Final packing and a RV Club Rally

I am not sure which is bigger - the motorhome or the house?



6 inches to spare! No worries!

Wow!  Hard to imagine that the day is finally here where we are starting our biggest/longest trip of all!  RV’ing for 6 months across the country! 

After a quick trip to Texas’ Big Bend National Park, ( we had to kill some time for the northern mountain passes to open ) we will head to the great northwest to spend the majority of our time in Washington and Oregon.

The rig is packed, and the refrigerator could not hold an extra mushroom!  You would think we were heading to no-man’s land where food cannot be purchased.  My fault.  I definitely miss-judged “eating down” both of our refrigerators at home.  

Our first of 179 nights on this adventure was spent 270 miles north of home at Twin Oaks RV Park in Elko, Georgia.  It was a lovely, no frills park that allowed us to keep the car hooked up, and just drive in and park.  We visited with some other campers, comparing travels, which made for a great evening.

 

The next day we were off to host our first RV Rally for 11 other people from The Villages RV Club, at Hawe Creek Campground,  an Army Corps of Engineering marvel on J Strom Thurmond Lake in McCormick, South Carolina. 

We found this remote and stunningly beautiful campground last fall when we were heading south from New England.  Looking specifically for a place to take our fellow club members, we spent many months trying to find the perfect location that not only had lovely campsites, but also had “things to do” around the immediate area.  Hiking, biking, golf and kayaking were all vital for our rally site.

We learned of this campground while staying across the lake at another Army Corps of Engineering campground last spring while heading north.   Even though it had closed for the season, Norm and I decided to drive there and either hike into this gated park, or kayak into it like a couple of Navy Seals, if need be.  The winds were blowing a gale from the remnants of Hurricane Mathew, so we walked in - sneaking past the park attendant’s trailer.  Armed with a map of the campground we had previously printed at home ( I had made note of all the dimensions of the various sites ) we carefully examined each site and considered the view, ease of parking, and levelness.   This location was incredible! We were so excited to have finally found a place to host a rally!

The next day we checked out golf courses and a nearby marina which had a pontoon boat we could rent so we could spend a few hours on this beautiful 71,000 acre lake.

After deciding that a small, intimate group would be more manageable at this location, we quickly picked a date avoiding school vacations in both South Carolina and bordering Georgia, and of course, The Master’s Golf Tournament which is held 20 miles away in Augusta. ( We were told campgrounds fill up with people renting their houses during that time ).  We presented this rally at the next RV club meeting and had about 25 rigs vying for the 6 spots! 

Sites, kayaks and pontoon boat were all reserved, and now nearly 6 months later, we were told by all participants that it was a great success!  Weather cooperated with it only raining a little the first night during our pot luck dinner ( luckily Norm and I had extended the awning with a tarp ) and we had a light rain on our way to golf the next day. 





This first step in our make-shift rain shelter was to attach our new sun shade.

We then attached a tarp on top of the sun shade with binder clips.  The sun shade will give the tarp much more support.  Note the tarp attaching under the awning so rain should not drip in.



With 50 year old Girl Scouting skills at hand, we propped the ends up with tent poles, running guy wires to stabilize the poles. We also had tied down the end of the RV awning to protect from the potential wind damage to the awning mechanics.  Note the florescent pool noodles we put on the wires so no one would trip over them.  Ta-dah!  Looked and worked perfectly! Rube Goldburg would be so proud! End result was a light-weight, low cost, highly packable rain protection.
 




When the sky darkened, we checked the radar and got a little worried that the tarp would not hold up to this scary-looking storm heading right for us!





Everyone stayed dry when the heavy showers came in during our first get-together.




We had a great time playing at the gorgeous Monticello Golf Course at Savannah Lakes Village courtesy of Savannah Lakes Realty. 




We all had large, beautiful waterfront campsites as seen from the pontoon boat. 



I have been dying to try Stand Up Paddle Boarding ( SUP) for years and have not had the opportunity in calm waters.  It was really easy and fun!

 



peaking of golf, through Savannah Realty Group, we were all given free guest passes to their retirement community, and certificates for a free round of golf at their top rated course!

We had a great time during our rally, and everyone would love to do it again!   We had such a great group of people!  They were so appreciative of the unique location, the food, and all the arrangements we made, and we had a blast doing it!  The last night Norm and I were presented with a lovely gift, which brought tears to my eyes.  How lovely! 

 



Kayaks were delivered along with some stand up paddleboards to try. Over the next 24 hours we all went out several times to paddle around the coves.  One determined fellow paddled across the lake to Georgia and back.



Norm and I stayed an extra day giving us time to relax and do a little biking at Hickory Knob State Park.  After packing everything up we spent a quiet evening.

Side note:  7 nights without sewer hook-up, and with gauges reading only 1/3 full, I did a load of wash.  Yes, that’s right.  A washing machine in our rig, and enough waste water capacity to allow me to do it!