50 States, Day 243

  Myrtle Beach to Charleston, 133 miles
 
"It's Christmas every time you let God love others through you."
~Mother Theresa




The weather broke and off we went. While cold, the sun shone and the weatherman promised warmer weather in the afternoon. Riding through South Carolina in winter is a treat, as there are plenty of broad-leafed evergreen trees dripping with Spanish Moss like an old man's beard. And green grass, a winter treat. The Gold Wing was happy to be running once again.



Charleston cut its teeth as a port city (and a portal for the slave trade) and the houses indicate a lot of wealth. Huge three story homes sport lovely covered decks with columns that scream money. Fortunately they still stand, overbearing with bricks and white paint. We rode through town gaping at the houses and commercial buildings standing tall on both sides, with trees that form a canopy over the roadway.

The city gained Civil War notoriety as Fort Sumter endured the first attack from the North. The Confederates took it over when they elected to secede from the Union. Tomorrow we'll do a walking tour of the city and learn much more than our (well, my) brains can hold. We cruised through town at the pace of cruising, then headed toward the motel and dinner. 



We discovered Fatz, a local chain restaurant. Willie served our dinner, and between Fatz' excellent food and Willie's awesome enthusiasm, it proved to be a wonderful eating experience. You know how some people just love food? That was Willie. Here's Willie describing their bread: "You spread that creamed butter on the fresh roll while it's still warm, close your eyes and take a bite, you'll think you're eating a donut."
And Wille, about the chicken: "Take a bite of that tender chicken, marinated for seventeen hours, breaded and fried, and you'll say, "I love Willie." I did and I did. A truly pleasant eating experience. We were so impressed, we almost left a tip. Kidding!

And now, full, relaxed and ready, Quilter Girl!

At breakfast this morning the tables were all full and there was a man sitting in an overstuffed chair balancing his breakfast on his lap, looking very uncomfortable.  We had two extra chairs at our table, so I offered them to him and we had company for breakfast.  Dennis and Carol were from Allentown, PA and had seen the bike and hoped they would meet us.  We had an awesome time talking; Dennis is a retired cop who drag raced bikes, earning four National Championships.  He was known as the Flying Fuzz.  He owns eleven bikes, including a new CanAm so he has a lot in common with Kevin.  Carol is a school principal who will be retiring soon.  We enjoyed getting to know them so much.  




So we got everything loaded up and took off south on 17, enjoying the sunshine and the tacky seaside businesses.  Really, how much beachwear can you sell in one town?  

QG

Tomorrow we tour Charleston. See you then.




 
 

2 comments:

Mel said...

I was glad to read that "the weather broke" and you had good riding weather. Hopefully that broken weather won't get fixed anytime soon!

Unknown said...

It's weird to read of the weather chaos from places we recently left!
KP