Going to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

As Morty strained at his little turtle reins to get on the road this morning, we held him back for a hike of the Venus Fly-Catcher path to see at least one meat-eating pitcher plant. Not so much luck in the Venus department but we did encounter a couple of very bold mosquitoes.



We had to choose between a backtrack of about 30 miles to the north, or a ferry ride that cost only $10 for Morty's double size. Well, Morty would burn at least $21 in direct operating costs on such a trip, so the decision was pretty easy, not to mention that someone else would be doing the driving. You would have to say that the good folks at the North Carolina Department of Ferries (or whatever), are doing a bang up job at promoting tourism. I hope the good citizens of NC appreciate what a gem they have here. I also earnestly hope that they are not losing too much money in the big overall scheme of things.



We arrived at the ferry dock with an hour to spare so it looked like a good opportunity to do some photography -- and it was -- with egrets and flowers and boats! We were soon approached by a young lady with all the questions about what kind of Nikon camera to buy and on and on. Young Susan filled a sheet of paper with all the answers, chief among which was to read Ken Rockwell on the web. 
She now lives in Kure Beach, the town south of Carolina Beach as a retired flight attendant. When she says she never met a stranger, we believer her completely. She took a picture of us, and we got a couple of her on the ferry playing "King of the World" a'la the Titanic movie. We are hoping photography helps her come out of her shell. [Note to Susan: your email must have been sucked into the van vent plumbing -- please write us at jimkelly4@yahoo.com]

Carolina Beach State Park

After yesterday's clear moon-lit drive, Morty sloshed through miserable cold, showers and fog all the way from Weythville's 7 AM departure until we were just outside of Wilmington around 2 PM. Another 300 mile day, but then the skies cleared and it warmed up into the 80s. Almost too good to be true.

The campground is only about 10% filled, and this on Halloween. I guess we'll have no goblin parades here tonight, unlike some Michigan campgrounds. We are on the intracoastal side of the island, but it is just a short bike ride to the ocean side. Seniors get $5 off the $18 nightly camping fee, but you have to make your own electricity. Only five of the North Carolina's campgrounds provide elcectricity, and only one of those is in the coastal region -- something to think about for summer camping. We are nestled in amongst 100 foot tall pines, and tomorrow the park rangers will be teaching us about snakes.



Lynne and I biked the park grounds, and found the hiking path for the Venus Fly-Catcher plant. Afterwords, I biked across the island to check out the boardwalk and beach along with the beach town garishness of the off-season.

Tomorrow Morty will be back on his 99 mile schedule with a trip to Myrtle Beach State Park. We are hoping this good weather holds despite the forecast of rain. The South Carolina state parks seem to have electricity and ocean-front living -- a couple of things that are increasingly important.