Happy Labor Day!
We just got back from our camping trip extravaganza and I'm going to tell you about it!
The story begins when we got back from our first camping trip this summer with our good friends Charles and Emily. We went for a quick weekend to South Mountains State Park in North Carolina. When we got back, we were so sad from coming off the camp high that we decided over chips and salsa to snag the last campsite available the next weekend at our favorite place, Oconee State Park.
First, a word about Oconee. It's a state park in the tip top corner of South Carolina, about 45 minutes away from us. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and still exudes depression-era charm. We're particularly fond of their swimming hole and lake-house.
Our plan was to get to our site before the sun went down. We got everything packed the night before, but when we go off work, we still struggled to get everything together. Finally we were ready to hit the road, when we couldn't find the keys to our trusty Honda CR-V. After thirty minutes of searching, we finally found them attached to the bag I had taken out to the car when I discovered the doors were locked.
The sun set on us just before we got there. Our site was located among the "rustic" tent sites down a trail through the woods. We had purchased a heavy-duty wagon for the occasion, but the trek was still a headache. After setting up the tent and cursing God, the universe, and everything, we grumpilly shuffled back out of the woods to the traditional bluegrass jam and square dance in the barn on the property. It was a balm for our weary souls to see so many people having tremendous un-cynical fun, dancing their hearts out in the summer humidity. We had so much fun on the dance floor. We even won an Oconee State Park Tervis! After the dance, we headed back to the camp sight for some well-deserved shut-eye.
The next morning, it was time for breakfast. After another hike back to the car to get the food and cooking supplies, I begin to cook some bacon on our propane stove, a gift from my dad last Christmas. (Thanks, Dad!) First one, then a dozen, then all the bees in the world came to greet me and my bacon. After lugging our supplies in and out of the campsite, and the visit from the Bees of the World, an executive decision was made to eat at our car from now on, and only sleep at our site.
Later in the day we hit the lake. It's a beautiful little lake. The CCC dammed up a creek to create the lake. The swimming are has been recently renovated and cleaned. Rather than a sand beach, the area has grass all the way up to the water's edge, which is a short stone retaining wall going into the lake. There is a diving platform with high and low diving boards farther out int he lake. The lake house is a beautiful piece of "parkitecture" from the CCC. The main part houses the snack bar and two changing areas, and a smaller addition on the side covers the spillway for the lake into the creek below, which doubles as a boat launch. It really is a great backdrop for the classic summer fun you can have at the lake.
We swam to our hearts content. We even convinced ourselves to jump off of the high-dive. We felt like we conquered the world there at the close of summer. After deciding to not haul our food to the campsite, our meals were pretty humble. We had a close scare with some wind the last two nights, but it never once rained on us. We discovered the joy of sleeping in our tent with the rain fly off, under the stars.
We enjoyed the rest of our weekend all around the park. On Monday, we swam up until they closed the swimming hole at 5 pm for the rest of the season. We'll be back later in the year to camp and hike some more, but we can't wait until Memorial Day 2019 for more swimming and square dancing.
Ethan
P.S. I forgot to mention Ice Cream-O-Clock. It's the best hour of every day at Camp Oconee. We love grabbing a cone and rocking in rocking chairs under the porch. Heaven.
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