This is Digby Pancake. I can sleep thru just about anything. The smell of coffee in the morning. Brickle’s fresh attitude at six a.m. Even traveling down the road in the Big Blue Treat Wagon RV with the loud sound of impending breakdowns.

But the walnut alarm clock? No one. No one. No one can sleep thru that.

Our first mornings in this South Carolina place should have been relaxed. We should have been all ready to explore our campground at our leisure.

No alarm clock should have been set.

But when it sounds like your roof is going to collapse, and you think it’s raining outside, but it’s not, you wonder where you are. What is happening? Walnuts. Walnuts. Walnuts.

A walnut is a small thing, unlike my appetite. But take a few small things and put them together, and then drop them from high up in a tree, and you will know. Many small things add up to a big thing!

Drop! Drop! Blam! Wham went the walnuts!

We didn’t know whether to duck for cover or just cover our heads with our blankets. But we couldn’t do that because we can only run one air conditioner with 30 amp service. And that’s that in a walnut shell. I also thought about climbing up the trees and having a talk with the squirrels. But bed is better than climbing. And I found that if I continued to howl out the windows, it made for some pretty sweet, South Carolina music.

Not only did it rain walnuts all day. But when you walk outside, you better be prepared. Hard hats are required. Unless you’re Brickle and yours is built in.

South Carolina, your welcome has been profound. And you are a beautiful place. Some travelers go where everyone goes. But if you’re like us, finding places that may be in the middle of nowhere with no flashlight big enough to light your path makes for some interesting stories.

Isn’t life made up of stories? Do you have a good one?

So when you know things are falling down around you, you can either try to catch them. Or sweep up the mess after. Picking your battles is the way to go. And the squirrels have won this battle. I say ambiance is everything. So are pancakes. But you can leave the walnuts out of mine.

After a day of resting from our travel hangover, we are ready to explore! Let’s do this!

–Deputy Digby Pancake