Day One Auburn to Carolina Beach NC
Day one was postponed one day because our Expedition was in the shop for minor checkup that turned into major trouble that kept it over 2 days. I cancelled the second night lodging and adjusted mileage so we could just drive longer the 2nd day and be back on track the 3rd day.
We left at 5 am. Corgan, grandson, and PeeWee, rat terrier and I were on our way!
The first day is always the least exciting. Except when you get lost. Bear in mind my daughter got me internet for my phone so I could use the GPS so that they could track me wherever I went. I do tend to love those little dirt roads that go on forever. My husband has a Garmin in his ExPedition so I was set. Never underestimate technology.
The Garmin decided that it also needed a vacation so it just lolled around, picking up whenever it felt the need. It also chose to tell us to go down a road 5 miles and turn on a road that was no longer there rather than just turn around please and go back the way you came. I finally found of all things, a little dirt road and we drove along it until we found our way back to where we should have just turned around.
I needed a National Parks Access Pass and I found a National Park in SC just a few miles from our path, soooooo we went there only to find that it was a free park and they didn't sell passes. The Garmin refused to come back to us, so we got out the trusty map. Hmmm, looks rather simple, take that road to the other road, get to the interstate a lot lower and closer to objective. It took us 2 extra hours thanks to the Garmin and it's continually going offline and leaving us to our own decisions. If I had just found one long dirt road we would have been fine.
Finally, at 7:30 pm we find our campground only to find out that the reservation I had made had been for the previous day. When I had to rearrange lodging, I failed to consider that first night. I must have looked quite pitiful, 14 hours of driving, PeeWee almost had a heat stroke and we had to doctor him for hours while driving and my patience with GPS and the non working internet on my phone had done me in. All I wanted was bed.
We showered and I discovered that when I set my towel and washcloth out to bring, I most likely added it back to the fresh laundry I did the night before we left. I was too tired to care and too hot to worry. I dripped dry back to the campsite.
The site was perfect. Tall pines and maples shaded us and allowed a view between their branches to the night heavens. I saw a shooting star.
Corgan took two naps along the way and then fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. I couldn't get to sleep because of the screaming kids across the street. I lay there and thought of the most perfect expletives, if I used those anymore, that I would like to toss at the parents. Finally, they shut up and just as I dozed off, cars of happy summer teens drove down the nearby highway with the loudest hip hop that music ever created. Over and over, they drove up and down the highway. At last, they went away and I went to sleep......only to be awakened by the sound of Corgan snuffling in his throat and scratching the tent sides. I got up to move him and realized it wasn't Corgan at all. PeeWee was sitting in his kennel, eyes huge, ears up and I caught on that we had a night time visitor. I had to get Corgan to get back up in the middle of the night to take the trash out to the cans as I had asked earlier. You just don't leave food
It had rained earlier so I had put on the tent cover and couldn't see out to know what type of creature was trying to get in to eat Corgan. It finally went on to the table and snorted, snuffled and chattered its way among the tent boxes, looking for that wonderful smell of cold chicken that had been there earlier. It left, the kids were quiet, I slept. End of day 1
