A Long Travel Day

I know that only 2 pictures look a bit silly but could write volumes on these two!

First of all, the almost empty hushpuppy basket at lunch today. Melody, we received your message and decided showing the empty basket would be easier on you! Lee and I fought over the last two. We do love those greasy little things! Lee had a seafood salad so thought she was entitled to a greater share of the hushpuppies. Judi and I had the fried platter of shrimp, oysters, and flounder. Judi is trying to watch herself so she had a double serving of cole slaw while I had the fries. The decision making at mealtime is quite a burden but we soldier on and skip very few eating opportunities.

Speaking of eating (which we do a lot) Lee was leafing through the wonderful book "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" and there was Wilber's Barbecue from yesterday. We were amazed to read "Wilber's Barbecue epitomizes eastern-style North Carolina barbecue, where the entire pig is smoked and served up with white or yellow slaw and nary a hint of ketchup. During a typical weekend at Wilber's 25 pigs are rendered fork-tender for the hungry masses." Yep, those "hungry masses", that's us!

We left New Bern this morning with all good intentions of following explicit directions from Google. Right! Somewhere I missed a turn and we ended up on a two lane road with very little traffic. Stopped at a little roadside grocery store and were told to, "Go on down the road to the flashing light, turn right and that will take you to the Interstate." Almost 2 hours and lots of little towns, cotton fields, and farm land later, we reached the interstate. Before heading south we made that fishy stop for lunch. Yum!

By 4:00 we were heading east again on the Inerstate toward Charleston when we encountered a cloudburst! I was driving and the rain was coming down so hard we slowed to a crawl, turned on the flashers, and the windshield wipers could hardly remove the volume of water. When it stopped after about 5 minutes we all breathed a sigh of relief, and then here came another one! Drivers were very cautious which we were thankful for. I have never driven in rain that intense and I don't think it has ever rained that hard in California!

Which brings me to the other picture. On the interstate before the cloudburst I suggested to Lee that she take a picture out the front window to see if we could share what the road in South Carolina looks like. There are pines planted along the side of the freeway as well as the medium strip. It is really pretty and you feel you are hemmed in by vast pine forests. I don't know if that is the case but it surely feels like that.

Found our way into the Historic District of Charleston and staying at a Hampton Inn right across the street from the Visitor's Center. Not driving around lost this time. Going on a tour of the city tomorrow and then out to an historic plantation. We walked around the area a bit tonight and are glad we are staying here again tomorrow night.

The best news for me today was hearing from Lisa that she and her family were headed home after being evacuated because of the fires. Now we are waiting to hear from Judi's granddaughter and other friends. Lisa's house smells a bit smokey but all is well. Thank goodness.

Love from the Gotta Go Girls