Beaufort, South Carolina

Thank you for taking the time to read our blogs.  Not only is this a great way to keep in touch with everyone, but it is documenting our GREAT adventure.  When Jerry and I are settled somewhere, years from now, we will be able to look at our videos and read all the blogs saying to each other, “Do you remember that?”  It has been an amazing 16 months so far.  Can you believe on the 30th, it will be 16 months?  Unbelievable!

Last week Jerry told you about our friends, Donna and Brian, who live in Beaufort.  Let me fill you in on who Donna and Brian are; Quite a few years back, I was the Area Development Manager of a New York Clothing line.  The clothes were sold in stylist’s homes across the country by appointment. 

I was fortunate enough to have met Donna in Modesto, CA when she was looking to start selling the clothing line.  We hit it off immediately.  Donna had a heck of a business going in her area.  We had the best times while working together.  I got to know her husband, Brian and so many of her friends.  Whenever I stayed at their home, Brian, who is a fantastic cook, always cooked dinner for us as Donna had 20 – 40 appointments a day.  

Fast forward, we kept in touch as they retired to Beaufort, SC to build their dream home.  When we started our planning way back in 2020, I knew we had to visit them while on the East Coast. I knew if we didn’t, Donna would be so mad at me!  Heck, I would be mad at myself too.  There was no way we would be on the East Coast and not visit with them.  

Talk about the hostess with the mostest!  They insisted we spend a couple nights in their beautiful home so we wouldn’t have to drive back and forth to the campground.  We have only done this a couple of times since being on the road, like when we were with Jerry’s family in Texas.  It’s not something we would normally do as we really do not like to impose on people.  Also, even though we are RVing, it is our home with our custom mattress (you know how it is not sleeping in your own bed) and all of our belongings.  

Now, I’m not saying we don’t enjoy a much larger shower and unlimited hot water.  I mean, who doesn’t?  But, we have gotten quite used to quicker showers.  Even for an RV, our bathroom is pretty amazing.  If you have not seen the tour of our RV, please take a few minutes to understand what I’m saying. Our home is quite comfortable and we love it.  However, it is nice to be in a larger space with lots of room to walk around and their house is beautiful!  

They are right on the water with a boat dock.  They have a hot tub, which we truly enjoyed (shockingly, our RV does not have a hot tub) and their neighborhood is gorgeous.  We brought our e-bikes and had a wonderful bike ride to their local farmer’s market.  

Donna was kind enough to book tickets for us on a horse and carriage ride in historical Beaufort.  The houses are incredible.  Many movies have been filmed there.  The Big Chill, The Fugitive, Prince of Tides, Forrest Gump, GI Jane, just to name a few.  We were shown where Barbra Streisand stayed while filming there. 

The city was founded in 1711.  It has maintained its antebellum architecture and small town atmosphere.  Our tour guide, Katie, was beyond awesome.  She really knew her stuff.  The homes were amazing and the gardens were gorgeous.   One particular home, The Tidalholm Mansion, was featured in The Big Chill movie.  Also the same home was in The Great Santini movie.  So much history and beauty.

Donna and Brian took us to a Seafood Festival in Bluffton, SC not too far from their home.  What a wonderful city Bluffton is.  I must say that fried seafood is the thing there.  And yes, I did enjoy some fried shrimp.  I mean, when in the South…

Brian cooked dinner for us for 3 nights.  What a treat!!  As I mentioned, he is an amazing cook. He made us shrimp and clams over pasta, pulled pork and the best roasted chicken!!  It was nice to sit around a table with friends over a meal.  Our RV does not have a dining table so we normally will eat outside when friends are over.  Being inside at a dining table was lovely!  

We went to Hunting Island Beach and enjoyed a beautiful walk then to a very funky place for lunch called Johnson Creek Tavern. Jerry and I experienced eating clusters of oysters for the first time ever.  They bring you a huge bucket of steamed oyster clusters and you have to shuck them yourself.  Now, we love raw oysters and never eat cooked or fried oysters, so we were a little apprehensive.  WE LOVED THEM!  We were both blown away at how incredibly delicious they were.  Of course, you had to work for your food, but it was so much fun and so good.  We are now looking for restaurants that sell the oyster clusters to eat again.

Our last day with Donna and Brian was on their boat.  It was a beautiful day on the water.  They invited another couple to join us and we had the best time.  We saw so many dolphins next to and behind the boat playing in the wakes.  It was so magical watching them.  We docked and had a lovely lunch in downtown Beaufort then back on the boat for more touring around.  We both get seasick but the water was so incredibly calm.  It was the best way to end our time with Donna and Brian.

The RV park we were staying at was called Tuck in the Woods.  It was a beautiful campground surrounded by trees.  The camp managers were so helpful and watched our RV while we were gone for those couple of nights.  We never worried one bit.  Highly recommend this campground if you are ever in the area!  It is the only one close to downtown Beaufort. 

Talk about southern hospitality!  Donna and Brian were so incredible and generous with their time showing us their Beaufort.  We will be back (not in the summer though, I can assure you) . We had the best weather, and were in shorts most of the time. 70’s is what we are looking for!!  

Now on to Charleston.  We are staying in one of the most beautiful KOA (Kampgrounds Of America) parks we have stayed in so far.  There is a lake, a pool, rec room, etc.  The sites are nice and large.  We even have a patio.  

A quick note!  My mother’s maiden name was Rittenberg.  Her uncle was a South Carolina State Senator named Sam Rittenberg. We saw that there is a boulevard  named after him.  How cool is it to see the sign of a relative??

We celebrated Jerry’s birthday this week at Boone Hall Plantation. More on that next week as there is so much to talk about what we learned on the Plantation and we are here until Nov 17th and cannot wait to explore all that Charleston has to offer.  I have many tours planned for us.  

Just One More…..history lesson for the Sappingtons