Visitors Arrive and We Visit The Haven

Today is Memorial Day. Carol and her friend A (formerly known as O, which stands for Orville) checked into Pedro's Motor Inn today after attending a NASCAR race over the weekend. A is from Canada...get it, eh?

Here we are trying out Peddler's Steakhouse at South of the Border. We love Outback Steakhouse...Outback it ain't.

Next we went to the Waffle House. But we didn't eat any waffles.

Based on our recommendation, they were excited to go up Sombrero Tower. Our SECOND trip up was double the fun.

We ran into an Elton John impersonator who treated us to an ocapela version of the 1983 hit I'm Still Standing.

Carol and Doug tried on a little color.

That was obviously NOT a hungry, hungry hippo.

On Tuesday, Carol and Orville left us for Myrtle Beach.

I've fallen and I can't get up!

Okay, I can...for food.

We didn't think we should leave our new kitty friend at Pedro's Campground, so we packed her up and dropped her off at Raeford, North Carolina's The Haven-Friends For Life No-Kill Animal Shelter.

Here's one of The Haven's cathouses.

The Haven is an extraordinary shelter run by Linden Spears. Linden moved to the Raeford area to raise horses on her farm but saw the need to save some animals.

And save them she does. At any given time, The Haven houses approximately 500 cats and 1,000 dogs!

Learn more about The Haven and the challenges it faces at http://www.thehaven-nc.com/ .

The Haven was recently gifted 10 of these Pawsidential Suites which will serve as home to 60 lucky cats. The Suites were donated by The Diane Warren Foundation run by songwriter Diane Warren.

It is almost guaranteed that every person (at least in America) knows many of Diane's songs whether they realize it or not. Check her website out at http://www.dianewarren.com/ and learn more about this supporter of both animal and human rights.

Oh...and don't worry about this little one.

Doug will soon sign a long-term contract upgrading her from guest star to regular.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/carol-and-orville-m/ and http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/spending-the-day-wi/ .

To be continued...

Pedro's South of the Border Pt. 2

Now it was time to go to the top of Sombrero Tower to find...

the panoramic view of beauty that IS South of the Border.
This is the view south toward Dillon, South Carolina. About 1/2 mile down the road are about a dozen run-down strip clubs which mostly appear to be abandoned. Dirty old men just don't come here anymore like they used to.

I-95...the highway of hundreds of South of the Border billboards that start hawking Pedro as far as 175 miles away.

Here's the one you see if you miss the exit.

We are sure you want a video from the top of the tower...so here it is.
Marlon and his big red dog.

South of the Border even features a pet toilet.

Pedro greets you as you enter the parking lot.

At night, South of the Border becomes a plethora of neon lights.

They even have neon that appears to just hover in the air attached to nothing.

Don't be fooled by Pedro's Coffee Shop. There might be a coffee pot sitting on the back counter, but this is one of the big gift shops...including the goofy (not Goofy) hat shop. There hasn't been a meal served in this building for years.

Here's the lighted bridge which serves as the walkway between Pedro's Motor Inn and Golf of Mexico (which seems to be permanently closed).

The campground office took over the building formerly known as Pedro's Southern Fried Chicken.

Have you ever seen the top of our motorhome?

Now you have.

What is this...a cute cuddly kitty?

She was definitely a very hungry kitty...so we fed her.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/exploring-south-of-/ pictures 55-119.

To be continued...

Pedro's South of the Border Pt. 1

Today we explored more of South of the Border.

Marlon had fond memories of mushroom hunting as a teenager in rural Missouri.

The now-closed Silver Arcade provides fond memories for those who remember it as the Silver Slipper. The Silver Slipper got South of the Border in trouble in the late 1990's when both South Carolina and North Carolina (which South of the Border's property extends into) had very strict laws regarding video poker.

South of the Border is known for its sale of fireworks. Rocket City sits in front of the entrance to Pedro's Campground.

Hundreds of different kinds of July 4th fun can be found here.

South of the Border gift shops sport a wide variety of inexpensive souvenirs of all types. Gift shops sometimes appear too large for the amount of merchandise offered though.

The Monte Carlo Arcade is still in operation. Notice the sign says "Video Power". Did it used to say "Video Poker"?

The sign said bowling but I couldn't find a bowling alley for the life of me.

Go ahead...try to drive under my legs...

A relative of King Kong greets visitors to South of the Border as do several other whimsical animals.

The S.O.B. (that's South of The Border) water tower stands tall.

The Golf of Mexico indoor miniature golf course has seen better days. It is now Pedro's Concrete Bazaar which sells lawn statuary and the like. Or at least it did...it was closed when we were here. And according to other visitor's websites who visited in 2005, it was closed then too.

According to a Pedroland Park employee, the only cool roller coaster in the park, Pedro's Mouse, hasn't operated since about 2002. According to a source on the internet, it originally opened in the summer of 2001. Short operating life!

South of the Border brochures picture this as the swimming pool. No ones swimming in this pool anymore.

South of the Border was founded in 1950 by Al Schafer, making it 58 years old...will it make retirement age?

Another gift shop...note the amount of merchandise compared to the vast amount of floor space.

The Dirty Old Man's Shop was closed for inventory today...but we went ahead and peeked through the window.

Inventory probably didn't take too long...once again, note the lack of inventory compared to floor space.

Apparently, not enough Dirty Old Men have been visiting South of the Border.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/exploring-south-of-/ pictures 1-54.

Coming up...a trip to the top of Sombrero Tower and South of the Border in neon.

To be continued...

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...