Dixie'll do it (Part One)

Well, we're back from Folly Beach, after having spent a week among the Southern beach bum locals!

We spent quality time with Dave's family on their home turf - the South. We visited Fort Sumter, the site of the opening shots of the Civil War (or, as they call it, the "War of Northern Aggression..." But, as the confederates fired the first shot, I'm not sure how they work that one out).

It's a little unnerving to enter the former slave market, now a place for locals to peddle their homespun wares. (But, I did get a cute purse!)

And that same day, we ate at Hyman's, a local restaurant where each table boasts a celebrity who has eaten there. Our table hosted Samuel L. Jackson once upon a time!


We also went kayaking in the old rice plantation fields of the area, where we got a nice suntan (a.k.a. sunburn) and good exercise. We saw the church that was used in filming "The Patriot," and lots of swamp wildlife. Unfortunately, two out of three cameras were ruined on the trip - but not ours! (Sorry, Tom and Elder Dave.)

Of course, there are always dangers when you're dealing with wildlife.

Unfortunately, during the trip I was ruthlessly attacked by several forms of regional fauna, including: a lizard in a port-o-john, fire ants in a swamp, and geese on a plantation.

Oh yeah, and we went to the beach!


We didn't really go swimming at all, but we did get out to the beach a few times and walked to the famous Folly Pier. At night, you can see as many stars in the sky as you can at Hoot Owl in Minnesota.

And did I mention that the weather was beautiful almost every day? Except for a few incidents of getting completely soaked in monsoons (ahem, Charles Towne Landing and the Animal Forest of Hell), the weather was sunny and warm.

Oh, and I almost forgot the best story of the local craziness: we came upon a young couple loudly arguing about whether filet mignon is a fish or a cow. We felt kind of bad, because we started laughing as we passed. The boy said, "See, they're laughing at you!" and I said, "Yes, it's cow." Jeez...you need a girl from the Midwest to tell you the difference between beef and fish?!

More pictures to come in Part Two!