Ramblin’ down the Road

So one of the major advantages to living in Charleston, SC is all the cool stuff that’s close enough to reach by car and get back again in the same day. Recently Christina and I decided (thanks to a great issue of Charleston Magazine) to embark on a few day trips and see what we could find. After our success on Memorial Day weekend and Edisto Island, we thought: what the heck?

The first was a BBQ place (duh!) in Santee, SC called Lone Star BBQ and Mercantile. Awesome little step back in time. It consists of 4 wood shacks more or less and has a buffet style lunch and dinner. 

The food is nothing that’ll blow you away (although it was really really good, no BBQ connoisseur would recommend it. Think Country Buffett and there is some pork involved) and their ‘gift shop’ looks like the leftovers from a Cracker Barrel. But! The atmosphere was awesome! Wood floors, old old stuff everywhere, newspaper articles, typewriters, flags, even an old Post Office that remained in service until just a few years ago. Too cool. The grounds were nice to walk around; there were rocking chairs and two cats on the porch. After a full meal and way too much dessert, nothing is better than a rocking chair and a cat or a dog to pet. Big smiles all around.

Now Christina and I, since we met, have both had a love/hate relationship with banana pudding. Any “real” barbecue place will serve banana pudding as a dessert. It’s as important as their sweet tea in order to be considered authentic. It just is! Now, a couple of things here… One, banana pudding is kinda gross. Two, after you stuff yourself with pork and all the ‘fixins’ the last thing you want is a thick pudding with bananas and wafers and whipped cream on top of all that food. And, three, it’s nothing special. Banana pudding is just that; nothing special. So why then is it mandatory? Why do I love it so much? Why!!!??? I would never eat that normally so why do I feel like I have to after barbecue? And why oh why does it taste so good? We Southerners must have known something when we paired banana pudding with barbecues back in the day because it most certainly a tradition that I feel the need to uphold. Christina does not share that opinion.

I do look a little guilty with my pudding. But Happy!

After that trip we decided to stay a little closer to home and check out Wadmalaw Island for our next adventure. On the way we had to drive across Johns Island, SC which houses the Angel Oak. The Angel Oak is a 1400 year old (yes 1,400 years old) oak tree. It is a sight to see but it was also a little sad. There has been talk of cutting it down or letting it fall down since it is supported by wood beams and metal cables these days. Now that I’ve seen it I hope that one day soon they do let the old thing go. It just felt tired and old and ready to move on. But it was a sight to see and beautiful.

On Wadmalaw Island there are three great things to see (aside from the gorgeous drive out there). One is America’s only Tea Plantation. Bet you didn’t know that was near Charleston did you? They have a very interesting and beautiful place with tons of different teas to try (and buy). I had a very nice Peach Tea and more time spent in a rocking chair.

From there it was on to the Firefly Distillery and the local winery as well. Firefly, while they have a wide range of products, became famous for their Sweet Tea Vodka. Awesome! Mixed with some lemonade, it’s what’s called a John Daily. But, at the distillery, you can do a tasting of six of their products for a mere $6. Vodkas, moonshine, bourbons, liqueurs… oh yeah. Luckily, the winery (and its tasting room) are only a few steps away. Christina and I had decided not to do a tasting there but after talking with the woman behind the counter and asking a few questions, she gave us what amounted to twice the tasting they offered for free! Double awesome!

So in the past week we’ve managed to check off a few to-dos and we have a few more slated for the summer. Of course, I’ll be taking my annual trip to Atlanta to see some Braves games at the end of the month as Dave and I will be in attendance for the Larry “Chipper” Jones retirement game.

Stay posted dear reader there will be more tales of excitement and entertainment to come I’m sure. For now… Peace!