dreher island state park

my next stop carrie welles spotted on the map. it sounded pretty cool, i mean an island in a freshwater lake! i took two lane highways to get there this time. the road was pretty much going down now, so the camper was fine. i pulled into the park, and after some hunting, found the office. i hoped they had a spot! they did! i got a spot for two nights. the young ranger suggested a site that had a sandy area near the shore for the dogs. i asked if there were alligators, and after hearing her say “no” was relieved.  i found my spot, and pulled in. it was awesome! right next to water. the dogs were gonna be happy!

being from michigan, i have to get used to the water around the rest of the country. one, the lakes are not real in the south, but dammed rivers. this makes them MUDDY. two , the water is brown. i am used to sandy lake beds, and blue water. it takes some getting used to, and makes for muddy dogs. we all went in anyway. it was really warm, and the edge was kind of sandy.  i swam for awhile, it was heavenly! a perfect way to cool off…it was starting to get hot! it was sunny, and i sat in my chair gazing at the lake. it was a super relaxing day.

 i finally figured out how to tie the dogs out. i did this so i could clean out the camper. i was tired of sleeping in mud, and sand! they seemed to enjoy it. tilly decided the fire pit was hers, and honeybee made a nest in the pine needles.

so, with the dogs settled, i decided to try to work on this blog! i was really getting behind. i started out in the camper, which was nice.

after awhile, i thought “why am i inside?”, and out i went. i had pilfered a board from my friend in detroit, and set it up as a desk for my lawn chair. it was perfect.

i even had room for my lunch! this campsite is awesome. i worked for awhile, then walked the dogs. i walked past another old toyota motorhome. i couldn’t believe it! i looked around the campsite, but there were no signs of life. i will wander back later…

i decided to really clean the camper, and washed out the astro turf rug, and even did some laundry in my manual laundry machine. we all had a great relaxing day.

later that evening i met jeff who owned the toyota. we had a great chat, and he showed me the inside. it was beautiful!! he had done so many amazing things inside and out, it was really a peach! so glad i finally saw another toyota on the road.

after i had a great talk with his wife, and ate some boiled peanuts, i headed back to my camper for dinner. tonight i was cooking some scallops from asheville’s raven! i had some leftover kale salad from a coffee shop i hit on the road here, so i was set for an awesome dinner!

so that is my dinner! woohoo, it was great!

jeff came by to check out my camper, and i showed him  my humble abode. he was surprised at how small it was…something i am really enjoying about it!  he gave me a couple awesome pointers, we wished each other well, and i settled in for the night.

i waved as i left the next morning with my fan belt squealing! i needed to tighten it, but i was nervous to do it…maybe next stop!

i was finally going to reach the coast.

until next time…