Nancy here.... I am writing this a week late, but better late than never!!
Last Saturday, Bill and I drove south to Mt. Pleasant. We had several goals. One, buy me a pair of hiking boots; two, check out Fort Moultrie to see if they sell America The Beautiful Senior Pass to the National Parks; and three, stop at The Whole Foods Store. We accomplished all three and more...
We headed south on Highway 17 and then made the left onto the Isle of Palms Connector, over the Intercoastal Waterway and into Isle of Palms. We turned right towards Sullivans Island and headed to Fort Moultrie. We use to live on Isle of Palms, but rarely get down this way so it was nice to see some of our old stomping grounds. (Click Photos to Enlarge)
We could have spent the entire day here exploring, but we did have a couple other things to accomplish. However, we will be back and plan to spend more time at Fort Moutrie, check out Patriots Point and take the ferry to Fort Sumter. But now it was time to get some hiking boots.
They have built a new bridge from Mt. Pleasant to Charleston. It is really beautiful! While we did not cross the bridge today, I was able to get a couple pictures of it from the parking lot behind the visitor's center.
Map of the Area
Isle of Palms Connector and Bridge over Intercoastal Waterway
Heading over the Intercoastal Waterway
Heading into Isle of Palms where we made a right turn toward
Sullivans Island and Fort Moultrie.
Our first stop was at the Fort Moultrie visitor center. We checked with them and sure enough, they sell the America the Beautiful Pass. Bill will turn 62 in November and we want to get his park pass but could not find a place close to us until now. We have toured the fort when we lived here, but the visitor's center has a new roof top viewing area.....SO, up to the roof of the visitor center we go......
View of Fort Moutrie from the roof of Visitor's Center
While we did have some other things to do, we decided it was such a beautiful day, we would take a quick tour of the fort.
Entrance into Fort Moultrie
Guns defending the harbor
We climbed up to the gun tower to get a great view!
View of harbor with Fort Sumter in the distance
Closeup of Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter Poster
Underground network of tunnels
We could have spent the entire day here exploring, but we did have a couple other things to accomplish. However, we will be back and plan to spend more time at Fort Moutrie, check out Patriots Point and take the ferry to Fort Sumter. But now it was time to get some hiking boots.
They have built a new bridge from Mt. Pleasant to Charleston. It is really beautiful! While we did not cross the bridge today, I was able to get a couple pictures of it from the parking lot behind the visitor's center.
Bridge over Charleston Harbor
Heading back towards Ben Sawyer Blvd, we passed this restaurant, Poe's Tavern. It must be the place to eat on Sullivans Island. They were parked everywhere and waiting in line to get in. It was almost 2pm when we took this photo.
This is the place I came to get hiking boots. It is located on Ben Sawyer Blvd. I got a great pair of boots and also a pair of water shoes. I was not able to find boots in Myrtle Beach. I guess we really don't have much of a market for hiking boots at the beach.
Our next stop was The Whole Food Store in Mt. Pleasant. One of my favorite shopping places. Wish they would build one in Myrtle Beach. We spent some time hitting the bulk bins and getting some nice produce. Then is was time to head home.
Lots of traffic and there is the BRIDGE again!!
Going north on Hwy 17 we passed many Sweetgrass Basket Huts. They have name this section of Hwy 17 "Sweetgrass Basket Highway." This is a local art and these women have passed this art on from generation to generation.
Sweetgrass Basket Huts
On our way home, we took time to check out
Buck Hall Recreation Area.
Buck Hall Recreation Area - Highway Sign
Description of Buck Hall Recreation Area
We have passed this many time but never stopped. What a nice surprise. There is a small campground, with 15 amp service, a bath house with showers, a large boat launch area and a fishing dock. There are hiking trails and a pretty place to kayak. May have to get back here!!
Entry Road and Palmetto Trail Sign
Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge Poster
Campground
View of Intercoastal Waterway from Campground
Fishing Pier
Boat Launch
Beautiful Sunset on a Beautiful Day!!
Looks like a nice area. Would love to take the Eagle on that stretch of water!
ReplyDeleteThrough surfing the web, I became familiar with Buckhall and we would love to stay there and watch the boats on the intercoastal waterway. I didn't know they had nice trails and a good place to launch our kayaks..thanks. It's such a small CG that I'm afraid we wouldn't be lucky enough to get a spot.
ReplyDeleteSyl
Syl...
ReplyDeleteYou can make reservations through http://www.recreation.gov/ Just type in Buck Hall and you can see what is available and when. Also, it is not that long a ride from Huntington Beach, less than and hour. Maybe we could take the kayaks down for a paddle :o)
Looks like a great place to visit - we will be spending extensive periods of time in SC with our daughter and her family now living outside of Columbia.. thanks for the pics and tips! ~Marti and Paul
ReplyDeleteGreat Pictures Nancy. We had reservations at Buckhall but cancelled them in order to get back up to Virginia more quickly. I thought I read they had 30 amp service. 15 would be tough to do without turning one thing off in order to turn another on. :-) But we hope to get back and try it out on our return back down the coast. Thanks for the pictures.
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