Blip Meet Day 2--Every Picture Tells a Story

We woke up this morning to a steady rain which luckily eased off after we had breakfast.   We had a plan to visit the museums on our list since these would be inside.  How lucky were we to get a good long day in..dodging misty rain several times which happened while we were driving and eased off when we got to where we were going!

We started out at the Cypress Wetlands Boardwalk at Port Royal.  The rookery there had several nesting egerts so we were happy to be walking there.  Then a warm up coffee at Pluff Mud Coffee, a charming coffeeshop in an old Gulf gas station building.   Pluff Mud is this ... the slippery, shiny brown-gray, sucky mud, with a distinctive smell like none other, of the tidal flats and spartina grass salt marshes.   The hot chocolate, tea and coffee did not smell like mud!!


Our next visit was to Parris Island Marine Base, where the US Marines train the new soldiers in basic training camp.  There was a great museum there that gave the history of the Marines from the time they were created until modern times.  Clothes, guns and other info were very interesting!


Then to St. Helena's Island (really just right up the road) to visit the Chapel of Ease..the remains of an old church that was used on the island in the 1700's.   We asked another visitor to take this photo of us in the window of the chapel.   I don't know if you can tell but this building was made of stucco of some kind with sea shells..mostly oyster shells.  It is called tabby.   


From there we went to the end of the road where we visited Fort Fremont..the fort was built in the late 1890 for protection of Parris Island during the Spanish American War.    A friendly gentleman in the coffee shop told us the St. Helena library had a very good scale model diorama of the fort so we stopped by there to see it.  Really well done and brought the ruins to life for us.


By then it was 4pm..another day where we skipped lunch so we stopped at the Foolish Frog for an early supper!   It is the local dive/bar and eatery on St. Helena's..our waiter was one tall young man..we just had to look up and up from our seats to see his face!!    Fpod was okay but not spectacular.  


Back at the hotel, we walked in the opposite direction from yesterday evening to see more historic homes which included the house where the orders for Secession of South Carolina from the US was signed and the American Civil War began.    We also saw information about Harriett Tubman, a black woman who was instrumental with moving slaves north on the underground railroad.  She also was a spy for the Union Army.   So much history here in Beaufort!   


Tomorrow is supposed to be another rain day.  We have a plan to visit the museums we did not get to today, see the inside of one of the historic homes which is open to the public and then go to Bluffton which is about 30 minutes away for some additional sightseeing and lunch at a well known local restaurant.  


The extra is one of the egrets at the Cypress Wetlands. 


Hoping for sunshine and warmer weather by Wednesday!