Should We Go.....Should We Stay?

Roebuck, South Carolina
Pine Ridge Campground
Pull Thru #29

Bill and I woke up this morning trying to decide what we were going to do for the day.  Yesterday morning, we had talked about day tripping back to the Richard Petty Museum which is only open certain of days of the week and extending our stay at Mayberry Campground.  Finally, at breakfast we both said we didn't care that much about seeing it.  The weather forecast was predicting rain coming in Thursday.  Decision is now made to go on down the road!  Truthfully, I was getting hitch itch--ten days at the same campground!

We had such a great time with Ron and Gay Smith it was going to take some time to come down off such a high.  

The Turtle was hitched and ready to leave around 9 am.  Our route took us south on I 77, I 40 West, South on I 85 and south on I 26.  These roads had quite a bit of traffic and we weren't in the mood for back roads today.

We've been in this area before while on our way to Myrtle Beach and to see the Biltmore.  The last time we stayed at Cunningham's but it wasn't the greatest.  

Pine Ridge is a small park with lots of amenities.  The owners are very friendly and working hard to improve the park.  They only had this site which was available for three days.  We paid for two days and will decide on Friday if we want to stay one extra day.  

I called the BMW plant to schedule a tour of the factory and left a voice mail.  No one called back, so I don't know if that means there isn't anything available or they didn't get around to returning my call.

The Black Walnut Plantation is just 2 miles away, so we broke our rules of not sight seeing on a hitch day.  We were so happy we did.  It was 2 pm when we walked in the door and the fellow told us if we wanted to take the $6.00 tour to head over to the porch and he'd collect when we returned as they were getting ready to start a tour.  

Charles and Mary Moore were among the first British colonists to settle the Backcountry (western frontier of South Carolina) in 1763 on a 550 acre land grant.  They lived on the plantation for 40 years with their 10 children who all lived to be adults which was a rarity in those days.  Charles Moore farmed the land which grew to 3,000 acres with his slaves.

"During the Revolutionary War, the Moore family actively supported the Patriot cause and the eldest daughter, Kate Moore Barry acted as a spy and scout.  Local militia troops mustered at Walnut Grove before joining American forces at the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781.  During a raid on the plantation in November 1781, Loyalist William "Bloody Bill" Cunningham killed 3 Patriot soldiers sheltered by the family."

  

I kept thinking to myself, this place is 250 years old.  What a mansion in those days.

The master bedroom had a closet!  That was unheard of in those days.

I was surprised that we could go upstairs.

Lucky, for us, there were only four other people on the tour.

Our tour guide was so knowledgeable about everything. She truly loved the time period.

She understood the difference in firearms and how they used them.  

Amanda Blake aka Miss Kitty, of Gunsmoke donated this flintlock smooth bore musket.  

Andrew Barry Moore, one of the original sons, became the first college educated physician and this was his recreated office. This office was made like the mansion with typical log construction which was covered with clapboard.  

There was a half mile nature walk we took which lead to the cemetery which contained 176 graves.  The three patriot soldiers killed in a Loyalist militia raid on the plantation during the American Revolutionary were the first to be buried in the cemetery.  

By the time we started back up the nature walk, we heard some thunder.  We were in a very wooded area and the sun was shining when we started the walk.  I looked at the sky and we picked up the pace back to the truck.  

We drove directly back to the campground and Bill went out to get the grill started for supper.

He didn't quite make it.  

Turtle Safely.........