Old Friends and New Friends

Wow, what big rain we just had!  There is standing water everywhere and the skies are still full and mean looking.  Some of the lightning-thunder strikes were less than a mile away and they startle me so that I always make noise with them and that scares poor Jake even more.  Actually he is pretty good with thunder.  Most dogs quake – he just gets a bit uncomfortable.

Before the rains came we got in our walk for the day and it felt so good.  Of course the mosquitoes are out in force and the sky was threatening but we didn’t have any problems – just fun.   Yesterday we did the trail on our bikes which was nice except that way Jake doesn’t get his exercise.

So anyway – we have had a couple of days of friends and fun.  On Monday evening we invited our camp host, Pat, to join us for cocktails and dinner.  Pat was the host here last year when we visited and I have followed his very entertaining blog ever since.  He doesn’t write when he is living his everyday life in Columbia, SC but when he travels in his sixteen foot Casita, he writes about his exciting adventures in his blog.  He somehow manages to make even mundane things like cleaning the public restrooms here at the campground interesting!  And we found out that we have more in common than just Buck Hall Recreation Area.  Our politics are similar, we all love to travel and he spent his life as a professional photographer.  You will enjoy his blog so check it out HERE.  Dinner lasted until we couldn’t handle the insects any longer so actually, given better conditions, we would have built a big fire and enjoyed some after dinner adult beverages.  Next time….we have another week here!

Yesterday we met up with longtime friends, Ray and Lucy.  You will remember them from our travels last summer in Idaho and Utah and then again when we met up in Bullhead City, AZ for a reunion.  Our friendship always just picks up where it left off and there are always many big laughs and lots of hugs.

They brought with them some new friends for us – Jack and Juanita who are from Nebraska but, like us and Ray and Lucy, they are full-timers in their RV.  (It really is hard these days when someone asks us where we are from.  Is it South Carolina where we lived for 5 years, California where we were born and spent the majority of our lives, or is it Arizona where we spent this past winter?  I don’t know!!)

So the six of us met at Red’s Ice House on Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant.  Red’s is an all-time favorite for Kirby and I and we have enjoyed many hours there in the past.  We didn’t bring Jake this time but we usually do as they are so dog friendly on the patio.  It was too hot and humid to leave him in the car while we ran some errands.  We enjoyed a good lunch and then they came back out to Buck Hall with us to check it out.  Hopefully before we leave here next week they will be able to spend some time here.

And for now, the rain is still around and I am still hearing some thunder so I guess we are in for more of this big storm.  Already everything is a brighter green.