Location: Hamilton Branch State Park, SC
This morning's campsite was so beautiful I didn't want to leave. We hung out as long as possible just soaking in the beauty of the "Low Country."
We took a morning bike ride that took us through marsh
along a boardwalk
and through groves of Spanish Moss hanging from the trees. We rode next to a Civil War battlefield and you could still see the earthworks. We also saw an abandoned moonshine still with the axe marks from the federal agents. This place has some cool history.
We finally left Georgia, headed a bit north into South Carolina and then, for the first time, began heading west. We really enjoyed taking country roads into the Carolina hills. Many of the towns we passed through were old railroad towns, barely hanging on. Here's a picture of one of the old railroad stations or warehouses. So typical of this area.
We also passed lots and lots of little fruit stands. Mainly Grandma sitting next to her tomatoes or peaches.
By early afternoon we began to look for a good BBQ place, afterall this is South Carolina. The BBQ places here are much different than elsewhere. You won't see big smokers out front, but instead cinderblock buildings with obscure signs. The BBQ here is usually a buffet type. And from past experience I can tell you we usually don't recognize half the food. Here's a pic of some cracklings on the right, with pulled pork on the left.
The food was acutally pretty great! I settled on cabbage with butter beans, baked beans, a couple of ribs, and hush puppies. The BBQ sauce here is mustard based, which I usually don't like, but theirs was delicious!! I opted for the tea unsweetened. I still haven't mastered the art of "Sweet Tea".
Don't be fooled by this plate. I ate at least 6 hush puppies! These are the best hush puppies I've ever eaten. They were just the right amount of crunch, with a soft inside and not too much onion.
I think we should call our blog "Adventures in Eating" and not so much "Adventures with Winnie".
The quirkiest part of this restaurant was this sign near the door. Needless to say, we left everything, including our ice teas behind. (There went my plan of stealing hush puppies!)
p.s. How embarrassing would that be to ask my children to bail me out of the Barnwell County Jail for stealing hush puppies?
We continued moseying through South Carolina eventually ending up in the Carolina piney hills. We are situated right ON Lake Strom Thurmond. One side of the lake is Georgia, the other is South Carolina. We stumbled upon this spot 7 years ago and it's even better than we remembered.
Our little camp spot is situated on a cove in the lake
Here's how I spent the late afternoon and early evening.
Here's Ned joining me.
Our other entertainment this evening has been watching the doufus camped next to us attempt to extract his car and trailer from the mud. (How he managed to wedge it in this one spot is beyond us). He's been at it for several hours. We offered to help, but he said he had it under control, his brother would be arriving to bail him out. When his brother finally arrived, he drove up, and with a big ol' Southern Drawl belted out, "Whut the hell 'ave you done?" then stood there and scratched his head. Priceless! As of this posting they are still trying to figure it out...
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