Discoveries

I know it’s been a little while since I have blogged. There has been too much to discover around here. First, we’ve discovered the daily hunt for a WiFi signal can consume your thoughts and actions. Seems we are destined to live in a virtual black hole here on the I dock. Thus, fewer posts for my followers and frequent trips to Mom’s house to execute necessary transactions. First world problems!

Second, we are discovering how fun it is to live closer to several cousins That i have not been around in years. Saturday with the prediction of midday storms we planned a lunch date with my cousin Tom and his wife Maddy at Skull Creek Boathouse. Mac and I grabbed a high top bar table with good shelter if it rained. After a great lunch, rain it did!! It blew sideways and was a complete white out. What else could we do but have another round. And another. Then it was time to watch the Belmont so…you guessed it, another round while we watched Justify win the triple crown! Fortunately for us we have another cousin here who was willing to drive us all home. Thank you Shawn, our Shuber!

Sunday and Monday were great discovery days as we tossed the lines and headed out in pursuit of some away-from-the-dock adventure. We found ourselves up the May River in a great anchorage just south of the Church of the Cross in Bluffton. Built in 1857, the church is an all wood structure with boxed pews with latched doors, huge timber beams, arched doors. The guide we were fortunate to have on duty on our brief tour tells us the parishioners paid $10 annually to have their own pew. That’s a lot of money in the 1800’s! The little pew box doors cut down on drafts and kept ladies ankles warm. Two large side balconies were where the family slaves were seated alongside those not able to swing the $10 fee.

The church’s bell has a cool story. When the war broke out in all bells were seized and melted down for cannon shot. This particular bell was mysteriously buried in the DC area and later recovered and replaced in the original tower where you can see it today. To this day no one knows who saved the bell.

We actually toured the church a few weeks ago on a beautiful “rag top day” in Mom’s Volvo convertible, which she is graciously allowing us to drive. That day we investigated the public docks in both Bluffton and Palmetto Bluff. Both are off island on the back roads on the way to Savannah. We spent the day gathering local knowledge so we could come back later with Pelican and drop a hook.

It’s easy to get very settled in when you have power cords, dock lines, and cable cords tethering you to land. It seemed forever before we were off the dock Sunday afternoon and cruising up the Calibogue. We picked up my cousin Scott and his lovely Jenn. They cruised a few hours with us as we sipped and snacked and swapped stories. It was delightful to discover their story and hear of their relocation here in Bluffton and applaud them for their creation of Relics, their growing estate and antique business!

Mac shuttled then back to the Oyster Factory’s dock just after dark and we settled in for a great night with hatches open, clear skies above, and cool breezes blowing.

Monday we pulled anchor and cruised a whole two miles to Palmetto Bluff on the opposite bank of the May River. (Just like you, John Gatlin!) The day dock allowed us to offload bikes to go exploring.

Palmetto Bluff is a gorgeous 33,000 acre site where beautiful homes are tucked in between the ancient stately oaks with Spanish moss gracefully swaying overhead. Having the bikes enabled us to explore the village and neighborhoods of this fabulous planned community. We followed unpaved bike trails through forest and swamp to discover the Moreland area. It’s phase two of the development and equally impressive.

All said, this area is all about marrying the unspoiled beauty of the low country with fabulous architecture that is blended to compliment and preserve the environment. Very exclusive. Very well planned. Very cool that it is so accessible for public use. Having our own floating condo to pull up and tie off to amazing places like Palmetto Bluff is what this trip is all about. Discovering new places, new people, new horizons.