It's been an odd, extremely stressful day today! I'll get to why later in this last blog. I'm sitting at the work table in our Country Inn & Suites hotel room preparing to complete this, my latest travel blog. Rosie went out and got us salads from Wendy's (and a chili for me) for dinner. Arrived here, 2 miles from the airport, at ~1745 after a 2 1/2 hr rain filled trip from Ladys Island.
Awoke very early, this last day of our visit with the Cozarts, and went downstairs at ~0600 to do a couple of hours work e-mail before picking up this blog. BJ was first up before Chuck... having said that, Chuck soon followed and said he had been up, unusual for him, 3-4 times due to indigestion and that most all of his joints were sore - attributed to the climb up the fake lighthouse the day before. He didn't get much sleep and kept yawning a lot. He felt better after burping but, didn't get much sleep and was still feeling strange in his esophageal area?
Rosie and I wanted to do breakfast 1 more time at Blackstone's. BJ and Chuck were up for it too and came along. During the ride to, during breakfast and back, Chuck continued to feel uncomfortable. BJ, Rosie and I were starting to get worried. We stopped at Walgreen's on the way back to pick up some indigestion medicine for Chuck. Got back to the house around ~0900 and Chuck lay back on his recliner and started popping some pills. He said he was starting to feel better but, we weren't so sure.
Since Rosie wanted to see about buying a Beaufort t-shirt downtown and going for a walk along the water, we headed out mid-morning to do just that and left Chuck and BJ at home. Drove to mid-town Beaufort, found parking and had a nice stroll around the waterfront. Did a bit of shopping and picked up a few items including a chart for Chuck to use navigating around Hilton Head Island. Rosie didn't find any t-shirts she liked so, we headed back to Ladys Island.
Chuck was definitely not himself, staying in his recliner the whole time we were away. We weren't back long when BJ needed to go to Walmart to pick up some things to get ready for Hunter's graduation. BJ had also found and gifted some nice clothing for Rosie to wear so, we packed up all the extra clothing, any souvenirs we bought and, some other articles of clothing into a box which I would take to a UPS store to mail out while BJ and Rosie were shopping in Walmart.
Drove out to Walmart, dropped the girls off and made my way to UPS. Approximately $22 later, I had the package with UPS and returned to Walmart to pick up the girls. We took the longer way home on Rt. 21 which took us by Parris Island in order to stop by the Publix to pick up some of their fried chicken for a late lunch. Got back to the house at ~1400. We ate at around 1430. Chuck had some of the chicken too - the whole time not moving from his chair and having popped quite a few of the anti-acid pills. Something was not right....
Rosie and I decided to depart early so as to afford Chuck and BJ some time to get ready for the morrow without worrying about guests. So, we packed up, loaded the car and bid our farewells. Chuck did get up to see us off with a brave smile but, had Hunter manage Deuce while we jumped in the Santa Fe and left. Rosie and I were quite worried about Chuck.
We retraced our tracks back to I-95 and weren't on the interstate long when we got a call from BJ telling us Chuck was on his way to the hospital in an ambulance with her following!!! OMG! Rosie was in tears and we were ready to turn around and go back to do what we could but, BJ told us to continue and she'd keep us up to date with his prognosis. Chuck had asked BJ to call for the ambulance and he was taken to the local hospital ER for evaluation. In a nutshell so far, he's showing some classic symptoms of some kind of heart problem. Throughout this evening we've been exchanging texts and/or calling BJ. There's definitely something going on with our boy and he's going to be moved to a more capable hospital in Charleston tomorrow morning where they have the tools and know how to do whatever type of catheterization that may be called for on Chuck.
We are keeping him in our prayers and don't expect to get much restful sleep this evening. Our flight back to LGA is scheduled to depart tomorrow morning at 0750. The weather's a bit iffy. As with each time we spend time with our friends, it refreshes our souls, goes much too quickly and, we can't wait to see them again - more so this time than ever!
Rained the entire way up here to Cayce where we arrived at our hotel ~2miles from the airport at ~1745... and is still raining as I close this out.
Please pray for Chuck and BJ and, bless his heart!
P.S. - Chuck update via BJ: Successfully transferred to the Medical University of South Carolina Hospital in Charleston midday, 5/30. Medical Team there discovered he had suffered a 'mild' heart attack localized to the right lower chamber of his heart where he had a 99.5% blockage!. They successfully implanted a stent in the affected area of his heart. Talked to Chuck after his procedure and, after Rosie had spoken to BJ. Apparently, they went in with the catheter through his wrist... how cool is that?! Much less invasive with rapid recovery time. Talk about a wake-up call, not only for Chuck but, for all of us. All things being equal, BJ can take him home on Thursday, 5/31. He'll be on beta-blockers for a couple of months to help regulate his heart and on Plavix for a year. WOW, what a relief! :-)
I could think of much better ways of ending a travel blog but, this isn't bad. Chuck's on the mend and we'll continue to pray for his continued improvement!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Ladys Island, SC
Up again at a very reasonable 0730 to do another couple of hours work - primarily due to my new hire in Montreal - before shutting down to blog about what would turn out to be a very good day sightseeing over on Hilton Head (HH) Island during Memorial Day, yesterday, 5/28/2012.
Both of my children, Meghan and Conor, sent me notes or called me to thank me for my service. I was touched... they're wonderful young adults. :-)
On this morning, instead of going out, Chuck made a tasty breakfast of scrambled eggs, Jimmy Dean sausage and, re-heated leftover roasted potatoes which we all enjoyed. We'd decided as a group to head out to Hilton Head Island to go tour Harbourtown and the fake Lighthouse there. Because of Tropical Storm, Beryl, we would not be going out on Chuck's boat this visit. Ahh, so is the game of chance we play with Mother Nature... next time!
As we were prepping to leave, I spend a little time outside taking pictures of the grounds and various vehicles - including Chuck's Sea Hunt Triton 207 - parked around their property.
Left home base at ~1100 for Hilton Head in BJ's Infiniti G35... destination: Harbourtown. We'd also planned on doing at late lunch at a restaurant recommended by someone that worked for me: Skull Creek Boathouse, basically at the opposite end of HH from Harbourtown. Listened to Jimmy Buffett all the way to HH. Took about 45mins to get there by car.
One must pay a $5 entry fee to access the end of the island. We guessed it was due to the PGA golf course located there amongst other tourist attractions, including Harbourtown. Eventually made our way to a parking area, parked, and disembarked just to sight see around the harbor. The actual harbor is relatively small and man tailored into a perfectly round shape. Lots of very expensive yachts and sailing vessels are moored about. We strolled over to the red lighthouse - which it turns out is a fake - but paid the entree fees to walk up the 114 steps to the top. Didn't want Chuck to tax his foot but, he insisted on climbing up too. As with other tower structures I'd been in before, the entrance at the base and the exit at the top both had gift shops.
On the way up, every other landing had a penny smashing machine. Needless to say I ended up buying about 7 different coins after getting change from the 'Tower' keepers at the bottom and top. :-) Also on every landing, there were placards with a lot of history inscribed on them. I took photos of most of those placards. Once at the top, we all enjoyed a great, gray view of Harbourtown. It was quite windy.
Strolled around the top enjoying the view and taking photos. BJ and Rosie headed back down before they knew that Chuck and I had found a webcam! I called up Conor and had him log-on to check us out... he did! Was very cool watching him manipulate the webcam to look at us on top of the lighthouse and around Harbourtown. Chuck called Bubba but, he was at work and couldn't jump on a workstation for a look. We headed down after that and joined the girls back at the base of the lighthouse.
Just a general observation about HHI: there's a lot of money on this island and there was plenty just walking amongst us in and about Harbourtown. :-) Definitely can check off Harbourtown, Hilton Head Island, from my bucket list! Strolled on back to the car and went in search of the Skull Creek Boathouse Restaurant and Bar off of Squire Pope Rd. We needed BJ's Garmin to find it nestled on the northwest coast of the island about 7 miles from Harbourtown. The restaurant was sandwiched between a Chart House restaurant and a large, 3-tiered boat storage warehouse, the Hilton Head Boathouse. Skull Creek's Lat/Long: N3214.8 / W8044.9. Plenty of pier space for future docking. Inside and outside dining and bar. The bar outside was called: Marker 13, Buoy Bar! Had to buy a t-shirt... Chuck bought 1 for both his sons.
Anyway, we headed on in and asked for outside patio seating and were told it'd be 10-15 minutes. No matter, we sat at the indoor bar and enjoyed some cold beverages before getting seated for our late lunch. The restaurant has a lot of very cool ambiance! :-) Took our seats under a sparse but sufficient canopy of tree limbs and leaves. The skies were overcast but no rain. Ordered our lunches - all of them were quite tasty - and enjoyed our repast while people watching around us. Chuck, once again, sneaked off to pick up the tab, damn him! :-) After lunch we strolled around the boat yard, ramp and pier area just for future reference.
Left HHI quite full and headed back to the house. Had a very good day. Got back to the house at around 1600 and finished off the day just relaxing, all of us catching brief catnaps, until around 1800 when all we could muster for dinner were some light hors d'oeuvres. Turned in early ~2130. Believe Chuck stayed up until at least 2300 waiting on Hunter getting home. Hunter, by the way, graduates High School this coming Friday, 6/1. Congratulations to Hunter and all the Cozarts!!!
Both of my children, Meghan and Conor, sent me notes or called me to thank me for my service. I was touched... they're wonderful young adults. :-)
On this morning, instead of going out, Chuck made a tasty breakfast of scrambled eggs, Jimmy Dean sausage and, re-heated leftover roasted potatoes which we all enjoyed. We'd decided as a group to head out to Hilton Head Island to go tour Harbourtown and the fake Lighthouse there. Because of Tropical Storm, Beryl, we would not be going out on Chuck's boat this visit. Ahh, so is the game of chance we play with Mother Nature... next time!
As we were prepping to leave, I spend a little time outside taking pictures of the grounds and various vehicles - including Chuck's Sea Hunt Triton 207 - parked around their property.
Left home base at ~1100 for Hilton Head in BJ's Infiniti G35... destination: Harbourtown. We'd also planned on doing at late lunch at a restaurant recommended by someone that worked for me: Skull Creek Boathouse, basically at the opposite end of HH from Harbourtown. Listened to Jimmy Buffett all the way to HH. Took about 45mins to get there by car.
One must pay a $5 entry fee to access the end of the island. We guessed it was due to the PGA golf course located there amongst other tourist attractions, including Harbourtown. Eventually made our way to a parking area, parked, and disembarked just to sight see around the harbor. The actual harbor is relatively small and man tailored into a perfectly round shape. Lots of very expensive yachts and sailing vessels are moored about. We strolled over to the red lighthouse - which it turns out is a fake - but paid the entree fees to walk up the 114 steps to the top. Didn't want Chuck to tax his foot but, he insisted on climbing up too. As with other tower structures I'd been in before, the entrance at the base and the exit at the top both had gift shops.
On the way up, every other landing had a penny smashing machine. Needless to say I ended up buying about 7 different coins after getting change from the 'Tower' keepers at the bottom and top. :-) Also on every landing, there were placards with a lot of history inscribed on them. I took photos of most of those placards. Once at the top, we all enjoyed a great, gray view of Harbourtown. It was quite windy.
Strolled around the top enjoying the view and taking photos. BJ and Rosie headed back down before they knew that Chuck and I had found a webcam! I called up Conor and had him log-on to check us out... he did! Was very cool watching him manipulate the webcam to look at us on top of the lighthouse and around Harbourtown. Chuck called Bubba but, he was at work and couldn't jump on a workstation for a look. We headed down after that and joined the girls back at the base of the lighthouse.
Just a general observation about HHI: there's a lot of money on this island and there was plenty just walking amongst us in and about Harbourtown. :-) Definitely can check off Harbourtown, Hilton Head Island, from my bucket list! Strolled on back to the car and went in search of the Skull Creek Boathouse Restaurant and Bar off of Squire Pope Rd. We needed BJ's Garmin to find it nestled on the northwest coast of the island about 7 miles from Harbourtown. The restaurant was sandwiched between a Chart House restaurant and a large, 3-tiered boat storage warehouse, the Hilton Head Boathouse. Skull Creek's Lat/Long: N3214.8 / W8044.9. Plenty of pier space for future docking. Inside and outside dining and bar. The bar outside was called: Marker 13, Buoy Bar! Had to buy a t-shirt... Chuck bought 1 for both his sons.
Anyway, we headed on in and asked for outside patio seating and were told it'd be 10-15 minutes. No matter, we sat at the indoor bar and enjoyed some cold beverages before getting seated for our late lunch. The restaurant has a lot of very cool ambiance! :-) Took our seats under a sparse but sufficient canopy of tree limbs and leaves. The skies were overcast but no rain. Ordered our lunches - all of them were quite tasty - and enjoyed our repast while people watching around us. Chuck, once again, sneaked off to pick up the tab, damn him! :-) After lunch we strolled around the boat yard, ramp and pier area just for future reference.
Left HHI quite full and headed back to the house. Had a very good day. Got back to the house at around 1600 and finished off the day just relaxing, all of us catching brief catnaps, until around 1800 when all we could muster for dinner were some light hors d'oeuvres. Turned in early ~2130. Believe Chuck stayed up until at least 2300 waiting on Hunter getting home. Hunter, by the way, graduates High School this coming Friday, 6/1. Congratulations to Hunter and all the Cozarts!!!
Monday, May 28, 2012
Ladys Island, SC
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!
Heartfelt thanks to all of my classmates, shipmates, squadronmates and their families for all the sacrifices made on behalf of the best country in the world, our US of A!!!
OK, back to yesterday, Sunday, 5/27/2012 :-)
We're definitely on vacation... stayed up late, over-imbibing on the back porch and got up late, well, late for us at ~0730. Decided to head back to Blackstone's in downtown Beaufort for late breakfast. We brought the girls with us this time and enjoyed a very nice meal. While we were eating, discussed plans for the day.
Decided we'd head back to the house, swap out cars for Chuck's truck and, travel out to Hunting Island's. Figured we'd hit the beach first, then the Nature Center in the state park before heading back to Ladys Island. BJ decided to stay back and get some things done at the house.
Headed out a little after noon and made good time to Hunting Island beach. Was quite windy along the way. As we got nearer the water, you could see the chop out in the Atlantic indicating winds >20knots. To get to the beach, you have to head into a heavily forested part of the island loaded with Palmetto trees and other shrubbery native to these parts. Easy to see why the makers of Forest Gump and other movies chose this area of the country for location shooting.
With Tropical Storm Beryl nearby, I was quite surprised at how many people were at the beach enjoying the heavy, turbulent surf and doing BBQs. There are no life guards and you swim at your own risk. Having said that we did notice that there was a pre-positioned EMS ambulance and 2 police cars in the parking lot. The surf was a brown, churned up, foam spitting, angry force of nature... and yet, there were plenty of locals enjoying the waves. Wind speed was >20 knots with higher gusts, skies overcast. We were standing on what little beach sand there was. The rest was covered by dead sea grass, foam and water. Only the small dunes way back were untouched.
Didn't stay longer than it took to take a biology break, a handful of photos and departed back through the 'movie set' of a jungle, back onto the road and continued on to the Nature Center located just before you reach exclusive Fripp Island bridge. We spent a good 1/2 hour bird watching and visiting the Nature Center's wildlife conservatory staffed by Park Rangers. Rosie was quite excited to be able to meet and hold one of the Center's residents: an 18yr old Diamondback Terrapin named, Buddy!
Back outside, we were also happy to discover that the small man-made pond at the foot of the pier contained a visitor: a wild 8-10 foot alligator! The Park Ranger let us know that you can judge the length of an alligator by measuring the distance between the 'gator's nostrils and a point between it's eyes. I estimated the distance between the alligator's features at ~8 to 10 inches. The Park Ranger agreed. A couple of the Ranger's assistants came out and poked around the murky, shallow pool with a long PVC pipe making the alligator splash around a few times entertaining the growing crowd around the pool. We departed soon thereafter.
On the return trip we took a short detour while on St. Helena Island to go briefly tour Fort Fremont at Land's End. Fort Fremont was constructed in 1899 to defend Port Royal Sound. The Fort never saw any action and in 1901 was decommissioned. It was armed with 'disappearing' cannons of various calibers. We walked around a bit before jumping back in Chuck's truck to go visit some friends of his that lived right near the Fort - Lee and BJ. Nice retired folks, who obviously liked and respected Chuck, and who were looking to sell their home and move to California - where BJ was from... Culver City to be exact. Our visit was short and filled with mosquito bites!!
We eventually got back to the house - via a quick stop at the Publix for some groceries - where BJ had been busy with home chores and prepping some of what would turn out to be a delicious home made dinner. On the menu this evening: boiled shrimp covered with Feta cheese, oven baked until golden brown; a veggie medley of comprised of several types of squash, and; roasted potatoes. Wonderful meal, served up by great friends!
Amazingly, we were all a bit beat and made it a quiet, short evening before we hit the rack.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Ladys Island, SC
Good morning! Needed to sleep in some after a relaxing Glenlivet + Cuban filled evening out on the back porch just laughing and nostalgically reminiscing over the past 21yrs. Great fun and therapeutic.
Yesterday, Saturday, was designed to be a boys vs girls day out. The boys would be travelling out to Dos Lupes Gun Club to unleash hell (OK, maybe overly dramatic :-) ), while the girls were headed out to Bluffton, near Hilton Head, for a day of shopping. A perfect day for both activities... highs in the 80s to low 90s, clear blue skies.
Chuck and I were out the door first in his Dodge Ram 1500. Of course, before we departed, we needed to load up the club cab with a variety of 2nd Amendment accessories which included: 2 pistols; an HK-45C and a GI Expert 1911 semi-automatic service model .45 (my favorite and, the type of pistol I qualified 'Expert' with while in the Service). 3 rifles: an M1 Garand; Armalit AR-10 and; Marlin 4570... plus, plenty of ammo! :-)
Headed out around 0800 and made a quick breakfast stop in downtown Beaufort at Blackstone's. It's the Pepe's of Beaufort. On the way to Blackstone's, stopped by to admire a beautiful '57 Chevy Bel Air! Didn't take long to get seated inside Blackstone's and we made our selections: I ordered eggs, over easy, with homemade corned beef hash, grits and a biscuit. Chuck's breakfast differed in that he ordered bacon and rye toast. Great start to the day!
It's about a 40mile drive all along back roads to get to Dos Lupes and not a place one finds on your GPS. It's a 25 acre property, relatively sparse on accommodations, nestled within a state wildlife refuge and purpose built for gun enthusiasts. I loved it!
When we arrived it was unusually quiet according to Chuck, only a few vehicles along with ours. We holstered our .45s and headed over to the handgun range with our ammo bag to warm up. Good thing we brought along all natural bug spray, Skeeter Beeter... these SoCar mosquitos love my blood. Nothing fancy about the gun range but more than adequate for anyone's needs. Between the 2 of us we fired off ~200 rds of .45. What fun but, man, was I rusty! More members started trickling in including the owner, Russ, a very personable gent who, in his spare tim,e is a very successful lawyer out of Hilton Head. I got to meet several of the other club members, Chuck's friends, all good ol' boys. What good folks! They were very friendly and quite kind to me - even though I was from New Jersey - each and every one packin'! :-)
After we'd finished expending the ammo we had and picking up the brass it was time for lunch. Turns out it's just one of the side benefits of membership. Tucked off behind and to the left of the pistol range, Russ had set-up a rudimentary BBQ pit with a handful of picnic tables and he had cooked up a potluck of chow including: hotdogs, sausages, pork chops, fish, steak and mixed veggies. Most of all the sides and beverages are brought by whomever remembers to. Very informal and a great opportunity to just chat over good, basic food.
We finished lunch a bit sooner than everyone else and headed over to the rifle range which could accommodate 3 shooters at a time. The range had 3 target areas: close (100yds), medium (200yds), long (300yes). We broke out all 3 rifles. Unfortunately, we'd left all of the M1s ammo back at the house... having said that, one of Chuck's buddies, Billy, gave us a couple of rounds of AP ammo and Chuck let me shoot both of them at the long targets. What a gun! Not only is it a classic rifle, friend to 1000s of GIs but, really packs a punch... glad I never had to be on the receiving end of it. Very accurate too.
Spent the rest of our time alternating between the AR-10 and 4570 (which packed the biggest kick-back and left my right shoulder with manly raspberry bruising!). Between the 2 of us, we expended between 200-300 rounds. I can't describe to you all how much I love shooting and how fun it is! :-)
Departed the club at ~1430 enroute to an icy cold, non-alcoholic beverage... the day had gotten hot. While we were headed back to Lady's Island, it occurred to me that I'd need to wash everything I was wearing due to all of the gunpowder residue on me! No doubt TSA would have some issues with me checking in at Columbia Airport. :-)
Stopped by Gay's Fish Company on St. Helena Island off of Rt. 21 to pick up some large shrimp and scallops. It's a tiny port for about 5 fishing/shrimping vessels. Unfortunately, they were sold out of scallops and we walked out with only 3lbs of headless shrimp. Jumped back in the pick-up and headed back to Ladys Island via Dempsey Farms fresh vegetable stand and Bill's Liquors to get some more Glen and Goose. Got back to Chuck and BJs by ~1700.
On this evening we decided to get dressed and have dinner downtown at Saltus right off the boardwalk in Beaufort. Rosie drove while BJ navigated and the 'kept' men enjoyed cocktails in the back row. :-) She did a bang-up job of parallel parking off mainstreet, in fact such a good job, that motorists had stopped to watch and gave her approving looks and thumbs up. We were all pleased with her effort. Before heading to the restaurant, we strolled around the waterfront area just looking at the various old/historic buildings/homes of the district and admiring the flora, fauna and edge of sealife.
Saltus, off mainstreet, is a very nice upscale restaurant. You can be as dressed up as you'd like or not. We sat inside right by very tall windows overlooking the Beaufort River. We were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked our young waitress, Megan. She did a great job all night of putting up with our 'isms while never losing her charm or sense of humor - not to mention that she knew how to play to her audience. All of our meals were excellent! Started off with a spicy tuna roll and stone crab claws for appetizers and flowed into scrumptous entrees for all. We also enjoyed 2 bottles of Malbec from Argentina. After dinner we strolled around the boardwalk a bit enjoying the sunset and revisited a couple of other places we'd patronized before: Hemmingway's (which was quite slow) and Luther's where we stopped in for after dinner drinks before heading back to the homestead.
We closed down the day enjoying our friends company on the back porch over cocktails and cigars... we lost track of time and by the time we figured out we needed to hit the rack, it was after midnight - not bad for folks of our age bracket!
Yesterday, Saturday, was designed to be a boys vs girls day out. The boys would be travelling out to Dos Lupes Gun Club to unleash hell (OK, maybe overly dramatic :-) ), while the girls were headed out to Bluffton, near Hilton Head, for a day of shopping. A perfect day for both activities... highs in the 80s to low 90s, clear blue skies.
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| Our destination on this Saturday |
Chuck and I were out the door first in his Dodge Ram 1500. Of course, before we departed, we needed to load up the club cab with a variety of 2nd Amendment accessories which included: 2 pistols; an HK-45C and a GI Expert 1911 semi-automatic service model .45 (my favorite and, the type of pistol I qualified 'Expert' with while in the Service). 3 rifles: an M1 Garand; Armalit AR-10 and; Marlin 4570... plus, plenty of ammo! :-)
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| Typical assessories in most SoCar pick-ups with club cabs... |
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| Top: GI Expert 1911. Bottom: HK45C |
Headed out around 0800 and made a quick breakfast stop in downtown Beaufort at Blackstone's. It's the Pepe's of Beaufort. On the way to Blackstone's, stopped by to admire a beautiful '57 Chevy Bel Air! Didn't take long to get seated inside Blackstone's and we made our selections: I ordered eggs, over easy, with homemade corned beef hash, grits and a biscuit. Chuck's breakfast differed in that he ordered bacon and rye toast. Great start to the day!
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| Cherry '57 Chevy Bel Air |
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| The cockpit of a '57 Bel Air |
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| Classic chromed rear end |
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| Coming up on Blackstone's |
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| Inside |
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| Almost to Dos Lupes.... |
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| We are there! |
It's about a 40mile drive all along back roads to get to Dos Lupes and not a place one finds on your GPS. It's a 25 acre property, relatively sparse on accommodations, nestled within a state wildlife refuge and purpose built for gun enthusiasts. I loved it!
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| In the parking area of Dos Lupes. Chuck catching up with friend, Billy |
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| Walking to the handgun range |
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| Safety first.... |
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| Downrange |
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| Chuck setting up some targets |
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| Looking left along the firing line |
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| Looking right.... |
When we arrived it was unusually quiet according to Chuck, only a few vehicles along with ours. We holstered our .45s and headed over to the handgun range with our ammo bag to warm up. Good thing we brought along all natural bug spray, Skeeter Beeter... these SoCar mosquitos love my blood. Nothing fancy about the gun range but more than adequate for anyone's needs. Between the 2 of us we fired off ~200 rds of .45. What fun but, man, was I rusty! More members started trickling in including the owner, Russ, a very personable gent who, in his spare tim,e is a very successful lawyer out of Hilton Head. I got to meet several of the other club members, Chuck's friends, all good ol' boys. What good folks! They were very friendly and quite kind to me - even though I was from New Jersey - each and every one packin'! :-)
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| Looking towards the firing line |
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| Taking aim |
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| Checking my weapon |
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| Ready.... |
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| Fire! Nice flames... |
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| He's ready |
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| Is that a holster'd pistol or am I happy to see Chuck? |
After we'd finished expending the ammo we had and picking up the brass it was time for lunch. Turns out it's just one of the side benefits of membership. Tucked off behind and to the left of the pistol range, Russ had set-up a rudimentary BBQ pit with a handful of picnic tables and he had cooked up a potluck of chow including: hotdogs, sausages, pork chops, fish, steak and mixed veggies. Most of all the sides and beverages are brought by whomever remembers to. Very informal and a great opportunity to just chat over good, basic food.
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| Rifle range with 3 positions |
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| First up, AR-10 |
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| Chuck calls this his California clip, 10 rounds... |
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| His 20 round clip. |
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| He had 2 of them! |
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| Chuck home on the range... |
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| Ejected cartridge caught in mid-flight. |
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| My turn... note the ejected brass. |
We finished lunch a bit sooner than everyone else and headed over to the rifle range which could accommodate 3 shooters at a time. The range had 3 target areas: close (100yds), medium (200yds), long (300yes). We broke out all 3 rifles. Unfortunately, we'd left all of the M1s ammo back at the house... having said that, one of Chuck's buddies, Billy, gave us a couple of rounds of AP ammo and Chuck let me shoot both of them at the long targets. What a gun! Not only is it a classic rifle, friend to 1000s of GIs but, really packs a punch... glad I never had to be on the receiving end of it. Very accurate too.
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| Up next, the Marlin 4570 lever action rifle |
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| Hornady 'Lever Revolution' rounds... they are sizeable |
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| 458 grains of punch going down range and leaving a mark on my shoulder! |
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| Chuck's turn. |
Spent the rest of our time alternating between the AR-10 and 4570 (which packed the biggest kick-back and left my right shoulder with manly raspberry bruising!). Between the 2 of us, we expended between 200-300 rounds. I can't describe to you all how much I love shooting and how fun it is! :-)
Departed the club at ~1430 enroute to an icy cold, non-alcoholic beverage... the day had gotten hot. While we were headed back to Lady's Island, it occurred to me that I'd need to wash everything I was wearing due to all of the gunpowder residue on me! No doubt TSA would have some issues with me checking in at Columbia Airport. :-)
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| Picked up some shrimp here... |
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| Fresh veggies here including... |
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| Picaso bi-color corn and, |
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| Restocked the bar at casa Cozart |
Stopped by Gay's Fish Company on St. Helena Island off of Rt. 21 to pick up some large shrimp and scallops. It's a tiny port for about 5 fishing/shrimping vessels. Unfortunately, they were sold out of scallops and we walked out with only 3lbs of headless shrimp. Jumped back in the pick-up and headed back to Ladys Island via Dempsey Farms fresh vegetable stand and Bill's Liquors to get some more Glen and Goose. Got back to Chuck and BJs by ~1700.
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| Kisses from Deuce before heading out to dinner in downtown Beaufort |
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| The girls in front of a home purportedly haunted just off Main St |
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| Spanish Moss adorns many of the trees particularly, live Oaks |
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| Out in front of another large, stately building hamming it up |
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| BJ tells us this is a 'joggling' board used in civil war time dating |
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| Low tide on the Beaufort River. See the 'coon oysters |
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| Close-up of Raccoon Oysters during low tide |
On this evening we decided to get dressed and have dinner downtown at Saltus right off the boardwalk in Beaufort. Rosie drove while BJ navigated and the 'kept' men enjoyed cocktails in the back row. :-) She did a bang-up job of parallel parking off mainstreet, in fact such a good job, that motorists had stopped to watch and gave her approving looks and thumbs up. We were all pleased with her effort. Before heading to the restaurant, we strolled around the waterfront area just looking at the various old/historic buildings/homes of the district and admiring the flora, fauna and edge of sealife.
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| BJ providing us with some local history |
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| Everyone looks fabulous in white |
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| BJ & Chuck |
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| Rosie and I |
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| Entrance to Saltus |
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| Seated in Saltus with a view to the back patio and river |
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| Seared Tuna for BJ |
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| Grilled Salmon for Rosie |
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| Top Sirloin for the Author |
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| Tenderloin for Chuck |
Saltus, off mainstreet, is a very nice upscale restaurant. You can be as dressed up as you'd like or not. We sat inside right by very tall windows overlooking the Beaufort River. We were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked our young waitress, Megan. She did a great job all night of putting up with our 'isms while never losing her charm or sense of humor - not to mention that she knew how to play to her audience. All of our meals were excellent! Started off with a spicy tuna roll and stone crab claws for appetizers and flowed into scrumptous entrees for all. We also enjoyed 2 bottles of Malbec from Argentina. After dinner we strolled around the boardwalk a bit enjoying the sunset and revisited a couple of other places we'd patronized before: Hemmingway's (which was quite slow) and Luther's where we stopped in for after dinner drinks before heading back to the homestead.
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| Sunset approaching over Beaufort |
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| Just enjoying the company |
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| Some very vibrant flowers along the boardwalk |
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| Hemingways |
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| Luthers... we stepped in for a quick cocktail |
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| BJ relaxing on the porch |
We closed down the day enjoying our friends company on the back porch over cocktails and cigars... we lost track of time and by the time we figured out we needed to hit the rack, it was after midnight - not bad for folks of our age bracket!
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