Footprints in the sand 8 '09

Have you ever noticed how certain themes seem to pop up, and once you notice  them once, you start seeming them everywhere.

I was admiring a  giant sand sketch  of a footprint that someone had put on Pawleys Island  beach this evening

The I looked down, and what is right next to my footprint, but an oyster shell that looked remarkably like a miniature footprint.   I took the shell  home and made a necklace out of it.

Hidden Park in the middle of Winyaw Bay Aug '09

East Bay Park is a Georgetown County City Park  which sits near the end of  a peninsula which juts out into the middle of Winyaw Bay. The park is an open grassy area  which is used for  funtions like farmers markets, soccer matches, and  other out of door gatherings.  The area around the grass  surrounded by parking lot. Which seems at first glance  to be all there is to the place.

Then one day we were loading our purchases from the farm stands into the car and noticed a man with a fishing pole follow a small trail from the end of the parking lot into the marsh. Hmmm! Is there more to this place than we knew about?

Curious, we followed the same narrow trail as the man before us.

It led us  through the marsh grasses to a small wooden bridge which crossed the march and brought us very close to  many  beautiful marsh birds.

Then we found ourselves on a small pine tree covered island at the very tip of the peninsula. 

The island  while unknown to us is obviously well known to local fishermen.  It has a a picnic shelter with a fish cleaning station, and lots of places along the banks where it is clear that angles hang out regularly.  It also has some remarkable views of the Winyaw Bay.

  Definitely a good place to check out the sunrise.

Pawleys Island Farmer's Market 8 '09

Yesterday  morning I thought I would try shopping the new Pawleys Island Farmers Market

Georgetown County has always held a Farmer's Market in a couple of locations within the Georgetown City limits, but only recently has it  authorized Pawleys Island to have it's own Farmer's Market..

  The first thing I discovered is that it is an adventure just finding the place.A small sign tells one to turn west off of Hyway 17, and then one follows the road through the woods for a mile until another small sign directs one to turn right onto a residential street that meanders through a run down trailer park community... another small sign directs a left turn onto a dirt road that leads through  more woods and passes through a cemetery.  The quest finally ends at a large empty lot / community playground. 

All was forgiven when I reached the half dozen tents and the local merchants vending their wares.   They were selling everything from fresh bread , to herbs and eggs, to seafood, to handmade soap.  I loaded up on fresh butter beans, squash, baby potatoes, and basil, tomatoes, multi-grain bread and my favorite McClellanville Clams brought in by Thornhill Farms.

Boy did we have a feast last night

Miniature Golf in Myrtle Beach ' Aug '09

Bruce wanted to  try his hand at a round of miniature golf, but  that is easier said than done. Myrtle Beach takes pride in its claim as the Miniature Golf Capital of the World. There are over 50 courses in all; most form an ecosystem of manufactured mountains and Ty-D-Bowl blue waterfalls along a strip of Hwy 17 that stretches all the way to the North Carolina border.   There are so many places in Myrtle Beach to play a round of miniature golf it is very difficult to select just a few that stand out from the rest. 

Using eye appeal as our guide, we cruised Hwy 17 to see which courses grabbed our attention. It's a 25 mile panorama of fog machines, fake rocks, and palm trees, enlivened with an occasional dinosaur or pagan temple, with names  such as Cancun Lagoon, Mayday Golf, Hawaiian Rumble, Mt. Atlanticus. 

We finally settled on the Mount Atlanticus Minotaur Goff (yes, that's how they spell it) opened in 1988 at a cost of $3 million. It is situated in the heart of Myrtle Beach, just next door to the Pavilion Amusement Park. Atlanticus offers two huge courses (the Minotaur and the Conch) in a truly unique setting: it occupies the former Art Deco department store, Chapin's. 

The courses twist through the building's three floors, up stairs on the side of it, and up to the roof with views of the beach and roller coasters. The holes themselves are challenging and creative

 Bruce felt right at home in the underground portions Conch Course.
They offered a cool respite from the sweltering heat of summer.

But even out of doors the course was fun, and the abundance of running water made the sunny areas a lot more tolerable

Bruce takes his golfing quite seriously and did very well on most holes.

CC... not so much so.. especially on  taking the game seriously.

In the end Bruce won  (by one point) , so much for taking the game seriously!

He seemed  happy, but  if not,  we can always have a rematch at one of the other 49 courses.
You can check out the Mt Atlanticus website at
 http://mountatlanticus.com/

Bruce cooks Sheepshead Aug '09

Bruce caught a  large Sheepshead while scuba diving.  I was frankly a bit disappointed.  In California, Sheepshead are a rather mushy, watery textured, tasteless fish and a lot of trouble to clean and cook.

Bruce Assured me that Atlantic Sheephead are nothing like their tasteless  Pacific Coast cousins.  He says they are tasty members of the grunt family, common from Virginia to Florida, but are hard to catch because of their ability to evade hooks.  Sheepshead are very hard fighters and a challenge to land on light tackle. Some fish may reach weights of 12 lbs or more, although typical fish weigh under 10 lbs. Guess they aren't as savvy when it comes to avoiding spear fishermen.

 Sheepshead are good table fare and easy to clean and fillet.  Bruce did all of the work. The meat is mostly white with a good flavor. Sheepshead is served fried, grilled, or broiled.  We grilled our and it was absolutely delicious.  I hope he catches another.

Happy Birthday Becky 8 '09

 

Today we celebrated Becky Sullivan's Birthday with a all girls Birthday Brunch

Do you know what you get when you have a room full of great cooks together?

MAGIC.!

KC  in the kitchen

Heather cutting cake

 Beckie with the pie

Julie tending bar

Linda with the gravelax

YUMMY!

Kayaking Hobcaw Barony 7 '09

Today we signed up for a group kayak tour of Hobcaw Barony's tidal creeks

 Our group met at the visitor center  near Highway 17.  From there, one of the guides drove us in a van to clam bank landing, 

 and received some basic instruction from the other guide on how to handle a kayak in tidal current.

Then we were off.  It was leisurely  paddle as the  mid tide was high and was flowing  gently toward the Ocean.  It carried us along without much effort.  All we had to do was steer clear of the cord-grass &;  mudflats

( Above my coworker Sue and her sister Pat coming ashore. Below: Sue) 

 We kayaked until we came to the leeward side of the last sandbar between  the Atlantic Ocean and Winyah Bay

Everyone beached their kayaks  and dragged them firmly up onto the beach behind the dunes so they couldn't float away.

 Above: Bruce and guide on beach

Below:  Pat and Sue on the beach

   We were  on a private island which  is off limits to anyone who does not have permission from Hobcaw Barony.  We took a long stroll on the beach facing the Atlantic Ocean. I have grown accustomed to how empty of people South Carolina's beaches can be during the off season, but this was different .  Not only were we the only people, it was completely devoid of all evidence of humanity.  On the barrier island, where you can see for miles, and there is not one man made element in the entire viewshed. I love that about this place. I could watch the play of light on the water, feel the texture of the sand, and know that those things would have been experienced in exactly the same way by colonists who lived here in the 1660s. it was an  odd feeling and even a little lonely.

After an hour of lunch and rest, it was time to kayak back to the landing.Unfortunately the return trip was not nearly so easy as the paddle out.  The tide had  fully turned, and had I not had Bruce to paddling with me, I don't know if I would have been strong enough to overcome the swift current working against us. 

Farmers' Market in East Bay Park '7 '09

One of the joys of living in South Carolina is how fresh the food is.  There seems to be a farm truck stand  or fresh shrimp vendor on every corner.  But we found a new  place to get really fresh food today.  The Farmers Market in East Bay Park in Georgetown, SC attracts farmers and specialty food vendors from all over the county.

But we found a new  place to get really fresh food today.  The Farmers Market in East Bay Park in Georgetown, SC attracts farmers and specialty food vendors from all over the county. 

It doesn't get any fresher than this unless you grow and pick it yourself

The McClellans visit SC 7 '09

My daughter, Laura, her husband David, and our two grandsons came for a brief visit. this week. By the time they arrived, they had already spent two weeks vacationing in Florida, and were exhausted.  As Ryan put it " Too much vacation, Grandma."  Poor babies!

 By the next morning everyone felt a lot more rested so we took off to explore the area

First stop was She Sells Sea Shells where I work part time.  The boys loved the place and I bought them each a bag of shells to take home as a souvenier.

Then we went to Pawleys Island North where we collected so  shells from the beach and played in the warm waves

By that time it was really hot, so we went to Georgetown  to get an ice-cream cone.

We also toured the shrimp docks and bought some fresh shrimp for dinner

 Unfortunately the visit was all too short  and soon it was time to take them back to the airport tocatch their flight home. I  made sure I left enough time to  let them take a quick driving tour of McClellanville.  David was thrilled when I gave him a book about the history of the town

Bye Guys.  We will really miss you!

BJ Rescues a Grasshopper on PI 7 '09

Bruce left his sandals on  the high point of a sand bar on Pawleys Island  while he went wading today.  By the time he returned, the tide had come in and his  sandals were now sitting on very small island.  

A small grass hopper had become trapped on the island and taken refuge from the approaching tide atop Bruce's sandal.

  Bruce coached the happless creature onto his finger then released it  in the sea oats beyond the hight tide line

He's such a nature lover.