Travels with Snowbirds 2017. January 8, Myrtle Beach SC to Brunswick GA

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Last night was the coldest I have ever spent in Moya. I had the furnace on until I went to bed at 10:30. I have 2 space heaters. One is just awful, the other is so so. I have a third one at home, very small but puts out a out a lot of heat. Why oh why did I leave that one home. Well, the so so one spit and died. The awful one was in an outside compartment. In 20 degree windy 10:30 pajamas, hat, etc., I grab the lousy one out of the compartment and turned it on. What makes this one so lousy is it doesn’t get really hot ever. Not that I would leave it on HOT HOT all night long, but something reasonable. Fortunately I have a plushy heated throw. It’s not as big as an electric blanket, but it get warm and toasty quickly. I put it on my bed, brushed my teeth and hopped in and Winston hopped right on top in the middle of the bed on top of the heated throw. Not that he’s that heavy, but it’s difficult to move him when he wants to stay where he is. He had his half of the bed, the middle. I eventually got him to move, but now that he’s discovered that heated thing, all he want to do is sleep on my bed……I put the throw under my pillows, kind of hiding it during the day, and he pulled it out. He is one damn smart dog. He woke me up at 6:30. It was 29 degrees. He was doing his peepee dance. He hadn’t been out since 9:30 pm. When I realized the sun wasn’t up yet, I quickly got dressed, ABC Wide World of Sports coat over sweat suit pajamas, hoodie, insulated hat, heavy socks, lined crocs, wool gloves, tissues, and ran toward the beach. Naturally, it was empty, not one soul. It was a glorious sunrise. Picture you ask? Well, my iphone was staying nice and warm in my bed…..I forgot to bring it. GROWL. Shhhhhh, don’t tell my kids I forgot something else, ok?

My outside thermometer said 25 degrees. 39 inside. I quickly turned on the furnace. Awful heater was chugging away not doing anything. There was ice on the inside of my windshield. It was easy breaking camp, just one plug and a door mat. I made coffee and headed out. I had to turn in my windshield hang tag at the gate, (so they know your site is empty). Friend Bill Towner was working the gate!. I was introduced to Bill and his wife Linda some years ago when they were work camping with mutual camping friend Tom Karnitz. Bill and Linda gave up the work camping life style and settled in the Myrtle Beach area. Bill has been a gate ranger for a few years at Myrtle Beach Travel Park. If I stop there on the way home, I hope they will have time for a quick lunch or dinner.

Over the river and thru the woods, about 80 miles westward, until I hit I95. The roads were clean and dry, evidence of ice and snow on the grassy areas, and many cars covered in ice and snow. I just hate it when those big sheets of ice slide off car roofs into my path. The temperature gradually went up as the day progressed and the sun did its share of warming Moya as it got higher in the sky. I was definitely in the minority today. It must be a southern thing???? Many cars had window clip on Clemson flags. Did they do something good????

I know there is one of the largest Walmart Supercenters I have ever been inside in Pooler, GA and I headed or it. (The largest Walmart I have ever been in is in Orlando near Disney). I found a scooter knowing I would be looking all over the store for space heaters, and sure did. They had quite a selection, and I read every label in both Spanish and English. I selected a brand I had never heard of, $37. It’s about a 12 inch cube and has a rotating grill to diffuse the heat more if wanted. It throws a lot of heat, even without the grill rotating. So far so good. It’s not terribly quiet, but I have not had to turn on the furnace since I took it out of the box……but it is warmer than it was last night, and not so windy.

I traveled about 275 miles today. I just had the urge to get further south and find some warm air. The highest I saw on Moya’s thermometer was 38. When I got to Golden Isles RV Park, my super duper indoor outdoor thermometer read 44 and now at 8:00 it still says 44.

This is really a kind of dumpy campground; you get what you pay for, and this one cost $20/night before those ridiculous taxes. I paid a half price rate due to another membership program I belong to, Passport America. Half price off published rates. Still, you get what you pay for. This is an easy off easy on to I95, so there are lot of transient over nighters like me. Some of the rigs look full time and some are pretty messy. The bathrooms are clean, the laundry room is adequate, neither of which I used. There is a dog walk area. What more do I need. I was assigned site 20. The utility pole was in a large puddle of water. There was no way I could plug my electric cord in without stepping in water, and I didn’t think that was such a good idea. Back to the office, told the woman the issue, and asked for the adjacent site 19. All is good here. I nuked some chicken breast, added it to lettuce and made a wonderful salad.

Now I am watching the Golden Globes and having a good time. I laughed at Jimmy Fallon’s opening. Tomorrow I will try to make it to my first Florida campground, 2 days early. They were closed when I called today to see if I could check in early it will open at 9 tomorrow. I don’t have a plan B, so I will have to punt if they can’t take me. I am gonna go look now at Blue Spring State Park…..my favorite manatee place. With this cold weather, the spring will be full of manatees.



Kat out

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