#BonnieandTarasExcellentAdventures: Exploring Charleston & the Lowcountry, Part 1

Adventure dates:  Saturday, May 18 to Wednesday, May 22

If you take nothing away from this post about a quaint visit to the low country of South Carolina, take this one pithy quip:  "Those pants are so tight I can see her religion."

Okay, and maybe this picture, too:

Harbor Island Beach @ Dusk

In addition to experiencing religion and peaceful sunsets on a dreamy beach, we also toured plantations, explored Charleston Bay, walked among grand moss-draped oaks, climbed a retired lighthouse, shopped (of course), gaped at courtly antebellum homes and were educated on the rich, local history.  Oh, and we clocked quite a few hours driving through swamp.

This was the view from our condo on Harbor Island.  Just lovely:

This I chose to ignore:

...because why worry?  We are on an adventure!  Plus, the promise of a baby loggerhead turtle nest sighting was more exciting!

We arrived in Charleston on Saturday afternoon, and picked up our car.

Sidebar Rant: This car rental experience was the usual, inefficient one. You know the one, where you wait forever for too few Reps and then wait forever while they type madly on the keyboard and squint at the computer screen. Why? Why do car rental companies not adopt more efficient methods? All that they are asking me about while typing madly, I entered online when I reserved the car. No, I'm never going to purchase insurance and no, not even the roadside assistance, that no, wasn't on the online reservation I made. And Tara, great job channeling serenity while waiting for the loooonnngg transaction to come to an eye-rolling close. Thrifty, should you review this post like, ever, I highly encourage you to reach out to my friend Tara, who could maximize the heck out of your processes. And I bet she'd do it for the promise of an improved future experience and no more Ford Fiestas with yours truly behind the wheel. Throw in a few free rentals, and man, that's a good offer. Sidebar rant closed.

After a cute and very fried lunch, we headed to the condo.  Eh condo; lovely views.  Grocery trip for required snacks and breakfast foods.  Then, a tasty bev on the beach.  Hello vacation.

Beaches + Lighthouse

Sunday is beach day.  And light house day.  And walk around Beaufort day.

But first, we suit up.  For me that's a long-sleeved beach shirt and swim PANTS.  Yes, Tara, I'm owning with pride the swim PANTS.  I'm lucky she can stand to hang out with me.  Darn, no pictures with the swim PANTS.  Oh wait... she snuck one in.  Friends, I would be happy to go to the beach with you to show them off.  Use the contact page to submit your PTO request.  I horde them (PTO days that is), so make it compelling.  Yup, backpack comes with.

Anyways... where was I?  Ah yes, the beach!  And specifically the beach at Hunting Island State Park.

We drove into the park on a narrow road lined closely by grand oaks, pines and palms.  It was beautiful and otherworldly.








We make our first stop an exploration of the only publicly accessible lighthouse in South Carolina.

The Hunting Island Lighthouse was first placed in 1859, burned by Confederate soldiers in 1861, then rebuilt in 1875, and in use until 1933.  Cool fact:  it was fabricated from cast-iron plates designed to be disassembled and put back together should they need to relocate the lighthouse.  Which they indeed did need to do, as the shoreline eroded.

The spiral staircase was pretty neat, and stopping at each landing to read lighthouse history made the climb of 167 steps pretty easy.


















The views from the top of the lighthouse were very worth the climb.

The beach on Hunting Island is lovely -- white sands and clear waters bordered by a semi-tropical forest. We loved the strands of pine and palmettos standing watch over the crystal beaches.

After exploring the beach, we walked a short boardwalk through the saltwater marsh.  Pluff mud is the main ingredient to a good marshy swamp, and lots of teensy, busy critters call it home.  Wee crabs, minnows and tadpoles galore.  Pluff mud, in short, is top soil that runs off into rivers and is deposited downstream in mudflats.  A local author calls it "primordial ooze."  Smelled pretty oozish.

Lunch and deck relaxing back at the condo.  Beach life is good life.

Beaufort

I should like to pronounce it Beaux•for, in the French style.

We didn't know when we arrived that we wanted to explore Beaufort.  Passing through on the way to Harbor Island, we decided it was worth checking out.  It's a smallish antebellum-style city nestled on the tip of a peninsula.  A nice walk before locating dinner sounded just the thing.

Bay Street is a main street in Beaux•for, running along the... bay. It showcases a quaint downtown with cute shops and eateries.

There's a waterfront park with swings mounted between pillars covered with trailing ivy.  It's a perfect place to sit, feel the cool breeze, watch boats going to and fro from the marina, and look out over the marshlands stretching to the Atlantic.  We did that for a bit.






Then we headed into town to get a look-see at the antebellum homes.  White-columned, elegant mansions built in the prosperous years before the Civil War in the South.

Many were for sale, like this one, called the Secession House, where the Rhett Brothers argued for secession from the US just before the Civil War in the 1850s.  It was built in 1810, and then purchased and renovated by Edmund Rhett who was a politician and business man in South Carolina.

Speaking of the Civil War.  Processing the history in this part of the country is overwhelming and not without emotion.  Beaufort itself served as key roles for both sides during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.

This is the Tabernacle Baptist Church, formed by some of the African American members of the Beaufort Baptist Church. Such history within those walls, while serving modern day believers, as well.

Last stop of the day: ice cream treat at Kilwins.  Then it's back through the marsh and to the beach we go.  Another evening enjoying a tasty bev sitting on the beach (until the mosquitos strike) is a pretty great way to end Day 1.

💛 T's fave today = the magical drive into Hunting Beach State Park
💛 B's fave today = the lighthouse and walking the beaches


Day 2's adventure will be here, once ready for the telling.  Until then, here's a Lowcountry truth to ponder that will be relevant on Day 2:  "Things take longer than you think they will." 





A few references are from "Good Morning, Lowcountry!  Local knowledge, odd facts, recipes, survival tips for...Living in the South Carolina Swamp"by Harriet McLeod, a fun, locally published book I picked up in Beaufort.