Anchors Aweigh RV Resort - Foley, Alabama (May 2024)

When we heard that the Alabama Airstream Club's Spring Rally was being held at the Anchors Aweigh RV Resort in Foley, Alabama, we checked our calendar and noticed that we did not have anything planned for that weekend so we penciled it in. We had attended Alabama Airstream Rally twice before but we had schedule conflicts in recent years. It would be nice to see our friends in this event. 

Another factor in attending this rally was that the campground was less than an hour from Mobile and our grandson was scheduled to play a baseball game there on Saturday. We could slip away from the rally and watch him play ball then spend the afternoon with our son and his family. 

When we checked the Rally's schedule, Saturday was a free day, allowing us to spend the day in Mobile. That was all the "convincing" we needed, so we made our reservations to attend this rally. 

Airstream trailers heading to this rally taking a break in a Rest Stop on the Interstate

There were more than 55 people and 27 Airstream trailers at the rally. That was a larger group than I remembered at previous rallies. The main event at the rally was attending the Foley Hot Air Balloon Festival. We joined the crowd and saw what they called a “glow” one evening. It was impressive to see the inflated and colorful balloons across the field. 

Selfie at the Balloon Festival 

The "Evening Glow" at the Balloon Festival

The balloon festival spanned across several days. In fact, we were concerned about the traffic around the balloons when we left on Saturday morning to travel an hour to watch our grandson play baseball. The balloons were scheduled to lift off and float away about the same time we needed to leave for Mobile. Our worries were relieved when we left Rosie that morning. Traffic around the Balloon Festival would be minimal because there was a thick fog. The balloons could not fly in fog. 

We discovered that the new technologies available in our truck were very helpful while driving in inclement weather. The adaptive cruise control system was able to spot cars ahead of us before we saw them and adjusted our speed to stay behind them. 

After about half an hour on the road, the fog lifted and we were able to arrive in time to watch our grandson’s 9 a.m. game. We were amazed at how much he had improved since last year. 

Grandson playing the "pitcher" position

Grandson at bat

Celebrating winning the game

We made it back to Rosie in time for the Rally’s Low Country Boil. It was very good. 

The rally ended Sunday morning and we watched as most Alabama Airstream Club members hitched up and left. We planned to stay an extra day because our next campground did not allow checkins on Sundays. 

Rosie in the campground

We spent our “bonus” Sunday looking for a public beach to walk on. We ended up at Gulf State Park and enjoyed our time at the beach. We were amazed at how good we felt being at Alabama’s Gulf State Park. 

We were surprised to see that about 10 Airstream trailers were still in the campground when we returned after spending some time on the beach. I guess we were not the only people who decided to spend an extra day in this park. 

The weather deserved a special mention. While it wasn’t too hot, the humidity was oppressively high. Rosie and our truck were covered with condensation. It was hard to breathe. We saw the results of the humidity when we opened the awnings in the mornings. They were very wet and it took a long time to dry out. 

One of the lessons quickly learned in the campground was that traffic in Foley and the campground were impossible to deal with. Logically, you would turn right exiting the park and travel about half a mile to Foley's main road. We did that once and ended up waiting a painfully long time to safely cross the highway. Turning left adds a few miles to your trip, but you ended up at a traffic light. That was a much better option, especially when exiting with Rosie. 

Another lesson learned at this campground was to frequently inspect the anchor points on Rosie's bike rack. An Alabama Airstream Club  member asked if he could look at our bike rack because he was thinking about adding one to his Airstream trailer. He quickly noticed that one of the anchor points had vibrated loose. I was able to add "Locktite" to the screws, reconnect and tighten that anchor point. I also added checking the bike rack to our safety check list that we use before departing any campground. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Most sites could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with concrete and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie, our Airstream trailer. 
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• The trash dumpsters were at the exit to the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There was a bathhouse in the campground 
• The park provided WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Bounce, Comet, Court-TV, Cozi, CW, Dabl, Grit, ION, LAFF, ME-TV, Outlaw, Rewind, Start and TBD
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

I doubt that was the "real" tow vehicle!

Visiting our son's family from this campground

Hunting Island State Park - Hunting Island, South Carolina (November 2019)

When we camped here in 2014, the park’s volunteers greeted us with, “Welcome to paradise!”  There was no such greeting this time.

Sign at the park

We were shocked to see all of the beachfront sites were gone along with most of the trees in that section. Hurricanes and storms have taken a toll on this park.

The old beachside loop

Also among the missing was the maritime forest that we found to be very interesting during our first visit. It is somewhat ironic that the majority of the park’s destruction came from Hurricane Michael, the same storm that leveled Port St Joe Peninsula State Park on Florida’s Gulf Coast. It was sad to see two state parks, one on the Gulf Coast and the other along the Atlantic, were damaged by the same hurricane.

The beach

The loop we camped in the last time was about six rows of campers back from the beach. Those sites are now as close as you can get to the ocean.

Rosie in the campground

Another photo of Rosie in the campground

Bits of asphalt and disconnected wires from the old campsites were visible along the beach. These reminders of destroyed sites were under water during high tides. 

It was easy to see where the beachside loop was before Hurricane Michael

Two of the things that were the same from our earlier visit were the mosquitoes and raccoons. We learned how important it was to quickly open and shut the door to keep flying pests out of Rosie, our Airstream trailer. 

Our 2019 Southeast Coast WBCCI Caravan was able to attend morning colors and graduation ceremonies for approximately 500 new United States Marines on the training base at Parris Island. It was inspiring to ride around the base watching Marine recruits in training and to see the newest Marines graduate from basic training.

Morning Colors at Parris Island

Graduation at Parris Island

Drill Instructors wait for their platoons to arrive for graduation

Pass and review at graduation

As our caravan group was riding on a bus to Parris Island, I couldn’t help but think about the last time I was on a bus in South Carolina heading to a military basic training facility. I remembered the names of my Drill Sergeants and the head Drill Sergeant screaming at us to get off “his” bus and how a certain part of our anatomy belonged to him. He also emphasized that we needed to quickly move that part of our anatomy off his bus. 

Looking back, it seemed as if drill sergeants tended to believe they owned everything and I was not going to challenge that assumption then or now.

Sign at Parris Island

A Marine Corporal served as our host on the base. He was knowledgeable and a great example of a U.S. Marine. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a back-in
• Our site was paved with gravel 
• We had to use leveling tools to correct a left-to-right lean
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service
• Our site had a water connection with low pressure problems 
• Our site did not have a sewer connection
• There were two dump stations in the park 
• The bathhouse near our site was clean and well maintained 
• We were able to occasionally watch ABC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna as the signals tended to drift in and out—mostly out
• We were able to occasionally watch TV digital channels Bounce and Grit 
• AT&T placed one bar of service for voice and data over our site 
• The campground provided WiFi service that never seemed to work for us
• The campground had a good and well stocked store

The Hunting Island lighthouse

Campstore

Visiting a Kazoo factory while in the area

We enjoyed a horse-drawn carriage ride around Beaufort 

Huntington Beach State Park - Murrells Inlet, South Carolina (October 2019)

Huntington Beach State Park has been on our list to visit for a while. We were happy when we saw that the 2019 WBCCI Southeast Coast Caravan planned a stop there.

There were two camping loops in this park. The south loop was a parking lot. The sites were close together and there were few trees for shade. Those sites also had concrete pads and full hook-ups. 

We camped in the north loop. While only a few of these sites had sewer connections, the large sites and shade trees made this our preferred loop.

Rosie's site in the campground

It was easy to hear the sounds of the ocean when outside Rosie, our Airstream trailer. There was a short trail from our loop to the beach.

Path to the beach

Enjoying walking on the beach

Most roads in the park were paved. This made it easy to walk Suzy, our Yorkie. 

We watched a raccoon steal something in a plastic bag under a trailer one evening while on a walk. Suzy was suddenly restless a couple of times while we camped here. We figured she heard some raccoons as they checked out our site. 

We toured Brookgreen Gardens and took the creek boat excursion while camping in Huntington Beach State Park. The gardens featured hundreds of sculptures from American artists. Our guide said that more than 2,000 sculptures were there.

In the gardens

Enjoying the sunny day

Trees in the gardens with Christmas lights hanging from them

One of the sculptures in the gardens

The creek tour was fun and we did see an alligator from the boat.

Waiting to board the boat

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a back-in
• Our site was paved with gravel 
• Our site had 30 amp electrical service. 
• Our site had a water connection 
• Our site did not have a sewer connection
• There were several dump stations in the park 
• The bathhouse in our camping loop was clean and functional
• We were able to watch ABC and FOX using Rosie’s TV antenna 
• We were able to watch TV digital channels ME-TV and MY
• AT&T placed one bar of service for voice and data over our site 
• There was WiFi available at several bathhouses 

Sunset over the lake

Sunrise along the Atlantic

Sunset along the lake

Back to the beach

Carolina Beach State Park - Carolina Beach, North Carolina (October 2019)

This is the type of campground we normally love. Most sites are large and wooded. 

If you sense a big “but” is about to surface, you are correct.

Carolina Beach State Park Sign

I wish we had scouted this park before we arrived with Rosie, our Airstream trailer. Some sites are great while others are difficult at best. 

Our site required Becky to back Rosie, our Airstream trailer, uphill and between several trees. To make things more interesting, our site took a turn to the right about 20 feet in. Once we parked Rosie, we knew that it was going to be difficult to hook up when it was time to leave.

Rosie in the campground

Another view of Rosie's site

Several trailers in our caravan had to move to another site because they could not squeeze between the trees on their original assignments. 

Our WBCCI Southeast Coast Caravan had a low country boil while at this campground. Several at our table thought these boils were a Louisiana Cajun thing. Others thought it was more of a South Carolina tradition. We ended up asking the caterer who said this was best described as a southern thing. The Louisiana version substitutes crawfish for shrimp. He added that locals call the boil we had “Frogmore Stew.”  Whatever it was called, it was great.

Cooking the Frogmore Stew

Time to eat!

We also visited the North Carolina Aquarium while there. This is a small but very enjoyable aquarium. It was nice not having to fight crowds to see the exhibits.

A shark at the aquarium

An eagle at the aquarium

Becky resting on a sea turtle statue

A turtle that was going to be released back to the wild in a couple of weeks

This park was billed as one of the few places Venus Flytraps are native. We didn’t see any while on a trail known as a habitat for these plants. It turned out that people love to pick these flowers and it was getting hard to find them.

Some pitcher plants in this park

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a back-in
• Our site was difficult to back in because the site curved and had trees that wedged around Rosie 
• Our site was paved with dirt and gravel 
• Our site did not have any electrical service 
• Our site did not have a water connection 
• Our site did not have a sewer connection 
• A few sites in this campground had electrical and water connections 
• A few sites in this campground had sewer connections 
• There was a dump station in the park 
• The bathhouse in our camping loop was clean and functional. It was also very dated and appeared that it occasionally was underwater when hurricanes hit the Carolina coastline 
• Without electrical power, we could not check on the reception of local TV stations
• AT&T placed one bar of service for unreliable voice and data over our site 
• There was WiFi available at the park office and the marina 
• The gate to the park was locked every night at 9 p.m. If you went out for the evening, you had to make sure you were back before 9 or you were locked out of the campground 
• We wondered if there had recently been trouble in the campground. The ranger patrols through the campground were frequent and thorough 

Path to the beach

Twin Lakes Camping Resort and Yacht Basin Campground- Chocowinity, North Carolina (October 2019)

Our route to this campground included the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. That started me thinking of the time I traveled over the bridges and tunnels with my family when I was a little boy. My family had a 16 foot travel trailer that we pulled all over America.

The toll booth

I remembered that the toll collector left the booth and asked my father to switch off the propane gas tanks on the trailer. Things are different today in that the toll collector only asked for the $24 fee. I was the one who brought up the propane tanks. That was when she said the LP gas tanks need to be switched off, which I did while waiting in line to pay the toll. 

It was windy going over the 17 miles of bridges. We appreciated the aerodynamic design of Airstream trailers as we didn’t feel the wind pushing us around. 

Mixed in among the bridges are two one mile tunnels. We were able to pull Rosie, our Airstream trailer, through both of them.

Entering the tunnel

On the bridge

We were somewhat surprised when we arrived at the campground. Our expectations were low after reading the online reviews. Our first impression was that the campground appeared to be nice. We didn’t see any yachts as in the campground's name, but we did see some fishing and pontoon boats docked near some campers.

Foot bridge to another section of the campground

We were a little leery of our assigned campsite. It had a few muddy areas and we feared it may have some drainage problems during storms. This would come back to haunt us during our departure. 

We visited an estuary and learned about blue crabs while there. It turned out that harvesting crabs was a major industry in this region.

Tribute to a blue crab

We also visited a fossil museum and had fun looking for shark's teeth.

Becky looking for a shark's tooth

Our next excursion was to the Tryon Palace. This was the residence of the royal governor appointed by the King of England prior to the Revolutionary War.

Entrance to the Tryon Palace

Main stairs inside the Tryon Palace

The gardens

View of the palace

We ended the afternoon by having an ice cream at a restaurant about four blocks from the palace. That was a great way to end a day of adventures. 

We found the ice cream store

Dessert?

The remnants of Tropical Depression Nestor passed over our site during our last night in this park. There was several inches of standing water all around Rosie when we woke up the next morning. That made our departure more challenging. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a pull-thru
• Our site was paved with dirt that turned into mud during the rain storm 
• Our site was not level and we had to use leveling tools to correct a right to left lean
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service
• Our site had a water connection 
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• The restroom and showers near our site were clean 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s antenna. We also saw digital channels Bounce, Charge, CW, Escape, Get, ME-TV, MY-TV and Stadium 
• AT&T placed two bars of 4G service for voice and data over our site 
• The campground did not provide WiFi service