Day #8 – Paula Deen & New Friends

Thursday, December 3, 2009 – Day #8
St Helena’s Island, SC

Today didn’t go quite as planned, but then, that’s what this trip is all about.
 

We started out by stopping at an old church (Chapel of Ease - http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/beaufort/S10817707045/index.htm) we’d passed several times going back and forth to the campground.  The church was built in 1740 and was burned by a forest fire in 1886.  The walls were built of "tabby" - a type of concrete that used sea shells instead of gravel in the mix.  The roof had been destroyed long ago – nothing was left but the walls and spaces where things used to be.  You could see the shape of the windows.  There were regularly spaced notches in the walls where pews had been anchored.  You could see where the pulpit had been.  Outside, graves were still visible.   Moss and lichen had grown over most of the tombstones, but we could still read some dates.  It seemed that many children had died in a very short time period.  We found out later that Yellow Fever had ravaged the island during that time.  We thought sadly of all those lives lost and the impact it had had on the families.



When I walk through a graveyard, I wonder what happens when we die.  If some part of us lives on, does something happen when that spark is thought of or remembered?  Do the dead continue to exist as long as they are remembered or thought about?

We drove on to Savannah, intent on eating lunch at Paula Deen’s restaurant, The Lady and Sons.  It was fun, but I gotta tell you, it was a disappointment.  While we could have ordered from a menu, we opted for the buffet.  All the food was at room temperature – not what I expect for fried chicken, greens, macaroni and cheese, and so forth.  Kelly however, continued perfecting the art of small souvenirs.  Today she found a jar opener to replace our old one and some tiny silicone finger mitts to use when pulling hot bowls out of the microwave.  Both are Paula-approved and trailer-friendly.

We walked through the Cotton District, down by the river.  We had a horrible experience with a caricature artist.  I’d rather not dwell on it other than to say we don’t look anything like what he drew.  He had to put our names on the sketch so that we could even identify ourselves.  You won’t be seeing that in any of our photo albums!

By the time we finished our walk, it was late afternoon.  I had wanted to hike around Tybee Island for a full day, so you can imagine how happy I was to have just a couple hours.  But, off we went!

First stop on the island was Fort Pulaski National Monument (http://www.nps.gov/fopu/index.htm).  This was one of the most beautiful forts I’d ever seen.  Robert E. Lee worked on the design and building of this fort, mostly the drainage system.  Since it sits right on the ocean, built on sand, and is huge, there were quite a few architectural issues.  One of the exhibits in the visitors’ center showed a cut-away model of the fort.  The drainage system was amazing.  Did you know that Lee graduated from West Point and was a member of the US Army Corp of Engineers? 

Construction started in 1829 with the pilings – 75 feet in length – to support the proposed 25 million-brick structure.  The fort was expected to be one of 300 built to protect our eastern coast from invaders.  Construction of these forts was slow, so only 30 were built by the time the Civil War began.  The Union’s weapon technology had improved to the point that the fort could not withstand the cannon bombardment and no more forts were built.

We walked to the fort, crossed the moat (yes, alligators live in the moat), and wandered around in tunnels that were carved underneath, then entered the main structure.  We climbed up lots of steps to walk along the top, then climbed down a narrow circular staircase to get back down.  There were many of these circular staircases – I felt like I was in a 3-D version of Chutes and Ladders.

There was a plaque outside the fort that said, "On April 13, 1862, following the Union capture of Ft. Pulaski during the Civil War, Maj. Gen. David Hunter issued General Orders No. 7 freeing those enslaved at the fort and on Cockspur Island.  Hunter, an abolitionist advocating the enlistment of black soldiers in the Union Army,  ordered the freedmen subject to military service.  Not yet committed to a comprehensive plan of emancipation, President Abraham Lincoln overturned the orders.  However, Hunter's orders were a precursor to Lincoln's own Emancipation Proclamation, formally issued January 1, 1863, and to the establishment of the Bureau of Colored Troops on May 22, 1863.  Local African-American units included the 103rd Regiment USCT, which served at Ft. Pulaski 1865-1866."

Near dusk, they kicked us out of the fort, so we headed on to the main portion of the island.  I needn’t have been peeved at missing wildlife – Tybee Island is all about tourists.  It’s Little Tybee Island that is wild and natural.  In our search for a sunset, we got hopelessly lost.  We picked a road and followed it, trusting logic that we’d find the ocean. We lucked out – the road we chose ended at the beach.  Would you believe it – we had to pay for parking!  No sooner had we pulled in, than another vehicle with Pennsylvania plates, and sporting two high-end touring kayaks, parked next to us.  Steve, a kayak buddy of Linda’s, and his girlfriend, hopped out to meet us.  We laughed about coincidences and had supper together at the local crab shack.  They were on their second day of a week of coastal and surf kayaking around the two islands.  They had driven down through the gale and were glad to see better weather.  Linda had told us the two would be in the area, and told the two of them that we would be there, too, but none of us ever imagined we’d meet.

The drive back home was a long one, but we had a beautiful moon to keep us company.