DAYS OFF…TIME TO PLAY! March 3-5, 2014

Lucky for us we woke up to a sunny Monday morning and had the whole day to check out the other parts of the park.  There are 3 different areas at Hunting Island and we hiked over to see the Lighthouse near the Visitor Center. The walk is through a forest of pines, oaks and palmettos with no one around.  The park once had over 70 cabins but now this is the only remaining one on the island.  

The lighthouse has such an interesting history, especially in 1888 when it was reported that the tide had reached within 35 feet of the keeper's house. The Lighthouse had been designed to be disassembled and moved if required, and as a result, the Lighthouse, keeper's home and two other structures were relocated a mile away in 1889 to its present location. It is made of cast iron sections, each weighing 1200 pounds which are bolted together to form the shell.  The shell is lined with brick which creates the main load bearing element. It is also one of the few lighthouses in the state of South Carolina that you can actually climb its 167 steps to walk outside for a fantastic view of the entire area.

For our return to the campground we took the scenic beach walk with its beautiful silvery weathered trees tossed about as if they were toothpicks.

It makes such beautiful landscape, not being a totally empty beach at this part of the park. Constant storms erode the beach and shoreline tearing out many of the existing trees.

The sky was much prettier as we walked back, I'm always happy when the gray chilly skies open up to this beautiful blue.

The following day the cool, wet, drippy weather was back so it was perfect to see one of the Oscar-winning films, Philomena. Since we are in a tiny area of the state, the nearest theater was almost 20 miles away. And with a showing time of 11:30 we had the theater almost to ourselves.

After lunch at a nearby grill we drove on into the little artsy town of Bluffton, first stop at a garden shop of course.

From there we followed the historical markers to this beautiful church, The Church of the Cross, built in 1854.  Exposed timbers, English rose colored glass and latticed shutters make it a stunning structure overlooking the May River.

It is still an active church community today and celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2004

The original one square mile of Old Town Bluffton is now an eclectic arts district, fun to just walk around.

 There's still so much more to see in this beautiful part of South Carolina but Thursday was time for us to be on duty with our  hosting work once again.

OUR FIRST DAYS ON THE JOB FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 2, 2014

Things were REALLY quiet around the campground once the Hunting Island Host Group left for home. We worked the next three days in some pretty chilly weather but we were really getting the hang of checking in new campers so things were going smoothly. 

We report to the Camp Store at 11:00 each morning to get the list of incoming reservations. PK sets us up with chairs out front, our stop sign, a heater to keep our fingers working and depending on the weather, an awning.  But with the wind off the ocean it wasn't a good idea to put that up most days. Then we have our clipboards and our system for getting all the information we need for each reservation.  A couple of days things were so slow Paul went back and worked on the motorhome and I did the cheek-ins. We ride our bikes most mornings so he can come and go easily. On the slow days the time goes so 

S L O W L Y!

Most mornings we take a long walk on the beach with Foster and enjoy this beautiful place. But as the week went on our weather took a big change.  Sunny blue skies turned dark and cloudy and the temperature dropped. 

We woke up on Friday morning to learn that a VERY high spring tide had flooded several of the tent sites set back a bit from the beach. 

 The tent campers had to be moved during the night and it was amazing to see the damage the water had done.

 It washed debris up onto the beach and into the park, knocked down a tree or two and broke power lines.  Our site is quite a ways back from the ocean so we had no damage at all, just a heavy rain all night.

 That afternoon the sky cleared for a few hours and we could see the high tide riding right up to the dunes.

 Friday and Saturdays are the busiest days for people coming to the park.  Lots of local folks love to spend the weekend out here and they don't seem phased much but the cooler, wet weather we were having. I've got to say though, I don't mind the cooler weather as it keeps the gnats, aka "no-seeums", away. I've been so badly bitten since we got here, it's hard to remember to constantly spray myself with "OFF", that horrible insect repellent.
So, as an alternative, I ordered some "Bugs Off" clothing from Amazon. It's fabric that has been treated with something to keep the mosquitoes and gnats away, and is supposed to last through 70 washings. I'm hoping it will help. Here I am ready for a sunnier day: hat, neckerchief and long sleeved shirt.

 Once it dried out on Sunday, Paul took the blower out to clean our area and give himself something to do.  Sitting or standing outside for 6 hours three days in a row can get a little boring so he's always looking for something to do.  So far, we haven't had a huge number of campers coming in, but with Spring Breaks beginning soon, that's about to change.  

 We do love being here, the perks of living in this beautiful park for six weeks is well worth waiting for those campers to arrive.

OUR NEW JOB, HUNTING ISLAND STATE PARK Feb 19 - March 2, 2014

We left the beautiful beaches of St. Augustine, Florida for the 235 mile drive to our new home for the next six weeks, Hunting Island State Park. It took us probably twice as long since we did the scenic route and stayed off the freeways.  I love the ride just outside of Jacksonville along the coast route Highway 105 all the way up to Fernandina Beach. We arrived at the park, checked in and were assigned to the Campground Host Site #148. We would be working three days on/three days off helping with camper registration here at the park.

Our timing couldn't have been better for our first hosting experience. Camping in the park was a group of 5 couples who have been hosts at the park over the last seven years; they love the park and do the job in the hot summer months but this time they were here just for fun. They had spent the month at the park and they welcomed us the moment we got the motorhome parked! Paul took the satellite out to set up and the guys were all there to give advise in finding the signal. The day was warm and beautiful and we had 2 days before we were to start our new job. Everyone helped explain what we would be doing as we joined them for shrimp dinner at Boondock's and around the campfire that evening.  What a fun group to be a part of!

Thursday morning I joined Kathy, Jane and Doris for a walk near the Nature Center to look for the eagle's nest they had spotted a couple of days before.  Once we crossed the bridge we could see it sitting tall in the nest right in front of us. (That's the photo below) As we walked closer it flew off the next into a nearby tree, what a beautiful sight!

From there we walked out to the beach with a look across the water to Fripp Island.

The beaches are so natural with all the dead logs, tress and debris left, not scraped off.  We walked over, around and through it all for beautiful views.

Even tried a selfie…but the others I took of all of us didn't turn out.

As we walked they told me about the history of the island and the changes that have happened over the years from hurricanes and storms.  The park once had over 70 cabins but now only one remains. The rest have been washed out to sea as well as several privately owned homes that were moved from the island due to the erosion.

This one house remains standing in the water, unaccessible.  That's how much the shore line has washed away. The uprooted trees are beautiful!

As we returned to the car this was the view of the lagoon perfect for kayaking. Once we get some warmer days we'll give it a try.

The park is home to large numbers of deer, raccoons and feral cats. Most evenings around the campfire we were visited by them all.

The path to the beach is right down from our campsite and a perfect place for a morning walk with our coffees.  I like going early before the wind comes off the water later in the morning.

Within the first day or two of being in the park, Paul was feeling the affects of the pine tree pollen falling everywhere! When a rain came through it washed the pollen into puddles of green.  It only lasted a couple of days but everything was covered in the yellow-green dust.

Our campsite is huge with beautiful view towards the beach.The morning light filters through the trees and we have afternoon sun out in front.

We started our new job Friday morning with the amazingly wonderful help of all our new friends who  came out front with us to help us get started. They were so sweet giving their time to explain everything to us, then staying to answer any questions we had. Don't think we'd have had such an easy start without their help. But within 2 hours a thunderstorm rolled in and we were done for the day.  Saturday morning we gave it another try and by 2 that afternoon we were on our own and doing fine. The rain was gone but the cold wind from the water kept us bundled up.

Saturday night we were in for another fun new experience, an oyster roast!

Jane and Dave showed us how to use the blue handled knives to open and scoop out the oyster.  I loved it!

Paul had a few then went for the homemade chili.

By Sunday, our third day on the job, we were both feeling more comfortable with it all. The weather got really chilly so Paul brought over our little portable gas campfire to keep us warm. Since Sunday is very slow once everyone checks out, we decided to keep busy by sweeping the area in front of the store, helping the time go by faster. Sunday night dinner out was at Duke's BBQ, a family style all you can eat buffet.

Foster's been getting some wonderful walks each morning down the long sandy beach.

Another fun new experience with our new southern friends was lunch Tuesday where we were having "Poke Chop Sammiches". This is the fryer used after we battered the thin pork cuts. Don told me he knows the oil was hot enough by throwing a match stick into it, if it lights, the oil's ready for cooking! I don't think I've ever seen an outdoor cooker like this before.

Don, Stephen and I worked getting the pork chops cooked up for the gang of 12. It didn't take long to do about 3 dozen with the two fryers going.

The "Hunting Island Housewives Cabana" was all set with the toasted bread and other fixin's.  Since the weather changes constantly the covered area worked perfectly for eating and setting out food, as well as an easy hit by the raccoons at night.

The nightly Happy Hour-Campfire was always a kick!!! I was busy keeping track of as many new southern phrases as I could keep up with as we all laughed! What fun that was.  Dave built the most wonderful fires each night, warm and so inviting. Doris is a Lighthouse Host and her campsite is at the other end of the park, so Jane and Kathy drove her home in the mule as campfire time ended.

The week went so quickly and by Wednesday night we were celebrating the end of their time in the park with a fun steak BBQ hosted by Doris and Steve. Paul joined the guys on a trip over to Parris Island Commissary earlier that morning to get supplies. The girls all had their boas and tiaras, and even one for me.

Here we are in our finest!!! Top L-R: Anne, Norma, me, Doris, Jane. Seated: Kathy and Cindy.

Thursday the first groups pulled out, Jane & Don to Rock Hill, SC and Kathy & Dave to Georgia. We were all out front as they packed up when PK brought out his chocolate chip cookies right from the oven for everyone.  The best ever! That evening the rest of us went out for a delicious seafood dinner at Johnson's Creek Grill right next to the park. Friday morning Cindy and Stephen packed up and drove all the way back to Beaufort, (that's only 10 miles away) Saturday Anne and Chuck left for Tennessee, Norma and Mike moved over to a new site and we were left all alone in the park…way too quiet without the laughter of friends and our fantastic nightly campfire. How lucky we were to arrive for that fun week and make such wonderful new friends.  Hoping we'll get to see them again next year when they meet up in northern Florida for the month of February. A huge hug and thank you to each of them for making us feel so welcomed and for all the fun memories!