EATING OUR WAY ACROSS the LOWCOUNTRY

From the Made in Heaven Crepe (above) from Claudine's Creperie.....to Plums Restaurant to Magnolia Cafe to Crave's Cupcakery to Gays Fresh Seafood to the Lowcountry Store to the Savannah Tea Room and Leopold's Ice Cream.....we manage to continue to experience food highlights across the culinary spectrum.

Plums is a local Beaufort restaurant featuring all manner of seafood and salads.  Their Chicken and Sausage Gumbo is to die for.........spicy but not too much so.   Have it with the small loaf of French Bread and what a wonderful meal while overlooking the Beaufort tidal basin!!!   You won't want to leave.  Plums gets 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

The Magnolia Cafe is a great Beaufort stop for breakfast or lunch.   The salads are good as are their sandwiches.....the pastrami on home made seeded rye is very good....but also take a look at the Cubano Panini....excellent.  We took lunch here with our new friends, Larry and Lainie, and we each enjoyed a lovely dessert.   Larry and Lainie and their 4 legged traveling companion, Roxie, are also North Country neighbors of ours from Burlington, VT.  We plan to catch up with them again at our next stop near Jacksonville, FL.    Home made desserts are indeed a Magnolia strong suit and they also get 4 1/2 of 5 stars.

Crave's cupcakery is a small, pink building on Boundary Street....easy to miss but don't make that mistake.   Some 20 cupcakes to choose from.....fresh and delicious.   On the sweet scale, Craves gets 4 stars.

When you want to cook it yourself, stop by Gay's Fresh Seafood market on Harbor Island (the postcards are free).   The shrimp is always fresh, the flounder and grouper are worth a try....but our favorite is the crab cakes.   Talk about yumming it up..........these flirt with 5 of 5 stars!

The Lowcountry store offers a small luncheon menu.....I had the blue plate special of gumbo and rice and Pam had the lowcountry savory tomato pie.   Both were delicious, especially with southern biscuits on the side.   The store also sells produce....we walked away with a couple quarts of their home made gumbo.....all one has to add at home is some combination of chicken, beef, shrimp or sausage (andouille is preferred) and you have a plate that can be as spicy as you want to make it.  4 of 5 stars go to the Lowcountry store.

The Tea Room in Savannah is a must for tea snobs (not to mention tea snob wannabees)....seriously tho, you will have a tough time choosing a tea so best to leave it to the wait staff.   Tell them your taste preference in tea and they will make the best choice for you.   Pam had Savannah Breakfast and I had Tuckers blend....both were excellent black tea offerings.   For lunch Pam had an almond encrusted chicken salad....Pam rates it a 5 given the citrus dressing that came with it.  I give 5 stars also for the blackened grilled chicken caesar salad with home made caesar dressing.....I have had quite a few caesar salads over the years and this sets the standard.  So, 5 of 5 stars for the Savannah Tea Room!!

Leopold's Ice Cream in Savannah has been around since the early 1900's.   They make their own ice cream, they offer some 25 flavors and they are wonderful.    Leopold's gets 5 of 5 stars as well.

As for grocery stores.....we have found the Publix Market on Lady's Island to be the best.   VERY polite and helpful staff at every turn....the BEST breads for sandwiches and for toast.....some very good pastries that are made on site.    We like Publix.

We were out today...primarily for Pam's follow up MD appointment.   The mystery as to why she had a Syncope 2 + weeks ago will remain a mystery.  All test reports (and she had many) were negative...as were the heart monitor results.   The doctor advised against driving for awhile...so I guess I remain the chauffer for a bit longer....this is Pam's hardest consequence to deal with as she loves her turbo charged, 6 speed manual transmission Mini Cooper.....I have to admit, it can be fun to drive.   While we were out we did laundry, made a stop at Publix and had a bowl of gumbo at Plums (and brought two bowls home with us as well -need we say more!).  

We leave Hunting Island and the lowcountry next Tuesday.....next stop is a State Park in Florida just outside of Jacksonville and just north of St. Augustine.   We are sure we will enjoy it thoroughly for the week we will be there.....but it will be hard pressed to surpass the cuisine of the lowcountry!

 

St Helena and Hunting Island....continued.

The Sentinel Pelican

A Pelican Convention

Ali and I enjoy a long walk on the beach here every morning.   It is a gorgeous beach....nearly 4 miles in length of wonderful sand.....NO rocks at all.   After Ali has her breakfast off we go....and most days there are so few folks aside from us....I can let her off leash so she can enjoy the water.   And enjoy it she does.   So we stroll down the beach with her enjoying the water and me 'beach combing' for odd shaped shells and such.   Very often in the afternoon we take another walk (as we did today) in the afternoon and Pam usually comes along as well.

Ali loves to tramp around in the water, dipping her nose below the surface as she moves along.  Here she is watching some shoreline birds that she intends to chase any minute.









She is a great dog....and she has come back very nicely from her Mast Cell disease of just a few months ago, when all her joints hurt her so badly and she could hardly move.   Very nice to have healthy dog again!!

The beaches up North have seagulls everywhere.....here it is a bit different:  Pelicans everywhere.  

Strutting his Stuff!!



10 paces then turn and............

We had to walk this very narrow, walkway to get out to where
the Pelicans "roost" at the end of each day.   Pam, who does not like such open mesh walkways where you can see what is below you, could have remained in the car....but instead she walked out there too.  It was a good, long walk....kudos to her.

 



 



On Approach.......



 

The end of another day on the islands of the lowcountry.......good night, Pelicans.






Saint Helena Island.....part 1

St. Helena Island is considered an inland Sea Island and does not have actual frontage on the Atlantic Ocean. The island is surrounded by expansive marshes, and it is the largest Sea Island in the Beaufort area; and also is the largest island between Edisto Island and Hilton Head Island along the South Carolina coast. The island is informally divided into several different communities, each with their own distinct identities. The two most established communities on the island are Frogmore and Lands End.

• Frogmore is considered to be the commercial center of island activity and is located in the north central portion of the island. For many years, Frogmore was the official name for the whole of St. Helena Island by the U.S. Postal Service, and many on the island still refer to it as such.

• Lands End (sometimes referred to as Fort Fremont) is a small community at the southern tip of the island which is home to Fort Fremont, a former military battery which helped guard the entrance to the Beaufort River. The community is popular for its access to open water, thus making it a hub for fishing and recreational opportunities.

Other communities on the island are typically referred to by the road, point, or smaller island they are situated on, including Dulamo Road, Cedar Grove, Eddings Point, Coffin Point, Fripp Point, Folly Road, Warsaw Island Road, and Polawana Road, to name some.  And we have explored just about all of them in the past two weeks!!

Here are a few photos we took the past several days....all somewhere on Saint Helena Island....

Boardwalk

Marsh boardwalk & observation tower.

    

Typical colorful Lowcountry Houses.

                        



Barnacles



Imagine this to be your address.......ahem!

Gotta love these signs.......we have also seen "Liver Puddin' & Eggs with Brains

on the menu of one local place.   And in Murrels' Inlet there is the SuckBangBlow Restaurant.

You couldn't make these things up!!!!

 

 

Penguin sighting.......here are our penguin friends finishing up some grocery shopping at Publix...

 

 



 

Stay tuned for a special part 2..........!!





 





 



 



                

Lowcountry Gospel Music

We went to the University of South Carolina Beaufort campus' Arts Center to see this Gospel program......and it was exceptional!

 

 













The program consisted of three sections:  Spiritual Music.....Contemporary Christian Music.....and Contemporary Gospel Music.   Each segment contained several songs and they were all magnificently performed by the two Choirs with support from the USCB choir band.   Pam had seen the article in the Island News weekly newspaper and we heard about it also from a lady we have come to know a bit from the Farmers' Markets in Bluffton and Port Royal.   The program lasted for about an hour and a half, and we were very happy that we went.   This is a trip highlight!!

 

Speaking of Farmers' Markets......we have a PENGUIN SIGHTING....at the Bluffton, SC Farmers' Market.    Bluffton has an excellent Farmers' Market with lots of fresh vegetables, many bakery booths and several specialty food booths.

 

 Here is Christine's Creperie....where you can get either savory or dessert crepes....or both if you have a mind to do so.   Pam ordered one of the sweet selections....the "Made in Heaven" crepe......

 



And here she is with her Made in Heaven...which consisted of dark chocolate and strawberries, with a few scoops of whipped cream for good measure.   Christine, it turns out, and her husband-helper, are both from England, so Pam was right at home chatting up a storm with them while in the order line.  She did let me have a taste....albeit a small one....and it was quite good.

 

Here are some of the other Market offerings.....

 

 

Good looking stuff, eh?  Well, we did come back to the motorhome with some fresh tomatos, lettuce, pickling cukes and radishes.  We steered clear of the collard greens as they can turn out a bit 'slimy' on the plate if not prepared properly.  So we and the penguins and Ali, of course, had a great time at both the Bluffton and Port Royal Farmers' Markets.

 

Turned out to be a good weekend of getting out and about and enjoying a few things as we continue to eat our way through the South Carolina lowcountry!!!   We also managed to tend to battery maintenance (we have 6  of them in the motorhome) as part of weekend chores.   Now we look forward to our last full week here in SC before moving on to the Jacksonville, FL area.

Sorry to mention this to our friends from the North Country....but we have been the last several days enjoying temps in the 60's.....and Tues/Wed coming they say mid 70's.....so stay warm up North!!

 

To close the blog here is a short video Pam recorded on her phone......this is our first video posting attempt so hope it works.....

 

LOWCOUNTRY SALT MARSHES.....

Saint Helena Island Salt Marsh



 A salt marsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open salt water or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant plants, especially  grasses, or low shrubs and trees.  These plants  are essential to the stability of the salt marsh in trapping and binding sediments.  Salt marshes play a large role in the aquatic food web and the delivery of nutrients to coastal waters. They also support marshland animals and provide coastal protection.   The photos in this blog entry attempt to capture some of the beauty of the salt marshes in the low country of South Carolina.

Marshland boardwalks  allow "up close and personal"
observations of the marsh and its habitat.

                                                                                                 


Indigenous shrubs tolerate salt water and deep mud.



 A beautiful Marsh River.

A last stand.

 

The end of a day in the Marshland.

 

 

 

 

BEACH ART

Nature can be the artist....as it has done here on Hunting Island State Park Beach with several examples of driftwood the ocean has ebbed and flowed against for several years. I have taken the liberty of giving them names.....

Madonna

  

Doing the Watusi

 





Pointing the Way

Sunrise in Manhattan....from the Jersey side

Bottoms Up....

 

Tanglewood

 

So, take a close look and give them names of your own.....it's like watching the cloud shapes fly by overhead.....have some fun and send us blog comments about it if you like......!

 

 

 

 





 



HUNTING ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA

See where we are in South Carolina....

https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl  (oops....link may not work.  If not, and you are curious, look at the Beaufort SC area and Hunting Island is 25 miles East).

A great location....the entire Island is owned by the State of South Carolina and they do a great job keeping it pristine for both the public and campers....there is a public beach with a lighthouse and the campground has over 200 'woody' sites, all with water and electric but no sewer hookup; which is typical of State and National Parks.   We are located some 100 feet from a bath house which helps us to conserve water we put into our two holding tanks....thus minimizing the number of times we have to bring up the levelers, bring in the slides, unhook the water and electric and drive to the 'dump station' (we are in our 9th day and have not had to dump tanks yet!!).

Here is our campsite   

 

Note the hammock to the far left......yawn...!

 

 

Ali 'taking it easy' while staying on alert next to a Live Oak tree...like most dogs Ali is very attentive to her surroundings.
Here she is watching fellow campers wander by the front of our site....and if she is lucky they have some kind of dog in tow for her to sniff at from a distance and wonder about.  Live Oaks, by the way, are so named as unlike their Oak Tree cousins, they are evergreens.  Yup, they do not drop their leaves.   They are huge, in abundance in the South and here in the South Carolina Low Country is no exception.   They can have limbs that grow to 25 feet long, and they are fond of spreading out.  And when you have clusters of them they form gracious canopies over the walkways and roadways.   Majestic is a good word when thinking of Live Oaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To the right is a wonderful example of the Live Oak Tree....this is one of several along the Avenue of the Oaks...an access road to Fripp Point and some very lovely ocean front, southern low country beach houses. 
We have come across several of the canopies of Live Oaks in our exploring.....(try to overlook the pollen on the front of the Mini Cooper...we have washed the car multiple times but the warm temps have resulted in heavy pollen in the air most of the time).

 

 

 

 

The public side of the island is where           

the Hunting Island lighthouse is located.   Built in 1785

it is now open to the public for anyone who can manage the 175 steps on the spiral staircase to the top....and remember, you have to come back down!   (Pam says no...but I am game to go up before we leave).

 

 



 

Late afternoon on the beach brings interesting light and wispy clouds help

to add to the near end of a wonderful day....

 

 

 

 

And unless you are something of a "beach expert" (and even if you are)....the one below might give you a chuckle or two... so, do what we did....laugh and then google it...or simply come to your own conclusions.....ha ha.

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned for more from Hunting Island and the Lowcountry......

 

 

A pelican doing what he does (or maybe it's a she....)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 



 

STAY TUNED.......

STAY TUNED FOR MORE BLOGGING THIS WEEKEND.......WATCH FOR:

HUNTING ISLAND.......AND BEACH ART.....

BEAUFORT & PORT ROYAL......

SOUTH CAROLINA LOW COUNTRY AND THE GULLAH CULTURE........


We ventured out a bit today.....signed Ali up for two days of Doggie Day Care at 'Beaufort Dog' Day Care and Groomers....days that will then allow us to spend all day in nearby Savannah; we visited the Salvation Army thrift store and got a few DVD's, a couple books and a new veggie chopper; and we did a driving tour of some of St Helena Island's shore line 'neighborhoods'....million dollar low country style houses right on the water (just to see how the southern 'gentry' lives); and we had tea and dessert at the Magnolia Cafe in Beaufort....a small, very nice city.   (The Key Lime Pie was delicious, Amy!!).

Pam is mending as expected.....a slow and deliberate process. Our schedule continues to defer to that a bit.....but she is getting better. Thanks to all for your well wishes.

More later.....

HUNTING ISLAND.....off on the wrong foot....

Hunting Island, SC is one of the barrier islands near Beaufort, SC.   Hunting is owned and operated as a State Park campground by the State of South Carolina.    There are 200+ campsites....all of which are near the water and a few ON the water.   A great place indeed, and we are here until February 6.

We arrived last Friday the 11th and got settled in.....we were enjoying the park and the 4 miles of beautiful beach....when on Monday morning I heard a loud crash in the bathroom area of the motorhome.   I ran in there quickly to find Pam lying at an odd angle on the floor in a pool of her own blood....she apparently had fainted away and banged her head on the rim of the shower on the way down.   I hollered for 911 emergency help while I held a face cloth to the gash on her head.   Emergency people  arrived no more than 15 minutes later....a  testimony since Hunting Island is some 25 miles from Beaufort....and Pam was whisked off to the Beaufort hospital, where she spent two days going through all kinds of tests.  The tests having been inconclusive, Pam was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon and is now back in the camper tending to all her bumps and bruises that resulted from the fall.   The gash in her head took 5 stitches to mend, she has several black and blue areas that hurt, and she is wearing a portable heart monitor for the next two weeks for further evaluation.

While she is mending we hope to spend a bit of time on the warmer days at the beach and will use the less favorable  weather days to tend to things like laundry, cleaning up the motorhome and seeing some sights.   She will obviously play more of a passive role until she heals up.....lots of reading is on the agenda as well.   I hope to use some free time to update the blog with some photos here at Hunting Island.....which is simply a slice of heaven here in southeast SC.   One last note is to pay tribute to the campers here and the park rangers, all of whom have been very helpful.  One couple took Ali for the rest of the day when the accident happened.....another kept an eye on the camper....others inquired about Pam's health at every turn, and one couple is having us over for dinner tonight at their campsite.  Just great folks....as is typical in the camping community.

So....stay tuned for more POSITIVE reports on our time here at Hunting Island and the gorgeous city of Beaufort and its surrounding areas.....not to mention lots of photos.   

Magnolia Plantation

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens  is a historic house with 70 acres and gardens located on the Ashley River just outside North Charleston.

The plantation dates to 1676, when Thomas and Ann Drayton built a house and small formal garden on the site. (The plantation remains under the control of the Drayton family after 15 generations.) The historic Drayton Hall was built in 1738 by John Drayton on an adjoining property. Magnolia was originally a rice plantation, with extensive earthworks of dams and dikes built in fields along the river for irrigating land for rice cultivation. African Slaves from rice-growing regions created the works. As time went on, the slaves developed a creolized Gullah language and culture, retaining many elements from Africa.



Resident Snowy Egret

A part of the plantation property includes a 600+ acre swamp.   To improve access to the swamp the Drayton family had walkways cleared and boardwalks built throughout.  All manner of wildlife live in the park and swamp including many species of birds, snakes and a few alligators.   We were hoping to get a photo of a 7' alligator reported to be in the swamp, but we didn't see it.   We did see many exotic birds .....including the red shouldered hawk to the right.



The swamp is fascinating.....note the green algae that has grown....kind of like a pond scum....on the surface of the water.





Tupelo cypress trees abound in the swamp....



despite the heavy layer of algae

 

 

Penguin Alert.......

  



I find swamp areas fascinating.....(Pam does too as long as you don't run into any snakes or gators!)....and our travels should bring us to other areas where swamps, wetlands and / or bayous are prevalent....we do plan to explore them.  We will be able to post a photo of an alligator before our journey pushes us West.

Ali waiting for something to fall
from the table.....

 

Today we trekked over to Isle of Palms and Sullivan Island north of the city of Charleston.   We began at Isle of Palms northernmost point and worked our way south......talk about posh!!!   Lots of upscale housing everywhere.....selling in the multi millions....and condo communities that are fully gated and with security staff.   We did park on one of the beach access roads so we could take Ali for a walk on the beach.  It was fun..although as the waves came ashore she backed away from them, not being able to fully process them.   As we exited posh Isle of Palms and entered the (slightly) more downscale hamlet of Sullivan Island, we stopped at Poe's Tavern for lunch....seems Edgar Allen spent a year in the Army there at Fort Moultrie.....apparently well before becoming impoverished and losing his marbles.   

 The penguins showed up at a corner table at Poe's......until they decided to join us.......

 

This is our last blog entry from the Charleston area.   Tomorrow (Jan 10) we spend the day packing things up and stowing things away and getting some R&R before heading out Friday to Hunting Island State Park near Beaufort, SC; where we will be for about 3 weeks.   Hunting Island offered a "snowbird's camping special" for the months of January and February....campsites for less than $15 per night!!   We look forward to enjoying a spot on the beach.....enjoying beautiful Beaufort and driving the hour plus to Savannah, GA and Paula Dean's restaurant.   One last very exciting thing before we depart Charleston is a women's college basketball game in North Charleston we will be attending tomorrow night....why???   Julia Winn, a star player for Littleton HS last year and who helped them win the Divison IV State Championships, now plays for Liberty University, who is coming to town to play Charletson Southern University tomorrow night.....AND her grandad and dad, Gerald and Jeff Winn from Littleton, are coming down to attend the game as well.  It will be fun to see them all.    So...........signing off until the next time from Hunting Island......Ken, Pam and Ali.