Was I too harsh on Charleston? Maybe. Maybe my disappointment about our visit to long-anticipated Fort Sumter colored my experience. Maybe it was the busyness, the expensive fanciness that I can no longer abide (or afford). I don’t know. Regardless, we won’t be rushing back to it.
What I loved about our time there was out at the Army Corps of Engineers’ campground at Buck Hall Recreation Area. The Francis Marion National Forest starts right there and extends deep into the state. We stayed two full weeks in the same spot, which felt decadent after a month and a half of 3 or 4 day stays. We made lots of short day trips and lazed about a few days too. The weather was a bit all over the place, but wind and cold were frequent descriptors. We learned that our bug-net house’s upper supports will invert in high winds, not ideal. We also learned that if you take those supports out, it stays in place, albeit doing a whipping, wiggly, windsock man dance.
I can’t say enough good things about the hosts. Pam and Doug were welcoming and friendly, and they maintained the grounds and restroom/shower-house like they were brand new, rather than the whole facility literally being a month away from shutdown for renovations. were a wealth of information about the area. We checked out several spots they recommended and have hopefully passed on a few decent ones as well.
In a throwaway comment, we mentioned that we were looking to get into work-camping and host volunteering as a way to extend our time on the road. Talk about good timing. Lots of emails, texts, and details later have brought us to getting fingerprinted yesterday while background checks are underway. Why? Because we’re well on our way to doing some park hosting for the USACE ourselves very soon! I can’t thank them, and especially Pam, enough for giving us a much needed nudge in the right direction and at the right time.
If this journey of ours has emphasized anything to me, it’s just how many wonderful people there are out here in this wide, wonderful home-is-where-you-park-it world, if only you slow down enough to get to know them.
After arriving and setting up, we realized that 1) the closest grocery store for the week’s groceries with decent gluten-free options was a 1/2 hr away from the campground and 2) we were famished. Seeing that there were only two close options, we headed to a kind of meh-looking place since it appeared to have one or two things I could make work.
Driving in, we noted the completely empty driveway and saw a note announcing its permanent closure. There were heavy sighs and grumbling tummies. Plan B was a seafood place about 5 minutes away that, from the truck, looked like a combo bait shop/convenience store. There may have been more sighs.
Some years back, a chef decided to leave the hustle and bustle of Charleston and open a little place focusing on local seafood, great ingredients, and simplicity. He wasn’t wrong to do so. I’m so so soooo glad the other place was closed. Did it matter than the beer and wine list was limited? Did it matter that disposables were used more often than not? Did it matter that the decor is more sea shanty meets country cabin meets ribs joint than white glove and spats?
No, it did not. We noticed a line forming behind us at the front door. It was five o’clock. The owner cruised by and chatted with us about the area, telling us where and when each of the items from our meal were caught. It was only with great willpower that I didn’t order “all of the above,” when the server asked if we wanted anything else.
We went back a week later and called it my birthday present.
TW Graham is one of barely a handful of businesses in McClellanville, South Carolina. Never heard of it? Well, I bet you’ve seen it. Remember when Forrest Gump jumps in the water to swim to Lt. Dan? That was the inter-coastal waterway that both the village and campground sit on. Remember the post-hurricane scenes later in the film? That was post-Hurricane Hugo footage of McClennaville’s docks and fishing fleets.
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