This week’s adventure picks up where we left off last time – arriving at a new-to-us overnight stop, Pedro’s Campground at South of the Border. This massive complex of retail, restaurants, and entertainment is located right off of I-95 in Hamer, SC, and is a place Chad has wanted to see since he was a kid. As we were planning our route to Wilmington, NC, and looking for a place to stop for the night, we saw Pedro’s Campground. As soon as Chad realized that it is part of South of the Border, he was in, and we reserved a spot.
History
This place was started in 1949 by Alan Schafer, who built an 18 x 36 beer stand known as South of the Border Beer Depot. A few years later, a 10-seat grill was added, and the business was re-named South of the Border Drive-In. In 1954, Mr. Schafer added 20 motel rooms which are now part of the Motor Inn.
Within this South of the Border “village,” you will find a handful of restaurants, several retail shopping spots, an arcade, a 200-foot tall sombrero tower (with an elevator to the top), a reptile exhibit, and more. (Apparently, the 200-foot-tall Sombrero Tower was considered the World’s Largest Sign until just a few years ago)
Camp Pedro
We stayed at Camp Pedro in a large pull-through site. All of the sites here are paved with either 30 or 50-amp electric, water, and sewer hookups. The campground has two bathhouses, laundry facilities, and a playground. It was pricier than we would have expected at $50+/night, but they do offer discounts for AARP, Good Sam, and Military.
We were a little saddened by the state of the whole area when we started walking around. Several of the retail shops were closed, and the Motor Inn was in need of a facelift. However, the outdoor pool area looked nice, and you get a pool pass when staying in the campground. We walked around a bit, went into the HUGE Mexico Shop West, and then decided to eat at The Peddler Steakhouse. We were pleasantly surprised with how delicious our meal was (Chad loved the mushrooms, lol) Unfortunately, we were too tired from our long day of travel to check out the Reptile Lagoon that evening. Who knows…maybe we will stay there again and check it out.
Up Next!
It was an easy exit the next morning, and we were on our way to Wilmington KOA in Wilmington, NC. Upon arriving at the campground, we could tell it was well-maintained and nice! (We will get into the details of that KOA and what we did in that area in our next video) We also figured out a better way to get the motorcycle out of the garage and share it with you here.
Related 🎥
Links 🔗
- South of the Border: www.sobpedro.com…
- Camp Pedro RV Park: www.sobpedro.com…
- The Peddler Steakhouse: www.sobpedro.com…
- Wilmington KOA: koa.com…
- Volta Power Systems: voltapowersystems.com…
Products 🛒
- Daisy's truck bed is the “Snoozer Luxury High Back Console Pet Car Seat” – amzn.to/2MnglBj…
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