Oyster Roast

Our second offical oyster roast!  we got invited by one of our campers to come over for some fresh oysters. they went out this morning to collect a few buckets full.

 then they need to be cleaned....

cleaned oysters!

buckets of cleaned oysters...

steamed oysters...

our new knives...

the oysters were great.  Eric is becoming a oyster lover...  I would love to go out and pick some but we don't have a boat or licence...  so we will stick to eating them.  we are invited back tomorrow for more, and of course we will go.

Nature is amazing

Reportedly the oldest thing -- living or man-made -- east of the Rockies, Angel Oak is a live oak tree aged approximately 1,500 years.  It is native to the low country and is not very tall but has a wide spread canopy. Lumber from the live oak forests in the sea islands was highly valued for shipbuilding in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Towering over 65 feet high.   Today the live oak has a diameter of spread reaching 160 feet, a circumference of nearly 25 feet, and covers 17,100 square feet of ground. Its limbs, the size of tree trunks themselves, are so large and heavy that some of them rest on the ground (some even drop underground for a few feet and then come back up), a feature common to only the very oldest live oaks. It has survived countless hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and human interference.

We did purchase a picture of the tree so those who visit us next year will see it on the wall.  We also went to Caw Caw Interpretive Center.  it is an old rice plantation that has a very diverse landscape.  The hiking trails were the best we have been on. We will be back to see more of this area.  We looked for Alligators, snakes  and other wild life but did not come across any.  it might still be a bit cool for them to be out and about.

After lunch we headed to one of our favorite places, Mt Pleasant Point.  there is a beautiful pier that we had not walked to yet and the Sweetgrass Museum.

Eric took this picture right in front of our campground of a dolphin, there were two of them playing or looking for food.

Now for the food update.   yesterday we went to a local place, it was an upscale place, (couldn't tell by the outside).  We started with cheesey biscuits, (no hushpuppies at this place), Eric had fish and chips, flounder and great french fries. I had a wonderful pasta dish with shrimp, sun dried tomatoes and a light alfredo sauce.  the food was very good but we were looking for more local type food.  today we went to a local fish place, the hushpuppies were OK, (not the best), the she crab soup was OK, (again not the best), the fried shrimp was a bit better than OK but again not the best, the oytsters were not as good as we have been having and the clam strips were not good.  so all in all it was not a memorable eating experience.  So far we have been spoiled by getting great food.. so it was bound to happen..  We did pick up a couple of Oyster knives.  hoping to get invited to an oyster roast.  if not then we will have our own!!

the campground is full for the coming weekend.  even a couple of tenters.  weather is suppose to be 70 by Friday, we are finally getting some heat and above normal temperatures.

Food do's and don'ts

We broke two of the Food Rules this past week.

1) No Repeats..  there are way too many restuarants to get to, so no repeats until we have hit them all.
       Christmas Eve we went looking for a new restuarant, passed three of them that were closed so we ended up at one we had been to before, although we did get different food.  Shrimp, flounder and smoked tuna.  the Shrimp was fabulous, the flounder is lighter than walleye and very good the smoked tuna was out of this world!
2) No non local foods, like hamburgers, pizzas etc.
    Yesterday I stopped at a hot dog place!  they do claim to be the best dogs in the Charleston area 10 years running!  they were very good and the blue cheese cole slaw was fantastic!

Today we will go local, if the place is open....

USS Yorktown

the USS Yorktown (The Fighting Lady) is an Aircraft Carrier that was commissioned on April 15, 1943, decommissioned in 1970 and dedicated as a museum in 1975.

Bunkhouse...

The first ship to offer dentistry...  I assume more were pulled than fixed.

tough job manning the controls...

anyone for cookies?

on the Flight Deck...

I do a much better job docking the pontoon, I really need help from first mate Rum Runner Rose!

There is about 130 rooms to view along with a Congressional Medal of Honor Museum, about 26 historic Military Aricraft on the Hanger Deck, a flight simulator, a submarine and the Vietnam naval Support Base.

A great tour, next lunch at a local restuarant on Shems creek.  Fabulous shimp and oysters...  Have not had a bad shimp or oyster yet...

Christmas

We had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  the weather was about 50 with little wind.  We had a few people over for snacks and a fire on Christmas Eve and the other volunteer over for ham dinner on Christmas. of course there is always too much food but we enjoyed everyone's company.  Since Christmas was on Saturday, Eric got to finish the day by listening to WOJB out of Reserve Wisconsin. Listening to his favorite bluegrass and honky tonk songs.

Sunday night brought rain and at about 10 am we had snow...  it did not stick but was pretty to look at.

hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and be safe driving out there!

if you look very closely you can see the snow...

Fort Moultrie

This fort has defended the Charleston harbor from 1776 to 1947. Starting with the Revolutionary War, through the Civil War and both World War 1 and 11! As technology changed, harbor defense became more complex, nuclear weapons and guided missles altered the entire concept of national defense. the Fort has been restored to highlight the major periods of its history.

a view of the fort from the outside

Fort Sumtor also protects Charleston.  we hope to get there soon. have to take a ferry, so we are waiting for a warm sunny non windy day!

the fort was very interesting and worth seeing.

Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens

America's oldest working plantation.  Boone Hall was founded in 1670. The original wooden house was constructed in 1790. The house that stands now was built by Thomas Stone, a Canadian who purchased the land in the early 20th century. He wanted a "grander style" home than what was there, so he built the Colonial Revival-style house that stands there today.

On the grounds today, besides the house, sit nine of the original slave cabins which date back to 1790-1810, Each cabin has a fireplace in the middle of the building, one side of it used for sleeping the other side for living. 

a smoke house dating back to 1750,   Eric is thinking of building a goat tower/smokehouse!!

the Cotton Gin house (1853), they need to repair and restore it back to original shape.  another victim of Hugo.

and the grand Avenue of Oaks that was created in 1743 and completed in 1843. The live oak trees run 3/4 of a mile long from the entrance to the front house gates.

this plantation did grow cotton at one time.. Eric is wanting to be a farm hand...

The tour of the house was very informative, they did not allow pictures but it was decorated very nice for Christmas.  the house and plantation has been used in movies, TV shows and in print. The gardens were not in bloom but I assume they are beautiful when they are in full bloom.  Everything was in good order and well kept. The owner still lives on the grounds but not in the big house. Now they grow vegetables and fruits.

too much stuff for one blog

We had a very very busy day, beginning with the lunar eclipse.  We got up a few times between 2:30 and 5:00 am to view the lunar eclipse.  no pictures as I was sure they would not turn out. It was a clear night so we were able to see the eclipse and lots of stars.  the only thing that could have been better is if we had a meteor shower!

Sunset...

 Sunrise..

We visited Fort Moultrie, then lunch at a Gullah restaurant, on to Boone Hall Plantation and finally to the Charles Pickney Historical Site. I am going to blog about Fort Moultrie and Boone Hall on separate pages.

The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. "Gullah" is a term that was generally used by outsiders but that has become a way for speakers to formally identify themselves and their language.
The Gullah are known for preserving more of their African linguistic and cultural heritage than any other African-American community in the United States. They speak an English-based creole language containing many African loanwords and significant influences from African languages in grammar and sentence structure. The Gullah language is related to Jamaican Creole, Barbadian Dialect, and the Krio language of Sierra Leone in West Africa. Gullah storytelling, cuisine, music, folk beliefs, crafts, farming and fishing traditions, all exhibit strong influences from West and Central African cultures. African farmers from the "Rice Coast" brought the skills for cultivation and tidal irrigation that made rice one of the most successful industries in early America. The food is basically the same food we ate at the Holiday Party, rice, beans, greens, sweet potatoes etc.

Our main road (Hwy 17) is also called SweetGrass Hwy on the section between us and Mt Pleasant. The baskets are sold here and also in Charleston.

• Gullah "sweetgrass baskets" are coil straw baskets made by the descendants of slaves in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Sweetgrass basket sewing is viewed as a gift from God. The craft, handed down from generation to generation is usually learned from childhood. Baskets require a great deal of patience and creativity, as there are no set patterns. Each piece is unique, and each artist develops his or her own style. Basketmakers pledge to continue their traditional craft as long as there are raw materials available.

The Charles Pinckney home...

Charles Pinckney, who represented South Carolina at the Constitutional Convention, was an ardent apostle of the rights of man. He dedicated his considerable political and legal talents to the establishment of a strong national government so that, as he put it to his fellow South Carolinians, "the effects of the Revolution may never cease to operate," but continue to serve as an example to others "until they have unshackled all the nations that have firmness to resist the fetters of despotism."

The home and grounds are beautiful and well kept. The original farm was 715 acres.  He invited George Washington to visit him here although he had a beautiful home in Charleston. Most planters did not visit or stay at the plantation homes because of  malaria and yellow fever. Fearing disease, many white planters left the Lowcountry during the rainy spring and summer months when fever ran rampant. Others lived mostly in cities such as Charleston.  Because of having built some immunity in their homeland, Africans were more resistant to tropical fevers than the Europeans

Tourist and hiking

Saturday was a rainy day, so we headed into town to Target and to see the movie "Tourist". As usual we got a large popcorn (as you get a free refill with a large) and a Sprite.  We ate half of the popcorn before the movie began but I had chocolates in my pocket to carry us through the movie.  We did get our popcorn refill and headed home. No fire tonight as it was still raining.

Instead of breakfast out this morning, (it is hard to find places open for breakfast around here on Sunday) we decided to go for a hike then eat out for lunch. We went to the I'on Swamp Trail.

Once part of a rice-growing estate, the I’on Swamp is famous among birders for the variety of species that descend here during spring and fall migration. In particular, because the most elusive bird in America, Bachman’s warbler, has been spotted here. The easy, two-mile interpretive loop trail wanders within the swamp along a dike patchwork on the remnants of the abandoned Witheywood Plantation.

The area provides wide range of wildlife viewing, especially the numerous large alligators that come into view where the trail crosses one particular pond. We looked very hard for alligators but saw none. It was a bit cold (about 40) so maybe they were resting. We did hear something plop into the water but think that it might have been a nut falling off the tree. 

 The trail’s backstretch pushes into gorgeous wetlands dotted with bald cypress trees and murky swampland. The roots look like knees coming out of the swamp. 

Something rooted up the ground.. we are thinking a European Wild Boar...  Eric looked for tracks but did not identify anything.  we did see and hear a lot of birds but only identified a red headed woodpecker.

after the two mile hike it was time for lunch at the Seewee Restuarant.  as we have found so far with all of our food experiences, it was fabulous.  Fried chicken, cole slaw, mac and cheese (to die for), pulled pork (South Carolina style with vinegar), sweet potato casserole, hush puppies and green beans.  every thing was really good. of course we had sweet tea, no room for dessert but did stop for an ice cream bar.