Day 85 of our 2025 RVing Adventure with Historical & Musical Interludes

It's Friday July 25th, day 85 of our 2025 summer adventure. Charlie wanted to get on the road early to avoid driving in the real heat of the day. I hate to break it to him... but when I came out of the rig at 6am, my glasses immediately steamed up. I think that we will be driving in heat today! We stayed here in 2015 and 2019 according to our travel log!

When we departed Parkwood RV Park and Cottages in Statesboro, GA there is Vinny’s Bargain Barn—officially an antique furniture store, though he calls it a “junk store”—located on Highway 301 in Statesboro, Georgia. 

The store, a two-story structure surrounded by scattered outdoor merchandise, has been open for about 20 years. Vinny's Bargain Barn stands out as a hidden gem for antique enthusiasts and treasure hunters alike. With a unique and eclectic assortment of items, this charming store captures the essence of nostalgic shopping, offering a delightful experience that sparks the imagination. The owner has an engaging personality and extensive knowledge of antiques, enhancing the shopping experience. Shoppers can rummage through an unorganized yet fascinating array of items that tell a story. The charm of My Cousin Vinny's Bargain Barn lies not only in its offerings but also in the welcoming environment that encourages exploration and creativity. Whether searching for a nostalgic item or an unexpected find, this store promises an enjoyable and memorable outing.

Known the world over for old-fashioned goodness and traditional holiday appeal, Claxton Fruit Cake is the "Choice of Millions Since 1910." Sun-ripened California raisins, delicious pineapple, crunchy Georgia pecans, plump juicy cherries, freshly shelled walnuts and almonds, tangy lemon and orange peel blended into a rich pound cake batter and baked to a golden brown. That is the recipe for the famous Claxton Fruit Cake. In January on 1966, the Claxton Bakery was founded by Savino Gillio-Tos in Claxton, Georgia. He immigrated to the US in 1902. He lived in New York City, where he worked at a Brooklyn hotel as a master baker. He eventually took a job in Macon, Georgia and moved from there to Claxton. Mr. Gillio-Tos's Claxton Bakery was a successful maker of baked goods, homemade ice cream and fruitcakes. In 1945, he sold the bakery to Albert Parker, an employee, and he retired. 

Under Parker's leadership, the Claxton Bakery began to focus on fruitcakes; this eventually led the bakery to start selling fruitcakes for fundraising purposes in the 1950s. One of the bakery's earliest fundraising partners was Civitan International; since 1951, local Civitans have sold millions of pounds of Claxton fruitcake each holiday season in support of their work with the developmentally disabled. A little over a decade later, in 1964 and 1965, the company was part of the New York World's Fair. Mr. Parker quickly took advantage of the success at the fair and came up with other means to get his product out to the world. One such innovation came when he entered several floats in the Orange Bowl Jamboree Parade in Miami and also the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in Washington, D.C. Today the Claxton Bakery, Inc. works with over a thousand organizations throughout North America. Doesn’t everyone love fruitcake?!

There might be a bit of competition in town.... we saw the Georgia Bakery with a sign for Georgia Fruit Cake Company. Since 1954, when the Georgia Fruitcake Company picked up its first military contract (one order for 52,000 pounds of cake and another for 64,000 pounds), this family-owned business has counted on the military as one of their main customers. Since then, they have added a mail order system and an online service that is available to the public. Everyone is welcome to stop by Claxton, visit the facilities, and make a purchase right at the counter. The Georgia Fruitcake Company offers three main varieties of their cakes: the vacuum-sealed canned Georgia Fruit Cake, the vacuum-sealed canned bourbon fruitcake (The Womble's Fruit Cake), and the 11-pound loaves.

Between Claxton and Jesup, we got a phone call no one wants to get when they are making a big purchase. We learned today that there is a recall from Ford on the back-up camera on the chassis for our motorhome. Yikes! What does this mean? In Florida, it means that the vehicle is NFS (not for sale.) It is illegal for a dealer to sell it with an open recall on it. So, where does that leave us? Upset. Annoyed. Frustrated. But, it's not our salesman's fault. We inked the deal on the 18th and the recall came out on the 21st. If there is any good news in this situation... Lazydays has a second unit, similar to ours, which is still available and it is not part of the recall. It is still a 2024. So, why is it not part of the recall? Time to do some research. Charlie is driving, while I am surfing the internet. We had both VINs, because we looked at both units in the beginning. Yes, the unit we have the contract on is on the recall. But, the 2nd unit is not on recall. And the reason that it is not on recall is because this 2024 coach is built on a 2023 chassis. That happens sometimes. So, we might have some leverage to get the same deal we had on the first unit for this higher priced 2nd unit.

Jesup GA was named for Thomas Jesup, a general during the Second Seminole War. I love Drive-Ins! The Jesup Drive-In Movie Theatre is Georgia's oldest drive-in movie theater, was established in 1948 by Ward Riggins Sr. It operated as a single-screen venue until the early 1970s when Tim Cockfield acquired it. Following tornado damage to the original screen in the mid-1970s, a replacement was installed from the closed Swainsboro Drive-In, and the venue expanded to two screens. In 2011, Ralph and Jamie Hickox purchased and restored the theater, aiming to preserve its 1950s architectural features. The Jesup Drive-In has received state and local recognition for its community service including 2014 Wayne County Business of the year, Georgia Small business of the year in 2018 by the Georgia Downtown Association and 2025 Renaissance Award by the Georgia Cities foundation. The Theater was practically wiped out by Hurricane Helena in 2024 but was restored by the Hickox's and reopened in the spring of 2025.

We crossed the border from Georgia into Florida on US 301. I have to say I love the "welcome to Florida" sign they have here. The "Free State of Florida" phrase has been used by Governor DeSantis since 2020, when he opened the state's economy after COVID-19 lockdowns. In his 2022 State of the State address, he declared Florida "the freest state in the United States". 

In the Florida town of Starke, 301 is also known as Rosa Park Highway. Starke may have been named in honor of developer George W. Cole's fiancée or in honor of Madison Starke Perry, fourth governor of Florida and a Confederate States Army colonel. The Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, adds that the city may have been named after "Thomas Starke, a slaveholder who once owned much land around the area." There was a motorhome mural on the side of the Revels RV Accessories building. It was originally commissioned in 2006 and painted by Kellyanne Fitzsimmons.

We arrived at our overnight destination, the Starke KOA. After several nights of no shade, I was excited when the desk clerk made sure we had a site that had some shade! Once we got set up, we had some discussions about our next step with our purchase and we made a few phone calls back to our sales rep at Lazydays. It was a quiet night, but I don't anticipate much sleep! 

Stay tuned for more #TwoLaneAdventures

Day 84 of our 2025 RVing Adventure with Historical & Musical Interludes

It's Thursday July 24th, day 84 of our 2025 summer adventure. I walked around the KOA on the paved roads, before it got too hot! 

With an RV, there is always anticipation about "will everything work?" Well, we stopped putting the drivers side slide out, because the last time we did it needed a bit of help from Charlie pushing. 

We think the motor is starting to fail. Last night we did put out the dinette slide and this morning it went part way in and stopped. We tried all the tricks we knew and no luck. So, we called a mobile RV tech! He said he would try to make it before check-out time. I went to the office and explained our situation. Super nice ladies in the Charlotte/ Fort Mill KOA. They moved the person coming in to another site and blocked our site out from being selected by another camper on line. Tracy's RV Service came before 11 and worked for an hour and got the motor out, the slide in and slide braced with wood. That will stop that side of the slide from coming out. It was a father son team and they were super knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. Its a big job to get the new motor in, so we opted to buy the new motor, but not have it installed. By 1pm, we were on the road!

The weather was threatening as we drove along US 52, which parallels I-77. US 52 begins in Charleston, South Carolina, spends a short time in Virginia, and then winds its way through West Virginia. It follows the Kentucky-West Virginia border as it heads north crossing into Kentucky briefly a couple of times. In Ohio it follows the Ohio River to Cincinnati, crosses into Indiana, and then continues into Illinois. In Illinois it heads west into Iowa. In Minnesota it follows I-94 to North Dakota. From there it heads west then northwest again and finally its end at Portal on the Canadian border.

Cayce, SC is located on the Congaree River and was first settled in the 1770s. The city was named after William Cayce, who operated a ferry service across the river. Cayce became a planned community in 1892 when the Columbia Land and Improvement Company purchased 1,500 acres of land along the Congaree River. Cayce was once home to a thriving cotton industry. The town was even nicknamed "The Cotton Capital of the World." However, the industry eventually declined and many of the town's residents left in search of work elsewhere. Cayce still has a lot to offer. The town is home to several historical landmarks, including the first African-American church in South Carolina and the site of the first shots fired in the Civil War. Cayce also has a number of parks and recreation areas, making it a great place to live or visit.

We took US 321. It is a spur of US Route 21. It runs over 500 miles from Hardeeville, SC to Lenoir City, TN. We took it south through towns that felt like a tour of European countries, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Norway is a small town with a unique origin story connected to the railroad. It's one of four towns in South Carolina named after Scandinavian countries, alongside Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. The town's name was chosen to fit the railroad company's "Scandinavian" naming theme as the railroad expanded through the area in 1891. 

The town of Sweden, was not named due to the presence of Scandinavian settlers. The name was simply part of the railroad's broader naming scheme. There was this beautiful mural on an empty building in Sweden. 

The community of Denmark was first established in 1837 as a turnout on the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company line. It was named Graham's Turnout for Captain Zachariah G. Graham. The town's name was later changed to Denmark in the late 1800s to honor Captain Isadore Denmark, an official with the South Bound Railroad Company. The town's location at the intersection of two major rail lines spurred its growth as a mercantile center for the surrounding agricultural area. 

We kept seeing signs for Jim Harrison's gallery. Who is Jim Harrison? In the summer of 1951, he was a 14-year-old boy, who climbed atop the scaffold to paint his first Coca-Cola sign, little did he know that he was beginning a lifelong love for the Coca-Cola trademark and launching a career as one of American's foremost landscape artists. That Coca-Cola sign that he worked on that day with his mentor, J. J. Cornforth, was the first of more than 100 similar signs he painted over the next few years and shaped the future work of this South Carolina in many ways. In the early 1970s, he published his first print, "Coastal Dunes," and his work soon gained the attention of the nation’s leading publisher of limited edition prints, Frame House Gallery of Louisville, Kentucky. 

Since the publication of his first print, many of his prints have appreciated up to 3000 percent of their original value. In 1975, he became associated with Hammer Galleries in New York and his one-man show a few years later was a complete sell out before the exhibit opened. Five other successful one-man shows followed and later shows in San Francisco proved to be equally successful. Today, Harrison’s work is distributed through Jim Harrison Prints in Denmark. His work was his life, and he surrounded himself with the things he loved. Spending much of his career as an artist in Denmark was returning to his roots, and the Jim Harrison Gallery is housed in the very building where the young artist got his start more than fifty years ago as an apprentice sign painter for J.J. Cornforth. Jim Harrison passed away almost 10 years ago, but his wife still runs his gallery.

The pride in the dogwood tree is evident in the town of Denmark SC. They have one painted on Main Street at every intersection! The dogwood trees make their debut in white and pink blossoms every spring, giving the town of Denmark a reason to celebrate every year. The Dogwood Festival is a family-oriented event held on Denmark’s main street, Carolina Highway. The multi-day event features a prayer brunch, parade, live entertainment, food, rides, rides, games and contests. 

 

In the town of Govan, population 63, we came upon an oversized load. This is one of the disadvantages of our Two Lane travels. It was a TALL load, verses a wide load. Occasionally, the load had to go into the oncoming lane to miss low branches! 

Ulmer, SC was settled before the Revolutionary War and received its charter in 1891. The town's name honors Ephriam Ulmer, who relinquished land for the town's business district. It is another "big" town.... just over 65 residents on the 2020 census! The threatening rain clouds were getting closer!

It is in Ulmer that US 321 intersected with US 301. We travel on 301 almost everyday while we are home. But do you know that you can follow US 301 north all the way to Biddles Corner Delaware. US 301 travels about 1,100 miles, it passes through the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It goes through the cities of Annapolis, Maryland; Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia; Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Fayetteville, North Carolina; Florence, South Carolina; Statesboro and Jesup, Georgia; and Ocala, Zephyrhills, Brandon, and Sarasota, Florida. 

The heavy rain hit us hard on US 301. It was like a cos pissing on a flat rock! I said that to someone and they had never heard that expression!

We drove through downtown Statesboro, GA on our way to our overnight stop on the southside of Statesboro. This mural caught my eye. It was still vibrant and striking. It is titled 'A Journey of Caring.' It was painted in honor of Statesboro's Bicentennial in 2003. It was designed, created, and painted by Greg Carter.

Located in the heart of Downtown Statesboro, the Bulloch County Courthouse and its clock tower have been a staple on the Statesboro skyline since 1894. The courthouse was built by architects Alexander Bruce and Thomas Henry Morgan with its style reflecting various architectural designs for the time. In the 1960s, the courthouse’s exterior was painted white but later painted back to its original color (like it is today) during a restoration project in the late 1990s. 

John Alexander McDougald, former Mayor of Statesboro, built the big white house that sits at 121 South Main Street in 1911, and it hasn't left his lineage since. Now the Beaver House Restaurant, owned and managed by his granddaughter-in-law and great grandson, Sue and Clay Beaver. 

They established a restaurant in 1989. According to Clay, though, the recipes are not the only pieces of family history still kicking around the house. The ghosts of seven family members are there, too. While the house was under construction in 1909, Annie, the next to youngest child of the McDougalds, was playing in a tree on the property near where Pizza Hut is today. She fell out of the tree and broke her neck, later developing and dying from pneumonia. She was only 8. She's there, and Clay has seen her twice. Her mother Mella, wearing a white dress, comes in through the back door in the mornings, and her husband John Alexander seems to inhabit the hallway outside the master bedroom upstairs. Roy and Ruth are there, too. In fact, Clay says two workers quit after seeing his Grandaddy Roy's ghost. (Roy Beaver was a commanding presence even in life -- a large man standing 6'6".) Two of Ruth's brothers, men who died in their prime, also make appearances in their waistcoats. 

Our overnight stop was at Parkwood RV and Cottages. Looking back at travel notes we have stayed here in 2015 and 2019! The grass sites are much mor lush than I remember them! But, they still have Georgia gnats!

Stay tuned for more #TwoLaneAdventures!