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Atlantic Coast Tour
April 17th-18th - Beaufort, SC to Givhans Ferry State Park
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It is another early day for us because again we have over 70 miles to cover. We load up our gear and discover that we are missing one of Louie's precious wool socks. An extra layer of wool socks can make all the difference on a cold morning. We look all over and cannot find it. Then we discover that our spoons broke somehow in the night. Our hosts had graciously allowed us to use their laundry facilities so we think that the sock is stuck onto one of our jerseys and will turn up. Our hosts gift us with hot coffee and new plastic spoons before sending us on our way.
Back on the road we stop at McDonalds for our second breakfast and spend some time chatting with another local and tell him how much we appreciate the hospitality of the South. We are on the road again when much to our surprise, we see our new friend standing by the road waving the errant sock! They had found it along with some shampoo and conditioner that Bec left and wanted to make sure we got it. What wonderful people. The shampoo was no big deal, but the wool sock would be hard to replace in this usually warm climate.
The road is quite nice today with only a few busy spots and a small shoulder. We make a turn onto Old Sheldon Church road and are happy to be riding in a shady corridore of pine, oak, and cypress trees. We are chatting together about how nice the ride is today when a tour bus filled with people pulls off to our right. We pull off, too, to see what they are looking at. It is a ruin of the Old Sheldon Prince Williams Parish Church that was burned by the British in 1759, rebuilt in 1826 and then burned again by the Federal Army 1865. As we are exploring the area the tour bus driver pulls us into the bus and asks us to give a little talk about where we came from, why we are riding, and where we are going. We tell our story and everyone waves good-by as we step off. One of the ladies asks Louie if she can have her picture taken on the bike. Another snaps our picture by the bike. We are celebrities!
After all that excitement, we continue peacefully down the road, stopping at a small grocery store in Yemassee, SC. Jim Smith, the owner of Roadside Grocieries at 17A Hendersonville Highway in Yemassee, South Carolina greets us. He tells us that his mother is 94 years old and as spry as anyone. He gives us a paper towel to use with our lunch. He keeps us company through our entire lunch and gives us his blessing as we leave. We wave goodbye as we toddle down the road.
Finally we near Givhans Ferry State Park. We stop for our nightly provisions and begin a conversation with a woman who is having a birthday tomorrow. We talk with her about our trip. And she offers us a cold one. Louie declines because he is driving and Bec can't because she is diabetic. She is so excited about our trip that she tries to bestow money upon us. This is the first time that has happened to Bec, though it has happened to Louie before. We kindly refuse, but it is very difficult to make her take back the money. Somehow people get the crazy idea that we are on some type of bike-a-thon.
