Charming Charleston: Part One

As you probably read in our last post, The WWOOF Life at Thorn Chase Cottage, we’ve been doing a lot here on the farm in South Carolina. The work is fairly laid back, but it does keep us busy, and as such, we haven’t had much time to go into the city of Charleston to check it out. Thankfully, our generous host, Renee, has taken the time to take us out and about around the greater Charleston area, and introduce us to some very interesting people along the way.

Last Tuesday, Renee took us and the other two WWOOFers, Susie and Mary Catherine, to the local Johns Island Irish pub, Seanachai, for their Tuesday night special of a burger and a beer for $10. The pub was bustling with locals, and had a wonderful atmosphere, full of Irish touches and without any big-screen TVs. It is a members-only pub, but only because they want to keep the place respectable within the community and to encourage those who come to really get to know each other and be able to talk and relax together in a comfortable environment. They even discourage cell phone use within the pub, so that people interact more!

They had a nice cocktail selection and a seemingly endless choice of whiskeys, but we were there for beer and their well-known burgers. The craft beer selection was short but quite good, and the burger was absolutely delectable. Renee had invited one of her coworkers, John, to join us for the evening, and it was really great to have a chance to meet and get to know another local South Carolinian. He is a military retiree from Colombia, South Carolina, but currently lives and works in Charleston with other military veterans, helping them find jobs and establish a civilian life in their community. He was very kind and generous, even paying for another WWOOFer’s meal after he asked us all to roll a die to determine whose meal he would pay for. He had lots of stories about his very rewarding job, as well as about bourbon, his drink of choice and his favorite thing to collect. We ended up staying at the pub’s backyard beer garden until well after dinner and dessert, just talking and having a wonderful time.

On Friday we had an opportunity to talk to John again, as he came over to the farm to share a homemade pizza dinner with us. This time we also got to meet another of Renee’s coworkers, Marie Elana, who carpooled with John to share dinner with us. They were both a joy to talk to and share a meal with, and we all shared lots of stories and many laughs as the night wore on.

We had a chance to leave the farm and explore the area after morning chores on Saturday. Susie, our fellow WWOOFer, wanted to see Folly Beach on James Island, and kindly offered to give us a lift if we wanted to tag along. We were excited to see a local beach, so we packed up a few things and headed over with her. It was a bit of a cloudy day, but it was warm, so we dipped our feet in the cool Atlantic waters for the first time in both of our lives! The beach was so different here compared to the beaches in Los Angeles that we are used to, as the sand doesn’t really slope into the sea, but rather fades in slowly. There were many pools of water along the shoreline, and sand bars where you could stand past the shore’s edge. Even the sand felt different in those spots, and our feet sank in as though we were standing on quicksand. Mitch mentioned that it felt as though the wet sand was a non-Newtonian fluid, much like cornstarch and water.

After strolling along the beach and up onto the pier, the three of us were getting quite hungry for lunch. There were many shops and restaurants near the beach, so we walked around for a couple of blocks until we found a seafood restaurant and bar called Snapper Jacks, which offered lots of local seafood. Mitch and I split a platter that included fried fish, shrimp, and oysters; and Susie had a delicious looking blackened shrimp salad. We all enjoyed our lunches, then went for a drive up and down the island to check out other beach spots before heading back to the farm. All in all, it was a peaceful and enjoyable time down at the shore, and we were very grateful to Susie for taking us along with her.

We will continue our adventures in the Charleston area in our next post!