Four weeks away from a blog for a two-week vacation: Sounds about right to me. Check this space for snippets of my trip through New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia and, of course, Pennsylvania and New York. The ostensible goal was the J. Strom Thurmond Dam and Lake at Clarks Hill, on the South Carolina/Georgia border. I visited and camped under the stars there, and must say it was darned good. Weirdness factor of the vacation on a scale of one to ten: 7 Fun factor: 8 Relaxation factor: 6 Not bad for a solo road trip with my dog: The food was even pretty good.