At 8:25 a.m. on Wednesday, May 1st, Beth and I finally embarked on our much anticipatedNational Parks Tour. Leaving our home in Nags Head, North Carolina with high hopes and many expectations, we said goodbye to our dear friend and neighbor Alice, who was waiting for us outside of her condo across from our place for a final hug and to wish us well.
Our destination for the day was Sesquicentennial State Park near Columbia, South Carolina. According to Google Maps, the trip was about 400 miles and would take about 6 hours of driving time. Our plan was to drive for 4 hours, stop for an hour lunch break, and finish the trip in the mid-afternoon.
Since this was a travel day, we had no plans other than to get to the park safely and set up our base camp for our visit to Congaree National Park, stop 1 of our 35 park tour. The weather was perfect for traveling: sun mixed with some clouds and temperatures in the 80s. We made good time and stopped at a rest area in Cumberland County near Fayetteville, NC along I-95.
True to our plan to prepare our own meals, as opposed to buying them at restaurants along the way, we dined on delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwiches expertly prepared by Beth, and followed that up with raisins, an apple, and a few Nabisco Chips Ahoy soft chocolate chip cookies. While it may not have been a gourmet lunch, it hit the spot, and provided us with the calories we needed to get us to supper. After a quick walk around the rest area to stretch our legs, we were on the road again heading to our campground.
With no issues, we arrived at the park around 3:45. We had covered 400.5 miles in about 6 hours and 25 minutes with our gas, restroom and lunch stops. We quickly began to set up camp, and I am happy to report we had the tent and inflatable air mattress ready to go in less than 30 minutes. We improved our time for tent set-up by about five minutes from our practice run in our backyard at home. I was very excited about that.
Things went so well that we actually had time to relax before having to worry about supper. Speaking of supper, Beth outdid herself. Our menu for the evening meal consisted of flounder filets, expertly prepared on our Coleman 2 burner propane camp stove, instant mashed potatoes that were almost as good as my mother-in-law used to make, and a generous serving of green beans. This would have been a $25 dinner at a seafood restaurant in Nags Head. I think it cost us less than $5.00 per person. Beth spoiled me today. Should I expect this type of meal every day over the next 3 months? Probably, knowing Beth! After supper, we took a quick walk around the campground and then relaxed, with Beth reading a book and me jouranling about our day.
Our plan for Thursday is to get up early and be to Congaree by 8:00. We have about a 40 minute drive from our campground to the park. We hope to spend all day there hiking and exploring the first of our many stops. We have a list of trails we want to hike and someattractions within the park we want to see. We will report back in our next post.
Would you believe me if I were to say I am already anticipating supper when we get back? I really am.
It was a good travel day and thank God for safety and good weather. Our escapade is off to a great start and things really begin in earnest in Congaree. Please come along for the ride!