Old World Charm: James Island County Park, SC 6/12/08

Ned here, filling in again for Debi tonight. We decided to take the coastal road to Charleston. Our big challenge this morning was to locate a restaurant for lunch that Debi and I had seen on the food or travel channel called Gullah Grub. It’s located on Saint Helena Island. Gullah is the name of a group of people unique to this coastal area of South Carolina and Georgia who have maintained a strong connection to African cultural heritage, including their own language, due to some interesting history of the African slaves which were brought to this area in the mid-1700’s. Debi ordered crab soup with collard greens. I had catfish chowder, with lima beans. We both had red rice and corn bread with our meals, washed down with “swamp water”, a blend of sweet tea and lemonade. Both of our meals were good, and quite spicy, and we particularly enjoyed the welcoming attitude of Dot, who runs the restaurant. She was very sweet and patient in explaining to us about her Gullah culture. After lunch we headed toward Charleston, along some very beautiful back roads that crossed through lots of wooded and marshy lands. We found the county campground at Saint James Island (complete with splash park, climbing wall, but great biking trails) and then headed into Charleston to explore. Debi had seen Charleston before, and remembered loving all the beautiful old houses and gardens. We parked along the sea wall and took our bikes on an eleven mile tour criss-crossing all the beautiful old historic neighborhoods. I had to agree with Debi that this town has by far the most fascinating and beautiful historical housing district we had seen on this trip, compared to both New Orleans and Savannah. The well preserved architecture, gorgeous and fragrant gardens, and rustic brick and cobblestone streets dating from as early as the late 1600’s were truly amazing. (See the photo of Debi and I toward the end of our bike tour.) We had planned to eat at another recommended restaurant in Charleston tonight, but we realized that both of us were still really full from our Gullah lunch, so we settled on stopping at a little café where Debi ordered a decaf mocha, and I had a Reggae Rum Runner. We reviewed the map and decided on some interesting spots when we got back to the campground, but now we’re ready to get some sleep for the night and head out tomorrow on the South Carolina Discovery Heritage Trail.