10 Days at Lake Greenwood … Already

Saturday, 20 July
Lake Greenwood Motorcoach Resort — Cross Hill, SOUTH CAROLINA
Temps: Lo 71F / Hi 88F (21.5C / 31C)

Should I say that time is flying … again?  I seem to say that a lot, don’t I?  But it seems like that’s the case no matter where we are or what we are doing.  Honestly, except for a couple of projects, some chores not worth mentioning, and two outings for shopping and visiting with friends, we’ve not been doing much more than chilling and reading since we plunked ourselves down at the Lake Greenwood Motorcoach Resort ten days ago.

81 easy miles (130 km) brings us from Gaffney to Lake Greenwood near Cross Hill.
(the inset map shows Our meanderings to-date.)

Faithful readers may recall that we stayed at this motorcoach resort for a few days in June when our plans to camp at the Army Rec Area at Lake Strom Thurmond fizzled out because of ants (post here).  We really enjoyed ourselves then and decided to return for a longer stay despite the possibility of some hot summer temps.  So, we’re back in lakeside site 32, which we’re leasing from the owner for a month.

Site 32 is one of the few directly on the lake.

Site 32 from the deck of site 33.

Left: A nice long concrete pad gives us plenty of privacy.
Right: Looking down towards the lake and Site 32 from one of the hilltop sites.

The monthly rate, based on $59/night, is discounted 25% and includes all utilities, amenities, and wi-fi.  Thanks to a flash flood that came through the property the day before we arrived, the wi-fi system is out at the moment. But Mel is working to get it up and running.  This stay is a budget-buster to be sure, but since we’ve been so good with our camping budget the first six months on the road, we can afford the ding on the wallet.

Left: View of Lake Greenwood looking back from the front of Site 32.
Right: Manicured grounds separate us from the house that neighbors the property.

The beautifully landscaped lush green grounds and the campground’s waterside location make it a wonderful place to relax.  If there is one problem, it’s the gnats.  To be expected when you’re near still water.  At least these bugs don’t swarm around us, nor do they bite.  But they do take every opportunity to come inside the coach.  (A bowl of apple vinegar with a dash of dishwashing liquid set on the dash by the door seems to catch most of them.)

the boat dock here at the resort.	the view from the boat ramp.

When we made plans to spend the summer in the south, we were resigned to being stuck inside the Phaeton with the air conditioning blasting.  Surprise, surprise!  We’ve actually had decent temps, with most days in the 85F-89F (29-32C) range.  Normally, that would be too hot for me.  But with reasonable humidity and plenty of shade, we’ve been able to sit on the deck or patio every morning, moving inside around 3:00p when the sun finally makes its way over the coach and across the lake to the distant shore.  That’s when it starts baking at our site and it’s time to go to the pool for a dip.  The locals say it’s an unusually cool summer.  Hey, we’ll take it.

Breakfast on the deck has become a morning ritual.

We’ll even take the rain that’s been a fairly constant element of the weather.  Of course we can say that because we didn’t have to deal with the flash flood that came through and filled the swimming pool with muddy water just before we arrived here.  The damage was limited, luckily.  We wouldn’t have known anything had happened had we not heard about it after the fact.

The clubhouse and the swimming pool are all cleaned up after the flash flood
created a mess before we got here.

Our first week was totally overcast, with frequent rain showers each day with no notice whatsoever.  One minute it would be dry; the next minute we’d hear the pitter patter of raindrops.  Most of the showers were little more than drizzles of short-duration, and we didn’t have to run inside — the awning and the shade curtain kept us dry.  We were dumped on several times, receiving about half-inch (13 mm) of rain on two of those occasions.  On all but a few days, thunderstorms were in the forecast, but they mostly came through late at night … if they came at all.  We can live with that.

Flowering plants add color to our site.

Then, on Tuesday (the 16th), a miracle happened.  The skies cleared and the golden orb called sun appeared.  Since then, we’ve had mostly blue skies dotted with lovely white clouds, and only one night of thunder showers.  The overcast moved back in this morning, but cleared up in the afternoon ... which seems to be par for this area. We’re keeping fingers crossed that the weather continues to be nice for at least one more day so that we can entertain our friends outdoors tomorrow.

one of the many eastern tiger swallowtails that visit the flowering plants at our site.

But enough of the weather.  I mentioned early on that we (Mui, really; but I helped) worked on two projects since our arrival 10 days ago.  One was an easy Phaeton mod, which I’ll write about in another post.  Yes … we drilled some more holes into the coach ;-)  The other project was a lot of work, but not blog worthy, so I will spare you.

There’s a flock of Canada geese that swims by several times a day.

I also mentioned that we did two outings.  One involved a drive to Greenwood, about 15 miles (24 km) away.  It was a grocery run that Mui did on his own; I’ll go with him next time to check out the town.

The other outing was a 51-mile (82 km) drive to Spartanburg last Saturday to have dinner with a schoolmate of Mui’s.  Nur, and her husband, Faruk, are originally from Turkey, but have been in the US for quite a few years.  They both teach at the University of South Carolina (USC), and Faruk also has his own business.

First, they entertained us at their home, where we had cocktails and tasty appetizers.  Then, they took us on a quick driving tour of the USC Spartanburg campus and downtown.  Finally, they hosted us at the Piedmont Club where we enjoyed a delicious meal and southern hospitality in a “relaxed style.”  Alas, our camera was left behind in the toad, so no photos from that evening.  I’ll try to make up for that when they join us for dinner at the Phaeton tomorrow.

Oh yes, I almost forgot.  There was an event today to celebrate our 10-day anniversary at Lake Greenwood.  OK, OK … even though the ice cream social at the clubhouse really wasn’t in our honor, it was fun.  Organized by Peggy (she and her husband own one of the lots here), it gave us an opportunity to meet and chat with some of the owners and ‘renters’ sharing the property with us.  Peggy has now invited us twice to go out on their pontoon boat, but we’ve had to decline both times.  Third time’s the charm they say ;-)

The hot tub (right) was too hot on a hot day (get it … it was  hot today),
but we did take a dip in the pool (left) after the ice cream social.

From our north-south facing site we don’t get to enjoy sunrises …

This is the best I can do for a sunrise photo … on a misty morning, no less.

… but we do get to enjoy some pretty spectacular sunsets from the deck … and patio … and even from the passenger-side sofa if it’s too hot to be outside. You might think that with the unchanging view, the sunsets would all be the same … but they aren't ...

As I call it a wrap for this post, the forecasted rain has started beating a gentle tattoo on the roof.  No problem, I’m inside … and I love to go to sleep to the sound of raindrops, so I don’t mind one bit.  I do hope it clears up for tomorrow, though.  Two minutes later, and the rain has stopped.  Still keeping fingers crossed for tomorrow!