A Creepy Motel
I’d made a reservation at a Motel 6 in Yemassee, just off of I-95. It was cheap. When I arrived the place looked completely abandoned.
The place was open after all. When I walked in and said I had a reservation, without looking up the information, the proprietor said, “Mr. Taylor.” With his tone of delivery he could just have easily said, “Mr. Wick” or “We’ve been expecting you, Mr. Bond.” Creepier, still. I was the only person there.
The proprietor was actually a nice guy, albeit, a bit obsessed about his mother (jk). My room was old, but clean. It was still a heck of a lot better than that place we stayed in Burns, Oregon.
Without fear of losing a parking space, I set off in search of dinner. I had an unsatisfying meal at Gilligan’s in Beaufort. At least the rum punch was good.
Prince William Parish Church, AKA Old Sheldon Church
On the way back from Beaufort I saw signs for the Old Sheldon Church Ruins. The sun was setting and I hoped to get some dramatic shots. Since the last time I’d visited the property owners had erected a fence to keep people out of the ruins themselves. There had been some vandalism. Makes me furious when that happens.
I wasn’t able to get dramatic sunset photos, but I was able to capture a gibbous moon rising over the ruins.
I survived the night in the creepy hotel (obviously.) I got up early the next morning to find some breakfast.
Breakfast and a Show at Waffle House
Around the corner from the creepy motel was a Waffle House. I pulled in and spotted the following poster…
Hmmm, Dinner with a show. I didn’t know I’d be getting breakfast with a show.
There was one other patron at the bar when I arrived. I also sat at the bar nearby. As for the Waffle House denizens, they were an odd lot. First there was the matron of the joint. She ran things…sort of.
There was my waiter, a young special needs man who spent more time playing on his phone than actually waiting on tables.
There was the cook, who said that he’d rather be “observing the back of his eye lids.”
Then there was Creepy Chris. He was the actual manager for the shift, I think. However, he made lewd comments to the woman constantly and was generally unpleasant.
This quartet danced around and sparred with each other over the course of our meal, which was definitely not the best I’d had. My grits were lumpy and cold. The other diner sent his back. The bacon was half-done. The toast was wallowing in enough butter to choke a cow. Every now and then my dining partner would cast an eye at me and we would both shake our heads as the absurdities poured forth. The meal may have been entertaining, but was NOT fulfilling. I was glad to get out of there.
Continued on page 3 (where we actually get to some kayaking!)…
Do you purposely take pictures or do you have a GoPro mounted on your chest that’s always taking pictures?
Both. I have a waterproof camera that I use for specific shots. I also have a GoPro mounted to the kayak itself. The GoPro is set to do time-lapse shots at one image every ten seconds. I used to do full video, but I found that I wasn’t using the video. It was just taking up storage space. Now I just do time-lapse with an occasional video.
Thank you!
Capers is not for the faint of heart. Plan on at least a long weekend trip, and know your paddling limits before committing to something you can t handle. If you re unsure of paddling out to the island, make arrangements to borrow a jon boat, or contact Barrier Island Eco Tours. They have access to a ferry, but only for parties of seven or more. This is an incredible island that is certainly one of the more unique places to be found on our coast, and there s no better time to visit it than now.