Bragging Rights

Dawn on the island. Photo by Terese Przytakoski

                I had to restrain my impulse to boast.  As our boat bobbed in the Bull’s Bay estuary, dolphins leaped acrobatically on cue.  The woman beside me, who’d come from Michigan, grabbed my arm in excitement.  “Did you see that?” she yelled.  “I know,” I wanted to tell her.  “I actually get to live here.”  The other thirteen travelers had come from distant states and Canada to the exotic location of Bull’s Island.  I was the only local spending the weekend with Coastal Expeditions at the Dominick House.       

                These trips are only offered 8 times a year.  When registration opens, the spots usually fill within minutes.  After all, staying overnight on the island is a rare opportunity.  Camping is prohibited and Dominick House is only open to scientists and these few expeditions.  The historic house is nestled among live oak trees near the boat dock.  It was built in 1925 by New York banker Gayer Dominick and enjoyed as a winter residence for his family until they conveyed it to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1936.  The accommodations are comfortable but simple. As a solo traveler, I stayed in a large room with 4 other women with an adjoining bath.  Small rooms were assigned to couples.  

We gathered each evening in a circle of upholstered office chairs surrounded by foraged artifacts and nature photographs.   Meals were a communal affair.

                Each day we were offered hikes and excursions led by College of Charleston-trained scientists Anna Atencio and Olivia DePue. Their expertise was impressive.  On the beach, they found an obscure animal track, a bobcat they surmised, and started following it to tell us what happened:  “See how he was running here?” Olivia pointed. “Then he crouched here, see?  Maybe he was stalking something.  Might have been that ghost crab from that hole there.  And look, then he started running….” These young women were never stumped by a question. They knew the names of all the flowers, birds and trees, the history of the island and its inhabitants and spoke authoritatively about the changing ecology due to climate change and nature.  They drove boats and trailers, cooked meals, led yoga and generally made me proud to be the parent of a CofC graduate. 

           

     Olivia and Anna’s reverence for the 5,000 acre island was apparent.  Throughout the weekend they told us things that made us go “wow”:  how some oysters can close their shells to entrap the legs of oyster-catcher birds; that osprey have an extra bone in their talon which allows them to hold fish they catch at a 90 degree angle to be more aerodynamic; how every single pine tree on the island died after being submerged during Hurricane Hugo; why those newborn alligators were lined up photogenicallly on their mother’s back.   The bird watchers in the group were giddy with excitement.  Hauling packs heavy with telescoping lenses and binoculars, they sparred over birds’ names and checked off life lists.  These self-described bird nerds were having the time of their lives in this paradise of birdland which is home to 293 species.  Not for the first time in my travel adventure career, I also found myself in a group fascinated by scat.  They gingerly picked apart balls of dung and postulated about the diet and identity of the animals that’d left these intriguing souvenirs.

                It was a well-paced itinerary with lots of walking.  “Papa Mo” made sure we were   With a flourish, he hoisted in a huge platter with an Instagram-worthy Low Country boil encircled by conch shells. An evening’s boat ride became a happy hour with his smoked trout and buffalo chicken dips laid out on the center console.  He even made a flaming dessert!  Throughout it all he was a jovial cheerleader, inspiring dozens of effusive comments in the guest book and grateful hugs upon departure. 
nourished for the adventure with ample, healthy meals spiced up with a few spectacular surprises.

                This trip is the epitome of a close-by adventure for those of us near Charleston.  It’s only three miles off our coast, departing from Moore’s Landing in Awendaw.  Bull’s island is the largest of 4 barrier islands within the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge which itself is one of over 500 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System.  The system’s mission is to manage lands and waters specifically for wildlife.  Bull’s Island’s habitat supports deer, otters, bobcats, black fox squirrels and the largest population of alligators outside of the Everglades.  Protecting this environment gives visitors like us the opportunity to live the words of William Wordsworth that are posted on the lodge’s wall:  “Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher.”

If You Go:

Coastal Expeditions:  www.coastalexpeditions.com   843-884-7584  Call them or follow the link on their website to be notified of upcoming trips. 

Take A Government Subsidized Vacation

The Burnham House at General Coffee State Park in Georgia. 

            One of the best ways our tax money is spent is on the large network of state park cabins.  Nestled in scenic areas throughout the country, they offer a great way for an inexpensive family vacation.  The accommodations are basic but comfortable; they’re in beautiful natural areas and the prices can’t be beat.  Generally there are two or more bedrooms, private bathrooms, equipped kitchens, linens and towels, pull out sofas, picnic tables, fire pits and grills. There is also AC and heat. Right outside, are all the amenities the parks have to offer:  everything from swimming to guided boat rides. They were begun by the conservation minded president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public works program that operated from 1933 to 1942. Three million men constructed trails, built lodges and facilities in remote areas that continue to provide recreation today. 

The cabin at Laura Walker State Park.

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Our view at Laura Walker State Park.

            My husband and I just returned from a stay at Laura Walker State Park in Folkston, Georgia.    Walking trails around a picturesque lake started at our back door and the Okefenokee Swamp, just up the road, filled our days with exploration by bike and boat.  From the rockers on our large screen porch, all we could hear were woodpeckers.  It was so enjoyable we stayed a fifth day.  On another Okefenokee exploration, we stayed at a Stephen Foster State Park cabin near the swamp’s main entrance where a memorable encounter with bears at our picnic table surprised us. 

      

Our granddaughter's guest book entry

      For a weekend with our kids and grand kids, we booked two cabins at Myrtle Beach State Park.  They call that park the “last stand on the Grand Strand” because it’s the only swath of nature amidst miles of cheesy fun:  a great combination for families.  The park is right on the beach and set up for crowds but during our off-season visit a few of us had the run of the place.

            A favorite family memory is our staycation at James Island County Park one December weekend.  Despite a relative in a wheelchair, the cabin accommodated us well.  Many of the state parks offer handicapped accessible cabins. How exciting to be there when the light show was going on!  Especially on Christmas Day when we had it all to ourselves.  It was magical.

            When our extended family vacationed in Georgia, we rented the historic Burnham House at General Coffee State Park.  This is not a rustic, basic cabin.  The 19^th century house features chandeliers, Queen Anne furniture and four comfortable bedrooms set within a park known for its agricultural history displays and farm animals.  Three generations of family members fished, made bonfires, hiked and relaxed in a beautiful setting. 

            Another historic stay was at the fabulous Lodge at Walkulla Springs in Florida.  This meticulously restored 1930’s Spanish style inn sits amidst the world’s largest and deepest freshwater spring surrounded by cypress swamps.  The rooms are small but the lodge is full of history.  As we walked along the park’s boardwalks, we were excited to spot several massive manatees lolling. 

The cozy indoor lounge at Len Foote Lodge. 

            

One of the Southeast’s greatest adventures is the Len Foote Inn.  It can only be reached by hiking about five miles through the foothills of northern Georgia near Dahlonega.  Before heading up the mountain, a stay at Amicalola Falls State Park is convenient. A couple of days enjoying the park’s paddle board courses, fly fishing classes and guided hikes will get you in the mood for the next phase of the adventure. The path to Len Foote starts nearby.  Backpacker Magazine called this trek one of the best hikes in America. Len Foote is a state park facility nestled in the Chattahoochee National Forest.  Their mission is to make experiencing nature easy while protecting it through recreation and   It’s a pleasant, gently uphill walk through strands of mountain laurel and rhododendron, across streams and ridges.  It took us about three hours.  After we stashed our gear in a small private bunk room, we explored the wonderful common spaces including indoor and outdoor lounges and a dining hall where filling communal meals are served twice a day. Hot showers and Adirondack chairs with mountain views welcomed us after a day of hiking. Some visitors were planning to walk another 4 miles to the beginning of the Appalachian Trail and keep the adventure going for months! 

education.

            When our family was in Myrtle Beach in March, the weather was cold.  Out our window we could see a few hardy campers in tents and RV’s shivering around meager campfires.  I was afraid we might be besieged by families begging for shelter in our warm, cozy cabin but we had it to ourselves.  We snuggled up and made a toast:  Thanks FDR.  

           

If You go:

www.southcarolinaparks.com

www.gastateparks.org

A visit to Freewoods Farm : The Only African-American Living History Site in the U.S.

            “If you’ve ever had a desire to be a stripper in Myrtle Beach, you can come here,” O’Neal Smalls joked as he introduced us to Freewoods Farm.  They always need more hands to strip sugar cane stalks, he explained.  At this 40-acre living farm museum, sugar cane juice is extracted using mule-power and then boiled in a huge kettle to make their sought-after cane syrup.  It’s part of the farm’s comprehensive educational program depicting life on African American farms during the 100 years after the Civil War.  My husband and I stopped in the Burgess community on our way to Myrtle Beach.  During the short tour we learned how the version of African American history we’d been taught had been edited.  For example, the promise our government made to redistribute land to the freed slaves during Reconstruction was an unfulfilled promise.   “This is the symbolic 40 acres that they didn’t get.  We even have two mules.” Mr. Smalls went on to explain: “The big issue was ‘what are you going to do with 4 million freed slaves’?”  Many of them were illiterate and in a hostile   Thousands followed Sherman’s troops desperately hoping to acquire land as plantation owners were driven out.  Meanwhile, Lincoln was “dithering” on his promise as Mr. Smalls described it.   More government waffling resulted in laws to facilitate Black ownership followed by other laws to repossess the land.  The Southern Homestead Act offered a way for freed slaves to buy land at prices often beyond their reach.  Opportunities for economic advancement were missed.  Disenfranchisement and poverty resulted.   

environment.

           We learned that after the Civil War, over 80% of the freed slaves became farmers.  Some acquired land, some were sharecroppers.  In the 1860’s, freed slaves began to settle in the Burgess community.  By the third generation, the area was completely Black.  In the early 20^th century Julius Rosenwald, influenced by Booker T. Washington, used the money he’d earned as a founder of Sears Roebuck to build over 5,000 schools for African American children, including one here.  As a result, over one-third of the country’s African American children at the time were educated at a Rosenwald school which contributed to significant gains in literacy.

            Freewoods Farm began in 2001.  It is the only living history farm devoted to recognizing and perpetuating the contributions of African-American farmers in the U.S..  Joel Schor, a Department of Agriculture historian who has extensively studied African American history said of the project, “Freewoods could make a valuable contribution to the history of Agriculture, and to the history of Black Americans, by carefully studying the agricultural activities and practices during these years.”  The project began by creating ditches and swells to provide drainage and irrigation using the system developed by post-Civil War farmers.   They planted acres of pumpkins, potatoes, peanuts and corn.  They learned the traditional way to make lime to feed the crops.  They also raise pigs and chickens. 

All of this farming is done without the use of modern machines except when neighbors lend a hand.  Doing things the historic way is part of the mission.  Joel Shor says that there’s a valuable lesson here to “…do more with what little one has.” Today they have a large market building where neighbors join them to sell produce as well as a livestock barn, grain barn, caretaker home and kettle shed. A 100-year old farmhouse has been restored and staged with interesting historic artifacts.  An outhouse, built from a Sears catalog kit, is on sight as well as a smokehouse.  Their grand vision includes a “Main Street” lined with buildings rented to tenants like a community theater, shops and cafes to represent the nerve center of the post-Civil War era.  But the main goal is education.  Events commemorating Emancipation Day and Black History Month impart information to large numbers of visitors.  A curriculum for school children about daily farm activities is being developed by Clemson University.   Field trips and summer camps for children are in the works.  With the millions of visitors to the area, the project also has potential as a business catalyst.  “Freewoods is ideal because it will contribute to a prideful replica of Black history; while at the same time creating jobs…” wrote Douglas Glasgow of the National Urban League.  Joseph McNutt of the Horry County Council sees it as a strategy for racial harmony:  “One of the interesting aspects of Freewoods Farm is that it will focus on the contributions and creativity of African American farmers rather than the more common issues of exploitative treatment.  This focus alone could advance race relations.” 

      For our small group of tourists though, it was like eating a plateful of nourishing fresh vegetables before the sugar overdose of Myrtle Beach. As Billy Williams, another in our group said, “We wish that our children understood this history. This is our country’s history, everybody should come.”

If You go

www.freewoodsfarm.com: Attend an event or email them to arrange a visit. 

Lock it Up!

            It was a surreal image:  our pontoon boat floating 76 feet above the Tail Race Canal on a wall of water held in place by the Pinopolis Dam’s massive metal doors.   In the next 20 minutes, six million gallons of water drained to lower us from Lake Moultrie’s height.  What a marvel of engineering.  My sister and I couldn’t believe we were having such an adventure just an hour from Charleston.

            The day began as all good outings should:  with a nice meal.  Gilligan’s Seafood is conveniently located at the docks in Moncks Corner where the excursion departs.  The al fresco seafood lunch set the tone for our Lowcountry experience. Fisheagle Tours only offers the lock trips Wednesdays through Saturdays in October, departing at 10AM and 2 PM.  They last about 2 ½ hours.  Since we’re both prone to sea-sickness, we were concerned but the wide pontoon boat navigated the calm water smoothly.  There’s also a cover for sun and rain.  Besides the technological wonders, there was plenty to see. The captain kept us peering through binoculars as he pointed out migrating birds and nests and explained the history of the area. 

            When the dam began construction in the 1940’s, only 3% of the state’s residents had electricity.  The Great Depression had decimated the country’s economy.  Roosevelt’s “New Deal” included several initiatives to bring electricity to populous areas of the country and South Carolina’s leaders, including Strom Thurmond and Charleston mayor Burnet Maybank, saw that as an opportunity for economic development for our state also. Building the lakes, dams and dikes would also provide a navigation route from Columbia to Charleston, a plan that had been abandoned when the depression began. Nearly 13,000 workers (many taken from relief rolls) used raw muscle, mules and machines to clear swamps and woods to begin building the dikes, dams and lakes.  Entire communities were relocated, forced by eminent domain and enticed by new homes with screened porches (a big incentive in this mosquito infested area), $12 per acre and 100 chickens per family.  Francis Marion, the Revolutionary War hero, was in one of the displaced families.  Thousands of graves were relocated but some eerily remain below the murky water.  Two million board feet of timber was harvested but branches of nearly indestructible cypress trees still pock mark the surface.  It took only 27 months to turn 161,000 acres into Lakes Marion and Moultrie and install the Pinopolis Power Plant’s five hydroelectric units. Spillways with 62 gates were constructed to control the overflow of water.  The project required over 3 million cubic yards of concrete. It was the largest land-clearing project in U.S. history and the highest single lift lock in the world when it was completed. Using the new route for navigation never panned out.  The Tail Race Canal proved unsuitable for larger ships, railroads improved, but the power plant began generating electricity in 1942 and ultimately served cooperatives in 46 counties. The lock now serves pleasure crafts all year.  

      Fisheagle Tours’ new owner, Kathie Livingston has worked in outdoor education for over 20 years.  Her company also includes a kayak and canoe outfit at   Santee State Park and a Nature Adventure Center in Awendaw.  After buying Fisheagle Tours in 2015, she completely renovated the boats and searched for qualified captains.  The lock tour takes place on a modernized 30 passenger quad-pontoon boat with a bathroom and handicap access.  After a few interviews, she found Captain Rick who “really knows his history.” Beyond the sensation of being lifted and lowered between the Tail Race Canal and Lake Moultrie, the tours are popular because of their hands-on educational appeal for school groups and visitors.  Images of the dam’s history, bird and Indian relics are passed around and a huge alligator head is a popular artifact.  Reviewers rave about the species of birds they see and the historic knowledge shared by Captain Rick.  They even have a Spanish speaking guide who comes along as needed. 

 

            It was a wonderful way for my sister and me to see a distinctly different aspect of South Carolina, away from the beach and tourist areas.  As we drifted along, we admired the scattered family vacation houses, waved at fishermen and spotted majestic osprey. But what has remained with me until now is the incredible sensation of a flood of water sending our boat aloft and then draining out again, the massive doors and walls of the dam as they closed around us, and the impressive history and engineering that made it all possible. 

           

If You Go

https://fisheaglewildlifetours.com/

https://www.santeecooper.com

To Sleep in a Tree

Paddle down the Edisto River to a secluded tree house in the forest.  It's secluded, playful, unique and set up for a close-by adventure.  Read about it here:  Gonomad

Travel Resources for This Year's Adventures

               

        You’ve booked flights on Expedia.  You’ve relied on Tripadvisor. As you look ahead to what fun and excitement you can cook up this year, take some some tips from my toolbox.         

        Just have time for a daytrip or short weekend?  Check out www.skiway.net.  Go “on an astonishing journey into the past, where historic figures appear on stage…you question them... the audiences are always a part of the show...and the shows are FREE!” at Greenville’s Chautauqua.  Kick up your heels Myrtle Beach’s “Square and Round Dancers’ Fun in the Sun”.  At “iMagine Upstate Festival” in Greenville six stages “include a maker-space, robotics battle, live science demonstration, drone flight experience and an augmented reality experience.”  At Florence’s Pecan Festival you can “Run Like a Nut”. There’s ice skating in town squares, steeplechases in Camden, championship rodeos in Blythewood and festivals and runs galore.  All at our doorstep.

       Scenic drives are a wonderful way to spend a vacation and each state has routes designed to appeal to traveler’s interests.  Among the several listed at www.visitflorida.com is the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. To the tune of Stephen Foster’s “Old Folks at Home”, you can drive to “a collection of springs, fishing villages and Class III rapids” over the 207 miles from northern Florida to the Gulf of Mexico. Georgia does a particularly good job of marketing driving tours that are arranged to highlight presidential, civil war or plantation history. They’re at www.ExploreGeorgia.com.   

        Photos from a gigantic twig sculpture, Coral Castle, the world’s biggest cherry pie, a ten-acre whirligig farm, a house-size chest of drawers and other oddities fill our family albums.  Find these crazy pit stops on one of my favorite websites:  www.roadsideamerica.com.  It will remind you that the journey is the destination.

       

Let a soundtrack guide you to your next trip.   Start at www.musicfestivaljunkies.com where you’ll see hundreds of worldwide music festivals listed.  How about Serbia’s Exit Festival that takes place in a17th century Petrovaradin fortress? Or the Jam Cruise out of Miami: a “one of a kind music and vacation experience featuring 5 days of music aboard a luxurious cruise ship”?
Eschew the chain hotel for a more authentic experience. www.vrbo.com has been a great resource for us. On a girl’s trip to Chicago we stayed in a huge loft with a gourmet kitchen. In Amsterdam, friends joined us in a two bedroom apartment overlooking a canal. The friendly owners in Puerto Rico recommended restaurants near their lovely pied-á-terre. Often the cost is less than multiple hotel rooms if you’re with a group or if you’re staying a week or more. With Charleston being such a popular destination, it would be easy to take part in house swapping. Check out www.lovehomeswap.com and consider trading for a 3-bedroom apartment with a view of the Eiffel Tower or penthouse on the sea in Tuscany. Annie and her family had a “fantastic experience” trading their Sullivan’s Island house for a rural farm in Tuscany. “He even let us drink his wine and olive oil” as they toured the countryside from Pisa to Cinque Terre. Here’s a website I’ll be exploring this year: www.glampinghub.com. It offers unique properties worldwide including barns, treehouses, caves and cabins ranging from rustic to luxurious. How does a vineyard yurt in Barcelona sound? It’s only $88 per night. Or a treehouse near Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. You can even stay for free if you’re willing to couch surf which involves staying with locals in their homes (or hosting travelers in yours) Sign up at www.couchsurfing.com, a network of 10 million interesting locals in over 230 countries. 

    

    Travelling has joined the emerging sharing economy.  On www.vayable.com locals in cities around the world share authentic experiences with travelers.  A photography walking tour in Paris, a food crawl in Rome, a tour of Cuenca, Ecuador for those considering retirement there are all examples on their extensive website. On www.eatwith.com and www.travelingspoon.com vetted chefs host small pop-up dinners in their homes.  While in Bali, Meryl and her family spent 3 hours in a family compound preparing multiple dishes from scratch with their Indonesian hosts, using only ingredients grown nearby.  “We shredded coconut with a little bark grater while two little ladies cooked over a fire all night.  We ground spices into pastes for the sauces.”  It was one of their most memorable experiences, especially the delicious corn fritters.

      For active vacations, check out bicycling trips at www.backroads.com, or horseback riding at www.hiddentrails.com. The independent travel sites www.bootsnall.com or www.gonomad.com and www.travelsignposts.com have extensive compilations of first-hand experiences that stray from the beaten path.

      Armchair travelling, I love it. I can spend hours reading reviews and imagining trips. If you’re like me and enjoy the planning almost as much as the going, these resources will launch you on your next adventure.

A Beach Vacation without the Crowds

            If your vacation calls for a detox from the debilitating effects of modern life, if you’re craving a big dose of nature, you’ll be happy to hear that your remedy is only a 20 minute boat ride from the Isle of Palms.  Step aboard the hourly ferry and exhale.  You’ll feel like the King or Queen of the Nile as you cruise the Intracoastal Waterway to the parallel universe of Dewees Island.  No traffic lights, just trees; no cars, just golf carts; no noise, just birdcalls and lots of peace and quiet.  Over 95% of the 1,200 acre island is in its natural state with only 64 secluded houses flanked by one of the most pristine and private beaches in the country. 

            In 1989 Hurricane Hugo decimated the coast and left Dewees Island’s habitat in tatters.  Two years later John Knott surveyed the damage and claimed that "the environment and development are natural allies." He envisioned building a community with environmental considerations as the cornerstone. Dewees’website brags that “all the rules of traditional beachfront real estate development were broken,” in a “process driven by restoration, preservation, not destruction and removal.”  Private boat docks, golf courses and manicured lawns are prohibited.  Homeowners are required to use indigenous plants, natural surfaced driveways and energy- and water-efficient designs.  Dunes were renourished using boardwalks, sand fencing and the requirement that all houses be built away from the shore.  The result is a self-selected group of environmentally attuned homeowners.  About 12 families live full time on the island.  Two or three even send their children to school on the mainland, commuting by ferry. The kids’ unique perspectives are derived from a combination of learning with their peers and running barefoot in the freedom of their island home.  Luckily, many of the homes are available for vacation rental.

    Some of the allure of visiting Dewees is the proximity of Charleston, especially for those who live elsewhere.  But many locals take advantage of the destination for romantic weekends or extended family gatherings. Often there’s a matriarch or patriarch who has the means to be the host and the desire to create priceless family memories.  “Kids love it out there.  They feel like Huck Finn,” says Emily Watson of Dewees Rentals.  Readers who’ve envied the lifestyle of island children growing up in the 1950’s as described in Josephine Humphrey’s Sullivan’s Island will find it here.  Kids can run around unattended, crabbing and fishing and exploring without danger.  Family time might include hitting the beach at sunrise with the island’s turtle team to identify nests or help hatchings scamper to the water.  Kayaks sit ready to grab and explore for alligators and birds in the marshes. The resident naturalist and two summer interns lead programs like creek floats, fishing, crabbing and a colorful golf cart parade.  Adults can enjoy concerts, art shows and happy hours in the beautiful Huyler House community room.  A salt water swimming pool, tennis courts, game room with ping pong, a nature center, fishing and crabbing docks and picnic tables on most beach boardwalks add to the fun. 

            Every house is unique.  Right beside the Huyler House community room are one-bedroom condos that adjoin the pool and can comfortably sleep two for under $2,000 a week.  The top of the line Ocean Retreat provides three bedrooms (two are master suites), a gourmet kitchen, exquisite artwork, sprawling screened porches and an ocean view for $4,000 per week.  Most houses have a few staples in the kitchen but vacationing on Dewees requires planning and simplifying.  Few clothes are needed but packing the food is tricky.  Ferry passengers are often hauling carefully packed bins knowing they can’t run down to the corner for milk or juice. There are wheeled carts at the boat Summer rentals fill up fast, often six months in advance. 

docks to help load the luggage and two hospitality interns are on hand during the summer to greet new arrivals.   Once on the island, all transportation is by golf carts which are included as part of the house rental fee.  Bicycles are also a great way to experience the island and can be transported on the ferry.  One guest remarked, “The lack of automobiles alone brought me back several shades of sanity.”

            The inconveniences of the location have been minimized as much as possible.  In the case of emergency, there are fire and medical responders on the island and a helipad.  Trash and recycling is handled by barge. Some things just require patience.   I’ve often seen painters and plumbers on the ferry headed to do repairs and barges of building materials, even bulldozers, en route.  But Dewees visitors and residents happily accept these obstacles as the trade-off for the simplicity, luxury and seclusion of Dewees. 

Dewees Island info:  http://www.deweesislandsc.com/natural-beauty/

Dewees Island rentals:  http://www.deweesrentals.com/

Boogie (Half-way) Down!

            What happened to my generation?  We joyfully danced in the mud at Woodstock and in the street with Martha and the Vandellas.  I hope we’re not getting stodgy and leaving all the fun for the younger music lovers.  There are plenty of chances within a half day’s drive of Charleston to jump back into the conga line.  Heck, we may even enjoy it more than we used to.  Age does have its advantages.  For example:   

1. We don’t have to sleep on the ground, in the rain.  We’re totally comfortable insisting that comfort matters. At the Lake Eden Arts Festival in North Carolina you can make a pot of coffee and sip it on your bunkhouse porch as you listen to the music begin down the hillside.  At The Spirit of Suwannee Music Fest in Live Oak Florida you can even buy a park cabin to stay in. Or get really comfy at a B&B like Virginia’s Ambrosia Farms where breakfast comes right from the garden and Floydfest is just up the road.    
2. Or we can sleep on the ground in the rain but not hassle with setting up. Strap your gear to a wagon and slide it onto the nifty trailer pulled by the shuttle buses at Floydfest.  They’ll dropyou right off at the campground ready to go.  Or drive your RV and make new friends.  Or check out any of the 8 Southeastern festivals where Dancin’ Dave’s Festival Camping “takes the rough out of roughing it” by setting up a first class campsite including everything from tents to portable showers. 

  3.  We can pay to play now. We may have been hippies or yippies or yuppies.    But now we can be VIP’s.  Ante up to sit on the stage, share a toast with the performers, get special parking, check in early and enjoy the swag of privilege.  Floydfest’s high rollers get benefits ranging from fully catered meals and bar to backstage massages.  At the Hangout Festival in Alabama, VIP’s can even enjoy the music from a stage-side hot tub.   We’re big shots now. We earned it.

4.  We invented “get your freak on”.  We embarrassed our children for decades and furthermore we’re old enough to not care what anyone thinks of us.  What’s in the back of your closet?  Tie-dye, gauze skirts, kilts and a belly-dance outfit? Glitter?  Feathers?  Why not?  Now post that photo on your Facebook page and tag your kids.
5.  It’s not just about the music.  There’s kayaking and fun runs, stand-up paddle boarding and bungee jumps, journaling and slam poetry, craft making and yoga. And that’s just what’s offered through many festivals.  Nearby there are fine restaurants, antique shopping, historic sights and wineries.  Explore, take a breather.  No one’s the boss of you.

6.  We've been there and done that so we know that the best moments at festivals are not always among the hordes. At the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival where the crowds at the headliner stage are the size of our hometown populations, we escape.  A few steps away, in the smaller tents, transcendent musical moments await.  Or we pick a smaller festival to begin with, like MerleFest in Wilkesboro, N.C. We can see Bruce Springsteen better on TV anyhow.
7.  We have an app for that.  We may have learned from our kids but now we’re adept at downloading the schedules to our cellphones, using Youtube to plan the bands to catch and buying music online afterwards.  We help each other by sharing earplugs and giving advice  such as the wife in front of Floydfest’s main stage that was overheard telling her husband, “You might want to take out your hearing aid for this band honey, it looks like it will be a little loud”.

8.  “Be Here Now” is our generation’s motto.  We know where the off-switch is on our phones.  We don’t watch the world through a viewfinder.  We don’t need to tweet, text and tantalize our friends.  Hush; be still, we’re listening to the music.
9.  We have more fun when we’re not vomiting.  We were young too.  We have a repertoire of stories of stupid things we did while we were high or drunk.  But now we have the wisdom gained from experience.  We calibrate our intakes for maximum enjoyment.
10.  We’re like Buddy Guy.  Many of our musical heroes crashed and burned early, leaving only their nascent music behind.  Then there are the ones who we’ve grown older with. They’re the soundtrack of our lives. Our own dance party.  When Buddy Guy sings, “I’m 74 years young and I still know how to have my fun” we aren’t  too shy to shout “right on”.
If You Go:
Find a festival and go at http://www.festivalfinder.com/

Afternoon Adventures to Do This Year

            After you've visited the greatest-hits that every nature loving Charlestonian should know, a wealth of destinations remain to be enjoyed in just an afternoon.  Hopefully you’ve been to Middleton and Magnolia Plantations, Cypress Gardens, Mepkin Abbey, Brookgren Gardens and our wonderful county parks.  Now get off the beaten track on these couldn't-be-closer road trips.    

            A walk in the woods.  Stretch your legs at the informative and nearby I’On Swamp Trail in the Francis Marion Forest.  Just a few minutes north of Mt. Pleasant, this one mile walk is easy enough for children.  The well maintained path crosses embankments built by slaves in the 1700’s.  Interpretive signs tell of when South Carolina produced 90% of the country’s rice and the Charleston Gold variety was world renown. Today, the area is home to river otters, a myriad of birds, alligators and turtles.  It’s free and always open. 

        Up for something a little longer?  The most beautiful trail in the forest begins nearby at the Awendaw Canoe Launch at the end of   Rosa Green Road in Awendaw and runs seven miles to Buck Hall Landing.  Take out of towners here if you want them to move to Charleston. It’s a walk right into a Pat Conroy novel.  You’ll enjoy extensive vistas of the marsh as the trail undulates through the forest and back towards Awendaw Creek.  Trailside benches invite quiet contemplation.   The Buck Hall end has the advantage of bathrooms and a picnic area but the Rosa Green end is closer to Mt. Pleasant.  This Awendaw Passage is seven miles of the Palmetto Trail which extends over 400 miles from Buck Hall to the S.C. mountains and has many segments that are worth exploring.  Buck Hall charges a small user fee and the trail is open all year. Trail map.

            The perfect bike ride:  About an hour out of town, just north of McClellanville, is the Santee Coastal Reserve.  If you have a mountain or beach bike, it was made for this place.  A bird watcher’s paradise, the 24,000 acre reserve offers trails on the former rice fields and through maritime forests bordering the Intracoastal Waterway and South Santee River.  It couldn't be easier to ride or walk here.  It’s flat, gorgeous and huge enough to provide a full day of enjoyment.  The is no entrance fee but check their website for the few days it’s closed for hunting each year.

            A sunny winter day is perfect for a trip to Lake Moultrie and a walk or bike ride upon the dike.  Looking across the open lake vista, you might imagine you’re in Italy or somewhere else exotic but a few miles later you’ll be back in the Deep South at Bonneau Beach enjoying a great seafood lunch.  Start at the Canal Recreation Area off Hwy. 52 north of Moncks Corner where you’ll go through a short stretch of pine forest before you scramble onto the dike. Simply ride or walk along as far as you’d like and circle back.  Maps for the Palmetto Trail.

            Or explore from you car.  Fifty miles south of Charleston is Botany Bay Wildlife Management Area.  Whether you drive, bike or hike the scenic 6 ½ miles you’ll transverse forests, agricultural fields and coastal wetlands while stopping at the fifteen points of interest described on a map given at the entrance.  Learn about the history and agriculture and stroll the surreal driftwood covered beach.   Highlights include the grounds of Bleak Hall Plantation with its picturesque ice house and tabby shed. Volunteers man the entrance and beach path, making sure no one takes any seashells but there’s no entrance fee. 

            Water adventures are plentiful too.  My favorites are with Coastal Expeditions which offers guided and independent kayak excursions from Shem Creek and the spectacular Bull’s Island Ferry trip which is not to be missed.  Or check out Barrier Island Eco Tours which leaves from the Isle of Palms.  Marine scientists will introduce you to new discoveries on the way to Capers Island or scouting for dolphins. 

          Watery highlights for me this year were my boat trips with Captain Richard’s Fisheagle Tours A relaxing and informative day of cruising Lake Marion was a perfect summer outing.  The views were wonderful and Captain Richard shared his extensive knowledge of fish, birds and history with us. In October I cruised through the Pinopolis Dam and up the Tail Race Canal with him.  What a spectacle to go through the locks on a boat!  A bonus was that the tour leaves from Gilligan’s Restaurant in Moncks Corner where we had a great waterside lunch afterwards.

               Many of these day trips require very little planning.  You can wake up with some time to spare, check the weather and go.  Most are free.  You don’t need a hotel reservation and you can drive yourselves there.  So what are you waiting for?  There are adventures at your doorstep.

           

Tom Yawkey’s Gift to Us

            What does a sixteen year old do when he inherits $330 million dollars?  Slide into a life of luxury?  Ruin it through self indulgence?  Not Tom Yawkey.  In 1919 he suddenly became heir to a fortune in mining, timber, tin and oil and the owner of South Island Plantation near Georgetown, S.C. 

    The Native Americans who’d given their names of Pee Dee, Santees, Sampits, See Wees, Waccamaws and Winyahs to the nearby waterways were displace by the Spanish who came in the 1700’s looking for gold and slaves.  Then the English, Scots and French started the indigo trade there followed by the next great industry: wealthy Northerners. William Yawkey bought it as a hunting preserve.   When he died at 43, Tom said of his inherited plantation “I hope I’ll be able to do some good with it; I hope I’ll be as good a man as my dad”. 

            Tom Yawkey is as captivating as the land he preserved.  He was a rich man who chose to live without grandeur.  Unlike aristocrats living majestically nearby, he replaced his modest, burned down house in 1955 with a trailer and lived there until he died in 1976. During his months up North each year he stayed in a hotel. 

            He kept to himself.  Unlike his father who had invited President Grover Cleveland to come and hunt, Tom scorned visitors. He didn’t socialize with Bernard Baruch or other wealthy neighbors, preferring to spend time with the people who worked for him. 

            He had a tremendous work ethic.  Days were spent beside his employees on land management, surveying and production.   Three generations later, some of those same families continue to follow his example of being dedicated stewards of the land.

            He was insatiably curious and inventive.   Through diversion of the Santee River, fresh water ponds were created; he grew shrimp, became a self-taught ornithologist and developed waterfowl management.  He supervised staff and wildlife biologists and provided funding that will perpetually support their research.   Our guide Jim Lee spoke with reverence of Yawkey’s vision, “As. …the sea levels rise, these managed wetlands will become more and more important.” 

         He was exceedingly generous but shunned acclaim.  Hospitals and scholarships benefitted from his largesse, often anonymously.  He built St. James AME Church for the islanders in 1928 where “if the spirit didn’t move you, you were already dead”.  Today the 80 island residents continue to praise, stomp and clap in it.   

            His one extravagance was baseball.    Like his father who had owned the Detroit Tigers, Yawkey bought the Red Sox when he was 30 years old.  They’d just completed what is still a record for the franchise’s worst season ever, a 111-game losing streak, but he optimistically set his sights on winning the World Series.  He poured millions into talent, coaching and the renovation of Fenway Park and brought the team came down for drinking, hunting and a little spring training.  Photos of Ty Cobb and Ted Williams hang in the hunt club today.  Although he saw the Red Sox win the American League pennant four times, he was still hoping for a World Series win on his death bed when he pressed his wife for two last wishes:  lead the team to victory and  finish acquiring the remaining parcels that now comprise the Yawkey Wildlife Center.  She bought the land but died herself before the Red Sox won the championship in 2004. 

       And he gave people something to talk about.  When community leaders warned that the town’s daughters wouldn’t be safe from the sailors returning to port in Charleston, he invited the madam Hazel Weiss to open the infamous Sunset Lodge.  From 1936-66, it was the most visited attraction in South Carolina second to Fort Sumter and a boon to the local economy.  Some called him a racist.  Jackie Robinson said he was “one of the most bigoted men in baseball” because of his treatment of African Americans players.  Our guide called him “a misunderstood and private person.”

            The legacy of this independent, curious, hard-working, generous and complex man is the Yawkey Wildlife Center. The three islands sit like a string of pearls at the mouth of Winyah Bay in Georgetown County. Yawkey deeded it to the Department of Natural Resources for the purposes of wildlife management, education and research.  Not recreation. No timbering.  The only way to visit is by taking a free tour with DNR on selected dates from Sept. to May by reservation.  After a very short boat ride across the Intracoastal Waterway, time slows down.  There are pine trees over 100 years old; some are still leaning from Hurricane Hugo; a huge insect population that “reaches a crescendo in June”, ancient Indian shell mounds and cemeteries hidden in the foliage.  It’s a wild, minimally managed place and a magnificent gift to South Carolina from an extraordinary man.

If You Go:

Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center:  https://www.dnr.sc.gov/mlands/managedland?p_id=64

Free tours are offered from Sept. to May by reservation:  843-546-6814

More photos are here:  Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center