Gallivanting Grandma

Road Trip – Day 9 Tuesday, April 5th

It poured last night! The sound of the driving rain and booming thunder woke me up several times during the night. By morning, the rain had ended and the sky was clearing. It was windy, but the weather was promising. We took our time in the morning because we didn’t have far to go. The ride from Beaufort to Savannah was just a little over an hour on the two-lane slow-road, Route 17, and we took a detour to see Hilton Head Island first.

On The Way South to Hilton Head

Near the southern tip of South Carolina, Hilton Head Island is the largest ocean island between New Jersey to Florida. It was named by Captain William Hilton who identified the headlands of Port Royal Sound and named the island after himself. Neither of us had ever been to Hilton Head, so we both were curious about it. From Beaufort, we took Okatie Highway/Route 120 south across tidal wetlands. Then Fording Island Road/Route 278 continued east into Hilton Head Island. Today the island is 30,000 acres of mini-malls, upscale golf courses, resorts, estates, and expensive housing developments.

Residential Street in Hilton Head, SC

As we drove along the road, we saw many shopping centers and big department stores in too many malls. There were two large outlet malls next to each other. Every national chain store seemed to be represented.

A Public Park

The last bridge finally brought us onto the island and we arrived at a toll-road. We paid the toll and continued to the interior of the island. Jeff had read that the local people make every attempt to preserve the natural beauty of the island by encouraging the growth of the trees and plants. We both noticed the thick vegetation and dense trees on the island. There are many lovely well-maintained houses and apartment/condo complexes. Bicycles and bike lanes are everywhere. Unfortunately, access to the beach seemed limited because the private houses lined the ocean beaches.

Look-Out Over Marsh Grass

We bought a couple of sandwiches at Bess’ Delicatessen and drove to a public park to have our lunch. We had an enjoyable time sitting under a covered gazebo which extended out above marsh grasses. It was a peaceful, quiet, and lovely park.

We drove off Hilton Head Island and continued the 20 miles to Savannah, Georgia on the slow road. The advantage to being a “shun-piker” is avoiding the stressful fast highways and seeing the scenic beauty along the back roads. The disadvantage is entering a city from the “back door”is you see urban decay, factories along the river, commercial warehouses, and where the poor people live. Our entry into Savannah was from the gritty side. We drove over the bridge and smelled the now familiar scent of a paper processing plant and turned onto River Street.

This was a narrow old cobblestone street which ran along the waterfront. One could imagine what it must have been like there a hundred fifty to two hundred years ago with commercial wooden sailing ships tied to the wharf. Old warehouses lined both sides of the street, which reminded me of South Street Seaport and the old Fulton Fish Market in New York City. The buildings here had been transformed into tourist shops, bars, and restaurants. My car bumped along the cobblestones and we turned right at the end onto Bull Street and found the “Historic District” up the hill and inland a little.

We drove around to get a feel for the geography and to quickly see the famous district.  There are 22 lovely squares interspersed every few blocks and the old city was built on a grid, so it’s impossible to get lost. Each of the squares is different with its own statue or fountain and distinctive history. We drove and parked near several squares that looked photogenic. Large old live-oak trees dripping with Spanish-moss lined some of the more beautiful streets and squares. My brother calls them “fuzzy trees”.

According to a guidebook, Savannah was named “the most beautiful city in North America” by the Parisian newspaper Le Monde. We decided that the editors must not have visited Antebellum Charleston or Victorian Cape May. Savannah is a large city of about 130,000 people and the down town historic area is lovely. However, Charleston, South Carolina seemed more gentile and user-friendly.

We decided not to stay in Savannah, and after consulting Tripadvisor.com we drove toward Route 95 and stayed at the Hampton Inn – Savannah Gateway. By this time in our journey, we discovered that the Hampton Inns were very clean, safe, and reasonably priced. They all must have been recently renovated and modernized when they became part of the Hilton organization. All of them seemed to be newly decorated with charming black & white photographs. For a comparatively low rate, breakfast and free functional Wifi were included.

Although we didn’t actually travel very far today, we saw a lot.  The weather improved and by the end of the day, it was warm and humid.  All in all, it was a good day.

Road Trip – Day 8 Monday, April 4^th

We didn’t go very far today. We just drove from Charleston to Beaufort, South Carolina. There are two “Beauforts”, both are named after the same man, the Duke of Beaufort. The city in North Carolina, which we drove through last Friday, is pronounced “Bo-fort”. This one is pronounced “bee-you-furd”. It sounds better with a southern accent.

Welcome to Beaufort

This Beaufort is the second oldest city in South Carolina.   It was established in 1710 and has a population of about 13,000 people. It is a well preserved antebellum town which stretches along a beautiful natural harbor.

Beaufort Harbor

The houses are large and lovely among big, old oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. Beaufort is also very close to the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot at nearby Parris Island.

Antebellum House

We parked the car and checked into the Sea Isle Inn right in town and overlooking the harbor. Then we walked around Beaufort for a while to see the architecture up close and to take photos.

Historic House

After a while, we decided to explore the region by car. First we drove south on Route 21, Ribaut Road toward Port Royal. It looked like a southern suburban area with modest houses and shopping malls. At the end of the peninsula, there was a small park which led to an open beach and fishing area. On the way back, we passed a large U.S. Naval Hospital.

Spanish Moss on a Live-Oak Tree

We continued north and crossed a river on Ladys Island Drive heading east. Then we turned right onto Route 21 south, also called the Sea Island Parkway. We continued across vast marshes and tidal wetlands on St. Helena Island toward the Atlantic Ocean.

One Way to See Beaufort

The road passes through Hunting Island State Park and we saw a sign for a lighthouse, so we turned into the park. The woman at the gate house charged us five dollars per person to enter the park as non-residents, and we decided it was worth the price.

Entrance Road Into Hunting Island State Park

The road immediately narrowed to a single one-way lane which we followed. We found ourselves in a tropical palm forest of thick green trees! It was unbelievable and looked very mysterious and almost creepy. It reminded me of the redwood forest in California because of the dark dense canopy of the trees with bright green small fan-palms on the ground, instead of ferns.

Hunting Island Beach

We drove to the edge of a road and parked the car. We could hear the surf and the wind blowing through the trees. We walked out to the stark broad beach and we were awestruck. The stumps of dead trees were along the shore near the forest and across the sand, the Atlantic Ocean was crashing on the beach. It was an awesome place. Photos couldn’t do this park justice.

The Shore of Hunting Island

We followed a sign to the lighthouse and parked the car. It was a freshly painted black and white lighthouse sitting in the bright sunshine near the shore. There was a picnic area near the lighthouse and the beach was about 200 feet away. It seemed inconceivable that many people would visit this amazing place because it was so far from civilization.

Hunting Island Lighthouse

We drove out of Hunting Island State Park and continued south down the road curious about what was at the end of the peninsula, called Fripp Island on the map. The road continued past more miles of tidal marsh land and grasses. We crossed over the last bridge and were greeted by a gate house and a sign which told us it was private property. From a distance, it looked like a residential community of new houses. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to live there, in a place which seemed like the end of the world!

Hunting Island State Park

We returned to Beaufort via Route 21 and settled into our room at the Sea Isle Inn as the sun was setting. About 8:00 o’clock, we walked out to look at the dinner possibilities. There were three nice restaurants in one block along Bay Street. We chose Panini’s overlooking Waterfront Park. It was too cool and windy to sit outside, but the interior of the restaurant was unusual and inviting. Jeff had a small pizza and I had soup and a good salad with pears and walnuts. It had been an interesting day!

Road Trip – Day 7 Sunday, April 3rd

We had stayed at Pawleys Island/Litchfield last night because the woman at the South Carolina Welcome Center told us that there were four major events happening in Charleston this weekend. There was an art show, a flower show, the Bridge Run race, and something else which I can’t remember. She said that most of the hotel rooms in town were filled so Sunday or Monday would be much better days to visit the popular city.

Pineapple Fountain in Charleston

We left Pawley’s Island and drove south on Route 17 under the brilliant warm sunshine. The leaves on the trees were beginning to turn green. The number of palm trees where growing as we traveled south. Azalea bushes were in full bloom in a variety of colors. Spring was definitely here.

Charleston Houses Along Meeting Street

There isn’t too much to see along this part of Route 17 because it passes through the dense forests of Francis Marion National Forest and the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. We passed signs pointing to small towns and saw isolated shanties and tiny AME Zion churches along the road. There were also ramshackle wood stands on the side of the road into Charleston. These are where the African sweetgrass basket-makers sit in the summertime and weave their intricate baskets. They were empty now, waiting for warmer weather.

One Way to See Charleston

Route 17 goes across a high bridge from Mount Pleasant and runs straight through the back streets of Charleston before crossing another bridge over the Ashley River on the other side and continuing out of town. We followed Route 17 to West of Ashley to a lovely Hampton Inn about six miles out of town. We checked in early and returned back to Charleston to explore the historic city.

King Street in Charleston

The streets are narrow in Charleston and parking on the streets is limited to residents. First we drove down to the end of Meeting Street and around the end of the peninsula and past the Battery. We wanted to get our bearings before parking the car in a parking garage. Then we walked all over Charleston up and down the small back streets and along the main streets of Meeting, King, and Market.

One of the Back Streets

In one word, Charleston is lovely. It is a graceful city with a lot of gentile charm. The architecture is southern colonial and many of the houses were built in the 1700s and early 1800s. They are very well maintained and lovingly restored with beautiful plantings. Tall 3-story houses were built on narrow lots with long multi-level porches on the side. The porches had ceiling fans and wooden rocking chairs and looked very inviting.

Old Cemetery

Along Meeting Street, near a large church, a woman had set up a table filled with her hand-made sweetgrass baskets. She was working on the base of a new basket when I stopped to admire them. There were different sizes and shapes of baskets and she had signed all her work with marking pen.

The Sweetgrass Basket Maker

Patricia Smalls worked as she spoke to me, a bucket of fresh grasses stood beside her. I decided to buy one of the smaller baskets because I liked the curvature of the sides. There were three undulating curves which reminded me of the waves on the ocean.

Patricia Smalls Weaving a Basket

We continued to walk around and took lots of photos. After a while, we decided to take a break and have a light lunch on King Street. The weather was warm and sunny all day. A variety of spring flowers bloomed in lovely gardens. On the way back to the car we found Market Street and the row of covered markets.

Charleston Buggy

Historically this was where over a third of all the African slaves arrived into the colonies. Once the commercial center of Charleston, the market now houses a range of souvenir shops and tourist restaurants. There were also more local basket weavers selling their beautiful sweetgrass baskets.

Typical Charleston House

We were tired from walking around most of the day, so we returned to our hotel in West Ashley in the early evening. We rested for a while and later decided to go out to the local Chinese restaurant for dinner. We got a light take-out order of soup and dumplings and returned to the room. It was a good touristy day.

Azaleas In Bloom

Road Trip – Day 6 Saturday, April 2

I woke up in Wilmington, North Carolina. When we’re traveling like this: moving along, changing hotels every day, and sleeping in a different place every night, it takes me a few minutes to remember where I am in the morning. This was one of those mornings.

After breakfast and coffee, we packed up the car and drove into the city of Wilmington. The sun was shining and the bright blue sky was cloudless. A nice breeze was blowing and it was about 65 degrees. The downtown business district of Wilmington is well preserved and attractive. There are large southern-style mansions with lovely two-story porches on tree-lined streets. Beautiful azaleas of many colors bloomed in front of the houses. In the center of town there are restored red brick buildings along the Cape Fear River.

Wilmington had played an important part to the Confederates during the Civil War. It was the only southern city which was able to export income-producing cotton to England despite the Union blockade. As a matter of trivia, Rhett Butler, the character in the novel Gone With the Wind, was a blockade runner off the coast of Wilmington during the Civil War in the book.

Sign Near the Ferry Terminal

We continued to drive south on Route 421 along the shore down the narrow peninsula toward Wilmington Beach and Kure Beach. The road curves west and ends at a small ferry dock somewhere near Fort Fisher.

Fort Fisher/Southport Ferry

We purchased our tickets and waited to board the ferry across the Cape Fear River to Southport, North Carolina.

We drove through nondescript Southport and picked up Route 211 on the other side of town. We continued through flat marsh land for about 40 miles and finally reached Route 17 again.

Looking North on Myrtle Beach

The road bends south towards the ocean through small towns like Shallote and Calabash and across the South Carolina border. We continued to drive closer to the shore on Route 17 and finally reached the city of Myrtle Beach. This was another city of miles and miles of high-rise hotels and apartment buildings along the Atlantic Ocean beach. On the street there were the t-shirt shops, beach-wear stores, bars, and fast-food restaurants one finds in resort cities.

Looking South on Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach is supposed to be one of the largest and most popular beach resorts in the country. I also read that Myrtle Beach has the most miniature golf courses in the world. The clerk in the hotel where we stayed in Pawleys Island told us that Myrtle Beach had an unsafe reputation, but it looked clean and tame in the bright early-spring sunshine.

Miniature Golf Range

We continued south on Route 17 past Pawleys Island and into historic Georgetown. The woman at the South Carolina Welcome Center told us that Georgetown was the third oldest city in South Carolina and that the downtown area has many well-preserved colonial and antebellum houses. Georgetown was the site of the first European outpost as early as 1526. This region of South Carolina had an early history of prosperity as the main rice and indigo producers in the world.  Later, the southern state enjoyed the rise of the tobacco and cotton industries. Another interesting bit of trivia: Chubby Checker, of “The Twist” fame, was born near Georgetown in a place called Spring Gully, South Carolina. I wonder if he has a museum there?

Pawley’s Island Salt Marsh

We were planning to spend the night in Georgetown, but the air had a foul smell of chemicals from a nearby paper processing plant. We drove around Georgetown for a short time to look at the buildings, but then returned to Pawleys Island and found a nice Hampton Inn just off the main road.

Pawley’s Island Beach

We had plenty of daylight left to drive out to the shore to see Pawleys Island. I was hoping to see a shop where they made the famous Pawleys Island hammocks, but there were just a couple of retail shops on the main road. Jeff said that they’re probably made in China. We drove out to the end of the road toward the ocean.

Houses on Pawley’s Island

We passed salt-water marshes and drove over the inter-coastal bridge in search of the beach. The island is mostly private with a mix of old and new houses on stilts lined up in the sand dunes along the beach. Beach access is limited to the extreme south end of the island where there is a small parking lot and a path leading out through the dunes to the beautiful beach.

Pawley’s Island

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at Hauser’s Restaurant on Route 17. It was recommended to us by the clerk at the hotel, who said it was “where all the locals went for seafood”. We both had soup (red clam chowder and she-crab soup) and shared a delicious spicy jambalaya on rice. It was a good way to end the day by the shore!