Tuesday January 29

Forgot to write yesterday that Bonnie McCardell told me that corporal punishment is still legal in South Carolina, even in preschool.

Another beautiful sunrise.  Went paddling for a few hours.  Saw dolphins, loons, oystercatchers (a bird for you nonavians) and got buzzed by 4 pelicans who's wingspans must have been at least 8 feet.  I was ina a salt marsh which was lined with oyster beds.  A kayaking tour guide I talked to said the only client injuries in 10 years of leading groups were cut feet and hands from oyster shells.  TRUE FACT ALERT!  Oysters were a staple food in NYC from colonial times until the early 1900's when the beds were finally fished out.

Went looking for a plastic coffee filter cone.  I would have had better luck finding an abortion clinic in SC.  Finally bought a stove-top espresso pot which made a pretty passable cup of coffee.

Many of the churches here are enormous.  Not like Chartres Cathedral, though.  They spread out for acres.  Saw one today with an indoor soccer arena.  The up-side is the great gospel music on the radio.

Talked to a couple nice young guys in the campground who are freelance caterers for a Tibetan Buddhist organization that holds retreats all over the US.  They are on their way from Florida to another retreat in New York State and had a large statue of Buddha on their picnic table.

Monday January 28

I woke up to pee in the middle of the night and the moon was just rising.  It was huge and orange and was matched only by the sunrise in the morning, which was so exquisite that not even not being able to make my morning cup of coffee could put me in a bad mood.

So I drive over the rotating bridge spanning the Beaufort River on my way to drop off the Toaster at the manufacturer to get mended and accessorized;  I'm cruising up Cartoret St and there's a small woman jogging that looks a lot like Bonnie McCardell.  And, yes, it was Bonnie McCardell.  She and John have a home here.  We had lunch at Plums, on the veranda overlooking the river.  It was about 65 degrees.  Bonnie and I took off our sweaters.  Ours was the only table not underneath a heatlamp.

The Toaster got it's leaks repaired, new shelves in the cupboards and galley, electric outlet inside for external power and both the trailer and car got washed.  They were excited that I had a kayak on the car and wanted to take pics for advertising.

Bought fresh shrimp on the way back to the campground ($5.00 a pound), cooked them up and ate them smothered in Frank's Hot Sauce.  Sat by the campfire with the couple from Zimbabwe.  Turns out he was head of propaganda for the losing side in the war 28 years ago that brought the dictator Robert Mugabe to power and changed the name from Rhodesia.  He works for the South Carolina Realtors Association now.

Talked to a couple kayakers and tomorrow I'll go paddling.

Sunday January 27

Got to Hunting Island State Park in Beaufort SC around 2:00.  I have a campsite right on the beach.  Next to me is a retired couple from Zimbabwe and across the way, two people who run a B&B in Alaska in the summer.  As I'm writing I'm watching a pink-orange glow in the south-east, the spillover from the sun setting around the corner of the island.  It was close to 60 during the day but the temp is falling quickly with the dusk.

The retired lady across the way invited me in for soup.   I seem to have a way with retired ladies.  She travels with a kitty on a leash and her hobby is taming feral cats.  She showed me the scars on her hands that she's gotten while trying to put leash harnesses on teh rotten little animals.

The neighbors say they saw 10 kayakers at the end of the island.  I'll track them down tomorrow.

The first tragedy of the trip:  I left the plastic coffee filter cone in Bristol.

Saturday January 26

My first night on the road.  (Actually my second.  I stayed in Lakeville, CT with old friends from my graduate school days.  I grew up with Diane and worked for Joel in his family coffee business in NYC, the origin of my coffee snobbery.  He's an artist and she's a potter.

Tonight I'm in Emoria, VA.  In a Walmart parking lot.  THanks for the atlas Linda and Jack.  I ahve a view of Wong's Chinese Garden Restaurant and Kelly Tux Rentals.  But the price is right.  It's not too bright, noisy or cold.  No other RV's here.  I knew I wasn't in VT anymore as half the folk in the Walmart were people of color.

I stopped for gas in southern New Jersey where people speak a lot like me.  Stopped 4 hours later at the FLying J Truck StoGLen, VA and heard thick southern accents.  The parking lot was full or RB's with Quebec licensed plates and the restaurant full of hypernasal French-Canadians.

The car is running well, the coffee is terrible and I am so excied to be on my way.