North Carolina

The coast of North Carolina is interesting, both its history and its geography.  The history of course ranges from indigenous times to pre Revolutionary war, Revolutionary War, the Civil war, WW1 and  even as late as WWII.  The geography very much influenced that history and still influences development today.

North Carolina's low islands, marshes, shoals and sounds proved conducive to privateering, pirating and later bootlegging.  Before foreign countries and the US had adequate navies, authorization would be given to privateers (mercenaries) to capture enemy ships and take cargo, which would then be divided between the authorizing country and the privateers.  It was not hard for that to transition to pirating, where no sharing of the seizure was required.  During the early 1700's Blackbeard, among many others, used the geography and local knowledge to terrorize commercial shipping off the coast and at entrances to towns such as New Bern and Beaufort.  After evading capture for years, when he was finally caught, his head was severed and hung triumphantly from the naval vessel's bowsprit.  No lengthy death penalty appeals for that one.  While the NC governor was complicit in his activities, the blame for allowing such plunder and sharing in it was easily shifted to a subordinate.  Nothing changes.

Blackbeard gets his due

It is interesting that while NC was the biggest bootlegging operation in the US, NC banned alcohol 12 years before prohibition and waited to lift the ban for 3 years after its repeal.

 The coastline is lined with long,  narrow and low barrier islands which are known as the Outer Banks (OBX) in the northern part of the state.  On the eastern side of the islands is the Atlantic Ocean, to the west are wetlands and sound.  I think everyone within 100 miles of the coast has a boat and many have devices on the front of their trucks to hold poles and ice chests.  Some fish are caught in the tranquil sounds and others require going out to the Atlantic.  In all of the Carolinas we never had their famous BBQ but took advantage of seafood at every opportunity.

Outer Banks of North Carolina

On southern end of the coast we stayed close to the wonderful old town of Beaufort, which is pronounced bowfort, unlike its SC cousin which is pronounced buufort.  They are different in feel but share the wonderful old homes and commercial buildings.  Some homes date to the early 1700's and many are from the 1800's.  They are generally well maintained and feature plaques displaying the name of the original owner and date.

This house was restored by the lady in the next picture

She restored the lovely house that is now for sale as it is too large for her and her dog

 Across from Beaufort is a barrier island, mostly housing development but a gem we almost missed is the best preserved fort yet, Fort Macon.  The fort was taken from the Union and briefly held by Confederates but recovered and held by the Union for the duration of the war.

Much to our delight our visit coincided with a wooden boat show in Beaufort.  The area has a wonderful Maritime museum as well as a shop for making/restoring wooden boats.  Not as extensive as Fort Townsend in WA but fun nevertheless.

This man is making and demonstrating building the model below

A classic wooden boat

Beaufort Wooden Boat Building Center

 Inland from Beaufort is the town of New Bern with endless lovely homes, churches and commercial buildings.  New Bern was a major boat building area until modern boat building techniques moved production elsewhere though they are still making Hatteras boats.  It is also known as the home of Pepsi.

Original "Pepsi" Pharmacy

Max and the Big Dog looking across at New Bern

 Having heard about the Outer Banks (OBX) for years, I was eager to visit. The OBX run about 100 miles from north to south and the islands are linked by bridges and ferries.  The northern area, close to Virginia has become a vacation tourist mecca with the usual endless tee shirt and surf shops, restaurants and pretty much unbridled development.  I made the mistake of booking our campground in that part of the OBX but it was handy when we had a "Check Engine" light and had to make a 150 mile round trip to the Subaru dealer in VA.  It also afforded a chance to see the Wright Brothers Memorial and Museum.  What an amazing pair those two were.  From studying aerodynamics to literally building their own engine, they succeeded in the first flight.

Orville and Wilbur Wright

Wright Brothers Memorial on the hill where they initially flew gliders

Life size stainless steel replica of the first plane flown by the Wright Brothers

Reproduction of the actual Wright Brothers Plane

A favorite thing to do on the OBX is kite flying and I could not resist buying Maddie and Eleanor "starter kites."

We decided to head to the Southern part of the OBX and found a beautiful, primitive campground and explored all the way south to Cape Hatteras.  This area is much less populated with miles of preserves.  There we saw the iconic light houses, a historic life saving museum and happened upon a once a year ceremony honoring the 4 English sailors who perished when their vessel sank in WWll.

One of Several Iconic Lighthouses on the OBX

Going Out to Save Lives

The Lifesaving Service was founded in 1871 and originally part of the Treasury Department  but later  part of the Coast Guard. The saying that you have to go out but you do not have to return remains a tenet of the Coast Guard to this day.  One of the many stories of life saving valor was featured at the  Chicamacomico  Station we visited.

"The Mirlo rescue, conducted by the Chicamacomico Coast Guard Station (originally part of the U.S. Lifesaving Service) on 16 Aug. 1918, is considered one of the most dramatic operations in U.S. Coast Guard history. The British tanker Mirlo, a 6,679-ton vessel with a crew of 52, was transporting a full load of gasoline from New Orleans to Norfolk when it struck a German mine off of Wimble Shoals early in the afternoon. The initial explosion rendered its engine room and wireless inoperative, and a second blast set the cargo of gasoline ablaze. With no hope of saving the vessel, the captain and crew boarded the Mirlo's three lifeboats. The first capsized, throwing its 16 passengers into the sea. Only 6 of the men clinging to the overturned lifeboat survived a third explosion, which split the Mirlo in two and set the sea on fire with burning gasoline. The second lifeboat, with 19 men on board including the first mate, drifted aimlessly in the sea of fire. The third, carrying the captain and 16 crewmen, soon cleared the mass of flames and headed toward shore.

From the Chicamacomico Coast Guard Station, Capt. John Allen Midgett, with a handpicked crew of 6 surfmen, launched his power surfboat. The men passed the captain's lifeboat on its way to shore and proceeded toward the cloud of black smoke masking the scene of the disaster. Midgett and his crew, cutting the motor and relying on oars, were soon able to maneuver to the overturned lifeboat and haul the 6 seamen aboard the Coast Guard craft. Even as one of his own crewmen collapsed from exhaustion and exposure to the intense heat, Midgett, using motor power again, began searching for the mate's lifeboat, whose crew was both bailing water and beating at flames on the boat. Just before dusk the Coast Guardsmen sighted the lifeboat, put a line on board, and towed the boat and its 19 survivors toward Chicamacomico and safety. Releasing the mate's craft, Midgett left it and the captain's boat offshore while he off-loaded the 6 survivors he rescued first onto the beach. He then returned twice in the darkness until all 42 survivors were safely ashore.

For their exceptional bravery, each member of the Coast Guard crew was awarded a Gold Lifesaving Medal from the United States and a Victory Medal from the British government."

As we traveled the The Outer Banks (OBX) we saw the Midgett name on many streets and buildings.

The boat used for the Mirlo rescue of 42 Seamen in 1918

Original Lifesaving Equipment

Seeing a large influx of uniformed people at the maritime museum in Cape Hatteras, we learned that every year on May 12, the anniversary of the sinking of the HMS Bedfordshire, the US Coast Guard, the British Royal Navy and the National Park Service gather to honor the victims.  The vessel was one of 23 trawlers loaned to the US with experienced British crews to help in submarine patrol off the NC coastline.  The US was so ill prepared to protect the coastline that in March of 1942 experienced an average loss of one ship a day due to German U-Boats.  German subs sunk so many ships in WWll that they called the coast Torpedo Alley.  There were no survivors and the 4 bodies washed ashore are buried on the OBX on soil deeded to the British in perpetuity.

Ceremony honoring the British Soldiers

While camping along the coast we found some beautiful campgrounds.

Max Explores the OBX beach

                                   

Military Presence and History

Throughout the South I have been pleased to see both a military presence as well as obvious support for our military.  It contrasts with some West Coast experiences like San Francisco refusing the battleship Iowa from WWII and the island realtor who will never fly the American flag on patriotic holidays, substituting instead a peace flag.   Must sees in Charleston are Patriots Point, Fort Sumpter and the Civil War submarine, the Hunley.

Patriots Point is located across from the historic Charleston and is comprised of the WWII aircraft carrier Yorktown, the destroyer Laffey and the cold war era submarine Clamagore.  Also featured is the Medal of Honor museum and the "Vietnam Experience" exhibit.

View of the aircraft carrier Yorktown and the destroyer Laffey at Patriots Point 

The Yorktown was the first stop at Patriots Point.  It was commissioned in 1943 and named after the ship lost in the battle of Midway, served in until 1975  when it was decommissioned, towed to Charleston and dedicated as a museum.  We toured the ship, from the engine room (that would be horrible duty) to the bridge, which is where I would want to be.

My favorite was the galley used to feed the 3500 personnel

The recipe for the revered Chocolate Chip Cookies was

112 pounds of chocolate chips
165 pounds of flour
500 eggs
100 pounds of granulated sugar
87 pounds of shortening
75 pounds of brown sugar
12 pounds of butter
3 pounds of salt
3 cups of vanilla extract
1 quart of water
1.5 pounds of baking soda

The smell of those baking would be like home.

While doing research on the ship I discovered a story I miss while touring.  As a dog person, it was quite a tale.

Although it is not known exactly when Scrappy arrived on the YORKTOWN, it is acknowledged that he was roaming the docks of Pearl Harbor alone when the ship pulled in to port in 1943. YORKTOWN sailors spotted the dog and smuggled him aboard the ship in a trash can, knowing that the ship’s captain Jocko Clark would not approve of having an animal aboard. But the crew enjoyed him, and he became the YORKTOWN crew’s mascot. The little gray dog’s real name was Scrapper Shrapnel, but most called him by the nickname “Scrappy.”  He was an Airedale; and although small, Scrappy was bold -- challenging the roaring planes on the flight deck for territory. The crew had a small life vest and helmet made for him. With Scrappy aboard, the tensions of warfare were eased.

The highlight of the Yorktown tour was meeting three men, one of whom served on the ship and was present for her commissioning.

Hal Syfrett, now 92,  served on the Yorktown

I also met two volunteers who were Marines in WWII.  The man on the right is 90 and served in a rifle company on Okinawa, the one on the left 94 was a fighter pilot.  The right hand gentleman asked if I liked Marines, and when I said I loved Marines he demanded a kiss.  I obliged and kissed them both.  What a naughty pair those two were!

WWII Marines

Perhaps because it was my era, the Vietnam Experience exhibit was the most poignant.  

Recreation of a Camp

As one toured the camp the loudspeakers constantly played the sound of helicopters, landing and taking off, an ongoing backdrop to life in the camp.

Advanced air support provided significantly improved medical intervention compared to prior wars.

The display included a River Patrol Boat from the Brown Water Navy which refers to naval activity on rivers which are often brown from land run off.  The Brown Water Navy was used extensively in the Civil War and revived in Vietnam.

River Patrol Boat

The simplicity and poignancy of the loss of south Carolinians was depicted in the dog tag display.

Fallen South Carolinian Dog Tags

Sadly, the Cold War era submarine is in need of considerable maintenance for which no funding exists.  We toured it and my thought that the submarine service was not for me, even though my height would be an advantage, was reinforced.

The boat tour to Fort Sumpter was pleasant and the historical background was laid out by a lively Park Ranger named Antoine.  There were many school groups on board and he had them engaged.  I thought that if I had had history teachers who brought the stories alive, I would have loved history.  It is only with age that I have developed an interest in the subject, perhaps a feature of perspective???

Fort Sumpter was the most defensible fort in the Charleston Harbor area, serving as part of the coastal defense system. As South Carolina seceded, followed by other southern states, the Confederacy took over most of the forts and naval yards but Fort Sumpter remained in Federal hands.    When Union officer Major Anderson consolidated his troops at Fort Sumpter, the Confederacy demanded his departure and gave him one hour to leave.  When he refused the shelling began and when fire threatened his ammunition and the fight appeared hopeless after 30+ hours, Anderson surrendered.  This marked the beginning of the Civil War.

  

Charleston Harbor was also the site of the first successful submarine attack in history on February 17, 1864, when the H.L. Hunley made a daring night attack on the USS Housatonic, sinking her in shallow waters. The Hunley, built in Mobile, was a privately financed vessel hoping to gain the $50,000 bonus for sinking the Union Housatonic so that blockage runners could enter the harbor.  Although the Hunley survived the attack, she foundered and sank while returning from her mission.

It was not until 2000 that she was brought to the surface.  Her location had been found and documented by a man named Spence in 1970 but no further efforts were undertaken to verify and retrieve the vessel.  In 1995 a NUMA dive team, headed by novelist Clive Cussler claimed discovery of the sub.  Litigation was undertaken regarding competing discovery claims but later dropped.

The raising of the submarine and subsequent restoration is a wonderful story.  Many experts have collaborated including marine archeologists, genetic detectives, genealogists and specialists in the preservation of relics.  The sub was placed in a fresh water tank with electrical current for over a year and is now in a Draino like fluid to remove the calcium encrustation from the iron surface.  There were 8 men who died in the last voyage and their remains were recovered and their likenesses and physical descriptions recreated from the skeletons.  DNA allowed some genealogical identification as well.

The Raising of the Hunley

The Hunley was only 40' long  and 4'3" high 

The still encrusted Hunley

Apart from the commander of the submarine, Lieutenant George E. Dixon, the identities of the volunteer crewmen of the Hunley had long remained a mystery. Douglas Owsley, a physical anthropologist working for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, examined the remains and determined that four of the men were American born, while the four others were of European birth, based on the chemical signatures left on the men's teeth and bones by the predominant components of their diet. Four of the men had eaten plenty of corn, an American diet, while the remainder ate mostly wheat and rye, a mainly European one. By examining Civil War records and conducting DNA testing with possible relatives, forensic genealogist Linda Abrams was able to identify the remains of Dixon and the three other Americans: Frank G. Collins of Fredericksburg, Va., Joseph Ridgaway, and James A. Wicks. Identifying the European crewmen has been more problematic, but was apparently solved in late 2004. The position of the remains indicated that the men died at their stations and were not trying to escape from the sinking submarine.

Crew member facial reconstruction

On April 17, 2004 the remains of the crew were laid to rest at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.  Tens of thousands of people attended including some 6,000 reenactors and 4,000 civilians wearing period clothing. Color guards from all five branches of the U.S. armed forces—wearing modern uniforms—were also in the procession.

The last funeral of the Civil War

Charleston

South Carolina is a lovely state, particularly since I think we have hit the weather sweet spot.  Not 30 degrees as it was when Jane and I visited nor the 100 degree, 80% humidity of summer.  Even the bugs have been manageable.  The scenery is peaceful with huge oaks dripping moss, endless small islands and wetlands and plenty of squirrel activity to function like Sunday cartoons for Max's viewing pleasure.  The food is good with lots of local seafood, still key lime pie but now peach cobbler as well.  The people are gracious and helpful, EXCEPT when driving.  Both in Hilton Head and now Charleston we find they are aggressive and not very skilled.  I was amazed when crossing in the crosswalk, coming from the Fort Sumpter Museum, and a woman driving fast cut right in front of me while I was 30% through the crosswalk.  I raised my hand in an Italian style gesture (no finger) and said something out loud, "What the heck."  The man behind me said "you must not be from around here."  I said no, and he explained that is how they drive.  He was from Denver.  I had no idea the "slow country" and gracious South would drive like NY City folk.  Pedestrian beware.

We are staying in a fabulous County park where the infrastructure is maintained, the staff are accomodating and the attractions rival private theme parks.  There are splash zones, spray water features for the little ones, kayak lakes and a dog swimming area.  The RV sites are shaded and large. I did discover, not having watched much TV in the RV, that a shady spot may mean no satellite TV.  I am not missing much and the Internet suffices.

I walk Max and found this at the park entrance-lit in the hours of darkness and used as a landmark for campers coming in after dark.

After Hours Campground Entrance Landmark

Such a peaceful place to walk Max

Cardinals are a such a treat

The Park has a wonderful Christmas Light Display.

Yesterday was a leisurely trip to the adjacent Wadmalaw Island to see the Charleston Tea Plantation and the Angel Oak.  The tea plantation is of recent vintage, now owned and run by the Bigelow family, but grows tea plants that were imported for a plantation northeast of the current one in 1880.  The tour is informative and one learns the process of preparing green, oolong and black tea and observes the equipment that is used.  Because it is the weekend and before the first flush of the year, no actual work was being done.  It is the only tea plantation growing and processing tea in North America.  The tea is grown without pesticides or fungicides and is served at the White House.  It is also a larger leaf style which gives a richer, smoother flavor.

Tea Plants on the Charleston Tea Plantation

On the route back to the campground we were able to view the Angel Oak, estimated to be 3-400 years old.

Angel Oak