Visiting Charleston Naval Base and Over Coming One of My Full Time Fears

Today we traveled into Charleston to visit the  Navy Weapon Storage Base.  Starting tomorrow it t will be our home for a few nights.  The office that sells discount tour tickets  for military personnel was not going to be open after today due to the holidays.  So we decided to go today  and take advantage of some discounts.  At the same time we wanted to check out the campground.

It was about an hour drive and the weather is improving more and more.  We actually opened up the sun roof in the Jeep and did not have to wear our jackets, long underwear (too much info) and gloves.  Maybe we have finally out run the bad weather. 

We arrived at the office and got all the information about the tours.  As we were sitting at a table sorting everything out a nice lady from the area offered us some great tips.  How nice of her.  With a plan in place we left to check out the campground.  There are 46 full hook up sites with concrete pads (pictures to follow in a later post).  The sites are close together and there are not any trees or much of an "it" factor. However, for $15/night  it is a great bargain and we won't be staying there very much.

Afterwords we went to the grocery store on base.  It was large and recently renovated.  Nearby  there is  an Air Force base with a campground..  They do not allow reservation in advance so while we were in the area we drove over to see it too.  Part of our plan this  winter is to check out  as many bases and areas as possible to help with planning next winter.  We already know that next year we would love to spend more time in this area.  

The Air Force Base was beautiful and very large.  However, the campground was very disappointing.  It did look like they may be adding on to it but there was not any one to ask questions due to the holidays.  Staying at the Navy base turned out to be a good decision. 

We then went back to our little piece of heaven.  John had an opportunity to talk to the camp hosts. at the National Forest  They have been volunteers here for a month and have enjoyed their time.  These positions are on a volunteer basis with two days off per week.  With only 14 sites to watch over they have found the  camphost position to be fairly easy.  One of their duties include cleaning the bathrooms.  Not all workampers will take positions when that is a requirement.  For us, being able to stay at this location would be worth the additional bathroom duties.

As we arrived home I had an opportunity to talk to our neighbor..   Bliss asked to see our motorcoach and wanted to ask a few questions about full timing.  Bliss and Eddie stopped by after dinner and we had a nice visit.  They have a Newmar Mountainaire and like their motorcoach very much.  Bliss's sister Cheryl also came over and she has a class C motorcoach.  We were impressed to find out that she is a solo traveler.  

We answered lots of their questions and also told them about FMCA (Family Motorcoach Association).  Their rally next year will be in Perry Georgia in March. We attended their rally last year and really enjoyed it. The seminars are so helpful and it's a great location.  Our paths may cross again soon if they decide to join.  Bliss even brought us a house warming present-a back scratcher.  Folks in the South are so friendly. They also gave us some great tips for a seafood restaurant. 

Eddie,Bliss, Cheryl, and Back Scratcher

One of my biggest concerns about the full time lifestyle is a common one for women.  How to take care of our hair while on the road.   On some of the forums it can receive numerous posts.   I really was not ready to go gray but knew that  finding a salon every 6 weeks would be difficult and  with our reduced budget an expense that could not be continued. My gray was becoming more evident so at the base today I bought my first box of Nice and Easy.  It really lived up to it's name and for $5.00 it looks great.  Whew!  Now that's one less worry.  Hopefully it won't turn green in a few days!  I'll keep you posted.