Sometimes it is the Destination, not the Journey

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The Destination: Bear Creek Cabin..... a beautiful retreat on a quiet road surrounded by hardwood trees which we will be calling home for the next week. It is in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area of South Carolina in the higher elevations on Cedar Mountain. We are 3 miles north of Ceasar's Mountain State Park and about 6 miles south of Dupont State Forest. In other words, we have easy access to more hiking and biking trails than we could ever explore in a year, let alone a week. Absolute heaven for both Albert and I.



It is so beautiful and every window in this place looks out to trees and sky. Every glance outside brings a deeper feeling of relaxation and peace. My goals for this vacation are to simply relax and recharge. The easiest way for me to achieve that goal is to be surrounded by nature and exploring the outdoors.



The Journey: The trip was an uneventful drive from South Florida up I-95 through Georgia and into South Carolina. We've driven most of this before countless times. Albert and I quickly settled into our respective roles on road trips - he as Captain and I as Chief Navigator (and weather checker, fact looker-upper, etc). Ollie, on the other hand, had a difficult time getting into his role as family mascot. Instead he spent the first couple hours of the trip acting like a whiney, spoiled cat. (Those that know him are now saying - "Wait, he is a whiney, spoiled cat!) He seemed convinced that he was heading to the vet rather than vacation.

One respite from the monotony of I-95 was our gas stop in Indian River. The closest gas station to the highway also doubles as a tourist trap with every imaginable thing that you can get in Florida.... pecans, citrus, fireworks, you name it. It even had an alligator in a t-shirt. I was waiting for someone to hop out of their car and say, "I need it all!". No luck, but I did see one guy take a selfie with the alligator. Anyway, these signs always make me laugh.



Now, its time to sleep and get ready for tomorrow's adventures....

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Photos

Wecome to the View
I'll be here if anyone's looking for me....

Our Gear Station
Everything we need to comfortably explore the area around us.