I stayed home for about a month mostly to recover from the last trip but I also spent some time with my sister. I plot and plan when I am sitting at home. I ended up picking this trip because for several years I have been getting e-mails from the Shem Creek Inn in Mt. Pleasant, SC requesting I come back for a visit. I had never been there before and have no idea how they got my e-mail address so I always deleted it. This time however I decided to check it out and what was in the area.
Shortly thereafter I was booking my stay at Shem Creek Inn. Shortly after I booked I got the best e-mail response I ever received from a hotel after booking. My sister, niece and I were laughing hysterically at the response. I debated whether or not to post it but its like a teaser to say how funny it was and then not share…
“It was just another beautiful day here on Shem Creek when suddenly, Jimmy the carrier pigeon (just kidding we have email) flew in with our most recent reservation notice. “It finally happened,” Gabe exclaimed! “We have a reservation for Karen G!”
Eddy quickly ran into the room and as soon as he saw the name Karen he became so excited he couldn’t contain himself. He started to pass out a round of beers to the quickly growing crowd (it was water) and everyone raised their drink in celebration.
As the usually laid back crew at Shem Creek Inn began to chant for this momentous occasion, “5 O’clock Somewhere” came on the radio and a nice cool breeze flowed through the open air lobby. It was at this very moment that we realized, Karen G is going to have the best trip ever!
We hope you are as excited as we are for your upcoming trip and look forward to offering you a cold beer on Sunday, March 1, 2020 (not kidding,) but if you need anything between now and then, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Until then, we have included your reservation details below.
See you soon!“
Have you ever received a cool response like that for making a reservation? I must say though once I arrived the process did not live up to the hype in the e-mail! The room had to be changed…I paid for a water view and the only way I could get one was to lean way over the rail and squint…to see the marsh while tide was out, the girl who was checking me in…it was her first day and she had no clue what she was doing and there was no one around to help her and…though I don’t drink beer, no one offered me a cold beer! Would I stay here again? Heck yes! but I would cross my fingers and hope this young clueless lady was not working…this was definitely not the job for her.
It is about a 15-16 hour drive from my house to this location so I was looking to see where I could stop along the way. I don’t generally like to drive more than 3-4 hours at a time but I have been flexible at times. The reservation for the Shem Creek Inn was for March 1-5 but because I was going to take a slow trip down I needed to book several nights down…fewer coming back because I was supposed to be at my sister’s on March 7. My first stop was booked for the Doubletree Inn in Mt. Laurel, NJ.
I liked this spot because it was very close to the Pennsylvania border and there were a few things there that I wanted to see. I wasn’t concerned about restaurants this time because for the first time on a road trip I decided to bring my own food. I had been losing weight since October and I didn’t want to risk undoing that hard work. I bought a cooler on wheels that kind of looked like a carry on bag, I bought things that have worked for me to lose weight so far and put a few ice packs in it. I even brought along my own Raspberry Lime Seltzer…my beverage of choice these days…I also stopped drinking back in October so no need to go for wine. 🙂 This worked very well for me and I will definitely do it again! Below is my new cooler on wheels and a back up cooler with some fruit.
Since this is just a one night stay I didn’t have to settle in…I got comfortable, set up my laptop and had some dinner. I have a list of things I would like to see tomorrow before heading south.
My first stop was the Camden waterfront to get some pictures of the Philadelphia skyline. I think I was not wanted here because there were a handful of construction workers that kept stopping and staring at me like I wasn’t supposed to be there but I just wanted a few pictures so I stayed.
Next stop was over the border into PA to get a picture of the Ben Franklin Bridge. It is in some of the pictures above and there is supposed to be a place where you can park and walk across the bridge but I couldn’t find.
I couldn’t find one thing that was on my list but I did enjoy driving around Camden and Philadelphia. I even saw where the 76er’s do their training!
Time to head south. I decided to spend tonight at a Hilton Garden Inn, Roanoke Rapids, NC. A longer drive than I like but I wanted to keep moving south and there was something in the area I wanted to see that peaked my interest. One plus to this longer drive…I got to go over the Potomac as sunset was nearing.
Another one night stay so I just set up my laptop, fixed my dinner and called it a night. Heading out in the morning my first stop was Whirligig Park in Wilson, NC…the #1 place I wanted to see coming to this area. It was so cool and inspired by one man, Vollis Simpson. Here is a link to the story if you wish to check it out – wilsonwhirligigpark.org/the-story/
After visiting the park I sat in the parking lot trying to figure out what to do next and I found a destination before getting to the hotel…Wrightsville Beach and the Johnnie Mercers fishing pier in Wrightsville Beach, NC. The fishing pier was closed on the day I went but I still got to enjoy the beach and as you can see in the images…so was someone else!
It has been a very happy and relaxing day but it is time to check into the Best Western in Lumberton, NC.
I will be moving onto Shem’s Creek Inn tomorrow! Be sure to come back for the journey!
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See you on the road!
If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet. – Anon
Travel with KMG Photography 