World United States Georgia Savannah

Weezie and Biggie's big trip Eastbound

Wormsloe Mar 27, 2012

March 27, 2012 Charleston, SC Amazingly, I took no pictures yesterday. Wow. First time. We had tried to go to an historic site called Wormsloe, but when we got there we discovered it was not open on Mondays. Bummer. Our afternoon activity was a kayak trip through the marsh. It was to start at noon. The sun was out, there was a light breeze, it was lovely. I got some sunburn on the tops of my feet because I had had my sneakers on when I put on the sunscreen (Biggie: “it’s March, you don’t need sunscreen”). Biggie, coincidentally, burned both his legs to a nice crispy red. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable, and very eager to share her information with us. We learned about marsh grass, fiddler crabs, periwinkles, osprey, tides, etc. We paddled through ever narrower tidal paths, and thankfully there were no bugs! We were on the water 3 hours, and the last half hour was against the wind, which made for work when we were tired. But it was a nice afternoon. This morning, before leaving the campground, we returned to Wormsloe, thinking it was just going to be a photo op for half an hour. Wrong. It was a fascinating place. When Georgia was being settled in 1733, as a Christian utopian community, most of the settlers died or fled the first year. Noble Jones was one of the few who survived and flourished. He was a carpenter, surveyor, farmer, dairyman, and community leader. His house was built from “tabby”, which we heard about on our tour of Savannah. It is a material made of crushed oyster shells, lime, sand, and water. It is poured into ‘forms’, where it is allowed to harden for a few days. We can’t figure out why it stays together, but it does. Wormsloe, his plantation, was productive until the mid 1900’s. Absolutely fascinating. His story has never been heard in NJ, and maybe most of Georgia doesn’t know it either. Our drive to Charleston was just over 100 miles, short by our standards, and we were set up and hooked up by 3:00 pm. A nice shower, and a nice dinner out in the city.

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