On our way out of Charleston, we passed several sweetgrass basket stands, and I realized I had neglected to talk about this art form in my last entry. The art of making sweetgrass baskets is a three-century old African-American tradition that has been "passed-down" over the centuries from parent to offspring. These baskets are known throughout the U.S. and abroad for their art and have become a symbol of coastal South Carolina. They are extremely sturdy, come in many sizes and styles, and can be easily washed with soap and water. And they are not cheap! We purchased a small one (
about 4" in diameter seen in photo on the right) when we lived there for $25. Today the same basket is $30 and can be found at roadside stands like the one pictured above, at the city market booths downtown, or at any number of shops around the area. They are made by hand, and you can always find someone working on them. Unfortunately, due to the increasing difficulty of finding the sweetgrass and future generations not being interested in learning how to make them, this art form is in decline and in danger of becoming "extinct". In 1991 the Sweetgrass Preservation Society was formed in Charleston to help the basketmakers work on strategies to help protect and preserve their craft and tradition, and hopefully it will work.
about 4" in diameter seen in photo on the right) when we lived there for $25. Today the same basket is $30 and can be found at roadside stands like the one pictured above, at the city market booths downtown, or at any number of shops around the area. They are made by hand, and you can always find someone working on them. Unfortunately, due to the increasing difficulty of finding the sweetgrass and future generations not being interested in learning how to make them, this art form is in decline and in danger of becoming "extinct". In 1991 the Sweetgrass Preservation Society was formed in Charleston to help the basketmakers work on strategies to help protect and preserve their craft and tradition, and hopefully it will work.
From Charleston we headed a couple hours north to Myrtle Beach, SC., located on what is known as the Grand Strand, more than 60 miles of beaches....ah, heaven to me! Since Scott had spent 3 months in Myrtle Beach and had mentioned there really wasn't much to see, we had planned to only stay 2 nights. We arrived on Mon., Cinco de Mayo, so planned to find a Mexican restaurant for dinner and margaritas! We passed a place called Margaritas on our way to the campground and decided that was the place to be since it was so close. As you may remember, Scott grew up and lived in El Paso, TX, and considers himself an authority on Mexican food so since the sign said they served "authentic Mexican food" he was up for the challenge. He says you can always tell if it's authentic right away by whether the salsa is served warm or cold. Warm=authentic; cold=not. Well, this salsa was not warm so he was skeptical. But our first priority was margaritas, and they were good! The food did pass the taste test with Scott, and we all had a good dinner. We had expected a crowd for Cinco de Mayo because no matter where we've lived, there's always been a crowd at any Mexican restaurant on that day, even in Charleston! But very few people arrived while we were there. We don't k
now why other than maybe cause there's plenty of other restaurants in the Myrtle Beach area....nearly 2,000!Myrtle Beach was very different than what I had expected. It reminded me of a cross between Branson and Las Vegas (without the gambling). There are a ton of shops, restaurants, golf courses, miniature golf courses, hotels, and entertainment venues, so unless you're there 
to shop, eat, play golf, or watch a show, there's not much to do. But there is the beach! Tuesday Scott ventured off to find a groomer for Bonnie and get supplies from the vet, while Russ and I were off to drive around. We eventually made it down to the beach, and since it was early afternoon on a Tues., there weren't many people. Just miles and miles of beach. As we walked along, of course I had to get my feet wet! We saw a couple guys fishing as well as a little girl with he
lp from her family digging a big hole and building a fort. We'd walk a bit, collecting some shells, get back in the car, drive down the road a bit, and get out at a different location along the beach. One place we stopped was near a pier, but they were charging $1 just to walk on the pier! We decided we'd just walk under the pier along the beach., and we saw this jellyfish wash ashore. Now I had learned when we lived in SC that even if it looks dead on the beach, you don't want to touch a jellyfish because it can still sting and hurt you. So I just took this picture. By the way, here's a bit of info for any of you considering a trip to Myrtle Beach. The "Beach Rules" state that thong bikinis are against the law on MB beaches! Good thing I don't have one!
to shop, eat, play golf, or watch a show, there's not much to do. But there is the beach! Tuesday Scott ventured off to find a groomer for Bonnie and get supplies from the vet, while Russ and I were off to drive around. We eventually made it down to the beach, and since it was early afternoon on a Tues., there weren't many people. Just miles and miles of beach. As we walked along, of course I had to get my feet wet! We saw a couple guys fishing as well as a little girl with he
lp from her family digging a big hole and building a fort. We'd walk a bit, collecting some shells, get back in the car, drive down the road a bit, and get out at a different location along the beach. One place we stopped was near a pier, but they were charging $1 just to walk on the pier! We decided we'd just walk under the pier along the beach., and we saw this jellyfish wash ashore. Now I had learned when we lived in SC that even if it looks dead on the beach, you don't want to touch a jellyfish because it can still sting and hurt you. So I just took this picture. By the way, here's a bit of info for any of you considering a trip to Myrtle Beach. The "Beach Rules" state that thong bikinis are against the law on MB beaches! Good thing I don't have one!
Russ had decided he wanted one of the many seafood buffets offered all over town for dinner, so we tried to find out prices and more info on them, but none opened till 4pm. We tried asking folks for recommendations, and for every person you asked, you'd get a different answer. All the buffets have coupons readily available, so we chose a place close to the campground called the Giant Crab. For $23.95 (less $5.00 coupon) it was all you can eat, and they offered 120 items! One lady we saw kept coming back to her table with plate after plate of the snow crab legs and nothing else! We had a few, but they were way too much work, and there were plenty of other options. Needless to say when we left, we were stuffed.Wed. morning we drove another 2 hours north to Lanier's Campground in S
urf City, NC, also located on the Intracoastal Waterway and close to the ocean. The actual town of Surf City is located on Topsail (pronounced Top s'l) Island, but our campground is just this side of the swing bridge, which was built in the 1950s and still opens for boat traffic at the top of every hour. Surf City is home to the Island's only stop light and more than 30 public beach accesses. There are actually 3 towns on the 26-mile long island with a total year round population of roughly 3,000, but Russ read that in the summer 10,000-15,000 people visit the island beaches on weekends. Once settled at the campground, Russ and I drove across the bridge to check out the area since we didn't know about all those beach accesses at the time. It was low tide and a beautiful day to stroll on the beach.
urf City, NC, also located on the Intracoastal Waterway and close to the ocean. The actual town of Surf City is located on Topsail (pronounced Top s'l) Island, but our campground is just this side of the swing bridge, which was built in the 1950s and still opens for boat traffic at the top of every hour. Surf City is home to the Island's only stop light and more than 30 public beach accesses. There are actually 3 towns on the 26-mile long island with a total year round population of roughly 3,000, but Russ read that in the summer 10,000-15,000 people visit the island beaches on weekends. Once settled at the campground, Russ and I drove across the bridge to check out the area since we didn't know about all those beach accesses at the time. It was low tide and a beautiful day to stroll on the beach.
e leashed, but when no one was around, we'd take the leashes off and let them play. If someone started coming close, we'd put the leashes back on. We had talked to other people who do the same thing, and there doesn't seem to be a problem. Water temperature is about 71 degrees, so I wore my swimsuit, but Russ isn't big on swimming or the beach really, so he just wore his shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes and valiantly tried not to get wet.
We called Russ' mom from the beach to wish her a happy 90th birthday, and she seemed in really good spirits though not entirely sure who we were or even that it was her birthday. :-) Initially we had planned to stay at the beach for only a half hour, but time flies when you're having fun and before you knew it, a couple hours had passed! Those overcast skies are always deceiving, and I got a little more sun than anticipated but not bad. On the way back to the RV, we picked up sandwiches from the New York Corner Deli (http://www.newyorkcornerdeli.com/). We saw their ad in the campground directory, and they advertise that all their meat comes straight from New York, so we knew we had to give the corned beef a try. Russ actually got a sandwich that had corned beef and pastrami, and I got a Reuben, and neither disappointed! The place has been open 4 years and is family owned and operated with the family being NY natives. That evening Scott came over for a spaghetti dinner, and we caught up on the day. Scott's not really a beach person but prefers to simply drive by and look at it.
Friday was another overcast day, and we had planned to go to the beach again, this time with chairs, beach umbrella, food, and drink. But it was way too windy to take the umbrella, so we decided to just go for a bit and collect some shells. At the last minute Russ decided we'd take the dogs again, so we piled in the car and off we went. This time Russ brought along Abby's rubber ball to throw for her, and again she had a blast. Mikey seemed to enjoy the beach a little more today. The waves were h
igh again, and this time the sun came in and out periodically. We played ball with Abby for awhile, then got back in the car going further up the beach to another spot, and this time just walked and collected some bigger shells. However, this time Russ wasn't so lucky and got his tennis shoes wet, and once wet, he just started walking right along the water line and ended up even getting the bottom of his shorts wet! Though the beach wasn't very crowded, we saw some surfers and a couple guys who were kitesurfing. Kitesurfing uses a power kite to pull a rider through the water on a small surfboard that has foot-straps. As you can see in the photos, one of the guys really got some speed and height off the waves!
igh again, and this time the sun came in and out periodically. We played ball with Abby for awhile, then got back in the car going further up the beach to another spot, and this time just walked and collected some bigger shells. However, this time Russ wasn't so lucky and got his tennis shoes wet, and once wet, he just started walking right along the water line and ended up even getting the bottom of his shorts wet! Though the beach wasn't very crowded, we saw some surfers and a couple guys who were kitesurfing. Kitesurfing uses a power kite to pull a rider through the water on a small surfboard that has foot-straps. As you can see in the photos, one of the guys really got some speed and height off the waves!
We had read that the 3rd annual Celebrate Hampstead Festival would be held on Saturday in the nearby town of Hampstead, just 12 miles away. Scott, Russ, and I decided to check out this small town event, and when we arrived, it seemed really small. But turns out that the festival wrapped around a little lake and was bigger than at first glance. This event is a fundraiser for the Music, Art, and Drama departments of four area schools and also serves as a Business Expo for area businesses. There was f
ood, arts & crafts, local business booths, music, an auction, and rides for the kiddies. A couple of the booths displayed and were selling artwork done by students, there was what I guess you would call performance art by a young girl dressed as a geisha kneeling beside a hat with a sign that simply asked for donations for the school programs, and the 6th & 7th grade bands performed. It was a nice little festival though Russ and I felt the one in Port Wentworth was better even if it didn't have as many booths.Today is Mother's Day, and we hope it's a pleasant day for all of you. We had invited Scott over for breakfast to celebrate our mothers. Since his mom passed away a year ago, we knew it might be a sad day for him. My mom passed away 6 years ago, and I know you never get over missing "mom". Shortly before Scott arrived it started raining, and there's been intermittent thunderstorms all day. About 5pm after watching the Cardinals baseball game, it had stopped raining again, so we decided to head back to the beach as we've heard that after storms the shells are abundant. We didn't find many that weren't broken, but about 45 min. after we arrived we noticed another storm front moving in so headed back to the car, especially after Russ saw lightning. Before we could get back to the car, the rain started lightly coming down, but you know what, it was ok. We're just two wild and crazy kids on the beach in the rain!
The ocean is so magnificent, and I am always awed by its power, strength, beauty, and majesty. We've watched several programs on Discovery and the Science Channel on how the earth was formed and the deep seas, and when I stand watching the ocean, I marvel at how it continuously moves, ebbs, and flows. There is something peaceful and invigorating in its raw energy that awakens the spirit. And as Russ says, there is so much life out there....and death. One should never underestimate the power of the ocean.
Tomorrow we head up the road about 100 miles to Chocowinity, NC for a few days and then on to Cape Hatteras for a week. Russ says he had outlined this leg of our journey for me so I can enjoy the ocean. :-) So until next post, live....love...laugh.
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