Day Tripping

As glorious as this city is, the prospects for discovery and adventure lured us away the last two Saturdays.  Our day trip south took us to Beaufort, and our sojourn north landed us in Georgetown.  Historical sites and ruins, majestic marshlands and quirky road side junk markets were all about the trip.  We attempted to follow a guide book (my idea) that directed us point by point (of interest) from the moment we left the Ashley River Bridge to the moment we arrived at the Beaufort city limits sign.  We (George) forgot to press the odometer at the precise moment to align our car with the "book" and so it all went downhill from that point.  Not literally...it's pretty flat countryside out here.  A sampling - "At 10.3 miles on the right is the William Washington Historical Marker. (William, a cousin of the first president, fought the British under Tarleton at Rantowles Bridge and is buried nearby)"  Our view from the car window just didn't match up...not once.  Somehow we were a day late and a dollar short the entire time. But no matter, when we reached our destination, Beafort more than made up for any snaffoos along the way.  Charming all the way.  The homes, trees, shops, galleries and lunch were as good as it gets.  I give Beaufort an A+.
Our trip yesterday took us north up highway 17 all the way to Pawley's Island.  We pushed the odometer this time, but boldly ignored much of what was suggested.  We did, upon advice from the author leave the highway for a mile or so and found a gem of a village.  By far our favorite find of the day, McClellanville is a quiet Santee River community almost forgotten by time.  You can tell they like it that way and so did we.  The tiny Episcopal chuch is one of the prettiest I've ever seen.  I loved that the door was unlocked.

Georgetown was uneventful except for lunch at Big Tuna where they claim they serve up fresh Yankees every day.  And, the brand new Maritime Museum was a nice surprise and enjoyed.  The director, believe it or not, was born in Elizabeth City!



St. James Santee Episcopal Church