Arrival on Johns Island, South Carolina
After a rough couple of days riding through Southeast Georgia, it felt good to take a break for a couple of days on a campsite just outside Charleston, South Carolina. It gave us time to recollect our thoughts, and possibly reconsider our adventures. Andrea has discovered that multiple days of cycling compounds the pre-existing carpal tunnel syndrome she has in both wrists, and also has a cumulative effect, leaving her unable to hold a pen or a fork for a day or so. This health complication has led us to believe, unfortunately, that it may be best to cut this adventure short, as a cross-country bicycle tour would likely do further damage to Andrea’s wrists. We have some planning to do, and will keep you updated as our journey evolves. For now, we’ll tell you about the next step in our adventure: farming!
On Sunday morning, we rode our bikes from Lake Aire Campground to Thorn Chase Cottage & Farm. On the way, we crossed a bridge over the Stono River from the mainland to Johns Island, one of many interconnected islands along the south coast of the Charleston area. The ride to the farm was beautiful, with old oaks waving their Spanish moss at us as we passed, and geese watching their goslings in the various ponds and marshes. The farm, located down a quiet private road, is a gorgeous property, small in size but not in character. The host, Renee, greeted us and invited us into the kitchen to have some lunch and to fill us in on the workings of the farm. Currently, the majority of the chores just involve tending to the animals. There are sheep, chickens, quail, rabbits, a dog, two cats, and a donkey. Seeing as it is spring, most of the crops are just seedlings, or haven’t been planted yet. We will be spending about two weeks at this farm, helping with the spring planting and animal care.
After talking about our duties while at the farm, we got to chatting with Renee and another WWOOFer named Susie, and the subject of breweries came up. Renee suddenly stopped the conversation, remembering that she was supposed to attend a one-year anniversary party for the local brewery, as she knows the brewer and he asked her to come. She invited us to go with her, so of course, we did. The brewery, Low Tide Brewing, was bustling with a crowd of locals, drinking beer, eating food and enjoying the live music, beer dunkings and other activities. We were introduced to Andy, the owner and brewer, who recommended we try the Coconut Chai Brown Ale. It was delicious, as was the atmosphere of the brewery.
After spending a bit of time there, Renee asked us if we would like to see the famous local Angel Oak Tree. We were excited to see a historic local landmark, so she drove us over to meet the tree, explaining along the way that she had once been a naturalist for the city of Charleston, and had worked with that tree regularly for a time. It was a magnificent tree, enormous and ancient, with winding branches that reached low to the ground. Some even dipped into the soil, seeming to help prop up the rest of the massive growth of the tree. There were many tourists visiting the tree, taking selfies in front of it and walking around and around it. Renee looked upon the tree with great reverence and a bit of sadness, recalling how her children used to climb its branches, but as it is now protected, no one can climb it any longer. She woefully noted that the tree seemed much happier when people could climb upon its branches. We took once last long look at the Angel Oak, and thought it might be nice to come back to it sometime on our bikes, and pay it a longer visit.
As it was nearly dinner, we all piled back into Renee’s truck, and headed back to the farm. We observed and helped with evening chores, with a lot of help from two of the other WWOOFers, Susie and Mary Katherine. We all sat down to a delicious soup dinner, tidied up, and went to bed. It was a wonderful first afternoon on the farm, and we look forward to a productive first week!
