I Am a Motorcoach . . .

. . . with a puzzlement. Please look at this photo and tell me if you notice something missing . . .

Exactly! No roads. As noted in previous blogs, this computer on wheels knows some stuff – lots of stuff! Yet, for the title of me, I can’t get my circuitry around the universal passenger-appeal of beaches. Heading north on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, I have no need for a right turn blinker; ditto for a left turn blinker when traveling south. Why do so many travelers want to go where we are cut off from half the travel options? Don’t get me wrong, I am always happy to get orders for coastal regions because of all the miles getting there. But once there, the blunt reality of “ocean” is a dubious destination in my view. Do they market these coastal trips as “half-off”?

It does give me great appreciation for tour designers, who are masterful at making the most of less at these locations. We never seem to be lacking for itinerary.

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

OK, so a big reason for heading to Myrtle Beach in April is for the greenery. While visual conditions back in the Midwest were stuck between grays and browns, nature’s emphasis in South Carolina was variations of green. It ushered my passengers from my spiral steps into their beachfront hotel.

A half-hour drive south of the hotel, Brookgreen Gardens has been called “One of the seven wonders of the Carolinas.” Brookgreen is a botanical wonderland and one of the top sculpture gardens in the U.S. But the significance of this selfie is the three signature South Carolina botanical features I’m posing with: Spanish Moss (the swirly hanging stuff), Live Oaks (some we encountered were more than 300 years old), and the Resurrection Fern (it loves the limbs of Live Oaks, earning its name by showing dead-brown one day and reviving to vibrant green with a bit of rain the next).

Another half hour south from Brookgreen Gardens is Georgetown, South Carolina. And twelve miles south of Georgetown is the Hopsewee Plantation. The original 500-acre rice plantation sat amid 40,000 acres of rice cultivation in Georgetown County. Sitting on a bluff fifteen feet above the Santee River, Native Americans recognized the land as prime real estate, protected from regional flooding by its high position. Thus the name Hopsewee – “High Point.” Built between 1735 and 1740, this stately plantation house was the home of Thomas Lynch Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Except for the addition of electricity and modern plumbing, this original structure has been spared alteration through the years. Though open for public tours, it continues today as a private residence.

Situated about fifty yards from the house are two cottages, slave quarters thought to have housed fifteen to twenty people (house-slaves: mammies, cooks, maids . . .).

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

KING’S HIGHWAY NEWS: The oldest road in the United States, King’s Highway was a 1,300 mile project begun by order of Charles II of England in 1650. His intent was connection of Boston, Massachusetts to Charleston, South Carolina. Native American trails predating European introductions were widened to accommodate wagons and stagecoaches. Postal routes between Boston and New York were utilized. Completed around 1750, Kings Highway remained more of a trail than anything resembling a modern definition of road or highway. But the highway system continued to evolve, with bridges making river crossings passable and technological developments smoothing rutted travels. Today, I-17 is a paved high volume coastal route through the Carolinas. In Myrtle Beach it is known by another name: King’s Highway.

GULLAH-GEECHEE NEWS: Hugging the Atlantic coast from the south side of Wilmington, North Carolina to northern Florida is a ribbon of cultural heritage known as the Gullah-Geechee Corridor. Gullah is a Euro-African creole that developed because of the slave trade. English being the language of commerce, Gullah developed most recognizably as a dialect of English. But the predominant influence upon the Gullah-Geechee culture was the interactions of West Africans from many different language groups. On the Hopsewee Plantation, for example, forty West African dialects were noted to be spoken.

My passengers enjoyed the Gullah-Geechee insights shared by their Hopsewee tour docent, Zenobia Harper. A descendent of West African slaves and raised in the Gullah culture, Zenobia strives to preserve aspects of her familial heritage. It was this concern that led her to write a poem for her daughter, which she shared with my passengers in Gullah and English.

Dem Fo Gals
Gawd stick be e chillum, e got muccha good ting
fling bout
he meke dem fo gals Lub, Hope, Joy, and Peace fuh to
hep e chillum out
Oonuh mus lub ebrybody, ’cause she jeet de pain
and de hut
Hope ent neba nutt’n long as oonuh mean fa good
and den wuk
and when oonah holding e hope en e han da joy ga
meke em shout and dance
and if oonuh steady keep peace en e head the debble
ga no chance
Oonuh ent got time fa tarry dey plenty wuk in
disyah wu’ll fud do
while oonuh sending up e timber dem fo gals ga
see onnuh t’ru
Four Beautiful Sisters
There are many gifts God in the universe did release
among them four beautiful sisters, Love Hope Joy and Peace
Share with others as much love as you can, because
She rids the world of pain
as long as she’s powered by your good works, Hope is
never in vain
and when your hope is realized, you’ll reap the
rewards of joy so kind
and when conflict and war surround your body,
search for peace within your mind
You have so much to offer this world, so many
wonderful things you can be, keep the four sisters
with you as you shape your destiny

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about travel discoveries I think you’d like to know about.)

The River Oak Cottage Tea Room. Located on the Hopsewee Plantation, this tea room scored high marks from my passengers for its setting, atmosphere, food, service, and the signature plantation tea.

Quote Of The Day samples

“Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to service. Without it, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.” – Mary McLoed Bethune

“To expect defeat is nine-tenths of defeat itself.” – Francis Marion