Barnyard RV Park, Columbia, SC

A surprising RV park just a few miles away from the SC campus and downtown Columbia area. The park is adjacent to a very large outdoor flea market. The market was closed during our stay, but it looks like these markets are a big draw for the area as there are several. We had a pull through site very near the office that was extremely long. The sites are dirt/gravel, but level, with a small concrete pad and a picnic table for an outdoor space. The park had cable, but we were able to connect our dish even with the scattered trees around the park. The trees provide a nice amount of shade to break up the heat of the sun when visiting during the summer months. The one downside was the wifi that was not usable for anything. The park has showers, bathrooms and showers, although I did not check them out. However, the price at $31/night puts this park in the 4 out of 5 category for price vs. site and amenities. If we end up back in the Columbia area, we will stay at this parks again.

Brunswick, GA

As we work our way north and out of Florida, we are trying to escape the torrential rains that have plagued us since we entered the sunshine state. We have a niece in this area and were excited to spend time with her and her boyfriend. Our first night was "First Friday" in the nearby town of Brunswick. The town has a great southern feel that we enjoyed. We walked around the town, under umbrellas as the rain followed us north, as we shopped and soaked up the southern atmosphere. The next day we spent at Fernidina at the museum, beach and Fort Clinch. Our second full day in the area was spent with our niece and other half at Jekyll island where we visited the turtle hospital and Driftwood beach. Driftwood beach was a highlight for me as it looks like something right out of a movie set. The dead trees along the beach give the entire area the feel of another world. We then followed up that day with days at Saint Simon island checking out the lighthouse and chasing down tree spirits, a day at Tybee island (one of our favorite spots along this part of the coast) and our last day at St. Augustine. There is so much history and beauty in this area that we are already anxious to visit it again as we feel like we only scratched the surface.

Mount Pleasant KOA, Mount Pleasant, SC

Nice KOA with the camping feel that makes you forget that you are a short distance away from the main road from Mount Pleasant into Charleston. The park is very quiet as it is surrounded by mature trees and a large lake. The lake provides the opportunity for fishing, boating, etc. that are all available from the KOA office. The sites are gravel, but flat and easy to navigate. We had a nice pull through site at the end of a row. The park has cable and a frequently weak wifi. We rate this park a 4 out of 5. You pay a little extra when staying at a KOA, but you know it will be a decent park.

Coastal Georgia RV Resort, Brunswick, GA

Great location to visit and explore the Georgia coast and into northern Florida. We picked this park because of the convenience to I-95 and it being centrally located to the places we wanted to visit. The park has very nice pull through spots in the main section and back in spots along the lake. The sites are all concrete, level and with easy hook ups. The park provides cable, which was nice as we lost our satellite many times during heavy rain storms. They have a nice pool with bathrooms, showers and laundry. The also have a pavillion area for park events, like BBQ parties, or when you need more outdoor seating space for a large group. The park wifi worked reasonably well, which is always a bonus. For the reasonable price and great location, we give this park a high 4 out of 5 and will be staying here again.

International RV Park, Daytona, FL

Very convenient park location right off the freeway, but far enough away that it is quiet and feels secluded. The park is a short 5 minutes from the speedway and 10 minutes or less from the beach area. The staff was nice and helpful during checkin and the main building area with the small store, clubhouse, pools, etc. were all in great shape. The park has a lot of sites, but doesn't feel big. Their wifi worked great, which is always a nice bonus. The stay was odd in one way for us in that almost all of the sites are occupied by mostly 5th wheels, but there are no people staying in them. We speculated about people paying for full year sites for either the winter or the race events. Either way, we saw as many wild turkeys as we did humans during our 3 days at the park. We stayed in one of the pull through areas where they have very long sites that they typically split for two RVs. We did not realize that they were going to charge us as a large RV taking up a full site. If you are under ~40 feet, the sites are $45/night, but we were charged $80/night. I would have stayed in a different park if I was paying attention to what they planned to charge us, so that costs them a little in our rating. Overall we give the park a 3 out of 5, but that is because of the cost for being over 40'. Given our size, we will stay at a different park when we come back to the Daytona area.

Daytona Beach

Some of you may not know but Gary plans our routes every year and he is a wizard at it.  He researches, plans it and executes it.  I throw in places I for sure want to visit and he just makes it work.  He's just that awesome.  ;) 
Unbeknownst to me until this stop he has been fretting because we are spending so much time in Florida so I could get a lot of "beach days".  He knows I love sand and water and sun so what a great place to get all 3, right?  Well, turns out this year in Florida, the month of May you get more water from the sky than you do from the ocean.  ;)  There is a lot of sand to visit but no sun.  You can try to visit the sand in between the rain storms but you usually end up running for cover either to your car or the nearest awning.  Haha!  What else do you do but roll with it?
Anyway, since we visited Daytona for some beach days but couldn't go to the beach we decided to tour the Daytona 500 Speedway.  We did an "all access" tour of the stadium, the inner circle grounds and the stands.  We got to see the car of this year's winner and we got to take as many pictures as we wanted.  It was a tour well worth the money and I highly recommend it! 
Unfortunately we didn't do anything else.  It took us 2 days to get the tour done since the first day we tried to do it we had to get a rain check due to lightning storms in the area.  It has been raining on us every day since May 12th, it is now May 31st.  Kind of sick of the rain.  Good news is, next week it's supposed to clear up!  Keep you fingers crossed!!  Maybe we'll just turn the rig into an ark and see what happens.  ;) 

Miami

What can I say about Miami?  Well, for us it rained A LOT.  We endured the rains from Tropical Storm Alberto, a tornado warning and just general "weather".
We pulled into Miami hoping to see Everglades National Park, Biscayne Bay National Park and a Miami Marlins game.  2 out of 3 ain't bad.  ;)  Because of the poor weather we had to skip Biscayne Bay and were scrambling for things to do and when we could actually do them.  While keeping a constant eye on Alberto we did manage to see a few things.
While driving from the Keys to Miami our "check engine" light came on so we took our rig into the Cummins shop the first full day after arriving.  Good news- nothing was wrong with it, bad news- we wasted a day of sight seeing but this is what happens when traveling via a home on wheels.  We were determined to make the best of  it so the next day we set out to see Everglades National Park.  With our Disney rain capes, windbreakers, umbrellas and "water shoes" in the back of the car we were prepared.  We knew that since we weren't willing to risk the skies opening up on us on a jet boat ride, our viewing would be limited but we still managed to see a few crocodiles, (one on the side of the road) an American Alligator and a Manatee!  It was worth braving the rain and it was something that few people ever get to see since Alligators and Crocodiles rarely coexist in such close proximity to each other.
The rest of our time was kind of hit and miss.  We did go into the city a couple of days, once to see a Marlins game.  They fought a tough 8 innings against the Nationals but in the end, their bull pen stinks and the relievers just couldn't win it for them.
The other day we went into the city was to take a bus tour (yay for inside so we don't get rained on!) to get a feel for the different areas of Miami.  We saw Little Havana, Wynwood Walls and the Art Deco District where Versace had his mansion and unfortunately, met his demise.  :(  After the tour we drove to the University of Miami.  This was also a consideration of Taylor's when she was trying to pick a school and Gary missed this tour as well so I wanted him to see the beautiful campus.  That evening we stayed in town to try to have dinner on South Beach.  To anyone who thinks going to Miami for Memorial Day weekend would be fun, DON'T GO.  It is referred to as "Urban Beach Week" and it is about as chaotic as a warzone.  Save your money, time and energy and go either the week before or the week after. Edit: Added some pictures of Vizcaya, which is a ridiculous house and property that is now a museum. It is a must see when in Miami.   ;)