Beaufort, South Carlonia

Duane and Debbie told Pat about their trip to Beaufort, S.C. and Pat thought it would be a good place to meet for a weekend. So, we each drove to Beaufort and met at the same Bed and Breakfast that they had stayed; what's more, we stayed in the same room that they had had. For me it was a four hour trip and a five and a half hour trip for Pat. We had dinner at the local "Outback" restaurant. Saturday morning breakfast was served at eight-thirty and it was excellent. First, a cream-cheese blintz with a drizzle of raspberry sauce, followed by a cheese Quiche with two wings of very crisp toast. Pat could not finish her Quiche and I ate the remainder. The coffee was so-so. At eleven in the morning we had arranged for a guided, walking tour of historic Beaufort. We were told to meet in a parking lot and to look for a person with wild, crazy, white hair. He was easy to spot even though there were many people in the lot. He wore army boots, short shorts, denim shirt and no hat. There were nine of us in the tour group. One lady wore flimsy sandals, one guy wore Crocs, Pat and I wore cross-trainer tennis shoes. It was designated as a three hour tour and I wondered how the wrongly shod would endure it. The guide, John, had a loud, strong voice and he spoke clearly and distinctly. He said he had read many books about Beaufort history and was fascinated with the historical nature of his adopted town. Also, we found he was somewhat of an actor, and, in addition, found beauty in many mundane things. Some things he covered: 1. The Spanish Conquistadors came here when they were running out of Indian slaves in Mexico. They invited over a hundred Indians on board their ship and then merely sailed away with them. 2. The Gulf Stream is just off the coast and this town made a good spot for privateers (or pirates) to prey on Spanish Gallions that were sailing back to Spain. The pirate town of Point Royale was close by. 3. Sir Francis Drake lived in Beaufort and used it as a base of operations. 4. Twice, all the inhabitants of Beaufort were slaughtered. The first English contingent that was left here by the first English ship were not welcome; the Indians, remembering the Spanish, killed them all. The second time, the established English colony was raided by the Spanish who killed everyone. They were retaliating for the plundering of their Gallions. 5. The surrounding area plantations grew sugar-cane, switched to cotton then switched to rice. This was a very rich area and money was always rolling in. 6. During the Revolutionary War, South Carolina lost more men than any other State. 7. South Carolina secessionists first met and planned their moves in Beaufort. 8. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union, even before Lincoln became President. 9. The town fell into Union hands in 1862 and the large mansions were used as hospitals. The wounded were brought in by ship and stayed until they had recovered. 10. After Sherman had spared Savannah, he came to Beaufort for some rest and relaxation. He used the town as a base and burned everything in the surrounding two hundred miles to the ground. After our three hour walk my feet were tired, Pat's too. The slippered lady and the guy with the Crocs were nowhere to be seen. We had lunch in a little Bistro; shrimp, calamari and a cup of clam chowder. We went back to the B & B and got a most restful nap. For dinner, we went to "The Upper Crust" for Italian food. After dinner we drove around the old town to get a closer look at some of the large mansions.