When I last wrote, we had arrived in Charleston. We hoped to see our friends Joyce and Paul Stier, as well as to experience the charms of that legendary city. We did the latter but unfortunately the timing didn't work out well for our planned reunion.
We spent our first full day in South Carolina at the Magnolia Plantation. It has been owned by the same family for 11 generations, dating back to before the Revolutionary War. At present it consists of five hundred acres, part in gardens and part in historic and tourist buildings and facilities. We opted for three guided tours, including one about slavery on the plantation. That was by far the most interesting and worthwhile of the three. Our guide gave a short presentation on the history of slavery itself, in Africa and in the US and then explained what it looked like on that particular plantation. The so called "low country" of the coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia grew rice, not cotton. The slaves from West Africa knew a lot about growing rice and were in fact experts from whom their masters learned a great deal. According to our guide, their lives were better than the "hell" of the cotton plantations, in spite of alligators and poisonous snakes in the water in which they worked.
Our experience at the plantation took all day and it was hot so we were pretty tired by the time we got back to our hotel. The next morning we moved to a second Best Western in the historic district of the city and prepared for another warm day full of the city life. We took a carriage ride, ate excellent seafood for lunch, took a boat tour to Fort Sumter in the afternoon, shopped the city market and bought a Gullah basket, and treated ourselves to a special dinner out. As it was getting dark, we walked to the old slave market museum. It was closed for the day but it was still so meaningful to even just see the outside. We were told that of the thousands of slaves that were brought to this country, the vast majority came ashore in Charleston.
Each day we were in contact with Joyce, hoping to find a time that worked to get together. Unfortunately, Paul is undergoing treatment for cancer. He had recently finished a round of chemo and the week that we were there, he was having radiation. He was just too tired and ill to meet and of course Joyce needed to stay with him. We have agreed that when he is better, they will come to Seattle for a visit and we will see each other then. We were all disappointed but at least Joyce and I had an extended phone conversation.
We drove out of Charleston early the next morning since we had a six or seven hour drive to reach the ferry we needed to take to Ocracoke Island in the group of islands that makes up the Outer Banks. Unlike the Washington State ferries, the route we were taking only has four runs a day. We had made a reservation on the last run of the day, at 4:30. We had hotel reservations in Ocracoke (town) for that evening. We made it to the ferry with about an hour and a half to spare. It was still pretty hot but there was an air conditioned waiting room in which we could read etc. The voyage itself takes over 2 hours and is over fairly calm water so it was a peaceful way to relax after the stress of the drive. We checked into the hotel and watched the sun set over the water - beautiful! We had a delicious dinner, thanks to our friend Marcus' recommendation before we left home, and the next morning we had a fantastic breakfast at a cafe called - you have to love it! - the Flying Melon (the owner let his kids name it). Sweet potato pancakes, deep fried french toast - this guy knows southern cooking!
Ocracoke is the least developed of the major Outer Banks islands and is charming. Lots of white dunes, green beach grass, and in our case, beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures to complete the picture. Lots of wind too! We drove up to the north end of the island and took a free (!) ferry across to Hatteras and began the long bridge-linked drive up several islands to Kill Devil Hills where we were to spend two nights. Of course this drive took most of the day. We topped it off with a great dinner amidst a thunder storm, some of which we watched from our hotel window.
The next day we went to the Wright Brothers National Memorial, located about a mile from our hotel. The National Park Service years ago acquired the spot where their very first flight took place and it is all preserved quite well today. Like several places we've been on this trip, it was quite inspiring and I was impressed by the genius and courage it must have taken to accomplish what they did. After a quick lunch, we drove to Roanoke Island to visit the site of the "lost colony" begun by Sir Walter Raleigh. We watched an interesting film and then wandering the site briefly. Apparently, some recent findings may lead to a discovery of what actually happened to the settlers who lived there, beginning in 1585. We also learned about a Freedmen's Colony that was established there from 1862 to 1867 after Union troops took over the island. Hundreds of freed slaves were able to live there in an atmosphere of freedom until the community was disbanded.
The following day was Monday and we drove off the islands and out of North Carolina and into Virginia to the Chesapeake area where our wonderful almost-daughter Rita lives with her husband Ludo and sons Braden and Alex. We had not seen Rita in eight years, since she was matron of honor in our daughter Jessica's wedding! When she walked into our hotel lobby to meet us, I couldn't help but shed a few tears! We loved meeting 17 month old Alex and handsome French husband Ludo and it was incredible to see Braden who is now 12!!! We all had a great dinner together and then a fun breakfast this morning. It was so hard to say goodbye to them but we elicited from them a promise to come to Seattle soon, if not this summer then some time in the year following.
Photos: at Magnolia Plantation - note the Spanish moss hanging from the tree, our tour guide in the carriage in Charleston, flags over Fort Sumter showing the countries it has belonged to over time, a cannon ball still lodged in the wall, sunset over the harbor at Ocracoke Island, the Wright brothers, a sculpture of their plane, storm-driven waves on the beach at Kill Devil Hills, Rita, Rita and her family and me.
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