Thursday, March 31, 2016

Back Home......

Happy Thursday evening all.  It's Pod here once last time, I think my blogging license is fixing to be revoked by Mr. R after that last post, someone must have talked!

Due to rainy weather being forecast for tonight and tomorrow at the coast, and nearly the same forecast here at home, we all decided to pack up today.  It was strange sort of breaking of camp.  You see, after breakfast this morning, Mr. R decided to take down the dome since it was nice and dry.  He also packed most everything else away too except for the chairs.  Then he and Mrs. R sat under a nearby tree and enjoyed the rest of the morning.  As the discussion turned to what to do for the day, one of them looked at the weather and it was quickly decided to finish breaking camp and head home.  

Since it was about 1:00 pm when they left, they stopped by Prosser's BBQ for a great lunch then hit the road.  The traffic was heavy for about the first 10 or so miles due to HWY 707 construction, but afterwards it was smooth sailing back home.

I do have a few pictures for you today though.  Cousin Sharon suggested to Mr. R that the R's should ride down to Pawley's Island and check out the historic district.  Mr. R didn't remember every having gone there before, but it turns out they had last summer then the place was slammed packed full of cars and people.  Yesterday was much calmer and Mr. R was able to get a few nice pictures.

The historic district is a neat place.  Interspersed among newer and nicer beach houses, are older (1850's) beach houses built by the wealthy of the area as a summer retreat of the inland heat, humidity, and "summer fevers" those being mainly malaria.  

Enjoy the sights of our Wednesday, and thanks for following along with us during our Spring Break 2016.

















 Until next time, stay safe out there......-Pod

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Can You Keep a SECRET?????

Happy Wednesday afternoon everyone.  It's Pod and I'm back blogging today.  Levi and I have a little story to tell you about some food that was cooked here yesterday in our campsite.  



You see, Mr. R belongs to a Camping Dutch Oven (CDO) group and every month brings a new challenge for CDO cooking.  The challenge for the month of April is a CDO Bar-b-que or BBQ for short.  

If you read up on the art, science, and myths of BBQ,  you'll find all sorts of lore.  You'll even find an official USDA definition of BBQ. 

That's right, just look up:   The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 9, Chapter 3, Part 319, Subpart C, Section 319.80.

There are even those who will tell you if the smoke don't hit the meat, it isn't BBQ.  Well we're just going to ignore those people and continue on with our CDO fun.  

Anyway, here's where the keeping of a secret comes into play.  Yesterday, Mr. R tested out his dish for the April Challenge.  Not only was it good, he said it was, "slap yo mama" good!!  Now that must be mighty wonderful, tasty good.  So follow along with the next few pictures while I tell you all about it.  Just remember, this is a secret so don't tell anyone, especially any of the CDO gang....


Mrs. R was assigned the job of watching the coals get ready...




Mr. R prepped his 10" CDO.  He lined with the a CDO liner and he even used his special Trivet to keep the meat off the bottom of the CDO.


Next, using some boneless, skinless chicken breasts, he trimmed them and cut them into thirds so they would cook quicker and more evenly.  He placed the chicken pieces on the trivet, and sprinkled them with a nice coating of brown sugar.



Then Mr. R topped the chicken with slices of bacon he cut in half.  Next was a nice coating of his favorite flavor of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.


The next step was to get his coals all arranged just so, on both the top and bottom of his CDO.  Then with the addition of the wind screen, everything was in place for the cooking or should I say BBQing to happen.



Next step was the easy one.  Mr. R and Jackson sat back for the next hour and enjoyed something called Rule #9.


Then before you know it, this wonderful smell floated into the dome and both of the R's were starving by the time the food was ready to eat.


Add to the chicken BBQ a side of zesty crab dip, some local made pimento cheese, and some saltine crackers, and things got really quiet around the campsite for the next little while.


So there you have it, Mr. R's BBQ challenge experiment dish.  I have a feeling this will be one that gets cooked again real soon. 

 Just remember......MUMS the word......

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-Pod and Levi

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Beach Life......

Happy Tuesday afternoon everyone!!  It's Pod here yet again (I kinda think Mr. R is really enjoying me doing this blogging thing...)  I do hope all are well wherever you may be on this fine day here at the beach.  

I know I blogged kinda early yesterday morning, but that's just fine.  You see, Mr. and Mrs. R have been very busy not doing much at all.  In fact, about all they've done is walk Jackson, do a little  t-shirt shopping, some yummy cooking (and eating of course), they even got Levi one hellacool sticker for his back window.  

So just follow along and check out all the fun Mr. and Mrs. R have been having the last couple of days.

Here are the famous HBSP oversized beach chairs all spiffed up and ready for the new camping season.....



The Park Store/Office all ready for the onslaught of campers, t-shirt buyers, ice cream seekers, and campers checking in......



















Mr. R always likes taking a picture or three of the U.S. Flag whenever he sees it flying.....




Our favorite place to get fresh local seafood, and one of the yummy dishes Mr. R cooks from it.....





















Our favorite place to shop for t-shirts, stickers, and other stuff every time we visit....


The rocking chairs on the porch of The Lazy Gator lined up and ready for yet another busy summer season to begin....


Levi's hellacool sticker Mr. R got for him....

















And finally, the best picture of all, Mrs. R catching some rays, waiting for something yummy to be cooked on the CDO.....


























I can't tell you what Mr. R has planned to cook in the CDO, he says it's an experiment for the month of April's CDO challenge.  You'll just have to check by tomorrow and see if he "spills the beans" so to speak.....

Until next time, stay safe out there....-Pod and the Gang.....

Monday, March 28, 2016

A Mod for Levi.....

A very happy Easter Monday morning to everyone.  It's Pod here and you guessed it, I'm camping again.  The gang left home a little before nine yesterday morning, and arrived here about 1:30ish.  Where's here you ask?  Why Huntington Beach State Park, just south of Murrell's Inlet, SC.  We got here, checked in, found our site, and set up camp in just a short while.  Fortunately, we had about an hour's window in the rain along the coast, so we didn't get very wet. 

But this Monday morning, the clouds are gone taking the rain with them, and the sun is shining on what should be a beautiful beach day.  


Today I want to back up a bit and tell you about a mod Rob did to Levi this past week.  You see, he ran into a friend of his about a month ago, and was admiring his new 2016 King Ranch (another model of Ford Truck).  This is where he first got the idea for this particular mod.  Then he was talking with our neighbor Ed, and saw the same mod on Ed's 2015 C2500 ( yet another model of truck, but a Chevy).  So Rob did his research, placed the order, and just a few days later, a big ole heavy box arrived.

So, what is this mod I'm talking about?  Well just look at the picture below....


It's a BedStep2 by Amp Research.  Rob researched the Ford factory step retailing for about $380 delivered, or this model which he actually got to see in person thanks to his friend Ed for $244 delivered.  

So the very afternoon it arrived, thanks to the time change, and a quick supper, Rob set about assembling and installing the side step. 

Unpacking.....



All the pieces.....


All assembled......


Rob told me this part of the install wasn't bad at all.  The step is very heavy, the fastener hard wear all good quality.  It was the actual install that he said was a GRRRRRR.........  (You can ask him what that means if you want to, not me!!)

Here's a picture of the step once it was installed and tucked away underneath Levi.....


Here's a picture of the step extended for use to gain access to the front of the bed.  Rob says he likes the step and he's sure he will find it useful.


Well that's about it for now.  I think I need to go and help Rob cook breakfast.  (Yes, everyone thinks he's the cook, but if it wasn't for me toting all the food and gear, well you get the idea.....)

Until next time, stay safe out there......-Pod and the Gang

Saturday, March 19, 2016

It's Easy Being Green......

Happy Saturday evening everyone.  It's Pod here and I'm back once again with the blogging duties.  What a day this has been.  It started out coolish, overcast, and with a brief shower.  But, as the day wore on, the clouds ran away, the sun came out, and it almost got hot.  But all in all it has been a good sort of day.  

Today is Rob's buddy Colton's 18th birthday.  Now Colton's favorite color in the whole wide world is green.  So to celebrate his birthday today, I had Rob turn my lights to green.  Looks good don't it?


And to carry on with the green theme, here's a few more "green" pictures from our day, just for Colton.....


I think all this yucky yellow pollen has Trisha feeling sorta "green."


A "green" sign at the camp office with a little map and a short history of the Town of Cheraw.


Here's the camp flag pole with the US and SC flags and "green" trees in the background.  Colton has helped put up the flags most every morning of school these past four years.  Thanks!!!


Also a few camping "happies" from Cousins Becky and Sharon.  Note the cute "green" book about wiener dogs and the "green" patches.

Well that about wraps it up for today.  I'll post later about what we did today, but Rob asked me to make a special post tonight just to celebrate Colton's birthday.

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-Pod, with R,T,&J.  

Happy Birthday Colton!!!!

Friday, March 18, 2016

Keep Calm and Camp On......

Happy Friday evening all.  It's Pod here doing the blogging duties once again.  I'm so happy, I'm back out camping.  Rob had to take his mom to the doctor's for a bit this morning, then he hitched me up to Levi and down the road we went.

This weekend we're camping at a new to us campground.  Cheraw State Park in Cheraw, SC.  It's a great little State Park.  It has a nice golf course, camping cabins, a beautiful lake, and I even have a lake side campsite.  To top it all off, about six this evening, Trisha and Jackson showed up, so we're complete for the weekend.

The weather today was beautiful, perfect camping weather.  Rob set up camp, took some pictures, took a nap, and fixed an appetizer for our supper.  You see, we're cooking with the CDO group Rob belongs too, and the group meal for this evening was appetizers.  

The weather is supposed to be not as nice tomorrow, with rain in the forecast, but it's ok, we're camping anyways.  Here's a few pictures from our day together to share with you tonight.  












Thanks for checking by today.   Looks like a lazy sort of day for us tomorrow, but you never know.  

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-Pod along with R,T,&J