Springtime in the Carolinas

After the nasty storms, we ended up with beautiful weather for the rest of our stay in South Carolina and most of our stay in North Carolina. The days were warm but not too hot with sunny, blue skies and light breezes. The nights were cool and very comfortable. My absolute favorite weather and perfect for touring some coastal towns.

Local scenery near The Oaks at Point South

The Frampton Plantation House, the Low Country Visitor’s center and museum, is just down the road from the campground. A good place to learn about the local history.

We stayed at The Oaks at Point South in South Carolina Low Country and it is a perfect location for day trips to many coastal towns. When we were there in the fall, we spent some time in Savannah, GA so this time, we wanted to see some other places. The first one we went to was Hilton Head Island. I had always wanted to go there so as soon as the rain was gone, that is where we headed.

I liked this cover over the sand on the walk out to Folly Field Beach; it kept my feet from getting too sandy!

Hilton Head did not disappoint; it is a beautiful island with many beaches to choose from. We decided to check out Folly Field Beach in the morning and then found a place on the bay for a late lunch. The only drawback to the day was the wind. It was a little windy at the beach but very comfortable in the sunshine. Unfortunately it was much windier and cooler on the bay side of the island, so we chose to sit indoors to eat lunch. We lucked out with a window seat facing the outdoor deck and the bay so we still had a good view.

It was a pretty day for the beach. Look how blue the sky was!

We chose Hudson’s Seafood House on the Docks based on recommendations from friends as a good place for seafood. I have to say, it was some of the best seafood that I have had. I chose a combo plate of red snapper and shrimp and both were delicious. Tim had the crabcake; also a great choice. Of course, we had to try dessert when the waitress recommended both the key lime and peanut butter pies. Usually, we split a dessert but since we couldn’t decided between the two, we got one of each. Both were wonderful but I liked the peanut butter pie the best. We definitely ate too much that day!

We also spent a little time in Beaufort, SC. That is the closest town to The Oaks, and I really like the town. It isn’t quite as crowded as Savannah or Charleston but still offers the same southern charm, historic homes, and beautiful views. I enjoy the view of the bay and the walking along the water.

Initially we were booked for 9 nights at The Oaks but we extended our stay by 2 extra nights when Katie told us that she was coming to Charleston. She had an engagement shoot in Charleston, so she was coming in for a couple of days and bringing the baby. She needed us to babysit while she worked so of course we extended our stay. What a treat for us, two days to spend with our granddaughter, Rosie!

Tim and I headed to Charleston Monday morning and got to spend the entire day with Katie and Rosie. We spent most of the day touring the city, starting with the Battery and White Point Garden. White Point Garden had a spectacular view of the Charleston Harbor and contained monuments and artifacts from the Civil War. It was definitely a popular place for the locals, especially of the canine variety since it was an off leash park. We didn’t let Trent off leash though. There was too much traffic around the park for our comfort so he stayed leashed up and at our sides. He did enjoy the smells in the park though; they definitely distracted him a bit.

The gazebo in the center of the park was very pretty.

Katie was using an umbrella to keep the sun off of little Rosie. It worked for the most part; the wind was a challenge at times.

We walked along the battery from the park down to Rainbow Row. My pictures of these colorful houses didn’t turn out the greatest; it was too hard to capture the beauty of these delightful historic homes. You can at least see the various colors of these homes. Rainbow Row is a series of 13 pastel colored houses along the waterfront. These homes were initially constructed around 1740 and became very run down after the Civil War. They were revitalized in the 1930’s and painted their pastel colors in an effort to improve the neighborhood. We enjoyed walking through the historic section and then found a local pub for lunch.

Katie took this picture. She captured the beautiful colors of the houses much better!

After lunch, Katie, Rosie and I toured the Nathaniel Russell House while Tim headed to the bank and ran a few other errands. The tour was self guided with a recorded narration and was quite interesting. It not only covered how the elite lived in the late Colonial and early Federal period, it also covered how the slaves lived and how their forced labor made the lavish lifestyle possible. We ended the day by meeting Tim at White Point Garden again so Katie could meet the couple for her photoshoot. Tim and I headed back to her Airbnb with little Rosie to spend the evening. Rosie was a bit fussy that evening. I think she got over tired and missed her late afternoon nap. Even with the fussiness, we enjoyed our time with her.

View of the garden and further down the side of the house

Katie took this cool shot of the staircase in the house

As we walked back to meet Tim, we saw some other beautiful homes

Tim wasn’t up for another day of touring so I went alone to meet Katie and Rosie the next day. We decided to spend the day at Folly Beach. I picked them up and we headed to the beach for lunch.. With the baby, we didn’t want to be out in the sun too much but we also wanted to enjoy time at the ocean. After finding a parking spot in a very tight lot (good thing I had the Mustang and not the truck), we looked for a place for lunch.

We found the perfect place that allowed us to sit outside under cover for shade and still enjoy a perfect view of the beach. Directly across the street from the parking lot was a hotel with beach access. It had a restaurant and bar with lots of outdoor seating. Directly out of the doors was covered area with high tables and a bar. Since it was fully covered and shaded, it was a perfect spot for us. With high top tables, we could see over the outdoor dining area and had a view of the beach. After a very leisurely lunch, we walked out to the beach and Rosie put her feet in the water. I am not sure she understood but I think she liked the feel of the sand and water on her feet. Who doesn’t enjoy that! After lunch, we spent some time browsing through the touristy shops in the beach town before heading back for the day.

Enjoying our lunch and view. Katie and rosie had matching outfits.

Katie captured us enjoying the view of the beach.

It was hard to say goodby to Rosie but we will get to see her in a few more weeks back in PA. In the meantime, we finished our stay in South Carolina and headed further north to Forest Lake Campground in Advance, NC. This is a very pretty campground set on rolling tree covered hills around a small lake and is located in the Piedmont Triad area of north central North Carolina. We haven’t done any touring this time staying in this area. We were here in the fall and enjoyed the local wineries and touring the small towns in the area. This time, we decided to just relax and enjoy our time at this campground. We have a very nice site on a hill above the lake so we can sit outside and enjoy the view while we have coffee or play cards. It is fairly big campground so we spend time each day walking around exercising Trent and watching the birds, ducks and geese. They really entertain Trent. He wants to chase after them but we don’t let him:>)

We got a very nice large spot at Forest lake

This lake is so pretty surrounded by trees and cabins at this park.

The weather continued to be beautiful until last night. We were enjoying low 70s every day but today we will be lucky to hit 50. It rained all night and the temperature dropped. I hope this isn’t a sign of cold weather to come as we head further north. We leave here on Wednesday and will get to Hershey, PA on Thursday where we will spend 3 weeks before heading back to Pittsburgh. Look for updates in the next blog about our stay in Hershey.

Blog

Exploring Tomorrows

Welcome!