Day Fifteen

Day fifteen was a LONG travel day from Asheboro, NC to Clarksboro, NJ – 460 miles.  Most of the journey was along Interstate 95, and it was a bumpy ride.  We got an early start and made it into the Timberlane Campground by 5:00 pm.  This is a very nice place, with lots of beautiful trees and grass, a fishing pond, wild geese and ducks lounging around.  Jim and Sam took a bike ride at dusk and saw wild turkeys on the edge of the campground.

Early the next morning when I was taking Buster for a walk, I almost tripped over a small turtle busy digging a hole in the mud to lay her eggs!  Sam and I watched her for quite a while and she was digging away.  About an hour later, I checked and she was gone, her hole all covered up and nearly invisible.  Sam did some research and decided she was an Eastern Painted turtle.

 

Day Fourteen

Day fourteen was supposed to be a travel day, but we decided to stay at Zooland Campground for another night.  Sam was really enjoying the jumping pillow, and the campground was relaxing and quiet.  We spent a quiet day hanging around, doing some chores and being lazy.   Jim and Sam went fishing at the pond, but Sam never caught the giant catfish that one of our neighbors said was in there.

Day Thirteen

Day thirteen found us visiting the Natural Science Center of Greensboro – with our reciprocal annual pass from Great Explorations, it was free.  This was an awesome place! 

We had a great time exploring, learning, and looking.  There were lots of interactive exhibits, and Sam really had a blast trying them all out – even the ones in the human anatomy room, which he is usually not overly interested in exploring.  As if the interior exhibits weren’t fascinating enough, there was also an outdoor animal exhibit and interaction area for lots of close encounters with creatures of all kinds!  There was even a turtle with two heads.  Of course, animals are Sam’s favorite subject, so that was a definite hit! 


My biggest laugh came when we were looking at some farm animals, goats, sheep, etc. and Sam called a sheep a goat.  He knows literally dozens of exotic animals and species by sight, but he didn’t know the difference between a sheep and a goat!  Ha Ha!  Since I was raised on a farm, I found that to be TOO funny!

It was another hot day, and the poor animals were all lying about in the shade.  We knew just how they felt, and were all too happy to go inside for the a/c! 

Day Twelve

Day twelve was spent on an activity that I have been wanting to try for a couple of years, but could never find a place that would let Sam participate – most have an age limitation of 10 years old and above – ziplining!!  We went to Ziplining at Richland Creek and they offer a course with a minimum weight of 45 pounds, so Sam qualified!  Woo-hoo!!  We got all geared up, and ready to go on the course – fourteen different lines that would take us through the canopy above the woods and ravines, and over the Richland Creek.  Another family of four was in our group, along with three guides that “showed us the ropes” and went with us every step of the way.  The two children in the other family were only six and eight years old, so it was a good mix for us all.  It was also the first time for all of us to zipline!

After the practice run, Sam and the six year old girl from the other family were not too gung-ho about the idea, but after some cajoling (and a ride one time on Daddy’s lap) everyone was on board for the rest of the trips.  A couple of the runs were 1100 feet long, and one was even 1400 feet long, so it was cool.  Halfway through the course, we stopped for a walk along Richland Creek, then we got sprayed with a “waterfall” on our next zipline trip!  Okay, so it generated by a pump, but still refreshing on a hot day!  After the last trip, the kids were already talking about the “next time” so it was a successful day!  And it was only lunchtime!

 

Once we got back to the coach, we ate lunch and realized we were beat!  We all took naps, and stayed in the rest of the night – who knew ziplining could be so exhausting?!  J

Day Eleven

Day eleven was spent at the NC Zoo, which was only about 10 miles from the campground.  It is in the woods away from town out in the middle of nowhere, but what a place!  Enormous!  Over five miles of walking trails if you see it all, and we did!  Very nice settings and exhibits for the animals, and LOTS of them! 

There was an advertising banner at the entrance for the “Swamp Ghosts” on display – two albino alligators, and Sam was ecstatic!  He couldn’t WAIT to see them – and here we are from Florida where we see alligators all the time!  Go figure!  Anyway, we had a great time, and some great exercise.  We got in for half price with our Florida Aquarium membership passes, so that was an added bonus! 

One funny incident:  a crowd of people were checking out the black bears, and as we looked over the railing at the water below, we noticed a lot of bullfrogs and counted them – most of us saw nine.  Then, one of the bullfrogs started bellowing out a loud call, as only bullfrogs can, and it was LOUD! 

A lady next to me was looking at the bears and she seemed to be confused, so I made a comment about how loud the frog was, and she started laughing!  She thought the sound was from one of the bears, but didn’t see their mouths moving, so she was trying to figure it out!  She couldn’t believe all that noise was from a little frog!  Good laugh!

Day Ten

Day ten is a travel day – headed to Asheboro, SC for three nights.  It is a little out of the way toward Concord, NH, but I really liked some of the activities in the area when I was researching, so that is the destination this time.  This trip is about 360 miles, so it will be a pretty full driving day.

Made it to the campground, Zooland Campground, and it is very nice!  Lots of beautiful trees, a fishing pond, a swimming pool, free wifi, and something for the kids called a “jumping pillow” that looks like a bounce house without the sides.  I can tell by Sam’s reaction that it is going to be a hit. 

This campground is a CCUSA member, but does not give discounts on Friday and Saturday nights.  Still, the regular rate is only $28.00 per night for full hookups, so that is very reasonable.  Sam went out that night to see and capture his first fireflies!  He was so excited, as only eight-year-olds can be!

The only bad news – our cell phones don’t get any signal out here.  We cannot call out, only receive incoming calls occasionally, and can send and receive texts (most of the time).

Day Nine

Day nine was another day of very smokey air.  We lounged around inside the coach all morning to stay in the a/c, then Jim and Sam went back to Jekyll Island in the afternoon to go geocaching.  There are lots of hidden caches on the island, ranging from micro to medium sized.  I opted not to go out as I was not feeling up to the heat – another day in the mid 90’s.  About an hour-and-a-half later, I heard thunderclaps, and Buster was plastered to my lap, panting like crazy.  He is very frightened of thunder!  I figured I was going to see two wet explorers coming home in a little while!

Sam called a little while later to tell me that they saw a tornado!  I was thinking it was more along the lines of a water spout, but he was really describing the torrential downpour they were trapped in while sitting in the car!  He later informed me that they had been in a huge storm, and even saw hailstones – a first time for him, so that was the highlight of the day!  Before the rain, he had also seen a white-tailed deer from only about twenty feet away, and had managed to snap a couple of pics before it wandered off.  They had only managed to find one geocache before the rain hit, but they still had fun!