Day 18-20 Low Country, SC

Day 18-20, April 5-6-7, 2008, Edisto Island
After our lucky break at the dump we quit early today. Jane stayed at the house waiting for a repairman. Betsy and I took off and since it was actually sunny we headed for the beach. We put Tippy on a long, long rope and he had the time of his life running into the surf, chasing seagulls, and rolling in the sand. Betsy and I sat in the sun and just enjoyed watching the ocean.

Saturday Jane drove us into Charleston for a tour. We had already seen part of Charleston when we attended Josh and Natalias wedding, but Jane has been coming to the area long enough to know all the really neat area’s. For once Betsy and I could set
back and enjoyed the view. We did take a mansion tour and enjoyed it very much. This evening we didn’t have seafood, but opted for barbeque instead.

The longer I’m here on Edisto Island, the more I like it. Everyone is very friendly.
Of course we have the advantage of being with Jane who is accepted as a local.
We were talking with one of the owners of a restaurant who has been here since the mid 1950’s. He said that back then there were only about fifteen people at what is considered the beach portion of the island in the winter! You see all sorts of homes on the island.
I tend to like the old one’s that have some personality. And of course, as I mentioned before there are very few businesses.

Picture 1. Charlestown street scene 2. Edisto Island dirt road 3. Tippy at the beach!

Sunday-- Deputy Jane departed for home. Before she left she gave us our certificates of completion of the McPherson Work Release Program and said that we were now authorized to travel about the south. It’s a good thing we found all this work to do down here or we would never know about the “work rule of the south.” Golly gee, it pays to have people help you out and make sure you abide by all the unknown local laws. Funny thing is that I keep having these dreams about never ending crystal cabinets and mounds and mounds of shoes.

Since we failed in our attempt to see Beaufort on the way in, we headed back that way without Starship. Beaufort was established in 1711, which was before Savannah. Beautiful old homes. We did drive through the downtown area and it was packed so we opted just to look at the homes.

To end the day Josh and Natalia came down for dinner. Josh said that he was in the downtown Charleston area and saw a car bearing Indiana license plates from Bartholomew County. He engaged the couple in a conversation about being from Indiana and that he had relatives in Columbus and mentioned Amy and Jeff. The lady said that she was their 3rd or 5th grade teacher. We’ll have to try and figure out who it was.

Day 17 - Edisto Beach, SC

Day 17, April 4, Edisto Island
Todays post is dedicated to Arlo Guthrie and his famous Alice’s Resturant recording which we all listened to back in the 60’s. Jane left for the big house early today to meet Leroy, her island handy man. Betsy and I followed a couple of hours later. The first thing on the agenda was for Leroy and me to clean out a first floor storage area which was just filled with Christmas wreaths and other Christmas decorations plus a few odds and ends. We filled the bed of Leroys truck and still hadn’t made a dent in the mess.
So we filled up my pickup too and that pretty much got it all. Leroy takes off for the dump, and I run upstairs to tell Deputy Jane and Inmate Betsy that we’ve gone to the dump. When I arrive at the dump I was surprised to see Leroy sitting just outside the gate. I pull up, get out, ask Leroy what the problem is. He tells me the gates locked.
I look at the gate and sure ‘nuff it’s locked. I look at Leroy, and he looks at me.
Then I notice a sign by the gate which says Days of Operation, Monday thru Thursday and Saturday. Hell’s fire today is Friday. I ask Leroy what we do now? He says, “Nev
heard of no dump bein’ closed on Friday”. So here we sit with about 550 Christmas wreaths in various stages of disrepair, a couple dozen broken Santa’s and a few Rudolph’s thrown into the mix. I start walking up the road to a cluster of buildings that house some town offices in hopes of finding someone who’ll let us in the dump. I hadn’t gotten very far when I heard a truck coming up behind me. I turn around and jump for joy when I see it’s a town owned truck with a load of leaves and branches. By the time I’d gotten back to the gate Leroy had already talked to the driver and gotten permission for us to dump our load while the town truck dumped it’s load. Man we roared into that dump and Leroy went to one dumpster and I headed to another dumpster and we had
a steady stream of wreaths flying through the air. As Arlo would say, “So if you’re ever on Edisto Island, on a Friday, with 550 Christmas wreaths, a couple dozen broken Santa’s, and a few Rudolph’s thrown into the mix, you better be damn lucky or there
ain’t a gonna’ be no dumping.” Jamie

The shoes are a tribute to yesterdays post!!! I'm just happy I didn't lose a eye to the 150 +spike heels I dug out of the top of a closet. Betsy

Day 15- 16 -Edisto Beach, South Carolina

Day 15-16, April 2 thru April 3, Edisto Island
We’ve been busy little beavers the past couple of days. The weather has been gray and rainy, but we’ve gotten a ton of stuff packed up in the house. Let me tell you, Imelda Marcos had nothing on Miss E as far as shoes go. Lord A Mighty. I’ve never seen so many shoes. I was working on getting the crystal packed up and happened to notice Tipper walking sorta funny. He’d take a step or two and stop and then put his nose back toward his right rear hip. Then he would repeat the process. I went in to find out what the problem was and discovered that he had somehow run across an old sticky trap for mice. It had attached itself on his right side and believe you me it was on there tight.
We tried to pull it off of him, but that didn’t work at all. We ended up have to cut it away from him. Consequently he has a little less hair on the rights side now. Jamie
note: The picture has nothing to do with the work camp. I didn't want to disappoint those who enjoy the beautiful beach! Look closely and you will see a sizable squadron of pelicans. Betsy

Day 14 - Edisto Island, SC

Day 14, April 1, Edisto Island
We are staying at the McPherson Work Release Program Center. Cap’t Sandy and Deputy Jane say that we get released when the work is done. Actually we agreed to help Jane clean out the big house that Sandy’s mother owns because it will be rented shortly. I don’t think we fully understood the scope of this undertaking. After seeing the house and it’s contents Betsy and I considered waiting until Jane was asleep and then quietly hooking up the trailer and heading off into the night. We worked most of the day today and got the kitchen done. Tomorrow Betsy and Jane will have a go at the closets.
The problem is that they have to try on every doggone item.
It’s hard to believe but we’ve been on the road for two weeks. I told Betsy the other day that it feels like we’ve been gone a very long time, but the individual days just fly by. She feels that everything has gone very fast. jamie
This beach town is wonderful and reminds me of my earlier teen years spent on the Jersey shore in the summer. Walks on the beach, cooking fresh seafood for dinner and getting sand between my toes. What a wonderful life. Betsy
p.s. Tomorrow I hear we only have to work half a day and then we get to go sightseeing once again, yippee!!!

Day 13- Edisto Island, SC

Day 13, March 31, Ft. McAllister Historic Park to Edisto Island, SC
Before we get to Edisto Island we have to visit Beaufort, SC. The visitor center lady directed us to the marina area where she said there would be spots for RV’s. We got there and there in the 5 total spaces there were three huge tour buses, and a couple of RV’s. That didn’t work so we went back the same way and looked for a spot to park.
Nothing within reasonable walking distance. We decided that Beaufort would have to wait until another trip. We continued on to Edisto Island and arrived about 3:30 PM.
Beautiful, sunny skies. We parked the camper next to Jane and Sandy’s house, and headed to the beach with Tipper tugging on the leash. As we walked up the beach access path Tipper heard the roar of the ocean, but couldn’t see it yet. I saw his ears perk up but he never hesitated in his forward momentum. I thought he might get a little spooked by the sound but he wasn’t. We walked the surf line with Tipper trying to bite every wave that hit the beach. This is my idea of a beach town. Absolutely no commercialization.
There is a Piggly Wiggly, a couple of bars, some little eateries, a marina, and locally owned T-shirt stores. Jane says that the town board is always rejecting offers from hotel developers or McDonalds. Sandy and his father, who was a contractor, built the house
back in the 1950’s. It’s very cute and only two short blocks to the beach. JK
I broke the tradition of shopping only at Walmart today. I was forced to shop at the Piggly Wiggly which I call the Wiggly Piggly. Who every thought of that name? The beach is clean and there are super little shells and driftwood. As you can imagine I have already started my collection.
Picture 1. Jamie and Tipper on the jetty 2. The view down the beach

Day 12 - Savannah, Georgia

Day 12, March 30, Savannah
I’ve been wanting to visit Savannah for years and we’re here! We found the Visitors Center and ask one of the volunteer ladies if there was a map of a walking tour since we have our little buddy Tipper with us. She first apologized about the weather being so cool, and then proceeded to draw us an outline for a tour. We ask her if there would be any issues with having a dog with us and she said, “ no problem, if he doesn’t mind walking, we don’t mind having him”. We hadn’t even gotten out of the visitors parking lot and Tipper had already ticked me off with his constant pulling. Betsy and I looked at each other and it dawned on us that since it was cool and cloudy Tipper could survive in the truck. Our tour became a lot more enjoyable. We saw the City Market and the Wharf areas, both of which are nothing more than big tourist traps. We walked several blocks on Bull Street and it was awesome—the parks every couple of blocks, the houses, the flowering shrubs. I think our walk took about and hour and a half and we were pooped at the end, but boy was it worth it. JK
An absolutly beautiful city. I had a ball taking pictures of the homes, parks and the magnificent flowering shrubs.

Day 10--March 28--Dothan to Lake Park, GA

We have landed in Lake Park which is south of Valdosta at a super Good Sam Park called Eagles Roost. Almost all of the sites are pull throughs. There are many mature trees just dripping with Spanish Moss. On our way we passed through Donaldson and saw several peanut processing plants. We also drove through one of the prettiest little towns I've ever seen--Quitman, GA. Many of the houses looked like Thomas Kincaid paintings--cute little cottages with azaleas in full bloom. Unfortunately we didn't stop and take pictures. Next little town we come upon like this we've both promised ourselves to stop and take a walk around town.
We are putting our Charmglow grill that Jeff and Amy gave to us for Christmas to good use. We use it everyday. Tonight we had pork loin, potatoes and onions, and asparagus all done on the grill. Last evening Betsy even did pizza using the grill.

Forgot to tell the story of Rosalie which is one of the mansions in Natchez that is on the tour. Betsy and I were especially interested in Rosalie because its owned by the Mississippi Daughters of the American Revolution. We arrived and ask to buy a tour ticket only to be told that tickets had to be purchased downtown and the visitors center. We didn't want to go back downtown again so I told Betsy to go back in the gift shop building and see if they had any pictures of the interior so that we could use them in our power point presentation about our trip. While she did that I walked Tipper in a grassy area to the side of the mansion. Betsy joined us and I pointed to an unguarded gate which would get us into the mansion yard and we could take some better pictures. Betsy didn't want to sneak in as we might get caught. I told her just to keep walking and if anyone stopped us to just say, "My name is Jane McPherson from Kingston, TN and I'm by God a'going to see this house!" Jamie

I just purchased a Woodall's Campsite Cookbook for inspiration in my travel cooking. So far we are enjoying a varied well balenced diet but I did not how much longer I could go on with my meager camp cooking knowledge. My rule of thumb is----if it is hot (65+ degrees) I cook outdoors on the grill and it is is colder I'll cook indoors in the kitchen. If I get in real trouble with the cooking, I'll call my friend Lois who knows everything about outdoor cooking. Betsy

Day 9 Coffeeville to Dolthan, AL

Today is the day that we make a little detour and visit our special destination. A few weeks back I was going over our general route and just east of Coffeeville my eyes left US84 and travelled north on SR43. To my wandering eyes did appear--Kimbrough, Alabama!! I was just sure it would be a lot like Mayberry. A quaint little downtown area, with a few neatly kept houses. Well gang, I'm afraid my over active imagination has done me in again. Kimbrough, AL is a spot on the road with a crappy grocery on one side of the road, and not to be outdone, an equally crappy filling station on the other side. No houses at all. We were afraid to go into either place of business, but did stop and take a picture of the Kimbrough road sign. We drove over 250 miles today to reach Dothan so we're going to take it easy tomorrow. Plus we're sorta in a "tweener. We'd have to do another long haul to reach the Savannah area and the parks require a two night stay on the weekends. We'll try and split the difference and stay in the Valdosta area Friday night and then do a state park near Savannah on Sat and Sunday.
You know you're in the South when you see Piggly Wiggly grocery stores, Bunny bread, Pure Oil filling stations, cotton fields, red clay, and all you can eat catfish signs. Our site tonight has a Pecan tree and a Camellia bush in full bloom and Tipper has taken a liking to the nuts. We're not quite sure how that will affect his digestive system, but I guess we'll find out. We are only 89 miles from Panama City, FL on SR231.
I'm sure this is the route George and Dorothy would have driven years ago. Jamie

We enjoyed sitting on our patio last evening shaded by the Camellia bush in short sleeved shirts. Happy to have WiFi for a day or so and TV. I have given up on TV except for the news as Jamie hogs it with the NCAA tourney. I have found you can indeed find everything you need in the WalMart as that is the only shopping I have done on the trip. You know you are in trouble when you look forward to the trip to the WalMart Betsy!

Day 8-Natchez to Coffeeville, Alabama

Day 8, March 26, 2008, Natchez to Coffeeville, AL
We finished the final eight miles of The Trace. We were hoping that there might be a pull off spot where we could get a picture, light a few sparklers, and sing America The Beautiful. Unfortunately, reality was that The Trace ended with an exit ramp dumping you onto Mississippi State Hwy 61. So with a lump in our throats, an ache in our hearts, and tears in our eye’s we headed to the next highway adventure which was US84. According to the signs it does go from about Dallas to Savannah. Mississippi US84 was great—four lanes, with few stops. Alabama however is another story. We basically went from a highway like US30 in Indiana to SR17. They are working on a four lane here, but it ain’t a goin’ to be finished in my lifetime. East Mississippi and western Alabama must be where all the wooden telephone, and utility poles come from. We have seen truckload after truckload of them. Our campground today is four miles west of Coffeeville at an Army Corps of Engineers location which is hard by the Tombigbee Waterway that goes down to Mobile.
We’ve seen huge barges being pushed by tugs. I had read that Corp’s sites are about one step above the parking lot at Wal-Mart, but this must be the exception. The sites are great—wide and deep. I finally took off my flannel lined vest today since the temps were in the mid 70’s. Betsy wanted to burn it. Tomorrow we’re going off of 84 for a special destination that I found on the map. We hope to be in Dothan tomorrow evening. JK
I would burn the vest but he has it back on this evening. It has cooled off below 70. It did seem like an accomplishment to finish the Trace. I am still in amazement that we did it in 7 days and not the 2 Jamie originally talked about. We had a great time on the Natchez Trace, learned a lot of history about this part of our country and are now looking forward to the coast and the Atlantic Ocean. BK

Day 7 - Natchez, Mississippi

Day 7, March 25, 2008, City of Natchez
Houses, Houses, Big and Small
Houses, Houses, We Saw Them All
Actually we didn’t see nearly as many of them as planned, but what we did see was great.
Learned that many Northern capitalists bought plantations as investments during the pre-Civil War period. Consequently, Natchez as a city had strong Union ties. While Vicksburg, Atlanta, and other southern cities were burned, Natchez was spared and was quite a Union Army prize because of its control of the Mississippi River. Also learned that there were many freed slaves within the population of Natchez that became quite prosperous. Some even built a couple of the homes that are currently on the tour.
The flowering shrubs and trees are beautiful. We did manage one antique mall today.
Today the temperature hit 70 degrees! Tomorrow we hitch up again, finish the last few miles of The Trace, then head East via US84. I’d never heard of it, but on some of my map’s it’s called El Camino East/West. Next time we have wi-fi I’ll have to look it up. I think it goes from Texas to Savannah. jamie
Camellias, Wisteria, Azalea, Dogwood, Snapdragons, spring green grass being mowed and plenty of sunshine! Betsy
Picture 1. Melrose, National Historic Site 2. Rosalie, Mississippi DAR Home 3. This house actually has a National Historic Trust plaque next to the front door!