States – Page 55 – Wandering Dawgs

Exploring Mount Airy and the Blue Ridge Parkway

April 10, 2014June 17, 2026Posted in North Carolina, Parks, Road Trip, RV Parks, RVing, Tourist AttractionsTagged Andy Griffith, Blue Ridge Parkway, Mabry Mill, Mayberry, Mount Airy12 Comments

Many of us who grew up in the 50’s and 60’s have fond memories of watching The Andy Griffith Show. I loved watching Andy and Opie walking down the path with their fishing poles at the beginning of each of the older episodes. It was this image that was chosen for a statue in Mount Airy, North Carolina.

Mount Airy is the birthplace of Andy Griffith. A walk down Main Street is like walking through the fictional town of Mayberry. Just a few blocks from Floyd’s Barber Shop you can visit Wally’s Service Station and the Mayberry Courthouse.

After breakfast at the Snappy lunch (famous for their pork chop sandwich) we visited the Andy Griffith museum which contains exhibits from Andy’s long acting career. In addition to playing Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry, he was in several movies and later played TV’s Matlock. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2005.

Andy and Opie on the water tower in Mount Airy, NC

After the museum we walked through an exhibit about Chang and Eng Bunker, Siamese twins who settled in the area and raised their families in the 1800’s. We couldn’t leave town without stopping at Wally’s Service Station for a look around. After driving by Andy Griffith’s home place we drove north on Highway 52 for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Wally’s Service Station in Mount Airy, NC

We turned onto the Blue Ridge Parkway at Mile Marker 199 in Fancy Gap, Virginia and continued going north. After stopping to take a short hike we arrived at Mabry Mill to discover that none of the facilities on the parkway are open until May 1. No worries. I was able to take pictures from the parking lot.

Mabry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia

We spent 2 nights at the Mayberry Campground in Mount Airy.

Spring Road Trip

April 8, 2014June 17, 2026Posted in COE Park, Georgia, Road Trip, RVing, Tourist AttractionsTagged Carolina Jasmine, Harlem Georgia, J Strom Thurmond Lake, Laurel and Hardy Museum, Oliver Hardy, Spring Flowers, Wild Dogwoods, Winfield Campground7 Comments

Our first stop on our spring road trip was in Appling, Georgia at one of the Corps of Engineers Campgrounds on the shore of J Strom Thurmond Lake. For three nights we enjoyed the peace and tranquility of our lake front campsite.

Looking at Winfield Campground Site 10 from the lake

When it is springtime in Georgia the Wild Dogwoods and Carolina Jasmine add splashes of white and yellow throughout the woods.

We took a short drive to Harlem, Georgia to visit the birthplace of Oliver Hardy. He was born there in 1892 and moved to Milledgeville, Georgia with his mother after his father died. He attended the Military College of Georgia there and the University of Georgia for a short time. There are images of him all through town and in October the whole town celebrates with a Laurel and Hardy Festival.

Oliver Norvell Hardy was born in Harlem, Georgia in 1892

On Saturday we took a drive to Modoc, South Carolina to meet with friends Bill and Carol who are work campers there. We had a great time catching up with them and making some new RV friends.

Wandering in South Carolina

March 23, 2014June 20, 2015Posted in Lighthouse, Road Trip, RVing, South Carolina, State ParksTagged beach, Hunting Island Lighthouse, Hunting Island State Park, Lighthouse, ocean6 Comments

After spending the winter catching up with chores at home and dreaming about wandering, we made our maiden voyage of 2014 just one state over from Georgia to South Carolina.

We started our short trip with 3 nights in Columbia watching our grandson play in a soccer tournament. It was so much fun to watch him play and cheer from the sidelines with his parents and sister.

On our way home we spent a rainy night at Hunting Island State Park. Our first visit there was over 30 years ago in our tent camping days when our kids were little. We have been wanting to return there ever since we got the fifth wheel. Hunting Island is located about 42 miles from I-95 at the end of Hwy 21. The drive takes you through beautiful salt marshes, across rivers and sounds, and through several towns including Beaufort (if you are driving a big rig, take the truck route instead of going through downtown Beaufort).

The campground has about 200 sites, some of them right next to the beach. Our site was located in a loop with the sites surrounded by tall trees and palmettos. A short walk from the RV took us to the dog friendly beach in front of the campground.

The rain let up a little so we drove to the lighthouse to explore. The Hunting Island Lighthouse is the only lighthouse in South Carolina accessible to the public. A short path in front of the lighthouse leads to the beach.

The Hunting Island, SC Lighthouse is the only lighthouse in South Carolina which is open to the public

Hunting Island, SC Lighthouse

Beach in front of the Hunting Island, SC Lighthouse

Dunes in front of the Hunting Island, SC Lighthouse

The Beach at Hunting Island State Park Campground, SC

A narrow paved road winds through the campground at Hunting Island State Park, SC

Remembering our 2013 Travels

December 31, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Birds, Florida, Georgia, RVing, State Parks, Sunset, United States Forest ServiceTagged Egret, Little Ocmulge, Ocala National Forest, Salt Springs, Stephen Foster, Suwanee River5 Comments

Happy New Year!! 2013 was a great year for wandering!

This year we checked off one of the biggest items on our bucket list: from May to September we made the trip of a lifetime to Alaska and back in our RV. In the fall we visited a beautiful COE park in West Point, Georgia. I’ve already posted about those trips in previous posts on this blog so here are a few photos from our January 2013 journey to south Georgia and North Florida.

We started 2013 with a short trip to three different parks. The first was Little Ocmulgee State Park in Helena, Georgia.

Our main destination was a week in the United States Forest Service campground in Salt Springs, Florida.

Our final stop was at one of our favorite parks, Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs, Florida.

The Carillon at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center, January, 2013

So where do think we will be off to in 2014? Stay tuned for more.

Wandering Dawgs Wander Again

November 13, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Birds, COE Park, Georgia, RVing, Sunset, WildlifeTagged autumn, fall colors, fog, geese, Nature, R Schaefer Heard, West Point Lake14 Comments

Not all of our wandering is to far away places like Alaska or the Yukon. Sometimes we wander close to home. On Monday, we hitched up the Titanium for a road trip to Auburn, Alabama to watch the south’s oldest football rivalry between Georgia and Auburn this coming Saturday. We decided to take a few extra days and explore a new to us Corps of Engineers park on West Point Lake in West Point, Georgia just off of I-85 near the Georgia/Alabama line. It’s great traveling during the week during the off season. We are almost the only ones here.

R Schaefer Heard COE Campground on West Point Lake Site 113

We spent three relaxing nights in site 113 in the campground with no other campers in our loop. The trees were wearing their fall colors and the sunsets were spectacular.

Our only neighbors were the geese.

R Schaefer Heard Campground on West Point Lake is one of three Corps of Engineers campgrounds on the lake. Our site is about 40 feet from the lake and like most COE parks we have a large site with plenty of room between our site and the ones on either side. Our site is a paved, back in site with water and electric hookups, a tent pad, fire ring, picnic table and a beautiful lake view. For more information about the park or to make reservations you can go the Recreation.gov site for R Schaefer Heard