Shelby Hamfest
September 3, 2004, was the beginning of our vacation. A series of tropical storms and hurricanes had ravaged the Southeast. Another storm, Hurricane Frances, was coming through Florida and heading our way. Would this storm spoil our vacation?
We began our trip early Friday morning. When we got on I-95N in SC, there was heavy traffic from the South as thousands of people were evacuating Florida due to Hurricane Frances. SC rest stops were overcrowded with weary travelers. This was not a good sign.
Our first destination with our camper was Pine Cone Campground near Gaffney, SC. This was to be only a "sleeping place" for us while we attended the Shelby Hamfest and Computer Show Friday and Saturday located 25 miles away from the campground. The staff at Pine Cone was friendly. We were assigned a "pull thru" site that had water, electric, and sewage. We ended up in a site next to a "permanent." The campground manager informed us, that our neighbor liked animals. We saw a dog and a cat and weren't bothered by that information.
After setting up the camper, Beth Ann and I drove to the Shelby Hamfest and met up with a friend and fellow ham radio operator, Jack Norris, WB4TWX. Jack had a flea market area reserved for him and us. Beth Ann and I set up our table. Although the hamfest was not officially open, we immediately had some curious shoppers looking for a bargain. (Beth Ann had high hopes that I would get rid of a bunch of old electronics stuff...translated "junk" that was taking up space in the attic.) As the sun set, we left the hamfest and returned to our camper. We rested awhile and turned on our 13" TV to watch the news and check on the storm. The 13" TV was much better to watch than the 5" that had been used on previous trips. After the news and weather, we set our alarm clock for 6:00am, and then went to sleep.
At 4:21am, we were rudely awakened by the persistent crow of a rooster...a rooster owned by the "permanent" next door. The rooster finally quit crowing after about 10 minutes and we were able to fall back asleep. At 5:21am it started crowing again....geez, a snooze alarm. After about 10 minutes it quit crowing. By now, Beth Ann and I were wide-awake and decided to get up and get dressed. We drove to the hamfest and arrived around 7:15am. We barely uncovered the items on the table, when bargain-hunters began to crowd around. There was a lot of "stuff" at the hamfest. I had a couple of chances to walk around the huge flea market on the fairground and see everyone else's wares.
We had a successful time at the hamfest. A lot of "junque" was sold, but to the chagrin of Beth Ann, some items remained to be taken back home until another hamfest. We made one last roam of the hamfest Saturday evening. Jack, WB4TWX, found an unattended black briefcase...but that's another story. What happens in Shelby, stays in Shelby. We went out to supper with Jack and some friends, and then returned to Pine Cone Campground. Before retiring, we tuned in to the news to check on the "storm." Frances was heading in our general direction, with major rainfall predicted within the next day or so.
After leaving Pine Cone Campground Sunday morning, we visited the Camping World Superstore in Spartanburg. They had a lot of cool camping stuff. Some small purchases were made, and we then continued to our next destination, Bear Creek Campground in Ashville, NC. On the way, we had to travel over some fairly high mountains, but other than slowing down, our vehicle and camper handled the steep inclines and descents as well.
We arrived at Bear Creek Campground around 1pm and checked in. We were assigned to a "pull-thru" site near the entrance of the campground. The site had water, sewer, and electric connections. We also got cable, but because the connection was over 40' away on another site, we had to put a $10 deposit down on a longer cable line, acquired from the campground office, to be able to connect. The management was friendly and helpful. The campground was nice, clean, and scenic (mountains.) The campground is located between 2 interstates, I-40 and I-240. Our site was adjacent to South Bear Creek Road. Highway and road noise was quite noticeable being in a "hybrid" camper. Our site was too close to our neighbors, so we could not extend out our awning.
After we set up the camper, we traveled to Brevard, NC, to visit Aunt Grace and Uncle Perry. From Brevard, we then went to the Hendersonville Apple Festival. We returned to Asheville, hoping to eat at "The Poseidon," a good restaurant that we discovered several years ago. To our dismay, we found that it had recently closed. Very disappointed, we ended up eating at Don Pablos Mexican Restaurant on Tunnel Rd. After supper, we then returned to our camper. Before retiring for the night, we checked the news and weather. Frances was heading towards Asheville and would be arriving Tuesday with torrential rains. With that not so encouraging news, we turned out the lights and went to sleep.
We woke up Monday morning to partly cloudy skies. We visited the nearby Asheville Farmer's Market. It was an impressive farmer's market compared to the one here in Savannah, GA. We were hungry, so we decided to eat breakfast at the Moose Cafe located in the Farmer's Market. Breakfast was GREAT!!!!! We left the Farmer's Market, and traveled to the Chimney Rock area. We rode around checking out the sites and scenery. We even checked out a few campgrounds for possible future trips in the area. We stopped at a roadside stand and purchased a nice ice-cold gallon of apple cider. We returned to Asheville as it started to rain. Later we went back to the Moose Cafe for a very delicious and filling supper. Before retiring for the evening, we checked the news and weather. Tropical storm Frances was still heading toward Asheville with heavy rains and winds. It was raining as we went to sleep and it was raining when we awoke at daybreak on Tuesday. We readied the camper for the road.
It was pouring down rain as we left Bear Creek and the Asheville area. We traveled East on I-26 to I-95, then headed South on I-95 to Exit 33 Pointe South in SC. Through heavy rains and even a tornado warning in the Orangeburg, SC area, we made it safely to Hunting Island, SC. We set up our camper on campsite #145. Due to the rain, small debris from the trees was sticking to the tent material. We went to a nearby Beaufort Walmart and purchased a tarp to cover the tent end. The tarp also reduced the amount of sunlight coming in through the tent end when we awoke from our night's sleep the next morning.
Sporadic showers kept us from doing a lot of outside activities on Wednesday. (According to news reports, parts of NC near Asheville, had 6-12 inches of rain and severe flooding. We were glad to be away from that area.) The rain subsided later that afternoon allowing us to go to the beach. We were shocked by what we saw. The shoreline had been ravaged by a series of recent storms, leaving an ugly beachscape of fallen trees, stumps, and debris...not the pristine, beautiful beach that we had experienced just a month before.
As evening approached, it was determined that the camper's gray water tank was almost full. Thanks to a recent purchase from PECO Campers, I was able to use a portable gray water tank to get rid of our gray water. It was simple. Empty camper's gray water in the portable tank, cap the tank, attach tank to trailer hitch ball on vehicle, drive slowly to dump station, and then empty portable tank. That was much easier than previously using the 5 gallon bucket.
Thursday, we drove home to meet the "Sodman." We had our front yard resod with new St. Augustine grass. While home, we also washed some clothes and took care of other business. Later that evening, we drove back to the campground and relaxed outside the camper. The weather was nice, the night sky was clear. It was so peaceful...until a family of 4 curious raccoons startled us as they came out of the woods and briefly visited us, before moving on.
Friday and Saturday sporadic rain showers further dampened our vacation. Saturday morning we decided to pack up and go home. It had been a long week full of adventure and uncertainties.
Before leaving, I had to take pictures of this unusual camping setup. This camping configuration belongs to a French woman, who annually visits the U.S., and has her car and unique camping equipment shipped over to the "states." She was camping on one of the beachfront camping sites.
We made it home safely, and once again backed the camper in to the driveway successfully.
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