor areas to enjoy.

For us this campground hit all five campers on our rating system.  We loved the sites, the bath houses were clean and well stocked by state park standards.  The showers were hot and roomy with curtains on the stalls.  There are senior volunteers onsite who camp there for 3 months at a time as well as a camp chaplain and camp hosts.  This park was packed out and that is normally a good sign.  We noticed campers of all ages but there was a good number of seniors and we always enjoy that...since we are seniors too.  We hope to plan a full week at Hunting Island next year!


Cost:  $
Location:  5 out of a possible 5 - this is one of our favorites!
Service:  Excellent
Overall Rating:  5 out of a possible 5 Campers