We Arrived Around 5:30 pm
and Began Setting-Up Our Camper
The Oglethorpe Astronomical Association made arrangements to conduct its annual Messier Marathon, March 16-18, at a private observing site located in Long County. This offered the perfect excuse to go camping.
On Friday, after work, Beth Ann and I towed our camper to the Blueberry farm near Ludiwici. Several OAA members had already arrived and set up. We set up our camper on one side of the barn and was able to use an outlet for bare minimum electrical use. The weather was nice, so air conditioning was not necessary.
After we set up, several more OAA members and visitors arrived.
After the camper was set up, Beth Ann and I ate (take-out) sandwiches and chocolate nut sundaes purchased earlier from Leopold's (located in downtown Savannah.)
As the sun was beginning to set, many of us went out to the observing area and set up our scopes.
As darkness settled in, you could feel a slight chill in the air. The transparency was great. I stayed out until around 1 am observing. Being tired and sleepy, I covered my scope, stored my accessories, returned to the camper, and went to bed.
Beth Ann and I got out of bed around 8:30am and ate breakfast. We decided to take a trip to General Coffee State Park, to see if that may be a perspective camping site for us in the future. General Coffee State Park is around 60 miles SW of Ludiwici.
Before we left, I took a picture of a tree formation covered with moss, which created an arch framing the property owners' observatory in the background.
We began our trek to General Coffee around noon. As we approached Jesup, we sited an antique store across the road from Rayonier. The little antique store was worth the stop as we spent about 30 minutes perusing the merchandise. We then continued our journey and arrived at General Coffee State Park around 1:30pm.
General Coffee State Park was OK as far as facilities go, but many of the campsites were sandy, unleveled, and had little or no privacy. We probably will not camp at this State Park.
We left General Coffee and returned to the Blueberry farm near Ludiwici. More folks had arrived to observe.
After supper, I went out to the observing area to set up my equipment. Beth Ann followed. We stayed out for a couple of hours, but it got too chilly for both of us. We returned to the camper for a good night's sleep.
We got out of bed around 8:30am on Sunday and ate breakfast. We took a tour of the blueberry farm on a golf cart. The owner informed us about the life cycle of blueberries. While touring the grounds, we also saw 2 types of carnivorous plants: Pitcher Plants and Sundews.
Around noon we began packing up. We arrived home safely around 1:30pm.
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