Day 204: Beaufort, SC

 Day 204: May 6: Left our beautiful anchorage in Bull Creek and set our course for Beaufort, SC. 

South Carolina waterway is prettier than Georgia's in my opinion and for the most part the flies have left us, at least for the time being. I continue to be amazed at the size of some of these homes; beautiful southern homes mixed in with more modern ones, creating an eclectic visage. 

Points of interest included Parris Island "Where Marines are Made". We also laughed at the green buoys which, due to the bird population, weren't so green! Anyone looking for the green would be disappointed, wondering why there were white buoys in the water. 

We were underway for almost 4 hours, traveling 27 miles before reaching Beaufort. Founded in 1711, Beaufort is South Carolina's second largest city behind Charleston. Luckily there was plenty of room on the free day dock with only one Looper tied up.  We docked, had lunch and then headed off to explore this historical town. The city takes wonderful care of its waterfront, providing garden areas, picnic tables and well maintained walkways. Unlike some other places, it is easy to access given the public dock open to all for a 3 hour stay. 

We made our way into the historic district and enjoyed the stately old homes as well as the smaller cottage types, some built in the 1700's. Gardens and "live oaks" covered in moss beautified the grounds. If you aren't looking you can miss the porch ceilings painted haint blue. The painting of the porch ceilings is a practice that traces back to the Gullah Geechee, enslaved people who lived in the low country of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Gullah folklore explains that ghosts, also referred to as haints, were not able to cross water.  The blue is meant to imitate the sky or sea, and prevents the evil spirits from entering the house and causing mayhem. Note the 1860 house plaque explaining the Dr. Joseph Johnson House was used as a hospital during the Union occupation of Beaufort, 1861-1865. It lists notable patients and nurses who walked the halls of this magnificent structure including Sgt. William Carney, first African American recipient of the Medal of Honor and Sgt. Lewis Douglass, son of Frederick Douglass; Harriet Tubman and Clara Barton. The enormous tree standing in front of the house lends a special touch to this historic house.

Back on the main street, we caught sight of a wall in an alley between two buildings. The owners of the building had removed the concrete, exposing the Circa 1760's Tabby. Tabby is a type of concrete made by burning oyster shells to create lime. The material is mixed with water, sand, ash and broken oyster shells to create this unique compound. It was used by early Spanish settlers in present day Florida and its use soon spread throughout the south. 

A few hours touring in the hot sun was enough for us so we headed back to the boat, planning to travel under the Ladys Island (Woods Memorial) Bridge to an anchorage in Factory Creek; still part of Beaufort. It's amazing to see the huge tide that washes through this area; 8 feet from what we were told. The bridge pilings illustrate the tremendous drop.

The passage through the cut and into the anchorage was a bit tricky, especially at low tide. Once anchored we hopped in the dinghy and cruised the short distance to Whitehall Landing, a public ramp and dock. John was in search of a burgee from South Carolina so we walked along an extremely busy road to the local hardware store, also stopping at a Dollar Tree for milk and ice cream.

Back at the boat, with dolphin swirling around, we watched as thick smoky clouds rolled in. They quickly consumed the day's lasting light. Thunder, lightening and pouring rain lasted for a few hours before the monster storm moved on.