After leaving Florida on April 2, we made our first stop along the coastal route in St. Mary's Georgia. Unfortunately we were not able to visit our beloved Cumberland Island due to the Easter Week crowd so we stayed in a lovely campground for a few days and hiked in Crooked River State Park. Another stop was a visit to some Tabby (http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/ArticlePrintable.jsp?id=h-3277) ruins. This early form of building construction, using crushed oyster shells and lime is fascinating and seems strong and lasting.
As we continued along the coastal route, our next stop was Myrtle Beach State Park, South Carolina for Easter weekend. We set up camp here, and then were off to enjoy the beach and the pier. On the pier, we had a most wonderful surprise when we ran into two friends that we had known from Baxter State Park, Jodi and Mac. (They have recently retired and are also serious "RVers".) What a grand reunion we had! Serendipity everywhere! It was also fun to find some beautiful wild members of the lily family blooming for Easter morning.
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| Under the Fishing Pier |
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| Our Easter Lilies |
Our next destination was the Outerbanks of North Carolina, and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. We accessed the area by ferry and camped first on Ocracoke Island, and then north on Oregon Inlet on Hatteras Island just south of Nags Head. Before getting onto the ferry, Latona found a Blue Crab to photograph.
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| From Cedar Island... |
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| to Ocracoke |
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| We couldn't wait to get to the beach |
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| I finally got the camera! |
The energy and beauty of the Atlantic was breathtaking at times.
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| Tallest brick Lighthouse ever built. |
We enjoyed many hours of beach walking, finding new shells, and often watching the dolphins playing close to shore. Camping in the dunes was wild and rugged even though we were in sites made for campers. We had been spoiled in other places with hot water in the showers but here it was only cold, cold, cold...
As we travelled north, it was along the National Seashore that I started to realize that our wonderful trip was coming to an end. It hit me hard, and I had a few hours of grieving the loss of the freedom we have as we travel along together in our little van. Of course, we travel with our children, grandchildren, family and friends in our hearts and minds, but feel quite free as we go along. It was good to anticipate the joy of being with the friends and family we would visit on the final leg of the journey. Still very grateful and happy... on to the Chesapeake Bay!
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