Quick trip
Over the weekend I visited Beaufort, South Carolina, a lovely antebellum town on the coast in the southern part of the state.
The downtown area is full of historic homes, many which have been made into Bed & Breakfast inns. The Old Pointe Inn, built in 1898, is not one of the older homes, but is beautiful. See the funny-shaped window at the very top? That was my room. The park along the Intercoastal Waterway has seats and swings, with restaurants nearby where you can sit outside and admire the view.
The beach at Hunting Island is a bit different. It's a state park so there's no commercialization or development--just a forest, a lighthouse, and the beach. It's unusual for a beach to be so near a mature forest. Normally there are dunes between, but this is because of the terrible erosion there. The beach loses around 15 feet a year in areas, and who knows what it will look like in years to come. The photo was taken at high tide and at low tide there are many more feet of sand than what you can see here. It's a lovely setting, though, and wasn't a bit crowded.
Funny story. We were on the beach one afternoon and saw four people walking from the parking lot. The two women had pretty dresses on, and one carried a bouquet of flowers. The men wore shorts and nice shirts. It was drizzling just a little and I was poking around halfheartedly at the shells, wishing it would stop. The people came right up to me and one of the men said, "Hello. We are going to get married. Would you mind videotaping the wedding with my cell phone?" We were more than a little taken aback. One of the women conducted the ceremony, one of the men snapped some photos, and the couple exchanged vows. When it came time to exchange rings, the guy pulled a box out of his pocket, took out a ring, bit off the price tag with his teeth, and put it on the woman's finger. Ripped it off. With his teeth. I'm sure my mouth was hanging open by this time. After they were finished (it took about four minutes) they collected the cell phone, thanked us, and walked away.
I also saw the ruins of a cotton plantation that had around 100 slaves prior to the war, and the second-oldest live oak tree in the state. Spanish moss is elegant looking, isn't it? I wish it grew in North Carolina.
Several movies have been filmed in Beaufort: The Prince of Tides, Forrest Gump, The Great Santini, The Big Chill, GI Jane, Forces of Nature, Full Metal Jacket, Something to Talk About and more. The bridge in the park photo is the one Tom Hanks ran across when Forrest crossed the Mississippi River. The Hunting Island park is where the Vietnam scenes were filmed. And many of the beautiful old houses have been used in the movies.
Eating at the Shrimp Shack was a really bad idea. I knew it was a bad idea, just looking at the place, but trust me. It was a Bad Idea.
The downtown area is full of historic homes, many which have been made into Bed & Breakfast inns. The Old Pointe Inn, built in 1898, is not one of the older homes, but is beautiful. See the funny-shaped window at the very top? That was my room. The park along the Intercoastal Waterway has seats and swings, with restaurants nearby where you can sit outside and admire the view.
The beach at Hunting Island is a bit different. It's a state park so there's no commercialization or development--just a forest, a lighthouse, and the beach. It's unusual for a beach to be so near a mature forest. Normally there are dunes between, but this is because of the terrible erosion there. The beach loses around 15 feet a year in areas, and who knows what it will look like in years to come. The photo was taken at high tide and at low tide there are many more feet of sand than what you can see here. It's a lovely setting, though, and wasn't a bit crowded.
Funny story. We were on the beach one afternoon and saw four people walking from the parking lot. The two women had pretty dresses on, and one carried a bouquet of flowers. The men wore shorts and nice shirts. It was drizzling just a little and I was poking around halfheartedly at the shells, wishing it would stop. The people came right up to me and one of the men said, "Hello. We are going to get married. Would you mind videotaping the wedding with my cell phone?" We were more than a little taken aback. One of the women conducted the ceremony, one of the men snapped some photos, and the couple exchanged vows. When it came time to exchange rings, the guy pulled a box out of his pocket, took out a ring, bit off the price tag with his teeth, and put it on the woman's finger. Ripped it off. With his teeth. I'm sure my mouth was hanging open by this time. After they were finished (it took about four minutes) they collected the cell phone, thanked us, and walked away.
I also saw the ruins of a cotton plantation that had around 100 slaves prior to the war, and the second-oldest live oak tree in the state. Spanish moss is elegant looking, isn't it? I wish it grew in North Carolina.
Several movies have been filmed in Beaufort: The Prince of Tides, Forrest Gump, The Great Santini, The Big Chill, GI Jane, Forces of Nature, Full Metal Jacket, Something to Talk About and more. The bridge in the park photo is the one Tom Hanks ran across when Forrest crossed the Mississippi River. The Hunting Island park is where the Vietnam scenes were filmed. And many of the beautiful old houses have been used in the movies.
Eating at the Shrimp Shack was a really bad idea. I knew it was a bad idea, just looking at the place, but trust me. It was a Bad Idea.