Day 21 - August 26 The Coast, or so we thought

This morning it was muggy (88% humidity) and 73 degree when we left at 7:05am. We're in the south, so we had some level of expectation that this would be the case.  However, feeling it in person brings an intensity to life that expectations can't prepare you for. In case there was any question as to whether we were really in the south, that was resolved when we saw 2 pots of boiled peanuts in the convenience store when we fueled up.  Then as a third confirmation Shannon snapped pics of tobacco fields. We took Hwy 43 to Hwy 17 toward Jacksonville.  Parts of this road are portions of the Civil War Trails which is a route that we have criss-crossed a number of times since we left Gettysburg.  Much like what was experienced in New England, it was a similar experience over the past few days only with the Civil War time period.  Tim mentioned that several times as he looked toward the woods he could easily visualize the Union forces interfacing with the Confederate forces.  We stopped at New River HD which is outside the Marine Corps Air Station main gate at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC. 

We expected to get our first view of the beach shortly after we left this dealership.  As Holly Ridge came and went we didn't see any beach.  We followed US 17 further and still no beach despite the map showing that we were right on the coastline.  We circumvented Wilmington, but took a break at Beach House HD in Shallotte, NC.

Just down the road from here we crossed the South Carolina line. When we stopped North Myrtle beach the humidity had dropped to 76% but the temps had jumped to 88 degrees.  It was HOT! 

Shannon in particular enjoyed N. Myrtle Beach as there were so many fun things for kids and families to do.  We saw go carts, mini-golf, ice cream shops among a number of others. We had lunch at Oscar's across the street from the Harley shop. The portions were large and the food was good.  The shops have a knack at pointing us in the direction of yummy goodness.

 
We continued down scenic Hwy 17.  The closer we got to Mount Pleasant we started seeing booths along the highway where women were selling sweetgrass baskets that they had made.  They were beautiful.  As we tend to do, we hit Charleston about the time of 5 o'clock traffic.  We did cross a cool bridge named the Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge.  It was slow going getting into Low Country HD. As we dismounted the bikes we all had wet pants from the sweat.  It was uncomfortably hot.  We all hydrated and cooled down a bit before making the final push into Hilton Head, SC.

We made one more stop prior to arriving at our final destination.  It was near Sheldon, SC.  As Torrey fueled the bikes I went in to grab him a monster.  I asked the man in the store if he was from the area.  After he confirmed he knew the area I asked him when we were going to see the water?! We've been driving for hours (miles and miles) and still no ocean views to speak of.  He explained to me that due to the marshes, which are different than swamps, there's no way that the road could be any closer to the water.  He confirmed that by riding this road we were essentially on the Carolina coastline.  He mentioned that the real positive that comes from not having the road any closer to the ocean was that the marshes have been kept relatively pristine. 

I came out of the station to find Alan rocking in a chair on the porch, Tim and Shannon visiting with three other motorcyclists who were riding some new Honda Goldwings, and Torrey chatting with a lovely couple on the other side of the gas pump.  Turns out the gentleman was familiar with Pocatello because his company had been a contractor with Hoku.  Like so many others, his company also lost millions of dollars on that deal.  After our brief visit with them, we moved the bikes away from the pump to the area where Cowden's were parked.  Turned out that one of the 3 bikers was from Shelley, Idaho originally, so he too was familiar with Pocatello.  Once again we're reminded, it is a small world.

The last few miles seemed to take forever.  It was hot.  It was late. And, there was a stop light about every mile. The resort is tucked away on an island, somewhat similar to the Long Beach, WA place we stayed.  The moss on the trees hung just above our heads in some places as we neared the Hilton Head Island.

 

 Total Miles today: 413.1;
Time to travel that distance: 12 hours, again. (It's been 3 long days in a row)
Total Cumulative miles: 7782.6
Tomorrow: Water yet?