South Carolina

         We entered South Carolina along the coast and headed to Charleston.  I was amazed by how flat South Carolina is along the coast, and in fact locals refer to it as "low country" and some restaurants serve low country cooking, which as near as I can tell, combines local seafood (lots of oysters) with okra and other commonly "southern foods".  I found that my photography is not only challenged by my camera breaking and having to use Mike's point and shoot, but I really don't know how to take flat pictures.  There are miles and miles of swamp land that make accessing much of the coast hard.  We did stop to play on the beach and found that it was beautifully white and crystalline.  Louie was quite confused to stand on sand and for a while didn't want to move at all.  He did eventually follow Bernie's lead and walk on the sand.

                                                   Lots of swamps!

Such white sand!

          We walked through the historic area of Charleston.  The houses are grand and stately and many of them are so large that it is hard to imagine only one family residing inside.  Many of these houses line the edge of the harbor and park.  You have a feeling of seeing shadows of ladies in long elaborate dresses and men in top hats.  Then I also think about the slaves that lived and worked here as well.  For some residents it was a
glorious life and for others, I am sure there was much pain. 

                    What is this horse for?  Is it left from times when you needed to tie up your horse?

                            
            We camped at one of the nicest KOAs we have been found.  It was on a peninsula that poked out into a lake with many beautiful birds.  Egrets, geese and several kinds of ducks all flew away as I walked two dogs near them; I never got a decent picture.  Again, our pipes froze overnight.  I woke up, unable to make coffee because we had no water.  I grabbed my shower gear and walked through the freezing air to the showers.  The first thing I saw in the bathroom was a warning not to walk in the woods because of the poisonous snakes.  I need coffee before I tackle snake information!  I did walk the 1.5 mile nature trail that goes along the lake and doubles back through the woods wondering if the sign meant, don't take their prepared trail also.  When I was near camp, I heard some rattling.  In the west I have often been spooked by grasshoppers that sound like rattle snakes so my first thought was to think, it is probably a grasshopper.  Then I realized any grasshopper would have frozen the last few nights and I hadn't heard any others.  I very, very, very cautiously walked on the far edge of the trail and tiptoed away.  I didn't see it, but I believe that it was a rattlesnake.  I did see some cardinals flying through the trees.  I still am enchanted by red birds fluttering around.  They are so beautiful!

The trail.

There is a cardinal in there.

                                              I love the Spanish Moss which is neither moss nor Spanish.
                                              It is actually an air plant that lives on dirt and water from the air.

                                            This monument to the Confederate soldiers was paid for by the wives
                                            and widows of soldiers.  I do find the statute a somewhat weird tribute though.

We went to a museum that had a World War II submarine and the USS York open to the public.  First we went in the sub, the USS Clamagore.  I had never been in a submarine before.  With just Mike and I inside and after living in an RV for several months, it didn't seem as small as I expected.  Then I thought about what it would be like with 80 men on it, and I could understand the claustrophobia that historians describe.  I think that an official mediator might have been a good position to routinely include in the crew.  One more person wouldn't make that much difference in roominess.

The enlisted men's bunks were anywhere they would fit.  On top of or under torpedoes was frequent.

                                                                 Dining area.

                                                             Engines on both sides.

                                                    Looking up the hatch.

                                        Officer's bunks.  They had a little more privacy and room.

                                                 Mike looked very professional going through the doors!

                            Lots of long narrow hallways with machinery, pipes and cords everywhere.

             When Mike was in the Navy reserves, he was scheduled to spend two weeks on the
              USS Yorktown.  Instead he obtained a leave to marry his first wife.  This was his first time on
               the ship.

                                              Looking at the USS Yorktown.

                                             This radar device looks like a tumor.

The tail hook.

Mike trained and worked on the S-2 Tracker when he was in the Navy.  He was excited to see one on the flight deck in good condition.

                                            Mike is telling other tourists about the S-2 Tracker.

                                                            Flight deck.

                                               Operations rooms.

                                           Planes below decks.

           These shirts we seriously considered buying for our grandsons, who informed us at Christmas time,
"we don't say darn in this house".  I soon learned just how often I say darn.  It was a darn challenge!

     I have always thought of North Carolina as part of the South.  However, when we entered South Carolina, we knew we had arrived.  The accents are very thick, and the pace has slowed considerably.  My cousin, raised in Alabama, used to refer to the "Northern panic" when he moved to Pennsylvania.  My sister, raised in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, referred to the "manana mentality" when she moved to the Carolinas.  We definitely have different paces and attitudes in the different areas of our large country!