Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Skidaway Island camping trip

We recently spent a week with some camping friends at Skidaway Island State Park, here is our trip:

Going to Skidaway we encountered some of the worse rain I have ever driven in- and we drove for about six hours! We arrived during a lull in the storm, and were able to set up in the dry. We did all the outside setting up, left the inside for later, and drove over to say hello to the rest of the group. Tow of our friends had picked out one of the handicapped sites for us, I think that it must have been the best site in the park, and of course, it was close to the bathrooms. The only down side is that it was so far from the rest of the group, too far for DH to walk. It was a large, large site, a lot of brush before any neighbors, quiet and without mud. The rest of the group was closer to the swamp, had noisy frogs and a lot of mud with all the rain. It certainly was perfect for us.
Anyway, we drove over to visit the group. Jack, a yellow lab, thought DH had brought him the neatest new toy, it was hysterical. He saw the tennis balls on the walker and just wouldn’t leave them alone. He kept digging and pawing at them, determined to get a ball to play with. Oddly, none of the other 13canines were interested. We only had a short visit before the rain started again and everyone headed for their campers. Not much later, the TORNADO siren sounded, and we headed for the restrooms

.clip_image002DH made his first visit to a ladies room, where we sat on the seat in the shower and waited for the all clear. We were in a different restroom than the rest of the group; we had fewer people-and much fewer dogs. I don't think all of the other campers realized what the siren was about. Spring time sirens in GA-if the weather is bad, you know what it means-tornadoes in the area, take cover. I slept in my clothes that night.
Sunday was one of God's more beautiful days, as was Monday. Sunday a pair of friendsgrilled burgers and franks for us. They picked up salads and such and we all chipped in to cover the costs, the athletes among us got in some practice for Washers, trying to determine who will represent us at the Olympics in London. (Washers is a game similar to horseshoes, the group joke is that we will send a team to the 2012 Olympics we even have uniforms planned)
Monday we ordered pizza and we also had a round of washers. This time the festivities were at our site, complete with laughter around the campfire. clip_image006
Tuesday was overcast, but DH and I attempted one of the trails. The ground was hard packed, but rocky. It was not easy with the walker, so we didn’t get very far, but we tried!clip_image008clip_image010

The weather stayed dry long enough that one friend, DH and I went into Savannah a bit early so that we could walk the riverfront before meeting everyone at Paula Deen's restaurant. The friend did the walking, DH and I mostly sat on the benches watching people and boats and listening to the street musicians. We found that the cobblestones and old, cracked sidewalks were not walker friendly at all. To push the wheelchair would have been impossible. I’m glad we left it in the car.clip_image012clip_image014
Wednesday it rained, and rained. We all did our own thing. A small group of us drove out to Tybee Island to have dinner at a place one gal remembered from past visits to the area. If you ever go to Tybee, visit the Crab Shack. Don't be put off by the kitsch and tacky (surely the tackiest place ever seen by human eyes!) the food was great. Yummmmmm.clip_image016clip_image018

Thursday it rained some more, with warnings of the possibility of more tornado activity at night. That evening we all went to a restaurant a few miles from the campground. Oh, WOW! Wonderful food with humongous windows overlooking the waterway. Some great lightening moments, too. Back to the campground to spend MORE time in our camper.--you know how the sound of rain on a tin roof evokes images of lazy summer days and quiet moments???

Not so much!

This rain pelted us mightily for days, sort of an amplified Chinese Water torture, when it finally stopped, the silence was almost painful. I slept in my clothes again that night. I stayed up until about 1 pm, waiting out the storm, prepared to drag DH from bed into the shelter if need be. Our nice, ‘high’ campsite became lakefront property- if it had rained much longer it would have been an island! Here’s a shot of our lake it is between our camper and the road.clip_image020

I must say, the bad weather had an upside; I made progress knitting my socks! Only have the toes to go. Will have to remember in the future that knitting is so much more portable than my quilting. I have toyed with the idea of bringing some along, but this is so much more compact and 'do-able'.

Friday was very nice. DH and I went back to Tybee Island to visit Fort Pulaski and the Tybee Island Lighthouse

.clip_image022clip_image024clip_image026clip_image028clip_image030

We tried stopping back at the Crab Shack for lunch, but the parking lot was full up. One of our friends cooked a pork roast for dinner and everyone brought a side. She also made a key lime pie for dessert and provided a beverage she is quite a cook and entertains frequently.

Evaluation- People, dogs and food were great; rain, mud, bugs were awful ( I look like I have the measles, I'm so bitten up) You can tell the weather was bad when the best part of a camping trip report was the restaurant reviews!clip_image032

1 comment:

sewprimitive karen said...

You really had an adventure. Must have been nice to have those sit-down tasty restaurant meals in between :-)