All Hallows' E'en

'Ghoulies and Ghosties and Long-Legged Beasties 

and Things That Go Bump in the Night' ...

We're ready.  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

This 'n That

Bob is a Border Collie, a breed known for their, um, quirks.   She is paranoid about water and over the years has come to associate certain types of structures with water -- whether there is water involved or not.  She is suspicious of anything made of boards and refuses to walk on them. You know, because there might be water.  

After the wooden boat show we walked out to Morgan Point on Winyah Bay.  Like most hikes where we live, it involves crossing a (waterless) boardwalk. 

This is how Bob hikes.

Back on terra firma and all is well in Bob-World. This is a peaceful,secluded little sandy beach and so tempting.  You can't swim here though.  Alligators get first dibs.  

My daughter sent these photos this past weekend.  Mason, a boy with three basketball- playing big brothers, is playing in the YMCA youth program for the first time this year.  Here he is explaining to his dog Annabelle why she can't come along like she did to soccer.  

Looks like he's going to do well -- if the eagle mascot doesn't eat him!  

The Writer has been busy, too -- getting the seeds out of the pumpkin for his favorite snack.  This guy had some giant seeds, too.  And they were delicious roasted.  

We're calling her Wanda.  

Wooden Boat Show

The 29th annual Georgetown Wooden Boat Show is one of my favorite events of the year.

Since I didn't see you there, I'll show you some of the highlights.  

Boats begin to come in about the middle of the week.  By the weekend the marinas and the hotels are overflowing with boats and those who love boats, especially boats with a history.

This boy had one job to do -- watch the boat.  He would not leave his post for a rub or even look at me, no matter what I did or said!  

"Vroom Vroom" is a one- to two-seater (depending on the passenger's physique) with a jet ski engine and "jetsquirt  power" -- propelled by water.  It's pretty, it goes real fast, and The Writer informs me you can buy a jet engine on Amazon, in case you're interested in making one. I'll be watching from shore -- with my ear plugs in!  

Children's regatta in the harbor, Goat Island behind.

Up on the street, Front Street, the Coast Guard and Coastie the robot welcome folks. We have our own Coast Guard station here in Georgetown. They have docks and a building now, but back in the 80‘s they worked from an anchored floating barge.  

There are always lots of paintings, jewelry, and fancy handmade oyster knives for sale at the Boat Show, but this display caught my eye.  All the pieces are made from driftwood with parts of it polished and parts left natural.  Some were quite beautiful and would, ahem!, look very nice in our sunroom.  

I saved my favorite boat this year for last, this sweet little Moth Boat.  I can just imagine it with its sail full of wind, the wind blowing my hair back, the salty spray in my face, gulls wheeling gracefully against the bluest sky   ...     oh, yes, where was I?

Here, you can read the description for yourself.  

Cruisin' - Laurens, SC

Laurens, SC - 1930s filling station, brought back to life in 2002 by a guy, Richard Kuhnel, who wanted a place to honor his cruisin' days of the ’50s and '60s. Come back on the first Friday night of any month to see vintage cars -- and vintage people -- hanging out once again at the old filling station.  

Come inside, put a nickel in the slot of the red and white cooler, and slide out a green frosty bottle of Coke.  While you sit on your front fender and talk cars, remember the guy who came out (or ambled over from the bench) when your car drove over the bell that summed him.  Remember sitting in your car, elbow out the window, saying, "Fill 'er up!"  "Check the oil, ma'am?" he'd ask while scrubbing every last bug off your windshield.

 Imagine, all that for 25 cents a gallon, maybe $4 for a fill-up.

Oh, be still my heart!  Look what's parked next to the station.  A vintage Shasta trailer, a "canned ham" with wings intact, in my favorite Shasta color, "aqua" blue.  

So me, don't you think?

Blue Highways ... Western South Carolina

  In our version of holing up from hurricane Florence, we found opportunities to explore a new area of our state.  In my next few posts I'm going to take you on a journey back in time on the backroads of western South Carolina.  

  The history of the inland part of the state is dominated by mills and their influence on every aspect of life in small towns.  What's left of them -- their giant old smokestacks of crumbling bricks -- still rise up tall over the horizon as you approach each town.

The Pendleton Mill was first a cotton gin built by the Sitton family during Reconstruction.  Over the years the gin made one family wealthy and for many years provided a living for the people of the town.  

  An oil mill was added to the site before the turn of the century to make use of the cotton seeds extracted during the ginning process, using what had previously been waste.  After World War II, the mill was refitted to join another innovation in the cotton industry, turning cotton seeds into fertilizer for agriculture.  

Today, the mill site is abandoned.  What was once the life blood of the town, now is an eyesore and a serious problem.

The owner can't afford to pay taxes on it and the city can't afford to confiscate it, demolish it, and take on the responsibility to clean up all the toxic waste accumulated over the years.  The town is in negotiations with the EPA for assistance.