Day 10 - Port Wentworth, GA to Durham, NC

Sunday, April 11, 2010

We are heading north on I-95. Zelda has had a transformation both of us are pleased with....she now has a British accent! We have all become closer; we are more tolerant and allow her to be who she is; after all, she is a foreigner.

As we observed last year, there are many empty billboards along the highway and we talk about the economic down turn our country is experiencing......but, just then, we spot our first "South of the Border" sign...only 180 miles to Pedro Land. Although there are plenty of indications that Pedro has seen better days, the cars keep rolling off at that exit to check out what is left.

It is a chilly morning...fresh...with the leaves further along and the topography introducing low hills. Caroly is looking at the map and spots an interesting state park, Santee State Park, on Lake Marion in South Carolina. We decide that we would like one final adventure before our trip ends. We exit I-95 at Santee and, after a short drive, we are in the park. Here we find cypress trees growing out of the lake, rivers lined with deciduous trees, many buckeye chestnut. We walk a limestone trail, stop and photograph an alligator. We lose the trail, find our way back to the car and head out again. We notice a sign that points to Historic Elloree, SC. We decide to investigate.

Elloree is a train town, and the railroad, now defunct, once ran through the middle of it. Three freight cars are parked on a side spur. The old wooden train platforms and the the concrete slabs, once platforms for silos, sit next to the tracks partially covered by grass. For a couple of hours we walk and take photos. Main Street, called Cleveland Ave, is vacant. The only buildings open are tax offices (getting close to April 15th). Antique shops, real estate agencies, a drug store, and a museum seem to be the viable businesses in this small town but they are all closed

on this Sunday afternoon. A tiny church on a side street, Refuge Temple Church, plays a recording of bell chimes, as it lets out the highly colorful dressed attendees...about 20 people.

After exploring on foot, we drive the perimeter of town, discovering a vacant, and badly vandalized, elementary school. It was kind of eerie...having the look and feel of abandonment. There was broken glass everywhere and books and some furniture littered the hallways and classroom floors. A few of the classroom blackboards still showed schedules written in chalk. The signage in front of the building touted this elementary school as the "Little University". The whole scene made us feel uneasy. We split.

We drive out of Elloree and back toward I-95, stopping at the Lonestar Barbeque & Mercantile. As we enter the premises, we find a buffet of wonderful southern cooking; fried chicken, baked chicken, rice, corn on the cob, mac & cheese, sweet iced tea, etc.. We are hungry, so we engage. A large group of Harley Davidson bikers follows us in. We find a table and Caroly positions herself to draw...Mary indulges in all kinds of local delicacies.These buildings ( a total of 4 ) are filled with authentic merchandise. Among the collection of objects we find are cowboy memorabilia, old movie posters, newspaper headlines from significant historical events (both local and national), packaged clothing, shoes, kitchen items, sports equipment, name signs, etc.. We take a few more photographs, ask more questions and get answers and some fascinating stories from locals.

On our way to the car we meet a very nice couple from New Jersey. They overhear Caroly and I discussing how we can get a photo of the two of us without a tripod. They offer to take our photo and, of course, we reciprocate. The four of us discuss the mercantile store and the buildings that comprise this unique roadside cafe and museum. We wish them a safe journey and return to the road.

Wow! For the next 3 hours we are so engaged in conversation about what we had just experienced, that we didn't notice that the fuel tank indicator was on and that needle was hovering just above empty. OMG! Mary exits I-40 in Raleigh somewhere and we try to decide which direction will be our best bet for gas. After a couple of u-turns, we spot a gas station and fill up the tank. Whew!!

We make our last stop, to pick up our kitten/cat, Opie. He has been vacationing with our friend, Sarah. After Sarah fills us in on their week together, we gather Opie and his gear and head home.
What a wonderful trip. We recognize how lucky we are to have been able to plot a course for adventure and take you along with us for the fun. Although this is our first attempt at travel blogging, you can be sure that it won't be our last. We are already planning our next adventure.

Bye for now!
Caroly and Mary


PS: At the request of a special friend who really wanted us to try to retrieve the "alien" spaceship we had encountered on day 1 of our trip, we returned to the exact spot only to find a scorched patch of earth where it had been sitting and, cut into the nearby grassy area, several crop circles depicting the pyramids of Giza and a giant bull. Whoa!
Mystery# 3 - What happened to the spaceship? Did it take off and return to space? Are the crop circles a message?