Day 28 – By Land, By Sea, By Mule? – May 20, 2018

Karen came up with today’s headline. I like it.

Leaving Edisto Island means driving down a long two-lane road for about 22 miles to get to the main highway. Most of the road on the island has a canopy of old oak trees covered in Spanish Moss, so it’s like driving through a long green tunnel. You know you’re getting close to the highway when you see the Adam’s Run Post Office.

Sunday brunch was in downtown Charleston at Poogan’s Porch, a little restaurant in an old house on Queen Street. In the hallway there were numerous autographed photos from celebrities who had dined there at some time in the past. My favorite one, and the one that sold me on eating there was signed by the ‘hardest working man in show business’ – James Brown. Karen told me that Poogan was the name of the restaurant owner’s dog, and he (the dog) is buried next to the steps at the front door.

We toured the old town area in a carriage pulled by a pair of mules. There are so many carriages driving around the city that the vendors have to check in with a traffic regulator, who assigns tour routes by a lottery system. There are five ‘zones’, and to keep too many carriages from congesting any given zone the carriages are distributed accordingly. The photo below shows the regulator assigning us to zone 5 – lots of churches, the old city jail, and some big antebellum mansions.

Once we got a feel for the city, we took off on foot and explored the old homes (some dating back to the 1740’s) along Church Street and Water Street and other Streets. By this time, it was getting pretty warm and humid, so we decided to jump in the car and find Fort Sumter National Monument. After a few turns here and there, and a few choice words for the GPS app, we got across town to the wharf where the tour boat docks. We got on the last tour of the day.

Out on the water there was a cool breeze and it did not seem as humid. In other words, it was pretty nice. The ride out to the fort takes about 20 to 30 minutes and along the way you pass the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Yorktown, large container ships coming into the Port of Charleston, and a couple of old forts that used to guard the harbor back in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Fort Sumter is worth visiting, especially if you’re a Civil War buff. The National Park Service has done a good job preserving the ruins. You can still see artillery shells embedded in the walls of the fort dating back to the Union siege of 1863. Since we were the last tour of the day, we got to see the daily flag lowering ceremony.

By the time we got back to shore, it was close to 6:30pm, and it was nearly 8:00pm when we pulled into camp – just enough time for some leftover spaghetti and a late-night blog entry.

Next: North Carolina

Day 27 – Crab Run, I Saw The Sign, Seashell Searching at the Seashore

Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged my hand across my head. Found my way outside and grabbed a map, and looking up I noticed I was late. Found my shirt and grabbed my hat, made the trailhead in seconds flat… Well, it was kind of like that when I started the day with a five-miler on the Skidaway nature trails. There was me and a gazillion little crustaceans out there and no one else.

We went to South Carolina today and that’s where “I Saw The Sign”. It was right there along Highway 17. It said, “ACE Basin” and immediately a little earworm began to grow in my head (you know the one). Anyway, it turns out that ACE is an acronym for three rivers that feed into what is one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the east coast of the U.S. One of those rivers is the Edisto River. We are spending the next two nights at Edisto Island State Park, which is right on the coast just south of Charleston.

Karen and I went out to the beach this afternoon and found lots of seashells. We even saw some psychedelic-looking sea foam floating in the breeze and on the surf – so many colors. We also checked out the little beach community of Edisto Beach. The grocery store on the corner is called the ‘Bi-Lo’ – we’ll have to see if that’s the case.

The coastline around here has so many rivers, inlets and bays that there is no direct route from our campground into Charleston. So, tomorrow we’ll backtrack a little and get back onto Highway 17 to get into town. We plan to spend the day there, rain or shine. And the forecast calls for lots of the former.

Next: Charleston

Day 26 - Trembling at the Top of Tybee Tower, Sudden Squall, Serenity at Skidaway - May 18, 2018

Karen wrote a nice post describing today's events, so I'll just add a few pictures:

The Tower of Fear

The Squall Moving In

Time To Find Some Dry Clothes

Finally Made It To The Atlantic Ocean

Karen Contemplating Nature Back At Camp

Next:  Edisto State Park, SC

Tybee

Today we drove over to Tybee Island. Tybee is a cute little Party island!

It was raining, but the crowds were still out and about; getting ready for a water pistol parade. The parade wasn’t due to start until 6:00 but we were advised to keep our windows up because, you know, some of us just cant wait…

We checked out the pier, drove around some of the homes that have been around since the 1800’s and then over to the Lighthouse. This lighthouse is the third largest lighthouse in the country. It sits on the shores of the entrance to the Savannah River and has been guiding mariners for over 300 years.We climbed the 178 steps to the top (oh, where is my Fitbit when I need it!) and enjoyed a very all-encompassing view of the island. I was laughing at Steve hugging the walls of the lighthouse experiencing some major acrophobia when Karma came back to bite me. A huge downpour let loose suddenly as only these thundershowers here in the South can. Running to the doorway to get in out of the deluge, the door stuck! Apparently, water and moisture will do that to wood. I was pounding on the door, signaling to the folks inside, OK maybe, YELLING. By the time we all ( I can say that ya know cuz they say y’all here) got that door open I was soaked to the skin. Luckily, half our belongings are in the car, so I had a change of clothes. The next time someone at a lighthouse offers to take your umbrella for you because it may be a lightning rod, don’t give it to her!

We had to get back to the campsite on Skidaway Island to move our trailer to another site since we decided to stay another night. We are burning the last of the firewood as we sit around after dinner. Steve is playing his uke with the frogs, cicadas and birds joining in. We are headed into South Carolina and they have very strict rules about bringing firewood in from elsewhere. I’ll see if I can get Steve to ride in a horse-drawn carriage with me. I would like to see some of the anti-bellum homes if we can.

We have learned not to make too many plans and just let what happens, happen. Now, if only we can reach that same laissez-faire attitude with each other!!  LOL!!

Day 25 – My Huckleberry Friend, Trolley Tour, Tinsel Town Ice Cream – May 17, 2018

Today started out with a visit to the Bonaventure Cemetery outside of downtown Savannah. If you have a mental picture of the prototypical deep southern cemetery, this is the place. A virtual forest of old oak trees festooned with Spanish Moss, a vast array of azalea plants and many magnolia trees surround grave sites, tombstones, and a wide variety of monuments to past citizens of the city. We walked part of it, and then got in the car to ride through the remainder.

The highlight, for me, was finding the Mercer Family plot. This is where Johnnie Mercer is buried. One of Savannah’s native sons, he’s mainly known for writing the lyrics to some pretty famous hit songs back in the day. Karen downloaded an app that gave us info on many of the other people who are buried here. We snapped a few photos and let the GPS take us into downtown Savannah.

We opted for the trolley tour and it turned out to be a good way to get a feel for the layout of the city. We ended up spending the whole day riding the trolley and getting off it and seeing the sights. We had a good lunch at the Olde Pink House, which was built in the 1790’s but is now a restaurant. After that, we wandered the riverfront and then stopped in for dessert at Leopold’s Ice Cream shop.

Just as we got inside, the skies opened up with a torrential downpour and a very loud crack of thunder. It was good for business, because people began pouring into the shop to seek shelter and to line up for some ice cream cones. Leopold’s dates back nearly a hundred years and is currently owned and run by the founder’s son, Stratton Leopold. It turns out Stratton is also a Hollywood movie producer (check him out on IMDB) and he’s got his shop decorated with movie memorabilia.

By the time we finished our ice creams, the skies were blue and the birds were singing again. We walked along the same streets as Forrest Gump and other movie characters and ended up at Colonial Park Cemetery. According to our tour guide, this is where early citizens had duels – the winner going home and the loser staying at the cemetery. It is also where William Tecumseh Sherman’s troops camped one winter as they were finishing their razing of the south. Apparently, much vandalism occurred at the cemetery during this time, including defacing tombstones and removing bodies from the crypts so the soldiers themselves could climb in and escape the cold temperatures.

We ended our walking tour at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and then caught the trolley back to the visitor center. Heading back to the campground, we crossed Moon River which was not wider than a mile, but we crossed it in style today…

Next: Tybee Island