This has been a very difficult month to write about because the inevitable finally occurred; we had to have Lobo
put to sleep. It happened at the end of the month, on the 28th. The rest of the month was quite active with many
interesting things but thoughts of Lobo continue to fill our days. Nevertheless, we will try to keep the train of
thought and relate our experiences of the past month sequentially.
The first week of January was very cold with the temperatures below freezing except for a few hours in the
middle of the day. On the 7th Renée had a doctor’s appointment and met a German lady (Ursula) who had first
come to the US as a teenager shortly after WWII. Her father had been killed in the war and her mother later
met and married an American. Ursula has had very little contact with Germany and realizes that her German is
very rusty. She came to visit us at the campground with her dog, Schatzi and brought flowers, German cookies and
German coffee (see photos). Renée corresponds with her via email and is helping her to regain her German fluency.
On January 11th we left Smith Lake, via Whiteville to Sunset Beach on the Atlantic where we spent the night at the
Wishing Well campground. Lobo was not doing very well, having difficulty walking and having to stop after very
short distances. He was also becoming incontinent at times.
On the following morning we drove along the Atlantic coast on US 17 to Charleston, SC where Chuck’s sister, Mary,
lives. We stayed at the Foster Creek RV campground at the Naval Weapons Station. Although Mary has lots of
land on Wadmalaw Island where we could have parked, the recent heavy rains have flooded the entrance to her
property. Hopefully it will drain off soon since we plan to leave the RV there some time this year and take a trip to
Germany. Mary came to visit a few hours after we arrived, bringing with her a chicken-corn soup which we had for
supper along with Camembert cheese, bread and raw vegetables. The following morning Lobo was having a very
bad day and except for a short trip in the evening, we spent the entire day with him at the campground.
Mary had lots of suggestions and planned many things for our Charleston visit. On Thursday, January 14th we
toured a company that roasts and packs its own coffee. Afterwards we had lunch at the Hominy Grits restaurant
followed by a trip to purchase our Van Cliburn tickets for January 21st, then a tour of the city and to the harbor
where the park along the water is ideal for strolling (see photos). We wanted to give Lobo the opportunity to sniff
a little and relieve himself, although we knew he wouldn’t be able to walk very far. The curb stone was quite high
and as he tried to take the step from the truck to the sidewalk, he fell between the truck and the curb stone,
landing on the street under the truck, where he couldn’t stand if he had wanted. After considerable difficulty,
Chuck managed to lift/pull him to the curb, where we saw that he had crapped all over himself, no doubt from the
fright during the fall. We managed to get him in the grass in the park where, with paper towels and soap which
Mary fortunately had in her car and water from a nearby fountain, we managed to clean him up. We were also
fortunate enough to have had a set of latex gloves in the truck. After this catastrophe, Mary invited us to supper
at Gilligan’s, an excellent seafood restaurant.
The following day we stayed home with Lobo who was not doing very well. Mary was otherwise busy and Chuck
spent the day accomplishing minor RV maintenance. On Saturday, January 16th, we met Mary at the C.S.S. H.L.
Hunley, a civil war submarine and the first one to successfully attack and sink an enemy ship (see photos).
On Sunday afternoon we met Mary at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul (see photos) where the Southcoast
Symphony Community Orchestra performed works from Debussy, Berlioz and Howard Hanson. The 17 year old
violin soloist, Anne Cai, elated the audiences with Ravel’s Violin concert “Tzigane.” Afterwards we had dinner at
the Teppanyaki Grill.
The following day we visited Middleton Place (see photos), a historic plantation on the Ashley River. We took the
African American Focus Tour, a look at the lives of slaves on a plantation. Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch. Lobo
was doing a little better and took a short walk, then sat by us in the grass. By then it was too late to visit another
plantation. Mary had made reservations for dinner at Poogan’s Porch, a restaurant that in January offered its fare
at 1978 prices. Parking for us in Charleston was a real problem. There are numerous parking garages but the
clearance is too low. With the cargo box on top, the truck is 8’2” high. Street parking is mostly restricted to local
residents or very short parking times. So it always took a long time to find a parking spot and usually required an
extended walk. But by planning ahead, we arrived in time for our reservations. As an appetizer, we had fried
alligator with a mustard sauce. For the main entree Mary had the grilled salmon, Renée the pecan-crusted
flounder and Chuck had shrimp and grits.
The next two days Mary was busy. Chuck bought a high-pressure washer and spent the time cleaning the RV
exterior.
The piano concert on Thursday was entitled “Gold Fingers.” The four pianists were the winners of the Van Cliburn
Piano Competition of past years. There were four and eight handed pieces by Liszt, Schubert, Rachmaninoff,
Lutoslavski, Rimsky-Korsakov, Gounod, Milhaud, Brahms and Sousa. The acoustics at the Gaillard Municipal
Auditorium leave a lot to be desired but the young pianists were high-spirited, humorous and quite good.
January 22nd was cloudy and cool. Lobo was getting worse and we called a vet clinic for an appointment for the
inevitable. We met Mary and Lisanne (see photos), an acquaintance of Mary's, at the Starfish Grille. We had met
Lisanne in May 2000 near Dijon as she and Mary were visiting France. After lunch with Lisanne, we drove to the
Drayton Hall Plantation for a tour of the mansion (see photos).
We were quite subdued over the weekend. Lobo’s appointment was for Tuesday at 3 PM. Mary had planned the
weekend and we tried not to be too melancholic. Saturday we visited the Cypress Gardens (see photos), followed
that evening by a meal of mussels in the RV. On Sunday afternoon we went to the Village Playhouse in Mount
Pleasant to see “Souvenir”, the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the opera singer who could not sing.
It rained quite heavy that night and was quite windy, but the sun began to shine on Monday. Lobo was very cuddly
and we felt like crying all day long.
Then came Tuesday. Pulling ourselves together, we drove to the vet clinic. The vet was impossible to deal with.
She wanted to put a muzzle on Lobo and perform the procedure on a table in the vet clinic, not in the truck where
we had planned. We refused to have his last minutes in terror. Something had happened at a clinic a few years ago
which caused him to go berserk any time he was fitted with a muzzle thereafter. We did, however, get the phone
number of a mobile vet who makes house calls. We called and the vet was very understanding and made an
appointment with us for Thursday.
Overnight Lobo was again incontinent and spent the entire Wednesday under the RV sleeping. We stayed with him
all day. Chuck left for a short while to tank up and have the oil changed.
On Thursday we met the vet at James Island County Park, a wooded area with a dog exercise area. We helped
him out of the truck and he spent a little time sniffing around. While he was distracted by other dogs, the vet
injected him with a sedative. It began to work quite rapidly and we barely got him back in the truck in his bed
where he immediately laid his head and fell asleep. We then drove to a quiet wooded area and while we stroked his
head, the vet gave him the injection that put him in his eternal sleep. After a while he stopped snoring and it was
over. Lobo would have been 15 on February 19th. The vet took him to the crematorium and will have the ashes
delivered to us.
From conception to his last breath, he was with us. It is going to take a while to get used to the idea that we are
only two vagabonds now, instead of three. There isn’t much difference between losing a human or canine companion
after fifteen years. Over the past few months his role has switched from companion, friend and protector to the
one in need of care and protection. This change made the relationship even closer. Certain times of each day were
reserved for him and we find ourselves thinking that it is time for his evening medication or time to take him for a
short walk before putting him to bed for the evening. We had to immediately dismantle his bed in the truck since
it was so painful to see his empty bed.
Back to January 28th: After Lobo was gone we drove to Sears and had the new tires mounted on the truck which
we had ordered a few days before. Then we walked through the nearby mall and food court and Chuck had
something to eat. It was quite hard to come home and there was no Lobo jumping out of the truck. Mary came by
to visit and brought a stew for supper, but we had very little appetite.
The following day we went with Mary to the monthly birthday celebration at Mary’s Senior Center. Everyone
brought a side dish with fried chicken furnished. We brought a broccoli/cheese casserole. The main topic of
conversation appeared to be the different diseases and health problems of the participants, and how much each
insurance company would cover.
After the celebration Mary parked her car and rode with us to the Charles Town Landing State Historical Site
where Charleston was founded in the 17th century (see photos). From there we drove to Mount Pleasant where an
evening concert was to take place. We decided to first have dinner at the “On the Border” restaurant. After the
chips, salsa and drinks, we ordered but the waitress came and told us that the kitchen was having trouble and it
would be a little longer. Well, it got to be a lot longer and still no food. Finally after summoning the management,
the food finally arrived but had to be put in take-out containers since we had to leave to make it to the concert.
The manager then took the cost of the food off our bill. Realizing that the waitress who had been so good would
be the one who would lose out since here tip would normally be a percentage of the bill, we instead gave her a
substantial tip, not based on the bottom line of the bill.
The Charleston Symphony Orchestra performed “Wedding Songs” by Martini, Bach, Albinoni, Pachelbel, Vivaldi,
Foster and Handel. The music was beautiful but our hearts were too heavy to really enjoy it. After the concert
we drove Mary to her car and then drove home.
On Saturday we met Mary at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park to visit the The Chittlin Circuit Review, an
exhibition by artist Rik Freeman (see photos). Afterward Mary gave us an auto tour of the Citadel where she had
taught when she first moved to Charleston. That evening we had a wonderful dinner at Hyman’ Seafood
Restaurant, then drove home.
The 31st was our last day in Charleston and we spent it getting ready and packing for our departure. That evening
Mary came to visit and we had pan fried pork chops for supper before saying our good-byes.
To be continued…..
put to sleep. It happened at the end of the month, on the 28th. The rest of the month was quite active with many
interesting things but thoughts of Lobo continue to fill our days. Nevertheless, we will try to keep the train of
thought and relate our experiences of the past month sequentially.
The first week of January was very cold with the temperatures below freezing except for a few hours in the
middle of the day. On the 7th Renée had a doctor’s appointment and met a German lady (Ursula) who had first
come to the US as a teenager shortly after WWII. Her father had been killed in the war and her mother later
met and married an American. Ursula has had very little contact with Germany and realizes that her German is
very rusty. She came to visit us at the campground with her dog, Schatzi and brought flowers, German cookies and
German coffee (see photos). Renée corresponds with her via email and is helping her to regain her German fluency.
On January 11th we left Smith Lake, via Whiteville to Sunset Beach on the Atlantic where we spent the night at the
Wishing Well campground. Lobo was not doing very well, having difficulty walking and having to stop after very
short distances. He was also becoming incontinent at times.
On the following morning we drove along the Atlantic coast on US 17 to Charleston, SC where Chuck’s sister, Mary,
lives. We stayed at the Foster Creek RV campground at the Naval Weapons Station. Although Mary has lots of
land on Wadmalaw Island where we could have parked, the recent heavy rains have flooded the entrance to her
property. Hopefully it will drain off soon since we plan to leave the RV there some time this year and take a trip to
Germany. Mary came to visit a few hours after we arrived, bringing with her a chicken-corn soup which we had for
supper along with Camembert cheese, bread and raw vegetables. The following morning Lobo was having a very
bad day and except for a short trip in the evening, we spent the entire day with him at the campground.
Mary had lots of suggestions and planned many things for our Charleston visit. On Thursday, January 14th we
toured a company that roasts and packs its own coffee. Afterwards we had lunch at the Hominy Grits restaurant
followed by a trip to purchase our Van Cliburn tickets for January 21st, then a tour of the city and to the harbor
where the park along the water is ideal for strolling (see photos). We wanted to give Lobo the opportunity to sniff
a little and relieve himself, although we knew he wouldn’t be able to walk very far. The curb stone was quite high
and as he tried to take the step from the truck to the sidewalk, he fell between the truck and the curb stone,
landing on the street under the truck, where he couldn’t stand if he had wanted. After considerable difficulty,
Chuck managed to lift/pull him to the curb, where we saw that he had crapped all over himself, no doubt from the
fright during the fall. We managed to get him in the grass in the park where, with paper towels and soap which
Mary fortunately had in her car and water from a nearby fountain, we managed to clean him up. We were also
fortunate enough to have had a set of latex gloves in the truck. After this catastrophe, Mary invited us to supper
at Gilligan’s, an excellent seafood restaurant.
The following day we stayed home with Lobo who was not doing very well. Mary was otherwise busy and Chuck
spent the day accomplishing minor RV maintenance. On Saturday, January 16th, we met Mary at the C.S.S. H.L.
Hunley, a civil war submarine and the first one to successfully attack and sink an enemy ship (see photos).
On Sunday afternoon we met Mary at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul (see photos) where the Southcoast
Symphony Community Orchestra performed works from Debussy, Berlioz and Howard Hanson. The 17 year old
violin soloist, Anne Cai, elated the audiences with Ravel’s Violin concert “Tzigane.” Afterwards we had dinner at
the Teppanyaki Grill.
The following day we visited Middleton Place (see photos), a historic plantation on the Ashley River. We took the
African American Focus Tour, a look at the lives of slaves on a plantation. Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch. Lobo
was doing a little better and took a short walk, then sat by us in the grass. By then it was too late to visit another
plantation. Mary had made reservations for dinner at Poogan’s Porch, a restaurant that in January offered its fare
at 1978 prices. Parking for us in Charleston was a real problem. There are numerous parking garages but the
clearance is too low. With the cargo box on top, the truck is 8’2” high. Street parking is mostly restricted to local
residents or very short parking times. So it always took a long time to find a parking spot and usually required an
extended walk. But by planning ahead, we arrived in time for our reservations. As an appetizer, we had fried
alligator with a mustard sauce. For the main entree Mary had the grilled salmon, Renée the pecan-crusted
flounder and Chuck had shrimp and grits.
The next two days Mary was busy. Chuck bought a high-pressure washer and spent the time cleaning the RV
exterior.
The piano concert on Thursday was entitled “Gold Fingers.” The four pianists were the winners of the Van Cliburn
Piano Competition of past years. There were four and eight handed pieces by Liszt, Schubert, Rachmaninoff,
Lutoslavski, Rimsky-Korsakov, Gounod, Milhaud, Brahms and Sousa. The acoustics at the Gaillard Municipal
Auditorium leave a lot to be desired but the young pianists were high-spirited, humorous and quite good.
January 22nd was cloudy and cool. Lobo was getting worse and we called a vet clinic for an appointment for the
inevitable. We met Mary and Lisanne (see photos), an acquaintance of Mary's, at the Starfish Grille. We had met
Lisanne in May 2000 near Dijon as she and Mary were visiting France. After lunch with Lisanne, we drove to the
Drayton Hall Plantation for a tour of the mansion (see photos).
We were quite subdued over the weekend. Lobo’s appointment was for Tuesday at 3 PM. Mary had planned the
weekend and we tried not to be too melancholic. Saturday we visited the Cypress Gardens (see photos), followed
that evening by a meal of mussels in the RV. On Sunday afternoon we went to the Village Playhouse in Mount
Pleasant to see “Souvenir”, the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the opera singer who could not sing.
It rained quite heavy that night and was quite windy, but the sun began to shine on Monday. Lobo was very cuddly
and we felt like crying all day long.
Then came Tuesday. Pulling ourselves together, we drove to the vet clinic. The vet was impossible to deal with.
She wanted to put a muzzle on Lobo and perform the procedure on a table in the vet clinic, not in the truck where
we had planned. We refused to have his last minutes in terror. Something had happened at a clinic a few years ago
which caused him to go berserk any time he was fitted with a muzzle thereafter. We did, however, get the phone
number of a mobile vet who makes house calls. We called and the vet was very understanding and made an
appointment with us for Thursday.
Overnight Lobo was again incontinent and spent the entire Wednesday under the RV sleeping. We stayed with him
all day. Chuck left for a short while to tank up and have the oil changed.
On Thursday we met the vet at James Island County Park, a wooded area with a dog exercise area. We helped
him out of the truck and he spent a little time sniffing around. While he was distracted by other dogs, the vet
injected him with a sedative. It began to work quite rapidly and we barely got him back in the truck in his bed
where he immediately laid his head and fell asleep. We then drove to a quiet wooded area and while we stroked his
head, the vet gave him the injection that put him in his eternal sleep. After a while he stopped snoring and it was
over. Lobo would have been 15 on February 19th. The vet took him to the crematorium and will have the ashes
delivered to us.
From conception to his last breath, he was with us. It is going to take a while to get used to the idea that we are
only two vagabonds now, instead of three. There isn’t much difference between losing a human or canine companion
after fifteen years. Over the past few months his role has switched from companion, friend and protector to the
one in need of care and protection. This change made the relationship even closer. Certain times of each day were
reserved for him and we find ourselves thinking that it is time for his evening medication or time to take him for a
short walk before putting him to bed for the evening. We had to immediately dismantle his bed in the truck since
it was so painful to see his empty bed.
Back to January 28th: After Lobo was gone we drove to Sears and had the new tires mounted on the truck which
we had ordered a few days before. Then we walked through the nearby mall and food court and Chuck had
something to eat. It was quite hard to come home and there was no Lobo jumping out of the truck. Mary came by
to visit and brought a stew for supper, but we had very little appetite.
The following day we went with Mary to the monthly birthday celebration at Mary’s Senior Center. Everyone
brought a side dish with fried chicken furnished. We brought a broccoli/cheese casserole. The main topic of
conversation appeared to be the different diseases and health problems of the participants, and how much each
insurance company would cover.
After the celebration Mary parked her car and rode with us to the Charles Town Landing State Historical Site
where Charleston was founded in the 17th century (see photos). From there we drove to Mount Pleasant where an
evening concert was to take place. We decided to first have dinner at the “On the Border” restaurant. After the
chips, salsa and drinks, we ordered but the waitress came and told us that the kitchen was having trouble and it
would be a little longer. Well, it got to be a lot longer and still no food. Finally after summoning the management,
the food finally arrived but had to be put in take-out containers since we had to leave to make it to the concert.
The manager then took the cost of the food off our bill. Realizing that the waitress who had been so good would
be the one who would lose out since here tip would normally be a percentage of the bill, we instead gave her a
substantial tip, not based on the bottom line of the bill.
The Charleston Symphony Orchestra performed “Wedding Songs” by Martini, Bach, Albinoni, Pachelbel, Vivaldi,
Foster and Handel. The music was beautiful but our hearts were too heavy to really enjoy it. After the concert
we drove Mary to her car and then drove home.
On Saturday we met Mary at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park to visit the The Chittlin Circuit Review, an
exhibition by artist Rik Freeman (see photos). Afterward Mary gave us an auto tour of the Citadel where she had
taught when she first moved to Charleston. That evening we had a wonderful dinner at Hyman’ Seafood
Restaurant, then drove home.
The 31st was our last day in Charleston and we spent it getting ready and packing for our departure. That evening
Mary came to visit and we had pan fried pork chops for supper before saying our good-byes.
To be continued…..
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| Each comments entry box in the guest book is limited to approx. 250 characters including spaces. For longer messages please e-mail us at morton@rmortonc.com |
Our Motto: Home is, where our RV is.
Travel Journal January 2010
Area of operation
Travel Journal January 2010 (begins at Smith Lake near Fayetteville, NC)
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