Bloom Where You’re Planted

I suppose most everyone is familiar with this common phrase. For our family, it is front and center within our lifestyle, although the time-line associated with it is much different than the average U.S. family. Our situation is even a bit more unique than most full-time RV families who consider more than a month stay in a given location to be a very long stay. I like what we get to do. On average, we will spend 4-6 weeks in between PT work exploring a given region, making sure to visit as many local spots that speak to us as possible. During this time, we also work with our recruiters to land our next PT contract. These contracts last 13 weeks, thus planting us in a nearby town for the duration, without travel. We set out with the intention of making the most of that time in these spots, allowing ourselves to become involved in the community God has planted us. As a reminder, we typically do not know exactly where we will be living until 1-2 weeks before the contract begins, so it really is a lesson of surrender to God’s immediate plan for us. We are so grateful for this opportunity, and feel that where we land is exactly where we need to be at that time, which was certainly the case when we landed in Lake City, SC.

With a population of nearly 6,700, Lake City is a small enough town that just about everyone knows each other, yet large enough to have all the amenities one needs in a small radius (they even had a Walmart!). It is one of those places where with a few simple conversations, you felt welcomed and were able to walk away feeling like you knew the name of everyone from the butcher to the barber to the mayor. Yep – I’m talking about you, Mr. Glen! Thanks for taking great care of us! This was perfect for us as life experiences are much of what fuels our family. So, it wasn’t hard in a city such as this to have Faith enrolled in gymnastics, both kids enrolled in karate, library cards in hand, and all of us engaged in the nearby church and Sunday school classes – within our first week living there!

Exploring quaint Lake City, our short walk to church, and having fun on a rainy day.

Once known as “The Bean Capital of the World” as well as a major producer and transporter of tobacco, the town nearly became a ghost town when a few of the big players in these industries up and left. It wasn’t until fairly recently, that a push to rebuild Lake City occurred, and we certainly felt the pride for the city of those ambassadors who continue to work to make the town special. Because of where and how it was founded, the town pretty much sits on a very active railroad…and the RV park within city limits is right next to the train tracks. Somehow, we all grew accustomed to trains coming through, although I have to admit since moving away, it has been nice to spend nights without a screaming train horn and rumble waking me.

Leah’s place of work was only a ten minute drive which is the closest to work we have lived yet. As I stated above, the “Cross Roads Coach Resort” RV park was within city limits. This meant the kids and I were able to easily bike wherever we needed to go within town while Leah had the truck. We were quickly known by the locals as the dad and kids on bikes – Fisher riding on a seat on my bike with his bright blue helmet, and faith following close behind on her flashy purple bike with a bright pink helmet. The library, bakery, local restaurants, playground and park were only a five minute (at the most) bike ride away for us. It was great to feel we were not stranded on an island.

While Leah was hard at work, I had plenty of opportunity to spoil the kids…and myself a bit!

Living only a block away from the Lake City First Baptist church, we walked over most Sundays to enjoy great worship. The kids made quick friends through Sunday school, and Leah and I had the opportunity to study and learn through adult Sunday school. We were also offered many great tips on how to enjoy our time in the surrounding area. Thank you Lake City First Baptist for your warm hospitality and shining your light for the community!

While Leah worked, our days were full with school in the morning, playing with the boys of another full-time RV family who stayed at the park for a whole month, finding caterpillars and tadpoles to raise in our bug collector, tending our garden (we were given a raised bed by the city’s landscape manager and actually sparked a resurgence of a cool community garden tradition halted due to Covid), library Mondays, playground playing, and even shark tooth hunting! Yep, you heard that right!

The kids loved taking care of our garden – and were so pumped to actually pick a few veggies before we left. Someone has their hands full of tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers right now!

Lake City is a little over an hour drive INLAND from Myrtle Beach – think about that while I describe finding shark teeth. After just casual conversation with a couple guys in our Sunday school class on our first meeting, I was given the inside tip that around 15 years ago the local marina dug out a man made lake to test their boats on. The dirt from the earth dug up from this small lake was spread around the property, and when it rains, the dirt rinses away and reveals shark teeth. Well that was a no-brainer activity for me and the kids!

Yeah – an hour and change from the coast!

Our weekday evenings were pretty well occupied by kid activities. Faith was enrolled in a very good tumbling/gymnastics program one night a week. There she received great coaching and now hardly walks anywhere, doing perfect one and and two-handed cartwheels and round-offs wherever we go. Two nights a week, both kids took part in martial arts training. Fisher enjoyed it, yet doesn’t possess the laser-like focus his sister has. Faith took an immediate liking to martial arts, and was practicing her first “kata” whenever she wasn’t doing round-offs. This earned her a quick promotion from one stripe to two, and then her yellow belt. Thank you so much to Coach Paris of Dancing on Main and sensei Chris and staff of Wado Ryu Lake City for investing in our kids during our short time with you!

Our weekends were full as well, starting with Karaoke every other Friday night at the local Mexican restaurant (this was for Leah and Faith – Fisher and I did get up there once). We usually invited a fellow OT traveler Leah worked with as well as Leah’s rehab director (who also lived at the RV park). We would stuff ourselves with chips and salsa, enjoy our dinner as we eagerly awaited the DJ to open up requests – and the stage was soon all Faith’s. Saturday outings included trips to the beach, trips to Lynches River County Park (which had a great splash pad), paddling the Edisto River, visiting Congaree National Park, and trips to the bakery! The kids and I even ventured off to do our first 2 night camping trip without mom – and we survived! Honestly, this was my favorite outing leaving me with special memories I will cherish the rest of my life. The bonding available for a dad and his kids while camping has no equal.

No matter where you are – there is adventure to find!

What a great two nights with these nuts!

Oh yeah, and we took time to clean “Bowen Arrow” of the dirt and road debris accumulated during our travels from Indiana to Alabama, all over Florida and up the coast to South Carolina. House keeping and maintenance is always a must when traveling in an RV, but cool additions are fun to play around with as well. We decided to start our solar project with two 100W panels mounted on the roof that for now serve as a way we can recharge our batteries when boondocking. This may also serve as a solid start to a bigger system- until then, we are pleased with our little addition.

Don’t worry – the drill in Leah’s hand was for the photo only!

Special events during our time in Lake City were plentiful as well. For starters, we celebrated the most important event in history – Easter. And it was even more special as Leah’s birthday fell on Easter this year. We were able to celebrate the birth of one of the most Spirit-filled women I know, the love of my life, on the day we remember our Savior’s resurrection! That was cool! Mother’s day, yet another excuse to celebrate Leah, fell during our time there as well. And there was also St. Patrick’s Day!

Leah’s Mother’s day gift was a spa day from the kids and a hand-carved and painted interchangeable wall art from yours truly.

Upon arriving in Lake City, we could already feel the buzz being generated by the locals preparing for something called “Art Fields.” Learning more as it approached, we found out this is Lake City’s premier event in which the city is alive with art submissions from all over the region, and this year was extra special as the whole event was cancelled last year due to Covid. The local shops are turned into fantastic galleries to display art of all varieties and the streets are busy with local vendors, musicians and performers – for an entire week! It was so cool to take a small little walk outside of our friendly RV park and participate in all the activities. This simple explanation really does this event an injustice. It was a very special event and a happy time for all.

So, yeah, Lake City has a very busy train track running right through its center, however we got used to it…for the most part. And that tiny hinderance was more than made up for as our family enjoyed doing life with a very welcoming, friendly, charming community. I certainly enjoyed watching my family shine their light during our stay here and really feel the warmth of those we met reflect right back at us! Thank you, Lake City for investing in us during our short three months of living with you!

PS – please feel free to contact us with any questions regarding our travels or details to anything referenced in this or any of our blog entries!