One of our favorite stops was in Beaufort, SC. It was an unexpected, beautiful little jewel of a town, dating back to its 1711 charter. It's the second oldest city in the state behind Charleston. It sits on Port Royal Island in the heart of the South Carolina Lowcountry. It's better known neighbor is Hilton Head Island. Both Parris Island and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort are nearby. But in the downtown historic district we found some awesome antebellum mansions and ancient oak tree lined streets in The Point neighborhood. Our arrival started on a very rainy and stormy note, in fact it was the worst weather we had encountered up on until this point of the trip. But the next day dawned clear and sunny and HUMID. We put on our walking shoes and headed out.
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| On our way up the ICW on the Wilmington River we passed St. Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah. Known to be one of the most beautiful cemeteries in America. We ran out of time and didn't get to see it but next trip, definitely. |
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| Parris Island, SC - Currently the recruit training base for the United State Marine Corp. Hard to see but the water tower says "We Build Marines". Hoorah! |
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| Beaufort, SC - An American Cruise Lines ship passes by as we ride out the storm. We had seen this same ship, "Independence" on the St Johns River and south of Savannah on the ICW. |
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| Everywhere we went there were beautiful, moss draped old live oaks. |
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| This beautiful mansion is in The Point neighborhood |
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| Most yards had some fencing but none a impressive as the one made from bricks. |
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| The magnolia trees were in blossom and smelled wonderful. |
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| There were lots of dead end streets in The Point and at the end of each, the city maintained a viewing area of the marshes and the Beaufort River and ICW beyond. |
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| The welcoming steps leading to open porches, the old live oak hung with moss and blue skies just make you want to sit awhile and enjoy a mint julep. |
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| Though this home is new the live oak isn't. I was fascinated by how it grew to the ground leaving a path for the driveway and cars to cross under it. |
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| This live oak not only is full of resurrection fern growing on its limbs but has created a cool reach across the street. Can't say I have ever seen a low clearance sign for a tree! |
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| Another beautiful brick fence topped with Confederate jasmine. What a lovely smell. |
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| Downtown waterfront park. Independence in the background to the right. We enjoyed a casual lunch at one of the open air restaurants. |
This home liked its live oak so much that rather than cut back the ever expanding and growing limbs, they actually wired the lower branches to upper branches so they could walk down the front yard path without having to duck or step over them. Hard to see but in the pic below you can see the wire running at a 45 degree angle from the lower right hand corner across the pic through the upper left hand corner. Amazing!!
St. Helena's Church is one of the oldest active churches in the country. The congregation dates back to 1712 when established by the Church of England. The church was built in 1724 as was the graveyard. It is the resting place of Thomas Heywood, Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence as well as those who fought for our freedom in the American revolution. There are over 70 Civil War heroes buried here including 2 generals. Amazing that this graveyard tells our history from before we were a country.
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| St. Helen's graveyard - Confederate gravesites are marked with the first national Confederate flag as well as the Southern Cross of Honor "Iron Cross". |
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| This is the gravesite of a SC militiaman who fought in the American Revolution. This gravesite also has a grave marker but unlike the "Iron Cross" of the Confederacy this one is engraved with SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) and the year 1775. |
With this memorable visit behind us we continued north to spend the night in Tom Point Creek. It was a quiet and calm anchorage that was enjoyed by all including Roofus. Next stop Charleston, SC.
PS from Roofus:
Yep. Enjoyed by all. I like anchoring out as my humans can't leave me behind. It was a great day. Lots of hugs, snuggles and treats. Perfect! Can we do this again tomorrow?!
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