For our 20th wedding anniversary and Rich's 50th we planned a South Carolina adventure. It was a balance of roughing it and enjoying life in the lap of luxury...cuz that's how we roll! We flew into Atlanta to start...and I”m still reeling from the fact that they charge you for each checked bag (WTF?). With the three hour time difference we got into town just in time for dinner. We walked downtown Atlanta, only to end up back at the restaurant closest to our hotel, Meehan's Public House. We started with a pint and launched into a bag of fresh, homemade salt and vinegar potato chips. Oh muy gawd, straight from Heaven. Ok, this will tell you how much we were enjoying them, a woman came up to us and asked, “what are you having, cuz the way your enjoying it, I just had to ask?” So we let her have a taste and she was “in.” She went back to her table to order her own bag. Then we shared some bangers and mash, (not a kindly euphemism) nothing wrong with sausage and potatoes. We rolled out of Meehan's newly smitten with the food, the service and of course, the beer.
The next day we popped in the audio book that we'd brought with us (The girl with the dragon tattoo) and headed to Charleston. We are rockstars, NOT in our exotic rental car...a Kia, Rio. Five hamsters under the hood. Five hours later, we pulled into our hotel and go to grab our bags, to my surprise I found a colony of ants living under my bag. It was one of the grossest thing that I've ever seen with their baby eggs...so with a quick call to Hertz, we were able to swap the car, for a less “ant-filled” one. Dinner time again, so we headed downtown Charleston. We found a local brewery and enjoyed the first of many meals that included fried green tomatoes-delish.
Thursday we headed to the Edisto River to meet up with the rest of our crew for our four day kayak/camping trip on one of the world's longest black water river. Driving through rural South Carolina...Rich and I drove in silence. Be it nerves, apprehension or fear...we had no idea what the future held for us. Plus today was Rich's 50th-so it was a perfect way to celebrate the landmarck event.
Within 5 minutes being there Rich realizes one of our guides was the same guide that we had over 10 years ago~ CHARLETON!!!! What a treat, we loved him and knowing him put all our fears aside. The first day was a “getting to know you” encounter for the 14 people tour and reality check that you'd be responsible for packing you're own shit and its gotta fit in your boat. So whatever you planned to bring...reconsider and bring a third of it. We packed our tandem boats and it took six of us to move one boat at a time...can you say group effort? Before we go, its time for the serious talk of “hazards of traveling the Edisto.” Yes there are alligators, cottonmouth and coral snakes, poison ivy and less threatening was the armadillahs. We learned that should a 'gator chase you, you'll need to run in a Z formation, as they aren't smart enough to go straight...and they don't move so fast when faced with quick turns. As for the snakes, keep your watch out on both on the ground and in the skies. Cottonmouth's stay in the trees and should you startle them, they will fall from the trees and bite you. One bite and you are dead!...did I mention this was Rich's birthday? He's a trouper!
So off we floated, Deliverance Tour '10! All the romantic thoughts I had imagined of a black water river were realized! There were cypress trees, exotic bird calls coming from different directions and moss strung trees. The Edisto river is impenetrable water, more a tobacco color and taking us downstream. Shortly it was time to shore up and set up your tents, dig a latrine and get prepared for the change from day time to night time on the Edisto! We dined on pasta with smoked trout- oh how we suffered! Nightime fell and we were delighted to not see one or two fireflies but thousands. Between the stars, the fireflies and the smell of the night. All would have been perfect if it wasn't for the damn humidity not releasing its strangle hold on us until, say 2 am. Ok, now as you know I'm a Native Californian and I know heat but I didn't know the evils of humidity. But really even for South Carolina we were having “extreme heat”...where 100 degrees feels like 110...oh the horrorah! The next day our end point was going to be the thrill of the trip, the Treehouses!!!!
Worry of 'gators and flying snakes ebbed away and we focused on staying cool-thus the Water Wars began! Kayakers always have a bilge pump, should you take on unnecessary water. The life saving tool has multiple functions, as it works really well to drench your fellow 'yakkers tooo! The lure of the treehouses was not only that they had futons but they also had proximity to ice. And you know where ice can be procured so can “BEER!” Some Chicago-insssss refused to leave their treehouse until one request was acheived and without it, they would not leave the tree all night. One guide was sent to get ice and we held the other one was held hostage. We forced her to drink Patron tequila until she gave us Charleton's cell number. Then we all volunteered Stacy aka Deputy to call and convince him that should he meet our demands of frosty, delicious beer. Plus we negotiated in exchange the release of his partner. We'd have to let her go eventually cuz she was the one cooking our meal. Our demands were met and that Ice Cold Bud Light never tasted soooo good. Honestly the beer was good but the Shrimp Boil was even better! We ate like royalty with fist-sized shrimp, corn and potatoes-unbelievably delicible. Night fell and with the combination of crickets, the rolling sound of not only the river but the creek that split our little treehouse island Doesn't this sound relaxing? Add in my demands to sleep in the loft (what was I thinking????),the loft was the highest part of the house, which translates to the HOTTEST! So I don't know if I was delusional with humidity but even with the luxury of a bed...I couldn't sleep. It was unbearably hot and between the river and the creek, the relaxing sound now alternated from the haunting sound of muddled conversations to the roar of rushing waves. Then there was the cannonball splash in the middle of the night that woke most of us in the treehouse. No one knew exactly what caused the sound but sure sounded like a alligator tail slap to me.
The next day started under a dark cloud over us due to finding out that one of our co-campers had taken ill and was going to have to leave our little crew. We were losing not only Maeve but her lovely brother Neal. Then there were 12. But we prevailed...another day of kayaking. We learned about Tupelo trees' knees, the yellow warblers and brown water snakes (non-poisonous). The third day ended at a luscious sand beach. Doesn't that sound comfortable, to actually sleep on the sand-Not! Then we ran into armadillo's (did you know they are practically blind and completely rely on their primary sense of smell?), chiggers, poison ivy everywhere and then there was the locals. These three dudes (or as Charleton referenced them as “local color”)who crossed the river and lured two of our co-campers away from the group to spent the night with them. Lets see how's that story go? Was it that they left in their swimsuits for a nightime romp of deer hunting via truck.? Did I hear moonshine, banjo and swine-life? and really do I have this right, they call him “Rambo?”...did someone hear a chainsaw? oh muy!!!! 3am the rumble of the truck woke us from nightmares of their possible kidnapping but by 7am they'd traversed the back across the river and our group returned to 12-phew!
Now it was time to make the last leg of our trip. Ya know we spend good money for these adventures and leave with lifelong memories along with over 100 plus chiggers bites...all in all we met some great people, slogged through life to remind us how just the basics can truly sustain you...by basics I mean: company, food, sleep and a shared place to pee.
We planned to venture forth to Myrtle Beach for three days of pure indulgence; however, during our last paddle we shared our excitement and Weatherly said “you don;'t want to do that!” She said that Myrtle Beach wasn't for us, it was like a cheap Vegas with arcades and drunk idiots. So embracing her recommendation we canceled our reservations and off to Savannah we headed.
I had always wanted to go to Savannah after reading the book, “Garden of Good and Evil”. We pulled the trigger and we were Savannah-bound. And on Charleton's recommendation we headed to Tybee Island to do a bit of East Coast beach action. The water was clean and warm with small waves. Rich and I reverted to children riding waves and enjoying the beach in ways you just can't in Northern California. We walked the pier, shopped the kitchy shops and lapped ice cream by means to cope with the excruciating heat....seriously we shopped just for the AC!!!!
The next day we booked another kayak trip because we'd been told we'd experience dolphins. 8:30 am the next day we were there and ready for another adventure. This one was a little disappointing with only three dolphins sighted and the other kayakers in our trip were completely green. So we embraced going slow and enjoying our guide. Preston. Preston made dinner recommendations for us...he demanded we go to the Pink House-a Savannah landmark. So we did as he told us. The Pink House is a historic landmark dating back to the 1700's and a true authentic Savannah experience. On Preston's recommendation, we ate downstairs in the tavern....we split an ordered the fried green tomato salad and per instructions... I ordered the flounder with apricot glaze and Rich had the duck. This was expensive but truly one of the best meals of our lives. Plus the bartender took really good care of us, telling us about Food Network doing a show on them and a little more about there history, like that the tavern was one of the most haunted places in Savannah. The next day we headed back to Atlanta and even ventured to a Braves game (reallyyyy are they pantomiming the chop chop motion?) only to finish the night back at Meehan's for a pint...all and all-TRIP OF A LIFETIME. Some people may say, “we'll always have Paris” Rich and I can say, “we'll always have South Carolina!”
