The Last (Broken) Leg

While this trip had its fun moments, overall it was my least favorite trip so far. I blame it mainly on Covid response.

From Greenville I headed a couple hours east  again to Rock Hill. I was getting Synko’s wheel bearings repacked and the Morryde suspension installed. I’d waited an extra week for the parts to arrive after the factory went back to work after a Covid shutdown. While backing the rig into the service bay I had my head up my ass and busted out my back window on a too-tight turn. SonofaB! 😡

But I got really lucky as SafeLite in Charlotte had me fixed up by 10am. Those guys rock. When I left SafeLite and got on the highway a rock took a good chunk out of my windshield—right in my field of vision.  😤 By now the SafeLite guys were full for the day and advised me to get it replaced when I got home. Good enough; I could live with it.

Then when I was having lunch the RV service guys called and said the suspension parts hadn’t come in. So I waited around a week for nothing. Dammit. 😩

As I headed west I had to keep resetting my route because the bitch in the box (my navigation app) kept trying to send me through the hell-hole that is Atlanta. Plus, I wanted to stay off interstates and enjoy the scenery of north Georgia. Nearing my destination for the night I pulled in for fuel in a small station. And broke out my rear window reacting to an unseen obstacle. SONOFA&$#%€¥@!BITCH! 🤬

I overnighted in a crappy campsite at the Cartersville KOA—after screwing with my inverter which would not pass commercial power through. Took me an hour to figure out my surge protector was only passing one of the two legs of power. A couple G&Ts (ok, three) took the edge off. In the morning I dropped into Lowe’s and patched the rear window with yard sign material and painters & duck tape. Worked great!

The Final Respite

My drive from the north-of-Atlanta area took me through Georgia into Alabama and the small, pretty campground at Davis Lake off the Natchez Trace Parkway south of Tupelo. I’d been here two years ago and thought it was a cool place then. It still is, sitting on a small no-wake lake with nice water views. I stayed two nights. As I was puttering around a man came over to say hello. We had met each other two years ago here and he and his wife were back now for the first time since then. What are the odds? Anyway, I enjoyed chatting with Harry, especially since we share the same political and patriotic beliefs. It was a nice couple days!

 Into Texas

US-82 is a really good drive across Mississippi and Arkansas. Much much better than the interstate. I hit Texarkana early but was a little saddle sore so I stayed the night there. Sunday morning I joined 121 in worship online and then headed into DFW. It was a good trip in that no major issues arose but I missed out on a lot of what I’d hoped to see thanks to our Covid over-response. Stats for the trip, including Spring 2020 to Utah & Nevada:

  • Racked up a total of 7492 miles
  • Synko hung with me for 6419 miles (86%)
  • Drove a total of 181 hours
  • Traveled through 12 states
  • Stayed in 45 different campsites
  • Averaged 10.9 MPG in fuel consumption (I thin the drop in fuel efficiency is due to the air running all the time.
  • Repacked Synko’s wheel bearings.

I’m now back at the Vineyards in Grapevine for a month to get my license to carry and then I’m heading west into the Rockies. That’s where I belong.

The Week Before Turning West

It was time to leave the Low Country behind. I’d been on the Georgia and South Carolina coasts for three weeks and was looking forward to getting to the mountains. Asheville and the Smokies were in my sights.

Neglecting the direct, faster interstate route I spent most of the day crossing the Carolinas enroute to a campground just west of Asheville. I apparently need to get better at reviewing satellite maps and customer reviews because this place came with more than sufficient I-40 noise. But they had me when I saw about 100 American flags lining the drive onto the property. 🇺🇸

While setting up I noticed my fresh water tank was still full, which surprised me. I had inadvertently filled it to the point of overflow before I left Myrtle Beach. I’d meant to just put in about five gallons because I suspected I had a fresh water leak. I’d seen water draining from the underbelly twice in the past couple weeks when the tank had water in it. But now it still contained its full 60 gallons. And over the next few days nothing leaked, even with the pump pressurizing the system. So, I dunno… leaks rarely fix themselves. 🧐

Thursday morning into the afternoon I futzed with my pellet grill power source. I was tired of the two 12-volt power cords plugs coming loose so I installed a more secure, tighter connector. But getting the too-large gauge wires soldered onto too-small connector pins was an exercise in losing patience and sport cussing. Finally done at nearly 3 pm I cleaned up and headed out to visit the local breweries.

Early Friday I headed northeast for 90 minutes to Grandfather Mountain. I purchased my old guy $20 admission online, as they were limiting the number of people who should be in an outdoor environment. Covid, of course. They told me masks were required. I chose to not hear that very well. Everyone was outside for crying’ out loud!

(Our country’s inane mask fetish was reportedly in strong enforcement at the Biltmore Estate, according to TripAdvisor reviews. And they have apparently reduced the tour and winery experience but kept the fee the same. So I decided they could suck sand and keep their ridiculous $90 entrance fee.) Back to my day in the mountains…

Grandfather Mountain was okay, not great. Very pretty, but I could’ve gotten pretty without paying the tourist tax to get it. Can’t believe I fell for that; I usually don’t. But, hey, it was just $20 and I got the pleasure of breaking a mask mandate. Plus, the mountain sits just one mile off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Back in the spring of 2018 I drove most of the 469 mile road starting at the south end of Skyline Drive, which is the 105 mile long extension from the BRP running south from Front Royal, VA through Shenandoah National Park and then connecting with the north end of the BRP. Back in 2018 I  dropped off at mile marker 389 to head into Greenville. I was looking forward to completing the last 80 miles of the southern section. So I entered the parkway at marker 305 and slowly and enjoyably made my way south to the parkway’s terminus at mile marker 469 near Cherokee, NC. Glad I did. The entire pathway is beautiful and the way south is no exception as it winds through a variety of ecosystems. I had completed the combined 674 miles of beautiful roads. I still would like to experience this road in the fall…

Along the way I saw a wild turkey, a huge vulture doing what vultures do, two soaring hawks, lots of flowers and two bikers proudly flying the colors! I said a quick prayer of thanks for the birds & bikers. We’ve got to get a handle on the bullshit anarchist movements in our country. Just as I exited the parkway a hard rain hit it. My truck needed a bath so that was good.

Asheville Area breweries

Gotta say … plenty to choose from! Arrival night I started close to my camp. BearWaters Brewing Company has two locations; the closer one in Candler is a sweet spot on the Pigeon River. I especially liked their Papertown Pilsner and Junk Show Pale Ale – Round Two. Plus, they have a taqueria with great tacos and an awesome kale with garlic pumpkin seed dressing. Added chipotle chicken to it and it worked! One of my top ten salads.

Boojum Brewing in Waynesville has a couple solid offerings worth mentioning: Hop Fiend and Greenstone NZ made with New Zealand hops, both IPAs (although I haven’t been in a very IPA-ey mood lately).

Another creekside joint, Frog Level Brewing Company has an awesome location. I enjoyed their Salamander Slam sitting by the rippling stream. They had great looking groceries but I wasn’t hungry, dang it.

Given the spectacular weather Saturday I headed into downtown Asheville. A covey of breweries are clustered in a couple block area. Burial Beer has a great patio and very good German style Contrition Pilsner. Around the block Green Man is a small place with a small crowd and Sunseeker, a German pils, is also very decent. I must be in a Pils mood…

Twin Leaf Brewery was the last open place in this little area. Their (again) German style and aptly name Pilsner Beer was above average. They had a Disneyesque foot traffic pattern for Covid purposes that first made me feel like I was being corralled through a gift shop. And they gave me an empty beer can to place and leave on my table so they’d know to fumigate my area when I left. One gal even came by and exchanged the empty can because it said I-6 not I-10… I apparently didn’t sit on the right stool. WTH?!

I’m so weary of stupid, unnecessary Covid cowering. Deciding to leave because I’d reached my daily capacity for Covid compliance craziness I saw a young lady biking wearing a mask. No CO2 poisoning potential there… Whatever. This country’s testicles have retracted. We couldn’t tame the Wild West today if it was made into a spread and served on white bread with no crusts.

A Good Visit

I headed into Greenville to visit Melba, my good friend from the good ol’ GTE days. We spent the afternoon together with our friends Cathy & Dan at their home. Dan grilled up excellent steaks and veggie skewers. We had a great time although it passed by way too quickly. It was sooooo good to see Melba again!

Then, Well, Crap!

I left Travelers Rest (just north of Greenville) to upgrade Synko’s suspension in Rock Hill, near Charlotte. When dropping her off at the RV shop I had my head up my ass and blew out the truck’s rear window making a too-sharp turn backing into the drop-off spot  Sonofabitch! At least Safelite in Charlotte was able to get me in same day. I decided to forego the insurance route so I could get her done same day. Add $320 to the trip budget…

And with that, I’m headed west. Should be back in G’Vine by Monday. I’m ready.

Seweet Caroline

Charleston

I thought Charles Towne was cool last time I was here a couple years ago. Charleston is still a great town. History. Beaches. Museums. Breweries. Friendly folk.

The few-hour drive up from Savannah was easy. I passed by the campground west of town where I’d stayed last time and checked into the Mount Pleasant KOA about 20 minutes north of town. Mount Pleasant is a really nice community with a Lowe’s near the campground where I picked up more smoking pellets and a good grocery store I happened into. Harris Teeter is like Market Street, maybe better. Back to the KOA: I was given a pull-thru site that you could’ve landed a 747 on. This is a KOA that doesn’t layout campsites based on a compact car parking lot model. I didn’t take advantage of their pool or beach but it’s a solid operation on the grounds of an old plantation. (Can I say “plantation” in 2020?)

Saturday I checked out a couple (ok, four) breweries on the city’s northern peninsula. First up was Revelry Brewing where I enjoyed their Poke the Bear pale ale and a quesadilla. Next up: Cooper River Brewing Company where I had the interesting Mex-Pecan coffee ale. (Can I say “Mex” in 2020? Hell, can I say “pecan”?!) From there I crossed the highway to Fatty’s Beer Works and loved their crisp Italian pilsner High Style. (Italians, what say ye on using that term?) Finally on the way back to camp I stopped into Indigo Reef Brewing Co where I had Cenotes and a Mexican lager (oops, I might be on thin ice again!) And that’s when things got interesting…

As I was sitting there enjoying my beer and minding my own business this guy comes over and says, “where do I know you from?” Fair enuff question, to which I replied, “sorry, you don’t look familiar.”

Him: “no, I know you.”
Me: “I don’t know from where.”
Him: “you’ve been in here a few times.”
Me: “nope, first time.”
Him: “name? family? live where? do what?” And 50 other questions.
Me: “can’t help you”
Him: “I’m retired DEA”
Me: “thanks for your service”
Him: “do I scare you?”
Me: “got no reason to be scared’”
Him: “break bread with me.”
Me: “I’m outta here.”

I dunno if he was high or trying to pick me up or just a ducking idiot. And that’s all I got to say about that.

Sunday I was more of a bum even than I was on Saturday. Yep… possible. I’d taken three racks of baby backs out of the freezer and put one of them on my GMG pellet grill. Half I just applied dry rub, the other half I brushed with BlackBerry Seaweed Gin jam (from Newfoundland) for the last 20 minutes. Those puppies were tasty!

Monday I visited Patriots Point and toured the air craft carrier USS Yorktown . Much like the Alabama I’d been on in Mobile, without the guns… And this ship came with a big garage and driveway. In addition to the tour of the ship’s guts I also liked the Medal of Honor museum. Very appreciative of all men and women who served and serve to protect us. And, yes, I will say that in 2020—and every other year.

After a hot & sweaty tour I quenched my parched throat at Ghost Monkey Brewery. Nice, friendly little joint with a decent Keller Pilsner and their flagship Salt Monkey Low Country Ale. Decent brews.

Tuesday was move day—a whopping 25 miles up the road to North Charleston. Moving again in two days … another jaunt caused by crowded campgrounds over the Independence Day (that’s still okay to say in 2020, right?!?!?). 

After setting up and not finding the source of an intermittent water leak I took a lazy nap and then headed over to Snafu Brewing Company to check out their sour ales. They have a lengthy list of sours and Berliner Weisse ales, each unique and tasty. I did two flights including: their IPA, Snafu-Tang orange sour, Sublime in the Coconut sour, Kinky Lola cherry sour, Moscow Mule Tang, Lemon Meringue Tang and Blueberry Cobbler gosé. The Lemon Meringue made me kinda melancholy; it tasted just like mom’s lemon pie—the best the planet ever knew. It was lemoncholy (thanks Ryan!). Anyway, these brewers led by Mo, a really sweet young lady, are nailing it! Very pleased with each of their distinctive brews. 

Wednesday after cleaning my shotgun just for the heck of it I headed across the bays and rivers to Johns Island and the Tattooed Moose. Such a cool place. I was here a couple years ago but missed out on their Duck Club sandwich. It’s been featured on DDD and lives up to its rep. The deal is real!

Back roads across the top of Charleston‘s estuaries took me to Oak Road Brewery, a small joint focusing on German style ales. Ausfahrt, their German pilsner and the Czech Pils were both quite good! This tiny cool brewery fills, cans & labels all their six packs by hand.

Santee Lakes

I think I’m safe saying that most full-timers really dislike holidays. Every family and their dogs are out taking up space in campgrounds. Actually, other than the hassle of finding an open site given my short-term planning habit, I’m glad to see families out enjoying themselves and making memories. Some of my sweetest kid memories are of family vacations. We tent camped and I thought we were living the dream! Great times made possible by great parents.

Gold Cart Independence Day Parade

So the Independence Day Weekend had me at Santee Lakes/Marion Lake, northwest of Charleston. Not much there, not much to write about. Enjoyed the small beach and smokin’ another rack of ‘backs.

Myrtle Beach Mud

I’m truly slow-rolling South Carolina, mainly because I’m waiting yet another week to have Synko’s suspension upgraded and her wheel bearings repacked in Rock Hill, NC.

Upon arrival at the campsite in MB I hastened to get the smoke rolling for the last rack of ribs from the Costco package—and to get the golf tournament on the telly. Another lazy day of smoking animal parts and watching live sports.

 My productive accomplishment was to order new connectors to replace the miserable/poorly designed cigarette lighter connections on my pellet grill with twist-lock connectors. I was weary of glancing touches to the cable (or gentle breezes) causing the power to disconnect. So after a bit of soldering when I get to Asheville, NC I’ll have a reliable power cord. Couldn’t fix it in MB because the persistent rain drove me inside.

 So other than the free meals at Gordon Biersch, thanks to my remaining Stein Club points, Myrtle Mud was a bust. Too rainy.. Masks required on beaches (so very stupid).  In the morning I’m moving on to Asheville. For now I guess it’s back to Netflix with the volume way up. Rain on the roof of a fiver is a noisy time!

 

The ‘Villes & The Trace

Greenville

I dropped off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville to visit a dear friend in Greenville. I was going to miss the BRP but I was looking forward to hanging out with Melba much more. It had been more than ten years since we’d been together—waaaaay tooooo looooong.

Checked into the KOA in Travelers Rest, just north of Greenville, got settled and headed to the local brewery, Swamp Rabbit. Decent beers (more Belgians & white ales than I prefer, though) and friendly folks. Back at camp I met Jason, the KOA owner. Nice guy, turns out he moved his family of six to Travelers Rest from Plano, Texas. Enjoyed chatting with him.

Thursday I ran a slew of errands. I couldn’t stand my truck any longer and found the best car wash I’ve ever been to. The owner of Cedar Pete’s took excellent care of my truck, even though I was from outta town and he’d never see me again. That’s hospitality & character. While my truck got nice & clean, B would have to rely on rainstorms to wash the bugs out of her teeth.

I also had to hunt down a print shop and notary so I could request a certified birth certificate from Orange County, California so I could then take it, in person, to a post office or county clerk to get a new passport to replace the one stolen by the cretin in Houston. I would repeat this charade in Jackson, Mississippi because, apparently, the wheels-off state of California won’t accept embossed, non-inked notary stamps. California has gotten out of control. I say, build the wall—on the east side of the state!

Friday morning I got kicked out of the KOA, even though I thought Jason & I were friends! Lol. Jason referred me to the Palmetto Cove RV park near Table Rock Mountain, a nice place 15 miles away. Once I parked the trailer I was finally headed downhill to Greenville to visit Melba!

We had a wonderful time, lots of laughs. So good to spend time with her. We had burgers at a great place downtown, Grill Marks. I’m glad the burger was huge ’cause it was awesome. Downtown Greenville is a super cool area. I could live there. Later, Melba & I hooked up with her friends Cathy & Dan for tacos & beers. I think there was something wrong with the time because it passed way too quickly. Before I knew it, I needed to get headed back up the hill because it was going to get dark and rain was on the way. I made it up the windy roads before the storm closed in. Friday was a highlight of my trip; I’m so glad I got to hang out with such a good friend and to meet a couple new ones. Thanks, Melba!

Nashville

I headed out early and before long Siri & CarPlay steered me onto narrow mountain roads. Before I was afraid I’d need to throw the transmission into four-wheel drive, I stopped, turned around, turned Siri off, and charted my own route. Ha, I guess I didn’t do much better because I got the sense I was headed the wrong direction—and I was right. We were Atlanta-bound, not headed to Nashville. Course altered again, I wound my way through Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. The drive along the Ococee River was particularly nice. Looked like great rafting. Once I finally hit Chattanooga it was then a long slog north to Nashville. By the time I hit the mediocre KOA in north Nashville, I was done driving for a while and didn’t even go back into Nashville to kick around. Spent Sunday watching Webb Simpson win the Players. Congrats to a solid, Christian guy! On my way out of Nashville in the morning I had breakfast at Loveless Cafe. Great BBQ pork omelette—the restaurant lives up to its reputation. Very good.

Natchez Trace Parkway


After eating I eased onto the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Trace isn’t as grand as the BRP but it’s very nice. A great, easy drive through woods & fields. Lots of pullouts and places to stretch your legs. I saw several pheasant, a turkey, a red tail hawk (who just missed my windshield) and two snakes in the middle of the road who gave their all for scavenger birds. The Trace is another wonderful road managed by the National Park Service. I over-nighted at the National Forest Service campground at Davis Lake near Tupelo. It was the best $20 I’d spent on a night’s lodging.

After another easy drive from Davis Lake headed south, including a  walk through a cool Cypress Swamp, I landed in Jackson where I repeated my FedEx Office printing and AAA notarizing to make the county officials in California happy. Hopefully the bums will accept this version…

The rest of the trip will be a straightforward run from Jackson with stops in Shreveport and Tyler State Park in Texas, then to my campsite in front of Julie & Brad’s home for a couple nights until I check back into my homesite at the Vineyards in Grapevine. One more post about this trip will be coming at you in the next couple days. Then I’m hanging low for a while. Looking forward to a trip to Ruidoso with two good friends and then, in mid June, a week at Table Rock Lake in Missouri and from there onto the great North and Northeast. That’s the plan, anyway! Stay tuned.

Southern BRP & a #~!%^ Detour

I was looking at about 325 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway until I’d leave it and turn toward Greenville to visit a good friend I haven’t seen for maybe ten years. Was gonna be a nice day!

And it was—for the most part. The BRP really is a national treasure. It’s an absolutely beautiful drive as it winds & weaves it way across ridges & valleys, snaking its way beside streams & ponds, through trees & meadows, and across gaps & passes with spectacular vistas. It never got boring. The drive was really nice.

And then, it wasn’t so nice. The drive became a bitch just south of the Boone, NC exit for a 12 mile-ish detour around a closed section of the BRP. This shitty detour wasted me. The detour was onto a road clearly not made for a truck & trailer rig of 57 feet long, 11 feet high. To worsen things, road crews were repaving it so half the road surface was off limits. After dodging the second overhanging rock I decided, F-it. I straddled the centerline, until I got pushed by an ongoing truck to the inside, mountainside lane and its lack of shoulder. I figured the trailer tires and axel took a hit thanks to North Carolina’s piss-poor road maintenance, but kept rolling because traffic was moderate and stopping to investigate would be another problem. As soon as the detour dumped us back onto the blessed Parkway I pulled into the first turnout I could to check things out. Other than some stuff rattling around inside the trailer all seemed well. Nevertheless, I’m still annoyed by the lousy road. I suppose I’ll get over it.

A couple hours later I was tucked into the Travelers Rest KOA, looking forward to hanging with my friend Melba soon. I found a local brewery—Swamp Rabbit—and ordered a pale ale and then an IPA. I barely finished, as exhaustion hit me. I headed back to the campsite and was lights out about 8pm. Not sure I even rolled over until the sun came up.

Overall, the Parkway will remain one of my trip’s highlights. I can’t emphasize enough that if you have the opportunity to experience it, just do it. If you’re going in the fall, gimme a call! It’s beautiful in spring; can’t imagine the fall colors.

I’d traveled all but about 60 miles of the Blue Ridge. Since I’ve already seen the southwestern section of it near Great Smoky Mountains National Park a couple years ago, I’m gonna take a more direct route to Nashville, where I’ll then take on the Natches Trace as I head south & west. Stay tuned.

Marshes & Mellowing

From Savannah I side-tripped to Hilton Head Island to see what all the fuss was about. Looks like a fine right place to chase the little obnoxious white ball but I was a little surprised how congested it was on a Friday morning. Ahhh… the RBC Heritage tournament was on their second round. And then at lunchtime after weaving my truck & B through a shopping center parking lot I found the World of Beer restaurant was closed. Screw it; I opted for a pack of almonds for lunch. On to Charleston…

The drive through the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (well before arriving in Hilton Head) was nice. I’m blown back by all the marshes on the southeast coast. I’d heard about them but the scope & scale is impressive. The wildlife diversity sure points to an awesome Creator.

Leaving Hilton Head I left a half-inch of trailer tire rubber on the road somewhere near Okatie when a light changed and I was caught a lil’ off-guard. Smokin’ B handled it well—yet I adjusted the trailer brake controller gain down a notch. (“B” and I are still getting to know each other. I’ve lovingly nicknamed her B ’cause shes usually a babe—but occasionally a bit of a bitch)! Anyway … another easy 90 minutes and I was backing B into space L12 next to the water at Lake Aire RV Park. We were settling in for four laid back nights.

Fish Tales – A Closer Look

It’s the best place in miles. It’s also the only place in miles. And I’ve stopped in every day I’ve been here. Love the place. Cool, local, friendly pub paired with a typical dockside restaurant and tiki bar (need a few more degrees for that!). Good food, reasonably priced beverages, craft beers. Great local color as most of the bar patrons are regulars stopping in on their way home on this outcropping of land amid lots of water. It’s one of those “less traveled” places I’m glad I found!

Savage Island & Thereabouts

My campsite on Savage Island was perfect: level,  a pull-through, and looking into the woods. I had passed a cool looking restaurant on the river just outside the state park entrance so after making sure B was settled in I headed back out to Fish Tales for dinner. As soon as I walked in and everyone in this small local pub greeted me, I knew I’d found my spot for the next few days. While they only had a couple craft brews on tap, it was still more than I expected. I chose the Gangway IPA from Red Hare Brewing Company and rated it a 3.5 on Untappd. Paired well with the blacked Mahi, cole slaw & a few hush puppies.

In the morning (the 11th) I headed up to Savannah, about 30 miles north. Kicked around town. Savannah is cool but didn’t knock my socks off. Maybe better with a group to enjoy the countless pubs… The historic houses are great, the park squares are nice; all-in-all I certainly can’t dis the town but one day was enough. I will say, southern friendliness was in play. Great people. I wrote about Service Brewing there a couple days ago, so …  moving on to Fort McAllister! (Oh yeah, I had an appetizer dinner snack at… Fish Tales!)

Next day. LOL, I guess I was just clueless. I thought forts had walls. I knew maybe they didn’t have to have moats (I think castles have to have those) but I really thought forts had walls. Even the cardboard box forts I made when I was a kid had walls. Whatever. Fort McAllister was an earthen berm fort on the Ogeechee River—and it was an effective barrier to enemies. Very cool to experience. Georgia has done a fine job preserving and presenting Fort McAllister. I fully enjoyed walking through the fortress: it’s magazines, palisades, parade grounds and museum. Interesting how walking through history brings history to life. I get annoyed when my wireless hotspot gets cranky; I can’t imagine what life was like as a Civil War soldier sleeping on cots (if lucky) and spending every waking (and sleeping?) moment batting away the incessant flies. (What the hell do they eat when people aren’t around?!)

 

After enjoying the fort I tracked down a FedEx package which I’d rerouted to the local Walgreens when FedEx failed to figure out that they were supposed to hold it at their own FedEx Office store in Savannah. No problem (as everyone seems to say here); it worked out better this way. Business done, I returned to (yep!) Fish Tales for din-din! Then back to the campsite for a morning departure to Charleston.

Service Brewing

When I searched out breweries in Savannah and found these guys I knew I had to visit. There are a few brew houses in town but I suppose ya can’t hit em all. (Yeah… mebbe I need to rethink that…) Anyway, I love these guys’ mission:

dedicated to honoring those that have put their lives at risk and their country and community first.”

Not surprising, everyone is super friendly at this veteran-owned brewery. The beers are solid. I enjoyed the Rally Point Pilsner and Compass Rose IPA. Tasted & got a crowler of the Battlewagon DIPA to go. It’ll pour pretty nicely with some smoked chicken thighs tomorrow evening at the campsite.

If you find your fortunate self in Savannah be sure to report to Service Brewing Company. They’re geared up for tasty brews, patio games & good times.