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| Rving at HPSP |
Bruce and I took our first RV trip of 2008. January has been a bit coldish here in
Pawley’s Island, so Sat the 26th we decided to
drive Southward in search of warmer temperatures. Our first stop was in Walterboro South Carolina, which hosts the South Carolina Artisan
Center.
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| South Carolina Artisan Center |
The center has some of the finest examples
of arts and crafts that we have seen to date.
We would have lingered longer in the area, but President Bill Clinton
was in town to make a campaign speech for Hillary. Needless to say, that generated an enormous
amount of extra traffic. So we decided
to push on.
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| Beaufort Harbor |
Continuing South along the coast we arrived in Beaufort County about 3 pm. The nearest RV stop was Hunte Island
State Park.
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| Our RV was parked right next to the Beach |
As it turns out, it is also one of the best
places we have ever camped. We spent to
next day exploring the island and the surrounding natural areas. The Island is
a semi-tropical forest which borders the Atlantic Ocean.
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| Shrimp boats at Lady's Lisland |
There are miles and miles of estuary on the
leeward side.
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| Hunte Isle SP nature trail through the estuary |
The park itself has miles of white sandy
beaches, with the skeletal remains of a maritime forest that is being swallowed by the Atlantic Ocean called a Boneyard
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| Boneyard Tree roots |
Which afforded me endless opportunities for reference photos.
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| BJ on beach |
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| BJ |
and boasts a real lighthouse which you can climb to the top of. It seems to be a little
known jewel as there were very few visitors (at least in January) to either the
beach or the lighthouse.
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| BJ inside lighthouse |
Views from atop the lighthouse
On Monday we visited the nearby surrounding communities. Beaufort County is composed of sixty-five
islands. Hilton Head is its most
famous. Frankly we were not
impressed. HH Island is now completely
developed with most of the property locked in gated communities. Access to
their famed beaches was hard to find.
Like most planned communities, at first blush it seemed attractive, but
soon began to feel artificial and shallow.
We won’t go there again.
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| One of many of Beaufort mansion |
The town of Beaufort
on the other hand, was beautiful. Beaufort's
history spans back to the time of Spanish explorers. From museums to churches
to a house used as a headquarters for the Union Army during the Civil War to
the first school for freed slaves in South Carolina following that war. The
streets are lined with ancient oaks, and elegant ante-bellum mansions. The main street historic district has at
least a dozen good art galleries not to mention good eateries right on the Inter Coast
waters. We plan on returning to see the
town in spring when the marshes green up, and the azaleas are in bloom.
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| KAT |
Kat came with us on this trip. As soon as we arrived, she insisted on
scouting the Hunte SP campground out (
on a leash) But once she discovered
there were feral cats in the area, she
was content to snooze in the RV or look out the window.
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