The Sunday Story

I skipped breakfast on Sunday. I got a cup of coffee, posted the Blog entry, shaved, showered and got dressed for an outdoor romp.

Jake, Whiskey and I are taking a journey of some 30 miles to go to the Sandhill Wilderness area. We probably all need the exercise and Jake wants to find an (apparently) illusive “tower” that is supposed to be overlooking a lake. They couldn’t find it the last time they were here…

Sidebar: Carla wisely decided to stay home and prep for tonight’s feast.

So, we drove through many little towns en route. The biggest by far was Camden, the oldest inland city in America.

Sidebar: We all ate there once at a great restaurant, a while back.

I saw a lot of old vehicles. The mild winters (and no road salt) seems to help keep these antiques in great shape.

Sidebar: This is why so many Michigan enthusiasts come down South to buy old cars and trucks to restore. Up there, an ‘80’s car or truck is a pile of rust. Down here, a ‘40’s vehicle is just old, but not rusted.

I like seeing the old Volkswagens, the muscle cars and, especially, the old trucks. I love old trucks…

I remarked to Jake that this must be a newer road, as I didn’t see a lot of old houses. There were plenty of old trailers and newer brick or sided houses, but few “old” homes.

He said that probably wasn’t true (about the road) as Camden had to be connected by this road to Charleston. So, maybe they tore them down or remodeled them.

So, I started looking for multiple chimneys.

Sidebar: that’s the “tell.” Back in the day (at least up north) before central heating, you had a LOT of fireplaces to heat the house in the winter, so a lot of chimneys. I’m sure it wasn’t as important here in the South, but occasionally necessary.

Sure enough, I started noticing aluminum-sided or bricked houses with two or three chimneys. Apparently, they decided to remodel, rather than preserve, the homes (just as we in Michigan mostly do).

We finally arrived at the Wilderness Area. I offered the senor citizen card I got in Puerto Rico, allowing me into any National Park in America, free, until I die.

Sidebar: I also spend a few bucks extra each year on both the truck and the motorcycle to get in free to Michigan State parks. Never use it but, hey, I might!

Jake laughed and said admission was free!

South Carolina ROCKS!!!

We drove about four or five miles in until we got to the right spot. We dumped the car and started our hike down to the lake.

Whiskey’s nose was vibrating so much I was afraid it would fall off!

When we got to the lake, the first thing that happened was we scared a large group of ducks into flight. We turned left and followed the sandy path uphill.

Jake looked for this tower while I scanned the trail. I saw, and Whiskey scented, small deer tracks and turkey tracks. By the time we went about 1/8 of a mile, the ducks had settled back in, but still no tower.

Sidebar: I was picturing that lookout tower in Puerto Rico. It was like a farm silo on steroids and went WAY up into the sky. Nothing remotely like that here. But, the ducks had gotten over their fright and settle back onto the lake.

About 1/4 of a mile in, we came to a bench and a truck trail.

Now, at the trail head, the map said the tower was 200 yards in. We had LONG since passed that. So, all we could figure was the tower was damaged or destroyed by the massive flooding, because it damn sure wasn’t there and we hadn’t passed it.

Sidebar: My alternative theory was that the “tower” was really just a deer hunting blind and it rotted and fell down from age… Southerners…

So, we hiked back the truck trail and went straight to the car.

Sidebar: There were more deer tacks on the truck trail, but none of them were the size of an adult Michigan whitetail. Either these were fawns or deer down South are just smaller…

We loaded back in the car and headed home.

We made a brief pit stop on Camden. Jake took me to a historical site from the Revolutionary War (apparently he got tired of me whining about the lack of old houses, LOL) There were several preserved houses and cabins, along with a blacksmith’s forge and a buggy shed. Too cool!

We took I-20 home and stopped for gas.

Back home, I went and changed clothes. Then I went downstairs where Jake and Carla were finishing prepping for tonight’s dinner, tacos.

Carla had already browned the ground beef and added her spices. She had also made home-made salsa.

So, she made guacamole while Jake chopped lettuce, onions and Jalapenos peppers.

Since that was for dinner (and I was hungry) I warmed up a Popeye’s chicken breast, the last of the red beans and rice and a biscuit in the microwave. I added some coleslaw and had a delicious lunch!

We settled in to watch some TV and I apparently gave the impression I was tired. So, Carla suggested I take a nap. I finally gave in and went upstairs with strict instruction they wake me up at 3:00 p.m. I didn’t want to miss any of the fun!

So, Jake did.

We chilled for awhile until they decided it was time for dinner. So, we each made our plates. Carla is traditional, but adventurous. She made some hard shell tacos, topped them with guacamole and salsa and sour cream, with refried beans on the side.

Jake is a rebel, so he ignored tacos altogether. He used tortilla chips and, using all the ingredients, made a big plate of nachos.

I’m more of a (boring) traditionalist. So, I made my tacos with beef, cheese and lettuce, topped with taco sauce. I put the guacamole and some salsa on the side and added tortilla chips for dipping. I put raw onions on my refried beans and more taco sauce.

We all settled in for a delicious meal.

Sidebar: No photos, please. We were all eating like wolves…

We watched a new boxing movie, “Southpaw” and then went to bed.