Wednesday Oct 11th was a travel day to Palmetto
Shores RV Resort in Summerton, SC.
We left in the mist and there was mist or rain most of the
drive to Summerton, SC. The entire drive were tons of billboards for South of
the Border. Actually, they were all over Fayetteville as well. With typical
Tourists Trap advertising it definitely peaks your curiosity. If we hadn’t been
in the Coach we probably would have stopped. South of the Border refers to just
below the North Carolina border in South Carolina. It’s intentionally
tongue-in-cheek and all in fun and “campy”. That said, we drove by at around
1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon and we didn’t see a single car there. Scott, I know you have seen all the billboards to "The Thing" and after reading them for many miles you just HAVE to stop. This was on a much larger scale!
the rim of the sombrero is an observation tower
From Wiki “South of the Border was developed by Alan Schafer
in 1950. He had founded South of the Border Depot, a beer stand, at the
location in 1949 adjacent to Robeson County which was, at one time, one of many
dry North Carolina counties. Business was steadily expanded with Mexican
trinkets and numerous kitsch items imported from Mexico. The site itself also
began to expand to include a cocktail lounge, gas station and souvenir shop
and, in 1954, a motel. In 1962, South of the Border expanded into fireworks
sales, potentially capitalizing on the fact fireworks were illegal in North
Carolina. In 1964 it was announced that the route for Interstate 95 would pass
right by South of the Border, with the facility being next to two exits and
within view of the highway. By the mid-1960s, South of the Border had expanded
to include a barber shop, drug store, a variety store, a post office an outdoor
go-kart track complete with other outdoor recreational facilities and the 104
feet tall image of the mascot, Pedro.”
We arrived at Palmetto Shores (which has the longest list of
rules we have ever seen) and were escorted to our space at exactly 5 mph. (we
have no problems with the rules, just making an observation) We got set up and
went for a walk about the area. It’s a really large park with RV areas spread
out and even across the street. There are also lots of cabins of various sizes
as well. Lake Marion and the surrounding Santee Nature Reserve is a big draw
for fishing and hunting (oh, and birding and just viewing nature).
They have dock & boat slips, a fish cleaning hut, Lake
Front Dining, 2 swimming pools, a lazy river, kiddie pool and playground, mini
golf, an arcade, beach volleyball, a gift shop, camping supplies, an arcade and
a snack shop that has pizza, ice cream and sandwiches. It was almost dark when
we took our walk, so the photos are a bit dark.
they are decorated for Halloween
Lake Marion
cabins by the "beach"
one of the RV areas
more cabins
large cabin
kiddie pool and lazy river (must be closed this time of year as both were green)
the office
Snack Shop
mini golf
other RV areas
our spot
We had a hard time fining parks with availability around this area and this was our 3rd or 4th choice. Nothing wrong with the park, but it put us closer to where we have already been. If we get a chance I'll shoot more photos hopefully with better lighting.
Tomorrow we are off to visit the Santee National Wildlife Refuge.
interesting pool... actually looks nice around that area.
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