Fryedaze Cruising Adventures: Beau....fort SC (as in Beau..ti..ful)Look

We were very excited to visit Beaufort (bea you fort like bea uu tiful!), S.C. as our friend Denise Pace has been telling us about this place for a while. We left Savannah and a 47.5 mile run we pulled onto the face dock at the City Dock. We are quite fond of city docks- they are usually more reasonably priced than private marinas and are right downtown. Beaufort did not disappoint. We had been warned of the current and tides from other boaters so we timed our arrival at slack tide. Dave is getting really good at his timings- I am just along for the ride!

We had a late lunch after arriving and Dave was able to find a barbershop- with 4 barbers in it! It was so awesome- and one of the barbers was the original owner's son. We walked around the town and planned to take the carriage tour the next morning.

Our horse and buggy carriage ride was with Mr. Bill and Merlin the horse. Frankly-- they were both kind of old and their tone and timing matched each other's cadence! Merlin moved at one speed and so did Bill! But he was very informative and we very much enjoyed our tour of beautiful Beaufort! After the tour we walked around the quaint shops on Main Street. We had signed up to take a tour of a plantation and a Gullah colony at 1:30.

We went on the tour with Lori and Jamie- a wonderful couple from Sparta, SC. They were delightful people and Jamie had a wonderful bass voice. Our tour guide, Jan would often break out into song that was from the time period or related to the stop we were at. Jamie was able to sing harmony along with her. It was amazing! We visited the Penn School which was started for the slaves by two women that were sent down by William Penn to educate the black slaves. It was remarkable. All the structures including the church were built by the then freed slaves. The language and the people were Gullah. Martin Luther King was a frequent visitor and they built his own "home" for him but he was killed before he ever occupied it. It was absolutely amazing what still stands today. The old church was destroyed in a hurricane and then the rest was burned. The cemetery was still intact.

We left there and went to an arts store where local Gullah women sell their paintings and artwork. There were baskets in there selling for $2400- the workmanship was incredible. We then went to a plantation. All I kept thinking was Scarlett O'Hara wouldn't have lived there! It certainly didn't look like any of the plantations that I had seen on television or in the movies! But the plantation was huge and still has some of the original descendants living in outbuildings around the home. There is a prayer chapel that remains (although it has been rebuilt as it too was destroyed in the hurricane).

When we returned to town, we had time to go to the town's candy factory for free samples. Dave bought some and even though he enjoyed it- he said it certainly wasn't Gardner's!!!! The highlight of the day was when we got out of the van, Jamie and Lori gave us a demonstration of their shagging. We told them we learned last November in the Northern Neck of VA but we weren't so good! Both of them were incredible! All and all it was a wonderful day and stay in beautiful Beauford!