Google Earth Questions

 

Cross Hill, SC,  Lake Greenwood Motorcoach Resort, (high 95, low 66)

 

Yesterday was a hot here in South Carolina.  It seems to me it gets hotter up here than it does in Florida.

Our evening trip to the hot tub, turned out to a trip to the pool instead.  They have a beautiful  pool here that was just the perfect temperature.

Earlier in the day, we took what was supposed to be a short trip into town, but ended  up doing  little sightseeing.

Most of you have heard of Park Seed and Nursery,  and I’ll bet we’ve all had their catalogs.  They are supposed to be located  in the city of Greenwood.   The GPS pointed us to a dead end, so we never did find them.  We thought we would find a nice little park like setting where we could walk around and look at pretty landscaping.   Of course, the head designers at Park Seed did the landscaping for Lake Greenwood Rv Resort, so I guess we’re seeing all those pretty plants and designs every day!

After another stop at Ryan's Buffet (yes that makes 2 days in a row), we discovered downtown Greenwood.  What a pretty downtown area they have and June is the month for their flower festival.

 

There were beautiful topiaries, most of which were covered in live flowers and plants.

Here is the SC college mascot.  A Gamecock.  See his cute little beak and feet?

The red is made from lots of red begonias.

And here is King Kong.

and an old car.

After we ate lunch, we ended up at a National Historic Site called  “96”.

It was the site of the first southern battle of the Revolutionary War.  The loyalists were defending the star shaped fort against the patriot forces  which were led  by General Nathanael Green.  Although the patriots lost, the victorious loyalists abandoned this post soon after the battle and moved further towards the coast.

It was a lovely park with a lot to see and do, however it was so darned hot, that we made it a quick trip. Unfortunately, the visitor center was closed yesterday, so we had to learn what we could outside in the 95 degree heat.

It was a beautiful area with a lot of huge and fragrant pine trees.  It’s a place we’d enjoy going back to on a cooler day.

 

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions from yesterday’s post.  We have decided to head to Cleveland, Georgia, which is in the north Georgia mountains.   I have it mapped out on Microsoft Streets and Trips as well as our truckers GPS.

I checked Google Earth and it looks like we should be able to get there without too many frazzled nerves.  :)

I have not figured out how to get the elevation to show, like George and Suzie suggested.  I tried adding a pushpin which indicates you can get elevation, but I was unable to figure out how to make it work. 

Any suggestions on showing elevation on Google Earth? 

I do have a phone app called Get Altitude.   You can get the elevation from where you are currently at or search a new location.  It’s great, but having it on Google Earth would be more convenient….if I could make it work!

We had planned on heading to Cleveland today, but there is a cold front pushing through with the probability of severe weather.  You know me.  If I can avoid bad weather, I will certainly try.  Al lets me make all the decisions regarding weather.  (and the reason for that is because he got us caught 25 miles offshore in our boat during terrible storms and lighting.)

Actually, he did that twice and the second time was when he told me that from then on, he told me I was in charge of weather decisions.

So….another day hanging out here in the beautiful Lake Greenwood Resort.  There are certainly worse places to be and it’s nice we can be flexible.

Mountains in our Future?

 

Cross Hill, Sc  Lakewood Greenwood Rv Resort (high 94, low 73)

 

It’s getting warm here and since we’re on the top of a hill with no shade, it might be time to get out of dodge and head north to the Georgia mountains.

We had intended on leaving today, but we couldn’t find a place to go that didn’t involve driving the motor home up into the mountains.   We were looking for a nice campground with easy access, and big sites that was at the foothills with lower elevations.   I figured we could then take the truck up into the mountains for a day trip, and leave the motor home tucked safely at a lower elevation.  Less nerve wracking for me.

I know, I know…..you are all thinking what a wuss I am.  Al recently told me I needed to “ grow a pair”.

We have had very little experience in mountain driving, since we’re Floridians and we don’t even have hills.   It’s not that I’m worried the coach will make it up the steep grades, but  I don’t like those windy, curvy roads with nothing but a big drop off on the sides.    We’re also not fond of those steep descents  back down the mountains, but we’re feeling better about that since we’re learning how how to use our exhaust brake.   Any tips are always appreciated!

I have a fear of accidently getting on a road that is not meant for big rigs, so I am going over the GPS and Streets and Trips maps to try to avoid that.  We also have a truckers atlas, but of course it never quite matches up with the Garmin Truckers Dezl GPS and the Streets and Trips programs.

Between the weather and mountain driving, I really am such a worrier.  Al wants to put me on a daily dose of Valium!

 

Speaking of weather, Monday turned out to be another day of of thunderstorms and another tornado watch.  Not my favorite way to spend the day, but it turned out we had very little rain and the wind wasn’t bad.  I survived another day!

We haven’t been doing much, just a little laundry, and a trip into town for a few groceries, and of course we’re making sure to get to the hot tub for happy hour.  We ended up deflating and storing the kayaks without even using them. Once the tornado watch went out the second time, we decided they would be safer stored away. 

Mr. Baxter did get to go outside on his leash the other night.  He normally goes out in his stroller, but it was buried in the back of the truck, so he got a treat and got to go for a short walk on his leash.  We don’t normally like his feet touching the ground because the fleas absolutely love  him.  We are constantly battling fleas which apparently get in on our clothes.

 

The red thing is his harness but we call it his “dress”.   He wouldn’t sit still for a minute, so he didn’t get to stay out very long. It was pitch dark, and I was afraid he would slip out of his harness and run off.  

That’s an ugly picture of Al, but Baxter looks cute, so he said I could post it.

As I type this, Al is busy making our morning green smoothie.   Baxter is eating bok choy, spinach, and dandelion greens.  He’s quite the vegetarian, isn’t he?

Al and I are about 11 months into our mostly vegan way of eating.   He has lost 24 pounds and I’ve lost 22.  It’s been a little up and down, but we got a pleasant surprise yesterday when we weighed ourselves.  Of course, after that we went to Ryans Buffet and ate way too much!  We won’t be getting on the scales today.

Tomorrow, we are either heading to Dillard, Blairsville, or Cleveland Georgia.   We are deciding on which campground we can get to the easiest and with less stress!  Wish us luck!   Any campground suggestions?

 

the end

Mountains and the “T” Word

 

Cross Hill, SC @ Lake Greenwood Rv Resort, site 62  (high 83, low 67)

 

Yesterday, was an interesting day…..and not all of it was in a good way.

When we got up and the weather was beautiful and sunny, so we decided to take a day trip.   We are about 100 miles from the mountains, and we had heard that Greenville, SC was a nice place to visit.  Off we went about 10:30, still undecided on where we were going.  So much for an early start!

We finally decided on Greenville.  Here in the south it’s not called “ville”.  It’s pronounced “vull”.   So off to Greenvulle we went.

We drove through their downtown area that is lined with shops, and open air restaurants.  Since it was Sunday, there were people and cars everywhere, and limited parking. 

We drove by a place called Falls Park on the Reedy. 

It looked kind of interesting, but again, too many people and too little parking.

I just Googled it and this is the information I got.

This downtown public garden features the only curved, cantilevered pedestrian suspension bridge in the United States.

Maybe we should have stopped.  That sounded interesting.

Anyway, we drove through Greenville and decided we weren’t too far from Brevard, North Carolina, and there was a campground we wanted to check out.

Of course “not far”  in mountainous areas is different than on flat ground.

We ended up driving on this curvy little mountain road that went right up a mountain.  After driving, and driving, we finally stumbled upon a place to stop called Ceasers Head State Park, which is in South Carolina, but very near the North Carolina border. 

It turned out to be a little gem with a beautiful scenic overlook.

Unfortunately, almost as soon as we arrived, it started to rain, so we went back to the car to wait it out.

After a few minutes the rain quit and the sun tried to come out, so we walked back to the overlook and snapped a few more photos.

It was a beautiful park, and since we were at 3208 feet elevation, it was nice and cool. The highest peak in South Carolina is 3560 elevation, so we were close.

They have some nice trails with waterfalls, but we weren’t prepared to take even a short hike, since I was wearing flip flops.  Of course the weather was a concern as well.

After we left the park, we still wanted to go to Brevard and check out the campground.

We crossed the North Carolina line.

 

Not long after we saw these signs, than my weather app on my cell phone went off alerting us to a tornado warning back where the motor home (and kitties) were.

That certainly got our attention.  I looked at the radar and saw a lot of small storms.   This was not a watch (the possibility of tornado) but a warning which usually means there is a tornado on the ground.

This tornado warning said something like “ there are strong storms, with the probability of a tornado forming. The warning covered a large area, but it included our home.

Of course, I started to worry and we headed back towards home.   I had exchanged phone numbers with Peggy and Jay (our neighbors with the pontoon boat) and I gave them a call to check on the weather. The weather was fine at this point.

I was mostly concerned about the cats, but of course I worried about our home as well.  On top of that, we had left our inflated kayaks sitting out, unsecured, so I could just see them blowing away in the wind.  

We headed back home via I-26, and ran into quite a lot of rain on the way back.  I didn’t have cell/internet service for a good portion of the way, so for all I knew, we could have been heading into a tornado. 

The tornado warning lifted at 4:15 and I called Peggy and Jay to see if things were okay.  Fortunately, they were.

We finally got home about 6:30 to discover everthing, including the kayaks were fine.  Jay had moved them beside the motor home and they were wedged between the MH and a hedge.

Our front window shade which is held on by really, really strong magnets, was laying in the bushes though.  My first thought was that when it blew off, it might have damaged the windshield wipers, since they rest on the outside of the sunshade.   They appear to be be fine and we even tested them to make sure they work.

So…..what started out as a beautiful day in the mountains was cut short by a tornado warning.

By the time we got home, it was a little cloudy but nice.  Our plan was to take a walk around the lake and then finish happy hour in the hot tub.

We took a few pictures.

The butterfly bushes are starting to bloom.

There are Japanese Maples all over the grounds.

I understand that the head designers at Park Seed were the ones who landscaped this place.  Mel, the owner reportedly told them he wanted something blooming all the time.  Well done guys!

Day Lilies

Echinacea which is also known as  purple cone flower. 

 

After our walk, we refilled our drinks and went down to the hot tub prepared for a nice long soak.  

Unfortunately, the heat had been turned off and the water was cold.   Grrrrrr……   For some reason Mel turns off the heat on rainy days.  : (    So we were out of luck.

There is about an 80% chance of rain today, so I think we’ll stay close to home.  We may leave tomorrow or Wednesday and hopefully head for some place dryer!

Pontoon, and Preakness Party

 

Cross Hill, SC  Lake Greenwood Rv Resort and Marina (high 88, low 68)

 

Yesterday was another busy day, starting with a soak in the hot tub.  The hot tub is near the laundry facilities, so we brought over a load of laundry to wash while we were soaking.  Right before we left Tampa, we noticed the washing machine was leaking.  I hope it’s a hose that has become loose, but Al thinks it could be the water pump.  He hasn’t had a chance to look at it yet, and since it's not real critical, we would rather play than deal with that. 

In the morning Erin, from  the Two To Travel blog, popped over to meet us.  She and Mui are staying here at Lake Greenwood in one of the lower sites right on the water.   They are preparing for an extended upcoming trip away from the motorhome, so are busy purging and organizing so it was a short visit.   They left this morning, but plan on coming back for a month in July.

Peggy and Jay own the lot right next to ours and they have a beautiful pontoon boat that they keep at the marina.  They invited us out for a boat ride, which of course we would never pass up.

 

We had the kayaks inflated and ready do go, but we chose the pontoon over kayaks.  The lake was pretty busy anyway, so it wasn’t a good day for kayaking.   This is a huge lake with over 200 miles of shoreline.  Plenty of boating and kayaking opportunities.

It was a perfect boating day, with clear blue skies and calm waters.

I didn’t think to get a photo of the boat, but it’s a really nice boat with a double bimini top to keep you shaded from the sun.

Another couple from came along and the boys sat in the back with the captain and the girls sat up front.

There were some beautiful homes along the lake, and a few with for sale signs, in case anyone is interested.

We went under this low bridge that led into a little channel that eventually opened up into another lake.

 

Pretty soon, it was time to head back since we all were invited to a get together to watch the Preakness at the clubhouse.

This next picture is a view of our “campground” from the water.  I hesitate to call it a campground.   :)

Mel (the owner) and his wife put on a little shindig on a regular basis, from what I understand.  There were about a dozen people, all lot owners except us.

We had snacks (not vegan) and then put some money in the pool to pick the winner of the race.   We drew number 5, which was Orb (winner of the Kentucky Derby), so we thought we had a good shot of winning.   Wrong.   We ended up betting on 3 horses, for $15 and got back $9 when Orb came in third.

After we left the party, we sat on the deck for a while and did some bird watching.

This little guy was just singing his heart out. I struggled to get a good picture due to the setting sun and him blending in with the tree.

He sung like a mockingbird, but looking at the pictures, I’m not sure.  He looked more brownish than a mockingbird.  Judy?

As I was focusing on him, I could see his little beak moving in song and the throat pumping as he sang.  Notice the ruffled feathers on his neck?  That’s when he was singing.

Soon, it was time to finish our happy hour at the hot tub.

 

We got back home about 9:30 and hit the bed immediately.  We’ve had a busy few days and I think it finally has caught up with us.    We ended up sleeping in late (for us) not getting up until 7:30.

Today we may take a drive up towards the Asheville, North Carolina area.  We’re only about 120 miles from Asheville.

Settling In at Lake Greenwood

 

Cross Hill, SC (high 87, low 66)

We’re settling in at Lake Greenwood Resort and Marina.  It always seems to take a few days to get into a new routine.

It rained all night Thursday night and continued raining most of Friday.  When it finally quit raining, and the sun came out, it was stifling hot.  My phone app said it was 87 but it felt 10 degrees higher.

Since it was too hot to sit outside, we decided to take a short drive, but cut it short when we noticed the radar had some nasty looking weather coming our way.

Fortunately, the bad weather skirted around us and when we got back home it was cool and beautiful.

We decided to have happy hour on our deck and take some photos of the birds that hang around in our front yard, which is down a beautifully landscaped slope.

We’re enjoying watching mom and dad Bluebird feeding their young in the nest box right in front of us.  Maybe we’ll be here when they decide to fledge.

 

Here is a picture of Al with the big Canon with the new zoom lens.  It’s a whopper, isn’t it?

I’m struggling to learn how to use the big Canon.  I can’t find a way to allow me to view the pictures as I take them, like I can on LC  (little Canon).  I like for the photo to freeze in the viewfinder for a second so that I can tell if what I just took needs an adjustment.   If it has that option, I can’t find out how.  Any suggestions?

We took the cameras and our drinks, and took a walk around the property before dark last night. No it’s not easy handling both cameras and our drinks…..but we managed.  :)

 

Sun setting at the lake.

 

Stalker zoom alert.  Notice the tan house across the lake?

You can see it better in the next picture.

and finally, a picture into their dining room.  BTW, this is not taken with that big lens Al was holding earlier.  It was taken with my tiny  LC on full digital zoom, which has more than twice the zoom as the big, heavy zoom Al was holding earlier.   I always enjoy seeing how far I can zoom in.  Good thing no one was walking past in their underwear!

Our  motor home sitting on the top of the hill.  Look at that beautiful landscaping.

After our evening walk, we decided to continue happy hour in the hot tub, and it was wonderful!

We’re hoping to take the kayaks out sometime today, but we also may be going out on our neighbors pontoon boat, and they are having a get together at the clubhouse at 5 this afternoon.   Lots to keep us busy today, but I think our first stop will be the hot tub. 

We understand there is an eagles nest nearby, so we’re anxious to see if we can find it by kayak.  Al thinks he saw one flying around this morning.

We’re loving it here and are not in a hurry to leave.  It’s a bit expensive, but this is our anniversary month, so we’re splurging!    We’re thinking Savannah will be our next stop.  Can anyone recommend a nice campground near Savannah?