Day 8 Sunset Beach to Skidaway

 This was a travel day for us as we moved our rolling home south of Savanah to Skidaway Island, Georgia.  We left our most gracious hosts, the Millmans, and our travel companions, the Carloughs, around 9 AM.  Heading south, our first stop just outside Charleston, about 120 miles away, where we had one of the best barbecue meals we have ever consumed at the “Swig & Swine”.  Thank you Joni and Trip Advisor for discovering this gourmet paradise.  We both ordered a pulled pork sandwich and a side of corn pudding.  Magnifique!

 

Leaving the restaurant, we continued our southern journey, foregoing  spending anytime in Charleston, which we love, and have visited several times before.  We arrived at Skidaway Island State Park (248 miles from the Millmans) around 3:30 PM, just as the rain started to fall.  A guideline we try to follow when camping is the 330 rule, which Joni’s Uncle Monty shared with us many years ago.  Never travel more than 330 miles per day and always arrive at your campsite by 3:30 PM.  I think this was the first travel day that we met that guideline.

 

In celebration of this accomplishment we both took naps until our dinner time rendezvous with Joy and Paul Mance who have a home in Savanah.  Joy was a fellow English teacher at Massena Central High School where Joni and I both taught from 1973-1977.  We’ve maintained a close relationship with Joy over all the years, so it’s always a treat when we reconnect.  

We dined at the “Driftaway Café”.  We have eaten there several times before, their food is great, and it’s only about 8 miles from our campground.  Joni and I both had Tybee Tuna, and it was good.  Joy had salmon; she cleaned her plate, and Paul had fish and chips, and he too ate every crumb.

 

Leaving Paul & Joy at 9:00 PM, we returned to the campground an quickly fell asleep as the rain continued to fall.

Day 7 Sunset Beach

Our last full day with the Millmans and Carloughs in Sunset Beach began with a special treat from Mila's kitchen,  "Sirniki" Russian breakfast farmers’ cheese pancakes.

Most of the flowering trees and shrubs have already bloomed, but not these!

Not the clearest photo, but yes, that an alligator sunning himself on the golf course across the pond behind Mila and Bill's.

For our morning activity we visited Vereen Gardens, which is just across the state line in South Carolina.  Apparently the King's family has branded into the porta-john business.  Business must be slow at Graceland.

Following the many paths in Vereen Gardens we made our way to one of the fishing piers along the Inland Waterway.

The large white boat in the background is a floating casino which takes gamblers three miles off shore so they can throw their money into the sea.

Most likely a bachelorette party in full swing on the Hog Island Queen.

According to one of the many plaques along the path, if you hang an oyster shell from this tree, you'll have good luck.

Returning to Mila's kitchen for a late lunch, we dined on curried chicken, raica, and naan.  All homemade by Mila of course, and absolutely fabulous.

After lunch we returned to sunset beach where the girls walked and the boys sat, and then we returned to Bill & Mila's home and enjoyed a beautiful evening on their deck, sipping Proseco and Dark & Stormies.

Bill & Mila's backyard...home of many alligators, and over 250 varieties of birds.

Day 6 Sunset Beach

Our first full day with Bill and Mila in Sunset Beach

We spent the morning enjoying the beach.  The water was incredibly warm...warmer than Nauset in August!

After a quiet afternoon at Bill & Mila's we went out to dinner in nearby Calabash and had a wonderful meal at the Oyster Rock which is right along the inland water way.

North Carolina oysters

Escargot

Watermelon

Shrimp and crab cakes

Grilled scallops and oysters with hush puppies

Scallops and flounder with hush puppies

 

Day 5 Nags Head

We woke up a gorgeous sunrise coming over the dunes.  

NASCAR infield, Woodstock, or JerryJam?

Bodie Island Lighthouse

The strong winds that we experienced yesterday were stilling blowing strong in the  morning, so I decided to not make coffee, and we would pick some up along the way to Fort Raleigh, which is located on nearby Roanoke Island, the site of the first English settlement in North America.  

Our first Spanish moss sighting along the grounds of Fort Raleigh

Protective earthworks constructed by the first settlers at Fort Raleigh

We spent about an hour touring the grounds and the Visitors Center at Fort Raleigh.  The mystery of what happened to the original settlers who only stayed 3 three years was fascinating.  

The outdoor theatre used for the performance of "The Lost Colony" and play written in 1938 and still performed daily during the summer months.

Leaving Roanoke Island were drove to west to Washington, NC, where we met our dear friend, and Middlebury classmate, Paul.  

We spent an hour catching up and planning our next reunion with Paul  before moving on to Sunset Beach, NC, the home of Mila and Bill, another Middlebury classmate.  

Bill & Mila's home in Sunset Beach

Dinner Time

Day 4 Nags Head

Yesterday was a travel day for us.  We left the campground at 8 AM, stopped in Lewes for a sticky bun and cinnamon roll at the "Old World Bread" bakery, and then headed south to the Outer Banks and Cape Hatteras.  Along the way we crossed Chesapeake Bay via the bridge tunnel, and stopped in Norfolk for lunch at Free Mason Abbey Restaurant, which we would highly recommend, especially the she crab soup.

One of the many carriers and battleships in Norfolk.  

December 17,1903...the Wright Brothers first flight. It last only 120 feet.

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The large stone to the left marks their take off point.  The four smaller stones mark the distance of their four flights, the last of which lasted for 800 feet.

The Wright Brothers arrived in Kitty Hawk in 1901 and spent two years developing gliders.  The monument marks the dune from which they launched their gliders.  There was no grass on the dunes in those days, but the National Park Service planted the it to preserve the dune for posterity.

Joni and Rosemary hike up to the monument, Bill and I did not.

The view toward the Atlantic from the monument.

Oregon Inlet Campground, Cape Hatteras National Seashore.  Like most National Park campgrounds, this lacks privacy and many of the modern conveniences that other campgrounds possess, but it makes up for those it sheer natural beauty.

We dined at "Tortugas Lie" that whose Caribbean dishes were featured on Drive-Ins, Diners, & Dives.  Skewered Barbados shrimp with pineapple, black beans and rice.