Mt. Lebanon Chapel & Sunday Brunch

We went to church with Jean and Joe this morning at Mount Lebanon Chapel. St. James Parish Episcopal Church has summer morning services at the historic Mount Lebanon Chapel that was built in 1835.

From Wilmington

There is no air conditioning at the chapel, but there are 3 large ceiling fans that help circulate the air. We sat in a pew by one of the large windows and it was comfortable. Since there is no air conditioning, most people wore comfortable clothing and a few even wore shorts.

Since Mike and I are both interested in history and genealogy, we really enjoyed attending a church that would be similar to one our ancestors would have attended.

From Wilmington

After church Jean drove us around Landfall to show us some of the huge houses there.

From Wilmington

We then went to one of the Country Clubs (there are 2 country clubs) in Landfall for Sunday Brunch. Once a month Jean and Joe get together with

Traveling to Wilmington, NC

We left The Oaks at Point South at 8:45 and drove north on I-95. We stopped for lunch at a rest area near Shiloh, SC a little before 11:00 We pulled into a Flying J at Latta, SC and got gas in the motor home ($3.079 a gal).

We kept seeing billboards every few miles advertising "South of the Border"

From Beaufort to Wilmington

and then at Dillon, SC we saw what all the billboards were about. South of the Border is a major roadside attraction - motel, restaurant, shops, and rides.

From Beaufort to Wilmington

We crossed into North Carolina and really enjoyed seeing the day lilies planted in the median and at exits on I-95.

From Beaufort to Wilmington

We left I-95 at exit 14 and headed east on US-74 to Wilmington. We called Mike's cousin Jean at 3:30 to let her know that we were about 10 minutes away from her house. Jean and her husband Joe live in a gated community called Landfall and Joe met us at the entrance gate. He led us over to the parking lot by the playground where we are going to park the motor home while we stay with Jean and Joe.

After parking the RV, we followed Joe to their condo here in Landfall. It's been 5 years since we've seen Jean and Joe and they moved into a two-story condo a couple of years ago.

Jean and Joe's daughter, Ellen, and her family arrived at 4:00 to join us for dinner. We hadn't seen Ellen since she was a little girl about 8 or 9 years old. Ellen is now married to Mike, a Colonel in the Marines, and has 2 teenage boys, Houston and Jackson.

From Wilmington

Jean had cooked Beef Bourguignon and we had a salad and rolls for dinner. We had a great time visiting over dinner. Ellen and her family live at Camp Lejeune which is about 40 miles north of Wilmington. They will be moving to Maryland in a couple of weeks because Mike will be stationed in Washington, D.C.

Ellen and her family stayed until 8:00 and then left to head back up to Camp Lejeune. We stayed up visiting with Jean and Joe for a while before heading up to our bedroom.

Sightseeing in Beaufort, SC

We had rain off and on during last night and then some really heavy rain this morning around 8:00. The rain had slacked off some by the time we left the campground at 9:00 and headed east to Beaufort. We got to Beaufort Dog at 9:30 where Tinker is going to be bathed and groomed. After giving instructions on how we wanted Tinker cut and leaving a copy of his shot records, we headed into town.

We located the Beaufort Visitor Center which is housed in the Beaufort Arsenal which was constructed in 1798. Unfortunately the museum there is closed on Wednesdays, but we did pick up some brochures and got recommendations for places to eat.

From Beaufort, SC

After driving around for a while, we parked near the Waterfront Park. We had a problem with the parking ticket kiosk when I tried to buy a parking permit - it took some of my money and didn't give me a parking permit. Long story short - Mike called the city and some employees came out to work on the kiosk and said we were OK to park there without the permit -since they were the ones who issued tickets.

By now it was almost 11:00 and we walked along the Waterfront Park looking for a place to have coffee. We had hoped to be able to sit outside where we could view the Beaufort River, but it was still raining. The coffee houses were full and we finally decided to have an early lunch. We settled on Hemingway's Bistro which is located in the

A Little Shopping & a Few Phone Calls

We spent a quiet day here at the campground yesterday. I went up to the laundry which is behind the campground office and did a few loads of laundry. Mike called the parts department at the Camping World in Raleigh, NC to check on the order of the replacement roller tube and awning material for the motor home. They are to e-mail a copy of the work order, so we can e-mail it to our insurance company.

We also called the Beaufort Dog in Beaufort and made an appointment to have Tinker bathed and groomed on Wednesday while we go sightseeing.

Mike also took a couple of photos of our campsite yesterday.

From Driving to Yemassee, SC

There are a lot of trees here and we tried to get satellite TV, but our dish is pointing towards several trees. Thank goodness for basic cable!

From Driving to Yemassee, SC

This morning we drove down to the Piggly Wiggly in Ridgeland which is about 15 miles south of here. We needed just a few things and it is the closest grocery store to the campground.

Tomorrow we are going into Beaufort to do some sightseeing and shopping while Tinker is being groomed.

We had some rain yesterday afternoon, but none today. But we do have more rain moving in tonight.

Traveling to Yemassee, SC

We left Pointes West Army Resort at 10:20 this morning and drove down to the Costco in Augusta to get gas in the motor home. We paid $3.049 a gallon this morning at Costco. After leaving Costco, we drove south through downtown Augusta and through Olde Town again.

From Driving to Yemassee, SC

We continued south on SR-125 and crossed the Savannah River about 11:30 and entered South Carolina.

From Driving to Yemassee, SC

State Road 125 was four lane for a good portion of our drive until we got to the Savannah

Olde Town in Augusta & Laurel & Hardy Museum

Last night I set our alarm clock for 7:00 so we could get an early start this morning. Well ----- I didn't notice that the time on the clock was wrong and we actually got up this morning at 6:00! I guess that when the electricity went off the other night that it messed up time on the clock and we didn't notice it. So we got to see the sunrise this morning over the lake.

From Augusta, GA

We left the RV around 8:45 and stopped to look at a historical marker and rock foundation that is just inside the entrance to the RV Resort. It turns out that the rocks surround the Hardin Cemetery. The Hardins were one of the founding families of Columbia County, Georgia and 4 members of the family are buried there. And no, they are no relation to either Mike or I.

From Augusta, GA

We then drove down to the Augusta Genealogical Society in downtown Augusta. We passed by some beautiful churches and houses and drove around taking some photos before going on to the Genealogical Society.

From Augusta, GA

The Augusta Genealogical Society's Library is house in the old Georgia Railroad Bank and we found a parking place right in front. I rang the doorbell and one of the volunteers let us in. After signing the guest book and storing my purse in one of the lockers, I told them I was

Awning damage in last night's thunderstorm

I mentioned in last night's post that we were supposed to have some thunderstorms. Boy, did we ever!! It started raining around 9:00 with thunder and lightning. We had been having really heavy rain for a while when I looked out of the window at 10:00 and realized that our awning was sagging. Oh yes, that is also the time when the electricity went off.

Even though we had the awning tilted to allow the rain water to run off and it had been, the rain was coming down so hard and fast that the rain water wasn't draining off fast enough to keep up with the downpour.

Mike went out and tried to dump the water from the awning by lifting it up with the broom, but it wasn't working. Mike finally climbed up on the ladder and pushed against the awning using his head and shoulders to lift the awning and dump the water. It worked and after about 15 minutes or so, Mike had managed to dump the water that had accumulated in the awning.

I went outside and helped Mike lower the awning and put it up, but the release lever to allow the awning to roll up was jammed and Mike had to take a hammer to loosen it. Then we