Crazy Cousin Louise Goes to Myrtle Beach
Let’s begin a couple of days before we were to leave. Saturday, April 3rd, I decided to get everything ready to go. Sunday was Easter, and due to Covid, another unholiday. I was still going to stop and visit Betty-Mom, but nothing else was planned.
Because there was so much “stuff” to bring, the little trailer was loaded and prepared for towing. I loaded it in the garage, taking several days to do so, and unloading and reloading a couple of times until I was satisfied that everything was loaded as best as could be. Yakity-Yak, my kayak went on top with a red flag on the tail. It was so heavy, I used the car to pull it out and bring it to Rigbee.
I decided to hook everything up to make sure all was well. Damn good thing. I put a double hitch on Rigbee a while ago, and was hoping to put my bike rack in the top hitch while the trailer went to the bottom hitch. There was one problem:
The electrical and the safety chains did not reach to connect… you see, the double hitch extends about a foot, then there’s the 2 inch to 1 ½ inch converter, then the drop-hitch with the ball. Everything was about a foot to a foot and a half short.
I said a few things that are not allowed on radio and tv, jumped into Figure and Thanked God that it was Saturday and not quite 5 p.m. as we needed to get to a store. Harbor Freight, anyone?
What a blessing I decided to do a dry run on the hookup on Saturday. Nothing was open on Sunday, it being Easter and all. I got another set of safety chains and a flat plug to round plug converter with an extension cable, too. YAY! We’re ready to roll!
April 5th, I took the puppies and headed south in Rigbee. The adventure began with traffic and the hills and mountains of south-western Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania. Gas mileage sucks through those areas, around 5.5 miles per gallon.
Of course, let’s paint the picture: Rigbee is loaded half-way to bear, as the original plan had us going to Texas after South Carolina, and was packed with that in mind. Plus when Mel moved from Rhode Island to Myrtle Beach, half of her stuff ended up packed into Rigbee, since well… let’s just say that Mel did not plan her move well and the pandemic made it worse.
So, not only was Rigbee loaded, the tiny trailer was also.
In the excitement of last-minute packing, somehow Blackie-Cat got outside. It took me 10 minutes of pleading and praying to get him back in, and I do consider this a minor miracle. Normally, if he gets out, he doesn’t come back until dinner time. I just couldn’t leave with him outside, so believe me, I said prayers of thanksgiving when he came back.
Our plan was to get south of Richmond VA, day one. The traffic through CT, NY and PA was heavy and in places, stop and go. I used some language that is not appropriate for kiddie land, but for the most part, I just sang along with my music and talked to my dogs. We stopped for gas and stretch breaks, walking the dogs carefully. There were a lot of campers on the roads, much to my surprise.
The spare tire cover reads: It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere. Love it!
I didn’t stop driving until around 9:30 when I got off the highway and after driving around a bit found a nice truck stop in Disputania, Virginia.
Day two saw us driving on. According to Mel, we only had about a 5 hour drive left. Not true. Six and half hours to Little River, to where Mel and Mom C. live; another 45 minutes to Myrtle Beach State Park, where the campsite awaited.
But first, I have to admit the directions to Mel’s condo were spot-on, and I pulled the huge rig in with no problems. It was great to see Mel, even better to see Mom C. It’s been 20 years. Mom C. literally just turned 94, and she looks wonderful!! The whole trip was to gather as many of us together as possible and celebrate this milestone.
Melody led us and Rigbee down the coast, through the touristy area to the state park, where our site awaited. Right next to little sister, Johnna.
Several years ago, Johnna saw an antique, practically wrecked camp trailer on line. She called her sister Darcy, rented a Ford F-150, bought and drove the thing home. One day, she’ll put up a blog about it, but as Zippee isn’t fully restored yet, that will have to wait. Oh, the camper is called a Zipper, it’s relatively rare, and it looks just like a Shasta. It’s camp-able (is that a word?), and Johnna takes every opportunity she can to do just that. But she doesn’t camp, she glamps!
Mel literally led us to our campsite. If she hadn’t, I firmly believe we’d still be driving around the campground trying to find it. Once there, it was apparent that if I backed in, we’d be putting our back to little sister Johnna. So, once the tiny (but very heavy!) trailer was disconnected, it was a simple matter (and we need simple!) to pull Rigbee in and level him.
Rigbee doesn’t require a lot of set up, but the puppies have a “playpen” that’s heavy as sin, and that needs to be set up. Plus the canopy… Ok, a little setup here.
One of the sweetest things to happen was meeting Brandon. I can’t believe he’s 30 and only now do I get to meet him. The new nephew. He’s brilliant, wonderful and sweet, too. Plus he was amazingly helpful putting up the canopy (and taking it down!).
Like all campgrounds, the dogs are required to be on a leash or confined at all times. The pups are such houdinis, they escaped out of the camper – I didn’t shut the door tightly. Then they managed to escape their play pen. They are brats. They always come back, sometimes it just takes a little time. They are also noisy, so I brought their “shut the f up” collars. They are collars that will shock then when they bark. We don’t like them (the collars), but it’s use them or be thrown out of the park. They are a pack and talk, a lot. Plus, there are incentives to bark, people walking by, many of them walking their dogs and of course the pack has to acknowledge them and alert me. Loudly. So, collars. It quiets things considerably.
Melody brought Mom C. to the campground on Wednesday, and we were all (Darcy, Melody, Mom C. and I) relaxing under the canopy. We had a major surprise for Mom C. Her eldest grandson, Brandon Cyr was here… well, actually, he was out shopping with Johnna. They parked his truck at her site and climbed out in full view of us under the canopy. The look on Mom C.’s face was priceless. The shock and delight! It was just wonderful to witness. Nope, I didn’t get a picture, too busy enjoying the moment.
Melody and Johnna
There was a birthday party for Mom C. which included dinner and cake and a campfire. I had brought a small hibatchi, however I’d never opened the box. DRAT, it needed to be put together before we could use it. I carry a LOT of tools in Rigbee, and was able to easily put it together. The fasteners were all nuts and bolts, and I carry multiple socket sets, ratcheting screw drivers, etc. It was actually kinda fun. Johnna cooked steaks on it from Butcher’s Block. They were good, but best of all was two picnic tables full of us having fun, laughing, talking, just being together.
Brandon
Later on, we had a campfire and roasted peeps and chocolate; laughter ruled the night. Plus, Brandon plays guitar and loved the one I brought. He played it a lot, to everyone’s great enjoyment. He’s a gifted guitarist. Add that to the list of his fine attributes!
Johnna and Oliver
So, I and my “other” family were at Myrtle beach and only went on ONE beach walk. I took Tripp as he’s not been in the ocean. Well, he got wet! The waves caught us both several times, and the water was about the same temperature as the Sound in August. Yes, the first wave was freezing, but my feet didn’t turn blue and it felt great on all the bug bites. Tripp had a heckuva time, but I held his leash tight and made him suffer the waves rolling up around him. He did finally get more comfortable.
Hosing him off afterward must have been a riot to watch. With his “feathers” and “pantaloons” full of sand and salt, he was a mess. He was pretty good about it.
Darcy left on Thursday, Brandon left late Thursday night. Johnna left Friday morning. It was a sad campsite without Brandon and Johnna right next door. I felt bereft at first, but Mel and Mom C. made sure that didn’t last long.
Thursday night I took a long shower and my grey water tank became FULL. Very Full. There were 2 inches of water in the bottom of the shower with no place to go. Friday night we had a torrential rainfall and I was tempted to get up and go outside and let some of the grey water flow… But it was dark night and I didn’t feel like getting drenched.
I did end up bailing out the shower. Got at least 2 gallons! Hahahaha. (I dumped at the station on the way out.)
Mom C. had a sweet dinner for us at her condo. Pulled pork, coleslaw, and cherry pie for desert. So good to be together again!
Mel had some chores for me at the condo, and Mom C. had a printer to be set up. I ripped up a couple of fingers on Mel’s chores, but got them (sort of) done. The printer, on the other hand, was not behaving and although a text was sent for help, none came and the printer still isn’t set up. Grrrr
We had dinner at the campsite, using the little hibachi to roast hot dogs. The Mackies Scottish potato crisps were a huge hit, and time together is precious. It was truly wonderful.
The chairs were stored under the slide and when we took them out and opened them up, they were a little damp, but not wet. We did have a visitor, though.
Tree peeper… just hiding out from the storm?
We already have plans to reserve the same sites for next year, and another one if we can lure George and Chris to join us. They should, it will be their mother’s 95th! And if I get the same site, there is plenty of room for a tent for Brandon and Porter (George’s oldest, I haven’t seen him since he was 8, he’s around 30 now).
I think I’ll need to bring 2 guitars!
The drive home was long and tiring. I only got as far as I81N before I had to find a rest area and sleep. That left me with a long haul home, but we made it. Blackie greeted me at the back door, meowing LOUDLY. I guess he missed me.
We saw this strange camper in New York. I looked it up, but haven’t found anything, yet. It has no license plate. Weird.
It’s a black box, all right!
It took me about a week to get unpacked, laundered, and resettled. The dogs needed about two minutes.
I added a spare tire holder before the trip, and after the fun (?) of unhooking/hooking up the tiny trailer without a front jack/wheel, I decided it behooved me to add one of those. I spent about 3 hours doing that because, well, that’s another blog… maybe.
