Day 48 – It was very foggy & humid at 7:30 this morning, 56 degrees. By 9 a.m. the fog had burned off and it was a beautiful, sunny, breezy day. We wanted a little down time & did not rush out this morning. We went out at lunch time to a farmer’s market that’s known for its’ Key Lime Pies, available Thurs.-Sun. Oink oink.
Okay, REALLY oink oink, King’s Farm Market was a small, not-impressive old building but go inside and they had homemade southern food, bottled sauces, bread & veggies galore. For eating there, we were told there were already-made sandwiches in the refrigerator, that was it, but prepared food to take out was in the refrigerator and the several freezers. Every time we stood at one of the freezers to read the list of contents, we had to move aside as people came in and grabbed various items to go. The homemade dessert pies were flying off the refrigerator shelf. They were well stocked, so we weren’t worried about them running out of cold food anytime soon. They had various homemade dishes, in season, including seafood, chicken, and vegetable casseroles & quiches, Lasagna, dips, plus cheeses, eggs, and lots of homemade sauces, jellies, fruit butters, salad dressings, etc. We decided to forego the sandwiches, do some food shopping, then take the food back to the RV to keep it cold & eat our regular sandwiches there. We bought that Key Lime pie, two packages of grits already mixed with cheese & garlic – just cook the grits with butter & water and you’re done. Shrimp & Grits? Yep, that’s the plan. We bought some tomatoes, some Crab Dip, King’s Corn Pie (a sweet corn & vegetable casserole served in their pie shell), and for tonight, the freezer item that was being sold the most – Maria’s Shrimp & Crab Casserole. King’s Market: 2559 Highway 174, Edisto Island; (843) 869-3600; www.kingsfarmmarket.com.
Key Lime Pie from King’s Farm Market, Edisto Island, SC
After our standard lunch, we headed back out to the Edisto Island Museum. We’d passed by the sign for this place many times; the posted hours were Tues., Thurs., Sat., 1 to 4 p.m. It hadn’t yet fit in to visit, but the more time we’ve spent here, the more hungry we were for historical information. We were glad we went. It was very interesting. “For well over 300 years, Native Americans, Spanish priests, Spanish pirates, English settlers, Africans, and others, including a famous Motown musician, James Jamerson, (James Jamerson) have come to Edisto Island and left their influence on this beautiful & unique Island.” (From Edisto Beach Island Guide, 2018-19.)
The museum was located in an old, restored building and it was well worth the trip. The front opens into a gift store with nice stuff, if you’re into that. (Rob got a T-shirt.) Then it meanders through several different rooms, each with a different theme. We saw very old Indian artifacts, then graduated into a room that had items from slavery times & covering through the time period of “freedmen” as they were called (not the women) when the slaves were freed & granted land of their own. (They certainly were not living in plantation mansions, but they appeared in the pictures to be free and happy, nonetheless, farming their own crops & producing 2/3 of the South Carolina cotton.) Artifacts from this time period were shown, plus an original slave cabin which had been donated and brought to the Museum for display. More like a very small one-room cabin. Artifacts from original Plantations, and entire rooms, had been set up. It was very informative. There was a room with Civil War memorabilia, too. (There are very few original plantations remaining. Most were destroyed during the Civil War.) Edisto Island Museum: 8123 Chisolm Plantation Road, Edisto Island; (843) 869-1954; www.edistomuseum.org: days open vary seasonally; $5 per person, $4 for seniors.
Click on any picture below to see a slideshow.
Then we went to the Edisto Beach State Park Environmental Learning Center. This facility was located adjacent to the Live Oak Campground where we were staying. There was a walking trail leading from one to the other. We drove. Although my knee was feeling pretty good, I was not up to that walk! We’d stopped by yesterday, but they’d just closed (4 p.m.). Entrance to the Learning Center was free if you were staying at the Park, otherwise there was a small fee.
The State Park gives you a list of programs offered by the Center when you check in. Unfortunately, twice now, we’d missed the Alligator program. We intend to come back here again, so we will catch that one another time. Anyway, the Environmental Learning Center was an interesting stop. The building was green-designed and really nice. There was a back porch with wooden rocking chairs (for the elderly, ha ha) and the bird feeders were occupied with happy birds. It evidently had lots of programs designed for visiting field-trip children, but it was nice to walk through nonetheless. There was a short film, you sit in rocking chairs again, and the film was interesting. This area really is fascinating! We observed a Ranger feeding the Hermit Crabs bits of shrimp. The Crabs were funny as they raced over, protected by sea shells, to grab their bits of shrimp. We were glad we stopped by.
Environmental Learning Center, Edisto Beach State Park, Edisto Island, SC
Environmental Learning Center, Edisto Beach State Park, Edisto Island, SC
Alligator skeleton, Environmental Learning Center, Edisto Beach State Park, Edisto Island, SC
We got back to the RV at 3:30 p.m., much earlier than the previous, longer-driving days. We started a loaf of bread, eventually opening the wine & beer, and the girls were glad we were home early. We had the Crab Dip with french bread we’d baked previously. The bread was great; the dip appeared to have Miracle Whip instead of the Mayonnaise they’d claimed; at least that’s what it tasted like. Otherwise, good. The Shrimp & Crab Casserole was good, perhaps a bit heavy on the bell peppers & celery, but this is a matter of taste. The Key Lime Pie? Good, not the best ever. The high today was 71 degrees, a lovely day.
Edisto Beach State Park: 8377 State Cabin Road, Edisto Island, SC 29438, call ranger station at (843) 869-2156, call park office at (843) 869-2756, for reservations call 1-866-345-7275 or www.southcarolinaparks.com. This was our 2nd time camping here. The previous campground review still applies, see the link at ABRUPT END TO TRIP #5, the only differences being that this time we stayed the first night at Site #79 (not a great site but it was the weekend) and the next five nights we had reserved waterview Site #122. Site #118 from our first visit still had a better view, but Site #122 from this visit was much larger. We’d stay at either campsite again next time – and there WILL be a next time here!
Torturing Ted once again, I see.