Road Trip: The Low Country

After three days in the camper with some kind of food poisoning, DH and I finally emerged yesterday, ready to enjoy the time we have left in the low country. We're staying in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, just over the bridge from Charleston.

NOTE:  If you've ever watched "Naked and Afraid" on the Discovery Channel (a very strange show BTW), we could have starred in our own episode entitled, "Naked and Afraid in a Tiny Camper". But, we're better now and have been trying to make up for lost time.

Yesterday afternoon we visited Oakland Plantation here in Mt. Pleasant, SC. The land that our canpground sits on was once part of the plantation and, although the plantation is not open to the public, the owners do allow a tour guide from the campground to take campers through the plantation on a wagon.

Our wagon driver/tour guide was quite a character; at each wagon stop he'd tell a joke. He did not have a Southern accent either.  His was the Yorkshire accent of Northern England. DH and I spent time in Yorkshire in 2017 and that, along with the fact that my grandmother had the very same accent, made it easily recognizable. Our driver has lived in SC for 40 years after spending his youth in the UK. 

As we drove, he told the story of the enslaved young man who planted these trees; look how beautiful they are now!

The Oakland house, dating from 1750, is the oldest house in Mt Pleasant. Although it's smaller than many plantation houses, it is unique in that it is one of the few plantation houses that survived the civil war. Most were burned. Six slave families were living in this house toward the end of the war and, for that reason, the building was spared.

We passed the slave graveyard on the way out. Only a few of the graves have stone markers. Our guide noted that the rest were marked with either a shell or, more commonly, a cup, bowl, or plate that the deceased enslaved person used at his or her last meal. This practice can be traced back to Africa, where a wide variety of items used by the dead individual were placed on a grave. The area is now fenced off out of respect for the people interred there.

After our carriage ride, we finally made it to Red's Ice House, our favorite annual stop for shrimp, Margaritas, dolphin watching (and people watching!), and sunsets.

Red's is in the part of Mt. Pleasant known as Shem Creek, where a large fleet of shrimp boats are moored. We love to eat outside on the deck where you can see the creek and enjoy the dolphins and the sunset.


Dogs are allowed and the locals bring them to the bar with them. The dogs sit there patiently, in an odd variety of dogginess, as their masters share stories about them over a cold one.

We always order the "Killer Shrimp" - very spicy! They're served with french bread for dipping. This time we tried crab cakes as well; they were delicious. And of, course, Margaritas!

Today is our last day here in Mt. Pleasant. The weather continues to be perfect, sunny and in the low 70's. We decided to take an afternoon ride to Georgetown, SC, which is north of here, about halfway between Charleston and Myrtle Beach. It's the third oldest city in South Carolina. In her recent autobiography, Michelle Obama traced her roots to Jim Robinson, an enslaved man from Georgetown plantation; he was her great-great grandfather.

We stopped for lunch at the Big Fish (Big Tuna). 

We ate here a few years ago and really enjoyed the seafood . . . 

 and laid back low-country atmosphere.

Right inside the door, they have a parrot.

And he talks!

Because my sister insists that DH looks like Jimmy Buffet, I had to take a picture of him with the parrot. She's always kidding him that he aka Jimmy needs one, so, Joanne, this one's for you!

I ordered the She Crab Soup. It's a local Charleston favorite - hot, creamy, and delicious! The soup is named for the She-Crab, or female crab, as the orange crab roe is an ingredient in traditional she-crab soup. In case you'd like to try it, here's a local  recipe for She Crab Soup.

Tomorrow morning we're heading for Tennessee. We'll miss South Carolina with its live oaks, 

Palmettos, gorgeous islands and beaches, sunsets and seafood. 

Hopefully we'll be back next year!

Road Trip: Mt. PLeasant, SC

We're resting at camp today after yesterday's 435 mile drive from Tampa to Charleston.

Just outside of Orlando, we hit a traffic jam and soon realized why: a series of hot air balloons had just taken off and were passing over the highway in the early morning light.

DH had awakened with some kind of stomach flu so I did the driving - about 8 hours of it.  We were really happy to finally get to to South Carolina. We're staying at a KOA Campground in Mt. Pleasant, just over the Ravenel bridge from Charleston.

Our campground is on part of the original site of the historic Oakland Plantation. The plantation is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and includes the main plantation house, kitchen, dairy, smokehouse, family cemetery, and slave cemetery. Some of the plantation's acreage is preserved while a number of acres have been sold for commercial use - the campground and a shopping center. Unfortunately, Oakland Plantation is not open to the public.

Later, we had a light supper at the Boone Hall Farms Market & Cafe, which is very close to our campground.

The food here is fresh, local, and delicious. Much of it is grown right across Rt. 17 at the still-under-production, Boone Hall Plantation.

The cakes are homemade and huge. We passed on dessert tonight (in deference to DH's still-unsettled tummy) but  hope to come back for cake and coffee some afternoon before we leave Mt. Pleasant.

If you don't eat at the cafe, you can just come to Boone Hall Farm to shop in the Farm Market. All of the produce at the market is grown locally, The market also carries every kind of Southern food product imaginable. Like Grits . . .  

Fresh-picked strawberries (they're in season now in South Carolina ). . . 

And deep-fried peanuts that you eat shell and all.

(Believe it or not, they're delicious!)

The market also carries a small selection of local crafts, like these Mt. Pleasant sweet grass baskets.

Tomorrow we hope that DH is feeling better so that we can explore the area and do some antiquing.

Can't wait!

This post is linked to:

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop at Eclectic Red Barn

Keep in Touch #61 at Let's Add Sprinkles

Road Trip: Lazy Days in Tampa

After a great time in St. Augustine, we drove across Florida to Tampa to visit our grown daughter and two granddaughters, who live in Spring Hill. It's warmer here than in St. Augustine so we've been spending our days by the pool. We both really feel like we're on vacation here.

It's not easy to describe where we're staying in Tampa. The campground RV Resort, Lazy Days, is everything we always thought we would hate in a campground:  Crowded; small concrete-slab sites, mostly huge class A RV's, very few trees, no view, and attached to the biggest RV sales lot I've ever seen. Horrible, right?

When we first stayed here in 2013, we chose LazyDays because it was near USF, where our grandson was starting college. It's also fairly close to DH's daughter's home in Spring Hill. We thought it would be the perfect location for short visits, in spite of all the negatives we imagined.

Our little Casita amid all the "big guys" at Lazy Days

But - surprise - the more we've stayed here,  the more we like it. For $42.00 per night we have perfect weather, a huge pool, hot tub, tennis courts, restaurants, a pool bar, camping store, RV service on site, poolside entertainment and free educational programs on topics related to RVing.

 And the whole place is beautifully maintained.

DH loves the hot tub

The restaurant is right off of the pool area and enormous indoor rec hall.

And it's shaped like an RV!

The food and drinks are good and reasonably priced . I love that you can order right from the pool!

There's even a daily Happy Hour with tropical drinks and Margaritas for only $3.50.

Ironically, the clock by the pool has stopped  . . . at 5:33 . . .  proving that, at Lazy Days, it's always 5 o'clock somewhere!

We've really enjoyed reading, snacking, visiting and just relaxing at the tables on the pool deck. This is not at all like our favorite woodsy, waterfront campgrounds in Maine and New Hampshire but, strangely enough, we're having a great time here! Guess it pays to try new things sometimes.

Today our daughter and two granddaughters, who live in the Tampa area, drove to Lazy Days to spend the day with us. We don't get to see them as often as we'd like so this was a special day for all of us. We spent most of the day catching up by (and in) the pool.

DH with his daughter, Crystal, and granddaughters Taytum (L) and Hannah (R).

Tomorrow we'll be on the road again headed for one of our favorite places, Charleston, SC. 

Hope you'll follow along with us!

This post is linked to:

Homestyle Gathering 11 at My Wee Abode

Road Trip: Last Day in St. Augustine

Today is our last day in St. Augustine, Florida and the weather is perfect: sunny and warm. We spent the day in the Old Town and Lincolnville sections of St. Augustine with friends, Fred and Anne.

Our first stop was a return to La Herencia Cuban cafe on Aviles Street.. We'd been promised that the owner would be making a new batch of our favorite dessert, Tres Leches cake, by today.

This cake is very popular in Latin America, especially Mexico and Nicaragua. It'ss a yellow cake soaked in a mixture of three different types of milk: evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk or heavy cream. 

It's topped off with whipped creme frosting and a marischino cherry. In case you;d like to try making your own Tres Leches, here's a recipe. Delicioso!

After enjoying our fill of Tres Leches and Cuban coffee, we wandered the narrow streets of "Old Town", the oldest part of St. Augustine, first settled in 1565.

The flowers in Old Town are beautiful; walled gardens are everywhere.

I love the Spanish architecture.

The walls, and many of the homes,  in Old Town are made from Coquina, a very hard, and very old,  material formed from crushed seashells.

This old house is also on Aviles Street. Notice that the houses are built right on the edge of the narrow streets.

It actually looks as if it belongs in New England rather than Florida.

The Lincolnville Historic District is St. Augustine's most prominent historically black neighborhood and is associated with many significant events in the city's African American history. I love the little house, each with a shady front porch, that line the streets of Lincolnville.

Lincolnville was founded in 1866 by former slaves. During the Civil Rights Movement, Lincolnville was the base for activists who worked for the end of racial segregation in schools and public facilities in St. Augustine. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and activists from other parts of the country came to join local activists in non-violent protests.

The residents of Lincolnville are definitely not afraid of using color on the exteriors of their homes.

Most of them are small bungalows built on small lots covered in palms and bougainvilleas.

After an afternoon in Old Town, we drove back to North Beach to enjoy dinner and the sunset from the porch at Aunt Kate's restaurant.

Aunt Kate's is situated in a grove of live oaks on the banks of the inland waterway, adjacent to the campground. 



 Just a few steps from our campsite, it's the best place to watch the sunset while enjoying local seafood, . . . 

and maybe a Margarita!

 The sunset was absolutely beautiful. Perfect way to celebrate our last night at North Beach.

Until next year, that is!

Today we're off to Tampa for the next part of our adventure.

 Hope you'll follow along!

This post is linked to:

Best of the Weekend Party T Calypso In the Country
Saturday Sparks Link Party at Pieced Pastimes