We're not really sure where, or if there is a true differentiation between our East and Southern Coasts, but we made our own calculated decision and chose that place to be the border between the Carolina's. After leaving the OBX and the rest of the North Carolina shore, which we thoroughly enjoyed, we made our 1st stop in Myrtle Beach, SC...and there we stayed for 3 nights. The crowds had thinned out considerably as many schools were back in session, campgrounds were fairly quiet and the beaches were pleasant. Coincidentally we met up with a friend who we saw in DC who just happened to be on vacation with his family in Myrtle Beach at the same time...we hadn't seen each other in 16 years, then we see each other twice in one week not only in different cities but also different states...go figure!
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Sienna, Bryan, Janet and Sidney
Bryan worked in Burundi at the same time we both did |
In Mrytle Beach, we camped 3 blocks from the beach in a forest full of pines and local deciduous trees...we were both amazed at how close the forest was to the shoreline...we loved the relaxation, the bike rides we took, the beach, swimming and just playing in the water.
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| our campsite just blocks from the beach |
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| Mrytle Beach, just blocks from our campground |
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| looking south from the lovely 80+ degree water |
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| Myrtle Beach Boardwalk |
Next stop on our journey was Charleston, SC, give or take 100 miles down Highway 17. A lovely drive down the coast through marshland and small historic towns, took us to where we found a wonderful campground just outside of Charleston--James Island County Park and Campground, which offers not only camping but also a $10 rt shuttle service to the city center. We enjoyed 2 nights camping with 1 full day touring Charleston by foot and by boat.
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Arthur Ravenel Jr bridge, entering Charleston
one of many cable-stayed bridges on the east coast |
The city of Charleston is absolutely wonderful and absolutely southern...that calculated decision we made earlier, turned out to be correct...this was the true south. The history of this town is some of the longest and most diverse of any city in the US from it's settlement in the late 1600's to the present day. With the grand live oak trees draped with Spanish moss, to the Antebellum and plantation homes, to the abundance of the cities churches (Charleston got it's nickname of 'the Holy City'), to the wonderful shopping district called 'City Market' where vendors from around come to sell their wares, to the Water front park, Rainbow Row (row houses painted in vibrant colors), Battery park and the Charleston port where frequent NPS boats take visitors to see the remains of Fort Sumter, where the opening shots of the Civil War were fired in 1861. So much to see and so little time...
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| also known as 'The Cooper River Bridge' from the water |
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| the National Park Service tour boat to Ft. Sumter |
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| looking back at Charleston on a cloudy day from our boat |
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| Charleston water front |
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| more of Charleston water front |
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the USS Yorktown in the harbor, decommissioned in 1970
and is now a museum |
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the flags at Ft. Sumter--US flag, SC flag and some confederate
flags of different times with various numbers of stars and stripes |
Ft Sumter shots...
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| looking at the Fort from our boat |
Lovely downtown Charleston on our walking tour...
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| US Customs House |
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| City Market |
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| City Market |
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| sweet grass baskets on sale--locally hand made--VERY expensive |
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| delicious boiled peanuts--we had to buy some |
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| an old home |
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| Huguenot Church |
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| touring by horse drawn carriage |
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| wrought iron balconies |
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| downtown in Charleston |
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| lovely old street with lamp posts |
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| beautiful old places |
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| St. Philips church |
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| back yard garden |
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| Rainbow Row |
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| Antebellum house |
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| Antebellum house |
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| dedicated to the hero's of Ft. Sumter |
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| Live oaks with Spanish moss |
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| Battery Park gazebo |
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| the true south |
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| St. Michael's Church |
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| Circular Congregation Church |
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| street musician playing lovely blue-sy music |
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| garden fountain |
We left Charleston and headed yet further south, through more marshlands and the cute historic town of Beaufort, SC located in what's called the SC Lowcountry. The 2nd oldest city in SC, between Charleston and Savannah along the Intercoastal Waterway and a movie filming hotspot--'The Big Chill', parts of 'Forrest Gump', 'Prince of Tides', and other great movies have all been inspired and filmed here.
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| marsh lands on the side of the roads |
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| Spanish moss |
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| Beaufort's water front park and marina |
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| more Antebellum homes |
And from there, we continued south and crossed the border into Georgia and entered the city of Savannah, crossing another cable-stayed bridge, the Talmadge Memorial.
Savannah, another lovely true southern city with tons of history, was also walking friendly and very dog friendly to boot. We set out on foot and visited many of the cities 24 parks, known as 'squares' and visited the park where Forrest Gump sat eating his box of chocolates, plus many of the churches, the market district, and the busy water front district where we sampled some good tidings. It was a great day. Hopefully we'll return someday...
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| one of many Spanish moss tree lined roads in downtown |
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| Aly and Gravy on Forrest's bench! |
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Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Church, started in 1873
one of the top visited places in the US |
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| Antebellum home |
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| Capital building |
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| walkway leading down to the water front |
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| ferry boats on the river |
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| the busy river front |
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having a local ale at 'The Warehouse' which boasts
the coldest, cheapest beer in town (it was good too) |
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| sights around Savannah |
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| the City Market |
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| one of the squares |
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| live oaks and Spanish moss in a square |
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| a neighborhood garden |
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| complete with cobblestone sidewalks |
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| old buildings |
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| another one of the squares |
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| one of Savannah's churches |
We headed to Tybee Island, not far from downtown Savannah for a night of camping at a private RV park just off the ocean and south of Hilton Head, SC (where we did not stop as we are not golfers and we thought we'd had enough of the commercialism of beach tourism!)...
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| heading out to Tybee Island |
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| crossing over the Intercoastal Waterway, again |
Leaving Tybee Island on Monday the 26th of August we headed south to Jacksonville, FL where we met up with an old friend (and the secretary of Aly's father) to go kayaking--Aly's 1st kayaking experience! We camped out of the city at a park right on the beach in an almost jungle like campground. Our day with Diane was wonderful, kayaking for 3+ hours then visiting the old shrimping towns of Fernandina Beach (Diane's hometown) and Amelia City, north of Jacksonville. Thanks Diane for a great visit, you're a super tour guide!
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| an owl in the campground |
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| on a deserted beach |
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| just minutes from our campsite |
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| Sea Turtle nest |
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| the dunes on the Atlantic |
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| Aly and Diane |
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| just before our kayaking adventure! so much fun!! |
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| one of the old slave plantations in the area |
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| the road in/out of the plantation |
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| old slave quarters |
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| an old slave dwelling |
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| local fishermen! |
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a shrimping boat taken from the screen of a restaurant
where we had dinner |
From Jacksonville, on the Atlantic coast, we were tired and ready to get home...we decided to put in some mileage and crossed Fl, camping on the gulf coast the next eve and then working our way home through Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisana...stopping to see an old Peace Corps friend in Hattiesburg, MS. From there it was high tailing it home and we made it home before the 1st of Sept...
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| Jacksonville, Florida |
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| A court house we liked |
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| fishing boats |
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Aly on the sugar-y white sands on the Florida gulf
coast beach |
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the gulf coast with the sqeaky white sands and the
tea colored sea water due to so much rain this year |
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| Buddy at sunset |
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| a beautiful sunset |
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| our friend Anne with her statue from Benin |
Our trip was fabulous, just over 5 weeks. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather...no hurricanes, no heat waves, no high humidity...plus we got to see so many of our pals from days gone by and see so much of our lovely country. Where to next? Not sure...stay tuned...
