“USA 🇺🇸 North Carolina ~Monthly Blog Series of….It’s Never Dull!! ~AUGUST 2024”

• September 1, 2024
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

Jumping Out of Summer

One more trip to Onslow Beach, in the middle of the week, before school starts on Monday!

McKenzie will start 8th grade, and doing high school math. Luke will be top-dog as a fifth grader, and Ry will be in third grade.

The kids are ready to go back to school, mostly because they miss their friends. Also, they can get going in sports, again!

First Day of School 8/26/24

*************

It’s already halfway through August and I’m just now getting started on this blog. What was I thinking? Ha! I’ve been at this for days, now.

It’s so much more than just “time is flying by,” (which it does) but this month has been busy AND a bit stressful. To begin with, I’m focusing on the positive. We continue to be blessed and feel humbled, as we navigate living in this crazy and upside down world. I’m telling you, I continue to be astonished at how we traveled the world, living out of suitcases for 4.5 years, and had a much easier go of things, in comparison, to traveling; in just North America, and most recently NOT even moving The Whale, from our permanent lot, in North Carolina.

The pull of international travel is real, but we just don’t know when we will launch, again. All we have is a plan that continues to be very fluid, but that’s where it truly begins, anyway, because we’ve done this before, and we will do it again. It’s an all too familiar process. We’ve had plenty of time over the last eight months to ponder about what our next move will be. Daryl and I have had many discussions on the topic, and we have lots of great ideas, with a pending bucket list too, but will continue our time in North Carolina, for now, so we can be part of our grandchildren’s lives, while they are still young enough to enjoy having us around. Our time here has been a huge blessing and we love the memories we are making with them!

Reminiscing

This week, as I planned to begin this month’s blog, I got distracted, and instead, reminisced. It was a wonderful trip down memory lane, as I looked back on our adventures, SINCE returning from our overseas travels: WE SURE HAVE DRIVEN A LOT OF MILES in North America!

We’ve been as far north as roads will take us, in Alaska, and as far south on roads, to central Mexico, doing the RV Life.

We’ve crossed the USA 3.5 times, while RVing.

We’ve traveled all the way down to the end of the Keys in Florida, in The Whale.

We did the iconic Circle of National Parks in Utah, as well as visited other scenic sites on this fantastic Loop, adding in Arizona, too.

While the National Park System in the USA comprises 423 national park sites, only 63 of them have the “National Park” designation, in their names. I’ve been to six of the nine National Parks in Alaska; all the ones that can be driven to. In total, I’ve driven to, and visited 40 National Parks, out of the 63.

I have long since, visited all fifty states in the USA; North and South Dakota being the final two. I’ve been to many, many states, multiple times.

My favorite time of the year to visit the east coast, is during the fall season. Doing “leaf peeking,” traveling from Maine, down to Connecticut was a huge highlight trip, a few years back, in Tiny the trailer.

Have driven a lot of the Old Route 66 in the USA. We have even “Stood on the Corner of Winslow Arizona.”

Been to Graceland, Niagara Falls, and rode scooters all over Washington DC.

I’ve lost count on all the lighthouses I have visited, in the USA, as well as on foreign soil.

Covered bridges are right up there with lighthouse visits. I just love them!

Rode the Grand Canyon railroad, and even experienced a train robbery! Ha! Along that same line, we’ve seen a shootout at the Ok Corral in Tombstone, AZ. We’ve ridden horses to view scenic beauty, and even crossed the Rio Grand from Texas to Mexico and rode donkeys. What hoot!

Sunsets and sunrises have been enjoyed, from countless vantage points, around.

Amish Country visits are always interesting.

Stopped at a Trump Rally, while driving through Arizona.

The wildlife I’ve gotten to see, all over the world, in their natural habitat of Alaska and Canada, far exceeded any of my expectation, including Polar Bears!

God Bless America 🇺🇸

Here are just a few picture selections from over the last three years.

Hurricane Debby

We ended July in a drought, where we are in Eastern NC. Not long in to August, the drought ended with weeks of unending rain, and flooding. The weather continued to be hot and humid.

August is peak hurricane season, though we’ve been in the season since June. Like on que. Hurricane Debby hit Florida and turned into a Tropical storm. In this case she hugged the eastern coastal regions and stalled many times, which just destroys buildings and property.

Living in a stix and brix home, vs an RV are two separate experiences; since a house has a better chance of holding up. RVs ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT hurricane proof. The big cause of concern as RV dwellers, after the hurricane threat turns to a Tropical or a Cyclone, is making the decision to stay and hope for the best, or to still drive away. We were torn on which to do, right up to Debby reaching Georgia. If she remained a hurricane there would be no question, but to leave. A Tropical, while still dangerous is better, but still concerning. Power outages and flooding were a guarantee! I did some research and if we left, the areas we would drive through were a lower elevation than where we are, stationary, which meant if we left, it could be awhile before we could get back, due to the flooding at sea level areas, which is all around us….AND, the last hurricane that hit this campground area, the water at the boat launch only rose to the first RV. We are up the road, at a slight grade, from there. Whew!

To top things off, we had plans in place to head for a getaway in Baloo the truck, to meet up with good friends; a couple from Georgia, meeting halfway and staying a few nights in an Air BnB. Not knowing when Debby would hit in NC, and unsure if we would be needing to hook-up Jonah the Bug and Zoe the Zodiac and leave in a big fat hurry, we just couldn’t be 4.5 hours away (towards Atlanta, Georgia). Bummer!!!! Errrr!!!!

Our friend, Laurie was awesome. She managed to change our dates, so we did not lose our money, and we look forward to the get together in September! Yay!

The very hardest part to anticipate during the high impact weather situations, are where the tornados are going hit. We had three long days, of tracking where tornados were “likely to hit.” Tracking tornados is not an exact science, but there are indicators. One of the reasons we chose to stay vs bolt, was the strength of predicted winds. We recalled, already enduring stronger winds during last winter’s storms, that were actually worse. We also watched what other RVers were doing. If anybody left, they did so in personal vehicles snd left their RVs behind. Only a few people tied their trailers down. The winds were suppose to top out with gusts up to 65 mph. Not great, but we could stay. The chance we took was, if a tornado was gonna rip through, so we were ready with bug-out bags, since there is not usually much advanced notice for actual touchdown locations, just predictions. We were prepared to jump in Baloo and make a run for it, leaving everything else behind, and praying A WHOLE LOT!!!

What we loved having for this storm, that we did not have last winter, is our awesome shed and a pickup truck bed! Not only could we store our yard furniture and decor. We also had room in the shed, to move items out of The Whale (arts and crafts, kitchen items, coat tree, etc) to give us more room to live, when the time came to close the slides, so the winds do not tear the toppers above the slides; which keeps the rain out.

We tested our generator, and knowing we had a full tank of diesel, hunkered down. Debby had made NC. We were ready. Once it started raining, it did not stop, sans a few hours here and there; hard, for a solid four days!

Cyclone 4 Debby, or  Tropical Storm Debby?

NE/SE Coastal North Carolina USA 🇺🇸

Day 1

Tropical Storm Debby is blowing through our area…..Day one of four, maybe. It’s quite slow-moving and dumping a lot of rain. We are under a Tornado advisory till 1AM on this first day…..

Day 2

A little less rain, but tornado threats still are active. During a lull this morning, we drove over to see the grandkiddos and Chels. Everybody was good there, too.

We are residing in the yellow.

Thx for all the kind thoughts and prayers, for all those affected.

🌪️ JUST IN: A Tornado Watch has been issued for parts of SE North Carolina Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Duplin, Jones, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender Counties until 11PM. The risk of tornadoes will remain possible through the evening, stay weather aware. A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. People in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings.

We are in the orange.

Day 3

Longest two weeks…. I mean two days, as we start day 3. If a tornado does touch down in the campground, it would be catastrophic.

Last night was rough, but we made it through, just lacking some sleep, since around 2AM Tropical Storm Debby hit hard, with the ever damaging tornados, just inland from our location, during the night ⬇️

“One confirmed tornado touched down in North Carolina’s Sampson County, damaging two homes, according to weather service reports. Two suspected tornadoes were reported in Pender and Wilson counties, and one caused “extensive damage” to a middle school outside Greensboro, the weather service said.”

The storm is impacting Virginia at this time. That’s how long of a swath this storm is!  We lost power, briefly, but around 18 thousand have yet to be restored…..

So she’s slowly moving north, but hanging around us, and today will be another long day. With any kind of luck, though, since she hit us a day early, she will be gone a day, early!

Thanks all, for your warm thoughts a prayers during T.S. Debby. She doesn’t play very nice!

Day 4

Tropical Storm Debby has left North Carolina!!!! We have both done happy dances to celebrate.

Our thoughts go to Virginia, Vermont, New York and Canada, because Debby is not done, causing problems.

Thx for so much care from all of you. One feels very powerless when it comes to these systems, but prayer does make a difference.

Thank you!

It will be raining, still, for a while, but the tornado threat is done. Chelsie and I will be hitting up Onslow, to see what the storm brought to the beach! Not my photo from Onslow, but as you can see, there is not much beach at this time.

Story Time

About a month after Daryl and I met for the first time, in Thailand, he flew to Texas from California, to spend three days with me. Unbeknownst to me, he also came to propose to me. Unfortunately, a hurricane had come up through Mexico and created a lot of flooding, right after he arrived, where I lived. We had to cancel a picnic, and kayaking, but the surprise proposal in a restaurant, with our friends Lisa and Tim, still happened. In fact, we had the entire restaurant to ourselves.

It was on this visit, I learned about Daryl and his family’s harrowing experience in 1961, when Hurricane Carla hit Texas. Daryl was six at the time. (he was born and raised in Texas, and moved to California, when he was 15).

The family lived in a trailer park in Texas City, and during those horrible days, their mobile home was lifted off its foundation, and slammed back down with rebar cutting through the floor. It was a total loss, but most importantly, the family was okay. They lived in a tent for a long time, provided by the Red Cross, till they could find another place to live.

Anything Hurricane related, makes Daryl nervous. I thought he was just nervous about proposing! 

Really?

Some added adventure we weren’t planning on, during Tropical Storm Debby, was our master toilet malfunctioning. It no longer flushed! Normally, we would have our secondary bathroom, but we’ve never used the toilet in there, only the sink, because as full-time RVers, and both of us being cooks, plus preppers, we use that room for our pantry.

We have cubby-hole shelving that sits over the toilet, (toilet is covered and protected). Also, normally, we could have moved food stores and supplies out to the shed, to give us access to the second toilet, but the shed was full of all our outdoor items, securing them from Tropical Debby! Impeccable timing, right?

Daryl got us set-up with an indoor port-a-potty for little business, and thankfully the campground has full bathrooms that were needed for the bigger business. So just like that, we went from Glamping to camping! The timing of torrential down-pours for days on end, was challenging, during this time.

Sometimes we drove over to the restroom. Rubber boots and umbrellas were not enough during that kind of storm. PLUS, there are alligators who live full-time at the campground; who normally stay around the waters at the boat launch, but they get displaced, confused and curious, during flooding. I did not want to run into one, hoofing it to the campground restroom. 🤣

The boat launch area and one of the local Gator, about 6 foot.

So troubleshooting what was wrong with the toilet, was a challenge. We were trying to avoid a mobile RV unit coming out. In researching the issue, a “control” unit (we have an emulsifier) does wear out over time, and is a common replacement item. The same is true on the flush button. Thirdly, if something went down the plumbing, that shouldn’t have, it can block the exit to the emulsifier and stop working. (we wouldn’t put anything but RV TP, but something in the past, could have dislodged itself). We picked the controller board, at $250, and ordered it. It would arrive in two weeks…. *sigh*

Oh, it just keeps getting  better….

Having lived in Texas for many years, I should not have been too surprised, but guess what likes to come indoors during heavy rain? Cockroaches! I never dealt with these creepy things till I lived in the South. They are just part of living in environments that are of the warm and humid climate conditions. When places don’t have freezes in the winter months, bugs don’t die-off.

So, after the Debby storm, with still plenty of rain coming down, I’m in the bathroom getting ready for bed and there goes one, across the counter! (yes, they are quite large) I got Daryl on roach duty, and I stepped out of the bathroom. It was quite a rodeo, and he never could catch it and kill it (they are hard to kill) it was in the drawers and out, then down on the floor and in the shower, then back on the floor, and it disappeared. Ugh. Of course this was just before bedtime. I didn’t sleep very well.

Some history from Texas: My first encounter with a cockroach, after moving there, was when I was in the pool at night. (low lighting) I collected frogs and got them out of the pool, on the regular. I swam over into the deep end to save a frog, but when I cupped it into my hands and kicked hard to the side of the pool, I realized it was cockroach and not a frog. It scurried up my arm and into (my then) long hair! I was traumatized and glad I did not drown.

Then, up next, we did a bathroom remodel in the house. The tub that was original to the house came out, to put in a new walk-in shower. Under that tub were thousands of cockroaches! Thankfully the construction workers were ready for them, unlike me (this is common in the South) and they had shop vacs, on, going fast, to collect them up. Of course you know, they didn’t get them all, but they tried. I stood still as a statue at the sight before me. Just the visual would have been enough; but no, they make a clicking noise that is just plain creepy… times that by a thousand? It was a horror flick going on, right before me. I was traumatized, again.

Getting regular spray around the home does help, but it’s not perfect, because I don’t do harsh toxins; only the gentle kind that are safe for humans and pets.

During the remodel phase, I actually had a cockroach walk across my pillow and over my head when I was sleeping. THAT will wake you up, right quick. Another time, while I was sitting up in bed, reading, one crawled onto my shoulder. Eventually we got them all out of the house, after that remodel job.

That particular house had a fireplace, so it’s a great place for them to try to come in, seeking the A/C, year around. The Whale has no fireplace, but slide-outs do not have a perfect seal, so that’s how they can get in. In Alaska, we had mosquitos get in, the same way!

Anyway, back to NC. Later, after Debby officially departed, and it stopped raining for awhile, I was able to get out to my shed, to access the freezer. I opened the freezer and the next thing I knew, a huge cockroach came down from somewhere above, bounced off my head, and fell into the freezer! I grabbed a towel, and another rodeo ensued. I won! Once it got through all the baskets, and down to the bottom, I got it trapped. I threw the roach and the towel outside. I only had flip flops on, so it got away in the flooding around the shed. But hey, it was out of my freezer! Daryl said I could have left it in the freezer to die, which is true, but I didn’t want it in with food, even though everything if’s sealed, because they are just so gross.

After that rodeo in the shed, I noticed a bunch of tiny piles of debris on the floor, that I had never seen, before. I didn’t know what it was, but suspected we now had termites. Great! Not what we needed. Daryl went to investigate and he thought the same. Ugh. So, in comes, Terminix. We needed a professional.

Fortunately, we did not have termites, which was a relief, but we still had cockroaches around, and fire ants, so we arranged for spraying, every three months. Yay! Peace of mind, is worth the cost!

Note: We have a window in our shed, which is always open because it’s not climate controlled and it’s very humid, so any breeze we get, helps keep it cooled down. So during Debby, we got wind-blown debris that were tiny dirt particles that came through the screen. Mystery solved. I swept it all clean, once again, and we are all good.

Though Debby was officially no longer a direct threat, it continued to rain, for DAYZ. Plus, Hurricane Ernesto was already brewing, in the Caribbean! There was no point in unloading our shed, till we learned which way Ernesto would go. This would take about four days to get a report.

Vitamin D

Finally, when we did get our first blue sky, sunny day, it was time for all of us to get some Vitamin D! We took the Zodiac out and had a blast. Any problems we had, back at The Whale were forgotten about, for awhile.

Daryl and I launched, and headed towards Swansboro. This is where we were watching the fireworks, in July; from on land. When Chels and the kiddos arrived, we went back to the dock to pick them up.

This is the island the fireworks were shot off from ⬇️

This was where were were, watching the fireworks from ⬇️

After several hours, we eventually had to go back to the dock. Here, one needs to be mindful of high and low tides, because the channel is not very deep at low tide, and it’s super slow-going.

In the winter months, we want to get the Zodiac out and adventure, too. If Daryl is at work, it will be just Chels and I, so Chelsie got her lesson, in, operating Zoe. Plus, we are both schooled on loading, unloading and driving the boat down the road. We are ready! We want to trailer it farther out, and explore different islands.

Cream Puffs

Had a fun afternoon showing Kenzie how to make Cream Puffs. My grandma taught me how to make them, just like she taught me how to make pie crust and pies. So, the tradition continues. BUT, I’m not sure how much I taught her, because I was obviously having an off day in the kitchen. I blame it on the full Blue Moon 🤣

I had made cookies to bake, while at Chelsies and they didn’t turn out, either. We had to make the Cream Puff dough, twice, because of the first, failing.

I’ve been making Cream Puffs since I was a teenager. I have no words…all we could do was laugh. We had fun, though and Kenz did good, in spite of her MeMa! I did make the Pâtissière Crème (Pastry Cream) in The Whale, ahead of time (before the full moon), because it has to be very cold to use and that takes hours, and thankfully it was perfect. Just the dough was an issue, and I’m so stumped.

They were still quite tasty, even if a little flatter, so all was well in the end. Kenz didn’t complain about a thing, and she was quite understanding.

Operation Cream Puff   UPDATE!

It was really bugging me about the failed cream puffs and cookies…..FINALLY, it dawned on me. We now live at Sea Level, so when baking, adjustments in temperature and time, need to be made! This also explains why my homemade bread and cornbread haven’t been rising, like they should…duh!!! 🤣🤣🤣

I lived in Colorado for several years, and had to make adjustments for high elevation baking. I just didn’t remember these things. I will say, knowing what I now know, high elevation baking requires more adjustments, than sea level baking. 

So a week later, I made some more Cream Puffs, applying the oven temperature and time baked; adjustments. I had success and took them over for the kiddos, for when they came home from their first day school and sports.

Yay, mystery solved! 

Around the Homestead

The critters were quite famished after Debby left NC. We kept putting food out and they all filled up. It was a bit of a frenzy for sure.

The squirrels especially went crazy and aggressively went after the bird feeders, which they normally do not do. Some were successful, while some were not. They all got an A for their efforts, though!

Onslow, After Debby

Chels and I made it to Onslow for a before-sunrise hunt, where Chels scored with another big, amazing Shark tooth.

About 30 minutes after Chelsie and I had our fun and left the beach; around 10AM on a Saturday, the lifeguards closed the beach! We timed our outing, perfectly. Weather wasn’t great for several days, even after Debby left. Lightening storms on the beach can be deadly.

This is Chelsie beautiful Angustidens Shark tooth, (grandfather era to the mighty Megaladons), cleaned up, of its calcium collection.

I did find my first good-sized Bull Shark Tooth, so that was exciting for me.

Hurricane Ernesto 

Hurricanes/Cyclone 5 Ernesto, did not make landfall on the east coast, for which we were all grateful. He was as close as Bermuda, for us, which is further east, over the Atlantic. It caused rain storms, some wind and rip tides at the beach, but passed, quickly. We can relax again
(for a little while, anyway).

Finally, the beaches were safe from rip tides and the kids could get back in the water at Onslow, to swim and boogie board. Chelsie and kiddos picked me up, so I could get out with them. I always appreciate this extra effort made for me.

This was our first trip to the beach, following Ernesto. Our usual shark tooth hunting stretch was covered with sand, and a place we usually don’t find much, had better finds, and not covered with sand.

How’s The Diet  Going?

It’s been four month of struggle. 700 calories a day, for all the effort, and I’ve maybe, only lost 15 pounds. NOT NEAR ENOUGH for the effort! Oh well. I just have to look at it, differently. It would have only gotten worse, and I prevented that! But honestly, JUST cutting out yummy dairy, and reducing meat, alone, should have led to SO much more weight loss, but my body likes to mess with me and hold on to the fat, for all it’s worth!!!! Errrr. But I won’t quit. I’m way too stubborn for that!

Matrix (Fossil) Dirt 

I did a thing….

I took a chance and purchased matrix dirt through this person named  “Eric Prokopi” and it has been very fun! He is legit and I got two different 45 lb boxes in the mail. The matrix mixes are aged at; 13-20 million years old.

Contacted thru messenger on FB: https://www.facebook.com/eric.prokopi?mibextid=LQQJ4d

On days we can’t get to our local beach to search, I have my little station set up at home with buckets, grates and water sprayer. It’s messy, slow work, but satisfying. I spend hours searching through the dirt/mud.

Def worth paying for and doing. I recommend. I told Eric I would give a shout-out for him in my blog, and decided to do so on fb, too.

If interested in keeping the tiniest teeth, be sure to have a window-sized screen, or smaller grate, as well. I use a sieve.

I will definitely buy more boxes from Eric, over time. This is fun, plus I gave Chels a baggie full of dirt for the kiddos, to go through, with micro teeth size.

A Sense of Calm

The week of the 20th we got to enjoy sitting outside, again and not running A/C full bore, inside. It’s actually nippy in the early morning, and later evenings, but gets warm still, by afternoon. Low humidity for a while was a treat! It’s only fake fall weather, but we will take it!

Daryl took both of these beautiful sunset pictures.

Organizer

Something fun about living in a campground are the little mini lot sales that take place. Like garage sales, but we have no garages. Anyway, I scored the most perfect basket and shelf storage for my shell collection/arts and crafts and painting items. Before, I had cardboard boxes stacked, which wasn’t very classy.

Operation Toilet Fix Continues

After Daryl got the 25 pound manual out to look up potential toilet issues, it became a more complicated job. Something about working on RVs is this: It sometimes takes different tools than the ordinary tools for households. We don’t have what we need. Also, in this case, there are many wires to un-attach and re-attach perfectly, to get the controller swapped out. (if that’s even the issue) In addition, Daryl being on his knees, on the floor with two knee replacements won’t work. Finally, have you seen the size of his hands? He wouldn’t be able to get up inside the pedestal, after he gets the throne removed from the floor.

Our neighbors had a mobile rv repair unit out, to replace their broken awning, so Daryl made an appointment with the same mobile repair service. They come in a few days. If it’s not the controller, and it’s the push button, we will swap out our secondary toilet with that part, so we don’t have to wait. Daryl will watch and learn, so he can order a new push switch, (which is on the wall) and put it back in the secondary one.

In the meantime, we have a kitchen sink faucet issue the repair guy can look at. (the hose is shot, and it leaks when it’s on)…and it’s not a standard kitchen faucet.. it’s made for RV’s. We also have a section of our superslide-out topper pulled out of its slot. (which happened last winter, as we were putting the slide in for a storm) If only we had been three minutes faster!  It was a brand new topper of four months! $650 later. Ugh. Perhaps it can be reattached.

Again, sometimes it’s best to let the professionals fix things, and we have enough issues to warrant a service call.

UPDATE:

Well, we got our RV Repair Guy visit. Met one of our campground neighbors, too, who works for D&D RV Repair and Maintenance. He lives behind us. He LOVED The Whale and was happy to get a peek, inside! What a blessing to meet him, and the owner, as well. Who do you trust these days? These guys! We are in good hands.

We all got a laugh, when the technician investigated our toilet issue. He tested the flush button, first, and guess what? It flushed! WTH!!!! 🤦‍♀️ 🤣🤣🤣

It was not a worn part, but the suspected “something” that was covering the emulsifier function. After a few weeks, the blockage disintegrated, and it was “life as usual.” OMG, really? BUT, our service call was well spent, since we are now part of the club with our one-time service call, paid in full ($135). Even better yet, this business does not usually service this area. There we go, feeling divinity!

All is well. We have a return visit, soon, to get a new kitchen faucet, replaced, plus some maintenance on our A/C’s which might need a new pump, (related to the exit flow of water), since the A/C’s are working SO HARD this summer, after all, to kept us comfortable!

Not good news on our brand-new topper that tore last winter. There is no repair, only replacement; $700. The good news is, no rain came in, during Debby, so we have some time to figure out that, as well as getting one new toppers on the passenger side slide, first and probably will be around $400, or more. We will do that topper, before winter sets in. Our bedroom topper is still in good shape, thankfully.

All in all, we feel happy to have our own master bath, fully functioning again. We can put this chapter to rest! Yay, team Saunders!!!

Today, mama got her new kitchen faucet, installed. $450 for faucet and installation ($250 for faucet). We are set.

Sometimes, between our home in California that we lease out, along with The Whale, maintenance is constant. But, so, so important. It’s just part of home-ownership. With The Whale, while traveling and driving her we focused on maintenance for engine, generator, tires, jacks, driving lights, etc. now that we are stopped, we are focusing on other maintenance issues. It works out. 

We are keeping these guys busy, in NC. There was only time to do the kitchen faucet on this day, so the next service call for next month, will be to go through our A/C’s. Before we know it, we will need heat, and not A/C, though hard to fathom, but we want to be ready! 

Getting Organized 

Another campground neighbor had a lot sale. We got some shelving for free! With our narrow door on the shed, we will have to disassemble, but it should be just right, when we get it all in. Daryl is also adding some wood shelves, inside. It’s a work in process, especially now that the humidity is back, after our one week of Fake Fall weather. That cool snap was awesome, and directly related to Hurricane Ernesto while he was causing problems in Bermuda. Now that Ernesto is over, Burundi is back to hot weather and it comes over the Atlantic Ocean to us.

Anyway, we def don’t want to get caught “with our pants down,” again….(so to speak), and want to make it easier to have full access to our second bathroom, should it ever become necessary, again!

Daryl is also cutting white trim for around the shed. Too cute!

Celebrating Going Back to School!

We have LOVED a summer of getting to hang out with the grandkids. We enjoyed making countless memories and made the best of our time, together. Today, we had pool time and a pizza party from “Monster Pizza,” the best in town. Our friend from Chelsie’s hood; Rachel dropped on by and Kenzies bestie enjoyed time at the campground, too. In fact, Rachael took this first pic of the kiddos.

Super fun day, complete, with “Gourmet S’mores,” over a camp fire….Cookie of your choice: blonde/black Oreos, Chips Ahoy, or Cinnamon Bears. Crumble them-up, and break up some peanut butter cups, and add to the crumble-up cookies. Next-up, the roasted marshmallow gets pushed into the foil pouch with the crumbled up goodies. Stir around with a spoon and eat! Yum!

You will never eat just plain S’mores again! 

After the goodies were consumed, we all took a walk down to the water, to look for gators. We missed them by an hour, but skipping rocks was enjoyed, too!

And just like that, day was done. Complete with a beautiful sunset. 

Not a Shark Tooth…. But

On this day, Chelsie and I hit up Onslow. The kids are back in school, so we were able to get out in the morning. Good thing, because there was a heat advisory, with a heat index of 105. We only lasted about three hours. I mean when the birds are “panting,” it’s dang  hot! 🥵

Typical for daytime beach hunting in the summer, I had a small showing. But any day on the beach is so good. Sunshine and wading in the waves, can’t be beat! By the way, ever since I read sea glass can also be called “Pirate” glass, I shall now, and forever, refer to any glass finds, this way…. arrrrr

Aside from some tiny shark tooth finds, Chelsie found what is called a Whelks Shell Egg casing. It’s over a foot long, and a super cool find, indeed! …and yes, shells essentially “give birth,” in an interesting way, and grow more shells.

“Due to their long, curling shape, these interesting finds have been nicknamed “mermaid’s necklaces.”

Usually only a portion of the eggs in each capsule hatch. While in the capsules, the eggs mature through all their larval stages. If you pick up an intact capsule, you can often hear a rattle and see small dark shapes inside the capsules. When held up to the sun, you can see miniature, nearly microscopic baby whelks through the translucent capsule. Typically sometime in May, the tiny whelks will use an “escape hatch” to exit the capsules and enter the open sea.

Historical records indicate early sailors used the long whelk cases as sponges; their rough but flexible edges are similar to natural sponges.”

With Chelsie’s find, it looks like all the eggs hatched, since the casings were empty.

Labor Day Weekend BBQ Potluck

On this last day in August, we celebrated with some good eats, poolside, at the campground. It had “cooled” down to the high 80’s, for this day.

The grandkids had a conflict, last minute, and since they were just here last weekend, it was the just the three of us, which was fun, too. Any chance I can get my kid to myself, ain’t a bad deal! ❌⭕️💕

I made an Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cake. Yum! The BBQ Chicken was perfect, and there was live music. Fun time!

Next, We Bring in September! See ya next month!!!

Activate YOUR Sleeping Stem Cells!

Daryl and I are still going strong, on our stem cell therapy. I’m in my 7th month and Daryl is in his 6th. This protocol continues to amaze us and it’s such an incredible journey to experience. It’s so great to have so much healing power in our bodies, again! Sometimes it’s as simple as moles, randomly falling off your body, or scars and age spots disappearing, but they also tackle big ticket items as well: Cancer, stroke, brain injury, chronic pain, sight and hearing damage, etc. Your stem cells know what to do. All you have to do is apply the patch and go about your everyday life. They heal you, from the inside out.

This month was very interesting, since the patches cleared my body of all parasites. Gross, I know, but EVERYBODY has parasites and EVERYBODY needs to eliminate them. If YOU think you are immune to parasites getting in to your body, you are sadly mistaken. They are in the water, in the ground, on fruits and veggies and in meats. Impossible to avoid, completely. They are in every part of the world, from underdeveloped countries to western civilization.

I’ve been doing parasite cleanses two times a year, for 19 years. What a revelation people feel, when they are in their40’s, 50’s 60’s 70’s, when they FINALLY rid their body of the nutrient-sucking parasites. Stop being a host to them! YOU need those nutrients!

This summer I did not cleanse by my normal Young Living products, because I figured why double-up, since I knew the patches would do the job, and they did.

Since the patches activate sleeping stem cells, they go to work and are actually begin the age-reversing process. How can they not? Let’s say the majority of your stem cells are dormant. No wonder you don’t feel good, lack energy, and don’t sleep well.

A HUGE bonus, as seniors! Daryl’s skin has become more youthful and he’s almost 70. Wrinkles just disappear! I’ve had some unsightly scars; proof I’ve lived, but now they are going away; one after the other!

Let me help you get your health back and all the bonuses that go along with WANTING to feel better. I know many are suffering health issues now, so let me tell you. It doesn’t matter what you have done your body, what has happened to your body, or what you’ve put in it. THIS stem cell therapy is the real deal! No drugs, or prescriptions.

My Referral Link:

 https://www.lifewave.com/colleenhalley/register?

My Customer #2217909

I’m happy to answer any questions you might have, and help you get your order in.
My email is:

beachcitystudio@gmail.com

SOUTH CAROLINA