My Van Life: Day 48
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Wilmington, NC – Myrtle Beach, SC – Mclellanville, SC
I’m pleased to report I did wake up on the right side of the bed this morning. At least a much better one than yesterday morning. Remember what I said about Wednesdays, though? They’re either incredibly awesome or just not my day and unfortunately yesterday fell in the latter category. But today was a new day!
After finding that perfect little parking lot/park area under the bridge, overlooking the water yesterday, we decided to head back that way this morning and post up for the day so Adam could work and I could walk the half mile into town and shop! I was so excited to revisit some of my favorite local spots in Wilmington and get a little walking and shopping in.
It was another balmy day today and as I mentioned yesterday, the mask mandate has been reinstated in Hanover County (i.e. Wilmington) as of a week ago so adding insult to injury you can’t breathe because the air is like a wet blanket draped around your shoulders and then on top of it all you have to wear a mask in all indoor locations as well. Yeesh!
Once we landed at the park, I conducted my morning routine and got a few things done as I killed some time waiting for the shops to open their doors closer to 10am or 11am. Upon making the half mile trek into town I immediately visited The Cotton Exchange (where we posted up yesterday at The Java Dog Café) to utilize their restroom before I started walking around. I remembered seeing a juice spot yesterday when we were in town that I thought would be good to try so I used the bathroom and then popped over to Clean Juice. I ordered The Coffee One smoothie and it was absolutely delicious! I was overwhelmed once I saw the menu and realized they had juices, smoothies AND acai bowls. I was very close to getting an acai bowl to sit and enjoy in the air conditioned juice bar but went with my gut and ordered the smoothie for a morning pick me up.
I took my time walking around town, enjoying my smoothie and a leisurely stroll as many of the businesses were still opening or in fact not yet open. It was hot and humid today, as per usual, but it was also overcast so in my head that made it not quite so bad. The extremely strong sun was not beating down on me as per usual. Walking around, waiting for shops to open, I noticed shop after shop had the most disgusting moisture in their windows and doors. Humidity at it’s finest, huh! I’ve truly never seen anything like that but I’m sure it’s a normal sighting every morning the stores open their doors here. Bleh! Is my CA Girl showing? Hah!
Around lunchtime I made the walk back to the van since I figured Adam was likely getting hungry. We ended up driving across the bridge to the USS North Carolina (one of Adam’s favorite destinations in North Carolina) to have a little change of scenery and a new view for lunchtime. I mean talk about a pretty incredible view! Unlike anything you can see many other places that’s for sure. Especially that up close and personal. Over lunch we discussed our travel plans and strategy for the coming weeks and decided to hit the road again shortly thereafter. Adam worked while I drove us to Myrtle Beach which was only about an hour and a half away. I can’t say I knew what to expect in Myrtle Beach but to be honest, it’s nothing to write home about in my opinion. From the moment we arrived I could tell we’d likely just be passing through and it wouldn’t be a destination we stayed in for a while, or at all for that matter. It was on the way to Charleston and we’d both heard of Myrtle Beach so we figured we might as well see what all the fuss was about. If there even was any for that matter. In my opinion, I don’t think there is...
We kept on pushing and located a nearby campsite about an hour or so away where we decided to stay for the evening. First we popped into a Walmart parking lot to pick up a few necessities and make dinner before we went to this campsite since the reviews had indicated it was really nice BUT unfortunately quite buggy. In other words we would not be opening any of the doors upon arriving but simply arriving, doing our nighttime routine and going to bed. After enjoying dinner in a Walmart parking lot, (what else is new), we drove out to this campsite Adam spotted on Campendium which surprise surprise was JUST like last night’s. Two miles down another dark and spooky road shrouded in trees with not another soul in sight. Just as we were about to turn around and venture to the next nearest Walmart yet again, we saw it. Another RV! In the campsite! An RV in the campsite with lights on and everything! It’s funny how that small discovery literally changed everything for me and suddenly I didn’t feel quite so scared. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s still scary but at least we’re not alone. Please tell me that makes sense to people beyond just me? Well we’ve committed. We’re taking a chance, trying something new and I’m sure when we wake up in the morning and see the beautiful scenery surrounding us, we’ll be ever so grateful for having done so.