Laura and I decided to get away for the weekend. I made reservations in the [sarcasm] lovely [/sarcasm] lowcountry town of St. George, and early Saturday morning we headed south. I picked St. George because I knew I could find something decent cheap near the Interstate. Also, we ultimately wanted to wind up at Beidler Forest Sunday morning, and this would be closer than Charleston or Summerville.
Our first target for the day was the ACE Basin area. We soon found the Donnelly Wildlife Management Area. Several dirt roads wind through old rice plantations. We stopped several times to do some bird watching.
After leaving the Donnelly WMA, we headed to another section of the ACE Basin, the Bear Island WMA. This section looked out over the Combahee River and large portions of salt marsh. The area was covered with wading birds, and red-winged blackbirds called down from overhead.
From Bear Island, we headed south toward Beaufort, with a short detour to the ruins of the Old Sheldon Church. This always strikes me as a magical place. The ruins are impressive, and there is an air of mystery surrounding the area. I could have spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around and shooting pictures.
We left Sheldon and drove into the city of Beaufort. I’ve always liked this town. It has the history and elegance of Charleston, without the crowds. They have developed a great riverside park. We had dinner at Saltus River Grill overlooking the river.
After dinner, we drove through back roads to get back to St. George and our hotel.