A Day at the Beach

A few weeks ago we went to the beach. It was a blast. Of course there were a few minor meltdowns but in the end it was worth it. The beach was Folly Beach, just south of Charleston. Folly (as the locals call it) is a lovely little town that has escaped much of the growth and development the rest of the south eastern seaboard has seen. It does have the usual assortment of grot shops (ask Jane and Elizabeth what they are if you can't figure it out.) We rented a nice little condo with some friends and their kids.

The girls are twins and one was in Isabelle's class at Montessori. Their parents found the place and it was pretty much just what we wanted. It was on the backside of the island overlooking a creek that emptied into the river. Since the whole island is only about a half mile wide we were never really far from the beach.

The complex we were in also had a small pool which gave the a girl a place to cool off in the afternoon in the shade (not in the picture above). The place is interesting from a planning point of view as the layout is very much a grid. The east west streets are numbered and each one has an access to the beach. The main streets are Center Street and Arctic Avenue-why Arctic I can't imagine.

The architecture is neat as we are in some serious hurricane threat. The houses are mostly on stilts and either have nothing under them or parking and storage. Some had little marks painted on them to show where Hurricane Hugo got up to back in 1989. The range of houses was from simple and cabin-like to downright opulent. Lots seemed to be summer homes for rent with multiple bedrooms.

The weekend started on Friday with a drive to the shore. We stopped in Columbia so Jane could go to a bookstore she had researched on the net. I had packed my whitewater and sea kayak. Maggie was off to the kennel as a weekend at the beach was not going to be much fun for her. After Columbia we skirted Charleston and went straight in to the condo to find our friends had arrived just minutes before us.

Mornings were spent at the beach. We had breakfast in the condo and headed out right away. It wasn't crowded that early but was pleasantly warm. By 10:00 it was pretty much hot and a dip in the water was often required. The water was not exactly cool but was refreshing. Water temperatures were about 75 to 80F (that's 24 to 27C). The waves were just right for splashing about and did allow me to get out for some surf kayaking twice. The new boat is a good surf boat and fits me very well. I guess I made a good purchase.

Afternoons were usually in the pool or having a nap, or both. The girls really liked the pool because it was small enough to puddle around in and not too crowded. The parents often sat in the deck chairs and took in the sun or shade.

I also had my sea kayak out and paddled the creek out to the ocean. I saw some sea kayaks in the distance but stayed away from them as they were obviously part of a course. I also encountered two more small groups out on a guided tour. Boat traffic was everywhere. Some were more courteous than others. The marina in Charleston had some real big yachts that would make some of what you see on the waterfront in Halifax look small.

The food on Folly is very diverse but like most seaside resorts they keep to a very similar theme: lots of seafood (Isabelle really enjoyed it as shown above). Since Jane and I were both suffering from seafood withdrawal we dove right in. We had flounder, shrimp, crap, oysters, and other great treats. Some or our favorite places were the Lost Dog Cafe and Taco Boy. We also at a little place on the way into town called The Sand Castle that served up a very healthy serving of Alaska King Crab legs. Isabelle and I ate them for supper and then had enough left over for a nice snack at lunch the next day. Taco Boy was another place we ate for lunch. Thankfully they didn't seem to care we were wet and sandy as we came back from the beach. The guacamole and salsa were very good and the tacos came in lots of different configurations including vegetarian and some really good fish tacos. I had a bite of our friends fish taco and wished I had ordered it. Even Isabelle's chicken quesadilla was huge and full of cheese.

The Lost Dog Cafe seems to be an institution in Folly and was very busy the morning we went for breakfast. Since Jane and I couldn't decide on what to get we shared a wonderful eggs Benedict and a corned beef hash. Isabelle did well with just bacon and eggs. The place was well decorated with lots of pictures of local and vacationing dogs. There was also lots of original signage and memorabilia. Outdoors you could sit on the patio and the dogs got a bowl of their own.

The whole weekend just reminded me of how much miss the ocean. I grew up on, in, and near the water and really miss it and three and a half hours drive is a long way.