A little more from South Carolina

For the last SC entry we've got a lighthouse, a garden, and some history.

1. The lighthouse at Hunting Island State Park. This is a pretty cool place - and beautiful. There are lots of trails to hike and bike, a fishing pier, a great driftwood beach, and a big campground. And it's just minutes away from Beaufort.

2. Hobcaw Barony is on the north edge of Georgetown...not too far from Myrtle Beach. This property was owned by the Baruch family and is now owned by the Belle Baruch Foundation. I knew about this place because of one sentence in one book....so I didn't really know what to expect here. What I knew is that it had one of a very few surviving slave roads, and I thought I should make the effort to see it.

If you are interested, you can find more about the influential Baruch family. The brick house (below) is Mr. Baruch's "hunting lodge." He hosted Churchill, Pres. & Mrs. Roosevelt, Irving Berlin, etc. He advised presidents, influenced policies (including some related to taxes and fuel)....you get the idea. His daughter's (Belle) will designated that the property be used for teaching & research.

The Friendfield Village was a slave village and then, until 1952, a community of freedmen and their descendants. The pictures include:

1. The slave street showing church, houses (which were known to hold up to 12 people at times), and a multi-purpose building next to the church.

2. Inside of the church

3. Inside one of the slave houses - this back bedroom was added later. The original front room shows the "lucky strike" box that Belle offered to them. They used newspaper and cardboard for insulation.

Before passing through Myrtle Beach to count the huge number of miniature golf curses (lost count!) up and down the Ocean Highway, I visited the first sculpture garden in the USA, Brookgreen Gardens. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark. I thought it was a bit overpriced, but the grounds are very nice & it has a special garden & sculpture area for young children.

1. Pegasus by Laura Gardin Fraser is the largest sculpture in garden.

2. The Fountain of the Muses by Carl Milles is one of the prettiest spots.

3. One (in a series of eight) of the Children of the Gods sculptures by Williams.

Oh yeah, One thing that impressed me about Myrtle Beach is how well they mark the public beach access locations, and how many there are. It was also the cleanest stretch of beach I've seen in days and days.

So, that's it for now. I hope to make my way to North Carolina's Outer Banks soon! I'll be in touch....