Thursday, 2/25/21
Picking up where I left off… we went into Charleston for a ghost tour but left early so we could walk through town a bit. We had drinks at The Rooftop Bar on top of the Vendue Hotel to see the view of Charleston and the bay and caught the sunset. We then realized we had not eaten dinner so we should get a bite to eat before the 7:30 tour. We walked towards the tour meeting place and found the Blind Tiger tavern and shared a little nosh of Bacon mac and cheese which was phenomenal. The server was great and got us fed and out in plenty of time.
The Ghost Tour of Charleston was lead by Mike Brown who is apparently well known for his ghost tours, podcasts, research and experiences with the supernatural. He did an awesome job sending chills down my spine with some of the photos and stories he had as we walked through the alleys of the city. Paul said he was being brave and wasn’t scared… there is a tour of the old jail on the west side of town which sounds more like something that would send chills down his spine.
After the tour, we headed back to James Island Campground and packed up what we could, intending to get an early start in the morning.
Friday 2/26/21
Well, we had good intentions of heading out by 8 but those who know us well, know that we are not early risers. We left by 9:15! We didn’t have a lot of miles to travel today but lots of things to do and see.
Several days ago, we were going through our national park book and noticed there was a national park in South Carolina that we never heard of, Congaree National Park. We happened to be going right by it on our way to Cayce, SC to see our niece… so let’s take a look! We stopped in and we were happy it was not a crowded park. Unlike any other national park we had been to, Congaree has a boardwalk trail that rises above the marshy woods. The slaves that were escaping from their owners would travel through these marshes up stream to a settlement. The marshes were so thick with mud and water, it was hard to catch the people trying to escape. Some of the mud is 8 feet deep!!
There were markers on the boardwalk trail depicting some foliage and history of the marsh. It was really quiet and when we stopped walking, we could hear song birds, woodpeckers and other wildlife that we would not have heard in a crowded park. I wish I could attach and audio file here. The trail was dog friendly and there were a few people that passed by with their pups too. It has been so rainy here that some of the gravel trails were flooded out as well as part of the boardwalk. A nice peaceful place to walk and ground yourself with nature. We walked for about 2 miles and headed back to the RV to continue our journey to Cayce.
artistic shot of the trees’ reflection 
Once in Cayce, we dropped off the RV in a shopping center near Logan’s apartment and followed her to Pawley’s Front Porch for lunch. Apparently Pawley’s is in Columbia, SC and was featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” for its mondo flavorful burgers. We all had burgers, visited with Logan and Drew and really enjoyed seeing some family. Virtual hugs all around, still staying safe, dining outside and happy to relax for a bit before we got back on the road.
Another 2 hours drive to Monroe, NC for the night. We stayed at Sharonview Farm which was a mushroom farm and part of the Harvest Host network. It POURED all night and we were very thankful that we were on a gravel lot at the farm. We entertained ourselves and listened to music, dancing and grooving to the tunes ending the night with Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey “. It doesn’t matter what’s going on outside, just matters who is with you to share a slow dance at the end of the day.💕
247 miles driven today but an action packed day!
Saturday 2/27 we awoke and the rain had stopped. We walked up to the farm house and got an in-depth tour of the mushroom making business. It was really interesting and very clear that the owners were proud of their business. They picked 600 pounds of mushrooms last fall…that’s a lot of mushrooms! The logs grow mushrooms for 5 days then rest for 2 weeks. Of course we brought home some freshly picked mushrooms.
Snow cap shitake mushrooms 
an acre of mushroom inoculated logs
After the tour, we headed to another Harvest Host as our last stop for this trip. We ended up at Jump Mountain Vineyard. On our way there, I took the wheel of the RV and, as it usually happens, the once clear interstate changes. This time there wasn’t construction but as we climbed the mountain road, there was a fog warning and crosswinds warning and lots of truckers on the road going way slower than me. I navigated the fog, passing truckers and not bothered by the crosswinds… making it to the other side of the mountain in one piece. Driving is not hard, its the idiots that don’t turn their lights on, think they can pass on the right and zoom in front of you, not realizing they are cutting off a 9 ton vehicle that is towing a car! About an hour and a half is all I could take so Paul drove the last leg, getting us to the vineyard. The directions took us to a crazy hairpin turn over a bridge with inches to spare… so glad Paul was driving. We started seeing snow in the mountains and a bit on the side of the country roads. We are headed north for sure! We made it to Jump Mountain Vineyard and had to unhitch the car so the RV could make it up the steep muddy driveway. We parked on a huge level gravel lot and went straight to the tasting room. They had a fire set up for us outside and we chatted a bit while we did an outdoor tasting. The owners, Mary and Dave, closed up and left us with some wood and a bottle of white that we purchased. A crisp night with a fire and a glass of wine was the perfect way to end the day!
As we turned in for the night, we could hear packs of coyotes howling and partying it up in the distant mountains. It was cool to hear and a bit unnerving to know they were out there in such big numbers.
Sunday 2/28 – it started raining around 11pm last night and didn’t stop. We woke up and both of us were a little concerned that we would have trouble getting out of the winery as there were flash flood warnings in the area for Sunday (and we were miles off the beaten path). Paul carefully inched the RV down the steep driveway and pulled out onto the road where we hitched the car in a minute and we were off and running before 9am. It RAINED. ALL. DAY. and gray was the color for the day… everything was gray all day. We arrived home around 3:15pm. Our wonderful neighbor shoveled the driveway and walkway and we were surprised how much snow remained on the lawn and in the streets. We moved the vehicles around, parked the RV in the driveway and headed inside…
There’s no place like home 🙂
21 days and 3083 total miles driven and no major issues, we are blessed!
Diane delivered a delicious dinner – Oh so good!
Tomorrow we unpack and re-winterize the RV 🙁
Catch us on the road in May, we are headed out to Colorado, Yellowstone, Tetons and Badlands. Hugs to you all and keep being safe.