Time for Nature

Yesterday, we had a slow start to the day (let it be noted that we did NOT go to church anywhere on this vacation day and, yes, it did feel a little bit different).

We headed out to the Caw Caw Interpretative Center where we could see the results of an experiment in planting tea and an old rice plantation. We walked a longish nature trail on a boardwalk through the swamp and on the dikes between the rice fields. There was an old plantation there that was the scene of an early slave uprising. Nothing but the fields remained, but it was an interesting insight into a different time and a different way of life. AND, we think we heard an alligator grunting not too far from us...THINK, mind you. We didn't see the 'gator but felt a little uncertain about that stretch of trail. At the beginning of the trail, at the interpretative center, there was a warning about the presence of cottonmouth water moccasins and timber rattlesnakes. That did make me a little uneasy walking through the swamp trail, but we didn't see any signs of any snakes. Whew!

Then we went to a working tea plantation. It is one of a kind in the US, growing the tea, packaging it, and marketing it. It is owned by the Bigelow Tea Co but sells under the name of American Classic Tea. We had a tour of the production facility but didn't see the need of paying for a trolley tour of the tea fields.

Our last "tour" of the day was at the Charles Towne Landing Museum. We got there too late to tour the whole park and see the actual buildings but toured the museum itself and learned a lot about the original settlement of Charleston.

We ended the day with a pizza and a game of tri-ominoes.

Today we made the drive from Charleston up into the Blue Ridge Mountains. We're camped at Hendersonville, NC, tonight, planning to drive to Gatlinburg tomorrow where we'll stay for four days and then make a mad dash home, covering 700+ miles in two days. Those will be the hardest days of our trip. We are planning to get back home a week earlier than initially planned because my High School 45th Class Reunion got scheduled for August 7 so that I will need to go back to Tennessee on a weekend I had not initially planned for.

Mary is being amazed at the beautiful mountain scenery we are entering. And I am enjoying seeing it again. As for driving an RV in the mountains...well, today was a foretaste of up hill/down hill and steep grades. Lets hope that tomorrow goes well. And that I don't run into any underpasses lower than 11'4"!!!