NBNC>KWFL: November 2016

Myrtle Beach

Our exodus to Florida was delayed a few weeks so that Dave would be able to travel gall-less (gall bladderless, that is).  Pre-vs-post surgery has left him recuperating well and feeling lots better. With that, we arrived in Myrtle Beach on November 8^th with a pending appointment at Camping World on the 9^th. With expected repairs to take 2-3 days we were grateful that the service technicians could do their voodoo in one, which gave us a chance to check out Murrells Inlet and downtown Myrtle.   

There is a charming stretch of highway that nears Charleston as we travel southbound; it is known locally as Sweetgrass Basket Makers Highway. Basket weavers, direct descendants seventh and eighth generation daughters, aunts and granddaughters, sit alongside the roadside at disheveled stands working a spoon handle coiling grass into graceful works of art that have a similar smell to freshly mown hay.  Basket-making is a matter of patience, skill and technique. The sweetgrass is harvested from the shoreline in the spring and summer and allowed to dry. However, the natural supply of sweetgrass has diminished because of private development of land where the women are unable to harvest their forage that threatens the natural resources of harvesting.

Lake Jasper Campground

As we journey on along the South Carolina coast it becomes more apparent of the destruction of Hurricane Matthew, which really messed us up with campgrounds; we had reservations at Parris Island Campground but had to change to nearby Camp Lake Jasper, about a half hour down the road. A newly opened campground the sites are spacious, pet friendly and easy on-easy off at exit 8 I-95.

USMC Yellow Footprints

While leveled on site 60 we visited Parris Island three days, spending each one absorbed in the powdered sandy soil of the depot where, for over 100 years, boys have become men. Just as Dave and his platoon stepped for that first time on those yellow footprints fifty years ago, these once strangers became an element of one after 8 weeks of intense, critical training, then being fragmented to serve their tour(s) in Viet Nam.

No matter what; always attention

 We observed four platoons preparing to graduate, to become Marines, at the end of the week.  By Thursday afternoon on the parade deck these young men and women would snap in response to orders, cadence with exactness. Their pride saturated the air and ground. And as these Marines were graduating we saw another group of young men being marched to their barracks, not yet receiving the infamous haircut, not yet realizing that this decision to stand on those yellow footprints would be the unmatched decisiveness of their lives.

Hurricane Matthew damage on Hilton Head

One day we ventured eastward to the coastlines of Bluffton and Hilton Head. Bluffton on a Sunday morning was a sleepy town with its rural church parking lots filled so we scooted outta there before the masses came out of their masses. On both sides of the highway we are surrounded by low-tidal salt marshes.  At sea level there is not much to see except weaving channels through the cordgrass where snowy white egrets, great blue and tri-colored herons patiently watch for their next appetizer.  Once on the island we venture our way to Harbour Town Lighthouse and along the way realize the devastation of Hurricane Matthew.  It was estimated that nearly 2,000 trees met the fate of the hurricane-force winds that battered the coastline. Restoration of the properties will take some time, and with nature it will be restored as well.

One of the most iconic emblems of the south is the southern live oak. These strong tough trees can be measured in 50+ foot circumference and centuries old in birthdays. Although these formidable trees are anchored deep some were tumbled over by the hurricane winds.

No matter where we have driven these past few weeks, we have found pieces of history, plantations, and classic symbols of the old south that seem to have returned to the dust of the earth. It is disheartening to see the skeletons of these antebellum, once a visible symbol of prosperous land owners. Many other former plantations have become golf courses, interstates and residential communities.

On Sunday, the 20^th, we packed up and moved along to Mayport Florida, where we set down on site 13 at Osprey Cove RV Park on the Naval Station base, where we had rock star parking facing the protected harbor, that is home to the Navy’s Fourth Fleet.  While we were docked at the base we cruised along A1A south and found ourselves in St. Augustine. Having barely survived the squashed traffic on narrow streets, passing beautiful architecture of what was once an opulent gilded-age hotel is now home of Flagler College, we found ourselves at Mojo BBQ , sitting on their patio and enjoying the Old City’s sunshine we lunched on some very good bar-b-q from their own smokehouse. 

We circled the park where the Fountain of Youth is located. Of course, there is a fee to go in and get a sample of “the Fountain”, which is probably someone in the back room filling up bottles from a garden hose. We wound our way through narrower avenues being noisy of how and where the locals live and were finally able to access the Bridge of Lions, a draw bridge that spans the intercoastal waterway and connects to our goal, Anastasia Island. A barrier island, Anastasia is home to a 165’ lighthouse, which has only 210 steps to reach the light lamp. We stayed on terra firma, looked up and took pictures. Returning to our rig alongside the coastline, there were many homes affected by the recent hurricane and earth movers were seen on the beaches undertaking the task of restructuring the beach line.

Onward and southward we aimed for Fort Pierce, where we sat on site 130 at Treasure Coast that is conveniently located near I-95 and the Florida Turnpike. This is a wonderful park for big rigs; sites are concrete pads with lawn and trees and shrubs. While at FTP we visited with a school chum of Dave’s and her significant other. We had a wonderful time discovering nearby barrier islands and restaurants.