Exploring the Southern Coastline Jan 26-29 '08

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.   

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.

Beaufort Harbor

Continuing South along the coast we arrived in Beaufort County about 3 pm.  The nearest RV stop was Hunte Island State Park. 

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.    

Shrimp boats at Lady's Lisland

  There are miles and miles of estuary on the leeward side.

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

Boneyard Tree roots

 Which afforded me endless opportunities for reference photos.

BJ on beach

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

Sidewheeler Restaurant in Conway Destroyed 1 '08

Sidewheeler Restaurant AKA Old Naval Warehouse

We heard on the radio today that the  historical Sidewheeler Restaurant in Conway burned down last night.   We’ve sampled several of their hearty, Low-country classics like fried yams ’n’ okra and their grilled fish caught just outside in the Waccamaw  River.  Our meals were served in a historic dining room with a beautiful view of the river.  It’s a pity.  It was such a beautiful historical building.  I had planned on painting it.  Now there is nothing left except our photos and memories.

Pawley’s Island Souper Bowl. 1 '08

CC's Souper Bowl

On Saturday, January 12 we attended the Pawley’s Island Souper Bowl.  Where else could we have had the opportunity to taste soups from some of the most popular restaurants in South Carolina. The fundraising event was sponsored by Habitat for Humanity to help deserving low income women in Georgetown County get into their own homes. Over 40 gourmet soups were donated by the finest restaurants in Georgetown County.  The restaurants definitely put their best dishes out at this event. The choices ranged from the low country favorite, she crab soup, to the exotic Roasted Red Pepper with Goat Cheese Cream and fresh basil, to Lobster Bisque.

BJ's Souper Bowl

Local artists from elementary school through to professional artists made and donated bowls and cups for the event.  You purchase a ticket, get to choose (and keep your cup/bowl) then sample as many of the soups as your stomach can hold (the soup is served in a Styrofoam bowl.)  It was a great way  to spend a cold Saturday evening after Christmas and New Year's  when we were "turkeyed" out while helping our local community.   If Habitat for Humanity sponsors a Souper Bowl in your area, we would definitely encourage you to attend. But here’s a little hint.  Go early if you want to be seated at a table. These are sell-out events.

Hobcaw Barony Bird Watching 1 '08

We were up bright an early on Friday, January 11th  for a bird watching event at  the Hobcaw Barony Reserve.   

The Reserve is at the North Inlet – Winyah Bay. 

  It is a vast area of virgin forest and marshland which is open to the public only through docent led tours.   We had signed up for a bird watching tour in the hopes of meeting other conservation minded folks.  As it turns out, the birding was poor that day; we only  saw  one bald eagle, a red meringer, a common loon, a dozen white pelicans (they rare in South Carolina), lesser and greater yellow legs,  red wing black birds,  yellow rumps, and a few other common woodland species. Even the herons and storks were no where to be seen.  The views of the vast  pristine marshland, made up for the lack of birds.  

Hobcaw Fire-watch Tower

Clam Bank Landing Road

Clam bank Landing

Since we were driven in vans to the birding sites, there was no exercise to speak of, so we can’t quite count this an adventure date.  On the other hand, the social contacts were outstanding.  We met the president of the local Audubon chapter and were invited to go birding with him in Huntington Beach State Park.  We also met the woman who heads up a newly started volunteer naturalist training program.  Needless to say we are now on her list of contacts.  This was definitely a big plus towards our goal of getting more integrated into our community.

Brookgreen Garden 1 '08

Wednesday January 9th Bruce and I had our first adventure date of the year.  We went to Brookgreen Gardens to check out their native animal habitats/zoo.  It’s a relatively short walk (for us) across level terrain

Wild Ibis in Rice paddy

  The path leads along the former rice paddies where there are lots of migratory water fowl 

  and a  quite a few alligators to be seen swimming around  in the fresh water marshes .   

Bruce couldn't resist cutting it up with an alligator statue.

There were also a lot of interesting interpretive signs along the way to explain about the wildlife and what life was like when the area was a plantation.

Then the trail cut inland through an upland pine wood forest to where the Brookgreen has a built series habitats for displaying local wildlife.    

Captive River otters

 Some of the animals, like the  river otter,

 deer,

and fox were  in large, moat/fenced enclosures.  

The wood duck lives in a large netted aviary keeping it safe from hunters

  Others, like the  water fowl

Barn owl

 and predatory birds,

A pair of American Eagles

 had been moved from their giant tree-filled netted aviaries into smaller enclosures where they would have better protection from the winter’s freezing night time temperatures. 
A sign explained that all the Brookgreen captive birds of prey were disabled and would not be able to survive on their own on the wild due to their injuries. 

 It was pretty cold that day and as we neared the end of the trail it started to drizzle.   Fortunately we made it back to the car before we got really wet. It wasn’t as much exercise as we had hoped for, but it was as much as the weather would allow, so we were please with the excursion.

New Years Day: New Years Decorations 1 '08

Bruce always goes into a major funk when I take down the Christmas decorations.  He says it makes him feel like the party is over.  This year I decided to avoid ending the year on a sad downbeat, by refocusing his attention on the new year and its festivities. I decided to switch the decorations from Christmas to New Years.  I stripped the tree five days after Christmas and packed away all the multicolored ornaments, along with the Santas,  and the red and green garlands .  But I left out anything that was gold or silver colored.  

 I clustered the gold and silver ornaments in clear glass bowls,

 or surrounding them with thin silver sparkle garlands.

  I put gold candles on the mantle and side tables.

The local party store sold me some colorful noisemakers and silver and gold colored New Years hats to sprinkle in with the other decos.  Ta Dah!  

 Bruce felt like the party kept right on going.

Happy New Years 1 '08

Happy New Years 

to all of you

 from Bruce and Cece