NO REST FOR THE ADVENTUROUS

Well... it never takes long for the Camera Couple to be back out on the road. After an incredible summer stint, we came home to no AC at the house, while trying to get re-packed to go photograph a wedding on the Carolina coast, and our adventures don't even stop there. But hey, do you really wanna read a blog that's just a list of our misfortunes!? 

Our September was action packed from the moment the month started. We loaded up and headed over to Topsail, NC to photograph a wedding for some old co-workers from the Speedway. The wedding was Labor day weekend, so we decided to camp a couple days extra, since we don't spend much time over on the coast, or on the beach.

​The weather was beautiful, and the wedding was even more beautiful! It was a lovely beach-front wedding right on the water. The rental house was a blast and accommodated everyone for a fun after party, equipped with a pool and open bar. Cameron ran the drone, while I did the still photography — be sure to check out his awesome aerials below! We had a great time and I even ended my 28 year streak of never having Taco Bell in my life! It wasn't that special...

SHARING OUR WOODS PASSION

We weren't even back at the homestead for a week before the next visitors and camping trip were in the works. Randy and Keith were coming for a visit to experience why we love camping so much. It would definitely be different compared to Hawaii! They had rented an RV from Cruise America and the plan was to visit two different South Carolina State Parks that we always enjoy camping at. Hamilton Branch and Aiken State Park.

As a fun bonus, Kady and Colin came down from Maryland to spend the first weekend with us. Our 3-vehicle/RV caravan loaded up on a Friday and headed further south to enjoy some R&R!

When people ask Cameron and I why we love camping so much, it's being able to walk out of your camper and instantly enjoy all of the amazing offerings nature has... which sometimes includes ants and other crawlers. Okay, I know I said I wouldn't write a blog of misfortunes, but we did have to battle a lot of pesky ants that got inside the trailers and other spaces the first couple days.The rest of the time was full of lounging by the lake, in the lake, and spending some great time with family. 
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​The weekend was calling for "beautiful boating weather" so we figured we should probably lean into that forecast. We rented a pontoon boat from a local marina and spent the day out on the lake enjoying some time together. One other misfortune — the boat broke down in the middle of the lake on our way back in to return in. Fear not, we were saved! The week flew by full of family fun, fires, and some work but overall it was a great first stop of the trip! 

ONWARD TO AIKEN

Aiken State Park was only about an hour drive from Hamilton Branch so we packed up Friday and made our way over to spot number 2. When we booked our campsites, we had purposely picked two very different campgrounds that had different terrain and offerings, both are wonderful, but for different reasons. Hamilton Branch is a lake lovers paradise, where as Aiken is a little more for the desert lover. 

Aiken is also very popular for horse lovers. It's home to the Aiken Polo Club and conveniently enough, Keith actually knew someone there, while there was a match going on! We shifted some plans around and decided to get out of our grubby camping clothes and head to the Polo club for a really fun and engaging learning experience as spectators. We all had a great time watching the match and learning the rules of Polo. We grabbed some dinner afterwards and geared up to head back to our house before Randy and Keith headed to their next adventure. We had so much fun sharing our love for camping with them for a week and hope they enjoyed it too!