The road home

Tues. Mar 11

Lovely day. Too bad we’re leaving. As I’m giving Leila her good morning pet, I discover a tick. Gypsy had one 2 days ago which gets us to wondering if these carry lyme disease like the ones in Connecticut. Having no rubbing alcohol we use Tequilla as disinfectant.
We’re travelling north on #501 to catch up with I-95. Cell phone rings for the second time in 2 days. First call was from our oldest son wishing his father a happy birthday. Today’s is our neighbour asking if we have a spare key hidden somewhere as the cleaning lady has locked herself out. Nope, is the answer.
I persuade Al to pull into a big box mall – another Ross store (very inexpensive bedding), but it doesn’t open for another 20 minutes. After lunch I drive for roughly 4 hours.
Skip to the end of a very long and somewhat boring day. We’ve stopped at a Days Inn on the outskirts of Waynesboro, Virginia, not too distant from the junction of 64 & I-81 north. We could possibly be home tomorrow, somewhat late; but then again maybe not.
Sorry no photos today.

last day

Monday March 10th
Last day/night in the trailer in Huntington Beach State Park.
We head into town and have a nice breakfast at the Internet café while getting the mail and posting the last blog. Error message after error message means uploading each picture individually probably takes ½ hr. From there we visit Brookgreen Garden for a brief time, and then repair to the campsite where leaving preparations must begin.
As we cross the causeway I notice the Arctic swans are on this side of the wetland. As well the local alligator is in place – right next to his sign. Winterizing the trailer, hooking up the trailer and last but not least, big shampoos for the dogs to remove the salt water and maybe some of the sand are what need to be done.

Brookgreen Gardens

Sunday, March-09-08

No disasters today – at least before breakfast. It is rather chilly. Electric heater is working its little heart out while I am buried underneath an afghan and a feather duvet. Just my nose is a little cold.
I take the dogs for a walk on the beach. Lots & lots of people cause me concern about letting the dogs loose, but I do so anyway. A glorious walk; no one is afraid or apparently concerned about these crazy flatcoats racing into the water to capture waves or … Chatted amicably with a couple from Charlestown and then two young South Africans who are attending university here.
Daylight savings has us an hour later, but we manage to arrive at Brookgreen Gardens round about noon. That’s after visiting the Latte Internet café where we do the honourable thing – go inside, purchase cappuccino’s and settle in to send/receive mail and read the Globe & Mail.
At the garden I vote for the statuary garden as it is a rare occasion that I get to see so much outdoors. It is a wonderful garden – acres of it and far too much to really do it justice in one 4 hr. session. We concentrate on the sculptures. I do really, really like Anna Huntington’s rendition of Don Quioxte, but not so much her other work. The acres of garden is ‘littered’ with all manner of sculptures by accomplished artists.
We return to the trailer and not long after Al is sailing out to greet – what else, another flatcoat owner from Penn state. Ridley is a lovely 2 yr old, still intact, male. Leila likes him Al is now lecturing me on procedures for tomorrow – winterizing the trailer etc. I volunteered to go and get the dessert (it’s his birthday! and a milestone one too), but no, it seems my presence is required.

Huntington Beach State Park day 1

Sat. March 8

Well I didn’t think it had rained all that much last night, but obviously it did as the canopy broke. Long story, so I won’t dwell on it. Just add it to the growning repair list.
We take the dogs for a walk on the beach. The snow, I mean sand is blowing in gusts; I cover my camera with a plastic bag on the return trip upwind. Dogs have a grand time in the waves, Leila standing out in the waves waiting for me to throw a stick. There is almost nothing on this section of the beach except sand of course.
At noon we take the 40 min. guided tour of Atalaya, the name of the Moorish style castle built by Anna & Archer Huntington back in the 1930’s as a winter residence. Their’s is an interesting story: she a reknown sculptress and he a wealthy philanthropist who endowed museums, designed gardens, wrote poetry and did Spanish to English translations. Anna, who suffered from TB, earned $50,000 a year from her sculptures. The building is quite stark, concrete and brick built at the time right next to the ocean. Nowadays there is considerable beach in front of it. 75 windows are covered with decorative grillwork, each costing $500. Archer paid to have a hydro line strung from Georgetown, 20 miles away. A telephone line connected them to the local exchange; a house phone system connected their living quarters to the staff; hot running water was available in 4 bathrooms, a large shower with 7 shower heads, … Perhaps I can find a web source for you to read more about this interesting couple who had no children.

Travelling to Huntington State Park

Friday. Mar7th
On the road to Huntington Beach State Park
The heavens open up just shortly after we get on the road. Good timing and good day to be driving. Severe weather warning is being broadcast for some regions. We’re on our way to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens & Drayton Hall, southwest of Charleston. Our visit may be shorter than planned if the weather doesn’t improve. And the weather does not; it gets worse. And worse yet, we have a wee accident involving the admission sign/toll booth to the Gardens. Sign got knocked down (about 2 ft. wider than the building). We also make brief contact with the roof overhang and the trailer gutters which now appear to be somewhat compressed. I seems that contact with their sign is not an unusual happening and we’re told not to worry. The bottom of the sign ways that a ‘rain check’ will be issued in the event of rain. We are given instructions on how/where to do a u-turn in the gardens. As we do so, I notice this long white ???. Upon closer look it turns out to be the tail of a rather elegant bird. Inside the wooden structure are 3 more birds – peacocks. What a pity that the weather is not conducive to walking the gardens or seeing the main house, Drayton Hall. This place is worth a visit, roughly 4 hours to see it all. Basic admission is $15 per adult, add on $7 each to see the House, the Audubon Swamp, Nature Train, Nature Boat tours or $35 for an all-inclusive admission.
Back on the road (#526 east) we drive north around Charleston, passing over 2 bridges (Cooper & Wando Rivers) giving us a view of container ship docking on the right and some plant on the right belching out steam/smoke further adding to visibility problems.
Next roadmap event is Francis Marion National Forest as we follow along #17N. As I look closer I begin to wonder about gas. Not wishing to have a repeat performance of the St. George Island leg of our trip, we wisely do a u-turn on the divided highway to visit what looks like the last station (Sewee Outpost) before Georgetown some 50 miles away.
Georgetown – home to International Paper (massive plant) and also a steel mill.
After setting up camp we drive into town to find a wireless source, just happens to be one at the Lattee ??? shop across the street from the Salvation Army Thrift store. Al gets the mail not having to enter the coffee shop and I buy a tie (my first fish tie) and a gargantuan jean skirt – probably a complete circle. From there we do the tour into Mrytle Beach, but the weather has not improved so we don’t stop anywhere. Just opposite the state park is Brookgreen Gardens which may prove to be a substitute for missing the Magnolia Gardens, all of which is still owned by the Huntington Foundation but leased to the State.

Hilton Head

Wed., Mar.-5-08
Hiltonhead
Yesterday the weather report was right and wrong – right in that the rain started precisely at 4pm, wrong re: severity.
We start today walking the beach at the campground and then at the lighthouse so we can let the dogs loose. I spy another crab cage washed up on the shore due to yesterday’s storm, this one containing 5 blue crabs and one other variety. I drag the cage out into the surf, undo the bungie cord holding the door and then push and prod them back to freedom all the while under close dog supervision. My good deed of the day. Next stop is Hilton Head Island which means re-tracing part of Monday’s route & #278. This busy divided boulevard is lined with upscale, golf club communities - steep-roofed brick housing, elaborate landscaping, fencing & water features.
Suffice it to say that neither of us were impressed with this place - too many gated communities, private property, boring with a capital B as Al describes it. Lots of tourists on foot, bicycle & car and many big homes with gardeners. As mothers have said for decades, 'if you can't say anything good, don't' and so I will leave it at that.

last day on Hunting Island

Thurs. Mar 6
Today, our last on Hunting Island, is dedicated to relaxing. In the morning we take a long walk up the beach toward the lighthouse with the dogs running free. Gypsy has enough energy for both and does a great job goading Leila into big-time action. Gyspy does enjoy sticking her head into the water in search of treasures. We bring back two very happy, but soggy/sandy dogs.For lunch we try out the local crab shack; what a disappointment. The crab cakes I had last year in Alabama still win the prize. Afterward we do the marsh boardwalk where we see an otter?, mud crabs & two interesting lizards. We continue the drive to the fishing pier where it is clear dogs are not welcome in addition to a sign that says welcome to Fripp Island – security gate ½ mile. We turn around; two gated communities in one day – spare me.