Day 19, Thursday

Woke up early at our campsite in Hunting Island State Park.  The no-see-ums were terrible, so after quickly showering, we headed into Beufort, in search of a waterfront park where we could make on our breakfast rather than be the breakfast for a million little bugs.  Success!

After a simple breakfast of coffee and cereal with fresh peaches we took a carriage tour of the historic homes of Beaufort.  Much like Savannah, but on a slightly more modest scale, and as the tour guided reminded us, these were all second homes for most of the owners.

When the Union armies invaded this area in 1861, all the home owners left town in what they now refer to as the "big skedaddle".  When many returned four years later they discovered their home were confiscated due to unpaid back taxes, and some were actually purchased by the slaves that originally worked for those home owners.  Sometimes there is justice.

Our guide, and the Beaufort HS girls' lacrosse coach

Yellow with green shutters, tough to beat!

The chorus from this church sang in the gospel number from "Forrest Gump"

After lunch we visited the museum dedicated to local celebrity and author, Pat Conroy.   I've never read any of his books, but Joni loves them, as did the enthusiastic docent who filled us with stories about this wonderful man.  I thought I was going to have to throw cold water on both of these women before the tour was over.

Day 18, Wednesday

We left our campground on Skidaway Island and headed into South Carolina where our first stop was at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.  This area was originally occupied by rice plantation before the Civil War.  Rice was referred to at that time as Carolina Gold.  To properly water the rice fields slave dug many canals throughout these fields which today make it ideal as a wildlife sanctuary.

Saw lots of these guys!

This wildlife refuge is actually located in South Carolina.

That horizontal dark shape in the middle is a gator.

Leaving the wildlife sanctuary, our next stop was Beaufort, SC, a beautiful town located on the intercostal waterway.  The town was founded in 1711 and was a favorite second home location for many of the plantation owners on the surrounding islands.  After a delicious fried green tomatoes sandwich lunch in Beaufort, we headed to South Carolina's Hunting Island State Park, which is the home for our next two nights, and also is the site of the state's only lighthouse.  The climb to the top was well worth the effort; the views were extraordinary,

Once I saw how rusty this rail was I decided it was time to descend.