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 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!
