South of the Border Campground, Florence SC Museum & Mars Bluff

Next we headed to Hamer, South Carolina right near the North Carolina border. Our destination was South of the Border-a kitschy border town attraction known for its spokesman, Pedro.

Here was our isolated rv site at Pedro's Campground.

The campground was somewhat deserted as it was still prior to Memorial Day.

The next day we drove over to Florence, South Carolina to visit the Florence Museum of Art, Science & History.

This Samurai suit of armor dates back to the early 17th century.

Marlon was dreaming of Jeannie.

Did you know...the South Carolina state animal is the whitetail deer and the state insect is the praying mantis?

This letter gave Isaac Wright his father's permission to join the Army in 1862.

Hard tack was a popular staple in the 19th century. Made of only flour and water, it would keep for years as long as it stayed dry. It would often get infested with weevils (high protein). Because of this, it was common to bang it hard on the table to rid it of insects before eating it. Yum!

Nearby Mars Bluff is renown for the 1958 accidental dropping of an atomic bomb by a B-57 from Georgia's Hunter Air Force Base.

Luckily, the bomb did not contain the core of uranium and plutonium. However, it did contain thousands of pounds of conventional explosives and created both a mushroom cloud and a crater about 75 feet wide and 30 feet deep.

While no one was killed, the home of William Gregg was destroyed. The photo below shows some of the damage caused by the blast.

Well-known residents of Florence County, South Carolina have included astronaut Ron McNair who perished aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the U.S. Army was unprepared for chemical warfare and had to use borrowed foreign equipment. This is a gas mask from that time period.

This memorial to Pee Dee pioneer woman Rebecca Ann Carraway Goodman says:

"Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me the best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow."

Next we headed to Checkers for a Value Menu meal. Doug indicates how big he may get eating both Value Menu meals and buffets.

Now it was time to head to Mars Bluff to try to find the Atomic Bomb Crater.

The sign led us through this huge, old abandoned trailer park.

Unfortunately, at this time, there were no additional markers indicating where the crater was. We decided that this was probably the crater. If not, the crater WAS close by.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/southoftheborderham/ and http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/florence-south-caro/ .

Être continué...